#vertigo heights

[iinryer]

so. i have been saying since the top of the season that this feels like a reset, and a reintroduction to the characters (which makes sense for a new network!)—i know others have talked about to being a transitional and setup season as well, which i agree with.

ive been thinking about parallels and mirrors and what it might mean to overlay season seven over season four, the things that could possibly imply…

[ID under the cut for easier legibility than alt]

(self indulgent honorable mention parallel: eddie’s blood in buck’s mouth, tommy’s soot on buck’s lips)

season four is the only other non-pilot season to have less than the full 18 episodes. season four is also the only season that ends on a life-altering arc-beginning injury for a member of the 118 (which also makes sense for a shorter than usual season, big hook to make up for the fewer episodes).

at the end of season four, eddie and bobby both end up dramatically injured (sniper). the end of season four also has the first mention of the will. now, i cannot say for sure that either of these are going to be mirrored, BUT. looking at the roadmap they’ve already given us… i have some feelings and predictions :)

and i’m not even going to begin digging into the vertigo references, others have more eloquent things to say, but i wanted to at least mention it because i DO think it’s going to come into play…

(if you can think of any other 4/7 parallels i would LOVE to hear them)

———

IMAGE ID: a three column spreadsheet with the categories “PLOT POINT” , “SEASON 4”, and “SEASON 7”. the text reads:

Buck learns something life-altering that makes things about the rest of his life make sense in hindsight

- S4: Daniel reveal

- S7: Bisexuality discovery

Eddie meets a woman and ends episode 7 of the season on a date with her

- S4: Ana

- S7: Kim

Maddie and Chimney have a major milestone in their relationship

- S4: Jee is born

- S7: They’re getting married

Something horrible happens right before they do

- S4: Albert’s accident

- S7: Chimney gets sick and goes missing

Buck makes a fool of himself on a first date

- S4: Veronica, and the “double date”

- S7: Tommy

Hen and Karen have struggles with the foster system and how to best protect and provide for their foster kids

- S4: Nia

- S7: Mara

Athena and Bobby have trouble communicating, putting their relationship in a rocky spot

- S4: Bobby sponsoring the woman from the pileup and hiding it, Athena telling Bobby that she had considered retirement but never talked to him

- S7: The cruise ship and Athena being unable to tell Bobbby why she's so uncomfortable with the prospect of down time together

Someone talks to Eddie about following his own desires in a relationship, not what's expected

- S4: Bobby about Ana, Carla about Ana

- S7: Bobby about Marisol

Buck has a heart to heart with Christopher about the anxiety he has towards the fragility of relationships with the people in his life

- S4: Shannon and people leaving him, feeling isolated during the pandemic

- S7: Shannon and the girls he's leading on

Hen and Karen meet another parent related to their foster children

- S4: Meeting Nia's mom in the park and having lunch with her and Nia

- S7: Finding Tyson and reconnecting him with Mara

Someone with the initials TK that Buck met in relation to a helicopter, kisses Buck in his kitchen after Eddie gets hurt and then has to leave

- S4: Taylor

- S7: Tommy

[limepigeon]

Fear of heights

[kayawolfhorse]

In my heart of hearts, at the end of the session the snails seemed to disappear inside their shells with a little pop, and after curiosity got the better of the lifers, they lifted the shells up to reveal a pocket-sized, completely harmless version of their snails they could keep as friends

[misunderstood-m0nster]

peak relationship dynamic is being weird and not neurotypical together

add in ur own <3

[nevermeanttoknow]

hes a vast avatar to me for reasons

[mwolf0epsilon]

Hardcase, bored out of his mind during downtime and looking to start some idle conversation: You guys ever notice how weird Tup climbs the stairs?

Jesse, looking at him funny: What? No??

Fives: The hell you mean Tup climbs the stairs weird? How do you climb the stairs weird?

Hardcase, looking down a flight of stairs: Yo Tup! Come here vod'ika I wanna tell you something!

Tup, looking up at him: Oh, uh ok! Hang on!

Hardcase: See for yourselves.

Jesse and Fives, coming over to see better: ???

Tup, climbing up the stairs on all fours:

Hardcase, Jesse & Fives:

Tup, stopping in front of them: What is it?

Hardcase: I was gonna say you had your hair down, but turns out it's up. My bad!

Tup, rolling is eyes: Ok then, whatever... -climbs back down the stairs normally-

Jesse: .... Yo what the kark was that???

Hardcase: Told ya... But that doesn't compare to how Rex climbs down the stairs...

Fives: How can anyone climb down the stairs weirder than Tup climbs them???

Hardcase, pointing: Just watch.

Rex, passing them by to go down the stairs: Boys.

Hardcase, Jesse & Fives: Sir.

Rex, sitting down on the first step and just slowly shuffling down the stairs on his butt:

Jesse & Fives: :O

Hardcase: Told ya.

Jesse: Bro...

Fives: What in actual sith-hells???

[daily-public-domain]

Day 128: Vertigo

link

–This image is part of the public domain, meaning you can do anything you want with it ! (you could even sell it as a shirt, poster or whatever)–

[gametourism]

Outer Wilds, Vortex, possible epilepsy warning

[ID : a gif showing the hatchling free fall into the eye's vortex. /End ID]

[eventhorizoninwriting]

Monumental Discoveries

Word Count: 1016

Tags: Charon/reader, Fallout 3

Warnings: Vertigo, heights, dizziness, near fall.

@whumperless-whump-event Prompt 3: Like A Record, Baby!

*Late to the party again, but I"m catching up!

Your ears began to pressurize as the elevator continued to climb. Facing the doors, the satellite dish held neatly in front of you, you didn’t bear witness to the ever-shrinking wasteland through the crumbling walls of the Washington Monument. It was a wonder the elevator was still in the shaft in one piece, nevermind fully functional, working, and clean. 

“They really did a decent job on this, huh?”

Charon glanced at you from the corner of his eye, nodding once without offering any comment. That had been his way, as long as you’d known him. You met him in Underworld just a month ago, just a building away from here by some kind of irony, where he’d been an enslaved guard at the Ninth Circle bar. The only way to free him from that abusive predicament had been to take on his contract yourself–but even after you handed him the paperwork, he’d silently stayed by your side, and woe be him if anything hurt you. 

Yet, he hardly ever spoke. You could count on both hands the number of sentences he’d uttered since you’d met. Hell, you could probably count on one. His first to you, telling you to take anything up with Azhrukal, his owner. Then the one where he acknowledged that you’d taken over his contract, and politely informed you that he needed to take care of one thing before leaving; then proceeded to blow Azhrukal’s head off with his combat shotgun. The only explanation for that was another single sentence to inform you that Azhrukal was an evil bastard. Since then, he’d proven to be a man of very, very few words–and so it was here, too. You knew he had no reason to like the Brotherhood of Steel, who flashed him nasty looks and threw insults–and who had been rumored to hunt ghouls for sport. But you’d always thrown insults back in his defense, knowing he wouldn’t say anything for himself to them…and besides, the elevator really was impressive in this day and age. 

It dinged, and the doors slid open. Charon followed you out, footsteps padding softly behind you like a large cat. It was a wonder he was so quiet with how tall he was. 

“Let’s see,” you murmured to yourself, looking over the relay console. “Looks like the wires go in here, and go up there…then hook in there, there, and right in the back.” 

“Hmm.” Charon leaned against a wall, watching you work. 

“If I deconstruct this, then attach this…shit, this would be easier with a solder gun,” you muttered, pulling the old wires out of the old, shot up dish, and twisting them into place on the new one. “But here we are. Aaaand…there.” 

Charon raised his eyebrow muscles when you stood, dragging the new dish over to the hole in the wall. Carefully climbing over the huge pieces of wiring that looped up onto the floor from the outside like great snakes, you balanced precariously, carefully hanging the new dish where the old one had been. When you slowly took your hands away, it stayed in place perfectly, as if it was always meant to be there. 

“Perfect!” 

That was when it clicked where you were. 

Looking down to your right, you saw the tiny wasteland before you. All the trenches and debris looked as small as post-meal crumb patterns on a table. Super mutants that towered over you, and even Charon, crawled about through it like miniature ants. Suddenly, you became very aware that it was a very, very long way down between you and the ground. Staring at the dirt down below, you also came to the realization of what exactly you’d risked by getting into a restored elevator in a half-crumbled many-stories-tall monument.

“Is the room spinning, or is it just me?” you said, half to yourself. Were you getting tunnel vision, or was the ground actually starting to get a little closer?

A strong arm slammed around your waist just as you began to fall over the edge of the wall. Charon carried you back to the relative safety of the solid concrete floor, slung over his arm like a temporarily unused jacket. He set you on your feet again, but the dizziness caught up, and you immediately stumbled into the wall. Bile crawled up your throat as your brain went fuzzy, and the world seemed to spin around you, even with your eyes shut.

“What is wrong with you?” he growled, eyes flitting over you. “You could have died.” 

All you could do was stare at him in shock. He’d just spoken to you for the first time in weeks–

“If you get dizzy at heights, it’s irresponsible to then do maintenance work at heights.”

“Hey,” you interrupted. Not that you wanted to–who knew if or when he’d speak again if you did. “I didn’t know. It’s not like I have a lot of climbing opportunities involving that kind of height.” 

He simply blinked his foggy eyes at you. “Doesn’t Rivet City have heights?”

“Well, yeah. But those are different. None of them are up as high as this.” 

“I see.” You couldn’t explain it, but something in his expression told you that he was filing this information away for later. “Can you walk now?”

“Maybe.” 

Pushing off the dirty floor, you tried to stand, but your brain decided that this was the optimal time to remind you of the scope of your current height despite not seeing the ground. Just the thought of the elevator, and how far of a drop it would be if those old cables snapped, was enough to give you jelly legs. You sank back down to the floor. “I guess not. At least not until I can stop thinking about heights.” 

In saying this, you’d been prepared to spend the night up here on the roof of the Washington Monument, listening to the newly-restored Galaxy News Radio and sleeping on the mattresses that lay over in the corner next to an emergency lamp. You were not expecting what happened next, when Charon simply scooped you up bridal-style, and began walking towards the elevator as if you weighed nothing. 

“Let’s go, then. Won’t get better by sitting up here.” 

[steampoweredace]

Turns out while I can normally handle heights in video games just fine

This place? Is the exception to that. Did not feel great up on this... whatever this shape counts as. Or getting down from said shape.

[cuntfan]

I think I just got marked by the vast today

[brazenskald]

Flight Risk

Ever been on the edge of a highrise, staring down a thousand-metre vertical that could leave you flatter than a burnt crepe on the sidewalk? If your stomach just jumps at the thought, good for you. You have a healthy sense of vertigo. Me? Never felt anything other than a skin-tingling urge to see if I could make it up that high and live to kiss the ground far below. Yeah, you could say my priorities were a little screwed-up. But then again, I was also staring down the barrel of a gun. Not a metaphorical one either. Pretty sure this was a Glock, or maybe a Smith & Wesson. I wasn’t paying too much attention, since the hand holding the gun was attached to my very beautiful, very angry ex.

Henry’s never been one to mince words, even when we were on better terms. Kissing terms, I liked to say. Straight to the point, Henry was. It didn’t surprise me that even with the wind buffeting our clothes, he held my gaze in the way that a python might, as it contemplated the best way to squeeze life from its prey.

“Ray,” He shouted, to be heard over the wind. “Hand over the loci!” You’d be forgiven for asking yourself what the fuck a locus, plural loci, is or are. I myself had the faintest clue, but we don’t need to get into that now. The relevant point was in my eloquent reply.

“Henry, if I had the loci, I’d have to let go of this ledge to hand it to you, and we both know that could end in the very swift and very sudden demise neither of us wants!” Henry was the laconic one. My gifts lay elsewhere.

“Give them here or I’ll push you off this tower myself!” Henry, bless his heart, couldn’t make a threat heavier than the gun he still held leveled on me, and nothing made that clearer than his reliance on gravity rather than good old fashioned lead. I reached down into my breast pocket to feel the cold edges of the loci, still secreted away right where I’d stashed them.

“Counter-offer, why not let me go and we can discuss all of this business in the relative comfort of a steamy bubble bath? You’ve still got the keys to my place, right?” I’d never asked for them back. He’d never offered to return them. I took it for what it was. A tacit admission that he wasn’t willing to break things off. He just needed a break. Promotion from beat cop to lead investigator hadn’t improved his patience, and I was used to his pattern of slinking back after a hard case. We had our rhythms, and we made it work. These bizarro stones weren’t going to change that.

“Ray…” Henry growled, a fire lit behind his eyes that signaled we were inching close to a breaking point. It was the same tone he fell into after I walked in with a few too many bags from a boutique, or if he spotted me liberating articles from some yuppie’s waistcoat while they ogled my tits.

“Henry, I’ll give them back, once I’ve had a chance to take a good look at them. You know I always do.” This was a lie. Henry usually snuck out with any number of pilfered goods when he thought I was sleeping, which I never was. He kicked like a mule while asleep, and I was an early riser. “Besides Hen, when have I ever lied to-”

In the movies, badasses fire off gunshots that knock bad guys clean off their feet. No such thing in real life. Small calibre rounds in particular hit you like angry prods of a finger, only they sting a hell of a lot more, and you bleed all over yourself. The shock of being hit, along with my bewilderment that Henry had actually shot me, the prick, caused me to forget the precarious situation I was in. That all-important sense of vertigo that is supposed to keep you alive? It rushed back with a vengeance right in time for me to tumble out of reach of any possible handholds. I plunged into the void, watching Henry’s face morph into horror at what he’d done. Should I have felt grim acceptance? Maybe. Somebody else might’ve. I flipped him off, and twisted to face the rapidly approaching street below.

Everything moves slower when you’re in moments of tremendous stress or peril, another truism which smartass psychologists swear is post-hoc neuro-processing, some such gobbledygook that amounts to the brain casting off the usual filters to take in all possible details. The gist? Your brain doesn’t speed up, it actually slows down, or at least the amount of information you absorb at the same constant rate increases, leading to that change in perception. What that tells me, a college drop-out with a passing interest in neurocognitive processes where they interact with biocybernetics, is that my fall lasted about the usual amount of time, but my reflexes were firing in response to far more stimuli than normal.

My hand reached into my breast pocket and seized the loci, those blighted jewels that had indirectly caused my current predicament. I can’t say what I consciously expected, other than that I wanted to have the cause of my untimely demise in hand at the moment it all came crashing down. I must have gripped them more tightly than before, the edges digging into my palms and drawing blood. What happened next was difficult to process, even afterward.

I felt the skin of my hand peeling off, like I’d dipped my hand into boiling oil. I watched the sidewalk rush toward me at about the speed of the typical maglev train, and despite my smugness of seconds past, I closed my eyes. My chest lurched like I’d suddenly started falling upwards. The wind rushing past my ears fell silent. That seemed a lot less… violent than I had anticipated. Is death usually so anticlimactic?

I opened my eyes. A cackle tore free of my throat, lurched out right ahead of a wave of bile. I spat when my stomach was empty. The pool of vomit had splattered to the sidewalk beneath me, while I hovered several feet overhead.

“Eat your heart out Henry,” I rasped, throat hoarse from puking. “I am going to steal so much shit, you’ll never be able to give it all back.”

[torchickentacos]

current song obsession is Vertigo by Griff

[wtf-amiru]

Exercised my wife privilege last night and tele-ed directly to the top of kugane tower bc I just don’t do jump puzzles, not for me at all, but the hubs is very good at them. Unfortunately A’miru is not the biggest fan of heights lmao

@picturesofashe