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#Both of them led these two into a false sense of security manipulated and tried using them-
fluffyk97 · 3 years
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and both need therapy-
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Magnificent Scoundrels- The Arrival
Here we finally have it.  All of the governments meet for the first time.  If you want to see more of one particular person or group, or just have any cool ideas to throw in, ask away!  Enjoy the story!
Mass Effect Galaxy
The Citadel
It had been rather the hectic week (and month) for the entire universe.  Everyone had scrambled for information; the fight to find out exactly what to expect from their sudden new neighbors.  Agents had been sent out, intelligence had been collected, reports had been made, and, out of the blue, one government, the Citadel Council, had invited most of the major players from the various galaxies to the negotiations table.  Reactions had… varied.  Greatly.  But, in the end, all of the invitees had arrived on schedule.  
Commander Shepard was quite glad the Council had taken his suggestion to beef up the Citadel Fleet seriously.  The different governments had each arrived with their own starship or, in many cases, starships.  The starships were as varied as the governments themselves.  The Galactic Assembly had arrived in several plain metal, box-like starships, led by Adam Vir’s Omen.  Respectable.  Nothing the Fleet couldn’t handle.  
The government from Quill’s home galaxy had shown in one rather small ship.  He still didn’t know the government’s name.  Curious.  He quietly vowed to find out.
The United Federation of Planets had, too, arrived in a small fleet of their strange, saucer-strapped-to-engines starships led by James Kirk’s Enterprise.  Once more, sensible.  Respectable.  Easily handled.  
So too did both the Frontier Militia and Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation arrive.  They had been directed to opposite docking bays, considering their history.  A wise move.  Someone had their head firmly on their shoulders.  
Thomas Drake had led a small collection of luxury ships, his clients, into their docking bays.  No problem.  No military threat.  
The UNSC had arrived in two ships.  Blocky and boxy, they too were directed to their places without incident.  
The New Republic arrived in a motley collection of ships in various shapes and sizes.  One minor bureaucratic hassle later, they were docked.  
It was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the last two that were a problem.  Three massive, kilometer long Star Destroyers had heralded the arrival of the Galactic Empire.  The largest ship in Shepard’s galaxy was the Destiny Ascension, also a kilometer long.  It was the long held belief that no one could match it, as the requirements for building something bigger would be astounding.  Now, the Empire had three such ships, each more powerful, with larger guns, internal fighter hangars, and enough troops inside to pacify a planet.  
The next arrival had blown everyone else out of the water.  The Imperium of Man had shown up in a six-and-a-half kilometer floating cathedral.  Shepard had seen nothing like it, and didn’t quite understand why anyone would build a starship like that.  It was as if someone had taken a gothic basilica, made it starship-sized, then slapped on an unholy amount of guns.  Shepard didn’t know what was on board, either.  Matter of fact, he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know what was on board.  
What’s more is, due to their large size and masters’ temperament, the Imperial ships would not and could not dock.  So now they hung threateningly over the Citadel, turbo-lasers and lance batteries pointing menacingly into space.  Shepard did not at all envy Matriarch Lidanya, captain of the Destiny Ascension, or, for that matter, any of the other fleet captains of the different governments.  Tangling with the Chimaera or the Watch Eternal, the flagship of the Empire and the Imperium’s dreadnought respectively, was a daunting prospect.   
So far as yet, no one had killed each other, a situation that Shepard fervently hoped would remain in place.  Currently, he was standing outside the security gates, lounging next to various members of his crew and a very amused Adam Vir.  Security was another hassle.  The Council, quite reasonably, wanted the members of each delegation to surrender their weapons at the customs area.  The delegates, also quite reasonably, did not want to go unarmed into unknown territory.  Things had come to a head after the Imperium of Man had shown up with a cadre of heavily armed and heavily armored troopers who looked positively excited at the prospect of going full rock-and-roll mode against everything moving.  Citadel Security had tried to disarm them, the Tempestus Scion bodyguards had almost shot the Turian security officer, Cain had calmed things down, C-Sec had once more tried to disarm them, the Galactic Empire had pointed out that their black-armored Death Trooper bodyguards would also not be surrendering their weapons, C-Sec had called for Spectre backup, both Shepard and Cain had convinced everyone else to let the bodyguards keep their weapons, abielt under the watchful eyes of armed C-Sec agents, and Peter Quill and Adam Vir had a massive laugh at the commotion.  
Currently, Thomas Drake and his employers (the Merchant’s Guild, remembered Shepard) were going through security with little hassle.  The generally old and quite calculating-looking members of the Guild had no weapons, and Drake and his armsmen were being remarkably compliant.  They went through quickly, and Drake slid up to Shepard and Vir.  
“So… how many weapons did you manage to smuggle in?” asked Shepard conversationally.  Drake sniffed.
“Enough to kill, oh, at least everyone within sight,” replied Drake as if he were talking about the weather.  Shepard grunted, then turned towards the security checkpoint to watch the New Republic diplomats enter.
“You mind telling me how?” he asked.  Drake gave one of his devious grins.
“A good magician never reveals their secrets!”  Vir rolled his eyes in response.  Security was, unfortunately, or, depending on your point of view, fortunately, not quite perfect.  Vir had been allowed to take his Iron Eye suit through, Cooper any other Pilots coming through were still wearing their Pilot Suits, Master Chief was in full combat gear (so, his normal clothing), Drake had god-only-knew-what on him, and almost everyone was allowed to retain their sidearms.  
That wasn’t even including the super powered people now walking around the flowing streets of the Citadel.  Shepard had known of super soldiers (indeed, several of the Scoundrels themselves could be considered as such), but people with what could be considered superpowers were a little more unnerving.  There were biotics where he came from: individuals who could create and manipulate mass effect fields using their bodies.  They had super powers, in a sense.  But some of the people here…  Along with the New Republic came an unassuming man wearing a simple black tunic and knee length black boots.  Shepard knew, with information from Solo, that this was Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, someone who could move things with their mind and do all sorts of other ridiculous things.  With the delegation from Quill’s galaxy came a blond haired woman wearing a blue and red jumpsuit; a superhero, if he’d ever seen one, an ebony-skinned, dark-haired diplomat who, despite his laid back attitude, simply screamed ‘deadly!’, and Thor, the literal Norse god of thunder.  How, precisely, was one supposed to fight something like that?  Just go up and politely ask a lighting god to stop?  Unlikely.  
He was snapped out of his reverie by a nudge from Vir.
“Hey.  They’re starting the tour,” he said, and pointed to a Council diplomat leading the delegates through the Citadel, narrating like a tour guide as she did.  Shepard almost laughed aloud at the sight of the various groups walking together, from stark uniforms to over-elaborate dress robes.  He gave a nod to his crew members, and they hefted their weapons and slowly followed the tour.  Vir talked as they walked.
“You know, this is great,” he started with an excited grin.  “This place, all these species working together, talking together, living together…  it’s, well, great.  I said that already, didn’t I?”  He barely paused for breath, then continued.  “The GA has a space station for diplomacy, a… neutral ground, for lack of a better word, but nothing like… this.”  He gestured at the false sky, the massive open areas, and the breathtaking architecture.  “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”  Garrus Valkarian chuckled behind them and Shepard gave a rueful shake of his head.  
“Adam Vir.  Never change,” he said as he straightened out to follow the tour.  They walked slowly, following the delegates at a safe distance.  Vir dropped back as Sunny slid up to him.  
“What do you think?” he murmured.  She glazed, amused, at some of the diplomats and bodyguards giving her wary looks.  The Drev were by far the biggest and tallest race here, something she was endlessly entertained by.  
“They seem nice enough.  The Citadel Council shouldn’t be a problem.  Most of the more diplomatic ones should be fine as well.”  She gave a low chortle.  “I’m not even afraid of the Imperium.  Cain ought to put in a good word for us.”  Vir smiled back.
“True.  But, just in case, have Kanon stand by.”  Sunny nodded.  
“Don’t worry.  The Drev clan will be ready to go.”  And with full weapons, too.  No one thought spears were a significant enough problem to warrant disarmament.  More fool them, then.   
The members of the Merchant’s Guild were barely listening to the guide; their looks instead shrewdly appraising everything in sight.  Martin Crossgrow turned to Drake, lips pursed in calm consideration.  
“How much do you think it would cost to build this place?”  Drake didn’t hesitate with an answer.
“Fifty to seventy-five quadrillion Federal credits to build a station exactly like this.  Thirty billion to build a warhead powerful enough to blow it all up.”  Crossgrow gave a low, humorless laugh in response, and turned to one of his immaculately tailored colleagues.  
“You see, this is why I hire Drake.  He knows what he’s talking about.”
Outwardly, Commissar Ciaphas Cain was an epitome of calm.  Inwardly, he was roiling.  There were just so.  Many.  Xenos.  Everywhere.  Walking openly in the streets as if they didn’t have acare in the world, eating, shopping, even mingling with humans.  Even the supposedly pro-human Galactic Empire was being led by a tall, blue-skinned humanoid alien wearing a neatly pressed Admiral’s uniform.  The Imperial delegation, of which he was security chief, was being escorted by even more xenos.  Of course, since he was security chief, if anything went wrong, he would have to deal with it.  Wonderful.  
“Hello, Ciaphas.”  The voice broke his thoughts, and he turned to face one of the robed diplomats he was assigned to protect.  A rush of emotions and memories was brought to the surface: an undercover cabernet singer with a beautiful voice, stinking tunnels filled with genestealers and untrustworthy criminals, a figure in golden power armor massacring her way through hordes of enemies. 
“Amberley?” he asked, flabbergasted.  The diplomat threw back her hood, revealing a familiar face, framed by blond neat blond hair.  Amberley Vail, Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, smiled up at him.  
“Surprised to see me here?” she asked.  
“Uh… yes, actually,” replied Cain.  Vail laughed.  
“Did you really think diplomats would be sent to a meeting this important without… oversight?”  Cain’s stomach turned to ice.  HIs palms started to tingle, a sure sign that something was wrong.  
“What do you mean by that?” he inquired tentatively.  Vail subtly nodded to another robed diplomat.
“You remember Rasmus, don’t you?”  The robed man turned, face hidden beneath the robe and a neat black beard, and nodded once.  Of course Cain remembered; how could he forget that horrible business?  More memories flashed through his head.  An insane governor, selling his soul into eternal damnation for the promise of pleasure, hacking his way through living shrubbery, Jurgen and Amberely hot on his heels, and, of course, Inquisitor Rasmus Vekkman fighting an unholy abomination with strange, archaic weapons.  Vail nodded once more and gestured to another delegate.
“And of course, we need to complete the triumvirate of Ordos Majoris.  You’ve never met her, but that’s Inquisitor Melflic Aetius of Hereticus,” finished Vail.  Cain was fairly certain his blood had frozen in his veins.  One Inquisitor was a problem.  Three though… That was three individuals with unlimited authority and the full backing of the Imperium of Man.  Three Inquisitors on the same mission was completely unheard of.  Apparently, his thoughts did not register on his face, for Amberley continued.  
“On the Watch Eternal we also have a regiment of Tempestus Scions.”  Cain was only saved from stopping short, jaw hanging out, by his long-learned masterful control over his emotions.  Scions, also known as Tempestus Stormtroopers, were the deadliest and highest-trained normal human soldiers within the Imperium.  Now there was an entire regiment of them aboard the starship hanging in orbit above the Citadel.  He stopped short for a moment at Vail’s next words.  “And a full Deathwatch Kill-team,” she stated nonchalantly.  The Deathwatch was something else entirely.  Made up of Space Marines, eight foot tall genetically engineered, power armor-wearing transhuman super soldiers, the Deathwatch was the Inquisition’s specialized anti-alien group.  Cain could understand Scions.  Perhaps an Inquisitor, and a small group of Space Marines.  But now there were three Inquisitors, a full regiment of Scions, and, by what he inferred, a very beefed up and probably quite veteran Kill-team.  Oh dear Emperor, this is going to end badly.  
“Anything else I should know about?” he all but hissed at Amberley.  She pursed her lips, considering.  
“I suppose.  You are our chief of security, after all,” she replied, her eyes full of mischief.  And what a terrible idea it was to take that job, Cain fumed.  “There’s also an Assassinorum Execution Force.”  Is it even possible to be any more surprised?  ‘Cause if it is, I’m about to win an award.  Cain knew little about the mysterious and highly lethal Officio Assassinorum; hell, most citizens didn’t even know it existed.  What he did know, however, was that it trained some of the most potent killers in the galaxy.  That’s all he ever wanted to know, for people who went polking into the workings of such organizations rarely returned alive.  
“Do you mind telling me exactly why there are so many deadly groups here?” he muttered, conscious of drawing too much attention.  Vail smiled again, but this time there was nothing in her eyes save the coldest ice.  
“Of course, my dear Ciaphas.  It’s simple.  All of these xenos better be honest and on the level.  Or else.” 
And there it is.  Sort of a cold war situation going on; every faction is trying to be as diplomatic as possible and present the best face possible, but if something goes wrong, their all dropping in their most elite soldiers.  Next story we’ll go over more reactions and explore some of the people and groups I didn’t cover here.  If you have any comments, criticisms, concerns, questions, or requests, feel free to ask!  
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Calluna
Pairing: Saeran Choi/Reader
Fairytale AU.
Description:
The Prince has been bound to the castle walls, and he’s never been able to leave from it. The only place that he has to escape to are the books that he reads and the garden that he’s allowed to venture into every evening. But, what happens when he encounters someone that has eyes that know a world unlike his own?
Inspired by a drawing by @sensetenou​
Chapter Index
Chapter One: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Two: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Three: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Four: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Five: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Six: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Seven: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Eight: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Nine: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Ten: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Eleven: Tumblr | AO3 Chapter Twelve: Here! | AO3
Chapter Twelve
Impatience. 
Meaning irritation with the irrationality of the people that worked for the palace. 
Saeran could say with the utmost certainty that he despised anyone who wouldn’t connect the dots and figure out what it was that he wanted. He was the king, they were supposed to guess his needs and be ready to sate them at a moment’s notice. So much for that. These people were far too complacent and daft.
How dare they not listen to him and know what to do? Honestly, he thought with a scowl as he settled back on the throne, one hand tucked into his chin against the armrest as he spread his legs. It had been only a day and a half since he had awoken from his slumber and yet, it was hardly enough time to let him know what he wanted. 
Ray had let gone complacent and it showed in how nobody respected him. By all means, it was the reason that he was hurt in the first place. The little airhead had trusted a thief and what did that get him in the end? Oh, yeah, it got him a broken heart and the inability to function. 
That was why he had to come out and fix everything. 
As if awoken from a slumber that had been against his will for more than he was comfortable with, all he knew was the magic pouring into his veins made him stand at alert and with frothing rage. All he knew was that he had to destroy every single thing that caused him to wake up in the first place. 
And why was he on the throne? 
Because Ray let himself trust the villain and it burned him. He got too close to the sun and it burned him to a crisp. It had proven that he shouldn’t be in charge anymore, Saeran thought, if he couldn’t be trusted to function and keep himself safe, then Saeran was going to have to take it into his own hands to ensure that never happened again. 
He would start with the problem that had started it all. 
The queen had sent out her men to scour the land for the rest of Red Hood’s gang and he knew that that would likely take a while to fully discern. There was no telling how far their reach went and he’d already started to formulate a plan for what would become of every last one of them. Oh, Ray wanted to save all the people from their chains like a good boy. 
But, so many of those deviants and ruffians were happy to do what they were. The glimmer in their eyes was the true monster, their greed knew no bounds. If someone was willing to go as high as the prince to destroy everything to gain all the money in the world that they could ever dream of, then they were going to face the music for their crimes with no mercy. 
They were asking for it, simple as that. 
This is why he was excited, nearly giddy with sadistic glee at the thought of what he would do to you when he saw you again. The late-night prior had been too fraught with Ray’s devastation for him to fully appreciate the freedom that he now held in his hands and he was going to take his time learning who you were and how to make you repent for your sins. 
The thought of your begging and pleading that was soon to fill the halls of this room made him so enthused that he almost allowed himself to laugh. 
The queen had been right, there was nobody that he could trust in this world except for the person that had always been there for him. No amount of staring at the shell that you had given Ray told him anything about you or the person that you had led him to believe you were. Some thief that had wrapped him around their finger by gaining his pity. 
A wolf in sheep’s clothing, someone who knew how to manipulate others to get what they wanted. It was you that had said that you were inspired by Robin Hood. You delighted in taking from those that had and giving to those that had not, but it seemed like you were the only one that you considered a had not. No surprise, really, given what he knew of Red Hood. 
Stained with Greed and desire, you took everything you wanted from others until it wasn’t enough and you had to move onto the next thing. You had almost done that to Ray. Tricked him and taken him for a fool before you almost parted with the crown that was to be his. It was now in Saeran’s hands and you were going to face his wrath for your choices in life. 
You would regret ever crossing his path in the first place. You would wish that you had turned yourself into the guards instead of letting Ray take you to safety. They would have made your suffering over in a moment and he would surely prolong it to make sure that you knew exactly what your actions meant to everyone here. 
No amount of punishing the goons that they caught in the streets satisfied him enough. It would be nothing until he could take down the boss. That would be you, and you were just waiting for him to give you the end of your suffering in the darkness. Too bad the darkness was protecting you from the true terror. 
“...”
The sound of footsteps broke him from his thoughts.
Just on time, he thought as you were brought into the room and carelessly dropped onto the hard stone without a warning. You grit your teeth to hide the pain but he knew the look in your eyes and that was one that couldn’t hide the pain that you understood to be your fault. If you hadn’t done any of this, then you wouldn’t be pitifully groveling at his feet for your life, now, would you?  
This was his first time seeing you since his anger flared. The first real-time that he was getting a good look at you, some petty criminal, and it was hard to imagine you as the mighty Red Hood when you weren’t even fighting back. Where was the fun if you submitted so quickly? There was nothing in that that would sate his thirst for retribution. 
“You may leave,” he dismissed the guard with the wave of his hand. “I wish to speak to the criminal alone.” 
“As you wish, my liege.” 
You hadn’t lifted your head to meet his gaze, no, you continued to stare at the ground in front of yourself with your hands wrapped tight around your shoulders. 
You were trying to make yourself small to hide the fear in your heart. Good, you should have been scared. Your life was in his hands and this was a power that he relished in. There was so much that he could do that he still wasn’t entirely sure what would please him the most. For now, he wanted to learn what made you tick so that he could break you. 
Break you in the same way that you broke Ray. 
So you knew what it felt like to have your pathetic heart crushed into a thousand pieces. 
Saeran would say that you had a sense of preservation. As you knew better than to look at him or say a word, why would you? You both understood the line of power that existed between the two of you, as you were one that told Ray that you very well understood how much power he held compared to you in this land.
He rose from his seat and circled you, getting a good sense of what you were. “Is this all that the mighty Red Hood has to offer? I have to say, for a crime lord, you don’t fit the bill at all. Groveling around like some pitiful beggar, and as much as I want to see you beg and plead for my mercy… Well, I thought you would put up more of a fight now that you’re secret has been revealed to the kingdom.” 
You didn’t respond. 
He gritted his teeth. Were you patronizing him? He wasn’t Ray. He wasn’t going to let you lead him into a false state of security. Saeran snapped to attention and yanked your face up so that you would have to look at him, and of course, you winced and whined when his fist gripped your cheeks too hard for your liking. 
“All I see is a pitiful thief that got fucking lucky,” he sneered. “And that luck ran out the moment you tried to turn against Ray. Don’t get me wrong, he’s also a pitiful bug but he’s not the one that’s been lying and scheming for weeks, now is he?” 
You blinked. 
Silence. 
Then confused lined your features as two and two started to come together, you couldn’t rationalize where your so-called precious Ray had gone. Now, that tasted all the sweeter to him. If you knew that your actions had brought out his anger and the protector, well, the shame and guilt that he wanted to throw on you… haha… he wanted to see you squirm for it. 
“What…” your voice spoke in a broken whisper, searching his face for someone that you would not find no matter how hard you looked. “What are you saying? You’re… You’re Ray.” 
Saeran only smirked. He tipped his head back and laughed at your face. It hadn’t clicked yet? You hadn’t realized? Did you really think that Ray could do what he was doing? Now, that was an insult that he didn’t appreciate.
“Me? Oh, no, Sparrow. I’m not your precious Ray. I’m somebody much stronger… much better. I suppose some people have called me the better Ray, but I’m not Ray. My name is Saeran.” 
“Saeran…?” 
His name sounded foreign and unsure on your tongue but he loved the way it sounded. It filled him with delight to know that you had started to understand the price of your actions, as just the crown that lay on his head had been the very thing to open up his eyes to the true cruelty of this world. It was as easy as a name rolling off your tongue. 
“I won’t repeat myself,” he continued to say, eyes focused on your own. “So, how does it make you feel to know that you’re the reason that Ray isn’t around anymore? You shattered his little heart into tiny pieces with what you did and you’ll pay for it, don’t get me wrong about that. But, you can’t blame me for wanting to get to know the person that caused me to appear.” 
“I…” you stopped yourself short. 
What were you going to say? 
What was your excuse? 
You had none. 
You had been caught red-handed, multiple witnesses, and people speaking out against you, there was no excuse that you could say that would prove innocence in his eyes. Yet, he wanted to hear what you had to say so that he could laugh in your face at the weak attempt of besting the king. It was the price you’d pay and you knew it. 
The dejected look in your eyes said it all. "You're not going to believe me no matter what I tell you, right?" 
He chuckled, "Maybe you're not entirely stupid, then. You're right, but humor me, what would you tell me to save your skin? I can't remember what you tried to sell Ray the other night. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't enough to make him believe you. How does it feel? Knowing that you broke a man all for a crown and a couple of jewels? Knowing that you damned yourself?”
“That’s not what happened,” you tried, but he shoved you away, and your back collided with the hard ground once more. You covered a wince though it did nothing to hide your terror that was slowly but surely growing. 
“That’s not what happened,” he taunted. 
Saeran scoffed at the pitiful look in your eyes. Even to the end, you were going to lie and pretend that you did nothing wrong, weren’t you? He expected you to put up a fight instead of playing around to be the pitiful sob-story. As if he was going to believe you. You tried to lie right to Ray’s face and he did not doubt that you would continue to act that way.
It made sense to him, how else would someone like you kill the original Red Hood? You played like an innocent child and stole his power for your own. Yet, a part of him thought it didn’t make sense. Someone as weak as you killing somebody for their power? You seemed hardly strong enough to bust out a window, much less a man.
He turned away from you, his eyes resting on the window that showed the world outside the castle walls. He strode over and watched from the high balcony as members of the guard were hard at work trying to piece together lists and plans to hunt down the remaining members of Red Hood’s gang. It was just as he ordered them to do. 
They had already caught some of the former members but there was a long way to go. That man with red hair and golden eyes had promised to turn over anyone that he knew to work for Red Hood, and the queen was hard at work with him, hunting down anyone that was against the crown. He left that work to them, but the punishment was his. 
He got to decide how they ended. 
“Stand up,” he ordered you.
You didn’t listen to his command, so he repeated himself, and his stern voice made you scramble to your feet. You stood behind him, a gasp on your lips as you saw the sight down below. People in chains and shackles trapped in what was once a lovely courtyard filled to the brim with flowers and nature. 
It was nothing more than thorns and bramble now. Your bound hands wouldn’t allow you to cover your whimper. 
He smirked, “Like it? I do. We’re starting to round up all the traitors and liars that have been working for you in the village one by one. I won’t rest until we’ve caught all of them. They’re all just as guilty and greedy as the leader that charged them. So, you know what that means. Once we’ve made an example of you, they’ll be begging for forgiveness that will never be given.” 
“You… you can’t do this, this isn’t right,” you tried, but he silenced you just as quickly as you spoke with his anger rising alongside his blood pressure. He wasn’t looking at you but he feel how you were starting to shake and tremble. “Those… those people… they don’t work for Red Hood. You can’t just punish everyone.”
Saeran snapped to attention. He looked back at you, mint eyes darkened and face covered in a kind of unspeakable rage. He cocked his head, waiting for you to try and say more but when you didn’t dare say more, he gripped your shoulder tight. “Listen, Red Hood, I don’t give a damn if they were working for you directly or not. There are dozens of people out there that let you blindly steal and deceive them knowingly. If they let you exist without question, they’re all guilty.” 
“That’s not—”
“That’s not fair? That’s not right? Who are you to tell me what’s right and what’s wrong? You? The pathetic thief that lies, that cheats, that steals, and that continues to pretend to be something they’re not? You think you have the right to tell me, your king, that I’m in the wrong? No, that’s not how it fucking works,” His voice spoke with bitterness and vitriol. 
He was so loud that it echoed off the stone walls. 
You couldn’t look away from him. This wasn’t the Ray that you had come to know and love so dearly, no, this was a man that felt vindicated by his fury and felt righteous and just in his actions. It wasn’t the man you knew, but, he wasn’t the man you knew. He was someone else and because of that, you had no choice but to listen. 
“And, you know what’s better, [Y/N]? You could only know who works for Red Hood if you were Red Hood,” his voice dropped to a whisper. He laughed when you tried to back away but his grip would not allow you to do so. “So, stop lying to yourself and me. Be honest. Maybe I’ll spare you if you come clean and beg for my forgiveness.” 
Beg. 
You just kept looking at him pathetically. You wouldn’t beg and plead. Why were you fighting this and prolonging it? 
Beg.
“...” 
He should have known that you would continue to do this. 
Beg. 
Your eyes had centered on his crown, the one that had been given to him by the queen, by the loss of his father that had protected him until his last day. You were still thinking about taking it from him, he knew it. You were trying to trick him so you could take it and run, you thieving, lying, pathetic, dumb, monstrous person. 
They’re lying, a voice whispered. They want your power… they want your crown… they’re trying to trick you as they tricked Ray… be cruel… be mean… be malicious… break them down and make them pay for their crimes. 
Even though you trembled, even though you had every right to be scared, you kept looking at him with the smallest trace of hope that didn’t seem to shatter. Your voice was quiet now, but you shook your head. “I’m not Red Hood, I’m being completely honest with you! I’m not him! That man is lying to you, the queen is lying to—”
LIAR!
A resounding sound boomed in the room as he slapped you down onto the ground once more, his breathing heavy and his eyes wild with anger and confusion. His breathing became ragged and hard, something burning in the back of his head that made him want to scream and shout. He didn’t know why, nor did he understand why the voice was so loud. 
All he knew was that he was angry and the voice said it was your fault. 
“You,” he seethed, pointing a finger at you as the doors to the chamber opened and some guards came in to check on the commotion. “You’re a liar, you’re a traitorous liar that thinks that you can deceive me even as I hold your life in my hands! Unworthy of my pity! Your days are numbered, do you fucking understand me? When the sun has risen, I will decide your punishment and you will accept it, kicking or screaming, you will reap what you’ve sown.” 
The guards took you away almost as soon as they brought you to him, and that took off some of the headache that had started to brew in his mind. The pain eased but the feeling of confusion lingered in its place when you were gone. It was like he couldn’t hear anything but the sounds of his own anger and rage over the voice telling him what to do. 
He needed to destroy you to kill the voice that commanded him. 
It was the only way for the pain to stop and leave him be. 
However, why did his heart feel empty now that you were gone?
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mymoodwriting · 4 years
Text
{WinWin}
    Sicheng stood and stretched, now that he was free from his confinement. A low chuckle escaped his lips and he glanced over at you, his little helper. Your eyes were glassy, unfocused, but you were trying to gain clarity, trying to understand what you had just done. Your attempts just caused a headache. You tried to fight through the pain, as if grabbing your head would help, but it only got worse, making you whimper in agony.
“No, no, no, don’t do that.”
    Sicheng grabbed your hands, having your focus shift to him, which ultimately helped ease the pain. He ran a hand through your hair, watching you fondly. You were so lost, so confused, but that’s just what he wanted. He pulled you into his arms, rubbing your back.
“It takes all those pills just to make me a little docile and obedient, I can only imagine what it would do to your little brain.”
“Sicheng…”
“Sh, doesn’t it hurt to think? To use that pretty little brain of yours. Although I suppose it’s much prettier now that it’s mine.”
“Uh… no… I…”
“The medicine will take a very long time to wear off for you, that is if permanent damage hasn’t been caused.” He smirked. “Don’t worry about it kitten, I’ll do all the thinking for you. Now just tell me you’ll do whatever I say.”
“I… I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Good girl. See? No pain at all. Now let’s go.” He kissed your forehead, staring down at your cute, blank, little look. “Smile for me.”
    A soft smile spread across your face, satisfying him. He took your hand and led you out of the room. As long as you stayed by his side he knew escaping wouldn’t be a problem.
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    Sicheng ran through that door, so worried about you, your screams echoing in his mind. Although he quickly found himself held back. As his new reality set in he realized he was chained down to a concrete chair. In a panic he began to pull on them but they wouldn’t budge, he was trapped. This couldn’t be real, he had to find you, wherever you were, he knew you were in danger. His panic only grew and it culminated into him screaming to the heavens.
    As he leaned back to catch his breathe, trying to think of his next move, the lights in the room suddenly turned red. He could hear a commotion outside, his eyes finally landing on the small table, a glass of water sitting on a tray, and the door behind it. Whatever was going on, he needed to know, he needed to escape. You were here somewhere, and he couldn’t stay locked up forever.
    Nothing made sense, but it was the Frame, so everything made sense to someone, to whoever was in control. Even though Kun usually took control, the rest could always manipulate smaller things in the world. He was only trapped because he thought he was. Sicheng took a deep breathe and closed his eyes, when he opened them the chains around him were gone. He was happy with the results but couldn’t dwell on them, running towards the door.
    When he opened it he was momentarily blinded by the bright white halls. The place looked like some kind of hospital, and the glowing red light didn’t make it feel any better. There were some people around, but they all seemed panicked. One of them said something about an asset out of containment that had taken a hostage. He could put two and two together, going in the opposite direction of everyone else.
    He knew he was going the right way when he came across multiple people dressed in black uniforms on the ground. Some were barely conscious, others knocked out, and a few actually seemed dead. What was most interesting was the fact that those who were somewhat awake would flinch or tense up as he passed, as if they were afraid of him. He felt bad, but he had to remind himself these people weren’t real, no one here was real besides himself and you.
    Sicheng continued following the bodies until he found what he wanted. As he turned a corner a body fell to the floor in front of him. Down the hall he saw himself, lowering his leg, an amused smirk on his face. Their eyes met, so his double acknowledged his presence, but didn’t seem to care. Although what was important was the hostage, you. He saw you quietly standing behind Sɨcheng, completely out of it.
“Let’s go.” Sɨcheng ordered. “We’re done here.”
    You moved to follow, vaguely aware of the person down the hall, but that wasn’t your concern. Merely dwelling on it for a second would hurt.
“Wait!” Sicheng called, running after you. “What are you doing!”
    Sɨcheng scoffed, but stopped. He pulled you forward, having you turn around to face him. Out of the corner of your eye you saw the other Sicheng slow down, but definitely getting closer.
“Eyes on me, kitten.” Sɨcheng whispered. “You just stay put. Okay?”
“Okay…”
“Good girl.”
    Sɨcheng cracked his neck and turned around. The sight of a doppelganger didn’t bother him at all, what was annoying was the interruption, he already had security to worry about.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Sɨcheng hissed. “I’m leaving.”
“Yeah… yeah I can see that. Although it seems you’re not supposed to.”
“I do what I want. And now, I want to leave.”
“Fine, but she stays.”
Sɨcheng laughed. “Not gonna happen.”
“You don’t need her. You got out of your chains, I’m guessing she helped you. So she’s of no use to you anymore.”
“Oh she can be very useful, and I have many ideas.”
“Let her go, and I’ll let you go.”
“You’re in no position to do anything, let alone make demands. What are you anyway? Some weird clone of mine designed to take my abilities?”
“I’m the real you, and you will let y/n go.”
“Make me.”
    Sɨcheng cracked his knuckles and got into a fighting stance, as did his doppelganger. He had beaten plenty others just moments ago, this would be easy, although he noticed something. His twin seemed eager to throw a punch, and if his theory was correct, they should be just as capable as him. Either way, all they wanted was you, so why not give them that, and give himself a show. His stance relaxed and he stepped back.
“On second thought. Kitten.” Sɨcheng turned back to you and kissed your cheek. “Kill him for me.”
“What!”
    You quickly wound up with tunnel vision for Sicheng, and ran at him. Sicheng on the other hand was suddenly very worried. He didn’t want to hurt you, but it seemed that you would hurt him. You jumped at him but he dodged last minute, grabbing you and pinning you to the wall.
“Y/n, stop this!”
“Kill him, kitten.” Sɨcheng ordered. “Or at least knock him out before more security comes.”
“Y/n-”
    You slammed your head against Sicheng and kicked him back. He crashed against the wall and then you swung for his face. You landed the first blow, but he blocked the rest. He didn’t want to fight you, but you weren’t giving him much choice.
“Y/n, please.”
“She won’t listen to you, only me.”
    Sicheng groaned, as much as he wanted to avoid this, he couldn’t. When you swung next he went under and grabbed you from behind. The best thing he could do was probably choke you out but before he got the chance you elbowed him in the face. He stumbled back, grabbing his nose, and you quickly turned around, grabbing his head and kneeing him in the gut. Sicheng got the wind knocked out of him, and for good measure, when he stood you kicked his chest and knocked him down.
“You’re a lot more capable than I could have imagined.” Sɨcheng laughed. “Come here, kitten, I think we’re done.”
    Your eyes got glassy again, Sicheng noticed, but he was still winded. You hurried back over to Sɨcheng, who pet you and ran a hand through your hair.
“Such a good girl.”
“She’s not…” Sicheng stumbled to his feet. “Your play thing.”
“But she is! Such a cute brainless kitten, needs someone to think for her. Poor little thing wouldn’t know what to do with herself otherwise. She needs me, that is unless the medication wears off.”
“Medication? You drugged her!”
“More or less, she did take a lot of pills her self.”
“Let her go!”
“Did you not hear me? She’s helpless without me, if anything I’m doing her a favor.”
“Let. Her. Go.”
“I’d say make me again, but we both know how that turned out.”
    Sicheng glared. This wasn’t real, no, this situation wasn’t real. Sɨcheng was real, even just a little bit, and you were very real. That asshole across the way was him, and he recently realized an alternative option he had, he just didn’t want to do it. As you began to walk away with Sɨcheng he took a breathe.
“Y/n. Come here.”
    You stopped, whimpering from a headache that was coming on. It didn’t get better until you took a step away from Sɨcheng and moved towards the other. Although you didn’t get far. Sɨcheng laughed and yanked you towards him, glaring at his double.
“Nice try, but she’s mine.” Sɨcheng grabbed your head, forcing you to look at him. “You only listen to me, kitten, don’t forget that.”
“I…”
“Sh, don’t think, obey.”
“Don’t fucken touch her!”
“Shut up! I should have just dealt with you myself!”
“Try it!”
    Sɨcheng pushed you behind him, smirk on his face. He stomped his foot down, making the ground shake and also creating a wave of energy to knock Sicheng into the wall again. It hurt worse than the last, but Sicheng had to remind himself nothing was real. He forced himself back up, pushing back the false pain. Once he felt steady he started walking towards you two, but Sɨcheng was ready, meeting him halfway.
“I’m going to kill you myself.”
“Bet.”
    Sicheng threw the first punch, and it was as brutal as he wanted it to be. But this fight wasn’t supposed to last. If his evil twin had powers, then he did too. When he got an opening he managed to kick Sɨcheng through a wall. He hoped that would keep him down for a moment, cause that’s all he needed. He wasted no time trying to catch his breathe, running to you and taking your hand.
“Come with me.”
    You followed Sicheng, keeping close to him, wherever he was going. As you ran down the halls, apparently also looking for some exit, it wasn’t surprising you wouldn’t be alone for long. Sɨcheng had recovered and was storming after you.
“Y/n!” His voice boomed. “Stop right there.”
    You froze and fell to your knees, grabbing your head. It felt like your brain was on fire, and you were silently screaming, tears streaming down your face. Sicheng went ahead a few steps before he realized you had stopped. When he looked back and saw you, he was scared, running to your side.
“Y/n… y/n breathe, you’re alright.”
“Sicheng…”
“Just… just listen-”
“She’s mine!”
    Sicheng could see his doppelganger approaching. He was starting to panic like before, but then he remembered he was in more control than he thought. He didn’t need to go back to where he started, any door could be his exit if he wanted it to. Despite being in pain, he didn’t have time to comfort you. He got you on your feet and dragged you through the nearest door, the last thing he saw was Sɨcheng running towards him.
    When he turned around he was in the prison, and you weren’t there with him. He dropped to his knees, feeling like everything had been for nothing, but then he caught some movement up ahead. He realized your cell was a few feet away from him, and he was relieved that he wasn’t completely alone, although you were still locked up and unconscious.
“Shouldn’t you know by now? You can’t contain me.”
    Sɨcheng casually leaned against the glass, the cell he was in right next to Sicheng. He stared down at his uncaged counterpart. Sicheng got up and glared.
“You won’t have anyone to help you this time.”
“Is that so? Then amuse me, where is my kitten?”
“She’s not a pet, let alone yours.”
“I beg to differ.”
    Sɨcheng merely smirked and stepped away from the glass. He wasn’t worried or angry. He had been locked up before, already gone through the motions of anger and screaming, no point doing it again. All he had to do was be patient, he’d get his chance, and he’d get you back.
“She belongs to me.”
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{The Escape} {Masterlist}
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aion-rsa · 4 years
Text
Mulan And The Chinese Women Warriors of History and Legend
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
While American audiences know the story of Mulan through the 1998 animated Disney film and the upcoming live-action reboot, they may not know that the films are based on a Chinese legend. Hua Mulan is a legendary figure whose story was first told in “Ballad of Mulan,” a folksong first transcribed in the 6th century. In the legend, Mulan is a girl who disguises herself as a man and goes to war in place of her father. Mulan fights for many years as part of the army and, after earning much honor and gifts from the emperor, returns home to her family. Only then does she reveal her gender identity.
While Mulan may be the most familiar of woman Chinese warriors (at least to American audiences), she’s only one in a rich history of historical and legendary female heroes in Chinese history. With the live-action adaptation of Mulan releasing on Disney+ this Friday, here are some of the highlights you might encounter when brushing up on your Chinese legends and history—figures who perhaps warrant their own feature film adaptation…
Xun Guan
At thirteen, Xun Guan was already an accomplished martial artist and tactician. Her father, Xun Song, was the governor of Xianyang in the late 200s A.D. One night, when the castle was under siege, Xun Song was ready to lead a force against the opposing soldiers. Convinced that her father leaving the castle would be bad for morale, she proposed that instead she lead a group of elite soldiers out to defeat the enemy. Even though she was only thirteen, Xun Gun had her father’s trust, and he sent her out. Once outside the walls, Xun Guan immediately spotted a weak spot in the enemy’s position, and she and her troops were triumphant against them, successfully allowing the castle to hold out until more reinforcements could arrive.
Pingyang
During much of Pingyang’s lifetime in the early 600s, the emperor, Yangdi, was incompetent, greedy, and vain—he’s become a villain of Chinese history. Pingyang was the daughter of military commander Li Yuan, and became the wife of Chai Shao, the leader of Yangdi’s palace guard. Yangdi decided that Li Yuan was just too good at his job, so he trumped up false charges and had Li Yuan arrested, only to realize that Li Yuan was the only person who could protect Yangdi from people who actually were plotting against him. Yangdi released Li Yuan, but the damage was done: now Li Yuan wanted Yangdi dead, as well. As Li Yuan rebelled, Chai Shao and Pingyang had to decide how both of them could safely support her father; Chai Shao left first to openly join Li Yuan’s rebellion, and Pingyang later escaped on her own, braving the danger because she was confident she could hide in plain sight. 
She journeyed back to her family’s lands and threw open the larders, endearing the people to her and recruiting the first members of what would become known as the Army of the Lady, or the Woman’s Army. As the war continued, Pingyang made alliances and built an army 70,000 strong, keeping them all under a strict code of conduct the prohibited looting, raping, and pillaging. Where the army went, they brought food with them to feed the locals, so they were greeted as liberators. Yangdi dismissed Pingyang as a threat (she was just a woman, after all!), until it was far too late; her forces were unhindered by Yangdi’s troops, and they joined up with Li Yuan and Chai Shao for the final attack on the capital—and, in their victory, the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.
Wu Zetian
In the late 600s, China had a woman emperor. Depending on which historical records you read (the sources tend to be very biased against or very biased toward the empress), she lied, cheated, and murdered her way to the throne—and did more of the same to stay there. She started her imperial career as the favorite concubine of Emperor Taizong. When he died, she married his son, the new emperor, Gaozong. Some sources imply that a romance was going on long before the old emperor’s death; others suggest she was so good at courtly intrigue that Gaozong kept her by his side and ruled equally with her, relying on her political savvy. After Gaozong’s death, their children were in line for the throne; Wu poisoned the eldest, exiled the second, and had plans to manipulate the third and continue to rule. When that son showed too much backbone (and made too many other courtiers angry), she had him deposed, replaced him with his younger brother, and then eventually deposed that child, too, taking on the mantle of rule for herself. Though her rule as emperor was short, she made a number of state improvements in religion, literature, and education—and some historians credit those changes with still having an influence on modern Chinese scholarship.
Liang Hongyu
Although she started her career as a musician, Liang Hongyu ended up using her instrumental skills for a more military purpose. She is said to have met her husband, military officer Han Shizhong, when she was performing as a singer and drummer for his troop. They married in 1121, and she later fought by his side as the army pushed back an invasion by the Huns. The drumming comes in because, during that era, commands were sent to different units in the military through flags and drum signaling. Her drummed orders (and the strategy she came up with) are credited with leading a group of only 8,000 soldiers to victory against a force of 100,000 Hun warriors.
Qin Liangyu
Fighting against the Manchus was a family experience for Qin Liangyu, who went to war alongside her brothers in the early 1600s. When the Manchus—from beyond the Great Wall—threatened Beijing, Qin Liangyu led troops from Sichuan to defend the capital. But there were also rebel forces within the Ming Dynasty, and Qin Liangyu fought against them as well, alongside her son, Ma Xianglin. There’s not just one story of Qin Liangyu’s successes; she fought so many successful campaigns that the Chongzhen Emperor appointed her Crown Prince’s Guardian and a title equivalent to marquis. When the Ming Dynasty fell during Qin Liangyu’s later years, she remained in control of an area of Sichuan, where she helped settle 100,000.
Wu Mei
Women in martial arts are common enough in modern schools (and modern film), but they’ve been around much longer! In fact, the founder of the famous kung fu style Wing Chun was one of the legendary five elders of Shaolin Martial Arts, was a woman. Buddhist nun Wu Mei (also known as Ng Mui) survived the destruction of the Shaolin Temple of Dengfeng during the Qing Dynasty. The shaolin practitioners had been accused of anti-Qing activities, and the army went to destroy them for it. In the bloody battle that followed, only the five known as the five elders survived. They’re credited with spreading martial arts across China, and Wu was said to have invented some of the most important styles. Her Wing Chun is possibly the best known of these, named after Wu’s first student—also a woman—Yim Wing Chun.
Ching Shih
In the early 1800s, when the Golden Age of piracy had already faded in the Caribbean, a pirate queen was sailing her fleet, commanding as many as 80,000 outlaws (sources differ), in the South China Sea. History has forgotten her birth name—Ching Shih translates to “widow of Ching”—but not her amazing deeds, which have put her down in the history books as one of the most successful pirates in history. Ching Shih worked as a prostitute until she married the notorious pirate Cheng I (who was reportedly impressed with her shrewd business sense), who had united different factions of pirates into his Red Flag Fleet. 
Legends say that she required half the fleet to belong to her as a condition of the marriage, and when Cheng I died six years later, she took control of the entire fleet. She kept order by enforcing a strict pirate code, and though the Qing dynasty officials, Portuguese Navy, and the East India Company all tried to defeat the fleet, she ruled the waves, only ending her piratical activities when she was offered amnesty from the Chinese government. She lived until she was 69, and she’s the inspiration behind Mistress Ching, one of the Pirate Lords in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Yu Shu Lien and Jen Yu
These two are completely fictional, but as far as pop culture goes, these women warriors cannot be left out. In the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Jen Yu (played by Zhang Ziyi) is a teenager and an amazing martial artist who has been secretly trained by the villainous Jade Fox, under the nose of Jen’s father, the governor. Yu Shu Lien (played by Michelle Yoeh) owns and runs a private security company; she’s close friends with Li Mu Bai, and she agrees to go with him to take his sword, the Green Destiny, as a gift to a benefactor. When the Green Destiny is stolen, they track it to Governor Yu’s mansion. Eventually, Jen Yu is discovered as the thief, but her youth and talent make both Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien sympathetic to her, even after they realize she’s been taught by Li Mu Bai’s enemy, Jade Fox. Later in the film, Yu Shu Lien tries to teach Jen Yu a lesson, and the two have one of the best choreographed multi-weapon epic martial arts movie fights in the history of martial arts movies.
Aero
Another fictional Chinese hero is Aero, Marvel’s manhua series star. When she’s not being a superhero, Lei Ling is an architect in Beijing. When the monsters start coming, however, she takes to the sky as Aero, the protector of her city. Using powers of manipulating winds and air currents, she struggles with the destruction caused by supervillains, because her passion is for building and creating, not for seeing things torn down. The character was first introduced in the Agents of Atlas comic, but she started starring in her own ongoing comic series in 2019. It’s too much to hope that we’ll get a hint of her in the MCU’s upcoming Shang Chi, but the ongoing series, written by Zhou Liefen with stories by Alyssa Wong and Greg Pak, and art by Keng and Pop Mhan, is definitely worth picking up.
Honorable Mention: Cassandra Cain
I didn’t know this when I watched Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), but Cassandra Cain—the thief kid who swallows the film’s macguffin—has a long and awesome history in DC comics. She’s a first generation Chinese American; her mother, Lady Shiva, is a dangerous assassin who fled from her village, and her father, David Cain, is one of Ra’s al Ghul’s henchmen. It’s not a love match—he blackmails her into having his child, and then he raises Cassandra to be the perfect assassin and bodyguard. But when she was just eight years old, her empathy made her reject a path of killing, and she ends up in Gotham, where she saves Commissioner Gordon’s life and becomes Batgirl. In fact, Cassandra Cain was the first Batgirl to have her own standalone series run (in 2000). Eventually, after a series of twists and turns, she takes a gig working as one of the global team of Batmen as the Black Bat, where she fights crime in Hong Kong. It’s hard to imagine the Birds of Prey version matching up, but I’d love to see that character in more DC movies!
Mulan premieres on Disney+ on September 4th. Find out how and when you can access it here.
The post Mulan And The Chinese Women Warriors of History and Legend appeared first on Den of Geek.
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crime and disorder
Previously on Impeaching the Motherfucker: Donald “Individual-1” Trump tried to use the Oval Office to shake down Ukrainian President Zelensky for a public announcement of bullshit investigations, which Trump wanted to use to discredit American citizens and intelligence agencies.
You may have seen people compare Trump’s scheme to have the Ukrainian president announce investigations into his Democratic opposition to James Comey’s various interventions in the 2016 election. This comparison is not wrong. If anything, it understates the similarities.
The story that former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani tried to feed Zelensky about a member of Joe Biden’s family was basically fascist fanfiction by a guy named Peter Schweitzer. Schweitzer worked for Steve Bannon, who led the Trump campaign for a while, at the racist agitprop website Breitbart. His books are funded by the Mercer family. (If you’re struggling to place that name, they also finance the Facebook data thieves at Cambridge Analytica.) As Schweitzer’s lies were being used to pressure Zelensky to abuse law enforcement, they were also being fed to the mortifyingly credulous New York Times. The NYT validated the smear, which gave Giuliani and his crew leverage to increase pressure on law enforcement to take action in the hopes that this would create more news.
These exact same people pulled these exact same moves in 2015 and 2016. Of course, that time the Democratic frontrunner was Hillary Clinton, and Schweitzer’s lies were about the Clinton Foundation.* Those lies were debunked as quickly and easily as the stories about Biden, but they were still validated and spread by the mainstream media, in particular by the New York Times. These stories were picked up by the various disinformation trollbot networks throughout the 2016 election and used to drown out the serious stories about Donald Trump’s many financial crimes. And it gave a partisan faction in the FBI an excuse to open an investigation into Clinton.
Giuliani, by his own admission, was also the Trump campaign’s connection to the FBI’s New York field office in 2016. Now he’s telling the press, on the record, that his scheming in Ukraine is an attempt to manipulate the Department of Justice into investigating Biden.
It’s important to remember what happened from there. Short-term, we need to prepare ourselves to keep it from being so effective next time. The impeachment hearings might have discredited this particular line of attack against Biden, but something like this will happen to whoever the Democratic nominee ends up being. Long-term, progressives need to start holding grudges the way conservatives do, not least because our grievances are real. And we have to do this for ourselves because, let’s be honest, most of the mainstream and nearly all of the “leftist” media would rather be rounded up at gunpoint and sent to a gulag than admit they fucked up in 2016.
We remember the EMAILS investigation because it was so public, but in fact, the FBI was also investigating the Clinton Foundation, despite the Department of Justice telling them there was no case, specifically because their “evidence” was just trash from Schweitzer’s book.+
An FBI investigation is a serious thing, even if the director doesn’t use it as a pretext to throw a presidential election. That’s why the FBI is supposed to take it seriously. They’re only supposed to open an investigation if they have an an actual reason. (To state the obvious, debunked conspiracy theories by a political propagandist are not an actual reason.) Then they’re supposed to shut the fuck up and actually investigate, not preen for the media about how great they are for doing all this manly investigating. This is both to protect the reputation of the person they’re investigating and because you can usually investigate something better if you minimize how many people know you’re investigating. When they’re done, they’re supposed to either charge someone with a crime or to close the case and leave the person alone.
The FBI clearly did not take the Clinton Foundation investigation seriously, because if they had been taking it seriously they never would have pretended there was a case there at all, but it was still a serious thing. The existence of this “investigation” bolstered these false propaganda narratives which were intended to distort a presidential election, and which publicly disparaged a world-class charity that has saved millions of lives around the world.
Worse, the bullshit metastasized within the FBI. It ate into the time and attention of senior leadership, when they needed to be making some genuinely complicated decisions concerning the national security threat posed by the criminal syndicate known as the Trump campaign. Instead, they were finding out what happens if you give a mouse a cookie. The faction of the FBI who were abusing their power to hurt Clinton and help Trump seem to have been emboldened by the indulgence. FBI leadership fell into the bad habit of feeding the press, especially right-wing media like the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, hints that something crime-y was going on with the Clinton Foundation. A week before the election, after Comey had upended the election with his letter about the emails, “sources” at the FBI were telling a Fox News anchor that there were about to be indictments over something at the Clinton Foundation.
Reading between the lines of various reports, it looks like these pressures within the FBI to support the Clinton Cash propaganda helped desensitize Comey and his bros to the idea of taking dramatic public action against Hillary Clinton. It never occurred to anyone else that they would pull a stunt like this, not because everyone trusts the FBI so much, but because it is so far from what they do. Nobody expects the feds to start wearing mashed potatoes to the office instead of suits, either, not because they have such great fashion sense, but because it’s too bizarre to occur to anyone. But if there were a handful of agents crabbing every day that they should wear mashed potatoes to work, and those agents kept forwarding around a drumbeat of media speculating that maybe they would start wearing mashed potatoes to work, maybe they start to think it’s not too weird of a compromise if they just start wearing mashed potatoes instead of jackets and ties.
Law enforcement abusing its power to influence elections is bad for democracy. But it’s also bad for law enforcement. As long as everyone understands the FBI shouldn’t be expected to get involved in partisan politics, there’s no incentive for politicians to waste time trying to pressure them. But once they caved to this pressure from right-wing media, it showed that they could be manipulated by at least one side, and the Republicans have been hammering them relentlessly ever since. Trump doesn’t beat up on the FBI – or, for that matter, the NYT – because he’s afraid of them. He beats up on them because he knows, from experience, that it works.
Since all that happened, Trump’s had time to purge his dupes from FBI leadership and replace them with people he believes will be even more likely to follow his unethical directives. So that’s not great.
One major difference in Giuliani and Schweitzer’s scheme this year is that they’re trying to outsource their dirty work to Ukraine, which is a lot riskier and a lot more work. In a weird way, this is a slightly encouraging sign for 2020. Even if the real motivation is that Trump is fucking around with Ukraine to please Putin and smearing Biden is just a side benefit, I doubt it would be happening like this, because you don’t actually need to bring your clown sidekick and his clown sidekicks into your clear-cut impeachable offenses. It’s entirely possible that they’re going global because they don’t think the FBI will throw all the rules out the window to help them this time.
On the other hand, the fact that they’re changing the pattern means it could easily get even worse. Right-wing ratfuckers have already attacked at least two 2020 Democratic presidential candidates with false claims of sexual violence. At this point, it’s still the JV squad,± but once we have a nominee, the professionals are going to get involved. It wouldn’t even take Giuliani’s subtlety and finesse to get law enforcement involved, either, just one pro-Trump sheriff’s office in an area the nominee could have conceivably visited. I don’t have a concrete idea of what to do if things take this particular turn, but I’m legitimately worried that we need to brace ourselves for it.
*Substantively, this comparison is unfair, because Burisma is an oil and gas company with a mixed ethical record, while the Clinton Foundation is a clean, transparent charity that has saved millions of lives. The fact that Schweitzer and the New York Times describe them nearly interchangeably says it all.
+The existence of not one but two flimsy investigations into Clinton actually discredits both of them even further, because it shows a pattern of the FBI investigating a person rather than a crime.
±It’s easy to treat the Warren thing as a joke because this particular ratfucker faceplanted so badly, but the lie itself wasn’t funny. Escalating consensual BDSM into a vicious, traumatic beating isn’t some wacky cartoon trope, it’s a type of abuse that real people have experienced.
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eyeofhorus237 · 5 years
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Blade Runner is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. It is a loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968). The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on off-world colonies. When a fugitive group of Nexus-6 replicants led by Roy Batty (Hauer) escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckard (Ford) reluctantly agrees to hunt them down.
Blade Runner initially underperformed in North American theaters and polarized critics; some praised its thematic complexity and visuals, while others were displeased with its slow pacing and unconventional plot. It later became an acclaimed cult film regarded as one of the all-time best science fiction movies. Hailed for its production design depicting a "retrofitted" future, Blade Runner is a leading example of neo-noir cinema. The soundtrack, composed by Vangelis, was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe as best original score.
The film has influenced many science fiction films, video games, anime, and television series. It brought the work of Philip K. Dick to the attention of Hollywood, and several later big-budget films were based on his work. In the year after its release, Blade Runner won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and in 1993 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A sequel, Blade Runner 2049, was released in October 2017.
Seven versions of Blade Runner exist as a result of controversial changes requested by studio executives. A director's cut was released in 1992 after a strong response to test screenings of a workprint. This, in conjunction with the film's popularity as a video rental, made it one of the earliest movies to be released on DVD. In 2007, Warner Bros. released The Final Cut, a 25th-anniversary digitally remastered version; the only version over which Scott retained artistic control.
Plot
In 2019 Los Angeles, former police officer Rick Deckard is detained by officer Gaff, and brought to his former supervisor, Bryant. Deckard, whose job as a "blade runner" was to track down bioengineered beings known as replicants and "retire" (kill) them, is informed that four are on Earth illegally. Deckard starts to leave, but Bryant ambiguously threatens him, and he stays. The two watch a video of a blade runner named Holden administering the "Voigt-Kampff" test, which is designed to distinguish replicants from humans based on their emotional response to questions. The test subject, Leon, shoots Holden on the second question. Bryant wants Deckard to retire Leon and the other three Tyrell Corporation Nexus-6 replicants: Roy Batty, Zhora, and Pris.
Bryant has Deckard meet with Eldon Tyrell so he can administer the test on a Nexus-6 to see if it works. Tyrell expresses his interest in seeing the test fail first and asks him to administer it on his assistant Rachael. After a much longer than standard test, Deckard concludes that Rachael is a replicant who believes she is human. Tyrell explains that she is an experiment who has been given false memories to provide an emotional "cushion".
Searching Leon's hotel room, Deckard finds photos and a synthetic snake scale. Roy and Leon investigate a replicant eye-manufacturing laboratory and learn of J. F. Sebastian, a gifted genetic designer who works closely with Tyrell. Deckard returns to his apartment where Rachael is waiting. She tries to prove her humanity by showing him a family photo, but after Deckard reveals that her memories are implants from Tyrell's niece, she leaves his apartment. Meanwhile, Pris locates Sebastian and manipulates him to gain his trust.
A photograph from Leon's apartment and the snake scale lead Deckard to a strip club, where Zhora works. After a confrontation and chase, Deckard kills Zhora. Bryant orders him also to retire Rachael, who has disappeared from the Tyrell Corporation. After Deckard spots Rachael in a crowd, he is attacked by Leon, who knocks Deckard's pistol out of his hand, and attempts to kill Deckard, but Rachael uses Deckard's pistol to kill Leon. They return to Deckard's apartment, and, during an intimate discussion, he promises not to track her down; as she abruptly tries to leave, Deckard restrains her, making her kiss him.
Arriving at Sebastian's apartment, Roy tells Pris that the others are dead. Sympathetic to their plight, Sebastian reveals that because of "Methuselah Syndrome", a genetic premature aging disorder, his life will also be cut short. Sebastian and Roy gain entrance into Tyrell's secure penthouse, where Roy demands more life from his maker. Tyrell tells him that it is impossible. Roy confesses that he has done "questionable things", but Tyrell dismisses this, praising Roy's advanced design and accomplishments in his short life. Roy kisses Tyrell, then kills him. Sebastian runs for the elevator, followed by Roy, who rides the elevator down alone.[nb 1] Deckard is later told by Bryant that Sebastian was found dead.
At Sebastian's apartment, Deckard is ambushed by Pris, but he kills her as Roy returns. Roy's body begins to fail as the end of his lifespan nears. He chases Deckard through the building, ending on the roof. Deckard tries to jump to an adjacent roof, but is left hanging between buildings. Roy makes the jump with ease, and as Deckard's grip loosens, Roy hoists him onto the roof, saving him. Before Roy dies, he delivers a monologue about how his memories "will be lost in time, like tears in rain". Gaff arrives and shouts to Deckard about Rachael: "It's too bad she won't live, but then again, who does?" Deckard returns to his apartment and finds Rachael asleep in his bed. As they leave, Deckard notices an origamiunicorn on the floor, a calling card that recalls for him Gaff's earlier statement. Deckard and Rachael leave the apartment block.
Themes
Main article: Themes in Blade Runner
The film operates on multiple dramatic and narrative levels. It employs some of the conventions of film noir, among them the character of a femme fatale; narration by the protagonist (in the original release); chiaroscuro cinematography; and giving the hero a questionable moral outlook – extended to include reflections upon the nature of his own humanity.[8][9] It is a literate science fiction film, thematically enfolding the philosophy of religion and moral implications of human mastery of genetic engineering in the context of classical Greek drama and hubris.[10] It also draws on Biblical images, such as Noah's flood,[11] and literary sources, such as Frankenstein.[12] Although fans claimed that the chess game between Sebastian and Tyrell was based on the famous Immortal Game of 1851, Scott said any similarity was merely coincidental.[13]
Blade Runner delves into the effects of technology on the environment and society by reaching to the past, using literature, religious symbolism, classical dramatic themes, and film noir techniques. This tension between past, present, and future is represented in the "retrofitted" future depicted in the film, one which is high-tech and gleaming in places but decayed and outdated elsewhere. In an interview with The Observer in 2002, director Ridley Scott described the film as "extremely dark, both literally and metaphorically, with an oddly masochistic feel". He also said that he "liked the idea of exploring pain" in the wake of his brother's death: "When he was ill, I used to go and visit him in London, and that was really traumatic for me."[14]
A sense of foreboding and paranoia pervades the world of the film: corporate power looms large; the police seem omnipresent; vehicle and warning lights probe into buildings; and the consequences of huge biomedical power over the individual are explored – especially regarding replicants' implanted memories. Control over the environment is exercised on a vast scale, and goes hand in hand with the absence of any natural life; for example, artificial animals stand in for their extinct predecessors. This oppressive backdrop explains the frequently referenced migration of humans to "off-world" (extraterrestrial) colonies.[15] Eyes are a recurring motif, as are manipulated images, calling into question the nature of reality and our ability to accurately perceive and remember it.[16][17]
These thematic elements provide an atmosphere of uncertainty for Blade Runner's central theme of examining humanity. In order to discover replicants, an empathy test is used, with a number of its questions focused on the treatment of animals – seemingly an essential indicator of one's "humanity". The replicants appear to show compassion and concern for one another and are juxtaposed against human characters who lack empathy, while the mass of humanity on the streets is cold and impersonal. The film goes so far as to question if Deckard might be a replicant, in the process asking the audience to re-evaluate what it means to be human.[18]
The question of whether Deckard is intended to be a human or a replicant has been an ongoing controversy since the film's release.[19][20] Both Michael Deeley and Harrison Ford wanted Deckard to be human, while Hampton Fancher preferred ambiguity.[21] Ridley Scott has stated that in his vision, Deckard is a replicant.[22][23] Deckard's unicorn-dream sequence, inserted into Scott's Director's Cut and concomitant with Gaff's parting gift of an origami unicorn, is seen by many as showing that Deckard is a replicant – because Gaff could have retrieved Deckard's implanted memories.[24][12][25] The interpretation that Deckard is a replicant is challenged by others who believe the unicorn imagery shows that the characters, whether human or replicant, share the same dreams and recognize their affinity,[26] or that the absence of a decisive answer is crucial to the film's main theme.[27] The film's inherent ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as its textual richness, have permitted multiple interpretations.[28]
Casting
See also: List of Blade Runner characters
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theliberaltony · 3 years
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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight
In his inaugural address, President Biden described America as in the midst of an “uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.” His invocation of a civil war and the American Civil War was provocative. It was also accurate. There is no formal definition of an uncivil war, but America is increasingly split between members of two political parties that hate each other.
In the same speech, Biden warned of the dangers of “a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism.” This too was accurate. Biden was delivering his address exactly two weeks after a group of supporters of then-President Trump, riled up by his false claims about voter fraud, stormed the Capitol to try to overturn the results of a free and fair election, an act of political extremism and domestic terrorism carried out by at least some people who believe in white supremacy.
Biden didn’t explicitly say that the extremism, domestic terrorism and white supremacy is largely coming from one side of the uncivil war. But that’s the reality. In America’s uncivil war, both sides may hate the other, but one side — conservatives and Republicans — is more hostile and aggressive, increasingly willing to engage in anti-democratic and even violent attacks on their perceived enemies.
The Jan. 6 insurrection and the run-up to it is perhaps the clearest illustration that Republicans are being more hostile and anti-democratic than Democrats in this uncivil war. Biden pledged to concede defeat if he lost the presidential election fair and square, while Trump never made such a pledge; many elected officials in the GOP joined Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results; and finally, Trump supporters arrived at the Capitol to claim victory by force. But there are numerous other examples of conservatives and Republicans going overboard in their attempts to dominate liberals and Democrats:
Republican officials at the state level have engaged in a sustained campaign to make it harder for liberal-leaning constituencies, particularly Black people, to vote.
GOP officials have used aggressive gerrymandering and attempted to manipulate the census-taking process to ensure GOP control of state legislatures and the U.S. House of Representatives, even if Democrats are winning more votes.1
Trump supporters and conservatives have threatened not only to physically destroy institutions they view as hostile to conservative causes, such as CNN, but to kill or injure prominent Democratic politicians, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. And, in attempts to intimidate liberal protesters, these conservatives sometimes show up at Black Lives Matter demonstrations wearing military gear and brandishing extensive weaponry.
Trump, conservative lawyers and most Republican members of Congress tried to disqualify the election results in some swing states, which would have in effect invalidated the votes of millions of Americans, particularly Black people and residents of large urban areas. And, as mentioned earlier, that effort culminated in an attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
State-level Republican officials have tried to criminalize the types of protests organized by liberals who support Black Lives Matter and oppose the expansion of oil and gas pipelines. In fact, conservative lawmakers in Missouri and other states are considering provisions that would limit legal liability for people who drive into protesters blocking traffic.
State-level GOP officials have limited cities and other localities from enacting policies meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19, essentially preventing elected officials in cities (usually Democrats) from taking measures to save the lives of their constituents.
GOP officials at the state level are engaged in a broader effort to preempt laws passed in Democratic cities, meaning that mostly white GOP state legislators elected in conservative, rural areas are often determining education, economic and other policies for heavily Democratic cities with large numbers of people of color.
We could also compile a long list of anti-democratic and hostile actions taken by Trump himself against Democrats. At the top of that list would be his attempt to coerce the Ukrainian government into announcing it would investigate the Biden family — essentially a scheme for Trump to use the power of his office to tilt the upcoming presidential election in his favor.
It’s important to be specific here, however. Many of the most aggressive actions against liberals have been taken not by Republican voters but largely by Republican officials, particularly at the state level.
“Many Republicans do not accept Democratic governance as a legitimate outcome” of elections, said Thomas Zimmer, a history professor at Georgetown University who is writing a book about political divides in America. “America is nearing a crisis of democratic legitimacy because one side is trying to erect one-party minority rule.”
Gretchen Helmke, a political scientist at the University of Rochester who studies the state of democratic governments around the world, said, “There is a marked asymmetry between the two parties,” with Republicans more engaged in “playing constitutional hardball and taking actions that are still within the letter of the law but [that] may violate the spirit of the law or common-sense ideas about fairness and political equality.”
Those types of actions are much harder to find on the Democratic side. There is no campaign by Democratic elected officials to disenfranchise white evangelical Christians, a constituency that overwhelmingly backs GOP candidates, just as Black voters overwhelmingly back Democratic candidates. There was no widespread, systematic attempt by Democratic officials four years ago to disqualify the votes that elected Trump or to spur Democratic voters to attack the Capitol to prevent the certification of his presidency. While the left-wing antifa movement has violent tendencies, it isn’t an organized group — nor is it aligned with Biden or Democrats. And at least right now, national security experts describe right-wing violence as a much bigger danger in America than any violent behavior from the left. In an October 2020 report, the Department of Homeland Security called violent white supremacists the “most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland.”
And, of course, Democrats did not embrace an anti-democratic figure like Trump as their standard-bearer. There are no Democratic politicians in Congress implying that conservative politicians are such dangers to the country that they should be killed.
“The GOP is a counter-majoritarian party now, every week it becomes less like a ‘normal’ party,” said Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University who has written extensively about the radicalization of the Republican Party. “The GOP has to make it harder to vote and harder to understand what the party is all about. Those are two parts of the same project. And it can’t treat its white supremacist and violent wings as extremists who should be isolated because it needs them. They provide motor and momentum.”
“The GOP has radicalized (and is still radicalizing) on its willingness to break democratic norms and subvert or eliminate political institutions. Don’t expect restraint where you’ve seen it in the past,” said Charlotte Hill, a Ph.D. candidate at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, who conducts research on election and voting laws.
Because of this deep conservative antipathy for the liberal version of America, Joanne Freeman, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, has compared the state of America today to the 1850s, right before the U.S. Civil War.
“Mass violence in Congress seemed possible in 1850. Now, 171 years later, it’s in the national mindscape once again. And for good reason. The echoes of 1850 are striking. We’re at a moment of extreme polarization when outcomes matter, sometimes profoundly,” Freeman wrote in a recent essay in The New York Times.
“The Republicans,” she continued, “whose ironclad grip on the Senate has dominated the federal government, feel entitled to that power and increasingly threatened; they know they’re swimming against the demographic tide in a diversifying nation. They have proven themselves ready and eager for minority rule; voter suppression — centered on people of color — is on the rise and has been for some time. And some of them are willing to protect what they deem right with threats of violence.”
To be sure, only a very, very small fraction of conservative Americans participate in acts of domestic terrorism. Most rank-and-file Republicans would likely describe themselves as opposed to individualized acts of racism (a workplace not hiring Black employees, for example) as well as systemic racism and white supremacy. Most Republican voters are not directly participating in moves by GOP officials to make it harder for people of color to vote. And there are a lot of Republican elected officials who have not tried to have the 2020 election results disqualified or promoted laws and rules to make it harder for people of color to vote.
At the same time, Republican voters have stuck with the party despite its recent shift toward move overt and aggressive anti-democratic behavior. “This stuff seems not a deal-breaker to the vast majority of Republican voters,” said Zimmer.
Susan Hyde, a political scientist at University of California, Berkeley, who studies democracy and democratic backsliding both in the U.S. and abroad, said that Republican voters tolerated the party’s anti-democratic tendencies because the party’s elites signaled that it was OK to do so. “Republican politicians have been lying to their own voters, and they need to stop doing that if we are going to have peace,” said Hyde, who was referring specifically to the false belief among a large bloc of Republican voters that Trump won the election.
The war is not completely one-sided, however. Liberals and Democrats are trying to enact what amounts to an equality agenda — to create a new America where LGBTQ Americans can openly participate in any institution; women can join and lead any institution; and women, Black people, Native Americans and other traditionally marginalized groups can have as much power, wealth and representation as the shares of the population they represent.
Through legislation, lawsuits and other means, liberals and Democrats are pressing this agenda aggressively, over the objections of conservatives. Same-sex marriage has been legalized, and transgenderism has been effectively normalized. Liberals are trying to outlaw the death penalty while trying to enshrine into law the right to use marijuana. They are pushing for a dramatic rethinking of American institutions, including the church and the police, and in some ways a rethinking of America itself.
And liberals and Democrats, believing that their equality agenda is right and just, increasingly cast those who oppose it in very negative terms like “racist” and “sexist.” Views held by even many Democrats a decade ago — opposition to same-sex marriage and skepticism that racial discrimination is a major barrier to Black advancement in America — are now sharply criticized. These criticisms are at the root of conservative complaints that American culture is too “politically correct” or that those who dissent from the liberal view must be “canceled.” And in some instances, liberal pressure does result in conservatives being denied platforms: Twitter suspended Trump’s account, for example, and Simon and Schuster canceled a book deal with Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.
Of course, some conservative behavior, like trying to make it harder for Black people to vote, probably should be both shamed and called out as racist. That said, it’s important to understand that some liberal and Democratic policies will require conservative Christians in particular to live in a changed America that they simply do not wish to live in. And the liberal focus on ideas like systemic racism and white supremacy has left many conservatives feeling that their individual behaviors and choices are being unfairly cast as racist.
Conservatives “are reacting to something real,” said Zimmer. “Their version of ‘Real America’ — a white, Christian America — is under threat. Republicans are convinced they are waging a noble war against the demise of ‘Real America.’ Conservatives think their backs are against the wall.”
“[On the left] there is a demand for more redistribution and laws and programs that help some people and not others,” said Vasabjit Banerjee, a political scientist at Mississippi State University who studies political conflicts. For example, he described Black Lives Matter as a “form of status redistribution,” that might be threatening to non-Black Americans because the movement’s goal is to, in effect, make Black people truly “full citizens” in America, equal to white Americans.
Reflecting on the actions of both sides, you can see why conservative attacks on liberals are much more problematic than the inverse. And that’s why it is hard to imagine Biden being able to unify America or end this uncivil war — his side is not the one feeling most aggrieved and taking anti-democratic, even violent, measures to win.
In his inaugural speech, Biden said, “We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
He didn’t quite say why we had learned that democracy is precious, why it is fragile, or who or what it had prevailed against. But the reality is that some Republicans in America are so intent on defeating liberals that they are willing to erode America’s democracy, or even end it, along the way to victory.
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americandadrps · 4 years
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Money, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, desperation, these things have ruled the world for time immemorial, moving the foundation of where once stood virtues and values, are now just ruled by these powers that expand and encroach on everything they can clasp their claws on. Years go by and the rich get richer, the poor keep falling in a cycle of depravity, forced to commit acts, atrocious they may be, but only so that a family would be able to eat, have a roof over their heads, and survive. The organization feeds on these people for their purposes, dawning on them with false hope, as long as they abide by their rules, but at what cost? How much would a single person give up, to have food on the table? One particular family was met with this decision. A corporation was building a program, where a mutant would be subjected to multiple tests in the hopes of becoming their ultimate weapon, a pawn in their game, the perfect soldier for their empire. To end mutants once and for all, they would use the very thing they’re trying to destroy. If you can’t control it, then what use is it to them?
They were very forward with their program, calling out to families in the slums to provide any mutants they had in their family, and they would have a vast compensation. Many families handed in their loved ones, desperation taking over the love they were supposed to have in their hearts. What’s the price of one, to be able to maintain three, four others? Weiss the child of a family of four was given up so that they cold survive. It was a quick process, signing forms, demonstrate the child’s power, and how powerful they could grow, and Weiss piqued their interest from the moment they laid eyes on him. He was something special to them, something they could mold in their image, and for whatever purposes they would have in store for the young mutant. As a child it was easy to convince Weiss of their ideals, fallacies of world peace were provided to the boy, and they made it seem as if their true wasn’t the extermination of mutants, but the protection of mutant kind. The young boy was just pawn in their elaborate game, how could a child ever understand how nefarious adults could be, people who once used to be children themselves now corrupt beings, filled with hate, and led by avarice.
A wire-master that was the coined term that they called the young boy. Someone who could do more than just manipulate the element; his true power lied in ability to sense all phenomenon related to this power. Able to use his powers to listen in on wherever his wires were latched, and the ability to control the actions of others, and be able to created clones made of string. With time his powers grew, and it seemed that Weiss would be one of the organization’s greatest asset. They trained the boy in all sorts of combat and espionage, made him solve puzzles, and they tested him at every corner, each day would be a new challenge, and Weiss felt that this was just his life, the training necessary to become the hero they told him he’d be. As he grew in rank and power, he underwent different types of training, each one more strenuous than the last, but all in the hopes that this child could fulfill their wishes. Everything changed the day Weiss met another young boy, a mutant, that boy had the saddest eyes of all.
The two boys were placed together forced into each other’s lives. This way the boys became friends, the only two children at the facility. It wasn’t something quick Weiss had tried to approach the other many times, but it seemed the boy suffered from severe shyness, always scurrying away or hiding at the sight of Weiss. Still, the other child never stopped trying; he always kept a smile on his face in the hopes that this other boy could hopefully become his new family. It took a month before the other boy finally directed words at Weiss, and even then it was just one. With time the two warmed up to each other, doing everything together, and they promised that no matter what they would hold each other’s hands through it all, they would both become the heroes that saved mutant kind. Each day was another day together for them, helping each other through the challenges that were placed in front of them at the facility, the boys learned to rely on another, and cover the other’s faults. They were a team, and they  seemed to want it that way, the two were happy together they had found a home in one another.
With the passage of time the late night whispers turned into intimate conversations, they loved learning about each other, and every day there was something new to be told, another story, another venture. It was to be expected that the two fell for each other; everything they’d gone through together just cemented those budding feelings. A confession turned into affection, affection turned into a kiss, and kiss turned into something more. The following months were the greatest of Weiss’ life, they were allowed to be together at all times within the facility, and they ate up every moment together, wondering about life on the outside, and how things have changed, and the things they’d do together once it was their time to be the heroes they were trained to be. Promises of marriage, love, building a family, the young boys dreamt of it all, it seemed that they just thought they were meant for one another, the perfect half for the other’s mold. It was perfect, truly, and utterly perfect, while it lasted.
No matter how much one tries to bury the truth, it always finds a way to surface. While their lives seemed perfect, the duo’s tasks were becoming more and more draining, barely able to move the very next day, but they knew they had to, it was their duty. Weiss was being subjected to random blood tests, and forced to take many drugs of unknown effects, it seemed that they was becoming more and more ruthless with their treatment. Weiss was finding their activity more perturbing, they changed from the warm and caring people he knew from around the base to cold and distant strangers in the blink of an eye. His curiosity grew, and he couldn’t put his finger on it, but the whole program, everything just seemed wrong. A heavy toll was taken on Weiss daily, and he tried to tell the other boy about what he was feeling, but he was dismissed with just being paranoid, silly, or simply anxious.
For a while Weiss agreed, maybe it was just all in his mind, the simple paranoia that soon enough they would both be deployed, and the burden of becoming heroes was a closer reality than before. Still he had his doubts; nothing was as picture perfect as it once appeared to be. Weiss didn’t know if it was chance, or clues were placed before him, so he could finally uncover the truth behind the organization, and its dark agenda. Weiss heard them talking, whispering about the progress of another secret project, about how rumors were spreading, and that they were almost ready to begin their final phase. Weiss felt alarmed as he heard them talk, this new project seemed to be of great importance, and somehow he knew that he was at the center of it all. That night he decided to snoop around see what he could find and bring back for the other boy, the one whom he was in love to see. But what he found, he could have never been ready for.
The lower levels, where only the ones with the highest clearance could enter, it was almost impenetrable, almost. Thanks to his powers, Weiss could bypass any security measures undetected, they had trained him for this very thing, but they never expected that it would be his downfall. Past bleak lights, and dark, damp corridors, he followed his instincts, where the strongest surges of power took him, the pull was far too strong to deny. Through metal sliding doors, Weiss had found it, or better said, them. Clones, all in pods, all the same, all bearing Weiss’ face. The boy looked in horror at the duplicates in stasis, all bred for some reason, their numbers far too vast to count. Then it hit him, all the clones where of himself, not one was of the other boy. He ran as fast as he could, careful to not leave a trace of his discovery, he had to be careful, he had to stop this, and he needed answers. Weiss decided that the next night he would show the other boy just what he uncovered.
He played along, like he never left the room, like he was just the same clueless boy following every order. Weiss tried to talk to the other boy, but that day they had been separated, the other boy was told that he’d need to be subjected to a very new test, one that Weiss could not take part of. In some part of his being, a sense of dread fell over Weiss, and he couldn’t tell why, so far his feelings had been very true, so this eerie sensation shook him to the core. The day had been far too long, and yet no sign of the other male, Weiss was just informed that the boy’s test was long, and that he’d need to perform his task through the night. This forced Weiss into action, escaping his room, trying to find where exactly the other was. What he found, it wasn’t him, at least not anymore, the person he was looking for was gone, and in his place stood madness, depravity, something Weiss didn’t want to see.
Blood was splattered across every wall, only one light seemed to function as it tittered back and forth, shining over the boy. At his feet piles of bodies, the clones, images of Weiss broken, torn apart, dead just painting every crevice of that room. No sheer amount of words could explain what Weiss was witnessing. The boy ran to the other, Weiss took him in his arms, holding him close as he tried to ask for an explanation, why had he done this, why was he now a killer. The other just stood frozen, not uttering a single word until men in white coats entered the room. They answered each and every question, before Weiss could even ask them. They were never meant to be heroes, only weapons, meant to track down and kill other mutants, or bring them in to further Organization’s study of mutant kind. They had devised a plan for the two boys, for them to become as close to the other as possible, and then use that about of emotion to create the perfect weapons against mutants, stripped of all emotions, just one who was able to follow orders without hesitation, the perfect killing machine.
Weiss’ part was just to provide the perfect practice dummies for the other. To be the perfect challenge, the perfect contender for that boy, they were meant to fight each other, and whoever came out the victor would become their greatest asset. The boy’s anger grew, how could they use them like that? How could the other boy just go along with it, when they promised that they would save the world together, be together, become a family. Flashes ran through the whole facility, Weiss intended to bring it down along with every project and secret they had. Before he could the man said that there were facilities all over the world, all filled with clones of Weiss, read to be pitted against the boy to train him and make him grow stronger until he was finally able to strike down Weiss. A blur, that’s all that Weiss can recall as he let his powers rampant across the facility, destroying everything in his path. Before everything could be destroyed, he gathered the coordinates of all the facilities spread across the world, and he began on his path, to stop them, and to put a stop to the sad fate his clones were forced to face.
Through the years the boy grew, his fight didn’t stop as he destroyed facility after facility, but still no sign of the boy he grew up with, the one that he was still in love with. It had been years since they saw each other, until at one facility they met, and they battled their powers causing rampant destruction all across the neighboring land. A stalemate, but Weiss could see that there was no shred of the boy he loved, and he vowed that the next time they saw each other Weiss would kill him once and for all. Weiss lost all sense of hope, he just fought to stop the people that robbed him of his life, his happy ending, and who were intending to steal the smiles of the mutants across the world. He steeled himself for the worst to come, for the day where he’d have to kill the love of his life.
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heroes-hq-blog1 · 5 years
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MERLIN IS OFFICIALLY READY TO JOIN THE ACADEMY!
› KITTIBUN “KIT” KARA › 23 YEARS OLD › CHAOS MAGIC › 8 YEARS IN THE ACADEMY
POWER
chaos magic: it is the superhuman ability to generate and control various forms of magic and other mystical and supernatural forces.
STRENGTHS + the user can perform spells with a different variety of effects such as (teleportation, conjuration, healing_ + the user can manipulate different forces of nature through the use of this power + can affect probability by distorting the energy field of things it affects therefore creating chaos
WEAKNESSES - if the user can’t hear their spell they will be null - if the user’s concentration is broken their power will result in a backlash that damages the user and drains their stamina - the user is limited to the use of their imagination in the acts they wish to perform with this power. - user cannot use more than one spell at a time.- user requires a period of rest after using their ability; the longer the ability is used, the longer the period of rest. -the use can only handle a limited amount of force behind the spells and usage of powers, anything exceeding these limits will cause strain and destruction of the user’s body
ORIGINS
Money, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, desperation, these things have ruled the world for time immemorial, moving the foundation of where once stood virtues and values, are now just ruled by these powers that expand and encroach on everything they can clasp their claws on. Years go by and the rich get richer, the poor keep falling in a cycle of depravity, forced to commit acts, atrocious they may be, but only so that a family would be able to eat, have a roof over their heads, and survive. The organization feeds on these people for their purposes, dawning on them with false hope, as long as they abide by their rules, but at what cost? How much would a single person give up, to have food on the table? One particular family was met with this decision. A corporation was building a program, where a mutant would be subjected to multiple tests in the hopes of becoming their ultimate weapon, a pawn in their game, the perfect soldier for their empire. To end mutants once and for all, they would use the very thing they’re trying to destroy. If you can’t control it, then what use is it to them?
They were very forward with their program, calling out to families in the slums to provide any mutants they had in their family, and they would have a vast compensation. Many families handed in their loved ones, desperation taking over the love they were supposed to have in their hearts. What’s the price of one, to be able to maintain three, four others? Kit the child of a family of four was given up so that they cold survive. It was a quick process, signing forms, demonstrate the child’s power, and how powerful they could grow, and Kit piqued their interest from the moment they laid eyes on him. He was something special to them, something they could mold in their image, and for whatever purposes they would have in store for the young mutant. As a child it was easy to convince Kit of their ideals, fallacies of world peace were provided to the boy, and they made it seem as if their true wasn’t the extermination of mutants, but the protection of mutant kind. The young boy was just pawn in their elaborate game, how could a child ever understand how nefarious adults could be, people who once used to be children themselves now corrupt beings, filled with hate, and led by avarice.
A Reality warper that was the coined term that they called the young boy. Someone who could do more than just manipulate the element; his true power lied in ability to sense all phenomenon related to this power. Able to use his powers in a myriad of new and untested ways. With time his powers grew, and it seemed that Kit would be one of the organization’s greatest asset. They trained the boy in all sorts of combat and espionage, made him solve puzzles, and they tested him at every corner, each day would be a new challenge, and Kit felt that this was just his life, the training necessary to become the hero they told him he’d be. As he grew in rank and power, he underwent different types of training, each one more strenuous than the last, but all in the hopes that this child could fulfill their wishes. Everything changed the day Kit met another young boy, a boy that had the saddest eyes he’d ever seen.
The two boys were placed together forced into each other’s lives. This way the boys became friends, the only two children at the facility. It wasn’t something quick Kit had tried to approach the other many times, but it seemed the boy suffered from severe shyness, always scurrying away or hiding at the sight of Kit. Still, the other child never stopped trying; he always kept a smile on his face in the hopes that this other boy could hopefully become his new family. It took a month before the other boy finally directed words at Kit, and even then it was just one. With time the two warmed up to each other, doing everything together, and they promised that no matter what they would hold each other’s hands through it all, they would both become the heroes that saved mutant kind. Each day was another day together for them, helping each other through the challenges that were placed in front of them at the facility, the boys learned to rely on another, and cover the other’s faults. They were a team, and they  seemed to want it that way, the two were happy together they had found a home in one another.
With the passage of time the late night whispers turned into intimate conversations, they loved learning about each other, and every day there was something new to be told, another story, another venture. It was to be expected that the two fell for each other; everything they’d gone through together just cemented those budding feelings. A confession turned into affection, affection turned into a kiss. The following months were the greatest of Kit’s life, they were allowed to be together at all times within the facility, and they ate up every moment together, wondering about life on the outside, and how things have changed, and the things they’d do together once it was their time to be the heroes they were trained to be. Promises of marriage, love, building a family, the young boys dreamt of it all, it seemed that they just thought they were meant for one another, the perfect half for the other’s mold. It was perfect, truly, and utterly perfect, while it lasted.
No matter how much one tries to bury the truth, it always finds a way to surface. While their lives seemed perfect, the duo’s tasks were becoming more and more draining, barely able to move the very next day, but they knew they had to, it was their duty. Kit was being subjected to random blood tests, and forced to take many drugs of unknown effects, it seemed that they was becoming more and more ruthless with their treatment. Kit  was finding their activity more perturbing, they changed from the warm and caring people he knew from around the base to cold and distant strangers in the blink of an eye. His curiosity grew, and he couldn’t put his finger on it, but the whole program, everything just seemed wrong. A heavy toll was taken on Kit daily, and he tried to tell the other boy about what he was feeling, but he was dismissed with just being paranoid, silly, or simply anxious.
For a while Kit agreed, maybe it was just all in his mind, the simple paranoia that soon enough they would both be deployed, and the burden of becoming heroes was a closer reality than before. Still he had his doubts; nothing was as picture perfect as it once appeared to be. Kit didn’t know if it was chance, or clues were placed before him, so he could finally uncover the truth behind the organization, and its dark agenda. Kit heard them talking, whispering about the progress of another secret project, about how rumors were spreading, and that they were almost ready to begin their final phase. Kit felt alarmed as he heard them talk, this new project seemed to be of great importance, and somehow he knew that he was at the center of it all. That night he decided to snoop around see what he could find and bring back for the other boy, the one whom he was in love to see. But what he found, he could have never been ready for.
The lower levels, where only the ones with the highest clearance could enter, it was almost impenetrable, almost. Thanks to his powers, Kit could bypass any security measures undetected, they had trained him for this very thing, but they never expected that it would be his downfall. Past bleak lights, and dark, damp corridors, he followed his instincts, where the strongest surges of power took him, the pull was far too strong to deny. Through metal sliding doors, Kit had found it, or better said, them. Clones, all in pods, all the same, all bearing Kit’s face. The boy looked in horror at the duplicates in stasis, all bred for some reason, their numbers far too vast to count. Then it hit him, all the clones where of himself, not one was of the other boy. He ran as fast as he could, careful to not leave a trace of his discovery, he had to be careful, he had to stop this, and he needed answers. Kit decided that the next night he would show the other boy just what he uncovered.
He played along, like he never left the room, like he was just the same clueless boy following every order. Kit tried to talk to the other boy, but that day they had been separated, the other boy was told that he’d need to be subjected to a very new test, one that Kit could not take part of. In some part of his being, a sense of dread fell over Kit, and he couldn’t tell why, so far his feelings had been very true, so this eerie sensation shook him to the core. The day had been far too long, and yet no sign of the other male, Kit was just informed that the boy’s test was long, and that he’d need to perform his task through the night. This forced Kit into action, escaping his room, trying to find where exactly the other was. What he found, it wasn’t him, at least not anymore, the person he was looking for was gone, and in his place stood madness, depravity, something Kit didn’t want to see.
Blood was splattered across every wall, only one light seemed to function as it tittered back and forth, shining over the boy. At his feet piles of bodies, the clones, images of Kit broken, torn apart, dead just painting every crevice of that room. No sheer amount of words could explain what Kit was witnessing. The boy ran to the other, Kit took him in his arms, holding him close as he tried to ask for an explanation, why had he done this, why was he now a killer. The other just stood frozen, not uttering a single word until men in white coats entered the room. They answered each and every question, before Kit could even ask them. They were never meant to be heroes, only weapons, meant to track down and kill other supers, or bring them in to further Organization’s study of powered kind. They had devised a plan for the two boys, for them to become as close to the other as possible, and then use that about of emotion to create the perfect weapons against those with powers, stripped of all emotions, just one who was able to follow orders without hesitation, the perfect killing machine.
Kit’s part was just to provide the perfect practice dummies for the other. To be the perfect challenge, the perfect contender for that boy, they were meant to fight each other, and whoever came out the victor would become their greatest asset. The boy’s anger grew, how could they use them like that? How could the other boy just go along with it, when they promised that they would save the world together, be together, become a family. Flashes ran through the whole facility, Kit intended to bring it down along with every project and secret they had. Before he could the man said that there were facilities all over the world, all filled with clones of Kit, ready to be pitted against the boy to train him and make him grow stronger until he was finally able to strike down Kit. A blur, that’s all that Kit can recall as he let his powers rampant across the facility, destroying everything in his path. Before everything could be destroyed, he gathered the coordinates of all the facilities spread across the world, and he began on his path, to stop them, and to put a stop to the sad fate his clones were forced to face.
The aftermath was hazy, smoke rose from the ruins of an enormous building as police, heroes, and other swarmed around. The only living thing in the surrounding area was a 15 year old boy, one who didn’t utter a single word but he was fund unscathed in the rubble, surrounded by a bubble of pure red energy. Kit was then taken it, unveiling to the authorities what the facility was and who they were, and all that they were planning. With no real information on the boy or his family’s whereabouts, he was thrust into the hands of the academy as there was no other way he could be let out into the public with his powers being a potential threat.
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xmutantsrpg-blog · 6 years
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Name: James “Jem” Elias Blackthorn @bclkthorns
Alias: Weaver (He hates it)
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Homosexual
Powers: Wire/String manipulation
Key Traits: Flirty, Analytic, Resourceful
Affiliation: Neutral
Date Enrolled: After the carnival event (09/09/85)
Room number: 22D
Extracurriculars: N/A
What do you want to get out of this school: An understanding of oneself and stability with powers
Known Family: 3 younger siblings, Mom & Dad (no communication)
Relations: TBA
Personality Type: The Jester
Anything Else: height is 5′4
Origin Story:
Money, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, desperation, these things have ruled the world for time immemorial, moving the foundation of where once stood virtues and values, are now just ruled by these powers that expand and encroach on everything they can clasp their claws on. Years go by and the rich get richer, the poor keep falling in a cycle of depravity, forced to commit acts, atrocious they may be, but only so that a family would be able to eat, have a roof over their heads, and survive. The organization feeds on these people for their purposes, dawning on them with false hope, as long as they abide by their rules, but at what cost? How much would a single person give up, to have food on the table? One particular family was met with this decision. A corporation was building a program, where a mutant would be subjected to multiple tests in the hopes of becoming their ultimate weapon, a pawn in their game, the perfect soldier for their empire. To end mutants once and for all, they would use the very thing they’re trying to destroy. If you can’t control it, then what use is it to them?
They were very forward with their program, calling out to families in the slums to provide any mutants they had in their family, and they would have a vast compensation. Many families handed in their loved ones, desperation taking over the love they were supposed to have in their hearts. What’s the price of one, to be able to maintain three, four others? Jem the child of a family of four was given up so that they cold survive. It was a quick process, signing forms, demonstrate the child’s power, and how powerful they could grow, and Jem piqued their interest from the moment they laid eyes on him. He was something special to them, something they could mold in their image, and for whatever purposes they would have in store for the young mutant. As a child it was easy to convince Jem of their ideals, fallacies of world peace were provided to the boy, and they made it seem as if their true wasn’t the extermination of mutants, but the protection of mutant kind. The young boy was just pawn in their elaborate game, how could a child ever understand how nefarious adults could be, people who once used to be children themselves now corrupt beings, filled with hate, and led by avarice.
A wire-master that was the coined term that they called the young boy. Someone who could do more than just manipulate the element; his true power lied in ability to sense all phenomenon related to this power. Able to use his powers to listen in on wherever his wires were latched, and the ability to control the actions of others, and be able to created clones made of string. With time his powers grew, and it seemed that Jem would be one of the organization’s greatest asset. They trained the boy in all sorts of combat and espionage, made him solve puzzles, and they tested him at every corner, each day would be a new challenge, and Jem felt that this was just his life, the training necessary to become the hero they told him he’d be. As he grew in rank and power, he underwent different types of training, each one more strenuous than the last, but all in the hopes that this child could fulfill their wishes. Everything changed the day Jem met another young boy, a mutant, that boy had the saddest eyes of all.
The two boys were placed together forced into each other’s lives. This way the boys became friends, the only two children at the facility. It wasn’t something quick Jem had tried to approach the other many times, but it seemed the boy suffered from severe shyness, always scurrying away or hiding at the sight of Jem. Still, the other child never stopped trying; he always kept a smile on his face in the hopes that this other boy could hopefully become his new family. It took a month before the other boy finally directed words at Jem, and even then it was just one. With time the two warmed up to each other, doing everything together, and they promised that no matter what they would hold each other’s hands through it all, they would both become the heroes that saved mutant kind. Each day was another day together for them, helping each other through the challenges that were placed in front of them at the facility, the boys learned to rely on another, and cover the other’s faults. They were a team, and they  seemed to want it that way, the two were happy together they had found a home in one another.
With the passage of time the late night whispers turned into intimate conversations, they loved learning about each other, and every day there was something new to be told, another story, another venture. It was to be expected that the two fell for each other; everything they’d gone through together just cemented those budding feelings. A confession turned into affection, affection turned into a kiss, and kiss turned into something more. The following months were the greatest of Jem’s life, they were allowed to be together at all times within the facility, and they ate up every moment together, wondering about life on the outside, and how things have changed, and the things they’d do together once it was their time to be the heroes they were trained to be. Promises of marriage, love, building a family, the young boys dreamt of it all, it seemed that they just thought they were meant for one another, the perfect half for the other’s mold. It was perfect, truly, and utterly perfect, while it lasted.
No matter how much one tries to bury the truth, it always finds a way to surface. While their lives seemed perfect, the duo’s tasks were becoming more and more draining, barely able to move the very next day, but they knew they had to, it was their duty. Jem was being subjected to random blood tests, and forced to take many drugs of unknown effects, it seemed that they was becoming more and more ruthless with their treatment. Jem was finding their activity more perturbing, they changed from the warm and caring people he knew from around the base to cold and distant strangers in the blink of an eye. His curiosity grew, and he couldn’t put his finger on it, but the whole program, everything just seemed wrong. A heavy toll was taken on Jem daily, and he tried to tell the other boy about what he was feeling, but he was dismissed with just being paranoid, silly, or simply anxious.
For a while Jem agreed, maybe it was just all in his mind, the simple paranoia that soon enough they would both be deployed, and the burden of becoming heroes was a closer reality than before. Still he had his doubts; nothing was as picture perfect as it once appeared to be. Jem didn’t know if it was chance, or clues were placed before him, so he could finally uncover the truth behind the organization, and its dark agenda. Jem heard them talking, whispering about the progress of another secret project, about how rumors were spreading, and that they were almost ready to begin their final phase. Jem felt alarmed as he heard them talk, this new project seemed to be of great importance, and somehow he knew that he was at the center of it all. That night he decided to snoop around see what he could find and bring back for the other boy, the one whom he was in love to see. But what he found, he could have never been ready for.
The lower levels, where only the ones with the highest clearance could enter, it was almost impenetrable, almost. Thanks to his powers, Jem could bypass any security measures undetected, they had trained him for this very thing, but they never expected that it would be his downfall. Past bleak lights, and dark, damp corridors, he followed his instincts, where the strongest surges of power took him, the pull was far too strong to deny. Through metal sliding doors, Jem had found it, or better said, them. Clones, all in pods, all the same, all bearing Jem’s face. The boy looked in horror at the duplicates in stasis, all bred for some reason, their numbers far too vast to count. Then it hit him, all the clones where of himself, not one was of the other boy. He ran as fast as he could, careful to not leave a trace of his discovery, he had to be careful, he had to stop this, and he needed answers. Jem decided that the next night he would show the other boy just what he uncovered.
He played along, like he never left the room, like he was just the same clueless boy following every order. Jem tried to talk to the other boy, but that day they had been separated, the other boy was told that he’d need to be subjected to a very new test, one that Jem could not take part of. In some part of his being, a sense of dread fell over Jem, and he couldn’t tell why, so far his feelings had been very true, so this eerie sensation shook him to the core. The day had been far too long, and yet no sign of the other male, Jem was just informed that the boy’s test was long, and that he’d need to perform his task through the night. This forced Jem into action, escaping his room, trying to find where exactly the other was. What he found, it wasn’t him, at least not anymore, the person he was looking for was gone, and in his place stood madness, depravity, something Jem didn’t want to see.
Blood was splattered across every wall, only one light seemed to function as it tittered back and forth, shining over the boy. At his feet piles of bodies, the clones, images of Jem broken, torn apart, dead just painting every crevice of that room. No sheer amount of words could explain what Jem was witnessing. The boy ran to the other, Jem took him in his arms, holding him close as he tried to ask for an explanation, why had he done this, why was he now a killer. The other just stood frozen, not uttering a single word until men in white coats entered the room. They answered each and every question, before Jem could even ask them. They were never meant to be heroes, only weapons, meant to track down and kill other mutants, or bring them in to further Organization’s study of mutant kind. They had devised a plan for the two boys, for them to become as close to the other as possible, and then use that about of emotion to create the perfect weapons against mutants, stripped of all emotions, just one who was able to follow orders without hesitation, the perfect killing machine.
Jem’s part was just to provide the perfect practice dummies for the other. To be the perfect challenge, the perfect contender for that boy, they were meant to fight each other, and whoever came out the victor would become their greatest asset. The boy’s anger grew, how could they use them like that? How could the other boy just go along with it, when they promised that they would save the world together, be together, become a family. Flashes ran through the whole facility, and Jem intended to bring it down along with every project and secret they had. Before he could the man said that there were facilities all over the world, all filled with clones of Jem, read to be pitted against the boy to train him and make him grow stronger until he was finally able to strike down Jem. A blur, that’s all that Jem can recall as he let his powers rampant across the facility, destroying everything in his path. Before everything could be destroyed, he gathered the coordinates of all the facilities spread across the world, and he began on his path, to stop them, and to put a stop to the sad fate his clones were forced to face.
After the destruction authorities arrived at the scene, baffled by what they encountered, a young boy unconscious among pure destruction, seemingly untouched as if the world feel around him, but he couldn’t be touched. It was then that he was shipped to the institute, now labeled a mutant, he was seen as a threat, and now he has to live the life he was robbed of, and he doesn’t even know how to begin.
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