Just watched ‘Eternity’ for the first time and I have some thoughts to share about what happened in it.
ANGEL: “Forget it. I didn't mean--“
CORDELIA: “Yes, you did. I'd appreciate you not trying to weasel out of it. Angelus may not be relaxing company, but at least he's honest. Shouldn't I expect the same from the not-evil version?”
Couldn’t have said it better myself Cordelia. I mean if just a drug stimulant simulating happiness is all it takes for Angel to revert into his soulless self (yeah, I’m not going to refer to him as a different entity - not when episodes like this exist) then this atonement gig really is pretty pointless. The narrative wants you to think of it as atonement but this is about absolution for Angel. If he can’t even be honest with his friends as Angel about what he says and does as Angelus, then there really is no hope for him redeeming himself. This isn’t a “loss of soul/restoration of soul” going on with the whole good-to-evil switch and even the other main characters can see that it’s not. Drugs can induce reality illusions and make it seem very real. I totally get that part. I understand why they did that. But if it’s really that easy for him to suddenly turn like that then he shouldn’t really be allowed to live - or exist. I know that may seem unfair but he is dangerous to the point of chaotic unpredictability. And I don’t think the narrative can keep lying to itself that Angel/Angelus are two entirely different entities when there’s a split-divide identity/personality problem here that can just be simulated like that.
At first I thought he was just playing Rebecca. Putting on an act to scare her away from what she thinks she wants. And I thought “Effective tactic”. But then he started delivering real abuse and violence. That clearly wasn’t acting. The drugs in the drink really did simulate the experiencing of happiness and therefore Angel behaving as if he lost his soul. If a powerful drug spiking can essentially be like the Placebo effect of the curse’s condition, then it’s not possible for me to take a redemption story for the ensouled vampire seriously because it’s clearly got nothing to do with his soul. It’s his mind! Drugs can only affect the mind!
You’re asking me to accept both contradictory narratives here. The one where he is under demonic possession and the other where he should feel guilty.
I’m sorry but I just can’t do that. It doesn’t work! It has to be either one or the other or I can’t accept it.
I can’t and I won’t accept what is clearly an absolution story that pretends to be a redemption story.
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I love the tsu'tey lives au and the Spellman siblings! 💙🩵
I can't help but wonder how'd Tsu'tey react to them and their situation, especially if he didn't realize/notice the whole thing (the siblings adopting/raising Spider & living at Hell's Gate) till later on when the twin where like 13/14.
((I know he'd probably notice earlier bit we can pretend that he was busy with adjusting to life with his injuries/helping Jake be olo'eyktan))
he knew of the infamous 'spellman siblings' around the village, a group of 3 - previously four - children who were incredibly intelligent, prone to violence, and extremely protective of spider. he also knew they were raised by norm spellman, the 'nerd' as jake called him.
spider talked of them frequently, he was practically obsessed with the kids, many would argue they were family. tsu'tey, as much as he loved the kid, was happy to have another set of hands helping him out when he was stretched thin. he had a lot on his plate, jake needing guidance as the new olo'ekytan, his own disabilities to learn to work around, a rambunctious toddler/child (why did they grow so fast? he looked away for five seconds and the little five year old clinging to his leg was suddenly almost 10 and very much not a toddler anymore. it broke his heart a little more then he'd like to admit). he had met the kids a few times, though they seemed weary of the village people, himself included; he knew some had harsh feelings on them taking spider in, he faced it himself, and had attempted to squash it with little success. but even when he tried reaching out to the little ones, they shied away from him as well; knowing they lost so much so young, has been raised by an avatar in a lab, and had formed a bit of a secluded bond to spider, made him assume that they were just shy kids who clung to familiar family.
he had just assumed that spider was in their care while out in the world, and went home with them to his adoptive family, or at very least the 'nerd.' he was wrong. sure he saw the signs of neglect in the little human, it was easy when he was the odd one out, when the reason for his neglect was obvious (even if it was wrong, tsu'tey knew, and had excepted why it happened). it was a lot harder to spot it in kids that already had their own issues before the neglect began; the loss of their elder sister, amongst many other children they were close with, shot in front of them. the death of their parents, their people, their home. it spelled trouble for their young minds, so tsu'tey stupidly assumed that had been the reason the whole time, not the fact they were being raised by people on screens and raising an orphan on their own.
he realized it slowly, over the span of a few months, something was off, more off than he could stomach. it was little things; the older two were defensive against any adults, including the man that should be their father, being near spider. this extended to him, and it took spider begging and promising that tsu'tey was ok, "he's not like them" he said. then he realized how they never spoke of parents, not their own, not norm, not the scientists, or the adoptive family of spiders. they didn't have parents, they had each other, and that was it. then as they began spending more and more time at Hellsgate, their stuff, their voices, there presence began to dwindle from the village, until one day they were gone. as spider trained under tsu'tey the kids became more and more used to his presence, and clung to him more and more each day. something was wrong, so wrong, and he couldn't put his finger on it.
then he talked to norm, who claimed they had 'aged out' of his care, said they stopped seeing him as a dad, so he let them go on with their own lives. he assumed they were fine, and not wanting to overstep as the 'second' parent.
he talked to the siblings, hoping, praying, that somehow, someway, what they were going to say would fix this, make this normal. it didn't. when they took on spider, and norm didn't take him in as his own, didn't try, even when he knows the poor thing needed it. when norm rejected spider, the twins rejected him, and set out to be parents to their two younger siblings.
after that, he slowly built a relationship with the kids, inviting them to stay with him and spider (he stayed with him once a week), sleeping their hammock, eat meals with them, join them for lessons. eventually he works them back into the village, not completely, norm may not be there home, but the lab was, and spider couldn't stay out in the village every night, it was too dangerous. but he did make them feel like they had a place, a home, someone to love them and take care of them and their fragile baby brother.
he has a bone to pick with the people of hellsgate by the end of his little discovery and attempts to mend the damage of said discovery, but, at the end of the day he had 4 kids instead of one, a little family to call his own, and he got introduced to digital media, which movie nights are a win in his mind. cause listen, he is disabled, stressed out with jake and all the other adults being stupid, and 4, wildly smart and energetic kids. having a time where he can lay out and relax in a pillow fort, with his kids in his arms, watching some shitty (amazing, cause the siblings have amazing taste) human movies, that sounds pretty nice to him.
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It’s not just in the things you’ll never send but the interplay.
it’s in the trance, its in your sway, you’ll find me with every head nod, and I’ll be there in the categorical madness of joy.
I’ll be here for you, we are who we are.
our mind doesn’t stop it continues it begs it enshrines, strictly speaking you’re not ordinary and it hurts when it hurts and feels devilish when it does but boy you’re here why hide that.
you can’t hide that there’s a sparkle to you, you shine bright, you pay attentively to the flow that’s no one’s fault, you got me I know it feels lonely you’re alone and that’s where the fear and instability peeks in I can’t say you’ll be a writer but I will say that you create art beyond a profession you do the things you do to save the story this is your life.
memory it haunts us regret haunts us don’t live like this, it’s in direct contradiction to the the beauty bravery and freedom of those around you. we all persist to the beat of our own love it sways and conforms it bends in odd shapes and yours does the same. look how it grooves look how it falters you can’t run away from who or where you are, you’re all that you’ve ever been idk man it’s hard to say, sometimes all that we are is the realization nothing is forever to love deeper and express ourselves with absurdity nothing is forever.
temporary is the game we can forget or we can choose how we remember even when it hurts we do it for the love.
10/8/22 - wtf yeah I second this
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