#marricks endgame is just. y'know it works for the story 'cause the whole story is just very loud and dramatic and over the top and | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

albatris · 4 years

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rambles, here are some of them

not the rambles I mentioned the other day and might still post at some stage, these are some different rambles, these are just some wandering thoughts and me thinking aloud, all subject to change

there is some. interesting. ground to cover in terms of Marrick potentially working with the DII

it makes a lot more sense in terms of the plot, and clears up how he gains access to certain things, and how he gets some of the information he has, how his plans play out, etc...... and also makes his involvement with Avery and Noa and some of the other people who work/have worked in the sorta base levels of the DII make a lot more sense in terms of it not being “too convenient”

and I don’t think he works For Them, necessarily, maybe just In Cooperation With, maybe just someone who was off doing interesting work and making a bit of a name for himself, and the DII thought that certain avenues of his research could be beneficial to them so they were like “hey you’ve got some solid stuff going on here, we’d be happy to help you out with resources and support if you continue and work in conjunction with us” or something like that

which is good for them and good for Marrick, like, it’s in the DII’s best interests to stay in the loop with whatever new information is coming to light about the apocalypse and its various manifestations and Marrick’s niche area of interest is something they’re keen to see explored, and it’s in Marrick’s best interest ‘cause jumping on board with the DII means he’ll have access to a lot of money and resources and information he didn’t have access to before and he can do Bigger and Better and More Interesting stuff

and like. obviously there’s some screening involved like they’re not just gonna hand some random guy all this stuff and be like “go wild”, like......... I’d like to emphasise that Marrick starts being shifty as hell LONG after he’s initially brought on board, and he kinda? starts using some of these resources to do his own kinda dodgy secret work in addition to whatever else

and like! oh, as a general rule, Marrick is completely on board with Helping Everyone, but it’s more like................ y’know, his first and foremost priority is self-preservation. it’s a good look for him to be like “I want to find a way to help everyone!” when in reality it’s more like, he’s looking for a way to help himself, and by extension, his findings will help others. but he doesn’t care about that and when push comes to shove, and will absolutely throw everyone else under the bus if it means he can save himself

so yes he helps the DII out but he’s also gone kind of rogue and is doing a lot of other shifty stuff he doesn’t tell the DII about, stuff that’s a little more morally iffy

and I’d like to talk about the DII some, now, because like

in general

there’s a lot to be said about how the DII is also.......... not....... great? its end goal is......... fine. good, even. like, they are genuinely truly trying to solve problems caused by the apocalypse and find a way to mend things and help the world deal with its effects. I would say their goal is pretty decent. but like. they tend to pour resources into two things

the first being The Bigger Picture

in terms of, like, y’know......... the future! the grand scheme! Here’s What We’re Doing To Ensure Tomorrow Is Better! which is absolutely not a bad thing on its own but there’s so much focus on this big abstract concept of The Future and not, y’know, the very real horrors and struggles that people are going through right now. which is also something the DII exists to deal with. there’s an issue with the DII as a whole largely not caring about the people who are currently living their lives facing the brunt of the apocalypse head on, and there’s definitely......... like, this absolutely includes the field teams and branches of the DII that have to actually go out and deal with Ports and Port-related emergencies directly, these folks r largely viewed by the organisation as vaguely expendable, they’re a necessary sacrifice, some loss is unavoidable, blah blah blah, and most importantly there are always going to be broke desperate people around to fill the gaps

and there’s a HUGE difference in the amount of resources and attention and support given to field teams in, say, places that have less Ports, places that still have an image of being relatively stable and safe, where the DII wants to Keep It Safe And Stable At All Costs, vs. places that are collapsing at the seams and that the DII views as essentially a lost cause and not worth the cost or stress, but they still have to fill a certain quota so they just sorta toss people in there like Hey Good Luck

n on that note, the second thing is, like.......... just Maintaining An Image

which is a HUGE running theme throughout the entire story on an interpersonal level too and that's a whole other post, this idea of an image being projected vs the reality of the situation, and the damage caused by just..... not seeing, or not being seen, or refusing to see, or being deprived of the right to be seen

but in terms of the DII it's about maintaining some illusion of safety and control, trying to keep everyone calm and avoid panic, which again.... not necessarily bad? but they're more interested in projecting the image that they Have Things Under Control, so they pour resources into things that will lend themselves to that competent and stable image, rather than perhaps things that need it more

because, and this is key, the DII has NO FUCKING IDEA what they’re doing

they don’t know fucking SHIT. they are only slightly less in the dark than the rest of the population and they are terrified and they have no idea how to solve this mess, and they’re trying to, like............. figure out the source of the apocalypse, figure the best way to combat it, find out what the fuck Ports are....... and like, yeah that’s a lot of pressure! and they’re I guess kind of scrambling to deal with this while keeping everyone from freaking the fuck out and yeah I guess it is a lot

and in their eyes I guess they don’t have the Time or Resources to care about anything other than the bigger picture which is....................... hm. bad

BUT WAIT HOLD ON OK I GOT OFF TRACK

Marrick working in conjunction with the DII, that’s what this post was originally about, uhhhhhh

there’s some interesting and perhaps valuable ideas to explore in terms of like

do they intentionally turn a blind eye? do they know that Marrick is most likely hiding something from them or doing something a little less than morally upstanding, but are deliberately choosing not to look into it? or like. do they NOT know at all, and when they find out are they like “hey that’s bad and not what we roped you in here to do and we want no part of this”

‘cause with the latter, there’s a LOT to be explored then in terms of like

the DII’s willingness to sorta..... passively allow people to come into/wander into harm’s way for the quote unquote “greater good”, being viewed as “collateral” or “unavoidable tragic loss”.......... vs how quick they are to voice their aversion to and disgust with someone Actively Causing Harm to others for the quote unquote “greater good”

but then with the FORMER there’s also like.......... with the idea that they’re choosing not to look into something they highly suspect is shifty as fuck, there’s this infinitely more grim idea of like. maybe they’re down for this kind of thing in theory provided it’s done quietly because it’s a Necessary Sacrifice and a Small Price To Pay, but condemn this current situation purely because it turns big and loud and public and they know it will look bad if they don’t

which is something I’ll definitely need to brush upon as a theory regardless but might not exactly confirm one way or the other

anyway actually dudes I originally went to type this post intending to make a stupid joke because I was considering marrick working with the DII's resources and thought the mental image was fun if he was like........

giving his dumb melodramatic cartoon supervillain monologue and being like "oh you think the DII will help you?? they've been in on this all along" like some kind of gotcha, and then the DII being like "dude no??? this is what you've been doing???? this is not what you told us you were doing?? you're definitely going to prison???? what the fuck???" and marrick being just like "oh :("

which I think is fucking funny as a concept but only works as funny in a situation where the DII aren't just entirely as terrible. passively or actively or otherwise

so no that joke no longer stands lmao. ‘cause like. either way it goes with the DII the implications are bad, y'know, like, even if the DII is like "oh fuck that's bad we don't want any part of this" they still.... allowed it to happen? and there's again the question of moral obligation, of What And Who Are Expendable and whether actively causing harm is worse than passively allowing it to happen in your name

and typing this post up is like

this is all. a lot

I feel like I'm not equipped to handle writing this kind of thing even though I think it's definitely the direction it needs to go, like

there's a lot of other intense things going on and I'm fine with the interpersonally intense and much kinda.... smaller level themes but this is kind of Saying Something with a bit of direction and force and idk if I'm a smart enough writer or if I have enough finesse to tackle it????? i feel like there's a lot of nuance involved and I'm gonna have to do a lot of work which is fair

there's just a lot happening and I'm a whole dumbass and it all needs A Lot Of Further Consideration

#atdao #kind of an intense one #n like yeah the implications are A Lot but marricks plotline itself outside of the DII stuff is just like #oh he's absolutely the villain of a cartoon #drama! flair! theatrics! over the top and exaggerated which also kinda ties into the other ramble i have in the works regarding genre #marricks endgame is just. y'know it works for the story 'cause the whole story is just very loud and dramatic and over the top and #obviously not based in realism lmao #marrick's endgame goes hard as hell in terms of aesthetic value and being cool as fuck but also like. marrick??? u good buddy???#i'm sure there are healthier ways 2 deal with existential fear

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