Chapter 45-3: Distorted Truths

[Verse]

Those are the facts as you see them, yes. Some of it is speculative, some is a matter of perspective.

For the record, the reason behind the war at the tower, the attacks on the Michael's group... the entire Scratch arc all hinges on one act. Burt shooting the mirror of the tanker truck in Scratch's first appearance in an attempt to assert his alpha dog status. Burt's ego got all of those people killed. Burt's actions caused Pegs to be hunted, Lizzy to be kidnapped, and almost raped, and CJ to lose her leg.

We will have to agree to disagree on that. Some of that is speculative. I disagree that it is perspective. Scratch torturing Burt is not perspective outside of you wanting to make an excuse for her. Her tormenting and murdering a innocent man to cover her tracks at the tuck yards is not perspective outside of gasping straws. Doctor Jason, Brother in Jail, that was indeed hinted at but not confirmed.

As for Burt causing the fight on ego.

I disagree as well. We know that The Mallers were slavers and making plans to take out Dunbar if needed. To say Burt not backing down to Scratch is what caused everything is nuts. You can say that the Tankers were theirs and by taking them started the war... but they also stole his guns from his shop. To say "Yeah.. Those guys that are slavers... murderers... rapists... and thieves would have just left The Tower alone if Burt would not played Alpha Dog" is crazy talk. What The Mallers are is indeed fact as well. Tardust tried to rape Lizzy..They had Slaves.... CJ had a file over them killing people for supplies... and they kidnapped and innocent girl and raided Burt's Place.

Oh... and they attacked and took over The Colony first chance they got. The Colony did nothing to them. Dunbar did nothing to them, but they kidnapped (and murdered) an innocent girl to plant a mole to find a way to take them out if needed.

So I am not buying the "Burt's Ego caused this". He may have alerted them when they went to the Truck Yard, but that isn't his fault. Based on what they did to The Colony, and planning on Dunbar, it would have just been a matter of time.

[Osiris]

Wow. Osi's zealous devotion to Scratch has muddied his judgement to the extreme, and this post is evidence of the fact. Come on, man... you're seriously trying to pin all that on Burt?! Why don't you just blame it all on Lady, since the whole 'Burt shooting the tanker truck mirror' incident wouldn't have happened if that fucking mutt didn't have to take a leak in the first place!

It's a fact. If Burt hadn't whipped his dick out, and tried to be a bigger man than a girl--which says all kinds of shit about what type of guy Burt really is--things could have gone in a very, very different direction. There's no muddy judgement, no twisted logic, only simple facts easily proven. Disagree? Go to the tape, and re-listen to Burt fire the first shot, the shot that started the war.

[7oddisdead]

I don't want to get into the who started what argument, cause honestly I don't care. But there's no denying that incident, and those two people are what started all the conflict(person to person). Ego and determination facing off. Simple as that. Assign blame to whomever you want...

[Osiris]

We will have to agree to disagree on that. Some of that is speculative. I disagree that it is perspective. Scratch torturing Burt is not perspective outside of you wanting to make an excuse for her. Her tormenting and murdering a innocent man to cover her tracks at the tuck yards is not perspective outside of gasping straws. Doctor Jason, Brother in Jail, that was indeed hinted at but not confirmed.

As for Burt causing the fight on ego.

I disagree as well. We know that The Mallers were slavers and making plans to take out Dunbar if needed. To say Burt not backing down to Scratch is what caused everything is nuts. You can say that the Tankers were theirs and by taking them started the war... but they also stole his guns from his shop. To say "Yeah.. Those guys that are slavers... murderers... rapists... and thieves would have just left The Tower alone if Burt would not played Alpha Dog" is crazy talk. What The Mallers are is indeed fact as well. Tardust tried to rape Lizzy..They had Slaves.... CJ had a file over them killing people for supplies... and they kidnapped and innocent girl and raided Burt's Place.

Oh... and they attacked and took over The Colony first chance they got. The Colony did nothing to them. Dunbar did nothing to them, but they kidnapped (and murdered) an innocent girl to plant a mole to find a way to take them out if needed.

So I am not buying the "Burt's Ego caused this". He may have alerted them when they went to the Truck Yard, but that isn't his fault. Based on what they did to The Colony, and planning on Dunbar, it would have just been a matter of time.

Now you're just plain high if you think that guy in the yard was innocent. You said so yourself, "murderers... rapists... and thieves." As for enslavement? Who was in charge at the Mall? I forget. His name... started with a D... Darren? Daryl? Durai? It's been so long, I've lost perspective on history. None of them are innocents. As for her brother going to jail for her? That's between the two of them. The only person grasping at straws here is you and your staunch refusal to see the story from any perspective other than the one you hold to be the right one.

TARDUST tried to rape Lizzy, not Scratch. Fact is Scratch threatened to feed him to The Sisters for it. So... As far as what she did to Burt, cutting off his finger to get information? Sure. She tortured him to find Pegs, which is par for the course. Isn't Tardust in danger of suffering a similar fate at the hands of someone who, by your definition of degrees of sanity and culpability, is on the side of righteousness? Or am I completely mistaken that the likelihood of torture is not imminent?

As for CJ? She has her own motivations for what she does. She has a file on everyone, not just those from the mall. That's her thing.

Beyond that you're speculating on a possible future-past. The difference between my speculation, and your speculation is mine doesn't ally itself with your own, therefore I must be wrong. And in circles we go.

[Osiris]

I don't want to get into the who started what argument, cause honestly I don't care. But there's no denying that incident, and those two people are what started all the conflict(person to person). Ego and determination facing off. Simple as that. Assign blame to whomever you want...

In that case, I'm blaming Blaire. It's all her fault.

[DagnyTag]

What if Scratch really did attack one of the convoys but had a gun to the head of whoever responded to Kelly over the radio. At least some people who were at the colony knew that Pegs was staying behind at Dunbar with Michael and the rest of the tower gang. Scratch could get that information out of them as well as where Dunbar is located.

[TacticalJHP]

None of that was personal for scratch in the beginning.

By the point she even met burt, she had broken into Burt's shop and raided it for weapons, broke her brother and other prisoners out of jail, Set up a fortress at the mall filled with slaves, Captured Pippin, Koloni, and his daughter and used them to spy on Dunbar, and seized a fuel tanker refinery.

At that point she was still following Durai's plan and not going for vengeance, and his plan was for tankers. If she lost one, it was her ass.

Saul, Lizzy, and Burt was taking one. They were expected to stop them. They did, then demanded sex from Lizzy in exchange for the tanker. They all agree no deal, and Burt shoots the tanker mirror to get Latch and Scratch to go away. There were no pissing contests.

Saul finds the Mallers, and then pissed Durai off because he wanted all the tankers. The only reason she knew where the tower was is because Saul followed them on a scooter and then they followed him to find the tower. Durai wanted the tower. Thus started the war.

The war lead to Latch's death at the hands of Pegs in order to defend her man. It is only by some miracle that Scratch even saw it was Pegs who shot, or that Pegs still lived, or that Scratch lived. (or that's good writing)

This sets off the personal vendetta that scratch cannot let go. She has to hide the vendetta while under Durai's orders like
1 setting up the bait-and-switch with Kolaini's daughter
2 Bombing the hell out of the arena
3 Attacking the tower a second time
4 Taking over the colony
5 Running the slaves


All while....

1 keeping lizzy from being raped
2 Keeping lizzy captive
3 burying latch
4 finding Pegs
5 Finding Angel and keeping him alive
6 Finding burt and keeping him captive
7 Taking care of Lizzy's pre-natal needs
8 Burt Torture
9 Murdering Angel
10 Assassination of Durai
11 running for her life from the colony
12 running from B&R while still stalking pegs for MONTHS.


Scratch is crazy for life.

Riley might get violent for a little while, and cross the line. Crossing the line does not put you even near someone who is crazy for life. Especially if you choose not to stay on that side of the line. Will she? Tine in in two weeks...

[Osiris]

Close. Very close.

[LiamKerrington]

Funny, it's only an act of desperation if you have the complete context. If you preclude knowledge of Kalani's daughter, it comes across in a very different light--even though he's still trying in desperation to save her life. Context is everything. We don't have all of the context surrounding Scratch. We have snippets, and throw-away lines about her past. Because we have the information to do so, we put Kalani, Riley, and eventually Saul's actions into context which won't vilify them. It'll make them sympathetic.

Well, in all honesty: it makes them pathetic to a certain degree. I only understand them, because people react to certain situations very different. I really hated Saul for his wild heart for quite a while; the cold-blooded murder of Pippin performed by Kalani still freaks me out; and about Riley I am steal very concerned and hope that she does not follow that dark road.
As for Scratch: We received three basic and important background information on her: she was a victim of violence and tragedy, and she deserves all my sorrow and grief for what happened back then; she did everything to get her brother out of prison; and her main agenda is to take revenge on the one person that took his brother's life and thus took away the last "warm feelings" from Scratch. As with Kalani, Saul, and Riley: I do understand.
In both cases I am not willing to go any further. There is no reason to justify or excuse things; maybe some of these things may seve as explanations, but nothing more than that.

Besides: If you are willing to neglect Scratch's "evilness" because of her dark and shadowy past thus putting everything about her into context, why wouldn't you accept the context of Kalani's story? Isn't this kind of a double-standardization as well? That struck my mind last night ...

Best wishes!
Liam

[LiamKerrington]

We all know that Burt and Riley are looking for Scratch. However, has anyone put much thought into the end game? What happens when they find her? Tell her off? Steal her panties and run them up a flag pole? Shove her into the mud? Roll up their sleeves, make a fist and say, "Why I outta!"?, Wedgies and titty twisters?

Good wuestion. I have not thought about it yet. But from the beginning I thought of it as being simply wrong. They are and about in a depoulated world where the most important thing is survival. Sticking to a plan of "revenge", and that is as - I understand it - the sole motivation behind this hunting and searching, is kind of stupid. No, not, kind of ... VERY stupid. Maybe it is just the logical consequence when Riley finally ticks out and goes all Guantanamo on Tardust ...