#apini week

[salamanderinspace]

Well, today concludes apini week.  :)  Back to whatever static and noise is coming off the wire...

[salamanderinspace]

Beetrayal

Here's something I'm curious about.  Exactly when, do you think, did Stinger make his deal with Titus?

At first I thought it must’ve been right immediately before the betrayal.  I assumed that Stinger exchanged FTLs with Famulus while Caine and Jupiter were stuck in the Hall of Titles.  You know, something to the effect of, “we know space-mom is stuck there doing paperwork for the next hour, so let’s pop over and scoop her up, yeah?  $$$ ON DELIVERY”

But what if the actual arrangement was made before that? 

I have a strong suspicion that Titus hired buckets of agents to retrieve Jupiter and intended to pay whoever lifted her first. It was a pretty urgent job, after all, with Balem on the rampage.  Maybe Titus tried to bribe the Marshal on Earth even before sending a bounty hunter. Makes a lot of sense, right?  Too much sense for Titus; it was probably Famulus’ idea.

It does seem evident that Stinger and Kiza were expecting someone to turn up at the hivey house. Stinger opens the door in like, ass-kicking mode.  That could’ve been for any of a number of reasons.  Maybe reports of the Shadow Chase came in on his radio frequency and he’s on high alert for trouble.  Or maybe the bees smell Caine coming and they communicated some kind of warning.  If that were the case, though, wouldn’t Stinger have known that Jupiter was a recurrence before the bees pointed it out...?  Stinger appears to be expecting Caine when he opens his door.  Does Stinger know that there are Hunters on-world, looking for Jupiter?  Could he have made an arrangement with Titus...before he even met her?

I do like the "bees don't question or doubt, bees don't lie" monologue as foreshadowing of Stinger's inner guilt and turmoil. Though, I must confess, I also like it as a batshit crazy, redundant crypticism that does not explain anything to anyone.

[salamanderinspace]

A young Sean Bean

(or, Stinger Apini after a recode)

[lizteph]

Its Apini week and a bee tried to attack me

Whyyyyyyyyyy

[salamanderinspace]

found on cafepress

[salamanderinspace]

Charlotte Beaumont (Kiza Apini) appreciation.

[salamanderinspace]

Trying to decide whether this goes on my Stinger Apini “Dad Music” playlist.

[salamanderinspace]

Stinger Apini

I've read a few reviews purposing that, if Jupiter Ascending were any other Hollywood film, Jupiter would've been relegated to the role of "love interest" while Caine Wise assumed the coveted role of Chosen One / MC. I think that's true - but I also find it equally likely that, if this were the 90s, Stinger could've been the MC, considering what he represents.

Stinger is the boomer-era white male self-insert.  He's a cop AND ex-military, retired to a FARM in middle America where he works -  just strugglin' to get by.  He has a teenage daughter and a room full'a guns "in the back."  He's every character played by Bruce Willis, John Wayne, and Kevin Costner, all rolled into one.  In the world of JA, he's a father, a sheriff AND a cowboy--literally a cowboy, if you read bees as farm animals.  Or if you read earthlings as farm animals.  Either way.

Stinger's role in the story is a somewhat conservative one.  As an Aegis "space cop," he is well-placed to introduce Jupiter to the status quo of space capitalism.  Stinger is, by profession, a defender of the same laws which make Jupiter "Your Majesty" and everyone else "product."  Yet he takes no responsibility for the power structure he helps defend. "Technically, YOUR people killed the dinosaurs," he retorts, even though Titus refers to "Marshals and Administrators" overseeing the harvests. Marshal is Stinger's Aegis title. "Administators" may refer to the Legion Administrator, as mentioned by the Seals and Signets master in reference to Jupiter's royal guard.

Legionnaires, Aegis Marshals, Hunters…all these roles are integral to maintaining the system of genetic immortality space capitalism.  Caine defies authority and rejects his role; he does so outside the story (by biting an Entitled) and within the story (by deciding to date Jupiter instead of cashing in on the bounty on her head). Stinger, however, embraces his role; he DOES cash in Jupiter's bounty, and he maintains a rank within an institution that enforces stratification of the social order.  Stinger and the Aegis staff are responsible for the "harvests" on both an institutional and consumer level - they are even depicted actively using Regenex to heal Caine.

In spite of all this, Stinger is a likeable character. He's a part of the team; he's necessary for the success of the heroes. His knowledge, abilities, and resources come in handy to help them survive and achieve. He serves as a mentor to Caine and a protector to Jupiter. Most importantly, he is a good father to Kiza. I absolutely love how the fandom has honed in on this attribute of Stinger’s character, recasting him as “sad bee dad” (lol) - basically placing Kiza in primary focus and relegating Stinger to his function as “Kiza’s father.” This is a nice reversal of a gender-dynamic that, imo, has plagued fiction ever since “Grendel’s mother” never got a name.  Female characters are often written without any development or motivation apart from the male characters they are relative to...they are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, but not full human beings. Kiza gets all of two lines in JA, and yet her presence as a character is so felt that we can all kind of look at Stinger and say, “ah yes, there’s Kiza’s dad. What’s he up to now?”