Nightmare Fuel / Forward (Peptuck)

• Forward (Peptuck) doesn't skimp on the horror from the series.
  • In the first story arc alone, you have River and Jayne being graphically tortured by Niska. Then later on, you get more graphic brutality with the Reavers assaulting an Alliance ship.
  • Inducer psychics. You think River was kind of creepy? She can only read your mind. In this story, one of the other projects the Academy was working on were Inducer psychics, who can alter and control your emotions and feelings. But its worse than mere Mind Manipulation; there is no defense against them, even if you know what they're doing, and their effects are lasting. If an Inducer makes you hate someone, you'll keep hating them for no fathomable reason. If the Inducer makes you love someone, you'll still love them, even if you hate them too, again for no reason. Many of the story's reviewers found the description of the Inducers to be terrifying, and this became even more pronounced when they learned the entire story arc introducing them involved one actively controlling the entire crew for her own ends. Including River.
  • Also in "Charity", it is shown how River gets a full blast of the emotions, thoughts, and history of someone as she kills them in close quarters. This apparently includes Reavers.

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