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monty-glasses-roxy · 3 months

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Hold on something's just hit me.

If everyone in the Plex were to believe that Gregory dropped Cassie at the end of Ruin to keep himself from being found, whether he did it or not, wouldn't that make Roxy to one most able to understand him?

As Mimic's guard dog, surely she would know the lengths you have to go through to keep that fucker trapped. A whole team of Raceway construction workers went straight to their deaths down there. Roxy won't let the Raceway be repaired and re-opened in order to keep people safe. She's probably been able to see Mimic and its victims through the floor this entire time, she knows what it can do and what it's done, even if she doesn't know the full extent of it.

She's willing to sacrifice her Raceway and Salon to keep people from finding Mimic. Her pride and joys, basically her whole reason for being built in the first place. They're not worth the risk to her.

Whether Gregory sacrificed Cassie to keep Mimic trapped or not, surely Roxy would realise some sort of similarity. She may think doing that to Cassie was too far, she may think he's a monster for even considering it and she may feel as though nothing could justify what he did... But there's a part of her that gets it. The absolute terror that comes at the slightest possibility that Mimic could escape. She gets that sacrifices have to made, fuck she's made those sacrifices herself. She would never have sacrificed someone for this, that's why she ran headfirst at Mimic instead of just sealing the exits again, but there could be that tiny little part of her that feels the need to constantly to remind her that Gregory was trying to do the same thing she was.

The key difference here, is that if Gregory had done it, it would fall in line with almost everything else we've seen him do. The sacrifices he makes, are of other people, and not himself. He sacrificed Roxy, Chica and Monty to upgrade Freddy for his safety and possibly the safety of Vanessa. If he also dropped Cassie, then he's once again sacrificing someone else for the sake of his own safety. Not like he has that much else to lose, but I'm drawing comparisons here.

Roxy on the other hand, sacrifices herself. She sacrificed her Raceway and her Salon for the benefit of both herself and others. Unlike Gregory finding himself in a hopeless situation and hurting others to get out of it, Roxy was given this job (probably) and chose to give up what little she has in the world to keep the situation from happening. Even when Cassie deactivates her and ends up face to face with Mimic, Roxy jumps straight at it to buy her time to escape which could have easily killed her.

So now you have Roxy, who unfortunately does understand Gregory's choice to drop Cassie (if she believes he did it which yeah she probably does) but has absolutely no sympathy for him. She couldn't care less about him. There's potentially a fearful little voice in her head that she's the same as Gregory that fuels her anger towards him even more. She hasn't ever sacrificed someone else to keep the Mimic at bay and she's been doing it for fuck knows how long, what gives Gregory a free pass? Maybe if he hadn't stolen her fucking eyes she would have been able to stop the whole thing from getting that far anyway!

I'm not saying this to frame Gregory as a villain or anything. I don't think he dropped Cassie and I still think it was entirely Freddy's fault for what happened to the others in SB. I just think this is interesting from a character stand point. The one person that could understand the choices they've made to keep Mimic from escaping is each other, but they're both too hateful of each other for it to affect anything... If they were ever to settle their differences, I think it would have to start here. The only common ground they share, is the one thing no one else does.

But Gregory didn't even fucking do it so I bet that goes well lmao

#fnaf security breach #roxanne wolf #fnaf gregory #fnaf ruin dlc #I'm just thinking here #if Gregory DID do it that would be a fun direction to take this #Roxy so fiercly protective of Cassie and so angry and hurt by Gregory but god fucking damn it she GETS it and she's MAD about it #if he didn't then like. she won't believe him anyway #can you IMAGINE that though??#roxy and gregory end up talking somehow. it's angry its painful and it blows up #they're both crying they were both on the same side that whole time and had just gone about it differently but so similarly #and fucking HELL they both get it.#Mimic scared the shit out of BOTH of them and they were both willing to do whatever it took to stop it #Cassie was Gregory's FRIEND and he felt he had no choice. she was all he had to give whether he liked it or not #Roxy had more to give but her attraction is her life. She was built for the Raceway everything about her and her identity ties back to that #and she felt she had no choice either.#in a way I suppose they both gave their hearts to Mimic. the things that make them who they are were the only things that would do #Gregory's closest and possibly ONLY friend. the only true connection he still has in the outside world.#and Roxy's entire life's purpose as the Pizzaplex's resident racer and hairstylist. the identity she was born into was too risky to keep.#they destroyed huge parts of themselves with their own two hands for the greater good and they did it alone.#what else could they have done?#if they ever came to an understanding about this they wouldn't be able to tell anyone #how can Roxy emphasise with Cassie's would be murderer?#how can Gregory emphasise with someone that would be Freddy's murderer if she didn't think it'd upset Cassie?#I don't think either would sympathise with each other... but I don't think they'd need to #someone else that gets it even a little bit is probably all they want #they stil hate each other after all! they just understand each other more than they might be comfortable with #anyway I'm fucking shattered goodnight lads

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druidonity2 · 8 months

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Death Blossom

#world of warcraft #anduin wrynn #arthas menethil #honestly mostly this piece was just idunno like an idea without much thought behind it #it had a cute sketch so i continued adding to it #i think i was mostly still thinking about anduins mental state in shadowlands and how arthas had a part in that #blizz is very vague about how arthas is used to corrupt him so i mostly just do whatever i want with fanart #i mean i do that anyway but #Anduin is depicted as a child wearing the maw armor and chains holding a flower to arthas #and like i think a part of hte idea was anduin depicted as younger to more represent his innocence #but also that younger anduin carries more bravery and here he's unafraid to face arthas #he hands a flower not as a friendly jesture but more of a 'im better then you' but i struggle to explain that #Anduin trying to convince himself #even in hell #even in chains just like you #im still better #depicts how arthas's curse is still hurting the younger generations of azeroth even after his death (chains)#chose the death flower cuz its like ya know the shadowlands flower found in all zones #but that there is still beauty in death #aiofhafiaohad this piece is just alot of different vague ideas that come together to make no damn sense #Honestly nonsensical art is fun would love more nonsensical fanart #just fanart where its like...you vaugely get what they were going for but otherwise doesnt really make much sense #its fun to draw first and make shit up later #I learned how to 'think critically' about the imagery of art in art school and now i can just spew bullshit about my fanart its great #you should try it #I mean its not like im realllly making things up #is just that the art came first and then i used what i drew to put together my thoughts and thats completely valid for artist to do #somethings you better understand your feelings and ideas after you've let yourself create #thats why art is so cool

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fellhellion · 10 months

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Something something the spot’s goofy antics distract from how dangerous his own entitlement and resentment is

#I don’t want to be that guy but I feel a little bit like spot gets sanded down a tad into just the fact he’s funny #and he IS funny I get it. but what makes him scary is the power to lash out with his entitlement and resentment towards miles #it’s you did this TO ME (miles didn’t #he was busy getting pummeled by kingpin and then venom shocking him back and the building was being EVACUATED it’s literally no one’s fault #but spot’s that he was there AND miles didn’t even know he was there when the collider exploded)#so I’m owed the role that you made me into <- miles literally didn’t do this #I’m OWED being your nemesis because I created you <- when all of itsv is about its miles own choices that make him heroic and not the bite #spot can’t even take ownership of his own actions. he’s like oh IM not robbing you that’s the bank. well buddy I don’t see you robbing the #bank I see you harassing some guy owning a corner store #like I get it. ur a cosmic horror and it sucks capitalism is pushing u down and u can’t get a job but like OWN UP TO WHAT THE HELL YOU DO #LMAO #and even miles trying to genuinely reach out and say look I’m sorry I made u feel bad (even though this isn’t an owed apology) and spot #STILL is hellbent on breaking miles back for an imagined slight #I AM GOING TO KILL YOUR LITERAL FATHER BECAUSE I BLAME YOU FOR SOMETHING YOU DIDNT DO #like god lmao. he’s a fun silly villain but there’s legitimate anger and spite and RESENTMENT motivating him purely to try hurt miles back a #as* badly as he imagines miles hurt him. when it’s like dude. own tf up to who’s responsible here #I’m not angry at the spot btw I actually think he’s a fun villain but I think recognising that resentment is what makes him effective as a #*frightening* villain and one that poses legitimate danger #tunes talks spiderverse #apologies xinakwans ik u said you didn’t want to read any spot posts hopefully this snags on ur filtered content block shdjfjfk

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bruciemilf · 11 months

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Hey guys guess who has an infected tooth and is DYING of pain lmao

#actually not lmao at all #like #heres the thing i went to the dentist for the first time in my life just like. three weeks ago #and he basically told me he'll have to send me somewhere else bc the tooth was too complicated (i think its called a root canal in english)#and ive been taking meds for the pain (ibuprofen to be exact) and holy shit i am Scared #like my biggest fear in life is being addicted to hard substances and i KNOW its stupid but im just scared #ive been taking them for like a week bc the pain was/is truly so uncomfortable and just horrible #and i cant go to an appointment bc my mom just went herself and shes dealing with mouh pain too. its just. not a fun time #but if anyone dealt with this before and could give me some home relief tips id be grateful #i washed my teeth like 4 times a day just today holy hell it hurts #vent #not dc

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scalproie · 3 months

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my extremely corny and indulgent but satisfying and symbolic ideal scenario for Kazuya and Jin to fully Break The Cycle™️ would be for one of them to grab and save the other from falling off a great height. perhaps even a cliff.

#LIKE YEAH ITS CHEESY AND A BIT OOC AS OF NOW #BUT IMAGINE WITH THE PROPER BUILD UP FOR THIS TO HAPPEN #cause jin already *kind of* accepted his father by accepting himself. he's not *there* yet but he left him alive after all #and kaz has a lot of work ahead of him before he would even take that action but PLEASE. PICTURE IT.#i dont even know who i want to save who bc both works so well regardless #if its jin saving kaz. not only has jin never participated in the cliff-tossing curse of the family but he's actively preventing it #and as for kaz: for the first time someone is NOT letting him fall. kaz who sees falling as a proof of weakness.#of course he would probably see him getting helped as an humiliating form of weakness but just as jin learned in t8 that hes not alone #well maybe he could see that wow someone (other than jun) his blood- his SON is helping him despite it all. must be a weird feeling.#that right here right now for arguably the second time in his life- hes not alone.#and as for kaz saving jin... well frankly i dont even have the words.#it feels too indulgent to imagine kaz preventing his son from suffering a similar fate as him. and would confuse the hell out of jin #smth about both of them having lost their wings but still not being at risk of falling if theyre willing to have each other in this fight #or in their lives.#also its kaz willingfully breaking the cycle HIMSELF even after hes convinced himself that family hurting each other is part of their blood #idk. i love on-the-nose symbolism #ok im done being sappy #tagging later #tekken

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frecklystars · 9 months

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i know nobody is online to see it rn but GOD it feels so good to be in love again!!!!!!!!! i reached the tag limit on that last reblog of la la land, there's a tag limit of 30 and i originally wrote almost 60 and then i had to keep revising it over and over until i only had 30. i just kept talking abt how much i love sebastian!!! and that's!!! how i'm supposed to be!!!! it's such a huge goddamn relief to start self shipping again even if it's not with TF, i really hope i can come back to my robots one day, but god. god it's such a fucking relief to have seb and six and ken and barbie and harley etc etc etc etc the list hopefully will just keep growing. this love in my chest, this feeling of overwhelming love that makes me actually physically sigh because there's so much love in me... that's how i am supposed to be and i am so relieved to start feeling this way again. i was numb for so long. i'm so grateful for these characters.

#woof #pretty sure i spent at least 20 minutes typing those tags #and then after i finished i was like 'oh there i am'#there's that star in my heart! she's still burning bright after all! she's just hurting. but she isn't gone. maybe she never was #and maybe one day i can finally finally finally come back to TF #but for now. for now. i am holding ryan and margot's characters' hands. all of these characters all of these pretty ppl #and they are guiding me through hell and telling me things are gonna be ok #bc lord knows i tried to throw myself at ANYTHING and NOTHING would stick #i tried watching different movies/cartoons i never saw before. didnt feel loved #tried to watch old things i used to love like SBTM or MLP. didnt feel loved #maybe the trauma was too fresh for me to be able to focus on anything else #but barbie came at the PERFECT time. the STARS ALIGNED JUST RIGHT #and out of any character that could have saved me it was KEN?#its because he makes me laugh. barbie did help MONUMENTALLY with pink #im still struggling with pink sometimes but its definitely majorly improved #like if i look back on myself 2 months ago i COULD NOT look at pink without having a panic attack. insane #but now??? im going thru pink blogs and associating EVERYTHING with margot's barbie #and any time i feel tense i can easily ground myself bc i am associating it with my self ships #im using it in my art again and its such a relief #im not fully myself without starscream but hey. a part of me is here. a part of me is breathed back to life just a little bit #its as if ive been drowning for over a year and finally someone reached out their hands to save me #pull me to the surface and maybe im not on solid ground yet but the waves arent thrashing or pulling me down as much anymore

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engagemythrusters · 10 months

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Here's some angst, because sometimes bodies just feel like a mess. plus a bad background xoxo

#NOTES ARE IN THE TAGS LOOK DOWN HERE I was too lazy to put them on the post #cause then I’d have to be coherent and why do that when I could just ramble wordvomit about it instead #ANYWAY... healing isnt linear!#especially since like. lmao he's not done being surgeried xoxo #turns out if a lot of your body is made up of tech. taking said tech out. may shut it down a bit...#anyway so yea that's whats happening.#waking up in the night bc his body is on fire bc sure yeah its healing but theres still screws and bolts in places that hurt.#and he didnt feel so bad before they pulled everything out because things held themselves in place...#but now everything is loose and things need to be replaced ASAP and thats just possible because the body needs time between #exerimental surgeries (who the hell has reversed this bad of techno union augmentation before?)#and...#and sometimes. sometimes fives lives in a world where it feels like he could lose echo again at any moment. and he's so scared #he almost lost everyone and everything and now... he has echo.#he has kix and jesse and tup and dogma... and he has echo.#YEAH okay #And. to make things clear: echo's skin tone IS based off photos of temuera morrison #when he had probably not seen much sun in a while.#AND the white patches are chemical-induced vitiligo (skin pigment cells died)#*BUT*#that being said. i clearly have room to grow in my art and if it's wrong to have portrayed him this way #please let me know.#thanks <3 #saleucami au #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #star wars: the clone wars #star wars #my art #mimse art

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randomwriteronline · 5 months

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"Pohatu."

The voice echoed like a knife hissing as it scratches marble. The prisoner (the only one, completely isolated from the rest of the city), huddled in a nook, shivered a little further away into the corner he'd tucked himself into and held onto himself a little tighter.

He did not respond to his own name.

Deliberate steps moved closer: clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. Their rhythm was slow, cold; they accompanied a scrutinizing stare.

They stopped before the cell.

The air felt freezing.

"Pohatu."

The prisoner did not answer.

"You are not stupid. That I know."

The chilling voice was soft. It spoke lowly, taking the time to properly enunciate each and every word perfectly.

"I am certain you know what I am here for."

Once more, only silence replied.

"I would advise you do not make this harder than it already is."

He watched as the prisoner's knuckles shook while tightening around his own trembling shoulders, as though trying to hide his weakness.

"Collaborate. For your own sake."

A sob tore through the room.

Another.

"Please," the prisoner finally babbled, voice hoarse from disuse.

Broken.

It was his turn to be faced with the silent treatment. Not a word reached him as he cried inconsolably, naked face pressed against his arms, for what seemed like hours.

His brother stared on, unmoving, expressionless, until the wailing died down and the body slumped on itself from the release of pent up emotions.

"I take it you have returned to your senses."

A crooked whine.

"I do not believe I understood that."

A confused mumbling.

"Speak clearly."

"Yes!" his brother sobbed.

His orange eyes looked into blue ones pleadingly, begging for help, for forgiveness. He watched them furrow, watched clouds of condensation pour from the sides of the white mask.

"You are guilty of a terrible crime."

"Yes."

"You are aware of your misconduct."

"Yes."

"You are aware that I cannot call you brother."

A pained wince: "Yes."

Another long moment of quiet passed.

The prisoner had shifted his gaze onto the floor.

The Toa watched him, fists clenched as tight as he could.

"Are you sure your forgiveness is deserved?"

The body shook from another hysterical sob, as though it had just been struck by a lash: he inhaled sharply a few times, but could not bring himself to speak.

"Answer me."

There was another attempt. Again, nothing came of it.

"Pohatu."

"Please..."

He stared.

He stared at the pitiful thing so powerless and miserable, completely alone, curled on itself on the floor as it shuddered.

"Please..."

He stared at the pitiful thing speaking in a voice that crumbled upon itself like gravel rolling uselessly down the side of a mountain.

"Please, I... Please..."

For a long stretch of time, nothing happened.

Then the door to the cell unlocked.

Pohatu dared to look up: Kopaka stood over him, unflinching, unreadable, hands balled up in fists hard enough to crush boulders between his fingers, looking down with his glimmering blue eyes as the air around him crackled with frost.

He could have so easily torn him apart right now.

Only the two of them, here, in the dark, far away from any other form of life who could have heard any commotion or cared enough to investigate.

Nobody would have even known. Not until it was too late.

Kopaka kneeled before the former Toa and pulled him into a tight embrace, one hand cradling his nape while the other pressed hard on his back to squeeze him closer to himself.

He allowed himself a sigh in relief only when he felt the other's arms wrap around him, his face against the crook of his neck.

Pohatu held him by the waist tight.

"I missed you," he sobbed.

I missed you too, Kopaka could not say despite how desperately he needed to.

He tightened his grip.

Then the pain came.

Blinding and sudden, cruel, immense, so profoundly unexpected that all he could do was choke on his own breath.

His torso fell backwards, bending much farther that it should have. His heartlight pulsed erratically as he heaved, adrenaline rushing through him and locking his every muscle in place. His legs were slumped, completely unresponsive like the rest of his lower body; all that was keeping his entire form from crashing on the pavement like a broken doll were the kind, solid, dependable arms of his brother.

A hand wriggled in the now empty space where it had shattered his spine in a morbidly playful way.

He was laid down gently, all things considered.

His eyes only stared at his butcher wide and thoughtless like those of a helpless Rahi before a much faster predator.

Pohatu smiled down at him sweetly, exactly like he always did.

"I missed your soft spot for me."

He tore his hand out of his brother's spine with a ghastly crackle, not even flinching, to wrap it around his throat. He yanked: Kopaka coughed out an anguished wheeze as a chunk of his neck was thrown out, clattering a few bio across the floor.

Pohatu pressed his thumb between the Toa of Ice's face and his mask, applying just about the slightest leverage possible to part the two. It seemed to take ages, for the 'pop' of a dislodged Kanohi to echo through the silence of Kopaka's frantic breathing; but even with all that time for a counterattack at his disposal, he did not manage to raise even a single finger against the other. He only stared, fearful, shocked, in denial.

His brother laughed in the same way he always laughed - a gentle, booming sound, friendly and pleasant, that warmed one's heart.

"You couldn't hurt me if you wanted to with all your being," he mocked him, making the sneering words seem like yet another lighthearted joke as he twirled the Akaku between his fingers: "And isn't that why Tahu and Photok are dead?"

He looked onto the other's face. He'd seen it so few times - after being overwhelmed by the Piraka on Voya Nui, for example.

He remembered it had been awfully surreal, to see it; almost frightening, but familiar somehow.

It stirred nothing in him now.

How lovely.

Pohatu leaned closer to it, until he could feel the shaky breaths from Kopaka's mouth curl around him. They were barely fresh.

"A shame, eh?"

Blue eyes stared at him, horrified.

What a beautiful thing to see.

"That you couldn't save me after all."

He laughed his usual jovial laugh again as he stood up, joints cracking a bit while he stretched. The Akaku clicked onto him in a perfect fit.

How nice of him: pure unwarranted trust, forgiveness, an open door, a hug, and now even a fairly useful Kanohi to replace the one he'd been stripped of lest he use its powers to break himself out of containment. Truly, he was almost starting to feel spoiled.

Kopaka squirmed between his feet. Was he trying to get away?

He couldn't help but giggle.

"There's your only flaws: you're too smart for a leech to bite you."

Pohatu gifted him the sweetest of his smiles.

"And you love your siblings too much."

The air shattered beneath his foot with a sickening crunch.

Pohatu didn't even spare a glance at his brother as he walked away from his corpse, face crushed to bits making an absolute mess on the cold unfeeling pavement, body twitching before the rigor mortis settled in fully; the Toa of Shadow hummed a mindless, cruel song, something right out of a Makuta's repertoire, as he he made his way into the halls of Metru Nui's colosseum in search of whoever else in this enormous playground would have the honorable misfortune to be his second victim of the day.

#bionicle #pohatu #kopaka #gore tw #violence tw #death tw #random writing #HI HELLO HELLO. WELCOME TO MY SPECIAL CORNER OF HELL #listen to me now. if pohatu turned villanous he would be Near Unstoppable #its one thing having to fight a brother turned evil and its one thing having to fight Pohatu. Everybody's Friend. turned evil #hes already strong af AND he has the advantage of being aware of the above so he can use it to essentially do some psychological warfare #youd never hurt him right? if he smiles like he always does and cries and asks for a second chance? you wouldnt doubt hes sincere... right?#ESPECIALLY THAT EMOTIONAL IF CONSTIPATED IDIOT THAT IS KOPAKA.#pohatu KNOWS where hes weakest (heart) and WILL use that to absolutely fucking demolish him #and kopaka is too attached to him NOT to fall for a heartstring pulling ploy like this little show #hes desperately telling himself he can Fix Him while walking directly in the jaws of the alligator and when he cant he shuts down in denial #i hope this pulls a genuine twist. i was going for a 'you thought this was the tuyet empire AU but here comes a WALLOP' kinda deal #i have no clue abt the logistics of this au btw i was just possessed by the thought of how horrifying an evil pohatu could be

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faebriel · 5 months

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hgs brainrot has returned due to tbosas .. speaking of hgs here’s an ask abt the hgs au: if things were totally different, and Wilbur were to be a 12 victor, what do you think a possible mentor-tribute dynamic would look like between him & Niki? I feel like it would be similar to Snow & Lucy in the way that he’s just going out of his way to cheat n help her

anon u have in fact struck jackpot because this is a concept i was spinning some thoughts abt before bee mentioned avoxes and we went OOOOH at that!!! so yes i have considered rainduo as a mentor-tribute dynamic and would love to talk about that concept too :]

so for this concept i think wilbur and niki would be close friends throughout childhood from 12, and then in their teens wilbur is reaped and, well, no one has particularly high hopes (he's a writer and a musician at heart, not a fighter) but through sheer trickery and dumb luck, he makes it to the end of the games. wilbur pulled some pretty fucked up tricks to win - when you can't use brute force, you have to use your brain - and partly due to the trauma of the games, partly due to his shame and survivor's guilt, he sinks into the capitol and relishes a new life there as a socialite. to him, the old wilbur died in the games and the new one has taken his place - to niki, and to his other friends in 12, whatever the games did to him made him into every vapid heartless capitol victor there is.

or. niki has her doubts. they all saw how horrible the games were, but surely there is some part of him left, some part that's hurting, even if it's buried deep?

anyway.

like og spin of the au, niki is reaped and this sucks - this time she does expect wilbur as her mentor on the train, and she expects some kind of warm welcome (maybe even an apology for leaving them so suddenly and silently? an explanation?) but she gets jack shit. wilbur is jaded and cruel and unrecognisable and niki entirely hates it. this is the part where i REALLY WISH we got some time of those two beefing with each other directly in canon (or at least interactions while niki was So Mad at him) but it's okay we fly blind. niki feels abandoned, lonely, thrown off of her kilter - she expected an ally in this place, but she doesn't recognise the person wilbur has become. she doesn't recognise his shallowness (...much), his ruthless advice for the arena, the way he doesn't seem to care for anything. she's scared and now she's lonely and it pisses her off - their mentorship is fraught. here are some thoughts from discord on that:

i tend to think of niki as a bit naïve before l'manberg or even doomsday - i think this is an au where this streak would come out real strong, and niki is stubborn that she can get through the games without losing herself. stubborn that she can stop things, that she can protect people. i don't think wilbur is cold enough (or, really, can bear to say aloud) to say that her odds in the arena are slim enough as it is, but he definitely tells her that she's making enemies and that her odds of survival dwindle with the more trouble she causes.

beyond that... hm. niki's trust in wilbur is almost unshakeable until nov 16, even when she outright says she doesn't recognise him anymore. i think she'd reluctantly listen re: don't burn down any buildings, but she would grow bolder each day she had to stay in the capitol. she gets more honest in front of the cameras. she makes more friends in training, and not the ones wilbur recommends. she throws barbs at him every time he makes one of those callous, cold-hearted comments about other tributes and rankings and odds. and besides, she's going in the arena this time, not him. she needs to practice her bravery.

it's like... she hasn't given up on him. she thinks the old wilbur is in there somewhere. (she is wrong. that is not how trauma works.) but she won't hold her tongue just because she

for extra angst points could definitely play up the whole 'feeling abandoned' angle between them as niki goes into the arena - probably due to how fraught their friendship gets leading up to the games. niki wants to focus on them and their friendship, wilbur has stringently cut off (almost) everything from 12 and refuses to let her in; he tells her to behave for the cameras, she tells him she never will. i think the last point in that screenshot would also make for a super tasty argument where niki feels wilbur has gone astray, that he's abandoned 12, and that he'll probably do nothing but sit on his ass and watch her die and he can't even bring himself to care about her anymore, can he? just more fodder for the arena. and honestly, i think wilbur would passively agree with most of that - he values niki's opinion, after all, even now, and if she says he's rapidly descending into a lost cause then she must be right. and it's niki, so she will be fine, and he goes to his bedroom that night and tries to pretend he is sleeping perfectly fine instead of feeling paralysed with fear.

okay now onto the games - YES HE SO WOULD. or at least i think he would go out of his way to help. as for cheating - he's a recent victor for 12 and i think he would value tommy (no doubt a link to him... i think they'd be in touch in this au also) too much to risk the punishment falling onto him as well. i get the vibes this is a games closer to 74th than 10th, so there are far fewer opportunities to cheat and the consequences of getting caught are higher. but schmoozing up sponsors? making stupid ass radio interviews or whatever to talk up niki's odds? sharing anecdotes from their childhood - some real, some entirely fabricated - across capitol airwaves to stoke their sympathy? 100%. with less to lose in this au, i think niki would be far less inclined to play nice for the cameras - i hope you starve, she spits at one of them, and wilbur appears on a talkshow two days later as she scrambles for survival in the arena to talk up how she always saved loaves from the bakery for the poorest mothers and children in 12. he borrows and begs and swindles to the point where it feels like cheating. but hey, this new wilbur is capitol-branded. he knows how to play the game.

if anything he probably sinks into the game a little too much. self-preservation is not his forte. probably wracks up a few heavy debts and favours to owe, but those are not priority until niki is out of the arena, alive. as long as she wins, and as long as the family he has isn't in danger, he will manage. wow it would suck if at some point those two goals became impossible to co-achieve. anyway

i kind of see niki's victory in the arena being similar to the one in the main au - if only because planning out an entire games is hard for meee >-< . she walks in bolder and braver for sure, and with a less strategic pick of allies, but they all get picked off and she spends a few weeks so terrified she can barely sleep and then she ruptures some fuel line and sets the arena alight with a fire that burns brighter and more ravenously than it should. but she wins, and she's airlifted out of a filthy, muddy creek she had resigned herself to die in, and wilbur barges his way through as many peacekeepers so that he can actually see her with her burnt skin and hair and unfocused eyes and trust that what was on the screens wasn't a fluke, and that they made it. and then it's just a matter of surviving the after.

i'm sure there are some other random quirks or tidbits i can think of re: this take on a c!rainduo hunger games au but these are my base thoughts!!

#can i just say whatever the hell lucy grey n snow had going on in part 1 made me so berko btw. like congrats ur my means to an end youre my #symbol youre my buddy? should we kiss? i'll get you out of here / don't make me leave these people behind #BRIDGING OFF OF THE TBOSAS DISCUSSION. i think the thing with crainduo (or at least how i like to depict them) is that they care about each #other extremely deeply and value each other... without being each others number one priority at all times.#i don't think niki plays priority with people she cares for like that; see her relationships with like wilbur and eret in lmanberg #even her friendship with and offering ponk a place to stay in her city after manberg even tho manberg hurt her #as for wilbur: his priority is tommy. like always. if it was just him on the line he'd do anything to get niki thru but it's not #asks #hunger games au #they would truly be such a nightmare in this au like. wilbur's self loathing is SO HIGH due to survivors guilt and trauma and mental illnes #he thinks that niki is So Good and Has It Together meanwhile he is So Bad #and is a mess that she cannot possibly rely on him. she can't possibly need him. she can't possibly want him around #<- and this shit is INGRAINED like. it's not even an active thought pattern anymore it is carved into his brain like a groove #and so shes like. do you even care whether i live or die??#of course he does. but this is the capitol. he cant be vulnerable in a way that matters #and that alienates niki further and this rage and heartbreak is building in her with nowhere to go. and in the arena she thinks it erupts #nah uh. i think its AFTER the area when she has to face wilbur again that she would go full screaming meltdown #ANYWAY !! i really like aus where they have this friction esp because i think like.. idk i think sometimes our views of rainduo are too ros #wilbur kind of forgets about niki sometimes because his self hatred is that bad. niki doesnt get wilburs mental illness and takes it both a #a burden/blame AND a direct rejection of her and her friendship #and they hover just outside of each others spaces anxious and angry and almost self flagellating. GOOD FOR THEM !#anyway Yes this did unlock something within me. thanks anon feel free to add on if u had more thoughts esp re: tbosas and such bc i had suc #a good time watching that movie

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