#they are genuinely horrifying and evil and so is he! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blackberry-jam · 11 months

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That post about cannibalism becoming too mainstream and destigmatized by certain sections of the internet and therefore losing its weight and horror and visceral nature just has me thinking about how HABIT ate a baby and everyone was like oh lmao he’s just an edgy cool guy!!!! He’s just like me fr!! Haha!!! Which. I think not enough people are freaked out by the fact that he forced Evan to eat his own child raw and possibly alive. He mentions “the bones” and implies that it took awhile. Like that wasn’t Hannibal-style Brioche With Baby Pâté and Shredded Zucchini in a Plum Vinaigrette, he just opened Evan’s mouth and bit down until the job was done, and I think that says a lot more about Habit than people want to examine. Idk it just. has me thinking. The number of times hurting children comes up in entries and supplementary materials about HABIT is kind of overwhelming, really. I’ve seen people talk about how they think he’d draw the line at hurting children, but the source material goes out of its way to state otherwise- just about every time he’s in contact with children they die. Or worse. He’s the summation of the worst of humanity, the combined aggregate of all of our flaws and crimes, and one of those crimes is cannibalism, so honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a habit (ha) of it.

#he would not respect your pronouns he canonically made a man beat his own dog to death and he made Evan eat his own baby.#like maybe some people are not ready for horror media #maybe some people resort to making silly fun posts to cope but I think not enough people read his blog posts #they are genuinely horrifying and evil and so is he!#and that’s why he’s an insanely good villain! he’s so charismatic despite it all!#but god like. the fact that he was friends with Albert Fish. and Goebbels.#emh #idk ignore me I just think like. not enough people care about the violence done to women and children in emh and nobody wants to give it #the weight and meaning it was intended to have #if you don’t care about Jessa and Jess and Steph and the baby and the kids in the stories and Vinnie from the past it’s like. okay #nothing HABIT does will mean anything to you #because nobody you care about got hurt except Vinnie #it’s pretty telling. to me #everyman hybrid #everymanhybrid #cannibalism tw #I guess???? if you’re on here you probably don’t care but just in case

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randomwriteronline · 4 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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godsfavoritescientist · 1 year

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AU where Ford was so down to end the world that he told Bill this during their first meeting, and Bill went "oh shit really? Let's end the world together!" and everyone was on the same page about their plans from the beginning

#godsrambles #ford being fine with ending the world isn't even that hard to imagine #the line 'we could make a new world. a better world' (paraphrased from weirdmaggedon) could have so easily been said by researcher era ford #he knows the world has issues. and he feels like he could solve all the worlds problems if he was given the chance to.#ford wanting to take over the world is such a fun au concept to me idk #ford and bill plotting to take over the world together. imagine the shenanigans.#I think they would still end up having a messy breakup. but itd be interesting to think about what would cause it instead of betrayal #imagine... ford inviting fidds to help with the construction of the portal. and knowing from the beginning that it would end the world #and deliberately trying to keep that a secret from fidds.#fidds having a horrified realization eventually. and ford desperately trying to explain himself and convince fidds to believe in his cause.#its not 'evil ford au' its 'ford is on board with ending the world au' there is a DIFFERENCE. he genuinely believes in it!#he genuinely believes it'll make the world a better place!!!#godsficideas #tags essay

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fayesdiary · 1 year

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001 for Faye x Rinea and Celica X Faye, and character of your choice who you've been wanting to talk about for 002, for the ask game

Faye/Rinea

When I started shipping it

When I saw this art by @ grimoirering. They were so cute together and eventually I started genuinely thinking about them and realizing they actually work together really well and so... here we are.

My thoughts

I adore them. It's a rarepair that works better the more you think about it (such as noticing the various parallels or the spring/winter aesthetic) and can has huge potential for both fluff and angst.

I just delved into a bunch of fluff at the moment, but you bet I want to make something angsty with them one day.

Mainly involving Witch Rinea because I mean, come on. It's right there.

What makes me happy about them

These two are adorable.

They work so well from the village girl/noble lady and spring/winter dynamic, both of their lives revolving around a male lead meta-wise and not and being very unsure of their place in their group, so them finding love and support in each other is just *screams*

And something I realized when writing the latest chapter of Socially Distant and makes this pair even better is that Faye is still a bit clingy and obsessive with her loved ones because that's just how she is (though nowhere near to the unhealthy levels as she was with Alm), but for Rinea that's ironically a good thing since she constantly needs showings of affections to remind her that she is truly loved and not just a pretty thing to show around like she's been viewed as for most of her life.

Helps that neither of them like being at the center of attention, too.

What makes me sad about them

Faye and Rinea's view of themselves is very bad and they tend to struggle understanding what the other sees in them. Faye is scared of overstepping her boundaries and making Rinea feel uncomfortable, while Rinea keeps thinking people around her barely tolerate her and will abandon her if she doesn't act as this perfect lady and makes the slightest mistake.

It takes them a long while for them to have a better view of themselves and trusting the other not to leave them behind at the slightest mistake.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me

The fact that beside Socially Distant and a drabble collection where they feature in a really short story, there are no fanfics about these two and I'm starving for more content.

I really have to do everything around here, have I?😤

Things I look for in fanfic

As I said, right now I'm looking for fanfics of them period. Mainly with them as the main focus because them just being a really minor couple in the background wouldn't really count.

Who I'd be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other

For Faye I'd say Celica or Silque... although Chloé recently joined as another great rarepair option me and @zorua-adorable are obsessing over.

For Rinea, and I just thought of it but am already really into it... Clair would be a really fun partner for her!

My happily ever after for them

Living together and having the coziest, most peaceful life and where they're filled with love and care from both their friends and each other.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon

Faye's definitely the big spoon and Rinea just melts in her arms.

What's their favorite non-sexual activity

I just got the mental image of Faye resting on Rinea's lap while the latter is humming while the two are in a garden of flowers and that just works so well.

For Socially Distant in particular it's watching and talking about anime together, particularly magical girl ones. Weebs.

Faye/Celica

When I started shipping it

Many years ago, specifically thanks to this fic by @ pureauthor-blog. Which, ironically, is another Faye rarepair fic set in a modern setting, so I'm kinda picking up the torch with Socially Distant? Maybe? Hopefully?

Anyway, that's the fic that really got me into the pair and I haven't stopped shipping it ever since!

My thoughts

They are just the cutest!

This was the first Faye rarepair that I started shipping and it's still one of my favorites and most of it is just due to how saccharine these two are.

Another top-tier aesthetic, I adore the childhood friends and village girl/princess dynamic and these two just work so well with each other, you know?

Also, something I just realized is just how similar it feels to Faye/Rinea, which I am not complaining.

...so when Celica/Rinea?

What makes me happy about them

That this one has just a tiny hint in canon.

Well, not outright romantic, but the fact that when Celica returns to Ram Faye is super happy to see her which is so unlike what her archetype would have you think and just one that makes me spiral.

They were best friends. Faye welcomed Celica into Ram and taught her many things like sewing flowers. Faye is almost as devastated as Alm when Celica has to leave but unlike him she thinks she'll never see her again and even if she does she wouldn't remember her anyway.

But then Celica comes back, and remembers her. And the two just melt in each other's arms.

What makes me sad about them

That Faye and Celica could never be together in canon because Alm aside, they just belong to different worlds that can't reconcile.

Faye would be miserable living as a noble or outright a queen because it's just so alien to her entire life and what she cherishes, and while Celica would want so badly to just be a simple girl and live to Ram with her she has so many responsibilities to her kingdom she would never shy away from.

So there's this constant sense of distance and longing, and while maybe there are some ways they could work (like Faye secretly courting Celica and occasionally visiting her), they could never be anything more without jeopardizing who they are as people, no matter how badly they want to.

And while this makes for great angst, this is why I joke that I ship them in anywhere but canon.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me

Not enough fics to have found things that flat out annoy me, so no idea.

Things I look for in fanfic

Mainly for more fics.

And mostly fluff, although I would be intrigued by an angsty Faye/Celica fic.

Who I'd be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other

Well I already mentioned Faye, but for Celica it'd be Alm of course, Clair would be fun, Mae and Céline! And as I said before, I'm curious about how Celica and Rinea would be together :3

My happily ever after for them

Living in a cozy home together, surrounded by cats :3

Who is the big spoon/little spoon

They switch! Sometimes it's Faye and sometimes it's Celica :D

What's their favorite non-sexual activity

Gardening! I like to imagine they have a large garden filled with several flowers. And yes, they still sew them.

And for the character I choose Loptous! And straight out of the bag, I'm skipping all the romance options because he should not be with anyone.

How I feel about him

Holy shit, this guy is the most evil villain in all of FE and I sincerely doubt IntSys will ever even come close with his level of depravity ever again.

He is pure evil in the best way possible, from his obvious damage on a large scale (the Jugdral timeline at the start of FE4 is just a list of his atrocities) to even a smaller scale to make you hate his guts (Taking advantage of his possession of Julius to drive both Arvis and Ishtar to indirect suicide, and just his relationship with Ishtar is a huge bag of fucked up in the best way possible).

Unlike other evil dragons he doesn't even a tragic backstory. He just things humans are toys to break in so many ways and he turned himself into a cursed tome just to torment Jugdral forever. He doesn't have a tragic motive to hate humans like Medeus and Grima, he didn't degenerate like Duma.

He's sane and just unbelievably evil and sadistic, and that's what makes him terrifying.

Not to mention the grip he has over Julius. By the time of FE4 the two have pretty much become synonyms, and when you kill him you'd think Julius would die as himself for his last few moments like it happened with Lyon and Future Past Robin, right?

But no. Instead the opposite happens, where Julius is fully taken over by Loptous. It even extends to Heroes. For Lyon and Robin, their version where they're taken over by Fomortiis and Grima are relegated to Fallen Heroes, but for Julius?

That's his base form.

Loptous has taken over Julius so much that the latter almost doesn't exist anymore both in official material and in fanon. When people talk about Julius, they're usually actually talking about Loptous.

And that is, to me, an existential nightmare.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Hilda. No, not that Hilda.

She's the only one who comes close to him in terms of depravity and that's an achievement in and of itself.

My unpopular opinion about him

Not sure if it's an unpopular opinion, but I think he's the best villain in the franchise, or at least the best "pure evil" one.

And I doubt IntSys will ever surpass him.

One thing I wish had happened with him in canon

I want to see the moment he starts to possess Julius so badly, I want it to be as fucked up as they can get away with. Can we see it for the FE4 remake please?🙏

A headcanon fact

This is an old one, but I like to think Loptous grew in a hate group of Earth Dragons who rather than just think they're better than humanity they do what... well, hate groups do. Let's just leave it at that. And then Loptous grows up and takes the hate to even more horrifying extremes in Jugdral.

#fire emblem #ask replies #loregoddess #faye #rinea #celica #loptous #faye x rinea #faye x celica #my rambles #this was a long one to answer but super satisfying!#i never had a chance to talk about loptous before and i'm glad i got to rectify it #because he's the best pure evil villain intsys made in the sense that his depravity isn't unintentionally funny like so many other cases #but genuinely horrifying

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angorwhosebabyisthis · 11 months

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i keep having Thoughts about how in so many ways LL has so much potential to be a really hard-hitting, messy, no-punches-pulled exploration of what i call moral agency: not the agency to act on your beliefs, but the agency to have those beliefs at all. like, if you're being abused into internalizing a set of beliefs, or indoctrinated in such a way as to make you resistant to outside perspective, or having relevant information withheld from you even if you would be looking for it... you don't have nearly as much choice in the matter of what you believe as someone who isn't stuck in that position.

and like. the central antagonists alone are literally a massive, horrifically abusive cult that spans generations. and i really wish they had actually followed through on that, and done so with compassion for victims who might need to be held accountable, instead of treating them with hatred and dehumanization.

(and also, y'know. hadn't treated some characters who did bad things as if they had much, MUCH more agency, moral or otherwise, than they did at literally any point. COUGH FIVE COUGH COUGH COUGH)

there's just. so so so much interesting stuff to be dug into there, in a way that's deeply fundamental to the narrative where even a lot of stories about moral agency aren't, and i really wish i could scrape enough brain cells together to talk about it properly

#lorien legacies #LL mogadorians #LL number five #LL tag #LL crit tag #the really fucked up thing is how they only make the about-face to #'wow the idea that the mogs had their moral agency stripped away is tragic; evil; and violating'#when that is suddenly the ONLY bad thing that could possibly happen to them that Matters #they can go through genocide and starvation and horrific human rights abuses and be tortured in prison camps for the rest of their lives #explicitly INCLUDING THE CHILDREN. ALL OF THEM #but lol who give a shit as long as they believe the right things now. they deserve it anyway uwu #which gets a hundred times worse because what we see of adam ''giving them the ability to believe the right things'' in the end #SCREAMS cult. holy shit it screams cult so bad #and he explicitly says he doesn't care if his mom is in the camp because she'd suffer too #his reason for not wanting to see her again is that *she might believe the wrong thing still*#and rex fucks me up because his genuine compassion for other mogs and wanting to believe the best of them #ends up with him being presumably the first member of adam's fucking internment camp cult lmfao #which like. we see a dude's initiation involving carving off his head tattoos. rex has head tattoos. connect the dots 🙃#the way this series handles moral agency is.......... very deeply horrifying. don't get me started on five or the vatborn #anyway. regardless there is so much ground to be explored here and i pray to the heavens for the brain cells to do it coherently #it is especially of interest to me as someone who grew up southern baptist lmao #the crit files #cults cw #religious abuse cw #genocide cw #mutilation cw #self-harm cw #fuck off adam #dyn: but i'm helping you anyway

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nunyabznsbabes · 5 months

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Katniss is like Lucy Gray this, Katniss is like Sejanus that, and yes fine that's all good and true and lovely but Katniss Everdeen is also a direct parallel to Coriolanus Snow and people NEED to start talking about this because it's driving me crazy.

Think about it: they both grew up poor and deeply vulnerable, losing parents at a very young age, with a matriarchal adult (Katniss' mother and Coriolanus' Grandma'am) who fails to provide for them emotionally and physically. They intimately understand the threat of starvation, even developing with stunted growth because of it, and their narrations in the books share a fixation on food. Throughout their childhoods, both experienced constant fear and suffered a fundamental lack of control over their circumstances. Because of this, they're inherently suspicious of the people around them. They resent feeling indebted to others, especially those who have saved their lives. They're motivated almost entirely by family and deeply connected to their communities. Both are used and manipulated by the Capitol, both are forced to perform to survive and despise every inch of it, both are thrown into the Arena and made to kill. Both have a self-sacrificial, genuinely sweet sister figure acting as their conscience. Peeta and Lucy Gray - performers and love interests with a fundamental kindness and sense of hope about them - fulfill markedly similar roles in their narrative. Both contribute to the development of the future Hunger Games, Snow throughout tbosas and Katniss towards the end of Mockingjay.

It's easy to ignore these similarities because, as mirrors of each other, they are exact opposites. Katniss is from District 12, viewed and treated as less than human; Snow is the cream of the Capitol crop, given the privilege of a name with social weight, an ancestral home, and the opportunity of the Academy despite having no more money than a miner from 12. Katniss has no agency over her life, and responds by being kind whenever she's able, while Snow justifies horrendous evils in order to continue his quest for complete control. Katniss does everything she can to protect her family; Snow does everything he can to protect his family's image as an extension of his own ego. Katniss loves her District and connects with its inhabitants on a meaningful level, but Snow is indifferent at best to his peers - the apparent "superior people" - and only engages with his community for personal gain. Katniss emerges from the Arena horrified at herself and the system, but Snow takes his trauma and turns it into an excuse to perpetuate the violence with himself at the top. Katniss cares for Prim until her death and then snaps at the loss of her little sister, while Snow survives on Tigris' blood, sweat, and tears and then torments and abandons her, presumably because she calls him out on his insanity. Snow actively adds to and popularizes the Hunger Games because of his vendetta against the Districts following his childhood wartime trauma - Katniss briefly agrees to a new Hunger Games in the pursuit of vengeance, but later stops them from happening by killing Coin and choosing a life of peace and privacy. Snow is obsessed with revenge, but Katniss empathizes with the Capitolites and does what she can to keep them from suffering. He exists in a cruel system and selfishly upholds it; she exists in a cruel system and works to dismantle it for the good of her family and community, at great personal cost. And Peeta and Lucy Gray are incredibly similar, but Katniss and Peeta forge a relationship of genuine love and understanding that shines in comparison to Coriolanus' obsessive projection onto Lucy Gray.

So, yeah, Katniss is Lucy Gray haunting Coriolanus. But I bet you anything that eighty-something year old President Snow looks at her, the girl on fire, bright and young and brilliant, emerging from a childhood of starvation with a relentless hunger for success, a talented and charming performer helping her win the Games, and he sees the ghost of his own past. And that's why he's so afraid of her! Because if he sees himself in her, then he's up against his own cunning, his own talent for manipulation, his own charisma, his own genius. He's up against the version of himself that he once wished to be, with the nightmare army of his childhood at her back and her star-crossed lover at her side, spewing Sejanus' truths in his own voice. This isn't to say that Katniss ever achieved the level of power and agency that Coriolanus did during her time with the rebellion, but it is to say that Snow was taken down by what truly terrified him - his own morality, come to finish the job.

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #katniss everdeen #coriolanus snow #president snow #lucy gray baird #peeta mellark #everlark #tbosas meta #the hunger games #thg #snowbaird

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mobbothetrue · 5 months

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I wanted to have a sleepy lie in today but instead I got a horrible dream about an elephant chasing me so I guess I’m awake now

#mobbtalks #it was a huge pitch black elephant… didn’t start off hostile but My God did it get there #it was super fucking scary because like. I certainly was not faster than this elephant #I couldn’t climb a tree to get away. no vehicles to carry me. no hiding places #the area was roped in by barbed wire fencing (in dream- to keep cougars and bears away)#but essentially all that did was seal me in. there were a few other people running with me #one of them was a bus driver who knew this area quite well. our little group split up a few times because the elephant couldn’t chase all of #is at once. to try and call for help. and I thought ‘oh it’ll be okay help will arrive in the nick of time probably’ but the bus driver was #like ‘THEY’RE GOING TO THINK WE’RE FUCKING JOKING’#and the longer we ran the more true that felt #eventually the bus driver and I found a huge wooden building #it was a historical recreation of something because there was a hiking trail nearby #but this was the off season so no one was there and nothing was inside #and for just a second we thought we might be safe when the bus driver went ‘oh no…’ and he pointed out this other room #which had a floor to ceiling window #and he said ‘i’m so sorry’ and I looked out the window and the elephant noticed me #and as it thundered towards us… I woke up #some of the noises that fucker was making were genuinely horrifying #like if a bagpipe could be evil. and worse.#mobbdreams

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luveline · 6 months

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I NEEEEEED MORE STRIPPER!READER X SPENCER

fem, 1.2k

You and Spencer aren't dating, but he thinks you might be in the before.

"You're home!" you say, clambering at the door to slip out of your shoes. You throw yourself at him as soon as you're close enough, the salted caramel and sandalwood of your new perfume washing over him. "You're here! I missed you."

Spencer tries not to blush. He wishes you weren't so close —his hair is lank from two days unwashed, his five o'clock shadow obvious and embarrassing. If you notice anything unappealing about him you don't give the slightest inclination, your arms crossing over his back as you drive your face into his neck.

"I can't believe how much I missed you, Dr. Reid," you say warmly.

"I missed you too." Morgan would laugh at him for being this earnest, maybe comment on his lack of charisma, but Spencer doesn't know how else to show that he's interested beyond sincerity.

You step back but work your hands up his neck and into his hair, raking it away from his cheeks. "That's better. I can see you better now."

Spencer thought he remembered only horrible things from being a teenager, but he remembers this feeling, sweaty-palmed, heart-racing want. You tilt his head gently one way and then the other like you're following the motion of a wave, fingertips scratching in his hair, the sensation stirring the very pit of his stomach. No trace of tiredness remains on your face, only spritely joy to see him.

"That feels nice," he confesses. He's not weird about it, more friendly.

Your aswering grin tells him he nailed the casualness he was aiming for.

"You've been working hard," you say, tucking his hair behind his ears and dusting down his shoulders, "I can tell. You look tired."

"You don't. Short shift?"

"Is it weird that bad weather genuinely keeps people home? I guess they prefer their wives when it's cold."

"No, really? Who could ever pick the woman they married over you and those silver shorts?" he teases, peeling out of his sweater.

The shirt underneath is rumpled, but he doesn't care about that. Anything to be seen between you has been seen. Spencer has, unquestionably, seen you half naked. You've seen him in his boxers, so you're just about square. "Idiots, all of them."

You're staying with him again while a security company fits your apartment with the appropriate trappings. Or, that was the initial reason. Spencer went with you to assess after it was done, discovering black mould in the corner of your bedroom and spreading its evil way across the bathroom ceiling.

What is that? he asked, knowing what it was, hoping you'd at least pretend to be concerned.

That's fifty bucks off a month, Spence. Don't look so horrified.

"I missed you," you say for the third time in as many minutes. "And I hoped you'd be home, so I brought Chinese food for two."

You and Spencer change into pyjamas, and it's cliche but whatever, you look beautiful undone —he's not stupid enough to lie to himself about how he feels when you're wearing your little outfits, but he prefers this side of you a thousand times over because you like it better. You wear your prized baseball tee, white with blue sleeves, and a pair of sweatpants pushed up high on one leg while you ice your sore knee. He sits cross legged opposite, jabbing his chopsticks into one of your crispy spring rolls just to watch you gasp.

"Can I ask you something too personal?"

You rub down the length of your naked calf, sighing as some of the tension releases. You're more bruise than girl lately, splodges of tender skin patterning the inside. "What don't you know about me, at this point?" you ask.

Like it's a good thing. Like you're glad for it.

"Are you making enough money?" he asks.

You steal back your spring roll, answering him through rice paper and greens, "Kind of. Not tonight, but enough for dinner. I'll be okay."

"Did you think about it?"

You shovel through your waxy box of rice, shrugging. "I thought about it, but… it's not realistic. What office would take me? What drug store?"

"I could loan you the money while you apprentice, and get some experience, you could go back to school–" He says it all in a rush and you still knock him down.

"It's real sweet of you, Spence, it is, but I couldn't let you do that. That makes me your charity case, and not your friend."

"What else do you do for the people you care about?" he asks. Let them stay at a job they don't like, even if they're good at it, one that puts them statistically at higher risk for femicide or assault?

"I wouldn't need a loan, Spencer, I'd need more than you have," you say gently. "I'd have to start my life from scratch. How would I pay rent? You couldn't afford to keep us both."

"You could stay with me again."

You shake your head. "You're the best friend I've ever had, which is why I'm saying no."

He doesn't get what you mean, but you finish your dinner and help him clean up. He more than trusts you to stay here alone while he's on a case, you've honestly left it in better condition than you found it, and he insists you sleep in his bed again while you're here.

"Don't be silly," you say, throwing a sheet out over the couch. "This is your place. You need to sleep in your own bed."

The disaster is that it smells like you. Spencer says goodnight to you reluctantly and leaves you on the couch with every throw blanket he owns, climbing into his own bed and pulling the comforter up to his nose. He imagines you here at night, your body wash still clinging to your skin from a late night shower, your hand tucked under his pillow. There are so many things he'd like to give you, if you'd just let him.

He spends a quiet thirty minutes like that, missing the warmth of your skin and your casual touching, wishing he could offer you the fresh start you desire, even if it meant he wasn't involved.

The couch springs creak as you toss and turn, the sound finding it's way down the short hall from the living room slash kitchen to his bedroom. Hesitant, Spencer shifts in bed, hitting that one coil in his mattress just right, the twang resounding.

You appear in his doorway with your borrowed pillows crushed to your chest not long after that. You don't need to ask, Spencer doesn't need to answer. He can't give you everything that you want, but he can give you a quiet, comfortable night next to someone who loves you.

Ever well-tempered, you slip into the sheets beside him and curl up toward him, your fingertips brushing his side. You don't look at him in the dark, but you mumble sleepily, fingers twitching, "Night, Spence."

You're out like a light.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid oneshot #spencer reid scenario #spencer reid drabble #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds x reader

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avelera · 7 months

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Man, there’s all these little beats in OFMD S2 1-3 where people keep EXPECTING Stede to be upset or horrified about Ed’s actions and then he’s just. Not. In a way that reminded me of how a lot of fanon kept softening Stede into someone who doesn’t swear and is horrified at Ed for setting those ships on fire when imo to my eyes he was horrified for Ed because Ed was still so clearly distressed about it.

- Zheng Yi Sao asks Stede how he’s doing now that he knows Ed did horrible things to his crew and there’s this beat and Stede just pivots to, oh yeah, sometimes Ed is troubled. Like it didn’t occur to him to be upset on the crew’s behalf he’s worried about Ed.

- Izzy keeps trying to spare Stede’s feelings and cover up Ed’s spiral, but Stede clocked what was going on with Ed immediately and wasn’t the least bit intimidated or bothered. The knives brought the room together. Of course Ed’s trying to burn the world down or die trying. Duh. And I genuinely don’t think the STUFF in the Revenge mattered even a fraction to Stede as much as the signs of Ed’s breakdown broke his heart. It’s just STUFF, who cares.

- Lucius had to SPECIFICALLY call out Stede for not being surprised or bothered by what happened to him. What Ed did. Stede has to almost consciously remind himself to express polite concern. He just doesn’t actually care, instinctively or automatically, about what happened to Lucius. Part of it is he blames himself more than Ed. Part of it is he just doesn’t care, Ed is the priority.

They’re little blink and you’ll miss it pauses in some cases. Micro-expressions. The absence of a reaction. But honestly, I will scream it to the end of time, Stede is not some nonviolent creampuff scared or upset by Ed’s evil ways. He wants to join Ed in the atrocities. The man ran away to become a pirate. He asked if Lucius was taking notes during a murderous raid.

Stede’s at least a little on some kind of whackadoodle pirate comedy neurodivergence spectrum to the point where he actually really actually struggles to empathize with people, even people he cares about!, if their feelings conflict with his hyperfixation (piracy) and the love of his life (Ed Teach). He’s always, ALWAYS going to pick Ed over Lucius or Izzy or his crew or even his own feelings, if the option is there. He will literally throw himself overboard to get to Ed’s side. No pause. No consideration of anyone else or even his own safety.

Stede sometimes seems to have to consciously remind himself things like, oh yeah, the crew, I need to see to them. Not because he’s heartless or doesn’t care, but because it takes a bit of conscious effort for him to see beyond the laser-focused spotlight of what and who he does care most about, he has to remind himself of social niceties and other people’s feelings (just see him running away in the first place!) when he gets an idea in his head. It’s as if he had to train himself to consciously care about some things other people care about and as a neurodivergent person myself, that felt very familiar in a comedically writ large sort of way. I’d even argue that’s where all his aristocratic social niceties come from. They were his guidebook for how to do things “right” in a world that otherwise made no sense to him outside his hyperfixations. He practiced being a person through the aristocratic training because it was all so foreign to him from the start, including caring, actually caring, about the needs of others. Not because he’s consciously evil or consciously a jerk. The instinct just isn’t there unless he practices at it until it becomes reflex to ask how others are doing, because on his own his brain just doesn’t really notice or care.

I just… hope the fandom notes and has as much FUN as I do noticing all the little moments where even people inside the story of OFMD expect Stede to act in a normal way and instead he remains unhinged, laser-focused on Ed.

Stede’s not just an Ed apologist, he truly doesn’t blame Ed for any of it. He blames only himself. He doesn’t always voice this but he really really only cares about anyone else including the crew as a DISTANT second and he has to consciously REMIND himself to do so. He is able to rally to take action, to care about their physical needs like safety during the rescue, but he still struggles, deeply struggles, to remember to show empathy in a non-performative way for anyone except his special person, Ed.

Stede’s not a creampuff, not a nice guy, not some emotionally or morally perfect angel. He has to consciously practice caring about literally anything else but what he wants to do and his special person. And to me that’s a thousand times more interesting than shoving him in a box labeled “the blond, pacifist do-gooder good guy” in their relationship.

#this rant requires gifs I don’t have but trust me those odd little beats are there #bless Rhys Darby for making Stede so very neurodivergent coded because it SHOWS #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd meta #sometimes fandom flanderization makes characters so DULL compared to canon

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hotvintagepoll · 4 months

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Propaganda

Donald O'Connor (Singin' in the Rain, I Love Melvin)—Cosmo Brown in "Singing in the Rain" is literal perfection and Cosmo, Don, and Kathy are #polygoals. such an insanely talented dancer and just full of the vibes [clips below the cut]

Vincent Price (Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, House on Haunted Hill, The Masque of the Red Death)—svelte, stylish, horrifying, beautiful, wickedly funny, camp and gorgeous and evil. he was an art connoisseur who advocated passionately indigenous art, he was an actual literal gourmet cook, he was so liberal he got greylisted during the mccarthy era for being too rad, he's my favorite muppets guest of all time

This is round 2 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage man.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Vincent Price propaganda:

Submitted: this fancam

Submitted: this entire Tumblr page

Donald O'Connor propaganda:

youtube

"he's so brilliant in singing in the rain it genuinely makes me so furious he didn't get more awesome leading man parts (or at least more parts playing off gene kelly—they go together like chocolate and peanut butter I swear)"

youtube

#donald o'connor #vincent price #hotvintagepoll #round 2 #fuck that old man

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metalhoops · 1 year

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Dating Steve came with a lot of unexpected twists. The first and most glaringly obvious was that Eddie never expected the two to date in the first place. He’d relegated the idea of ‘dating Steve Harrington’ squarely in the realm of fantasy, along with evil wizards and hell dimensions. So what did Eddie know? It’d been a strange year.

Steve was a morning person, much to Eddie’s dismay. The downside of sleeping beside a morning person, and being hypervigilant about their every move, was that it forced you to become a morning person. Eddie blamed the aforementioned evil wizard and hell dimension

Before Steve, Eddie would be lucky to roll out of bed before noon. Yet now he begrudgingly found himself up with the sun. At first, he’d tried to roll back into bed when Steve left for his morning jog, but he was finding it harder and harder to get back to sleep. He’d worry about Steve, sue the guy. The town was cracked in two and they were all waiting with bated breath for Vecna to return. So he’d sit on the front stoop of the trailer with a mug of coffee in his hand and his blanket around his shoulders, waiting to see Steve’s familiar figure materialise at the end of the trailer park’s gravel drive.

Another unexpected twist about dating Steve was how much the guy genuinely cared about the stuff Eddie was into. He’d started sitting in on Hellfire and Eddie’s band rehearsals. Eddie would sit up late at night creating new NPCs for their campaign and Steve would watch curiously or surprise Eddie by sliding over and skimming over his notes.

“Make the shopkeeper guy a goblin,” Steve remarked and Eddie would snort.

“You only say that because you like it when I do the goblin voice.”

“Yeah, because it’s funny and none of the kids are going to want to flirt with a goblin.” Steve was still horrified and emotionally scarred from the time he’d watched Mike Wheeler try to seduce the elven barkeeper during the last session.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t flirt with a goblin, Harrington?” Eddie teased putting on the silly and grating tone, Steve had affectionately named Eddie’s ‘goblin voice’. He leaned over into Steve’s space, placing an overdramatised and sloppy kiss on Steve’s cheek.

He snorted and shoved Eddie’s shoulder gently.

“Don’t push your luck, Munson. I love you, but not that much.”

And of course, Steve had been the first one to say ‘I love you,’ because Eddie had always been a coward. Of course, Steve said it at least once a day, and of course, Eddie still hadn’t gotten the courage to say it back, because he kept waiting for the day when he woke up and realised that his whole relationship with Steve had been an elaborate dream.

Eddie didn’t know exactly what made him decide to start joining Steve on his morning jogs. Ask anyone and they would tell you Eddie Munson was not a jogger. Steve talked about his morning runs like they were a meditative experience, all cool breeze, still streets and dopamine.

Eddie went for a jog and felt like his lungs were twin stars on the brink of collapse. To him, running was akin to the slow heat-death of the universe, but he did it because he was sick of sitting on the damn stoop waiting for Steve to come home because he loved him and he sure as shit didn’t know how to say it.

The next surprise came early one morning in late October, when he and Steve climbed out of bed without needing an alarm and Eddie found the cool breeze on his cheeks and the familiar beat of Steve’s steps in time with his comforting. That morning, he realised he didn’t hate running, not when it was with Steve. The revelation shook something free in Eddie’s skull, something he’d been grappling with for months.

When the two arrived home, skin sticky with cold sweat, Eddie made them coffee. They sat together in front of the trailer watching the sun turn the same blood red as the Upside Down sky. Eddie thought he’d be okay with starting every morning like that, so long as Steve was there.

“You know, Stevie,” Eddie breathed, unable to look at Steve when he said what he needed to say. He was brave, but not that brave.

“I think I love you too,” Eddie whispered.

“You think?” Steve chuckled at his side. He turned to face Steve and saw the man hiding a wide grin behind his mug. Eddie rolled his eyes and nudged his shoulder against Steve’s.

“Alright, fine. You win. I know. I love you.”

Eddie had to fight to get the words out, but the second he did, he felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders because he knew it was true. It’d been the first time he said it to anyone. He’d never gotten that far with another relationship. He and Steve were in uncharted waters.

Steve set down his cup, practically tackling Eddie to the dirt with the force of his hug, all hope for not making a big deal out of the confession blown out the window. Of course, Steve was a hopeless romantic.

The only thing that stopped the two from making out on their front lawn was the fact that Hawkins was the antithesis of progressive. Well, that and a sleep-deprived Max who stomped out of her trailer to throw a balled-up pair of socks squarely at Steve’s head as she grumbled about the hour of the morning.

#steddie #steddie ficlet #drabble #ficlet #steddie drabble #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #eddie x steve #steveddie #bi steve harrington #gay eddie munson #I've seen so many fics or drabbles #where Steve gets into Eddie's hobbies #I want to see Eddie getting into Steve's hobbies as well #Metalhoops writes

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dontexpecttomakesense · 6 months

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There is something that I find so very interesting on Bullfrog's reaction to Rayman's breakdown when he shows him the reality of Eden and the concequences of his complicity

Look at him.

He's horrified.

Up until that point, he had been treating Rayman with a certain disdain. He called him the "poster boy of Eden", refered to him with a very distant and professional "sir", compared to the fact that he immediately started calling "mon ami" to complete strangers that he had met on a holding cell about two days ago. The way he said how he expected that the contents of his bubble wouldn't be to Rayman's liking had a certain mokery to it. He knew it would be unconfortable for him, and to an extent was going to enjoy that.

And it's not like he didn't have reason to, Rayman entered to room expecting and looking for a way to get his old job back. To get the security, the feeling of safety and confort that he had grown used to over the years. He reframed everything to how unfair it was to him, while talking to a man that was about to go to a kangaroo court to be sentenced to death. He responded to every instance with the Eden-approved responces that had been burned into his brain broadcast after broadcast. He postrated himself to Eden's feet because he genuinely believed that he was nothing without them.

And when they reach the tipping point, Bullfrog, in spite of his best efforts to reach out, saw Rayman as a lost cause. He went into spitting the bubble fully convinced that he'd watch a man go all in into denial of everthing that would be shown to him.

Instead he watched how Rayman unravelled into a mental breakdown and throw up out of sheer stress.

But he didn't intend that. He didn't mean to hurt him. At least not as deeply as he did. He's sorry that Rayman had to live through that.

Interestingly enough, right after this scene, he pointedly refers to him as "mon ami". Offers some confort so Rayman understands that he had been used. And he defends him in front of Red. Because a reaction like that doesn't come from someone who genuinely loves and believes in Eden. He saw for the first time beyond the poster boy who had one slip up. Rayman is guilty of being complicit of many things in the name of Eden, but he's also a victim of Eden's machinations. He's misguided and ignorant, in denial, but he's not evil. He's kind, he is "just". He wants a better life for everyone, for hibrids, for children.

You watch that face in that instant and you can read "Oh God, he cares. He really cares and loves for the hibrids and the children and now he has to watch how they have used him to cover up how much they abuse them."

#captain laserhawk #rayman #bullfrog captain laserhawk #bullfrog #captain lazerhawk rayman

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starwrighter · 1 year

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surprise! I'm alive :D

Chucking out one of my prompts anyone can take this.

Prompt starts with the whole idea that everyone believes that ghost are malevolent, non sentient beings that aren't capable of feeling pain. Amity parkers believe that, the Fenton's and the GIW "proved" that and the ghosts that escape the portal have caused so much mindless damage that it just further cements the idea that ghosts aren't sentient.

But during one of Phantom's ghost fights The Fenton parents realize Phantom is a bit different than the ghosts he fights. They finally decide to observe Phantom more carefully after this (they're still shooting at him just watching him a bit first)

During this observation period they notice it's not just phantom's rapid power growth that's different about him. It's everything he does! He's proven to be more intelligent than the other ghosts, having managed to steal and operate Fenton tech despite the fact he doesn't appear to have powers like technus.

He has body language?! Subtle body language that isn't destructive or angry! He fidgets when he's nervous, smiles and is more talkative and expressive when he's excited or happy. He shows emotion more humanly than any of the other ghosts showing emotion that wouldn't benefit him in the moment. Now the Fenton's wanted to brush this off as clear ghost manipulation at it's finest but in the most recent ghost attack gave a preposterous theory a leg to stand on.

They had been shouting their usual threat's of tearing the ecto scum apart molocule by molecule. Most of the ghost ignored them, fixated on the destruction they were causing but Phantom hesitated, the GAV cameras catching a look on Phantom's face that would be game changing.

Fear.

Genuine fear. It was not the robotic mimicry of human emotion they were used to. The emotion they got was that of a being that fully understood what was going to happen to it and had the capability to be afraid.

They compile all the footage of past ghost fights and ghost sightings and come to the horrifying conclusion that phantom is a sentient ghost who could feel pain.

They're horrified that they've been hurting this little boy (because that's what phantom is) who's just trying to help and didn't understand why the other ghosts lacked the empathy he had. As for Phantom's crimes they finally had a reason for them. He's a scared child , loney and confused with everyone around him trying to hurt him even though he was trying to protect people; of course he would act out!

The Fenton's show their undeniable proof to the GIW and within a week a law is passed stating that phantom is the only sentient ghost and it's illegal to harm him.

Danny is very confused to say the least, especially when everyone starts treating him like a little kid (Danny either looks young for his age or the accident happened earlier whatever causes more angst) The worst part is they don't believe him when he tells them some other ghosts are sentient no matter what he says! They just give him this sad look and nod or try to comfort him by telling him he wasn't evil like the other ghosts. The other ghosts like the thought of being able to get away with crimes without being charged so they don't even try to prove their sentience if anything they try to disprove theirs and prove Danny's.

Bonus Dp x Dc crossover:

The justice league is called about Phantom's situation Amity Parker's demanding that phantom be taken somewhere safe where he can be a regular (but spooky) child. Double points if the heroes don't believe any ghost but Phantom are sentient.

Tldr

Regular ghosts are too spooky for humans to believe they're sentient but Danny's halfa status makes him look more human and genuine (Vlad is not a true halfa you can fight me on that >:c) the other ghosts ramp up their acting skills so they can crime without consequence as "non sentient beings"

#danny fenton #danny phantom #dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom prompt #People start to wonder why this dead kid has beef with the mayor #Vlad tries to explain he didn't murder phantom but ends up making himself look more suspicious #Amity parkers apon realizing Phantom is sentient: That is baby!? Why is baby fighting!?!

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passionartx · 19 days

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Reminder of a Starline themed BumbleKast Q&A where Ian Flynn as Starline talks about what he would have done with Sonic and Tails bodies after the events of Issue 50: [ Tw! Child Death + Taxidermy ]

Starline is such a genuinely terrifying character (who I miss everyday ahh) and his disregard for children and his willingness to mentally and physically manipulate them for his own evil purposes (especially in the context of this answer) is genuinely chilling. It’s something I think even Eggman would be semi disturbed by which is saying a lot.

The idea of him using Sonic and Tails preserved bodies as trophies and as an example to others is so insanely horrifying, and the “well then I’ll just have to start a gallery won’t I!” in response to the idea of other hero’s trying to rise up against him somehow finds a way to make it extra disturbing. The mental image of Amy, Knuckles and all their other friends seeing what Starline has done to the brothers… to their family 💔

The thought of Surge and Kit having a constant physical reminder of what they’ve done… that while Sonic and Tails may be out the way, the two unwilling doppelgangers will forever be in their shadow, unable to truly fill the roles they were forced into and the bond the brothers had. Them getting everything they thought they wanted, yet still feeling empty inside.

Long story short: Ian Flynn did not need to go this crazy with this answer but gosh am I glad he did.

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wolken-himmel · 1 year

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In which Leona brings (Y/n) a half-dead rabbit from a hunt. But what first looked like some sort of sick joke may have been more than that.

Like a beastfolk gesture to show affection.

Requested by anon.

"What did you do now, Leona?!"

A horrified scowl decorated your face, and you jolted backwards at once. All the while, you couldn't take your eyes off the sight in front of you: a trembling and very much dishevelled rabbit. Leona held the small animal by its neck, dangling it in the air.

"What do you mean?" the dorm leader asked in confusion.

As soon as he let go of the animal, you dashed forward to scoop it up into your arms. The poor rabbit looked frightened out of its mind, trembling and wailing like it feared for its death. At first, it thrashed around in your arms — but as soon as it realised that you meant no harm, it buried its head deeper into your shoulder. You hummed softly and continued to cradle it in your arms.

"The poor thing! You almost scared it to death, Leona..." you cried out angrily. "Look at the frightened bunny..."

The beastman furrowed his eyebrows further. "I don't get it. Why are you crying?" he asked in genuine confusion.

His baffled scowl infuriated you even more. But before you could explode with anger and worry, you decided to focus your attention on the still shivering rabbit in your grasp. You tenderly brushed its ears back and buried your face in its soft fur. "Everything will be alright..." you cooed and felt its shivering lessen. "Worry not, I will protect you from the evil predator. He won't hurt you anymore."

"Really? Now I'm the bad guy?" Leona quirked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You're the one who hurt this innocent creature."

An annoyed growl escaped his throat at your words. He narrowed his eyes at you, but you didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. On the contrary, you tightened your hold on the rabbit and glared back at him.

"Has no one explained to you yet that this is the cycle of life?"

"Perhaps so," you shot back. "But I don't appreciate you bringing me a half-dead rabbit. What kind of strange joke is this?"

Leona felt his ears flatten against his head and his hands tighten into fists. With every second he spent watching you coddle the rabbit, he grew more angry — until he couldn't take it anymore. Finally, he threw his hands into the air. "Fine, do whatever you want," he growled and whipped around to stomp away. "Keep the rabbit. I don't care." Without another word, he exited the courtyard.

Behind the doors, Ruggie was already waiting for him. "So that didn't go as planned?" the hyena asked sheepishly while running after his dorm leader.

"No."

Ruggie let out a little sigh, a little bit breathless by the other's quick pace. "The prefect must have misunderstood your intentions," he muttered comfortingly. "And you didn't even care to explain what this gesture meant."

"Whatever. It happened."

Again, Ruggie exhaled — although this time, annoyance echoed in his voice. "Don't you dare 'whatever' me..." he grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes. Finally, unable to continue this hellish quick pace, he jumped in front of Leona and blocked his path. A look of determination flashed across the hyena's face. "Listen, why don't you apologise to (Y/n) and then explain everything properly?"

"No way," Leona grumbled and tried to shove his fellow dorm member out of the way.

Much to his dismay, Ruggie dodged his hands easily. A few snickers even escaped the hyena's lips. "I understand that it's embarrassing. I mean... wasn't this your first attempt of courting the prefect—"

"Don't you dare continue, hyena."

"Look, someone's embarrassed!" Ruggie's laughter grew even louder.

By then, Leona had covered his ears with his hands, his eyes scrunched up in exasperation. His lips were pursed into a thin line, yet he eventually managed to press out, "Fine, I'll go talk to the herbivore if you'll stop pestering me..." The ceasing laughter made him open his eyes to find a giant grin on his fellow beastman's face.

"It's a deal!" Ruggie looked satisfied, without a doubt — a little bit smug, too. "Oh, what would you do without me, dorm leader?"

"All of this was your idea in the first place, anyway... The herbivore wouldn't be angry at me if it weren't for you."

Despite the tension in the air, the second-year merely began laughing loudly. With his hands behind his head, he leisurely walked away, now that he had achieved his goal. "Well, perhaps you took one step backwards... but this is your chance to take two forward!" he threw over his shoulder, grinning. "If you catch my drift~"

It was later that day when Leona found the perfect opportunity to speak to you again. Seated on a bench in the botanical garden, you were watching in glee as your newfound rabbit friend hopped in circles around you. The small animal seemed to be back to normal, joyful and lively whenever you brushed its ears.

Yet, as soon as it sensed his presence in the area, the small rabbit immediately darted over to you and leapt into your arms. There, it quivered and shivered, trying to press its tiny body even further into your chest. Confusion laced your voice when you asked the rabbit what was wrong — only to realise the answer yourself when a familiar voice reached your ears.

"Herbivore."

Slowly, you glanced up to find a familiar lion beastman towering over you. At once, you narrowed your eyes and mustered the angriest glare you could send him. "Oh, it's you..." you grumbled and comforted the rabbit gently.

Leona let out a small sigh. "Is the... rabbit alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Cuddles is doing much better now."

"You already named the fluff ball?" He quirked his eyebrows in amusement, especially when he noticed how your cheeks warmed up slightly. When you merely avoided his gaze, flustered, he began chuckling to himself. "Don't tell me you're planning to keep him."

"No..." After having pressed a kiss to the rabbit's head, you let out a disappointed sigh. "Sadly, Ramshackle is no place to keep a bunny. I mean, all the dust can't be good for them."

The dorm leader huffed in satisfaction. "Good."

"Is there anything else you wanted from me?" you asked after a while of silence had passed. The rabbit, despite your attempts of comforting it, still felt uneasy, based on the way it wiggled and shivered.

Leona tensed up at your question. "Yes..." A dreadful sigh escaped his lips, and the tension in his shoulders seemed to reach its highpoint. His eyes darkened in conflict, but he eventually whispered, "I'm here to apologise?"

"You make it sound like a question." You quirked an eyebrow mockingly.

His apologetic attitude went out of the window at once, and he instead began growling. And this time, you were so caught off-guard that you shrank into yourself. With his ears pressed flat against his head, he asked in frustration, "Do you know why I gave you the rabbit?" You were about to spit another witty comeback, but he stopped you before you could open your mouth. "I hunted it for you. It's a gesture of caring for one another — showing affection and what not..."

The way his voice became quieter and quieter — you knew that he was being genuine about the situation. So, with your mouth open in confusion, you merely cried out, "You... care for me?" The surprise in your voice turned into smugness once he pursed his lips and remained silent.

"Not if you continue to grin like that, herbivore."

Your lips morphed into a wide and bright smile, and all the hostility you had harboured against him suddenly disappeared. A sheepish chuckle escaped your lips. "I mean... no bunnies were harmed in the process," you trailed off playfully. "So, thank you for the gesture? I appreciate it. But you don't expect me to hunt you a rabbit, do you?"

This time, it was his turn to grin in satisfaction. "Now that would be a funny idea."

#twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twst #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #reader insert #y/n #disney twst #twst x you #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #twst leona #twst leona kingscholar #twst leona x reader #gender neutral reader

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percheduphere · 5 months

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LET'S TALK ABOUT MOBIUS'S HEAVY KEYS

I wrote a meta on S1 Mobius here, mostly exploring his interrogation persona and emotional trajectory toward S1E6. I also have a fun little list on all the things I love about him here.

@mitromana posted about how we should talk about Mobius's sass and even cruelty more. @wowwwmobius posted how Mobius realistically would not be doing well post-S2E6 (I wholeheartedly agree), and they and @inwantofamuse shared amazing comments. All of this inspired this meta.

Thank you @mitromana @wowwwmobius @inwantofamuse!

Mobius's interrogation scenes are him at his most cruel and ruthless. The flipside of being a highly empathetic person is that it is very VERY easy to use this skill in highly abusive, cunning, and powerful ways. This is especially true if the person armed with this skill is exceptionally intelligent and is convinced their motivations are good. At the TVA, before Loki's exposure of the truth, Mobius is both of these things. Worse, he has access to the TVA's more ethically unconscionable technology, which he does not hesitate to use.

The road to evil is paved with good intentions. Mobius strolls onto this road more than once, but he manages to not stay on it because two people curb this risk: Loki and, yes, Sylvie.

Take in Loki's words and posture in this scene. The words alone are a frail and weak comeback for a silver-tongue God of lies. They do nothing but reveal Loki is in FACT scared. His arms are crossed tightly over his abdomen, a primal protective response. He's leaned as far away from Mobius as possible. This is the best Loki can come up with in the face of a boring man in a boring suit, really?

You can see why Mobius was moved into the position of Analyst from Hunter. He may not be able to prune children, but he can literally bring a God like Loki to the ground, breathless, confused, and frightened, with nothing more than WORDS. And this is with a variant Mobius likes. Imagine what he can do to a variant he hates.

For HWR and Ravonna's purposes, Mobius is the perfect weapon to get whatever they want out of whatever variant they capture before sending them off to get pruned. How do they keep him from questioning anything?

Memory-wiping (more than once), brainwashing, propaganda, and:

A little something for Mobius's identity, something that fulfills his intrinsic need to take care of others while also gently stroking his ego.

Yes, the genocide of multiple timelines over the span of eons is horrifying. But Mobius is capable of being complicit with it as long as his environment feeds his intrinsic psychological and emotional needs. The people on the Sacred Timeline become his new children, and he will do anything ANYTHING to protect them.

There was one thing HWR and Ravonna didn't anticipate: that this man's empathy for a specific Loki would be the very thing that liberates the multiverse and his own bondage from a corrupt bureaucracy.

However...

I don't believe Mobius ever anticipated becoming emotionally compromised when he advocated on Loki's behalf. He likely genuinely believed that after centuries of studying Loki, he knew him well enough to make him useful for the TVA. But the subconscious, oh. That is a different story, and in Loki's own words, Mobius has a gift for lying to himself.

I discuss the interrogation scene and Sif loop scene in depth here, so I won't repeat myself, but I'd like to draw our attention to the 2 gifs below, framing my analysis:

Imagine where Mobius's mind must be at:

I spent centuries studying you and believing in you. I waited more centuries for your nexus event to come. I tasked every hunter to inform me of your arrival immediately, no matter what I was doing, no matter where I was. I abandoned a case. I ran to your trial. I put my job, reputation, and eons-long friendship with Ravonna on the line. I tested your theory. I brought you with me on the field. You talked to me. You challenged me. You made me proud. You made me laugh.

I gave you daggers and you stabbed me. You STABBED me. When all I wanted to give you was--

Mobius cracked hard and fast. Applaud Owen Wilson for THIS interpretation of the script and THIS delivery.

Thankfully, the very person who put Mobius in this fragile state of mind is also the person Mobius deeply wants to believe in. Even after being betrayed, Mobius still wants to believe in Loki and his capacity to be a wonderful person. And so he looks at Ravonna's TemPad, decides Loki deserves to be with whoever he wants to be with (even if that person will never be Mobius himself), frees Loki to help him save the woman he loves, and gets pruned for it.

Mobius survives thanks to plot-armor. And who is the first person he meets?

The bane of his existence.

And Sylvie wastes no time driving a knife into a very fresh wound. Mobius, however, only recently unleashed all his rage. His reservoir for compartamentalizing has refreshed, so he can take Sylvie's truth bravely, without a flinch, and acknowledge that truth with one of his own.

Mobius owns it. He doesn't deny it. He tacitly agrees with her and gives her a reason why.

We should remember how dangerous Mobius can be. He is currently sitting in a car with the variant he is most likely to hate. Sylvie is strong, clever, and resilient, but her ability to regulate her emotions is weak, especially if she is triggered. Mobius can destroy her very easily with his words.

But Mobius can't hate her. He can't. She was right and he was wrong, but most importantly Loki loves her.

He won't hurt the person Loki loves most. No. He will take her to him instead. He can stomach the pain, the disappointment. He's good at that. Loki's well-being, his happiness, comes first.

In fact, Mobius stomachs Sylvie's knife twists a second time and chooses not to defend himself. I don't doubt a large part of him agrees with her. Nevertheless, he can't help but hope Loki might stand up for him in that moment. He tries, and fails, to make light of it by rolling his eyes and turning to his friend. When Loki leaves him not explaining why, his true feelings about this interaction surfaces on his face.

Aren't you going to say anything?

The saddest thing is that this is the LAST intimate moment THIS Mobius has with Loki before Loki crosses the gangway and never returns. This is it. This is what he's left with: the thought Loki didn't care enough to defend him and Loki leaving.

HE doesn't get to hear that he's just trying to see in the dark and is doing everything he can to keep the surviving timelines alive. SYLVIE does.

HE doesn't get to hear Loki tell him he saved his life. DON does.

HE doesn't get the final goodbye and "thank you, Mobius", his PAST SELF does. And if Mobius happens to remember this moment in the present, he will know that he was the one who propelled Loki to bear this massive burden ALONE.

My worry for Mobius post-S2E6 is that he is more than talented at ignoring his own needs and addressing his own problems. He is infinitely better--a master, even--at taking care of anyone else. It's a devastating flaw, but it comes from a very raw place:

His heart, his soul, will always remember being a single parent.

Being a parent at all is hard to begin with. There are only so many hours in a day, and the majority of it is devoted to putting someone else's needs before your own. Being a single parent is even harder. You might have a few people to help you, but ultimately, there's no partner to share every high and low intimately. To be a single parent of not one but TWO children?

Game over.

Some viewers have interpreted Don ignoring his sons' phone calls at work as negligent. Honestly, I don't think that's the case. He will call them back. Don is Mobius and Mobius is Don. He will take care of them. But refusing every beck and call at work is the only personal boundary he has. He cannot have many boundaries for himself at home or anywhere else. He has to decline not one but two calls for his own sanity. Nevermind that he works Monday through Saturday, nine to five, to make enough money to keep them healthy and happy. Where is the break? There is none. This is Don's glorious purpose.

Mobius leaving the TVA is understandable for two crucial reasons: One, it is a reminder of all his horrifying acts and complicity. Two, it is a reminder Loki is no longer there. But by leaving the TVA, Mobius separates himself from his only support system. That's not good. That is decidely unhealthy. The fact that it doesn't cross B-15, Casey, or OB's minds that this is a very bad idea tells you everything you need to know about the number of genuinely close friends Mobius has.

Mobius has two. He walked away from one to be with the second, and the second walked away from him, too. TWICE.

But he still loves him anyway.

When you take a man like this and take away everything that's kept him functional: the TVA, Ravonna, Loki, and then show him a content life in which he cannot even be with his own children because another version of him already exists, what do you think will happen to him given we've seen how violently Mobius can snap?

And guess what: only one person has ever seen Mobius snap on more than one occasion. Only one person understands the triggers and how to handle them. I'll give you three guesses as to who it is.

Mobius "has a happy ending" is absolute bullshit. He is at risk.

#loki #mobius #lokius #loki series #loki season 2 #loki spoilers #loki meta #sylvie #my meta

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