#REVENGE SUCESSFUL!!!!

[justiisms]

*kaito has not forgotten what his uncle did to him yesterday!! in fact, there's a big, mischievous smirk on his face when he sees phanty taking a nap, staring at him for a moment before quietly sneaking off to the kitchen. he already has a plan in mind!*

*a few moments later he's back with a can of whipped cream and a feather, carefully moving his uncle's hand so his palm is facing up and then proceeds to completely cover it with the cream! kaito has to stop himself from gigging as he then reaches over and starts tickling phanty's nose with the feather, eager to see his little prank in action~!*

"Zzz...." Phanty was napping on his bed, having dozed off when he was watching TV. So he would be completely unaware, of the little revenge prank Kaito has in store for him.

He didn't shift when Kaito made his palm face upwards, nor even when he began applying whipped cream into it. It's only when he feels the feather tickling his nose-

"......gh......." That gets a reaction out of him, mostly the confused scrunching of his face and light mumbles. "Mmmrgh..." Head shifting about at the consistent tingling feeling, he attempts to swat at whatever's tickling his nose away... only to splatter the whipped cream on his face!!! "?!?!?!" His eyes shoot open at the sudden feeling of something cold and soft on his face, and rockets up into a sitting position while swiping at his face in mass confusion!! "Bleeeegh?! Th...The fuck-!!"

But it's when some of it touches his tongue, does he realize it's whipped cream, and then when looking up, sees the purple preparator!!! "Oh...! Kaito, you little shit-" Grabbing a pillow, he throws it right at his face before snorting. He admits, he got him pretty good~ "Hmph!! Pranking your sweet, innocent uncle like this.... my heart! Allll because I gave your goatee a liiiiitle "shave".... so ungrateful! Hehehehe.....anyway, gimme a towel for my face, dork! And next time if you're gonna use whipped cream, at least spray it right in my mouth, hehehe!!"

[teleportationmagic]

Imagine a sucession AU with the witch from mercury

[fazgoo-connoiseur-1987]

not an art request

but can we get a little bittle lore dump on your interpretations of our favorite bear? please :3

Henry... Henry Emily... I love him so much... I have a lot to say so I'm just gonna bullet some stuff down.

Henry's had depression pretty much his whole life, it's not something he develops after his life falls apart though obviously that does make it worse. Typically he calls Bill when he's going through it cus he's the only person he's alright being semi-vunerable around.

He's not a great husband or father (pretty bad at it actually). He's generally aloof and emotionally unavailable- he get's so sucked into his projects he doesn't even remember his family exists for extended periods of time. After his wife leaves him and takes Sammy he gets a little bit better with it for the sake of looking after Charlie but he still doesn't spend as much time with her as he should. He's pretty alright with kids when he's actually interacting with them, though.

He sees himself in William and he fucking hates it. They're very similar at the end of the day and Henry resents that, even before William does anything abhorrent. William's more well liked than Henry, his marriage is more sucessful, his relationship with his kids- he's a little jealous though you would literally have to torture that admission out of him.

This goes both ways though, obviously, and Henry's pretty aware of that. He likes knowing more about William than everyone else does. He can see behind his snake-oil salesman ruse and that makes him feel powerful.

This is partly why he covers up the MCI for him but also because, after Charlie's death, he threw literally his whole being into this pizzeria and these robots. It's why he keeps trying to open locations and why they're all shady as fuck; he wouldn't know what to do with himself without Freddy's and when the 94' location shuts down he gets sent down a 30 year long depressive spiral.

He takes his own life in 86' using Baby and Bill finds him, injects him with some remnant and fucks off. Henry is completly and utterly consumed by the need for revenge from this point onwards, it's pretty much all he thinks about.

He's the frightguard and that's a really fun experience for him. I think he's really really really weird about Springtrap. Lots of different ways weird.

He wasn't gonna tell Mike he was gonna set everyone on fire but they were talking mid-way into the week and Henry had his only good thought of 'oh fuck, yeah he should probably know, huh.'

He's Old Man Consequences cus I like that idea a lot. It is a sort of punishment for him, though. He spent his whole life thinking about William fucking Afton and now he's gotta guard him forever. Get the whole of you reflected back at you, idiot.

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

A bag of choice (tm)

Mal - she continuously causes Evie heart attacks by refusing to use any and all designer bags and even just the decent looking ones she gives her and using the same tattered old tote bag she found and improved when she was thirteen.

Evie - you know she has at least one from any occasion, and we love that for her.

Jay - pockets. Does he lose half the groceries he was supposed to buy? No, absolutely not, these items were never written down in the first place.

Carlos - I feel like his cousins suceeded in getting him reasonable bags. Criticism will NOT be accepted by any of the de Vils and also that thing somehow fits an entire toolbag.

Ben - ...auradon royal family merch :( he hates it :( (Mal quickly improved it for him. He loves that version to bits and his parents despise it just as much.)

Audrey - a small shiny clutch that fits barely a phone, a credit card, and lipgloss. Y'know, the essentials.

Chad - nope. No. He doesn't even bother to use his pockets, he loses his stuff all the time. Just. Puts it down and that's it.

Jane - very cute and very practical backpack with a little ribbon <3 and lot of cute added charms <3 we love our practical girlie <3

Lonnie - hmm. Probably a sports bag or backpack of choice. Secret compartments for reasons that are definitely NOT "war-induced generational paranoia".

Btw ALL VK bags have secret compartments, just so you know.

Uma - first of all, Uma rarely ever carries her own shit. Harry and Gil are being gentlemans and the rest of the crew is lowkey afraid for their own life if Harry saw that they let the Captain carry heavy things . Second of all, she got the crew tote bags with Lost Revenge logo.

Harry - ...yeah he forgets that bag all the time. That's fine tho, he has like not normal amount of pockets.

Gil - the crew logo bag but Claudine embroidered more decorations on it for him.

Claudine - she doesn't have vibes for a bag, okay? She can carry everything she needs without it. (...yeah, she doesn't carry ANY of the stuff most people do. Phone? Devil's machine. Keys? There's always people to let her in. Money? Ivy has those. Or Uma, or Harriet, or Gil. Someone will pay for her.)

Ivy - either a designer bag that SOMEHOW fits an entire bottle of whiskey, or she goes out without any means to carry anything, including pockets, cos designers hate women. She has cigarettes behind her ears, phone, money, and emotional support lipstick in her bra, keys strung on dress strap, and she keeps playing with the lighter. Flickering it on in a completely non-threatening way.

Diego - okay, all de Vil cousins deserve designer handbags. His prefered one is dark leather.

Anthony - he has a collection of bags he got as gifts. Dark leather one from Diego, crocheted one that Dulcia made when bedbound and refused to use, a bunch of bags decorated by his little cousins withvarious amount of sucess and glitter.

Dulcia - she also has a collection. Some designer ones that Audrey got bored of and passed to her through Anthony (displeased at having to play messenger), and lot of bags decorated by her little family members. Also a... Contraption gifted to her by the Hearts kids, she slightly afraid to touch it.

Dizzy - you know that thing is bedazzled enought to blind someone (affectionate)

Celia - you know, this little shadow witch manages without a bag just fine, it's like magic.

Freddie - not sure, either a cute hand-decorated tote, or whatever shiny thing CJ stole for her.

CJ - nope. She has slightly better record of losing shit than Chad, because she has shit ton of pockets in her coat, no reservations about sticking shit into her bra if she needs to, and slightly exasperated Freddie picking the stuff of value that she dropoed after her.

Harriet - it goes about like so: *already paying at the counter, realising she cannot carry all that shit with sheer power of will and hubris:* „...hey, Sam? Do you have a bag?“ (they always do)

Ginny - lol, a crocheted one from Dulcia that she complains about all the time but won't ditch. (She has sewed-on compartments for the actually important stuff on her clothes also)

[su-supernova]

cozy vibes with the Montys <3

Meet the Montys:

Known around Veronaville for their sucessful restaurant line and their loud voices, the Monty's easy-going nature has taken the far. Despite the tragedies this family has faced, they've managed to overcome it all. You can always find them around town with their heads held high and a bright smile - well, except for Patrizio, who is always stomping around and mumbling something about 'betrayal' and 'revenge'.

Names and traits under the cut:

✧ Patrizio Monty family-oriented, paranoid, neat extra gameplay trait: perfectionist ✧ Isabella Monty foodie, wise, creative extra gameplay trait: gloomy ✧ Bianca Monty art lover, good, romantic ✧ Mercutio Monty goofball, self-assured ✧ Romeo Monty lovebug, outgoing

[vitzi9]

I'll be patient, just for you.

Masterlist if you want to read my others things. Prequel of Patience is the key to sucess.

TW/CW: breaking in, voyeurism, ghostface

I feel like this is weird? Or cliché ? I can't tell but I don't really like it. (8/07/2023) (1678)

Ethan has always been a lonely man. Even in his own family, he wasn't loved. His father was talking about his lost son every hour of the damn day, his sister was too. Both of them had spent years trying to find the perfect revenge plan. It was the only thing in their mind. Their plan still wasn't finished yet and for the moment all he had to do was befriending some dumbs students for him to get closer to.

It was a long and boring process. Playing the embarrassed nerd every second, faking being insecure and everything. It was boring. Deadly so.

But it wasn't that much of a waste of time since it's then and there that he discovered his passion; killing and frightening people. In pair with lying. He always think: how many times can I lie to someone before they see it ? How big can my lie be and still pass ? It was his hobby now. The adrenaline he felt while taking the life of someone was exhilarating. He was Ghostface, now. It was beautiful !

So he joined a college and started to blend in. To others, he was the shy dorky nerd without friends, too stupid to hurt a fly. And it was perfect. Ethan was smart, incredibly so. And he was competitive. He was a genius and no one could challenge him, he was the first of every one of his classes. And if someone dared surpass him, he would get angry, really angry.

And no one was suspecting him, too ! Chad just wanted for him to get into a relationship, Tara, Anika and Sam weren't paying too much attention to him, sure Mindy found him weird but that was all.

His cover was perfect.

One day, paying attention to the lesson. He doesn't notice how his pen fell on the ground. Nor when you grabbed it for him. He felt someone tap on his shoulder. Turning his head, he's face to face with you.

You were plain, somewhat of a background character. You didnt't look like you'd be fun to play with, like you'd just cry if he'd chase after you. So he didn't really paid attention to you. Staying in his role, he smiles and thanks you. You smile back.

He didn't even know your name, in fact, he didn't know the name of the majority of people in the class. There were too much persons in this big room. He never noticed you, until now. Why were you seated beside him ? And when did you sit here ? One quick look at the room gave him the answer; there wasn't enough sits.

Chad nudges his side, Ethan moans from the pain. His roomate gives him a pointed look, smiling slyly. Ethan just shrugs. He was terribly annoying, not even funny. If he had any choice in the revenge plan of his father, this dumb guy would be his first victim. Seriously, his name is Chad ? What the hell ?

Ethan glances back at you briefly when he sees a pins on your pencil case; on it, the head of the puppet from the movies Saw. He was intrigued. He liked horror movie as well, and challenge even more. Saw could be really trash for some people, with physical and psychological horror. At first, it was just a game for him really.

He wanted to see how much time he needed to scare you off.

How much time he needed to make you cry, shake and beg for your life. He wanted to speedrun ruining you.

For that, he needed some material. Ethan was a theater kid at heart. He liked to make things dramatics. He grabbed a rope and a black spraypaint. That's all he needed for now. He went to the cash register and gave his 5 dollars note. The cashier told him thirty cents were missing. He was going to bargain, even going to break his character if he needed to, but someone was quicker.

One coin of twenty and one of ten had been put on the counter next to his hand. Surprised, he follows the arm that laid it until he sees the owner of it. You. You smiled at him politly. You, who was the reason he was buying this in the first place. You were nothing like the you from school. You were even pretty. He couldn't even proceed the information but he just stuttered something, a thanks maybe, he can't even remember. But he left with his articles, head low and cheeks red.

Two days later, (the time he needed for him to understand the reaction he had at the store), he was ready. He would follow you at school, for the sole reason he wanted to scare you, of course. He'd write threats to the sit you usually sit on. But you always brush them off, thinking it was just some aweful joke from another student. Even if he wrote your name on it, you wouldn't budge.

He hang up a doll to the ceiling once, to get a reaction out of you. Didn't work either. He tried a lot more things before he realized he had stepped down the creepyness. His creepy jokes were similar to one a kid do. The more he wanted to scare you, the less he was doing. But he was doing it on purpose.

He knew he was doing it on purpose, the pictures of you on his phone were giving him away. Pictures of you in your room, changing clothes, sleeping, walking. Everything. But everyone do that, right ?Every man his age had a crush, after all. But Ethan never had one. He didn't have a normal life after all, nor a normal family. So it's not surprising.

Is that what men feel ? Surely, yes. He couldn't, and wouldnt anyway, ask his dad on the matter. He soon realized it wasn't normal to obsess over someone this way. But at this point it was too late. He killed people, he could deepen in the uncontroversially. A Polaroid of you talking to you friend was well hidden in his nightstand. Your friend's face was crossed out.

This picture was his favourite because he got to be so so close to you that day he thought that wasn't real. You weren't even smiling on the picture, your friend was probably telling you sad things but he didn't care. He spent countless night staring at this picture.

He craved something else. He didn't know what exactly but the more he was looking at you, the prettier you were becoming. And you were nice to him too. Well, the two only times both of you talked, you were incredibly nice to him. And he discovered you had similar center of interest ! You had scary books in your room, you listened to artists he liked, or learnt to like, and like him you hadn't a lot of friends !

But there was that thing, you weren't scared. But on another side, Ethan is not sure he wants to see you just scared now. He wasn't satisfied anymore.

No, his need was stronger now. He wanted to scare you, but mostly detroy you. It was something really simple in his mind. Something quick to understand but hard to plan. Human is gregarious. Human needs to be in a group or in a pair, it's a fact. But what if an human is left alone ? Then, he'll seek refuge with someone else. Even if it's not truthful. Even if it's a fake relation, because human need compagny. It give them a sense of safety.

And that now, was more terryfing that any stupid movie. Because Ethan was controlling everything in this plan. Because he get to see you scared shitless, to see you cry and beg for you life, he get to destroy you and you'll still come back for him for comfort.

In this plan, Ethan was winning on every fronts. He had everything and you nothing.

Though, he had to control himself at some point. He couldn't act too quickly. It wasn't something you can do in a blinking of an eye. Plus, you still exerted a force on him.

That he wants it or not.

That persona he was sick of playing with his so called friends, weirdly enough, he was really getting into it when you were around. When you looked at him, even for a brief second, he was the embarrassed nerd. When you looked at someone else, he was insecure.

But he'd overcome that, eventually.

Often, you'd come to your friend's apartment and he would love these moments ! Because he could hide in the bathroom and listen to your conversation. At first, his audacity had him doubt about his plan. But your friend was so so stupid ! Since he already locked himself in the bathroom multiple times before, she was used to it by now. Just thinking that it was stuck sometimes and she wouldn't insist. Ethan was free to do what he wanted.

After that, he decided he needed more. He knew your bedroom window was giving to a little street below. And it became a habit for him to go there every night. You couldn't see him, less hear him. But he was talking to you, every time. Most of the time, he was seated on the ground, head glued to your room.

'You're so pretty' he'd whisper after a long day. 'Good night lovely' he'd say when you turn off the light. And once deep asleep, he'd enter your apartment. He already duplicated your keys; his most prized posession. He would just stare at your sleeping form. Sometimes, he'd watch the TV without sound on your couch. Wanting to create a domestic feeling in him.

But each time, once the night is over, you'd see each other at school and you would act as if you don't know him.

And he really, really hated you for it.

[blindmagdalena]

Hi, Amy! How are you?

You know, I've been having a lot of thoughts about Homelander's relationship with both Ashley and the rest of the Seven, and wanted to share them, if that's okay :)

Although at first glance it really seems that Homelander just hates his team, I think that it's a bit more complicated than that.

Sure he likes to bully them, intimidate them and generally just play mind games with the team. He's a sadist for sure. However, I also think that he rationalizes his mistreatment of them as "toughening them up".

I've had a lot of teachers (and one terrible boss) who had this mentallity. They use the people bellow them as pounching bags, an outlet for their own frustrations because they know they won't face any repercussions, but they don't see it as an abuse of power. They think that this mistreatment helps to build character and it's necessary.

In a way, they think "they are doing us a favor", and in my mind that's exactly how Homelander sees his relationship with the Seven. "Oh, they re weak and pathetic and so bellow me, but it's okay, I'll make them better" basically.

It's also a form of revenge, because Homelander went through abuse as well while he was in the lab. So, now he believes that pain and humiliation is something everyone should go through because it will make them stronger. This helps him justify his own suffering too. Because if pain isn't necessary to become better, why did he have to go through that?

I think (weirdly enough) that this is particularly true when it comes to his relationship with women.

In his mind, Alex's death was not just a way to intimidate Starlight. It was a loss she needed to experience to "understand the situation she was in". That's why during the interview he held her hand and even said that he missed her, acting like everything was fine between them. Because what he did was for Starlight's benefit so she doesn't have a right to hate him for it.

His issues distinguishing reality from fiction (as in marketing and PR stunts, branding, etc) also played a role in that, but that's beside the point.

AND ASHLEY!!?? I have so many thoughts about how he actually is, deep down, VERY fond of Ashley but feels the need to terrorize her bc she won't be a useful paw if he goes soft on her. Even if she's just using her, you don't hang over the most sucessful company of the world to someone you hate.

Yes, everything he does is horrible and ill-intended, but he doesn't realize it!

He thinks he can hurt people and still have an emotional connection to them, because abuse is just an intrinsical part of any relationship. That's what Jonah Vogelbaum and Vought taught him, and that's why he's always so dumbfounded when people turn on him.

(Poor thing, he really needs to be commited at this point 😩).

aahh wow, so many good points! i agree that Homelander absolutely ascribes to 'tough love,' like pushing Ryan off the roof. that is undoubtedly exactly how he was taught to fly, too. you've nailed his warped perspective on how he goes about teaching people lessons.

though a good deal of his bullying, especially in regards to A-Train and Deep, seems like him lashing out against them for not being his dream team. he's at his worst with them when he feels small and insecure. he treats them as extensions of himself and his image, and when they fail to live up to that, it infuriates him.

i don't know if i entirely agree with the latent fondness beneath his bullying of Ashley: if he is fond of her, i don't think he's aware of it at all. to me, it seems much more like she's his designated adult. a frazzled babysitter. someone he has terrified into being loyal and responsible for all the company related nuances he doesn't understand. it makes so much sense to me when you take into account what Starr said about Homelander having the emotional intelligence of a 14-year-old. she's his stand-in for Stan Edgar.

he's pretty openly doting when he has fondness for someone. Black Noir is a very good example of this.

that said, fondness is different from attachment. i do think he's both attached to and reliant on every member of his team. a teenager who lashes out at their friends and family is still very much reliant on those same people.

i like what you said about him viewing abuse as an intrinsic part of relationships, and something that shouldn't cause people to turn on him. it's fucked up and tragic, and his perspective definitely IS very skewed, but he shows us several times that he's actually pretty soft when it comes to his loved ones.

when Ryan has a panic attack, he doesn't scold him or tell him to get over it. he removes him from the situation, gives him space, and then empathizes with him. obviously he's much softer with his son bc he's actively looking to change the way he was raised through his son.

ultimately to me, Homelander's sadism doesn't come across as quite as meticulous or well thought out as he'd like people to believe. he's a wounded, frustrated child taking out his pain on those around him. he uses fear and torment to get his way because that's what was done to him, and yet he expects them to have the same weird reverence for him that he had for Vogelbaum.

[raelle-writing]

I’ve seen some wild theories out there about how Phee and Jin are going to end. I personally think that either they are both killers and planned this out and get away with it scott free or they both sadly die.

White and Tee seems much more straightforward. Tee is marked for death (imo), it’s just a matter of how he dies. Will he still be selfish or self -sacrificing?

What are your theories/speculations about how the couples might end up?

I'm so glad you asked me nonnie because I have a lot of thoughts in no cohesive order and wasn't sure where to put them 😂

I don't know if I really have a theory or speculation more that I have a lot of pieces of a puzzle that don't quite make a picture yet. I've seen a lot of theories and speculation around Phee and Jin in particular as well and I'm not entirely sure if I can yet predict what direction the show is going to go in because we still have a lot of unanswered questions about them. So let me start with Tee and White.

I think there are 2 possibilities for Tee and White at this point. Either they both die, or they both live but they break up. And that's because White shows so much horror to any of Tee's even small suggestions of crime, and he defends Tee to Tan and Phee when they talk about thinking that the original crew did something to Non.

If we take White at face value, he seems like a good kid and I think if he found out what Tee did to Non he wouldn't be able to conscience it and would have to break up, even if Tee genuinely loves him (and I believe Tee does).

There is always the possibility that White is more than he appears (you've all probably seen me speculate that White could be Non's brother New) but given what we know about him so far, that's what I can see happening, unless there's some reveal about his character that we haven't seen yet.

So, now for Phee and Jin.

I'll make it no secret that I really want them to end up together, so that is likely coloring my analysis of events. But as of right now I just... don't really have a prediction for how things will end between them. I've seen speculation ranging from Phee is using Jin for revenge and will kill him, to Phee is there to protect Jin from someone else seeking vengeance and truly, I don't have enough information to make a prediction. Here's what I can say about them tho.

I don't think that Jin is hiding some deep, manipulative streak. I was on the fence at first, but then a scene in episode 4 tipped me over the edge. And it's the one where Jin is with his friends, talking about how they'd won the film contest, and while he's there, he defends Non and credits him for their sucess.

If Jin was trying to manipulate Non or use him in any way, then why defend him in this moment when Non is nowhere around, and will never hear about it? To me that's a pretty huge sign that Jin is genuinely kind, because he risks upsetting his friends to defend a person who isn't even there.

There's always the possibility that Jin can betray Non, of course. I've also written a meta about how Jin calls himself a coward when he's talking to Phee, and I still wonder if part of the reason he views himself that way is because of whatever happened to Non before he disappeared. If he feels like he did something cowardly or abandoned Non, or should've stood up for him more, or something along those lines. But I can't see a deep, malicious, manipulative betrayal coming from him.

And that leads to Phee, who we all assume is seeking revenge. Though there's an equally likely plotline that he's there trying to figure out what happened to Non, we don't know yet. There's still so much about Phee that we don't know. Why he's been with the friend group for so long, what's his angle for approaching Jin, if he's a murderer or caught up in the mayhem somehow. But currently I don't think that Phee is trying to trick Jin only to betray him later, for one simple reason.

Because they were fuckbuddies.

That might sound like a stupid reason, but bear with me. If Phee was really trying to hurt Jin as revenge for whatever happened with Non, why would he keep Jin at arms length by saying they're "just friends" over and over?

It would be significantly bigger of a betrayal for Phee to become Jin's boyfriend and then later betray and kill him. If that's what Phee was after, then why would he half-ass it that way? Why push him away?

I feel like there's gotta be something deeper there than simple revenge. Especially when compounded with the fact that we haven't seen Jin do anything nasty to Non.

I think my money is currently (and very tentatively) on Phee genuinely protecting Jin because Jin was good to Non and doesn't deserve the havoc being wreaked on the others, especially since Phee has gone out of his way to save Jin's life already.

As for their ending... I don't know yet. I think that if the writers really want to break our hearts they'll have Phee and Jin genuinely love each other and one will die trying to save the other. But it kind of depends, it's hard to say at this point in the show because we've only had one major character death so far. I don't know how far the writers are going to go in the end, if they intend to kill almost everyone or only the ones who "deserve it."

Thanks for the question nonnie, hopefully you don't mind the novel I left in reply for you! As the story unfolds I'm sure you'll get more character analyses and speculations from me but currently I'm a big fat ❓ over what is going to happen with Phee and Jin. And that's on purpose, of course. So we'll just have to see how it all plays out, I guess!

[neyliaart]

Its hilarious to watch myself be a predator who is also petty.

I just hit a fly straight out of the air. It was a misunderstanding! I thought I had spotted the Mosquito who stung me at least four times tonight and was set on revenge. When I looked down however to see if the Mosquito was dead on the ground and my hunt sucessful I just saw a tiny fly sitting on the ground confused and stunned.

The little guy is fine! I observed him until he flew again and now hes somewhere in here but I feel so sorry!

Im so sorry little guy I didnt mean to just slap you to the ground.

[racefortheironthrone]

Read your post on "disruptors", loved it, and made me wonder why so many have a cult of personality spring up around them. Were there similar cults of personality for the mega wealthy in the past; like was Rockefeller worshiped the way so many worship Musk? Or is it a more modern trend fuelled by our constant connectivity and consumption of media? Thanks!

You raise an interesting question.

It was certainly true that the robber barons of the 19th century - Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, Gould, Frick, etc. - were larger-than-life figures in the media (especially the part of the media that covered high society). It is also true that with a lot of these figures, there was this popular myth of the self-made man that sought to turn them into quintessential rags-to-riches, up-by-your-bootstraps American sucess stories.

But for the most part, the robber barons of the Gilded Age were hated for their monopolistic behavior and their use of violence to suppress the working class - and these magnates often had to go to great lengths to repair their reputations. Andre Carnegie's library-building campaign, for example, was very much a PR move meant to soften his image after the Homestead Strike. In fact, my great-grandfather Humphrey Attewell helped to organize opposition to the construction of a Carnegie library in Northampton, because he and other working-class people felt that the funds for the library were blood money distributed by a murderer. Likewise, it's not an accident that John D. Rockefeller founded the Rockefeller Foundation right around the same time that the Ludlow Massacre turned him into a monster in the eyes of the American public.

I would argue that we start to see more of a cult of personality around the mega-wealthy a bit later - say, 1900s-1930s - and the major turning point was the career of Thomas Edison. While Edison was every bit as ruthless and grasping as the robber barons before him - hence the war of the currents, his penchant for patent theft and/or stealing credit for inventions, the very existence of Hollywood - the fact that he was an inventor with so many world-changing patents to his name made Edison into a very different kind of media figure. Thomas Edison became a star of pulp fiction and dime novels, a sort of proto-superhero Science Hero - in addition to Edison's Conquest of Mars (an unauthorized sequel to the War of the Worlds in which Thomas Edison gets revenge for the Martian invasion of Earth by launching a counter-invasion of the red planet with his superior technology), there was a whole genre of Edisonades all about young inventor geniuses who use their inventions to save the day and/or explore the "savage frontier."

I think you can draw a line from the cult of personality around Edison to the cult of personality that formed around Henry Ford in the 20s and 30s as not just a car manufacturer but a visionary who had created a new age of modernity, and from there to the legend of the Packard garage, and from there to contemporary Silicon Valley.

[chickenroost]

More Candle Colors & Correspondences

Black: meditation rituals, hex work, banishing, protection, working with entities, and getting rid negative forces

Blue: magic that involves honor, loyalty, peace, tranquility, truth, wisdom, protection during sleep, astral projection, and spells to induce prophetic dreams

Brown: spells to locate lost objects, improve powers of concentration and telepathy, and for protection of familiars and household pets

Gold: spells that attract the power of cosmic influences and rituals to honor sun deities.

Grey: spells to neutralize negative influences

Orange: spells to stimulate energy

Green: spells involving fertility, success, good luck, prosperity, money, rejuvenation, and ambition. and rituals to counter act greed and jealousy.

Pink: love spells and rituals involving friendship or feminity

Purple: psychic senses, manifestations, healing, and spells involving power, sucess, indepedence, and household protection.

Red: fertility rites, aphrodisiacs, and spells involving passion, love, health, physical strength, revenge, angels, willpower, courage, and magnetism.

Silver: spells and rituals to remove negativity, encourage stability, and attract the influence of a deity.

White: consecration rituals, meditation, divination, exorcism, and spells that involve healing, clairvoyance, truth, peace, spiritual strength, and lunar energy.

Yellow: spells involving confidence, attraction , charm and persuasion, along with solar energy.

[xtabithanala]

Another OC drop <3

Today I'm dropping one of my most dearest OCs: Szimba Luani from District 3, winner of the 59th Hunger Games ♡

Faceclaim: Alexandra Breckenridge

Szimba and her younger sister Hayden grew up im the poorest part of District 3. Their parents had left by the time Szimba was of eligible reaping age and hadn't been seen since. Therefore and to support themselves, Szimba and Hayden stuck to stealing. When Szimba was 16 years old, she was reaped for the 59th Hunger Games. Her District partner was 12-year-old Tyrone Bell, the mayor's son. The citizens of District 3 were rooting for Tyrone, not only because of his age and because he was the mayor's son but also due to her dislike of Szimba who could be caught talking to herself on several occasions.

Szimba received a score of 5 after showing her skills of building traps and camouflage. She wad mentored by Beetee Latier who'd won the games a little over 20 years before her, being District 3's most 'recent' victor.

Originally Szimba and Tyrone had planned to form an alliance that ended right before the games started as Tyrone dropped his token, which caused his platform to go off. Szima, now all on her own, stuck to hiding, camouflaging and living off a minimum of supplies that eventually left her weak and disoriented. By the point the games were almost done (the 59th Hunger Games were among the shortest recent games in history with just a little over 4 days), Szima and the District 2 female Petra were the only ones left. Hallucinating, Szimba killed her final opponent which made her the eventual winner.

The Capitol citizens weren't fond of her due to the lack of entertainment yet liked the final fight between her and the District 2 girl. Like other victors before her, Szima was approached by the president who wanted to sell her to Capitol people. When she refused and eventually returned home, she found her sister Hayden to be gone, knowing that the president must've killed her.

This proved wrong however when the name for the District 3 female for the 60th Hunger Games turned out to be Hayden Luani, Szimba's now 14-year-old sister.

For the first and only time, District 3 had a volunteer: Szimba's best friend from the black market, Aviani.

Forced to mentor her best friend, Szimba eventually had to watch Aviani dying at the cornucopia.

In the years that followed, Szimba began descending into madness. Her best friend was gone and her sister hidden away in an orphanage. The tributes she and Beetee mentored usually never made it far.

When Katniss and Peeta won the 74th Hunger Games, Szimba knew that the president would take revenge. Yet the rule for the Quarter Quell came as a surprise. Despite it wasn't her name being reaped, Szimba could never fully let go off the guilt for not volunteering in Wiress' place.

Szimba was among the many victors to know of the rebel plot. She didn't believe in its sucess as she thought the president was too powerful to be defeated by a bunch of victors. After Katniss blew up the arena, Szimba was among those escaping to District 13 where she reunited with Beetee. She and Beetee worked together in District 13's technology section to send propos all across Panem.

After the war, both Beetee and Szimba returned to District 3, where Szimba finally reunited with her sister Hayden. The two of them - now both in their 30s - hadn't seen since the reaping of the 60th Hunger Games but finally got to catch up on everything they'd missed <3

[ourpickwickclub]

I understand how some feel a little perturbed at Kings post. But it was a simple response. He loves his dad. He also loves his Mom and his Blake. K is a sensitive kid who knows his dad is a sad sack pos. What he sees is a man who hasnt been in a stable relationship in 9 years. Whos still whining he didnt want the divorce. Isnt professionally sucessful. And will turn on him if he crosses him(remember the cold shoulder when K played at ole red?). K is secure in his Moms/Bs love. Not too sure of his Dad. Daisy post was lovely and poignant. She didnt have much to say on her dads post.

I think sometimes people forget how narcissists work. They make themselves the victim that needs to be saved and reaffirmed that they are good. GR has always needed that I’m a good dad affirmation because he deep down knows that he isn’t. But it’s easily to get to a sensitive kid like King and tell him how hurt you are Blake and Gwen doing whatever he perceives them doing to displace him. GR has probably been working on King about this very post for a while. And I would not be surprised at all if GR even worked more angles than we know. Only to act very nonchalant about it when it all goes down.

I know people disagree with me, and I hope I’m wrong, but I feel like King touring with GR this summer and playing in Bush is a certainty.

Basically, the kids are pawns. To build his own self worth, the world’s image of him, and also, to get revenge on Gwen for the crime of having had enough years of his abusive behavior.

These are my thoughts. Not saying they are the only ones.

- B

[ask-alphakill]

Power hungry

This is what I wanted. This power, this control. Oh my God, no, Oh ME, this is so good to feel. Now I can show those arrogant fuckers who is the new leader. Now that the Father is gone, I'll take his place.

This was starting to get annoying. Those sinners think they can rebel against us, against the Father. Ever since the All Father left they think they can take the place, but as if impure beings like them would never be worthy of receiving the Father's light.

"All of you, we are going to take revenge on the heavens. They trapped us here, they look DOWN on us. It's time to wake them up. It's time to show them that they should NOT LAUGH AT US!"

I sense force coming down at immense speed. It's directly towards her. I get shovel ready and jump in front the attack. She will not get hurt.

That beast think that jumping in front of me will do anything? Such stupidity. Fitting to his mind I guess. I kick the beast and it is sent flying across the horrendous army.

Was that Saman? I look around and face the porpretator of the extractivism, the worst of all. YWHW. He thinks he can just come here and beat us like we're nothing? I'll show him who is on top here.

That sinner tries to kick me, but as slow as she is, she didn't even come close to hitting me. I was able to hit a strike from my sword.

The slash in my torso hurts, but I can't let that stop me from taking the position I deserve. I start to puch him, pushing him to the defensive.

This is bad. This sinner is good, more than I thought, but she can't go against the Father's light. I take the advantege of the delay of one attack and strike her in the face.

I dodge a slash aimed to my neck. He plans to kill me as fast as he can, hehe. Looks like he noticed I'm no joke. I swep him off the ground.

It means nothing do so. I take fly and go away from the battlefield, but she's faster than I though.

I jumped towards him and kicked him towards the ground. I come down with a kick, hitting him, and started punching him on the face. I feel the mask on his face cracking,. This is good, this is GOOD!

This is worse than I thought. Should have been more careful. I fire a beam of light in the sinner, sending her away.

That attack burned my skin. Stumbling, I get back up and look at him. His mask falling apart, but nothing inside it. He's just a shell to the Father, like all of us.

The sinner seems to be getting angrier. I try to dash towards her, but she attacks me first and kicks me on the face. I feel my mask breaking. The cold wind inside my mask. The mask HE made to me.

This useless trash has no meaning to my plan! If even his position is a fucking shell, then what is above him?! Who is above him?!

I dodge another attack and prepare my attack. Aiming at the neck.

It was sucessful.

I won. She died. She was decapitated in front of her little, pityful rebellion. They are running away. Trying to escape God's judgement....

Hehehe, hahahahahahaha. Oh they won't. God's judgement os for EVERYONE!

[mortaljortlebortles]

Douglas is cancelled

I loved this show but the very end the hotel room her interview-it didn't give me what I wanted.

I mean obviously Madiline f-ed up with a few things- she shouldn't have been tactile when trying to find out the truth- nor used that to manipulate him- he was uncomfortable so she should have stopped.

I get it is revenge and like I get it but i kinda wished she had found another way.

Also in the final piece of hotel scene before the hay festival, I wish that taking a photo of Toby hadn't been presented as the best option she had. I respect her choice - in terms of she didn't know what else to do but I do think it feeds into the narrative that a strong woman would have found a way to escape and that blackmailint some with leaking nudes is a tactic that is safe or the best option - she could also be convicted ( she shouldn't be but she could be)

Also it seemed to shame people who would be afraid or desperate for the job enough to sleep with him- sleeping with a superior for something if you aren't scared is morally neuteral(for you) I would reckon- so long as you are single. I don't judge. I judge the boss though it is horrible.

If she was scared for her future career anywhere- and how Toby could manipulate her and so stayed and he had pressured her into s-x that is s/a no two ways about it.

if she had stayed and not done anything with him he would still be a horrible man who sexually harassed her and an absolute arsehole.

And that is why I am posting so that if anybody out there saw this and thought Douglas was right when he said "phone the police- your regretting your choice then phone your mum or your best friend"

He very much isn't Madaline knows that, Stephen Moffat knows that .don't beat your self up, okay.

and then the whole it is a win for me not for women thing is fair if that is the way you feel(being proud of yourself and not wanting to think your achievement is only impressive because you are a woman prehaps.

It also may not be a problem she won for her and it doesn't stop anything involving toby - she is afraid, you might be afriad, not everybody has the ability and stabilty and safety net to stand up to such things. That doesn't mean she is horrible

I don't like however the fact she is naive enough to not see women are a group of people who are mistreated(because we are women) and our sucess does mean something for others as does our losses( when a woman is hurt it makes women afraid). I do wish Moffat would have made it more just violence does happen to women because they are women for five sesonds- Mad's opinions being the closest to right just means somepeople I reckon will twist it so that they can victim blame women for being too soft or weak or say bad things only happen to women who aren't strong enough or that women need to deal with these things themselves rather than joining together. I mean it is obvious violence and mistreatment of women from men is a problem but I have met so many men who don't believe these things happen often or at all and I am borded of educating men ages 18 to 30 at the age of 19 because subtlty and nuance goes over my guy Luke's head.

it is very complex and cool- obviously doesn't represent the young or activists or people with anxiety/autism very well and that sucks but it is great tv - very dramatic and well filmed, with great acting and lots of layers or good and bad and sad in all of the characters. I mean one just calm nice unbullied person would have been great but i suppose Kirsty Wark is a nice person so her 2 minute appearance might count.

I loved the script and it is very worth a watch and it isn't trying to be so problematic for me, or you potentially, it's just Madalyn is a total Talitha at points and some people see only in black and white.

So all the we should all aim for human rights stuff though true lacks a framework to hang on that doesn't result in a mixed message possibly.

[beevean]

My main question regarding Dracula is: when DID he get into contact with Chaos to become its avatar?

One could say that it was in the interim between LoI and C3, however I find it hard to believe that he'd find love with Lisa under those conditions, since it's implied that having a connection to Chaos pretty much makes one evil incarnate, not to mention being Chaos' avatar seems to pretty much be a prerequisite for being a Dark Lord which Dracula already was prior to C3 and became during the interim as implied by LoI's closing narration

On the other hand though Alucard seems to know pretty much everything about how the Castle works, including Dracula's connection to Chaos, which he would most likely only know about if it was told to him by Dracula while he was still living in the Castle. Moreover it just feels kinda weird for Dracula to make a pact with Chaos and THEN with the Evil God in quick sucession, with the former never being mentioned in either CoD manga unless I'm mistaken

Speaking of which: I know it's a thing from C3 that can't be avoided but in retrospect I find the whole Evil God thing pretty tacked on: I mean in-universe you're telling me that Dracula was already the Dark Lord, avatar of the most evil being in existence, the literal manifestation of humanity's evil....but he felt it was not enough and so contacted some ancient Evil God to give him even more power and monsters because I....guess Chaos' weren't enough...?

If I was Chaos I'd feel offended, not helped by how easily the Evil God got defeated in C3 in comparison to Chaos in AoS, which didn't even truly die due to it being basically a concept tied to humankind

My best guess is that he came into contact with Chaos during the interim as part of his plan to spite God: as Celia puts it the Dark Lord (and so logically Chaos as well) is God's antithesis, so of course Dracula would jump on that ship, however his soul wasn't completely consumed by Chaos' influence...until Lisa got killed, thus permanently binding him to Chaos

I think this problem could be solved if Chaos and the Evil God were the same entity, so Dracula only came in contact with Chaos (who pretty much is an evil God) to gain even more power.

The wiki, flawed as it is, offers another explanation: it implies that the Evil God was the entity connecting Dracula and Chaos

Dracula, through a pact with the Evil God in the year of 1476, obtained the powers of Chaos in order to obtain enough power to carry out his revenge plan of extermination of mankind.

This wouldn't contradict the fact that Alucard knows that the castle is a creature of Chaos, since he probably saw what his father had done before leaving the castle to oppose him.

Also I'm not sure that Dracula was the Dark Lord as we understand it before CV3? I took it that he was simply an exceptionally powerful vampire, the Lord of Vampires even. He probably became the Dark Lord as in the avatar of Chaos not long after Lisa's death.