#Villain!deceit

[loganslowdown4]

Today I was thinking about how the dark sides are represented as ‘villains’ because c!Thomas thinks that that side of himself is reprehensible. Like he sees completely in black and white. And because of this, any thought or action that comes from that side is immediately villainized, to the point where they act and even look like cartoon villains.

His point of reference for ‘bad guys’ has always been from his experience with the media he consumes, like cartoons or video games. It’s actually an immature way of looking at himself.

I get the wanting to separate good from bad, and this works for the big moral yes or no questions. But there gets to be a point where we grow up and realize that most instances in our lives have shades of grey answers, which is actually why Janus and Remus are there. We eventually just accept those sides of ourselves as part of us.

And eventually, they become more mellow and we realize they’re just there for self preservation. It’s not selfish to look after yourself if you have to lie about something. We’re not bad because we have intrusive thoughts. Being bothered by them literally shows us what NOT to do. In their way, they are a form of moral compass.

Neither sides are there to make him comfortable, but being comfortable leaves you vulnerable when you need protection. So Janus and Remus aren’t great sides but they aren’t ‘villains’ either, as Thomas sees them. They deserve acceptance just as much as Virgil does, because, like Virgil, they’re working to protect Thomas just as much.

Just some food for thought today! 😁 Also check out the colours in Thomas’ tie whoa 👀🤍🖤

[justjanusthings]

[larrythefloridaman]

WOAH, HE'S BIGENDER? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!

[etruatcaelum]

On Semblances.

As this post mentions, neither Salem nor Ozma have ‘true’ ancient magic anymore: her immense power derives from the pools of light and darkness, and when Ozma created the maidens, they sacrificed their divine gifts but awakened their aura. Both now wield powers functionally identical to the aura and dust-based magic of modern humans; the sole difference between them and ordinary humans is vastly greater experience and, in Salem’s case, the interaction between her infinite aura and her grimmness.

(That is the subject for another post, but in essence grimm flesh and atrum ‘burn’ aura and this reaction can be controlled and channeled just like dust; Salem, who is grimm, uses this to her advantage to mimic ‘true’ magic.)

And, because their ‘magic’ is really just aura trained to a level beyond what any mortal could achieve in a single lifetime, both of them do have semblances.

Salem’s semblance is less an outward projection of her self than an inward one. It developed through the slow reconstruction of her mind and soul after a long period during which she had no sense of identity and was just kind of mindlessly dreaming all the time; her semblance sparked from the need to become whole and to know herself again. What it does, in essence, is immanentize her thinking.

Think method of loci, but crystallized from the imaginary construct into a real, tangible place—in a sense, the interior of her soul, her semblance, is a realm. Not one anything like as vast or complicated as Remnant or the Ever After, but quite a bit larger and more intricate than the vaults, and accessible only through doors she chooses to open.

It’s how she keeps herself sane and also why her sense of identity and conviction are so unshakable in the present: Salem knows herself extremely well and nearly everything that defines who and what she is, she made a deliberate choice to include as a fundamental part of herself. She is capable of change—and in fact capable of changing herself very rapidly and easily, once she decides to do so��but she cannot be forced or coerced or compelled or worn down or manipulated into it. Because the only way she can change is for her to literally disassemble and reassemble parts of herself and her semblance will not let her do that if she doesn’t truly want it to.

Ozma doesn’t know that they even have a semblance, because their semblance fluctuates from one life to the next; they believe the permutations of their own semblance have all been semblances taken from the lives they steal. What’s actually going on is that their very fragile sense of self gave them a semblance that lacks clear definition because it has yet to be fully-realized. It warps and bends and molds itself into the hollowed-out masks of every host, then loses that shape once those masks crumble again to expose Ozma.

There are, however, some constants:

The base essence of their semblance is remembrance and accretion of time. It’s the grasping for another chance and the tearing pain of almost and the venom of what if and maybe then and it wasn’t supposed to happen this way all rolled into one. It’s the aching possibility on the trailing edge of a mistake. Often, it takes the form of small-scale temporal manipulation: with Ozpin, it became an ability to ‘skip’ a second or two here and an idle moment there and ‘save up’ that time to spend all at once, squeezing several minutes worth of action into a single fraction of a second. (<- Ozma still has this ability and Oscar can tap into it for a while, but after the events of V8 it fades as their self-identification as Ozpin disintegrates.)

As themself—once freed from their curse and restored to live as their own person—their semblance is effectively only half-formed: not quite latent, but not truly manifested either. They will need to find themself and know themself before they’re able to fully bring it out. In its true, unalloyed form, Ozma’s semblance is unbinding: the breaking of chains, the opening of doors, the snipped thread of fate to unleash boundless possibility.

In less poetic terms, they will be able to reach back and bring forward the moments when what is now became inescapable. Nothing can be undone, nothing erased: the past cannot be unwritten, but what they can do is create a second chance to rewrite the future, whether by literally making a new possibility that didn’t exist before or by cutting through whatever beliefs or rationalizations a person clings to to pretend that they have no other choice.

Their fully-realized semblance will turn inward and confront them whether they like it or not; toward other people it is entirely under their control. (<- It is also quite likely the one thing capable of reaching into Salem’s head and shaking the foundations of her self, by drawing out her line of reasoning for committing to those choices and asking her to walk those paths anew, decide again.)

Oscar does not have a semblance and will not have a semblance until he’s separated from Ozma. If the integration were completed he would eventually produce a new permutation of Ozma’s, but it wouldn’t in any meaningful sense belong to Oscar, because Oscar as an individual would, for all intents and purposes, be dead.

But once he’s separated from Ozma, and once he sorts out who he is and who he wants to be outside of the looming existential dread of becoming Ozma, he’ll be able to discover his semblance.

(<- Also his aura, when not subsumed by Ozma’s, will turn out to actually be orange. Like a pumpkin. Because his Ozian allusion isn’t Tip OR Dorothy, it’s Jack Pumpkinhead)

Oscar’s semblance is… essentially, a hyper-specialized form of empathy: he can take the words people say and unfold them to reveal the things they mean, the feelings they’re trying to express but can’t communicate clearly, and then find the words to articulate those things back. He’s an interpreter, not of language but of emotions. He’s able to very quickly talk through to the heart of a problem, and he’s preternaturally good at listening in a way that makes people feel seen and heard. It also has the side effect of making him almost impossible to lie to.

Even with Ozma in his head, there are traces of this latent ability eking through to the surface—his determination to connect with Ironwood throughout V7, his intuitive sense for what to say to Hazel and Emerald to earn their trust, and even earlier, his realization that Ozpin is lying and his ability to break through long enough to spill Jinn’s name: these are all inklings of what could be, if not smothered by Ozma’s curse.

That sort of rising-to-the-surface is very rare among Ozma’s hosts. With Oscar, it’s happening partly because he’s fighting so hard to hold on for as long as he can, partly because his upbringing gave him a pretty strong sense of identity to begin with, and partly because the nature of his semblance itself resists falsehood and obfuscation. Latent though it is, it still gives him a firm place to stand when he pushes back and asserts himself against Ozma’s resignation. This struggle also has the effect of deepening the potential of his semblance—in effect, training it before it even properly manifests—so that once he’s free and it emerges fully he gets in tune with it fast.

[lyricalchrysanthemum]

piper is such an inherently fun character to think about for me.

especially during bw and his villain arc. ESPECIALLY when he's at he's peak villainy.

like YEAH he gets manipulated by team plasma into making him think people are out to ruin him and is believing in a false ideal... but he's still kind of a villain. moreso than n and hilda. like at least those two don't pretend to be people's friend nor does he try to harm them and ruin an entire wealth of childhood memories for said false ideal. he goes out of his way to throw hilbert to the wolves.

he is a victim... but just because he's a victim doesn't mean what he's done is ok.

like he is VERY self motivated in the end. he's hurting hilbert and bianca for the sake of HIS future, HIS feeling of fulfillment, HIS feeling of being alive. and like going as deep in this path as team plasma has lead him on it makes him feel so alive unlike he's ever felt before that he has. an evil villain laugh about it. when his true nature is revealed and he has his villain monologue (before the monologue about how much he hates hilbert)

He's BURNING alive compared to his ever desolate feeling of cold, empty, dead-ness.

and the fact that hilbert still loves him after everything he's done infuriates him!!! like it fills him with so much turmoil and rage it makes him see red and they INSTANTLY start a pokemon battle. i think his face would be one of those shots where the camera is just ultra focused on an anime characters eyes.

and he may try to write his wrongs but AGAIN. the damage he causes has been done. and at some point, he was willing to get even worse had it not been for the cruel wake up call given by Bianca, and of course, what happened to Hilbert.

he's just a fun guy to think of. especially when i think of what he'd be like as a villain and his true alliances gets revealed to bianca and hilbert.

[candyredmusings]

                                                      I always got good intentions.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

--prompt from @flashfictionfridayofficial

Pity those who grow up to become the villain.

Pity those who learn from the world that in order to be kind, you have to be cruel. Underneath your caramel-filled words and chocolate songs, you only have a heart which is made of charcoal.

Maybe you could carve a monument out of that, in which you could revel in the place where your secrets lie, in an endless pit, filled with filth. You bring flowers to that hollowed place, but those lilies give out that horrid odor, one which wards off the innocent to see the truth from what you really are--

a liar, a con, and a petulant child with a tongue which could speak eloquence into being. Like a silver thread tarnishing under the clouds, words die when they meet air--they combust and shed their letters to anonymous civilians.

Pity those who become the villain, but you made yourself that way.

You decided to run on tarnished glass and splintered wood, so that you may be free from your own trappings, that of gold and diamonds, pieces without love.

You hold yourself on top of a wire, knowing how to walk, but not knowing what's on the other side.

You believe your arrived on the wings of God, but in the end, you were made by men... --Elda Mengisto

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

Three revised outlines later, and Houses Full of Deceit has somehow turned into a combination of The Thirty-Nine Steps and The Three Hostages. I don’t know what to make of this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[uraandri]

hii what did you think of anatomy of a fall i saw that you watched it

hii i liked the movie a lot, especially the acting but i might have to rewatch it again because we had a chat about the movie with one of my professors and she said that she did not like it because it felt like a commentary on the metoo movement (in the negative sense) but i understood the movie to be more of a commentary on the way media villainizes women in these types of situations (it felt more like a commentary on th heard/depp trial but i don't know if that was the intention i did not read anything about the movie, i almost never do unless i hate it enough) and also our obsession with true crime. the choice to never reveal if she did it or not felt like great meta-commentary but i do think the final twist with the kid kinda cheapened it for me because of how smooth it went. it's a 9/10 movie for me but her comment is making me think it over simply because i can't see where she's coming from so if you plan on watching it keep that in mind and then let me know your opinions after

[justjanusthings]

Wearing a bower hat and a cape like a discount Disney villain

[jewishcissiekj]

going into Phase II barely knowing anything is great beca- WAIT NO. NOOOOOOOO KEVMO DON'T GET LEVELEDDDDDD WHAT THE FUCKKKKK

[luna-azzurra]

List of character flaws that can be prominent in villains

Rebellion: Strong opposition to authority figures and societal norms.

Manipulativeness: Tendency to exploit others for personal gain.

Cruelty: Enjoyment or indifference to causing suffering in others.

Narcissism: Excessive self-love and lack of empathy for others.

Arrogance: Overestimation of one's own abilities and importance.

Impulsiveness: Acting without considering consequences or long-term effects.

Deceitfulness: Habitual lying and deception to achieve goals.

Entitlement: Belief that one is inherently deserving of special treatment or privileges.

Distrust: Difficulty trusting others, often stemming from past betrayals or trauma.

Insecurity: Deep-seated feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness, leading to defensive or aggressive behavior.

Jealousy: Resentment towards others' successes or possessions.

Vengefulness: Desire for revenge against perceived wrongs or slights.

Machiavellianism: Willingness to manipulate and exploit others for personal gain.

Sadism: Deriving pleasure from inflicting pain or suffering on others.

Paranoia: Irrational suspicion and distrust of others' intentions.

Egocentrism: Difficulty seeing beyond one's own perspective and needs.

Addiction: Dependency on substances or behaviors that impair judgment and control.

Rage: Explosive outbursts of anger or violence.

Perfectionism: Setting unattainably high standards for oneself and others, leading to frustration and resentment.

Hubris: Excessive pride or self-confidence, often leading to downfall.

Sociopathy: Lack of empathy or remorse for one's actions, often accompanied by manipulative behavior.

Psychopathy: Antisocial behavior, lack of empathy, and disregard for social norms and moral standards.

Obsession: Fixation on a particular person, goal, or idea to the detriment of everything else.

Fearfulness: Paralyzing fear or anxiety that drives destructive behavior.

Isolation: Withdrawal from social interactions and relationships, leading to further detachment and hostility.

Codependency: Unhealthy reliance on others for validation and self-worth, often resulting in manipulative or controlling behavior.

Nihilism: Belief in the meaninglessness of existence, leading to a disregard for moral and ethical considerations.

Megalomania: Delusions of grandeur and a desire for unlimited power and control.

Impatience: Frustration with delays or obstacles, leading to rash decisions and reckless actions.

Self-destructiveness: Subconsciously sabotaging one's own success or well-being due to deep-seated issues or trauma.

[nil-the-glitch]

therapy (or in my case finding out one of your friends is a therapist and they accidentally go work-mode on you) is truly wild because you'll be like "yeah there's a lot of things i can't enjoy anymore because i associate them with this person/these people and engaging with those things makes me feel like i'm somehow being clingy and not letting go" and they'll just look you in the eye and be like "have you considered spite? you should consider spite. go enjoy things spitefully" and you're just left there like. well damn. fuck, even. shit, perhaps.

[endless-ineffabilities]

the sapphire and his sun

Aemond Targaryen x f!reader

Musings about Aemond Targaryen and the only one he truly needs. His one true hope and love. His beloved wife.

a/n : i had to write something after that episode! holy Aemond! This pretty much wrote itself and I could expand it in the future ~ if inspiration strikes true!

word count : <2k ▪︎ masterlist

Aemond used to think his only solace was himself.

His mother had never been much of a mother in her own right, too muddled in the web of deceit that she and Otto spin at their fancy. Criston posited as something of a father figure, but his true loyalty is to his Queen. His brother has always been a wastrel, and his sister wasting away in her own mind.

Aemond never had anyone. Not truly.

Until you.

He still remembers the day you walked into his life, a lone ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds of stormy grey. You appeared to be a frail-hearted young lady, eager to please and to be a devoted wife to her prince. All the while he saw your spirit dimmed from being offered by her House to be Prince Aemond's newly betrothed.

All to secure an alliance.

There was no promise of loyalty or love. Being the prince, he is able to take into bed any whore he wishes. But one look at you - just the one - and all thought of any other lover vanished from his mind.

The first night he was supposed to take you to bed and consummate your marriage, the meek cast in your eyes had disappeared, and in its place a defiant glint he hadn't seen before.

"If I am to be used by my prince, I will do it with the remaining shred of my dignity. I will not cry, I will not beg for a life I have already lost. If all that I am now is a vessel for duty, then so be it." You looked at him, as if for the first time, and with the flames dancing across your face, Aemond would remember that moment as when his sun first shone down on him.

He felt his anger flare for but a moment, his constant fear of being betrayed taking over him. Had everything been an act? Was this to be a marriage of unpleasantry and resentment?

But it quickly dawned on him that the act - the betrayal - was that if his wife was willing to play a fool and dance under his strings like some marionette.

He preferred this. He preferred you.

"Mayhaps I will not bed you tonight, my lady wife. Not yet," he had said, your face slowly twisting in surprise. "I will let you keep more than just your dignity, for you will also possess the choice. Trust that it is only for the time being, at least, until it is imperative that I produce an heir. From this moment forward, I swear to take no else to bed as it is my oath as your husband."

He watched the minute switches in your expression. The wariness. The confusion. The relief. And he already felt it then, as silly as the notion might be, that you had recognised who he really was and that you accepted him.

Aemond was no scoundrel. He wasn't a villain in your story. He wasn't some mighty, untouchable prince.

He was a boy. He was now your husband. He had decency. He had a heart.

And you may not have yet realised, but this heart - wretched as it might have been - he was surrendering it to you.

With the turn of the moon came ill tidings - the death of his father Viserys. Although he was also not much of a father to begin with. Aemond felt numb to it all and there was no time for any emotion to take root, for the conspiracy festered like an open wound. His brother was to be made king.

"Must you go and find him?" you asked. "What if something were to happen?"

He had been blank and unfeeling, unsure of what to make his father's passing. But then, some warmth bloomed in him at your concern. His darling wife cared. He hadn't yet been allowed to indulge in the pleasures of your flesh, but your nights were filled with conversation and confiding.

He took your hands and pressed a kiss atop each one. "It is I who understands Aegon's doings, my wife. Ser Criston is in need of my aid. My brother would sooner sail away than fulfil his duty, which is why he must return at all cost."

"Let him sail away. Let him go and live as he pleases, husband. He never possessed the temperament of a king. You on the other hand... "

His father is dead. His brother could be gone. The enemy encroaches.

But gods be damned, you believed in him.

Aemond didn't know for certain what happiness felt like, he'd never had a single taste of it. And how morbid it was for him to possibly feel it then. But...

"You would make a far better ruler than anyone, and I don't just say that because I am your wife."

Happiness. How fascinating.

How utterly... simple.

For he realised that he had felt it before. Not even in grand moments, no, but in the littlest of things.

He had felt it when you once laughed in pure bliss when he first rode with you atop Vhagar.

When you would help fasten him into his training armour.

When he would watch as you read one of your stories.

His happiness was standing right in front of him. His ray of light, his sun.

And his sun persisted even when he singlehandedly cast the realm into macabre blacks and greens.

Shaken and despondent, he stumbled into your chambers to deliver the news to you first. In the passing hour, everything will change. Will you turn on him too?

"It was an accident," he confessed. "I thought I could control Vhagar, but... she is her own beast. She always has been. I admit I was angry and it was my folly to seek vengeance, but I did not mean to... " His voice broke, and he felt your finger wipe at something wet from his cheek.

He did not even notice that he was crying.

You still said nothing, so he grew frightful. What if nothing he said would ever be enough? No explanation, no apology. He can't lose his light.

"I never held any love for him," he carried on painfully, "but he was my blood. And I... I just - "

"It wasn't your fault, Aemond."

A ray of hope. A remaining strength.

You repeat, "I believe you, and it wasn't your fault."

It mattered not whether his mother would shun him, or his grandsire would frown upon his gruesome action. Rhaenyra was coming for him, as sure as dragonfire, and he would soon have to face the consequences of his actions.

But none of that worried him, not then.

He had to stay alive, however he can, so that he can protect you. It was not remiss of him to overlook that the ladywife of Lucerys' apparent murderer would also have a target on her back.

Aemond knew that the fight was inevitable, and he was going to win it. For you.

In tears, in love, in pale shades of grief, he kissed you with everything he had in him.

A solemn promise. A declaration of love.

"No one shall know the truth of it, my love."

"What do you mean?"

"They will not know, but you will. And that is all that matters. There is no stopping it now and I must face the war head on. What the realm will come to accept is that I intended to fell my nephew and that I do not regret doing so. They have to fear me. This is how I can keep you safe."

"Aemond - "

"Do you trust me?"

The only thing that mattered, the one answer that decided whether he bent or broke. The Seven Kingdoms were to be covered in gloom and shadow, its fields marred with blood and many a broken bone.

His world, however - his world still had light.

"I trust you. With everything I have, I do."

To be tagged in Aemond or Daemon fics, comment on this post !

[candyredmusings]

                                 I'm cravin' your attention ...

                                                                                       & you know that I got two sides.

[xelidonia]

:O thanks so much!! (And I guess I need to post those 50 episodes of alternate universe evil Scar now, huh--)

SCAR GOODTIMES?

ARCHIVAL ASSISTANT SCAR GOODTIMES? STUPID IDIOT CLUMSY SMUG MOTHERFUCKER SCAR GOODTIMES??? CHESHIRE CAT BASTARD SUPERNATURALLY INCOMPETENT CUCKED BY THE NARRATIVE BIGGEST CLOWN IN THE CIRCUS LAUGHED OUT OF TOWN DISNEY ASS SCAR GOODTIMES???

STOP pinning me when I talk about Scar from The Hermit Archives. I hate him so much. Why can't he die like a normal person? Who invited him to Grian's personal hell? How in the name of Smirke's 14 did he get from that murder arena in the middle of NOWHERE to the Void Institute just so he could torment Grian even more? He is DEAD and he is a BASTARD and I so dearly wish he would stay that way, but no, he keeps coming back and making his stupid immature imbecilic infuriating JOKES about it, just to rub it in my face, just to taunt me with the knowledge that From the Archives will never be rid of him. Archival Assistant more like ASSistant. I don't even know why I hate him so much. He sounds and speaks exactly like my beloved YouTuber GoodTimesWithScar and yet he is NOT HIM. I've listened to End Condition five times in a row clenching my fists and seething with rage JUST for the satisfaction of hearing his death. But even that satisfaction is taken away from me. Who allowed SCAR to get out of Death free with no penalty no price and no major karmic drawbacks whenever he wants?? He has to be evil. It's the only explanation. If the Scarchival Assistant isn't evil then why is he a little bitch?? Why did he gaslight the Archivist? Even Elias had the decency to apologize for the deception. I understand why the Universe is constantly trying to kill Scar. This man inspires so much primal violence and rage that if I were in RLGL I would have killed him before Grian even got the chance. Except it wouldn't have made any difference to the story, because he would have respawned, and then sat on the sidelines giggling with his quirky little laugh while the pre-Archivist Grian stabbed me to death with his murder knife. I don't care, because killing the Assistant would have been worth it. I am not breathing, I am HYPERVENTILLATING. If Scar is not revealed to have evil motives in the remaining few statements of From The Archives, I will REJECT CANON and write my own ending in which everything is actually his fault and he gets punched in the dick about it. I will probably have to rewrite the entire AU to do it, but I don't care. I'll write fifty statements and they'll all be about how much I hate him. And it still won't be enough; because no mortal number of words could contain the burning hatred I feel for the man who doesn't die when he is killed.