#concept of good vs. evil

[ahalal-uralma]

"People like to say that the conflict is between good and evil. The real conflict is between truth and lies."

-Don Miguel Ruiz

"Fantasy is an area where it is possible to talk about right and wrong, good and evil, with a straight face. In mainstream fiction and even in a good deal of mystery, these things are presented as simply two sides of the same coin. Never really more than a matter of where you happen to be standing."

-Robert Jordan

"The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces."

-Phillip Zimbardo

"I define a 'good person' as somebody who is fully conscious of their own limitations. They know their strengths, but they also know their 'shadow' - they know their weaknesses. In other words, they understand that there is no good without bad. Good and evil are really one, but we have broken them up in our consciousness. We polarize them."

-John Bradshaw

"In this life, we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices."

James E. Faust

"People desire to separate their worlds into polarities of dark and light, ugly and beautiful, good and evil, right and wrong, inside and outside. Polarities serve us in our learning and growth, but as souls we are all."

-Joy Page

"It has been rightly said that nothing is unimportant, nothing powerless in the universe; a single atom can dissolve everything, and save everything! What terror! There lies the eternal distinction between good and evil."

-Gerard de Nerval

cruelty is so easy. youre not special for choosing it

[dykedvonte]

you make really good points, I think I used the term karmic wrong sorry. I think of it more as not how I personally think he deserved all that happened to him (which thinking back os exactly what karma means, I messed up sorry), but as his fate being directly tied/parallel to anyas. I handnt noticed the toxicity of jimmy and curlys relationship, from the first playthrough I watched and the first interactions I had w fandom I saw so many ppl just. dismiss the terror Anya went through and focus too much on him as the "ultimate victim" and that just didn't sit well w me. I really dislike seeing ppl go "oh well nothing could've been done" I think it's much more complex than that. also I forgot to mention in the last ask that I really appreciate you bringing the point that this game isn't just about the harm of patriarchy but also very very critical to capitalism, I haven't seen too many ppl touch on this. I hadn't thought too deeply about how it makes "he deserved to become disabled as punishment" come up and I agree that's really messed up. I'll try watching a playthrough again with all of this in mind. but either way thanks! I really appreciate your answer 🫶🏼

I guess this is just part of being in a fandom like this. I've noticed a lot of people don't actually see posts outside of their curated view. So some people only get like anya posting or jimmy or curly and it can make it seem like that is what is saturating the conversation.

I mainly just follow the general tags and look for anything new because I'm like obsessed but I know some are only looking for what they want or believe to be the case and can get weird about other ideas.

Sorry if I came off mean its just a last few of the asks have been like circular conversations like this and its not draining per say but seeing all the nuance and details get overlooked to fit a straightforward and basic narrative really sucks cause there's a lot to explore character and theme wise.

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

AU where Yoichi's secret super power was to make other people go yandere crazy for him and the reason why the OFA vestige space is a vault is because it's a manifestation of the secret desire of the OFA users to imprison him

[mantomhive]

obv i'm sure we're all tired of hearing about the increasing lack of media literacy pervading society (unless that's just my specific corner of the internet) but oh my god if you think that liking a book = affirming it as having a 100% morally sound educational thesis statement that ought to be proselytized to the masses, and disliking a book = unequivocally disavowing it of any valuable substance or merit whatsoever... I'm sorry to say you have fallen victim to brain rot!

[tenjad129]

PLANET OF THE TOONS POSTER CONCEPTS 31-60 (May 11, 2024 - February 2, 2025)

Now that I got all sixty mockup poster design conceptual artwork done thus far for my Planet of the Toons epic work still in progress thus far, may I present, ladies and gentlemen, young and old, the latest 30 poster conceptual artworks done by me for my Planet of the Toons epic in progress done between May 11, 2024 to today February 2, 2025. (and that is, Poster Concept Art 31-60)

Now, imagine a world where mighty saurians (or dinosaurs) still roam the land, and real people of living flesh and blood co-exist with fantastic beings and creatures of living cartoon ink and paint.

But it is also a world where a prophecy will be fulfilled, and where a young leader from our planet (the visiting astronaut David Zarus of Earth, that is) will emerge alongside some of his most unusual companions - an adorable and heroic pair of brother and sister mice (Fievel Mousekewitz and Tanya Mousekewitz from An American Tail, or the Fievel Goes West versions of both mouse boy and girl in particular), a rascally rabbit (Looney Tunes' Bugs Bunny), a greedy duck (Daffy Duck, also from Looney Tunes), and a brave boy genius (Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory) - to command an army of seven thousand warriors against the forces of an evil toon nerd (Dexter's jealous and hateful nerdy rival Mandark of Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip infamy) who threatens to enslave the universe.

It is going to be the epic battle for control of an entire planet of the toons.

Now, anyway, PLANET OF THE TOONS is going to be, I hope, one of the most amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring, unusual, interesting, remarkable, extraordinary, phenomenal, extra-special, and uniquely entertaining films of any kind that we’ll ever see in a very long time.

Being Timothy Robert McKenzie's (or I'd rather actually make that MY) monumental epic of good versus evil as well as of life and adventure being lived on so many different levels among all different kinds of races and species of fantastic beings and creatures - many of them being played by all kinds of cartoon characters and personalities from all across the history and world of animation art - it is a gigantic saga chock-full of action, adventure, romance, drama, pathos, and the occasional cartoon comedy slapstick humor and anarchy that one would still expect from something straight out of the Golden Age of American Animation, while also being very steeped both in the tradition of epic fantasy and science fiction as well as in the history and world of  animation and cartoons of any kind in America and elsewhere.

All of these things are meant to be highly entertaining and enjoyable in a very good way.  And while many of the more full-blooded epic moments of action, adventure and drama are strange, unlikely territory for any type of cartoon characters that has had their original roots in early 20th Century vaudeville and silent film as well as classic slapstick comedy, some are meant to illustrate, even in the near, middle, or far future, the true determiners of a heroic civilization across the stars, such as the struggle of right and wrong, courage in the face of oppression, the willingness to sacrifice one’s self for the greater good, and the belief that good will ultimately triumph over evil. 

And think of it all as like a sweeping 21st Century combination of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (with some elements of Dune, Star Wars, even James Cameron's AVATAR movies being thrown in for good measure!), only set on another planet just like our own planet Earth, but located on the faraway edge of the universe out in space. 

Among the living ink-and-painted cartoon beings and creatures appearing in this rousing, action-packed, vividly told, and breathtakingly awesome epic tale of otherworldly visitation includes (but are not limited to): Bugs Bunny, King of Rascals and Tricksters, Daffy Duck, his greedy rival, Elmer Fudd, the not-so-mighty hunter prowling through Acme Forest (all three of whom are of Looney Tunes fame), Gertie the Dinosaur (the first cartoon character with a personality, created by Windsor McCay of Little Nemo fame), Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl, J. Wellington Wimpy, Bluto (all four of whom were once worked on by the Fleischer Bros. and created by E.C. Segar), Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves (probably from some old 17-minute-long Popeye color cartoon from 1937), Dexter the Boy Genius, Dee Dee, his sister (of Dexter's Laboratory fame), Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket (of the Disney Pinocchio fame), Scrooge McDuck (all of them Disney characters, though Scrooge McDuck himself actually originated in a comic book by Carl Barks), Mandark Astronomenov, the Dark Lord of the planet and Dexter’s jealous and hateful rival (of Dexter's Laboratory Ego Trip infamy, that is), and Fievel Mousekewitz and Tanya Mousekewitz, the brother and sister mouse pair decreed by an ancient prophecy, along with one of three visiting astronauts from Earth, to save the PLANET OF THE TOONS around them all from the long-standing and destructive evil unleashed by Mandark many centuries ago. 

The magic is that even in the future, heroes still come in many shapes, sizes and species, and that’s perfectly fine. And very soon you along with your friends and loved ones can enjoy this gigantic, sweeping epic of a wondrous, heroic civilization where cartoons and humans - okay, and still-living dinosaurs, too! - share a faraway planet of color, sound, and vision, where good and evil struggle for control of all around them, and all in the comfort of your favorite movie theater near you...and ON YOUR PLANET. 

Anyway, that's all, folks, for now...

[t-bird510]

GOOD VS EVIL - Danganronpa AU ⛓️🦋

“The chains are interlocked with the butterflies of fate.”

Concept:

There are 2 Gods who are both Teenagers…One is good and the other is Bad.

Rantaro is the Angel god, He represents all the good in this AU universe while Shirogane is the Devil God who represents all the bad things in this worlds AU.

Shirogane has this thing where she wants to create killing games and Rantaro has to put some of his powers to use in order to select a Student in order for Good to win in the killing games.

There have been 53 so far in this AU and after that…The world has turned into a Twisted wasteland…

Who will win in the end if there are no more killing games?

Good or Evil…?

[crypticmessengergoblin]

I'm not one to get inspired artistically very much (and when I do it's usually drawing connections between two things, not original concepts)

but I had THREE ideas I was so excited about and could vividly imagine in the past WEEK and all three were sparked by Hozier songs

Either my increase in music consumption has made me open up more creatively or it's an incredible nod to Hozier's songwriting reflecting the nuances in life so particularly that although it may seem like a very particular situation, it actually reflects life in such a way that anyone can find a meaningful connection to/application of it in some form of a shared experience (or at least through the knowledge of human nature)

[etunpeudevitriol]

What is it with Tally Hall's Good and Evil album and songs that go super hard towards the end? Like the beginnings are good too but I get to the end and I'm fully stimming

& - Big Bad Betty of the 'pocalypse etc. etc. It's a huge head bopper ending

You & Me - the "you turn away and around" part, especially when superimposed with lines from the chorus

Who You Are - another Rob song that superimposes catchy ending lines with some from the chorus

Hymn for a Scarecrow - so they circle AND FLY! (and fly, fly, fly until the keyboard goes insane and so do I) ((ok sure it's not at the end end but it's still towards the end and I want to count it so I'll count it))

The Trap - but it's ON! OOON! OOON! OOON! OOON! OOON! OOON! OOON! OOON! OOONNNNNN! (It feels like fireworks in my head, I want to listen to this part on repeat forever)

Out in the Twilight - Collect yourself and move into the street!! The rest of our entire life is free!! :D !!

Honorary mentions (I had to, cause they don't illustrate my point as well but they still somehow count in my heart)

Never Meant to Know - I can't fully count it cause it has a pretty standard bridge-into-the-chorus ending. But the bridge and the "There are some things we don't understand/ Reasons on the other hand" resolution bait have my tummy full of butterflies, so <3

Misery Fell - the instrumental bridge gives me the impression that it's gonna land into something a bit quicker paced. Still I like the extended chorus, reminds me of the last chorus in High Hopes by Pink Floyd, like a joyful collection of photos

[nikkapaloma]

Sometimes when I write songs, I like to create stories and characters outside of my comfort zone. “Not Much Of An Angel” is a story where the protagonist is also a villainess. This song is like the “bad guy” speech in movies where she illustrates how her past led her to making bad decisions. It is revealed that she was a victim of a narcissist player that broke her heart - a heart that was once innocent and trusting. She returns looking and acting like a different person, with a revenge plot in mind.

[phanboyo]

Everyone, immediately: yeah yeah, evil alternate universe Batman, we've all seen it. Good alternate universe Joker??? I mean it's not technically unheard of but it's really not as common, and still a little bit of a new concept. Like, who would ever think the Joker would be the good guy? Especially if Danny mentions he has an evil alternate future self who kills everyone and takes over the world??? Everyone's immediately like, oh yeah that sounds more like what we'd have expected of an alternate universe Joker.

"But don't worry guys I screamed at him and now hes in a thermos outside of time so that universe doesn't exist anymore." <<Danny doing more to protect people from the ""Joker"" than Batman ever did, or so think the JL.

Haha kidding.

But still, the idea of a good Joker is so strange, people think that Danny's just pretending to not be a horrible person so that they let their guards down and he can set up an evil plan to stab everyone in the back. It takes a while for them to warm up to him. Especially when he brings up weird science haha

I like to think that some Gothamites saw a confused Baby Joker step out of a portal and immediately thought time travel. This must be Joker before he became the clown prince of crime. Quick someone kill it before it becomes more powerful!

But when Joker sees internet videos of a confused Baby Joker stepping out of a portal? 50/50 whether it's fight on sight or a new protege with some good taste. It probably changes from moment to moment tbh. But even if he decides on the latter, he's immediately outraged as soon as Danny takes more of Batman's attention than the Joker does, let's be honest.

Danny, seeing another billionaire vampire wannabe taking an interest in him:

In other words, this kid is definitely not like any Joker Batman's ever seen before lol

Oh! But can you imagine if Danny mentions Red Huntress as the frenemy ("well, she thinks we're enemies but I think she's starting to warm up to me") who's always trying to shoot him? And he refers to her as Red? "—with this red mask on all the time and new gadgets she steals from Plasmius—yeah the rich vampire guy—cause she used to work with him but now she hates him—" and now they're all convinced she's Red Hood's alternate universe counterpart?

(Not) Another Joker

Over time, effects from Danny’s ghost form starts to bleed over into his human form.

His skin gains a deathly pallor. His hair turns white before gaining an ectoplasmic green tinge. When he smiles, it looks just a bit too wide to be human.

He, completely coincidentally, looks a lot like the Joker.

Not that he realized that fact for a while. Sure, Joker’s crimes may make the news sometimes, but it’s not like anyone in Amity Park paid that much thought to a criminal in an entirely different state. The connection just… never occurred to anyone.

Well, that was until Danny ended up in Gotham for [dealer’s choice of reason—college, vacation, runaway, etc]

Because then everyone noticed, and it started to cause lots of problems for him.

[tonispencerart]

Concept: Masks, Trickery, and Truth

The idea I was working with when I started this project was about Truth, specifically how we perceive truths - especially when we think about people and personalities. I had previously been exploring the concept of Gender and our perceptions of them, both real and expected. This led me to Theatre and Acting and how gender roles are essentially an act. I'd briefly made some scribbles of notes based on characters from Stranger Things. The first part of the 4th season had been released that day. The mind of an artist never stops! I have at least one sketchbook to hand at all times.

Out of the newer characters that were introduced in the 4th season, Henry Creel was the most intriguing. He was simultaneously fascinating and creepy. It was obvious to me that he couldn't possibly be as friendly and 'good' as he appeared. Perhaps that's because I'm suspicious of most people and things in general... That creepiness to him as a character was quite alluring, actually. That's probably a 'me' thing, too. I was always one of those people, even as a child. Perhaps it's that scary things are attractive and inviting if only for the promise and expectation that it's from a safe distance and, if fairytales and scary stories are to be trusted, the 'bad guy' is almost always punished accordingly eventually. Good conquers evil. or perhaps it's that belief that behind the Evil is some Good, that something of who they were Before remains locked waiting to be unearthed and remembered.

Scary things can be fun but only when we know it's not real. The creepiness is, in some ways, inviting. We have to know more, to understand them. I saw the character of Henry Creel (and later, Vecna) in two distinct ways. 1) ‘Henry Creel’ is the ‘public’ face, the ‘acceptable’ face, which he adopted as a child in front of his peers and family members, and while in the laboratory under strict supervision from experts and scientists. Creel is essentially controlled and monitored, both by being watched and supervised by his peers, and by the insertion of technology that not only keeps track of where he is and presumably who he is with but also means he is unable to use his supernatural abilities. ‘Vecna’ is someone with supernatural powers - unlocked with the removal of the device in Creel’s neck - who has malevolent intentions of ‘reshaping’ the world. He uses his supernatural gifts to connect and control - and ultimately kill - people who have been traumatised by something in their life (none of it is shared trauma, they are different and individual experiences). ‘Vecna’ is the reality of who Henry Creel was supposed to become all along before being stopped in the development of his gifts by scientists and doctors. He becomes Vecna by removing the mask Henry Creel gave him and by being beaten in a fight with another person with supernatural powers.

2) Henry and Vecna are two halves of a whole person. They are both one and the same person, just different aspects. The Good and the Bad, the Light and the Dark, as well as the Safe and the Dangerous - all of which are parts of every human being. Based on this interpretation of the character, I wanted to explore the idea of what makes us Human, and what might happen if we give into the darker, bad, dangerous side of human nature. The character becomes Vecna, ultimately, because of being thrown into an alternate dimension and being isolated from other humans. He loses what little humanity he had in the ‘real’ world because he is left with only himself and his mind for years. I wanted to explore through this theme the idea that humans need other humans to retain who we are and who we become. Cutting people off and isolating them leads to a loss of not only who we are but also of our sense of self and our minds. Originally, I was going to use the wooden slices to paint on both sides. In my initial exploration of this, I used the character of Henry Creel and Vecna as an example of that. One side would have a portrait of Henry and the other side would have a portrait of Vecna. Two halves of a whole, or the 'masked' face vs. the 'real' face. The private vs. The public. The acceptable vs. The undesirable. The real vs. The fake. Good vs. Evil... And the fact that each and every human being has both light and dark inside of them. I could - and probably would - have used the entire main cast of characters in Stranger Things, but I ended up somewhere else. Ultimately, I went with Theatre as an idea, and specifically, the concept of Human Life as a Theatre Performance. I might be tempted to explore this earlier idea at some point, though. It could have been interesting.

This is what I had on my studio wall space at the time. The post-it note reads: "TWO SIDES OF THE WHOLE? What happens when we give in to the darker, dangerous side of ourselves?"

[eph-em-era]

oh what no shit the current addict who only realised he had a problem FIVE HOURS AGO hasn't had a change of heart yet or even the ability to confront his own addiction yet? fuckin shocker

i find the concept of villainising characters in the pitt really redundant cause the villain is the medical issues! the villain is society! the villain is the fucked up US healthcare system!!

every character in this show is fucked in some way, because they're human people written well. human people aren't flawless and playing "good wholesome character" vs "evil bad villain" isn't helpful or useful!

[vashvana]

List of things that actually happened in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure:

• David Bowie terrorizes a small Japanese town

• Gay rainbows turn people into snails using subliminal messaging

• A naked man with four balls (2 x 2) wakes up in the dirt

• A bisexual asshole tortures a family for generations

• A mafia group comprised almost entirely of fashionable teenagers set out to eradicate drugs

• One man crashes a plane not once, not twice, but on three separate occasions (and also attends his own funeral)

• A hive mind of sentient plankton inhabit a corpse and infiltrate a prison

• A twink turns into a dinosaur and a nun uses literal genderfluid as a weapon

• Mona Lisa bøner

• A homicidal sugar daddy doctor and his Stockholm syndrome patient spread a deadly virus throughout the city of Venice

• Jesus Christ. Like literally, just Jesus Christ.

• A character creates a Mobius strip (infinity strip ���️) out of string inside her heart, to counter her organs being turned inside out by an enemy who can redirect the flow of gravity

• A story spawning generations, utilizing completely different genres, casts, and settings. The theme of fate vs free will; the evil of humanity vs the everyday good; choosing your own path- all are exemplified through a creative, genre breaking story with a unique power system. Fate as a concept is not just something used to give the victory to the good guys, it is a tangible known force within the story. One that both acts as something the characters lust after to obtain their goals, but also a metaphorical device to test them and weave the intricacies of their woes. Jaw-dropping, constantly evolving art; fun and complex characters; unpredictable, ever-changing plots, these are but a few reasons for why JJBA is my favorite series. It is committed to being absolutely everything it can be, and highlights the beauties of life.

• also yandere

[tenjad129]

PLANET OF THE TOONS POSTER CONCEPTS 1-30 (January 4, 2022 - April 4, 2024)

Now that I got all sixty mockup poster design conceptual artwork done thus far for my Planet of the Toons epic work still in progress thus far, may I present, ladies and gentlemen, young and old, the first 30 poster conceptual artworks done by me for my Planet of the Toons epic in progress done between January 4, 2022 to April 4, 2024. (though this may be very rough at the beginning, yes, and sure, even the live actors represented may not be the final actors for the roles that I have in mind for this.)

Now, PLANET OF THE TOONS is one of the most amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring, unusual, interesting, remarkable, extraordinary, phenomenal, extra-special, and uniquely entertaining films of any kind that we’ll ever see in a very long time.

Being Timothy Robert McKenzie's (or I'd rather make that MY) monumental epic of good versus evil as well as of life and adventure being lived on so many different levels among all different kinds of races and species of fantastic beings and creatures - many of them being played by all kinds of cartoon characters and personalities from all across the history and world of animation art - it is a gigantic saga chock-full of action, adventure, romance, drama, pathos, and the occasional cartoon comedy slapstick humor and anarchy that one would still expect from something straight out of the Golden Age of American Animation, while also being very steeped both in the tradition of epic fantasy and science fiction as well as in the history and world of  animation and cartoons of any kind in America and elsewhere.

All of these things are meant to be highly entertaining and enjoyable in a very good way.  And while many of the more full-blooded epic moments of action, adventure and drama are strange, unlikely territory for any type of cartoon characters that has had their original roots in early 20th Century vaudeville and silent film as well as classic slapstick comedy, some are meant to illustrate, even in the near, middle, or far future, the true determiners of a heroic civilization across the stars, such as the struggle of right and wrong, courage in the face of oppression, the willingness to sacrifice one’s self for the greater good, and the belief that good will ultimately triumph over evil. 

And think of it all as like a sweeping 21st Century combination of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (with some elements of Dune, Star Wars, even James Cameron's AVATAR movies being thrown in for good measure!), only set on another planet just like our own planet Earth, but located on the faraway edge of the universe out in space. 

Among the living ink-and-painted cartoon beings and creatures appearing in this rousing, action-packed, vividly told, and breathtakingly awesome epic tale of otherworldly visitation includes (but are not limited to): Bugs Bunny, King of Rascals and Tricksters, Daffy Duck, his greedy rival, Elmer Fudd, the not-so-mighty hunter prowling through Acme Forest (all three of whom are of Looney Tunes fame), Gertie the Dinosaur (the first cartoon character with a personality, created by Windsor McCay of Little Nemo fame), Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl, J. Wellington Wimpy, Bluto (all four of whom were once worked on by the Fleischer Bros. and created by E.C. Segar), Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves (probably from some old 17-minute-long Popeye color cartoon from 1937), Dexter the Boy Genius, Dee Dee, his sister (of Dexter's Laboratory fame), Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket (of the Disney Pinocchio fame), Scrooge McDuck (all of them Disney characters, though Scrooge McDuck himself actually originated in a comic book by Carl Barks), Mandark Astronomenov, the Dark Lord of the planet and Dexter’s jealous and hateful rival (of Dexter's Laboratory Ego Trip infamy, that is), and Fievel Mousekewitz and Tanya Mousekewitz, the brother and sister mouse pair decreed by an ancient prophecy, along with one of three visiting astronauts from Earth, to save the PLANET OF THE TOONS around them all from the long-standing and destructive evil unleashed by Mandark many centuries ago. 

The magic is that even in the future, heroes still come in many shapes, sizes and species, and that’s perfectly fine. And very soon you along with your friends and loved ones can enjoy this gigantic, sweeping epic of a wondrous, heroic civilization where cartoons and humans - okay, and still-living dinosaurs, too! - share a faraway planet of color, sound, and vision, where good and evil struggle for control of all around them, and all in the comfort of your favorite movie theater near you...and ON YOUR PLANET. 

Anyway, hopefully, you will see the last 30 poster concept art for my Planet of the Toons epic in progress on the very next post coming up...

[lubrumalis]

ghost character analysis

tw: spoilers from ghost mw2 comics, nsfw, dead dove do not eat, mature content.

this is pretty much a part 2 to ghost headcanons except with more lore and analysis (im still not sure if reboot ghost has the same backstory as the og ghost).

ghost is not a cold, calculated, ruthless man. maybe in a separate au or something, but theres a huge difference between ghost and simon riley. in fact, we need to understand that the reason he even chose ghost as a new name for himself is because of all that's happened to him. his family got killed, he got tortured by roba, and had to eliminate many men on his own. before that he was simon, not ghost. in the comic he literally calls the child hostages he was saving ‘sweetheart’ and ‘love’. hes not that mean and cold yall

we know that PTSD does shit to it's victims, ghost lost his entire family and had no one. think of it as a coping mechanism to have a new name to be known as.

ghost is a ruthless killer. simon is just some guy.

ghost sets himself to an incredibly high standard of discipline. i think it's intuitive that military boys will need to be punctual and organized to some degree, but ghost takes this to a whole other level. considering his father's abusive behavior (explained by his disturbing statements said to simon, is a drug addict, and beats simons mom) his home life was likely chaotic as a child.

in the mw2: ghost comic (issue #3) it specifically stated the following: "discipline, precision, control. these are what riley built his whole life on. break those down and the dark stuff begins to ooze out..." again, this is probably a form of trauma response to his childhood.

so what does this lead to? well firstly, this probably means his room is incredibly tidy and organized (monotone design i know :,c).

would never in his life touch drugs. this is a promise he made to himself.

also kinda proves that ghost aint a reckless guy. he thinks things through before doing it.

ghost isn’t that hypersexual. theres no way of knowing his history with women, but i like to think ghost is not that horny 24/7 and needs a fuckbuddy. in the mw2 comic, he was on a mission and was in an area full of prostitutes (wasn’t actively on duty, but on his way) when they tried to hit on him he politely rejects one of them, and later tells them to fuck off😀 so yea contrary to popular belief i dont think he really enjoys one night stands or the idea of being entertained by random women. in fact, i hc he might actually be a virgin or just have a really low body count.

ghost is a feminist!😁 (misandrist too). ok let me reword that, ghost doesnt like men and respects women. one of the reasons why he doesn’t want to be around prostitutes and do one night stands (his father killed a hooker in front of him, very traumatic) is because he thinks the concept of quick, casual sex is not good for society and dilutes the value of meaningful relationships. but also, remember the discipline, precision, control thing? its apart of his principle. but also, in the comic, sparks (soldier he worked with) knocked out and attempted to rape a woman, ghosts literally looked disgusted and called the police (also why he’d never do that himself, i dont get the hcs that say he does). ghosts seen how his dad treated his mom and absolutely hates abusers. anyways onto misandry—i think ghost internally thinks men are violent and disgusting (ghosts would choose the bear over the man, even though hes a man) mainly because throughout his military career majority of the bad stuff hes seen was done by men, so hes much more relaxed in a room of women vs man. ghost thinks his dad is the epitome of pure evil (canon! he said this to his therapist). this doesn’t mean hes scared or hates all men tho!

ghost isn’t close with tf141… including soap. now before you attack me let me explain. sure, he trusts them to some degree, but i dont think they naturally just hangout when they’re not deployed. in the end we need to understand they are SAS soldiers, they are working a real job that mainly consists of them shooting and dismantling others. considering ghosts betrayal in the past (in the comic, a few soldiers ghost previously worked with killed his entire family 😢) he isn’t gonna just trust his teammates because theyre his teammates. im also pretty sure they all live in different cities while not deployed. tf141 probably all want to separate their job from their personal lives, which includes each other. but onto soap, i dont think him and ghost have a deep brotherly relationship. but i think they care about each other, but exchanging some dad jokes and bantering doesn’t mean they’re suddenly soulmates or brothers. think about it… you and you’re co worker joke around sometimes, never hangout outside of work, and now people are shipping you and calling the two of you besties. makes no sense.

ghost is extremely patriotic. in the comic (i reference this way too much but theres SOOO MUCH LORE i recommend reading it) ghost tells his teammates the reason for joining the military: queen and country, right after 9/11. he also said “the world has changed”. interestingly enough army enlistment did actually skyrocketed after 9/11 attacks, ghost was among them. he probably thought ww3 was about to happen, or that ‘theres no more peace’ or whatever. i hc being obsessed with soccer too lmao and getting mad if english teams dont win. also his playful banter with johnny “get us a tea?”. probably very proud of his british heritage.

ghost doesn’t have much friends. hes a really, reallyyyyy lonely guy. i hc him as an introvert in the first place, but trust issues make this worse. in the comic, he was literally in the newspaper for killing his family and then killing himself (he didnt, he was framed that way tho) so its likely most of his formers friends probably think hes dead. ghost likely got some sort of amnesty or exemption from the military after knowing he didn’t actually kill his family, but whats in the news stays true to the public. even if he does have friends he probably doesn’t share feelings with them or form a long term bond.

ghost is extremely cynical. this is obvious tbh, but i think ghost believes hes going to die in the middle of a battlefield, shot or stabbed, a painful death, body left to rot for weeks, and no one to remember him. just like that. and he accepts that fact too.

ghost isn’t a picky eater. growing up in an abusive household where his parents couldn’t hold a stable job, he had to eat what there was. some days he settles for cheap beans and toast and when people call him out for it, he tells em to fuck off😀

ghost is emotionally fucked up, probably kind of depressed. i mean this guys been through hell: got sa’d, buried alive, had to dig through underground dirt and worms with a jawbone, tortured in horrible ways, had his entire family killed, abusive dad, and the weight of his grey morales because he killed lots of people as a soldier. wow! would you look at that list, itd be more strange if he wasn’t emotionally fucked up after was has happened😅. even when tortured, seeing his family dead, ghost was never shown to have cried in the comic. i hc hes emotionally numb. however, i do think hes emotionally MATURE and able to communicate his emotions, but hes still emotionally fucked. for example a scene where he was talking about his experience with roba (guy who tortured ghost) and ghosts father to a therapist. i think ghosts may be traumatized, but this doesn’t stop him from attempting to get help and communicating how he feels and thinks about this world.

ghost wears a mask... not because hes insecure and traumatized it's to separate ghost from simon riley. first of all he learned the consequences of revealing your identity during deployment, in the comic, he reveals his face in missions before his family got killed. i think he wears a mask because 1) its practical, no one knows who he is, 2) an analogy for himself to remind him simon riley, his original identity, was dead the moment his family was murdered, this SAS soldier with a skull mask is GHOST (yes this is canon, ghost references in the comic!).

in issue #1 while some kids were being held hostage, he starts telling his life story to them to calm them down/distract them from the bad situation. this is his explanation to why he wears a skull mask, word by word: "I bet you're wondering why I wear these bones on my face. It's a tribute to an old friend of mine. He's dead now, but man if he wasn't the baddest motherfucker on the planet."

in issue #6, when ghost was trekking through a jungle in the middle of nowhere attempting to kill roba (a drug lord that started this all, brainwashed soldiers to kill ghosts family), he was never caught. ghost himself, the narrator, says that "even for a single man to get through the jungle, the patrols, the wall, the security... well that man would have to be a ghost."

however, im still a little confused whether or not reboot ghost and 2009 have the same backstories. reboot ghosts mask is more realistic and his look is much more intimidating, his reason for wearing that kind of mask is probably psychological warfare (getting milena the financier to speak up about makarov). i think 2009 ghosts reason to wearing a mask is more personal compared to reboot.

BUT WHAT ABOUT AN S/O???

i think ghost is the guy to not have one in the first place. obviously. but i lowkey think if he had one and really liked them, he would commit. in fact i find it hard to imagine hes a player or isn’t serious about relationships. when his brother tommy got addicted to drugs and fucked up his life, simon quit the military until tommy got 100% better and married. yup. he stayed to help him recover, for years. thats how loving and committed this man is🥹🥹.

ghost would not cheat on his s/o. i can't stress how important this hc is, because it's so out of character for him to do so. sure, guys in the military statistically have higher divorce rates, incidences of infidelity, and much more red flag stuff, but knowing what happened to him, he would never do that. doesn't matter how stressed, lonely, sexually frustrated this man is; he would not cheat on his partner. this guy has been through far more stressful situations and got through it, you think hes gonna cheat because hes stressed because of work?

its not sunshine and rainbows or absolute toxicity being with him. it's not really a mix of both either. ghost isn't that princess treatment, super squishy and cuddly, sweet guy who likes fluffy stuff. he definitely isn't the toxic guy who leaves you with mixed signals either.

hes quite the gentleman when it comes to approaching relationships, hes seen how his dad treated his mom, and ghost wants to do the exact opposite. i believe ghost likes to use the traditional courting methods when dating someone: gifting flowers, paying for dates, holding the door open (ladies first typa guy!!), the old fashioned stuff. idk if i should point it out again but this guy DOES NOT FW modern dating practices, he wouldn't download dating apps, or start 'talking stages'. i dont think he would write love letters just because hes not very good at writing poetry or expressing his feelings in the first place.

theres still downsides to being with him. the long distance, the time being apart (months and months). but i dont think he'd go as far as being emotionally avoidant.

also something really random ive noticed is that 2009 and reboot ghost are very different, personality wise. i like to think that 2009 ghost represents simon riley much better, but the reboot ghost actually gives the essence and character of what a 'ghost' in the military is.

more random headcanons:

simon prefers dogs over cats because dogs are loyal and stay with you until the end (stereotypically)

hates snakes and spiders

probably wouldn’t do 50/50 on dates, he pays!

avoids saying manchester slang when deployed

drinks and smokes. not always. he’s disciplined but he still does that stuff.. hes a british guy in his 30s whos kinda depressed, grew up with adults around him smoking 24/7, whatd you think😀😀 (its canon that most of tf141 smoke anyway)

listens to 80’s rock music. its canon that his mom enjoys the band siouxsie and the banshees :)), he probs does too

shaves his beard

is actually confident hes not bad looking. dude, hes 6’2, in shape with a jawline🙄

i don't enjoy hcs of ghost being the scariest out of tf141 (appearance wise yes). but soap seems much more scary imo, he was the youngest guy to pass SAS selections in the history of the UK military, and was nicknamed soap because of fast and good he is at cleaning up 'messes' (basically killing people).

id arguably say ghost is the most compassionate out of 141, if we're talking about the OG 2009 one.

[just-sauntered-vaguely-downwards]

Yes thank you!

Aziraphale can still be a fluffy cinnamon roll of an angel and still be flawed and make mistakes and a bit of a bastard (which not for nothing is part of why Crowley loves him! He loves when he does things he is not supposed to do and he is his own person. Especially when Aziraphale is questioning those behaviors because they’re not “angelic”). Isn’t a major point of the entire series that angels are not inherently good and demons are not inherently evil? It’s just that seeing someone who is supposed to be good doing something bad puts a higher standard on them than someone who is supposed to be bad doing something good.

When they’re both flawed beings who do both good and bad things. The pressures of both of their sides for them to be “perfect” in opposite ways and yes, the point is shades of grey.

And just thank Neil for that.

Aziraphale, the bad guy

The thing is that Aziraphale as a bunch of character traits is the secretly evil person in so much fiction. Maybe that's why so many people want him to be the bad guy? He is bookish, well dressed, somewhat old fashioned, clever, well spoken, classical music fan, a food snob, doesn't do so well with banter and other generally expected communication skills. He's an introvert and only shines next to people (one demon really) he knows well, otherwise he can be kinda awkward (fangirling over Shakespeare anyone?). He is the prototype of the brainy, antisocial professor that wants to bring down the world and everyone in it. And this is why I ADORE him. Because he is all the things above and yet he is not evil. And yes he is an actual angel and no that also does not mean he is secretly awful. He is just imperfect. And that is so wonderfully fucking normal I will never get over it and will revere @neil-gaiman for this forever and ever.