#i'm not giving in to the whole “he wanted to kill him on emotions” stuff. nu-uh

[tackykachowch]

Hey guys, you think Silco wanted to tell Vander that they need to change how they run things if they ever want to make independent Zaun a reality and like Victor he thought "Vander will understand", only for Vander to later try to drown him in the river?

[imadhatt3r]

It kinda irks me when people call Black Mask "Truekechi", because that's not really the case...? Not entirely, at least.

I mean yes, of course, Black Mask IS a part of Akechi's personality, I'm not denying that. The thing is, that it isn't Akechi's WHOLE personality. This kid just went through the biggest crashout of his life, his whole plan he's been meticulously working on for years failed, and the worst part is that it didn't even lead to what he was after, so he didn't even get the revenge he wanted. Of course he's unstable and edgy, I mean, who wouldn't be?

That is not to say that his anger and edginess aren't a part of his "true self"; I'm sure that his glee at taking out shadows is absolutely real, for example, but I believe that it comes from him just being angry in general- at Shido, at Maruki, and at himself. Akechi is rough around the edges, has a short temper and has a tendency to look at others from above, but the situation he's in boosts these parts of his personality as a sort of defense mechanism.

I think that his mementos conversations give a really good insight into this too; Perhaps it's due to my older age compared to the characters in-game, but a lot of Akechi's lines feel so... Forced on his side? He's the one to bring up that other Thieves probably don't want to have him on the team, or that they're unsettled by how he fights, but nobody even said anything about it in the first place...? Even other characters seem kinda done with his act, either that or they accept him being on the team due to their shared goals; Some are even quite nice and friendly, all things considered. This just feels like Akechi's self-loathing twisting itself into this kind of quips because he himself doesn't want to get too comfortable on the team; He's scared of growing closer to the other Thieves, so he tries to keep them at arm's length. He can't just tell them "I think I'm a horrible person" straight up (his pride wouldn't let him), so he has to make himself "unappealing" in other ways.

There's also the other side of these conversations, where you can see him just... Being a kid. He whines about being hungry, or thirsty, or his legs getting stiff in the car, he talks about mundane things with other Thieves like graduation or sports... He's just a teenager as much as his teammates are- it's just that the others weren't hired as assassins at 15 and didn't grow up obsessed with the plan to kill their father. His emotional development and maturation process have clearly been impacted, on top of everything else he had to deal with. So he may act "adult" and more mature than others at first glance (at least before he reveals Loki), but inside he is just as much (if not more, in some aspects) of a kid as the other Thieves are. This means that he is still at the age and mental development level where he is still figuring out himself, who he is, what path to follow etc. It also means that he is prone to being overly dramatic, emotionally extreme, and have poor emotional control- you know, teen stuff.

The key to it all becomes his ultimate persona, Hereward. We all know that Akechi has two personas, but he doesn't get two ultimate personas, he gets only one. I think that it's symbolic of his psyche slowly melding itself into one again. It's not that either one of his "sides" was truly fake or real; Both the Detective Prince and Black Mask ARE parts of the "real" Akechi- it's just that he has been systematically compartmentalizing his whole self into two for YEARS. The awakening of his ultimate persona is him starting the process of healing and allowing these two sides of him to mix and reconnect back into one.

I honestly think that, with enough time and the right environment, Akechi's most extreme traits would even themselves out, and he would stop being AS short-tempered, snarky, and blood-thirsty as he is in the game. He will never be the perfectly plesant Detective Prince, but he also won't be the angry, self-loathing and vengeful Black Mask. He will be something new, something different, a fusion of the two opposite ends of his personality spectrum. Only then he will live as his fully true self.

[madwomanxx]

Hyacinthus and Apollo's relationship is so fascinating to me, but in a different way than others relationships I like within or outside of Greek mythology.

Hyacinthus is a character we know nothing about, besides being reckless and having courage. Which is so minimal and dare I say unhelpful? It doesn't really give me an image of who he is as a person, why did this man have 3 or 4 guys wanting him? 2 or 3 of which depending on the version are gods.

I don't know who Hyacinthus is, I can if I wanted to, give him a personality. I've done that to a few underrepresented characters in stuff I like or even gods in Greek mythology. But I always find him to be a struggle, it always feels like I'm just making an oc instead of expanding?

Yet I find the relationship fascinating. I find Apollo fascinating. The relationship adds a whole other layer to the way I view Apollo ( that alone could be its own post)

In particular, I love the version written by Ovid. I know people tend to have negative opinions of Roman literature, especially Ovid. But his version of Eurydice, Cypress and Hyacinthus are so good, they always get me emotional. Especially Eurydice's!

In Ovid, Apollo blames himself, he specifically blames his love, asking if loving Hyacinthus was a fault. To me the specific wording of focusing on Apollo's love, knowing technically it's Zephyrus who kills Hyacinthus. It all reads to me as Apollo viewing himself as a curse.

This only becomes more interesting and tragic when he's wishing he could give his life up for Hyacinthus to live, or at least join him in death.

Very important emphasis, his first thought is exchanging his own life so Hyacinthus lives. It's so significant because the implication is Apollo values Hyacinthus's life more than his own. He loves him so much, he's willing to die and let the man continue a normal life... Without him.

How can I not love the relationship? How can I not find it interesting? What kind of love was so strong that a god wanted to sacrifice himself? That the second best case scenario is to join his lover in death?

I like the impact Hyacinthus left on Apollo, I like the value of that relationship. I'm heavily invested in it

I may not be able to be invested in Hyacinthus as a character, but in a way, not knowing who he's, why he's so loved. I like that, maybe those who love him don't know who he's either. Maybe Apollo is the only one who got to see who Hyacinthus is. And maybe Hyacinthus is the only one to know who Apollo is, underneath the perfection and mess.

I love what their relationship represents, and I'm fine with just that

[gatorbites-imagines]

Hey Gator can you write for Moon Knight with reader thats also an avatar but for Ra? Cuz duality

Moonboys x avatar of Ra male reader 

Headcanons 

“Kill them with kindness. WRONG, CURSE OF RA” my dream of a moon knight season 2 seems further and further away, and I fear it will never happen. How’s everyone doin? Viktor nation, how are we feeling? 

I'm trying out a new writing tool, so if there's spelling mistakes, that's why. It has been a while since I watched Moon Knight, so some of my canon might be off. 

If this was an oc, I would have to make the reader a Pharaoh, since they are seen as manifestations of Ra or so-called Sons of Ra. But this isn't an oc, so the reader won't be. 

Maybe you are a solar physicist instead, since that whole job is about studying the sun. Or you could be a writer who writes travel books, or history books, which allows you to travel the world. 

I'm not sure if you would be a shadow of the night like the moonboys. Ra is a god and has his worshippers, but I don't actually know if he's the one who punishes people or not. 

And since Ra is the god of the sun, you would act during the day for the most part. You can still move around during the night obviously, but you prefer the sun and so does your patron.  

I don't think Ra would be cruel in the way Khonshu is, but he is still a god with expectations and things he wants you to do. Instead of just hunting criminals, he might have you healing people or using the abilities of creation to do things. 

Don't get me wrong, I still think Ra would have you blast somebody with the power of the literal sun, but he might think about it first. Sometimes. 

I like to think you get to shoot sun lasers out of your eyes, and mouth. And like, anywhere you want. Who is gonna stop the sun of all things? You can kick major ass, and with a god that's mostly nicer than Khonshu, you have an easier time doing it too. 

Being the avatar of Ra doesn't mean you are all sunshine and rainbows obviously. That role goes to Steven. But you aren't as tense and ready for violence at all times, like Marc and Jake are. 

I like to think you are always warm to the touch, so depending on whose fronting, you find yourself getting cuddled.  

I like to think, even though they share a body, the boys have differences. Like, I think Steven struggles with always feeling cold, at least his fingers and toes. So, he slips his hands into your pockets, or stuffs his feet under you. 

Marc wouldn't struggle with feeling cold, but I think he would find a lot of comfort in how warm you are. You never get uncomfortably warm, like sure, it gets really hot, but he never feels clammy or sweaty.  

Marc would saddle up beside you when he's having rough days and just needs to... exist. Expect him to end up under your shirt somehow. It's not anything wild, he just shuffles up under it so he can lay his head on your chest and dissociate, using your warmth to ground himself. 

Jake wouldn't have much of an opinion about you always running hot, except for maybe grumbling a few comments about how you always wear shorts and tank tops, even when it's snowing outside. 

Jake will end up nuzzling against you when you guys are sleeping, though he doesn't like this admit it. This is just in general, as Jake struggles with showing affection or emotions that aren't negative. 

Controlling the sun also lets you give them the most comfortable massages they have ever experienced, since you can warm up your hands and then warm their aching muscles. 

It's a sure way to knock all three of them out, even if Marc and Jake try to act tough. They just become puddy in your hands. This might also be because they just know on a deep level, that they are safe with you, so they can relax. 

Going out and doing avatar work together is a must. Theres some differences on who's fronting there too. 

Steven, being Mr. knight, isn't as quick to murder and violence as Marc and Jake, so i imagine you guys spend a good chunk of time talking, ignoring your patrons since they like to argue. 

Marc is similar in his own way, he's not as violent or snappy when you come along. He might even jokingly call it a date, even if you guys are hunting someone who needs to be punished. 

Jake is the most quiet and deadly one, since he's used to hurting and hurting others. He would never hurt you though, and if you have a softer personality and like to crack jokes, you might even get him to laugh. 

Post missions are always for cuddling and checking up on each other. Gotta make sure your boys aren't hurt and all. Yeah, you guys might both have god given healing factors, but you still check them over, no matter who is fronting. 

This also means you end up getting checked over too, since all three of them are worrywarts in their own ways. Blame it on trauma, but they just need to physically see that you are okay. 

If it's been a hard patrol or target, you might have to work on getting them present and aware. I could see all three of them dissociating every now and then, leaving no one able to front, so as their boyfriend, you have to help them resurface. 

Heating your hands up, not enough to burn but enough to be felt, and placing them on their wrist, thigh, or face, depending on the situation, will help ground them. Sometimes they cling to you too, if you got really badly hurt. 

Your guy's patrons obviously also aren't welcome in the apartment when you guys take care of bruises and hurts after missions. Ra accepts it and just tells you to heal, and Khonshu will grumble about it, but the guys leaves you alone for the most part

[xylo-art]

Regarding the tags left on my previous post ↓

YES this is something I really wanted to explore actually :3 so I hope you don't mind me rambling

Transcript and rambling beneath the cut

[Swap AU Hollow]

- closed off at the start, cares a lot, wants to know what happened post-abyss

- much more timid and wary

- over time gets braver

- fights until the other party is weakened, dislikes having to kill but will if they must

- extends to lesser bugs

- Not really resentful towards Ghost, more so sad and confused

- post-game/recovery period is similar to normal Ghost

[Normal Ghost]

- closed off at the start, almost apathetic but not quite?

- over time they start to care more and more

- adventurous

- fights until the other party backs down (or dies)

- extends to lesser bugs

- some resentment towards Hollow early on that fades as they progress

- post-game/recovery period they start learning to express more and are given more opportunities to be a kid

[Swap AU Ghost]

- fatigued post-game but more curious and adventurous now that they're free

- struggles to express emotion

- takes up drawing post-game as an outlet

- quiet but more investigative, more social

- complicated feelings towards WL, leans towards some bitterness

- Radi(?) fed into said bitterness to break them

- LOTS of guilt about leaving Hollow

[Normal Hollow]

- mostly tired post-game, lots of guilt/self-hateed

- hesitant to express emotion

- takes up cooking post-game as an outlet

- timid and shy, prefers to fade into the background (very difficult)

- complicated feelings towards PK, still loves him while understanding he wasn't. the greatest

- radi fed into their love to break them

---------------------------------------------------------

OKAY WOW, long transcript

I'm thinking a LOT about this AU now even though I mostly drew it as a joke when I first came up with it.

This gives me an opportunity to ramble about how I characterize the vessels! Even in my base-version of how I interpret them, I imagine when they were still in the abyss, Ghost was.. Generally the one who lead the two of them. Hollow usually just stuck by their side, being the more anxious of the two.

I imagine this is still the case in the Swap AU - So when Ghost is the one who makes it to the top, Hollow feels.. Betrayed, and confused. Why wouldn't their sibling, who they've depended on before now, help them?

Both I imagine are led on by their care for the other - Hearing them cry out in pain in the beginning cutscene. However, whereas normal Ghost at first treats the whole thing with a layer of resentment, Swap Hollow treats it more with.. Wanting to know why.

Meanwhile with the older siblings, I imagine Swap Ghost keeps some of those feelings of resentment - However, instead of at Hollow, it's more towards WL and themself for what she's done to their siblings, and they to Hollow. Post-game in the recovery period, they try to express more emotion, but struggle with it. They want to explore more once they're free! Both explore Hallownest, and explore the life they never got to live, whereas I imagine normal Hollow takes their recovery a lot slower and with more hesitance.

I'm still figuring this au out but, it's really fun exploring this stuff :D

[itsamenickname]

A lot of characters in the Mario universe would much rather ask, “How is Luigi?” than to even consider asking, “How is Bowser?”

Now I get it: Bowser is, canonically, one of the most fucking fearsome creatures in the entire Mario universe. He has kidnapped Peach who-knows how many times, he has conquered dozens and dozens of different kingdoms across the Mario universe, not to mention that if the Super Mario Bros movie had a higher age rating, I’m pretty sure he would’ve gone through with his threat of actually killing Luigi in front of Mario (I'm not counting the fact that Luigi almost died by lava as a sacrifice for Peach and Bowser's wedding. I'm talking about a whole different level of kill.)

But even still…Bowser has emotions. Sure, 95% of the time Bowser is either angry or arrogant, but there’s one emotion every single person has faced with at some point in their life: Anxiety

And because Bowser is a king, I believe that there are going to be times where being a king and handling all of the royalty stuff (with or without Kamek and Kammy's help) can really stress Bowser out to the point where it causes him to have a panic attack.

And the only person who can help Bowser with his panic attack is his husband, the King Consort/second King of the Dark Lands (depending on what royal title you want to give him), Luigi.

[callofdudes]

ive been in the mood for some angst, some good ol' hurt/comfort or even hurt/no comfort. how would the 141 react to finding out their s/o has been kidnapped? their reactions to finding the ransom note, and how they would get their beloved back?

I wrote headcanons for this.... And then I wasn't happy with it, but I liked the headcanons enough to not want to get rid of them so I apologize if it's a mess. It's been a really emotional and draining couple days for me. But I wanted to get something out even if this was all I could produce.

Price 🥃

Don't mess with him. You mess with him or his family and he'll rock your shit. He is brutal and I know we all like to pretend he's the loving father figure he is 100% of the time but truth is this man is ruthless.

It doesn't matter who he has to kill to get you back he will. Whatever or whoever stands in his way between him and you is gonna get got.

This is pretty much true for all of the guys. But Price is that, I've been married for like 11 years don't fuck with my family.

When Price finds the note he's rightfully furious, he's scared, but overall he's furious that they would dare to put their hands on you. To take you away and then threaten him with your demise, of worse.

Giving Price exactly 48 hours to hand over the money whatever organization wanted it wasn't a smart option. In fact, none of this was smart. The note mentioned what would become of you if the instructions were not followed.

He tucked the note in his pocket and without hesitation he dialed the phone number that was on the paper. He remained calm, as he did with any enemy.

"If you think of hurting them, I will not hesitate to kill you." Said in a low voice. The kind that remains calm but you can tell he means every word coming out of his mouth.

"We won't have to hurt them if you give us what we want." The soldier on the other line sneered.

John was absolutely terrified inside. He knew how to handle this situation with civilians and his own teammates but this was you. You. What If they killed him or he didn't get there in time??

He didn't hesitate before doing a deep dive on the organization as far as the eye could see. The idiot stupid enough to leave his phone number got their 20 second call tracked and he didn't need to have the location before he was up and out.

He'd either bring a team or go alone but knowing Price he'd probably go alone. Brutal killing. Brutal killing.

I mean all the normal military stuff but with some extra aggression. Affectionate dad mode has turned into 'Slaughter everything that ever moved with extra violence husband mode.'

He searches every room and he doesn't stop until he knows their dead. He'd leave a few lost soldiers in favor of getting to you. While he would kill them all his main priority is finding you and making sure you're ok.

Lots of kisses and reassurance when he finds you alive and ok. If you're unharmed he probably untie you from your holding place and pull you in tightly, kissing you and hugging you, telling you he's here. He's here and it's ok. Nothing, nothing will ever hurt you. Not on his watch.

"I've got you love, I've got you." He kisses your forehead, then your lips. "I'm here darling, you're ok, you're safe."

You fall into his arms, crying and grabbing onto him tightly. "I thought they were going to killed me- John!"

Price holds you tightly, kissing the side of your head. "Oh love I'd never let that happen, I would never let that happen you hear me??" You still cry, grabbing onto him even as he picks you up, holding you in his arms as if he would protect you from the whole world. And he would. Nothing would ever hurt you.

If you are injured then all those dead men out there?? Oh yeah, he's going to shoot all of them again just for good measure. If you are hurt any leniency he had for soldiers still hiding around the place is gone. Will blow up the facility. To pieces. Fucking bye!

You whimpered, looking up at him, blood trickling down your forehead into your eye and matted in your hair. "John...." Price cut your bindings and pulled you into his arms.

"They hurt you... Which one of them hurt you!?"

You grabbed onto him, shaking and crying as he wraps his arms around you. "I'll kill them all. I'll kill them for what they've done. They won't lay another hand on you." He growls, holding you close.

He gets you home and doesn't leave your side, but you don't mind the cuddles and how he stays up later than usual that night keeping his eye on you that he falls asleep next to you on the couch.

If you come back injured he tends to your wounds, lays you down in bed and stays awake with your head on his chest, stroking his hand through your hair and over your scalp, feeling your warmth and comfort in knowing you came out ok.

"How are you feeling?"

"Still shaken up." You whisper, nuzzled up against his chest, laying under his chin. "You?"

"Just glad you're alive. So so glad you're alive." He hugs you tightly, kissing your head. "I love you." You snuggle up, tears rolling down your cheeks. "I know you'll always be to my rescue John."

"Always, I won't ever let someone hurt you like that. Never."

Gaz 🧢

Gaz can do ok with confrontation. Even though he doesn't like it, he usually lets his gun do all his talking for him. The barrel to their face and they usually shut up pretty quickly.

Gaz definitely leaves the intimidation up to his weapons. But when you're kidnapped and taken hostage? Fuck that. Fuck all of that. You are feeling the full force fury of one Kyle Garrick and you don't want that.

The fuck around and find out type.

A little better at regulating his emotions when he finds the note. When he reads it his face is full of rage if you look into his eyes. The scowl forming is palpable to his rage. Crumpling the note up in his hand before dropping it to the ground.

He doesn't hesitate to grab his gun, his hat and his car keys. Someone is gonna get their ass beat.

It's on the way that he gets a call from the people who have kidnapped you, giving him a verbal warning of the damage you would suffer in the next 48 hours if the deal wasn't closed.

"You have 48 hours to get me that money do you understand?? Or your love is bye-bye."

Kyle remains silent on the phone, glaring down the drive, his foot pressing into the pedal. "Every finger you put on their skin, I'll cut it off." He hisses before ending the call.

Their first mistake was giving Kyle their location to meet. Gaz is wicked with technology when he gets his hands on it.

When they tell him where to meet and drop the money he does a quick search, surveying the area and finding all possible exits, entry roads. Buildings, abandoned or not. All while still in the car.

When he finds an old abandoned warehouse with some built in security perimeters he figures it's his good first bet.

Again, his gun does the talking. And his gun has one nasty bite. By the time he's tromped through the enemy troops he's dripping I'm blood because once he shoots he just keeps trucking. Dropping the entrance and eventually when he finds some men in the room with you it's all fists.

He wants a good fight and they don't even get a chance before Kyle has them on the ground giving them the beating of their life.

If he finds you uninjured he'll rush to you and make sure you know you're safe, then untie you and hold you in his arms, kissing you until he runs out of air.

"I'm here baby, I'm here. Come here, come on, let's get you home." Kissing your temple as he picks you up and carries you out. "Shh, I'm here now, I'm so glad you're ok." He kneels in front of you, untying you and pulling you into his arms.

"Kyle-" you look back at the men, bloodied and dead. You cling onto Kyle with tears in your eyes, shaking in his arms. "They were going to kill me...."

"I'd never let that happen. And their damn fools if they think they would get away with this." He looks into your eyes. "I'm right here ok? You're ok."

If you are injured he'll gently pick you up in his arms and carry you back, treating your wounds and then holding you close to him.

"Shh," He pushes a strand of your hair back, settling you in his lap, his bloodied hand running through the blood that runs down your nose and your lip. "They can't lay another hand on you." He shakes a little, tear rolling down his cheek as he kisses your forehead, relieved to feel your warm body in his hands. "I love you so much. I love you so much." He whispers.

Arms wrapped under your, cupping your back to keep you close to him throughout the entire night. Reassured whatever state you're in, you're home. You're back home with him and nothing will ever hurt you.

You comb your fingers over his scalp, glad to be wrapped in his strong embrace. "I love you Kyle." You whisper. Kyle nods, pulling you as close as he possibly can. "I love you even more."

Ghost 💀

You'd think this would be easy, but it's actually not. Simon's reaction would be similar but could go one of two ways. He'd either be blood thirsty, angry. Carnage, teeth ripping, flesh tearing, head snapping psycho angry. Or he'd be worrying about your safety, pacing back and forth looking for any way, any how he could get you back. Both emotions are present in both cases but one would be more dominant.

So let's say he's both. He finds the note and he's furious. He's absolutely blood red visioned. But he knows if he does anything rash it could cost you your life.

Again, he'd either be the type to go on his own or call his team. But he'd only call his team if he seriously, seriously thought maybe he wouldn't be able to save you and not himself.

The note was easy, finding finger prints on the thing was like second nature to scan. Identifying those fingerprints with help from a friend, also pretty easy.

With his 48 hour slot to either complete the deal or sacrifice your life he set off to find you. Armed to the teeth. Quite literally.

And once he got to the base you know what happens. Ghost do what Ghost does. Carnage. Blood and limbs torn. His gun being his main weapons but like Gaz was not afraid to get his hands soaked in that moment.

He wanted to go rage on the whole base but his objective was you. Snuck in, took out anyone in his way and found you.

If you're uninjured he'll rush to you and make sure you're awake. He'll immediately cut your bindings and pull you up into his arms. He can embrace you and kiss you when you're safe. But rest assured now that you're in his arms he won't let you go. He gets the car far enough away and pulls you into his arms, kissing you until he can't breathe.

He pulls you from the corner of the room into his arms. "I'm here, I'm here love don't worry." He holds you close, hiding you in his embrace as he brings you back out of the base and to the car. When he gets to safely away you start to cry.

"Simon," you cling onto him, shaking and relieved.

"I got you baby, I've got you." He whispers, pulling up his mask and kissing you. Kissing you until he was sure you wouldn't disappear into thin air. "I'm right here, I'm going to get you home." He runs his thumb over your cheek, relieved your alive.

He's lost family members like this before, he'd never want to lose you to that. And he almost did. He almost lost the most important person in his life.

If you are injured fuck stealth. All those men?? He'll slaughter and bludgeon all of them so badly their families won't know who their burying. That's that happens when you mess with people he loves. He gave them a chance to possibly get out alive if they hadn't hurt you, but they had. And that was the wrong decision.

"Where are you injured??" Simon cups your cheek, looking down to see the blood dripping onto your shirt and soaking your collar. He was furious, but he pulled you into his arms and held you close. "It's ok, they won't lay one more fucking hand on you. I promise. I'll kill them for touching you, I promise I will baby not one will be left."

He brought you to the car and kissed your nose. Once he'd gotten you secure and ok, he cocked his gun and finished off the last of that base.

When he returned again you cried into his chest while he held you, kissing the top of your head. "I'm sorry love. it's over. It's over, I won't ever, ever let anyone hurt you like that again.

He brought you home and held you in his arms, refusing to let you go. He would never let anything hurt you. He promised. He would never let the evil of the world hurt people he loved again.

His grip was tight, running his hand up and down your back. He looked into your eyes, seeing your face for a long while before leaning his forehead against yours, tears finally swelling up in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're ok." He whispers, pulling you close again. He'd never let go.

Soap 🧼

John cries. When he comes home from his long leave, expecting a warm hug and a good meal. But when he comes back, the house quiet and empty. The lights off, the love of his life not there to greet him.

And when he finds the note that you've been dragged out of your home and taken hostage for money and information. He was scared, seeing the email at the bottom of the note.

You were one of the most important people in his life and he couldn't fathom the thought of losing you.

He's in tears and shaking when he sends a message to the email, waiting for an agonizing hour before he got an email back. A taunting message acting for the money with a photo of you, a knife to your throat. "Give us the money or your little lover gets it."

Now he was angry. He was sad and scared for you but he was also angry. He contacted Ghost and once he got information on the email and pinned where it was sent from he didn't hesitate.

He was strapped to boot with anything he would need. Hell he threw his favorite bazooka in the back and was off by sunset.

When he gets there he easily takes out the sentinels and gets inside, finding you tied up. He takes out the soldiers guarding you and rushes to your side, holding you gently. "Look at me love, I'm going to bring you home." He kisses your temple and hauls you into his arms.

"We're going home." He assures you again as he brings you outside into the cool air. He walks you out past the perimeter and flicks the button in his hand, the base going up into a flurry of smoke and fire. "No one will lay a hand on you, I promise."

If you aren't injured he's going to set up a bomb and blow the place sky high, sending flames into the night from the inside out.

If you are injured he's still blowing it up.

"Love, love can you hear me??" He tilts your head up, seeing the black eye and your bloody nose. He frowns, immediately undoing your bonds and cradling you in his arms. "I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore. Not one damn second more."

"Johnny.... It hurts." You whispered, clinging onto him for his warmth, his protection.

"I promise you love no one will ever lay a hand on you like this again. I swear to it never again."

He picks you up and brings you out of the base, once he's in the safety perimeter he blows the place sky high. Good riddance.

He won't let anyone hurt you. He loves you, and he vows to protect you with all the resources he has. He would never let you get hurt. He holds you close, maybe even gives you a nice welcome home to get your mind off what you went through.

"Are you really ok love??" He asked, watching you sip the hot chocolate he'd made you. You nod, cuddling closer to him in your PJs. "I know you'll always be there for me."

He wraps his arms around you, pulling you close, lips feathering a kiss to your temple. "Always love, I will always do what I can to keep you safe."

[strawbiecream]

🫡Hi I'm back hihi

ok so design questions first bcuz yes, both John and Jane had to change due to the rain making them soupy, however John has exactly 1 pair of clothing and it's his normal outfit... that's currently wet... and u see, there's pros and cons about being a tall yellow man so hmm yeah, Jane manage to convince shed into giving them some of his cloth.

they'd open up to him and vise-versa, just not in the earlier times, after John slightly in a better shape (Imma explain that on the rain thingy part so) they were still wary of him and if they had a chance to get rid of him they would try in no time, hence why they brough him to a round, to see if he snapped. it clearly didnt work and what happened instead was even funnier bcuz I have a small hc that when both killer and survivor join the map each of them suffer from somekind of change (The Spectre play a bigger role as a """emotional"" support for the killers, manipulating their movement and emotions by sayin lil things on their ears which is why CK can kill 007 lol... BUT NOW HE'S GONE) be it physical strenght (Guest) or appearence (John)... so like... bro got scarier but no aggresive, just extra confuse 😔. instead of snapping, John worked as a beefier sentinel and well, after that they got to accept the idea of that MAYBE, VERYYYY MAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE they could somehow bring the killers to their side. that idea got more solid after CK joind their side via ANOTHER sad reunion between him and his father (he got locked in the basement for like... 20 whole minutes, which is unfair bcuz my man John Doe stayed there for 18 weeks.) and now to the funny bit of the trusting issue...

with The Spectre gone and his influence towards the killers too, memories of their time in the realm start to get spotty and fuzzy, that's the price they pay to have their pre-forsaken memories (not even fully intact btw) so yeah, John feels guilty but he can't recall his actions, none of them.

And being locked alone in the basement doesnt help at all, if anything, reminds him the time he lost control of his own mind and stayed locked inside his mind for so long. (BUT HE TOUGH IT LIKE THE BOSS HE IS.)

and now the raining bit, the problem isnt the rain, the whole thing is the implications of that event. I think their realm doesnt have seasons and stuff like that so it's either hot and idk... considerable cold/humid. and again, with The Spectre gone and not here to deepen the killers onto their minds and limbos, they start to get more aware. like yeah they know wha they we're doing lmao, at first it was fun but after sometime they kinda got trapped into a weird loop of "finish the round, get out of the map, stay on somekind of trance, repeat" BOOoo routine been getting their ahh. With that awareness back, their body start to function again, they feel hunger, they get tired etc, no adrenaline here to snuff their senses down now 👌 and slowly, it gets to each of the killers with John being the first to suffer from that bcuz he'S A PEEPAW AND PRE HISTORIC MARRIED MAN. I'm totally drawing the CK arc bcuz ooorrghh, I want John and CK to bond and 007n being a father and John to get out of the basement and INTERACT with everyone else aooorrghhh, imma be prob posting it on my art blog tho so like, want me to tag u when I do??? @grey-washere

HI HELLO!!!! WELcom back :3c always happy to see u jumpscaring me while im eating breakfast /vpos

spoon yapping below

Okay first image im holding ur hand very tight and shaking u rn because we have the same john and 1x height headcanon hell euah, PROS AND CONS OF BEING A TALL YELLOW MAN genuinely made me cackle LMFAO 😭😭😭 john being stinky is kinda real tbh he got that stinky fart binary aura shit around 😢😢😢 /silly

the killers only have their own personal limbos iirc,, they cant have a cabin cause beef is gonna happen and the killers become the killed. I like to think they have their own room of sorts which the spectre modifies each one to fit with the respective killer and to keep them under its influence type shit

Oh yeah i really love the way u draw johns expression he just looks so kind, kind old man despite the appearance he possesses. He probably looked scary when he was out of it tho

IS RHAT TWO TIME WITH THE DAGGER please do not the john doe look at how nervous he is 💔

Wait the spectre is gone? WE ALL CHEERED WOOOOO GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE 😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏 get microwaved stupid guiltripping manipulative thing with 57 crimes

Poor guy :( he has probably felt fear too when even him cant recognize himself ughhhhh AGGHHHH

VERY MAYBE.. BECAUSE jasun and 1x might not gaf because 1x just wanna beat shedletksy and everyone in her way while jason.. i didnt watch friday the 13th series so idk 💔 also for beefier sentinel do u mean that he literally support the time against the other killers like that would be so damn cool with the scary spikes blocking the way and slowing them down with traps.. ughhh im tweaking /pos

YES C00LKIDD HOLY SHIT, i can see where the survivors point are coming from cuz hes just a kid thats unaware and John is potentially unstable and he can wipe the entire cabin if they slipped

Chat.. is this.. redemption arc.. omg. oh wait no it isnt my bad. If anything i wish to know how the spectre even KABOOMED and EVAPORATED from forsaken, whag would happen to the realm now without it being in charge. The rounds seem to be going on like usual but they get a bit more freedom now from how they could bring john to the cabin and back to the rounds,, im very much intrigued

Im giving him a big fat hug rn holy shit because allat got so much of an influence on john and hes completely different from the man that he was. Everything is gone, not even the memories of his own actions but just a hollow feeling of something very very wrong that u did in the past. That shit is gonna haunt him till he dies

Hes fighting everyday 😞 whens he gonna be let out oguhgutghj

I love this image he looks so fucking sad and traumatized 😭 baby

OHHH!! That sounds like the weather where i live, sometimes it gets uncomfortably hot and the rain doesnt make it better, THE HEAT GETS WORSE like holy shit i wanted rain for the coolness of it but it only makes the hot weather even hotter like okay man

Oh my god its redemption arc ITS REDEMPTION ARC WE ARE SAVED WE ARE SAVED thank u hell they finally feel the sense of being normal again although slowly

Pre historic married man and peepaw in a sentence describing john doe. I like your words.

PLEASE DRAW COOLIIDD BONDING i wish to see their father and son bond :( and yes communication is key, locking john up wont do anything GET HIM OUT NOWW NOWWWW draw johnjane cuddling trust me /nf

abt the tagging idk if ur asking me but i dont mind being tagged btw just to let u know

[lastofthewardens]

SPOILERS i'll probably be talking about mostly foggy but also some other things so read at your own risk

alright. i said i'd wait until the end of the season to be mean, but now the season is over, and i have no reason to care or be cautious anymore.

i'm the most livid about the foggy stuff so i'm going to start there.

last week, when they revealed vanessa ordered the hit, i was pretty hopeful. but i thought about what this episode could look like over the past week, and i decided my worst case scenario was if it was confirmed that vanessa specifically wanted foggy dead. if that happened, it was over, and i wasn't going to let them fuck with my emotions anymore. that was my line in the sand.

and so here we are. because vanessa ordered dex SPECIFICALLY to kill him.

i really don't think, after seeing that finale, that foggy is coming back. i already didn't after watching the way they chose to film his death scene, but against my better judgment, i let myself believe as the season went on, especially this past week, and i wish i had just kept the same energy the whole time now because this hurts way more.

but i'm also kind of glad i didn't because it makes me more angry too.

i've said it before, but they've been outright cruel in the way they've handled things with foggy. they've laughed about wrecking everything, they've done really weird interviews saying frankly really weird things, they've directly teased brubaker on social media..

the most cruel part though, to me at least, is adapting foggy's fake "death" from the brubaker comics without it being fake. filming the scene with similar or at least comparable shots, the matt hearing his heartbeat stuff, having it be an ordered hit, having matt think fisk was behind it only to reveal it was vanessa, having all the necessary characters and puzzle pieces around, using so much of that plot.. and then stopping short of having foggy be alive. THAT'S fucked up.

they have, i believe intentionally if i'm being honest, strung foggy fans along for most of this season. they had to know they were inviting brubaker theories, they had to know people would hope, speculate, wish for an adaptation of the secret life of foggy nelson. there's no way they didn't know exactly what they were doing when they chose these plot points.

i complained about the "maybe i didn't want to give you an excuse" line back when it happened because it doesn't make sense for foggy to be complaining about daredevil anymore given where the original show left off. and even after how stupid it already was, they somehow managed to make this line even worse too?

because karen told matt that foggy saw the true matt, light and dark, matt/daredevil/etc, and believed in him anyway. so what the fuck was that line of dialogue from episode 1 then? lmao. WHY did they have him say THAT, especially as his last words to matt EVER? i allowed myself to hope that if foggy was alive, that line would be out of context, that maybe he knew the red hook stuff was connected to fisk, and he was hiding it because of the deal matt made with fisk/not wanting matt to potentially accidentally break their truce. in that case, the dialogue could be referring to not wanting to give matt an excuse (to break the truce). but no, he had no idea about any of that, he thought it was a random truck robbery apparently and had no clue what he stumbled into lmao. great.

the only explanation i can think of is that they had foggy say that because it assisted the plot. they wanted matt to feel bad and just did it, and then by episode 9, they probably forgot because it made no sense to begin with. that's part of the problem this show has btw. so many lines of dialogue and other stuff is entirely dictated by the plot or wanting to sound cool or be quotable rather than anything that makes sense for the characters. i'm still not fucking over "my mistake was believing i was immune to the darkness". what a wildly bad misread of the character, just a horrible line of dialogue. i don't know if there's any basis for that in other materials that i haven't seen, but in the netflix show iteration of this character, matt knowing he's got darkness inside is half the plot, dude.

speaking of character assassination though. cole n*rth is probably going to go through some weird redemption plot next season i'm sure, but uh. wow. the things they've done with him have certainly been a choice.

and kirst*n mcd*ffie.. hoo boy. she's one of my top 5 favorite characters in the comics. i see the potential in her scenes, but they wasted her the whole time and barely gave her anything, and i'm annoyed as fuck about that too. i would've loved to see this actress play her alongside matt and foggy like in the comics (and being able to include karen could've been fun).

i also just want to say.. i'm a mattfoggy first and foremost, i'm sure anyone reading my posts can guess that, it's very obvious lol. but i'm also a fan of matt x karen, it's my second favorite ship after mattfoggy. and in a world where foggy wasn't dead and i didn't hate this show, i'd be glad to see matt x karen get back together. i want that, especially since my main ship can't/won't be canon, but watching them use foggy's death as a prop to make that happen makes me mad as fuck. foggy deserves better, i think foggy fans probably feel that way, but i think matt x karen also deserves better than that. and while i understand people do bond over these things, the way they did it here just felt weird to me, it was a weird scene and didn't feel very genuine in content and was entirely carried by the actors being great at what they do. i've felt this way since "i refuse to believe a tragedy had to destroy everything", which is something the real matt would NEVER say about foggy nelson being dead. comics matt and even netflix matt would NEVER. and the scenes about it tonight only made me feel that more.

some of those scenes also gave me the impression they think they can just replace foggy with karen, which will never be okay. karen is her own person with her own personality and her own function in the narrative. neither of them can replace the other, that's not how it works.

like the scene where karen tells matt how foggy felt about him.. why her telling him that? it literally makes sense, i guess, but why? why not have a foggy hallucination at some point express those things? or even when he's 'dying' after taking the shot for fisk, he could've talked to foggy if he's really dead? or even a foggy who came back from being dead! because those words would've meant a lot more after a foggy is alive reveal! karen telling him that stuff couldn't possibly have the same impact as foggy saying it after "maybe i didn't want to give you an excuse". (a stupid line of dialogue, yes, but if they chose to roll with it anyway and try to explain it away). can you imagine after matt thinks foggy hated daredevil, he reluctantly picks up the mask against "foggy's wishes", only for foggy to eventually come back and tell him he knows him and believes in him?

i've said it before and i'll say it again, this show, EVEN THE NEW EPISODES BY THE NEW TEAM, is mostly just missed opportunities: the show.

also i clocked the clumsy attempt to explain how fisk got out of prison and it just made me laugh. 'oh there was fbi corruption so that's why my husband got acquitted' LMAO. what a weak explanation for a plot point that should've been adequately handled but whatever.

extra side note just for a bonus.. the slowmo in the fight with matt, frank, and the police in matt's apartment was horrible. no idea why they did that. it actively made the fight seem worse than it was lol.

and i'll say one more thing. there's a world in which foggy is like.. in actual witpro or something. like for example if there's a case being built against fisk that we don't know about yet, and he's stuck in real witpro until fisk and vanessa are dealt with. i hesitate to say that because i honestly do not think that's happening at all, but i have to acknowledge that it's at least a small chance. resuscitated in the ambulance unbeknownst to everyone, hidden away by actual law enforcement who aren't corrupt... idk, i guess it's possible, right?

but i seriously don't think you guys should get your hopes up at all. i don't want anyone to be sad or hopeless or anything like that. it's just that i think the only real possibility of foggy coming back now in the capacity he deserves is if people are angry.

because i don't think these showrunners (or half the people involved tbh, despite 'we care a lot' lmao) give a fuck about foggy at all. it's transparently clear they bring him up to inject easy emotion into scenes and that's it. i mean, come on, the avocados at law thing? don't get me wrong, in a world where foggy's not dead i'd eat that fanservice up, but they're purposely invoking these things for a reason. which doesn't have to be bad but reads as pretty shitty in the context of everything else they've done. they're doing it because it's easy to make you emotional that way. they don't have to write better dialogue that way. nostalgia bait indeed.

so i think if you're mad, you should use that, you should be open about this foggy stuff on social media and wherever else (don't be aggressive or hateful though; if you are, you'll just get blocked or ignored, and it's better if they hear you out). because if everyone sings their praises for these last two episodes, they'll think no one cares, and they need to know people are unhappy or they'll just carry on.

i don't know why they have elden in season 2, or what foggy's role will be, but let them hear you. even if they've started to backtrack on their own (press x to doubt), speaking up would only be good for foggy either way. they need to know fans do care and aren't happy with this.

[flippinpancakes64]

Would you pls write about reader having a nightmare and how the Cullens would react?

The Cullens when their S/O is having a nightmare

Thank you for requesting and I hope you like this!

This post wont be up for about two days as of the time I'm writing this, but I am turning off my requests! After this one here, I'll still have 15 left to do :'(

I'm so appreciative of everyone who chose to request because it means that I'm at least doing something right lol I just need a sec to catch up

Edward:

He can hear your nightmares as they play out

But Carlisle once told him that you're not supposed to wake people up during nightmares

So he doesn't

It's killing him tho

The moment you wake up he is right there

Shushing you, drying your tears, and letting you explain

If you want to talk about it, that's fine

If not, that's fine too

If you don't want to go back to sleep, he's a little upset but he'll help you stay awake

You need sleep

But he understands

Whatever it was about, he will try his best to soothe you and reassure you that it won't actually happen

Especially if it's something about him leaving you

Like you couldn't get rid of this man even if you wanted to

Alice:

I don't think her gift would work for predicting that someone's going to have a nightmare

So the only way she would be tipped off is if she heard you

But as soon as she does she's rushing to your side

Mostly because it sounds like there's danger

But after she sees you're having a nightmare, she wakes you up

She lightly caresses your face and whispers until you finally open your eyes

And then she's there for you

Again, she'll let you talk about whatever you need or want to

And every time you bring up that you think this thing might happen, she stares off into space for a second and then says it won't

Whether she's actually looking into the future or just trying to trick you, you don't know

Jasper:

I have a feeling he wouldn't leave your side while you sleep

So the moment you start kicking around or when he senses your anxiety, he's ready

He sends soothing emotions your way, trying to get you to calm down and go back to sleep

But if that doesn't work, then he wakes you up

Again, he uses his gift to soothe you

He lets you talk out whatever you need to

He is at your disposal, just put him wherever you need him

And if you need him to stand guard at the door for the whole night to make sure that no monsters get in, he'll do it no questions asked

And once more, he will use his gift to help you go back to sleep

Rosalie:

You told her about how you have such bad nightmares at night

So instead of leaving the room to let you sleep, she decided to stick around

When she notices you start to kick and stir, she tries to soothe you back to sleep

Whispering things like how you're safe, she's there, it's not real, and stuff like that

And if that doesn't work, then she wakes you up

She lets you talk it out, but doesn't fight you if you say you don't want to go back to sleep

She'll let you hang out with her in the garage while she works on one of her cars until she notices you nodding off

Emmett:

If you don't mind the TV being on while you sleep, then he has it on and is watching something while you sleep

And if you do mind then he's still never too far away, just in the living room

Either way, he has the TV low enough to not bother you

That means he can hear when you start to shift

He grew up with little sisters though

And he knows that you're supposed to wait out nightmares

So he waits it out until you either stop or wake up on your own

He doesn't press for details if you don't want to give them

He just turns the TV to a channel you like and lets you sleep on his shoulder

Esme:

I feel like she'd enjoy reading in bed while you sleep

So she's quick to notice when something's wrong

She doesn't hesitate to wake you up

Asks what's wrong and what you were dreaming about

She's very reassuring no matter what it is

She tells her own stories after you to make you feel better and to get your mind off of it

"When I was younger, I used to have nightmares about this guy who was made of butterflies coming to town and stealing all of the butterflies! It always made me so upset."

Carlisle:

He tends to be working most of the time

But luckily his office is connected to your bedroom

So he can hear when something happens

If you have a nightmare he lets it take its course

If you go back to sleep, then he goes back to work

But if you wake up, he takes you to his office with him and lets you sit next to him or on his lap while he works

;)

Not actually in a suggestive way

I just really wanna sit in his lap

Anyways

He doesn't pressure you into talking about it if you don't want to

But he has an explanation for everything if you do

Vampire! Bella:

Wasn't it a whole plotline in the movies where Bella had really bad nightmares?

And the books too

So she understands

She wakes you up whenever she hears you

She always asks what it's about

But she doesn't linger on it either

And she won't force you to go back to bed if you don't want to

"Okay enough talk about nightmares, you wanna go get ice cream?"

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I’m always curious about Kankri being redeemed in any way (maybe because he can become the sufferer). Obviously to do so would be simply punting him to reality and force him to live it, no help from his shoddily-made support structure. But I’m curious how you would go about doing it

Given their role thematically in the story, I'm actually usually not on the train of "fully redeem the dancestors", but I do like giving them some catharsis and reckoning, a place in the fight against LE. One last chance to do something good with their lives/afterlives before the end, and a(n implied) new start as wigglers born into the new universe.

So to that end, in my head, the "turnaround point" for Kankri - the inciting incident that makes him have a mental breakdown that results in him finally taking some accountability for his shitty actions - is having a conversation with Eridan.

In my head, the Dancestor reckoning happens gradually, alongside a series of retcons where the dead trolls are brought back one or two at a time, and deal with their emotional issues a little more with every cast member added back into the party.

The TL;DR series of events is: Terezi asks to bring back Vriska, Vriska asks John to punch out Tavros before she can kill him, Tavros's influence makes Gamzee ask for Equius and Nepeta to be brought back, Equius asks for a redux of Aradiabot, Aradiabot grabs John by the arm and gets him to undo her death and Sollux's fall into depression, Sollux asks for Feferi to be brought back, and then Karkat asks for Eridan.

We know from (Vriska) that the Game Over/Alpha Timeline characters still exist post-Retcon, so those characters would also be continuing their character arcs, just in the afterlife prepping for the LE fight. For example, I think Meenah's reckoning should be delivered by (Karkat) - after having had so long to reflect on his own failures as a leader, he would be perfectly poised to scream at her for hers, which would also serve to make this confrontation a final thesis for Karkat as a whole - what leadership means (caring about your team) - and a conclusion to the Meenah/Karkat dynamic.

So when I say that Kankri needs to talk to Eridan, I mean Eridan and not (Eridan). Full character development, all his teammates are alive, taken full accountability and responsibility for his actions, team good guy Eridan. And as I noted in this essay, Eridan with full character development is actually more annoying than regular Eridan, because he's also the "Devastating: Worst Guy You Know Made An Excellent Point" guy. In bulleted form:

He's still an advocate for murder. Murder is literally what kept his friends alive long enough to play the game, and playing the game itself involves genocide, so he would be the Token Evil Teammate who reminds the team that, hey, murder is an option - and enemies will be considering it. Even at his very best, he's going to struggle with empathy and have an extremely blase view of violence and murder - those were literally just facts of his life through his most formative years.

This also makes him a TOTAL downer, as he's the tempering voice that reminds them that decisions have consequences, and utopia requires sacrifices, and nothing is ever worth fighting for that won't eventually need to be fought for. Like I said, worst guy you know, excellent points. In fact, he's out here volunteering to do the murdering when the situation calls, if nobody else wants to get their fins dirty. He's really good at it.

He's still an idiot who doesn't listen to people. He's perfectly fine at taking orders, but having a conversation with him is still really difficult. I feel like if you make Eridan too smart, mentally flexible, and socially aware, you lose a lot of his Eridan-ness, and I think these characters, fully realized, are more of themselves, not less. I also don't know how you could reasonably expect to fix these traits. He's just Like That.

He drops his fake pro-Empire stuff, because that was basically all just empty posturing in the first place, but...

Now he's a pretentious-ass hipster who judges you for liking Trollor Swift and Troll Marvel. Given that Jake's indiscriminate taste is actually linked to his deficit of Hope (he has little conviction, he's wishy-washy), Eridan coming into full Prince of Hope regalia involves getting even more annoying about his taste in media (shittons of conviction, refusal to budge).

He is also a wizard. He will not shut up about this.

And finally, I think he'd still be out here using slurs. First of all, because it'd be really funny, because he's literally not casteist, but second, because there's two types of "it's equality" - the kind where nobody ever says anything offensive, and the kind where "offensive" stops being a relevant concept because true equality has been achieved. Think of the discourse surrounding the reclamation of slurs IRL, or how the "it's equality" meme gets used - this idea that words can be stripped of power by changing the context of who's saying them, or that objectification/discrimination stop being problems if they're applied evenly across the board, instead of limited to specific groups. I think that this is the exact type of nuanced idea that Homestuck would tackle and its fandom would get incensed about, which is why I think it should stay.

Eridan's role, thus, becomes a sort of "unpleasant truths" kind of character. Violence, both physical and verbal, is unpleasant as hell, and the natural instinct is to avoid it. The problem is, in any true discussion of what society should look like, they're topics that can't be avoided, and are even sometimes necessary not just to recognize, but to utilize (no revolution is bloodless, etc.). Eridan - an extreme personality - is going to represent the uncomfortable extreme of the debate. And by that I mean he's going to be saying slurs and talking about murders and is still going to be unquestionably a force for good.

The reason I'm going so in-depth into this is because Kankri very much represents the opposite: using "polite" language and couching it in the language of courtesy, activism, and liberal ideology, Kankri hides - and worse, spreads - his classist, ableist, misogynistic, puritan beliefs. He enforces the class divide and actively works against his teammates' best interests.

He whines that the lower blood castes should stop complaining about oppression, because others have it worse. He tells the team feminist that misogyny isn't real, then slut shames her. He tells the guy with brain damage that he's making other neurodivergent/TBI people look bad, exacerbates Latula's shame around her inability to smell, and actively guilt trips Cronus into ignoring his epiphany and self-reflection. Kankri is only an activist in that he actively makes everybody worse.

But why does he act like this? Well, it's due to the fact that he was probably culled, and on-sight at that, like Karkat would've been if anyone found out about his mutant blood. Kankri doesn't seem to have a symbol or lusus, either, two thinks Karkat only had because the Signless's followers prepped them for him, so the chances are very high that Kankri was culled since he was hatched. Given the way he discusses culling with Latula, and viciously despises being mothered by Porrim, it's clear he has some really complicated feelings regarding having his agency dismissed. Thus, his work to hamper his team - at least some of which is wilful on his part, as he'll outright cast aspersions on Horuss or Cronus's beliefs for being "imaginary" even as he encourages them to commit to them - is motivated by something quite simple: power, attention, entitlement, and control.

When he goes on his grand lectures, he frequently slips and reveals that he sees himself as a great, unquestionable spiritual leader, often trying to place other characters in subordinate positions to himself - Karkat is his "pupil," and his monologues, I mean, sermons, I mean, diatribes, are spoken as if from a position of authority. He outright tells Meenah that this is what he believes himself to be.

It's a very Seer sort of problem - both that of hubris and that of willful blindness. If you chart out the actual "end goal" of his beliefs, it appears to be a world in which Kankri himself is both the biggest victim and most important voice in the room. He regularly disparages those with actual disadvantages (Damara, Porrim, Mituna) while playing up the false problems of those who don't actually have them (Horuss, Cronus). Those with disadvantages should have their voices amplified - except lowbloods should stop whining and misogyny isn't real. And those with real power should check their privilege - but won't somebody think of the poor highbloods who have ~emotional problems~? Kankri will, and all the highbloods need to do is bend the knee and treat Kankri as their specialest boy.

In short, he's using his intellect, rhetoric, and forceful personality for selfish, emotionally-driven pursuits. The actual substance of his arguments is ephemeral and contradictory because that's the trick - the point is NOT to further equality, but to verbally browbeat his conversation partner into submission. In other words, you can't beat Kankri in a regular debate, because the moment you start trying to actually engage in a debate with him, he wins. The moment you start lunging at his arguments, he's got you in his red-texted labyrinth. The moment you start treating his points like they merit genuine discussion, you're in the pews of Kankri's church, and he's up at the pulpit.

And Eridan is the destroyer of faith. He's also an idiot who doesn't listen to people.

I don't really know exactly how it would play out, but I know in my heart. In the pit of my soul. That Eridan would call Kankri several slurs, (correctly) point out that Kankri's celibacy is stupid because it's clear he has feelings for Cronus and Latula, (correctly) point out that his pro-equality stuff is stupid because he calls violets "Royal-V"s, (incorrectly) accuse Kankri of hitting on him, (correctly) point out that the entire point of a slur is that it hurts and insults the person it's used on, (correctly) call Kankri several more slurs, (correctly) point out that Kankri just wants attention, especially from highbloods, (???) go on an unhinged rant (maybe more) about being a wizard, being a murderer, and being a murderer wizard, (???) insult Kankri's taste in music, and finish it up by (correctly) revealing that Eridan and Karkat are moirails who make out sometimes.

I think Kankri would start crying.

[tgd-sideblog]

this started as a reblog but actually i'm not gonna put this is on someone else's post bc i don't say this to pick an argument with any specific poster. But I'm seeing people tossing around slightly condescending posts about how people who were unsatisfied with the depiction of the team's grief in the latest ep just don't understand that grief is more complex than the world stopping so people can endlessly sob etc so I wanted to elaborate why imo the show didn't adequately deliver on the grief front.

The issue I have with the depiction of grief isn't that I don't know grief can be hard to talk about or that Eddie couldn't realistically leave Chris for an indefinite period of time until a date was set for the funeral or I'm too stupid to get the subtext of Buck isn't outwardly breaking down because he's trying to keep it together to support the team.

The issue is there's only two more episodes left in the season and instead of the impact on the 118 they spent half of the episode immediately after Bobby's death on a seeming irrelevant dead baby plotline (which was either a hint at Bobby still to be revealed as not in that coffin [in which case I think they've messed up the pacing of that storyline and if they do pull a resurrection twist they'll still have wasted the oppotunity of exploring reactions to Bobby's apparent death], a dig at the audience, or to show Athena that denial isn't a healthy way of coping with grief which doesn't make sense as a narrative choice because there was no indication she was in denial for there to be value added by a subplot about confronting that), so, having made that questionable choice, they've now only got two episodes left to cram in:

Chimney's survivors guilt

Presumably more Athena stuff (like deciding if she wants to continue with the house)

The new captain of the 118 (needs at least some groundwork even though they could easily hold off in confirming a permanent captain until next season)

Eddie chosing to return to LA and somehow getting his job back even though there's now no Bobby to help (or sending him back to Texas indefinitely to resolve in S9 which opens up a whole other can of worms)

the TWO different emergency plotlines which have been teased at least one which will likely be a big finale emergency

And somehow fit in grief narratives for Hen and Eddie and Buck and Chim who has grieving to do for Bobby seperate from his survivors guilt. they are all main characters who had close relationships with Bobby, they should each be getting personal storylines out of this.

And I just don't see how they can develop all of that with depth in the ~85 minutes remaining to this season*, so things are gonna get dropped and with the prevalance that has been put on big emergencies in recent episodes and the plot related stuff that needs to be wrapped up, it seems like it's going to be the emotional stuff that won't make the cut. People can give a hundred Watsonian justifications for why characters might react in certain ways, but none of that changes that personal grief reactions from Bobby's team have so far had less individual narrative focus than fucking Gerrard and the show has left themselves little room to rectify that.

*Obviously they could pick some of those plot points up in S9 and I would expect the grief to carry over between seasons, but I think killing Bobby off in April and then pausing most of the impact of that until probably well into October (given the limits they'll have on doing character stuff in what will presumably be another big disaster multi-part season opener) would be sloppy pacing that diminishes the emotional impact of Bobby's death. There's a reason when they carried Buck's injury plotline over from S2 to S3 they gave him an embolism so that there would be a recent event to bring the impact and required emotional beats back to relevance rather than expecting people to still be fully engaged with the bombing plotline from months previously.

[thefirstknife]

Feeling abnormal about Echoes continues. Apologies for the scrunchy screenshots, it's from a recording. Immediately starts with Saint and Osiris killing me on the spot:

A little bit of comedy to ease on the crying:

Help. Osiris obviously doesn't want to do this because like. He's seen this before and it made him very unwell. Seeing Saint's dead body is very clearly not something he wants to experience again, but Failsafe says that Saint needs him so he goes anyway. Yippee.

Then the answer to my question. Nessus basically holds an archive for the Vex which includes the archives from the Forest, which is where we're going. I expected something that doesn't require lengthy explanations about how we're getting to the Forest. Saint even helpfully asks:

Some more info:

This is a really neat explanation that migth allow us to revisit this some time without having to go through the hoops of complicated shenanigans with what happened to the original Forest (and Mercury). But also it does leave me with the feeling that they may just never give us that answer. This will take me a while to process and come to terms with.

More interactions to kill us:

And then the big room. I'll put it under read more because damn:

From above where you enter:

It's a whole new area. It's absolutely bizarrely filled with a lot of details. There's four gates to the Forest, each designed differently. Spent a long time wandering around trying to figure stuff out and it's quite interesting. Makes me feel like we will use this area for something again because this level of brand new designs only being used one would be very strange.

So this one without the actual blue barrier:

This is the "Nessus" gate. When you gate closer, you can see the new plants from this episode and stuff. It's also used at the end of the mission to leave to the core of Nessus. The other three gates have the barriers and they later open, though we can only enter one of them. The one from behind that's basically the last you can actually see... Is Europa:

The snow? The ice crystals? The blue ice streaks? This is completely new. It looks like a gate leading to Europa. When it opens later, the enemies that come out of here are the normal Vex, which you can also see on Europa. I'm saying that because other gates have Vex associated with what the gate looks like. This is unhinging me. What does this mean. It can't just be a random thing they made to use once. There's no way. Bro...

And then there's this one which is the one we use to get to Saint's tomb; it's a gate leading to the future:

VERY interested in the enemies that come out of there. Obviously Descendants aka future Vex, but that also includes WYVERNS. Which are the first Descendant Wyverns we've ever seen:

And there's this one which I couldn't originally place; it looks too similar to a lot of other stuff, including Nessus itself, but I thought it might be Black Garden or Venus. Turns out? Black Garden. When you fight in the center later, Sol Divisive Vex come out of that gate.

The Europa and Black Garden gates fully open when you start the fight and they let the Vex out; as I said, normal ones from Europa and Sol Divisive from the Garden. Then when they're cleared, the future gate opens too and there come Descendants. The other two gates remain open but you can't access them; there's a firewall. Let me in.

In the future gate, there's the worn down corridor and then directly after it is the tomb.

And then the tomb.

I highly recommend doing this yourself or checking out a playthrough for all the lines because I can't feasibly summarise it all. Osiris and Saint show up and Saint interacts with the body, then experiences its memories and finally realises that every Saint is equally the same Saint. He also gets the information on how to find the Conductor. But before that we're treated to emotional damage about Saint and Osiris. Primarily Osiris' incredible worry and also trauma which more or less sends him crying which is fine and okay (lie). Like it's not actually sobbing on screen, but it's very much implied in how he moves and the way lines are delivered.

Okay I guess! How about we all jump into lava! Just to make it clear, Saint's last thoughts before he died were of Osiris. And in Immolant, when Osiris thought he would die, his last thoughts were of Saint.

But there is one where Osiris finds happiness. He finds a time away from strife. He finds Saint—a dream of warm serenity. The peace to his purpose. With Saint, there is a future that could have been enough.

So we're all jumping into lava, right?

Outside we fight Agioktis, except this time it's "Archived Mind" aka the archive of the Martyr Mind, the Vex that killed Saint originally.

Then we move on into the planetary core which reveals... certainly a sight. Of something that looks like an alien civilisation, with like a garden and also a HUGE pyramid inside of a artificially made Vex crater. And that's inside of Nessus. And now we know what they meant in the showcase when they said we'll be exploring an ancient civilisation.

I am unhinged. We don't even get to see more because the cutscene starts when you move forward and then we get the beautiful cliffhanger that will make me the most normal Destiny fan for the next 3 weeks.

Maya explains that she's here because we all suck apparently and she wants to fix the world by using Vex radiolaria to essentially convert everyone and everything into a "better" form. She's having a normal one.

Radio message is more or less a recap on all Veil Logs for people who didn't listen to them and the lore page, which randomly now isn't on Ishtar yet even though all others were available right away is about... well. Maya and Chioma living together in the Vex network peacefully and lovingly until the page break and we see the Conductor experimenting by doing open surgery on Exo Chioma. Very normal. very fine. But I guess now we know what that Exo thing from the trailers was.

Now we have to wait 3 weeks.

[hello-nichya-here]

Every now and then I just remember how Riley was painted as the victim in his relationship with Buffy and it just makes me so mad. The writers keep telling us that she didn't appreciate him and his way of loving her, but we are SHOWN that it was actually the other way around.

Buffy was not perfect, and it's clear she first got attached to Riley because he was a normal dude and she very much needed something in her life to be normal - but when it turned out he also had a secret life, that he was also the "hero" of his group, she accept it. She continued to like him. She still wanted him around.

Riley meanwhile seemed to resent her for being the slayer, for being stronger than him, for having other stuff going on in her life, for having dated/being the object of affection of guys that were stronger than him.

His insecurity is ridiculous. He was literally willing to die just to be a very strong, but also very dead guy, instead of being a completely healthy dude with the strength of a regular dude. He even acts like him not being able to beat Buffy in a fight, even with the "power up" is what is causing her to be "distant" sometimes, not the fact that, like he said himself, she needs to prevent the end of the world every other week and that's kinda stressful and takes a lot of her free time.

He also complains about her asking him to take care of her younger sister, the most important thing in the world to her, so she doesn't have to worry about that while out killing vampires and demons - and he thinks of that as her "not letting her be useful", and then complains again when she gives him a bullshit role in the whole "stopping the doom of all of humanity", even though he just refused the thing that would make him actually useful. He also conveniently forgets things like Buffy asking HIM specifically to take care of her after she was wounded in a fight. He doesn't see any of that as her truly including him in her life and full on needing him like he wants her to - because it's not in the way that allows him to pretend he is THE hero, not the hero's boyfriend. Being important TO her doesn't actually matter, what he really wants is to feel superior, to be more important than her.

And even outside of the Slayer stuff: this dude really heard that his girlfriend's mother was potentially dying, and instead of thinking of how he can be there for her (something he CLAIMS he wants to do) all he can think about is "Why didn't she immediately call me? Why did she tell Spike first?" (I'm a spuffy fan, but come on, she only told Spike because he just happened to show up at the very second she was ready to open up about it and just needed a shoulder to cry on). Everything, even his girlfriend's struggle with the possibility of her parent dying and her needing to step up as a parent to her sibling, needs to be about HIM, his feelings, his wants and needs.

The fucker even has the nerve to cheat on her during all of this. Compare that to Angel going to Sunnydale to give her emotional support after Joyce died, or Spike comforting her before even knowing WHY she was crying and then sending flowers without a card to honor her mom and offer Buffy some compassion, but without disrespecting her very explicit "stay away from me, Spike." It's very clear which of these three guys never actually cared about her, even a little bit.

Hell, Riley is 100% sure that the only way for Buffy to "prove" her love is to suffer for him. Her sister tells him "I like you much more than her ex, you would never break her heart like he did" - and somehow, he doesn't take that as "Buffy and her family fully trust that I'm a good guy that would never do anything to hurt her" (something Buffy herself says to Angel's face in his show) but rather as a "Nothing I do would ever hurt her because she doesn't actually love me the way she loved Angel."

Not to mention: his assumption that Buffy was only ever attracted to Angel because he was a vampire, and thus any other vampire like Draculla or Spike could easily steal her from him, just shows how much he didn't understand her at all.

Buffy started crushing on Angel thinking he was just a normal human that knew about the supernatural and wanted to fight the good fight. She didn't find out about him being a vampire until he lost control for a second and went vamp-face after their first kiss, and it freaked her out.

She fangirled for a second meeting Dracula, but man, come on, OF COURSE the slayer will be excited to see the most popular vampire ever, and she was more than willing to kill him. The whole reason there were any flirty vibes between them was because the dude had literal mind-control powers.

Spike is the closest Buffy ever got to "dating a vampire because he is a vampire" and that was because she was literally craving death. Even then, she was horrified at her own attraction to him, AND there was a different side to their relationship, with Buffy liking Spike because he was the one person that wasn't disappointed and resenting her for being depressed.

For fuck's sake, she had a thing for PLENTY of normal guys - RILEY VERY MUCH INCLUDED!

He was the one that only cared about "who is stronger" and kept insisting that Buffy was the same even after overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

And for the show to then make HER go after him, make HER all sad when he is dating someone else, make one of her closest friends blame HER for everything that went wrong in their relationship, and then make HER basically claim he was right with bullshit lines like "I wasn't there for him like I was for Angel" is ridiculous - specially when, again, what made Buffy want to be with Riley in the first place was her trying to not fall into another unhealthy relationship like the one she had with Angel. They were codependent and when he left it nearly destroyed her. OF COURSE she's gonna try not being as obsessed with the next boyfriend (or with the one after him) because she knows that shit doesn't end well.

Again, say what will about both Angel and Spike, but at least Angel walked away after realizing their relationship was a dead-end that would never make Buffy truly happy, and Spike put himself through hellish torture to get his soul back and make sure he'd be a better man who would never make Buffy suffer.

RILEY being framed as "the perfect guy Buffy couldn't appreciate and let get away" is just insulting. Of all the guys Buffy has ever been with, he is the one that deserved her the least.

[beanghostprincess]

I feel like the minute Luffy gets a crush on someone he panics and straight up hates it. It's like why am I acting so weird like it's just Zoro/Saji/ usopp!!! Every time they compliment them or smile at them, he has to cover his face with his hat. He starts laughing like an idiot and makes terrible comebacks. All of his confidence and stupidity turns into awkwardness and self-consciousness. He's straight up not having a good time.

Luffy would kill himself on the spot. He instantly just jumps into the fucking sea.

Zoro: Something something, of course, my captain Luffy: I- Haha. My heart is beating funny. Haha. Give me a moment, Zoro! <3 *literally just jumps into the water* Nami: LUFFY WHAT THE HELL??? Luffy: Glupglupglupglup

He knows what a crush is, he's not stupid. He just doesn't fucking want it because he doesn't know what to do with so many overwhelming emotions so he genuinely goes to Chopper to make it go away. Chopper is confused af because he genuinely doesn't know what a crush feels like exactly and he thinks Luffy is going to die of a weird illness so he PANICS. And if this happens casually when Law is around (make it around wci), he can't just take it anymore:

Law: Luffy, for the tenth time, you're not fucking sick. You just have a crush on your cook. Luffy: Torao you're the worst doctor in the world!! You're wrong!! I hate this!! Law: Yeah, well, people normally hate it. Deal with it. Why am I even helping you here- Luffy: MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!! Law: I CAN'T MAKE IT GO AWAY YOU FUCKING MORON THAT'S A YOU PROBLEM. IT'S NOT A MEDICAL CONDITION. Luffy: Then take my heart and just??? Throw it away??? Law: I am going to kill you with my bare hands. Luffy: Please? :( Law: Luffy, I swear to God-

The poor thing is so lost and he gets really overwhelmed by absolutely nothing. Like. Genuinely nothing- And the girls are always there to help him out, but sometimes it's just such a funny sight.

[Luffy sitting with Robin on deck and watching the crew just do their things. Usopp practicing his aim and new inventions in front of them] Usopp: Hey, Luffy! Check this out! *does the stupidest most sexiest thing in the whole world because he just looks hot af when he's shooting at stuff* Luffy, blushing uncontrollably, covering his face with his hat and dying from a heart attack: Jndjkandeuiwbkwendknjdkjs *Incoherent noises* Robin: Are you alright, captain? Luffy: Make it stop, Robin :( Robin: Haha, I'm afraid I can't do that. Usopp: Luffy??? Robin: He says it's really nice!

And a little bonus:

[Red Hair pirates and the Strawhats finally meeting and throwing a party together] Luffy: And then Zoro cut that guy in half like it was nothing! It was the coolest thing ever, right, Zoro? Zoro: I would go to hell and back for you, captain, and that's the anecdote you tell him? Luffy: I- It was a really cool fight! Shut up, captain's order! Don't say things like that! Zoro: Mm. Shanks: Oh. *Turns to Beckman* When were you gonna tell me the kid is down bad for his first mate? Benn: Congratulations, you got one out of three. If you guess who are the other two, I'll let you drink more than usual today, captain. Shanks: *Blushes uncontrollably* Chopper: Oh no!! You're sick too??! Shanks: What do you mean, funny reindeer? Chopper: Luffy does that when he's around Sanji a lot!! Shanks: :) The other is Black Leg. Benn: Not fair at all.

[chrystabelleblaumferge]

ACOTAR hits the same notes for me as a show Luke Supernatural. Stuff to genuinely enjoy, but that nosedives into awfulness so fast. Yet, by the same hand, like you’ve said it’s the gift that keeps on giving—there’s always more to discuss.

For instance, a hot take that would piss so many people off:

If SJM wasn’t a coward, then for instance, Amarantha could have basically won at the end of acotar in exchange for, say, Feyre and Lucien going free. Having Tam Lin end up captured, Bonnie Janet losing, and exploring what would come of that. That’s a subversion a romance reader might not expect considering the conventions of the genre. And in the next book we get copious, kinky dubcon as, say. Tamlin slowly develops Stockholm syndrome for Amarantha as a survival response.

That would be a dark romance. It also puts the focus where it truly belongs, on Tamlin, as Amarantha’s main target and victim. Fucked up, but everyone knows very clearly that what’s going on is the bad ending and so can embrace the emotions and themes to be found in that darkness. Instead… Riceman.

I've not watched Supernatural myself to form an assessment of the show but the "So bad that it's good" element isn't there for me personally tbh. It lacks even what the most awfully infamous fanfiction "My Immortal" achieves. Unlike My Immortal, I cannot even pinpoint to any moment where ACOTAR as a whole tried to be funny intentionally or unintentionally. They take themselves way too seriously all the time and that ends up hurting the overall product especially considering the inconsistent writing of an egocentric author who thinks she's untouchable and above criticism.

As for Dark Romance, maybe that plot line you mentioned would have been a good setup for a dark romance since it is truly dark but you have to be very skilled at pulling that sort of writing as an author. We all know at this point that SJM is woefully incompetent. She wants to write complex morality yet her characters have the personality and morality depth of a puddle. Narratively what exactly even is their classic Hero's Journey arc even supposed to be? None of them even have a semblance of theme going about them and even the characters that have this potential like Lucien Vanserra, Nesta Archeron and Tamlin for overcoming them in their personal arcs end up nowhere due to authorial incompetence.

Let's be real, SJM is not only a coward. She just does not have it within her as an author to write anything beyond shallow Wattpad tier writing of 'stupid blonde blue eyed self insert' meets 'the most dark, broody magic man to ever magic'ed' and they have a tumultuous and toxic relationship that's only ideal if you were stupid and peaked in high school to still admire. The characters themselves don't have ANY maturity whatsoever since she bases it on her own black and white thinking that her main characters have to be good and people must accept that but at the same time she wants them to be 'deep' and 'thought-provoking'.

Had she had any guts or foresight of as an author, she could have easily achieved complex morality in the form of not letting Ricespam get away with shit other characters get chastised for in the most self-masturbatory way where he does villain shit but is never punished for it. I have legitimately created my own version of this shitshow through human OCs who exists purely out of spite to mock SJM's general incompetence at handling grey morality. One of these OCs start off as an ideal young teenage boy who wanted to see his elder brother who ruled over their small dukedom in the human lands achieve the greater goal of peace but in a tragic sense becomes disillusioned and vengeful once Velaris invades his lands, killed his family (his brother included) and tortured in a Velaris prison leading him to develop a severe hatred of the Fae and killing them without trial once he escapes through the help of loyal retainers.

I'm not going to bother to say that my OC is a good person when he takes no prisoners, tortures Velaris POWs and destroys Fae settlements in his former territory without any survivors. In the humans' eyes, he's naturally their hero resisting an occupation against a race that sees them as lesser. A human lord who rose up to fight for them when they are being subjugated and enslaved despite his controversial methods. But the Fae would naturally fear and despise him for being cruel to their kin and see him as evil as he does them. I'm very careful to not woobifying him and saying his tragic backstory makes all his war crimes forgivable. Yes he's a freedom fighter for humans but I also have the foresight to acknowledge that he's going to have Fae enemies naturally. Not all humans agree with his brutality either and his journey is one to reflect that Vengeance leads to an eye for an eye mentality and only prolongs the cycle of hatred amidst the fog of war and violence. He also has a road to redemption if he sees the errors of his ways, learn that just because he was traumatised - it doesn't mean he has a right to do so to others. He will still liberate the human lands, free his people from the yoke of Fae imperialism but he must realise that his cruelty makes him as much as a tyrant like Ricespam is.

Despite SJM barking all day in interviews about how traditional fantasy authors don't get it, she hasn't achieved this level of ASOIAF complex morality when it took me only 10 minutes to come up with this character concept. Your characters can be good people who do actually morally reprehensible stuff but also be redeemed in logical ways. But nooooo, we'd never get any form of depth or logic beyond "Riceman = Goodest, most feminist man to ever exist!!11"