#protagonist and antagonist

[nuttynutcycle]

Prompt fill for @epiclamer prompt fill game! “Okay I know it was literally JUST posted but what about a switcheroo, tall villain and short hero :]'

“Little one,” he hummed, “Come out of your hiding place.” His grin sharpened as he reduced a pine tree into splinters and broken branches. “I won’t bite.”

That was less than reassuring. The protagonist clutched the stolen plans closer to her chest, barely daring to breathe. 

The antagonist had sneered when he found the empty case, smiled when the protagonist barrelled out of their hiding place through a window and laughed as she ran into the forest. Equal parts leisurely and methodical, the glint in his eyes riveled the one lining the axe.

“Leave the plans behind. Still time to escape.” the antagonist cut down another tree and the protagonist winced. She curled her body and crawled under a fallen tree, moving as quickly as she dared.

After weeks of preparation, three bribed guards and nine bypassed levels of security, leaving the plans was not an option. Her breath hitched when she saw the electric fence come into view. The buzz in the air meant the antagonist had gotten the power back on before she had predicted. Stomach on the ground, she wiggled into a rotting log. Gross, but effective.

“I know your face.”

She unrolled the plans and winced at another tree crashing through the underbrush. Her eyes flickered over the diagrams, committing as much as she could to memory.

“One of my more impressive talents is my ability to find people,” the antagonist said as casually as having a chat about the weather. “And those they care about.” Another tree fell, skewering the moss below. “Can you really protect everyone?”

No, but that’s a problem for later. She took one last look at the plans, counted to three and crawled out of the log and into plain sight. The sticks hurt her hands and the dust made her cough.

The antagonist grinned, eyes shining through the haze. 

“Are these your plans?” She held up the plans in mock surrender. “I thought they were your diary. My bad.”

He twirled his axe. “Giving up that easily is a disappointing end.” 

 “What can I say?” Her shrug did nothing to hide her tremor. “You make very effective threats.”

“One of my many talents. Drop them on the ground.”

“I’d like to make a deal,” She swallowed dryly. “I give you the plans, you turn off the electric fence for the next ten minutes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Counteroffer – I put my axe in your knee and take the plans before your first scream is finished.”

“Shame, I was on track to win the ‘Best Legs’ contest at work.” The protagonist slowly backed away.

The antagonist laughed at that, some mirth entering his grin. The tip of the axe rested against the ground. “Alright, have it your way. As soon as my property is back inside, I’ll turn the fence off for ten minutes.”

“…I have your word?” The antagonist was many things, but in their line of work, his word was as close to honourable as you could get.

The antagonist nodded. 

Maybe the protagonist would regret this, but she tossed the plans to the antagonist. The antagonist reached up and casually placed the plans on an overarching tree branch – out of the protagonist's reach. 

“Thank you for returning my work.” The antagonist’s expression shifted, eyes sharpening and smile hardening.

Welp. “This was nice.” She struggled to keep her voice steady as he matched her backward scramble step for step. “But my team is waiting for me, I really must be going-“

“It was foolish,” his hand slammed into a tree beside her, sending splinters and wood chips flying, “to memorize my property.”

The protagonist’s voice faltered. “We have a deal.”

“And as soon as you’re secured in a cell and the plans are in their case, I’ll cut power for ten minutes. I’m a man of my word.” He levelled the axe at the protagonist, and this close, the bloodstains were clearly visible. “Walk.”

The protagonist’s breath hitched as she turned back towards the imposing building.

“Don’t be upset.” The antagonist said from behind, axe twirling. “Desperation suits you.”

[parisoonic]

You’ll get what you're given.

[liberandi-causa]

Warmth

"Most absurd is," Hero scowls, "you cuddling me to sleep on the basis of a fever—do you really have a fever?"

"Mmhm, all thanks to you." Villain craddles Hero closer, full lips settling to the top of Hero's head.

"Then, why are you the big spoon?"

"The sick one gets a pass, now hush and sleep."

And they did, a blissful one — surprisingly even to Hero, who has been suffering from recent episodes of insomnia.

Little did Hero know, aside from controlling the flames, Villain can also regulate his body temperature freely.

[baeba]

Wolf 359 Tumblr being divided in two subgroups where each’s focus is either Hephaestus Crew only or SI-5 Team only is a beautiful structure. Such a joyous harmony we’ve enstablished.

[lucabyte]

"Euphrasie unfreezes the King" postcanon stuff is so funny to me because like

[ethicsaesthetic]

I know some fans were hoping for a quill kipps closer to book canon, but I for one really appreciate jack bandeira’s ability to go from James Bond to Pathetic Loser Boy.

[questions-about-blorbos]

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds

[thatswhatsushesaid]

psa that the day there are no jgy stans left on tumblr dot com is the day i am dead

but rest assured i'll go to my grave exactly as i lived: obnoxiously proclaiming to everyone within earshot how great lianfang-zun is. narratively, metaphorically, spiritually. sexually, too, like why limit myself. i like to keep my options open

[hypogryffin]

...may we see sumire meeting sophie..... red haired girls... i think they'd like each other perhaps

the girls!!! the They

[bakudekublogblog]

shigaraki being like “I’m killing you bc you’re izuku midoriya’s baby girl and it’ll send him into the rage” is SO LOVE INTEREST it’s so YOURE HIS PRECIOUS SOMEONE if something happens to YOU he’s gonna LOSE IT if you wanna go for izuku’s HEART you TAKE HIS KACCHAN

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven

So Montresor has a religious trauma. And from what little we know of the flashback to his death, the man was apparently a corrupt preacher.

What that tells me about his life made me crack my knuckles, because holy shit, this guy is an even better villain than I expected. And not for the reasons I thought at first.

Montresor's possible backstory

A fun fact: "unholy men" used to be called "sons of Belial". Same as Monty's Spectre type, so there's the initial connection, but with what we saw in chapter 87, this phrase from his mother resonates quite a bit:

Montresor was most likely a bastard (literally), and if he was raised in a religious community, that immediately made him and his mother outcasts. Possibly his mother hated him for "ruining her life". Whether this is true or not, the implication is that he grew up a victim of a system that decided he was sucked by the devil from birth.

In this light, Montresor's attitude towards the world is actually a logical consequence: he has decided that abuse is the only way to relate, and you can either be the victim or the victimizer. Of course, he is now the victimizer.

But he decided that because life taught him two lessons that were important enough to make him the person he is now.

"I know this game better than anybody"

We know from the clothes and hat in his flashback, and the cross around his neck, that Montresor was a preacher. And I would venture to say an excellent one: he has heard all his life that he is a demon, he knows better than anyone what terror hell produces in people, so he knows exactly what to say (or not say) to manipulate others through that fear.

Montresor, like Annabel, is someone who exploits his own traumas.

Annabel has been almost conditioned to behave like the perfect high-society lady, and that includes going to impressive extremes if it means getting something in return. She has engineered her way through life by identifying the currency of the people around her and knowing exactly what to give them so that they will, in her words "kissing her rings".

Loyalty gained through fear vs. loyalty gained through pretended sympathy.

Same goal.

If the world has made them that way, both Annabel and Montresor will use every last footnote of knowledge gained through trauma to get what they want.

But then there's something else they have in common: this deep knowledge of the rules of the game has also made them both know that the odds are too stacked against them to ever win. In the past, we've seen Annabel throw in the towel on her arranged marriage, but Montresor took a different path, much more along the lines of…

"So I'm not afraid to cheat."

Montresor decided that if people wanted a demon. He would give them one. The worst demon of all, because this one knows the rules: he knows how to play the game, he knows how to cheat and get away with it. We don't know the extent of his atrocities, but given what happened in the flashback and the fact that his idea of a sleepover is stuffing someone behind a wall to slowly suffocate, this guy must have a long rap sheet.

So long, in fact, that he was tied to the tracks of a train to be torn to shreds without even a trial.

Because if the rules are just there to screw you, then screw them: the only option left is to cheat.

Which is exactly what Lenore did when she burned down her house and pretended to be a man to go after Annabel. Lenore jeopardized everything Annabel said was important to her.

And she got away with it. At least until they were both killed (or, if those of us with our chips on Annabel's childhood friend, they may have both died without anyone knowing).

Now, in Nevermore, Lenore is still doing that, as we can see in her reluctance to kill or destroy Montresor: she refuses to play the game, refuses to follow the rules.

She will look for ways to cheat here, as she did before (something Annabel actually expects her to do). The woman is too stubborn to bend, and so far she seems to have the wind at her back (the question is, for how long?).

The bad ending

These elements make Montresor a complete exhibition of the ultimate consequences of taking Annabel and Lenore's attitudes to the extreme: a person who instrumentalizes her own traumas to unravel and try to inflict them on others, and who is not afraid to cheat for her own benefit if it means getting what she wants.

The only thing that separates Annabel and Lenore from Montresor is that they both still use these attitudes in the name of other people: Annabel for Lenore herself, and Lenore for the people she cares about. That both of them (still) seem to have their hearts in the right place.

But if Annabel continues to use her vast knowledge of this twisted game to work her way through people without caring, and Lenore still believes she's above all rules, here's Montresor to show them (and us) what's waiting for them at the end of the road.

[glitchedcosmos]

Absolutely in love with the idea of movie shadow , and movie sonic mirroring each other in almost every way, instead of contrasting the other. Shadow being the most extreme version of Sonic, someone who once had the same dreams and beliefs, but lost everything, and lost the ability to keep his hopes and dreams alive. Sonic being the most light version of shadow, someone who kept his dreams and hopes alive , despite the loses, he still has everything. I hope in Sonic 3, Sonic and shadow have to fight the crushing weight knowing the they could’ve been each other.

[cassiebones]

*shouts from the rooftops with a megaphone*

Rio Vidal was NOT a villain in Agatha All Along. She was an A N T A G O N I S T.

They are different.

She did not actually do any evil. She is Death. She is impartial. She just wanted her wife to forgive her and come back so they could be a family with their son at long last.

Yes, she tried to kill Agatha. Yes, she hurt Agatha Very Badly, but she would have healed her. Agatha dying would have brought her home, would have reunited her with their son in the afterlife.

She was GENTLE with the souls she ferried, especially their own son. She held his hand and smiled and reminded him to kiss Agatha goodbye. She comforted Alice in her own way.

Yes, she tried to hit her wife with the kitchen sink, but in her defense Agatha was being super stubborn.

[liberandi-causa]

Stress Baiter

"You're angry," Villain hums softly, "so, so much anger contained and," His pale hand creeps to Hero's forehead, "tension. This stress isn't good for you, darling."

"You literally kidnapped me, which pretty much should explain the whole thing." Hero says, nodding along with eyes darting around the interior of what seems to be an elegantly decorated bedroom.

Villain snorts, "This? This is called a vacation. Why else would I brought you to my villa?"

Hero almost can't believe what they're hearing — mouth opening agape as they struggle to decipher what hidden meaning would that imply.

"Well, an indefinite one until we have a change of plan." Villain shrugs.

[il-predestinato]

Charles Leclerc & Max Verstappen | pre-race | 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix 🎥: F1TV

[wizardsix]

local guy claims intellectual superiority by declaring people who criticise veilguard just haven't played long enough and don't really know what bad writing is. it must be very peaceful to have such an empty head.