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frankendykes-monster · 29 days ago

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“Matthew, I've lived in this city all my life, but somehow today I felt everything had changed. People were different. Not just Geoffrey, but everybody. Yesterday it all seemed normal. Today everything seemed the same, but it wasn't. It was a nightmare. It really became frightening.”

I’ve always loved that Invasion of the Body Snatchers begins with the infectious spores raining down on San Francisco.

After all, that was the city where flower power failed to take root at the end of the sixties, which fits with the movie’s larger themes. California is generally regarded as one of the liberal spaces in America, and yet its response to the cultural revolution was to unleash two novel forms of conservatism on the nation. (Matthew is just barely joking when he suggests that Geoffrey has possibly become “a Republican.”) One of the great ironies of California is that, despite its liberal reputation, it gave the nation both Reaganism and Trumpism. Philip Kaufman’s remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers was released just when Ronald Reagan was on the cusp of taking his Californian Republicanism national, exporting it like so many pods.

“Geoffrey.”

“What?”

“I'm reading.”

“OK! I'll put the earphones on. There, see? Happy?”

“Never mind. I'll go downstairs.”

Invasion of the Body Snatchers belongs to that genre of seventies horrors that are ultimately about the breakdown of society, the erosion of social norms. The idea that the individual is surrounded by aliens who operate according to an entirely different set of values and principles to the ones that have held society together.

It’s one of the common themes of the antecedents of what we now call (sigh) “elevated horror”, classic films like The Exorcist and The Shining. This horror is anchored in the idea that the bonds that hold us all together are illusory and unravelling in a world where we can’t count on the people closest to us to be who we presumed them to be. It’s at once an intimate fear, but one that extrapolates outwards quite organically.

After all, so much of the opening act of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is given to characters failing to notice really unsettling things in the background of the frame, implying that the invasion has actually been in progress for quite a long time before anybody noticed anything was wrong. It reminds me a lot of a more serious Shaun of the Dead. The grim joke being how disconnected we are from each other and the world we inhabit.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers does that thing that many great horrors do, skillfully building a sense of mounting dread and anxiety without foregrounding it. It’s something that is hard to do effectively, landing at just obvious enough to unsettle without veering into camp. Somehow, Robert Duvall playing a priest on a swing set surrounded by children captures that incongruity perfectly.

“He was weird not the way he usually is.”

“That can only be an improvement.”

Invasion of the Body Snatchers plays well as a metaphor for the end of the sixties, and the way in which so many members of that generation changed so suddenly once the new order of things revealed itself - like Jerry Rudin reinventing himself from “yippie” to “yuppie.” It seems fair to ask to what extent the people who did this “sold out.”

After all, Geoffrey seems to reinvent himself from a football-loving layabout to a suited gentleman who tidies his bedroom and attends late night business meetings. Geoffrey’s transformation plays in many ways as a commentary on the counterculture generation that settled down and cashed in, that stopped being the protestors and campaigners (or layabouts) that the establishment failed against, and began committing themselves to the very systems they’d rejected or opposed.

“Kibner wants people to fit the world. I want the world to fit people.”

Like The Exorcist and se7en, Invasion of the Body Snatchers suggests the irony that people have built environments that are inherently and fundamentally hostile to humanity. This is not a new concept; Emile Durkheim coined the term “anomie” to describe the particulars of this disconnect.

Cities are millions and millions of strangers living on top of one another in a tightly confined space. Packed in, tripping over each other. As cities became the hub of American life after the end of the Second World War, they came to be treated with suspicion and mistrust. Indeed, you arguably see that reflected in the way that pop culture valorises the fantasy of small town life; while that fantasy is frequently deconstructed, there’s no comparable stereotype of big city life.

“This has nothing to do with the man I live with.”

“It has everything to do with it. Don't you see? People step in and out of relationships because they don't want responsibility.”

Like many horrors of the period, like The Exorcist, Don’t Look Now, Rosemary’s Baby and The Shining, Invasion of the Body Snatchers taps into fears about the conventional heteronormative family unit.

There’s a palpable anxiety that runs through seventies horror about the dissolution of the conventional family unit, and the question of what happens when those bonds aren’t as solid as they once were. More than that, though, a lot of horror of the era raises the question of what happens if those same ties that are supposed to support us become toxic, corrosive and suffocating.

After all, it’s notable that the character blaming this shift of identity on the breakdown of the traditional family unit is Kibner, the self-help psychologist arguing for conformity and for ignoring any sense of unease or discomfort. He’s the guy churning out self-help books, who is revealed to have been replaced quite early in the process, and is played by Leonard Nimoy - himself best known for playing an alien whose defining psychological feature is his ability to repress his emotions.

“David, you're not listening to her.”

Indeed, the emphasis that Invasion of the Body Snatchers places on listening to women, and the ease with which the men around them ignore or belittle these concerns, has aged well. After all, it’s notable that the pod people weaponise emotion, and that Kibner frequently dismisses the heightened emotional reactions of the women who come to him as something close to hysteria. Part of how the pod people are able to get as far as they do is down to the extent to which they present themselves as rational and the people trying to expose them as hyper-emotional.

Kibner is skillfully able to send Katherine home with her husband while surrounded by people, able to talk over her and calm her down, and convince her that she needs to leave this public space with an alien impersonating her husband without anybody but Elizabeth even trying to stop him. It’s a deeply unsettling scene for reasons that have nothing to do with aliens or body snatchers, and everything to do with how society tends to react to women asking for help or protection or safety.

“Oh, of course! This is the same as, those rockets landed years ago, so those spacemen could mate with monkeys and create the human race. It's happening now!”

A subtle touch in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, is that the movie gives the closest thing to exposition to Nancy.

Just when it looks like Nancy has explained what is happening, she then blurts out complete nonsense about how aliens mating with monkeys to create mankind. This suggests that all of her exposition is just insane nonsense, even if the dialogue leading up to that swerve had fit what the audience was seeing.

It’s a nice way of letting the film have its cake and eat it, delivering a possible account of what is happening while also suggesting that what is happening is fundamentally unknowable and the only explanation that people have is insane speculation. It is a healthy reminder that, ultimately, nobody knows anything. Somehow, that is more terrifying.

“You don't have to leave the city. Nothing changes. You can have the same life, the same clothes, the same car.”

There’s a beautiful irony in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake.

The original had been an anti-communist parable. The remake is a metaphor for conformity. That’s one of those great recurring motifs in American horror, for all that American society is built on the ideal of freedom and individualism, a lot of it is held together by the idea of conformity. It’s the idea that everybody needs to fit in, to be what is expected of them.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers understands this. Geoffrey the layabout becomes Geoffrey the go-getter. Jack the beat poet is subsumed by Kibner the conformist self-help guru. Most barbed of all, you have Amazing Grace playing as a siren call in the film’s final act, leading to false hope. It then gets a warped and distorted reprise in the final scenes, as if to reinforce the idea that this is still recognisably America. One Nation Under Pod.

Along those lines, it’s notable that the parasitic pod people aren’t absurdly, monstrously evil. Indeed, there’s a sense that they have no goal beyond self-perpetuation and so will settle into (more efficient, if hollow) versions of their hosts’ old lives. Perhaps the biggest difference between the pre- and post-conversion selves is that the pod people will just be boring dinner party guests.

“I love you, Matthew.”

I love that glorious seventies cynicism, where even love isn’t enough to fight back the end of the world, and keep the suffocating weight of conformity at bay.

Love doesn’t conquer all.

It gets conquered, quite ruthlessly.

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colderdrafts · 2 years ago

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5: Now they see you

Underground visitor, gn reader x monster (male drider). Sfw. Previous Next

The marketplace proves to be a very busy place.

You reach it sometime in the afternoon – your best estimation considering the few hours it took you walking there. It’s almost as big as a small village, with several stalls and tents sprawled about a large open area. It seems it was not affected the least by the storm, judging by how the tents are all firmly in place, none of them otherwise worse for wear.

You spot some stray wooden buildings here and there, and the unmistakable sound of hundreds of people chattering fills the air, along with the potent smell of fried foods.

Most noticeable are the people, though. The ‘common-folk’, as Dren called them, consists of all manner of goblins, ghouls and humanoid beasts you could think of, casually strolling about and bartering for items. You think you even catch a small glimpse of an insectoid carapace of some sort before it vanishes behind a tent.

What have you gotten yourself into?

You spend quite a long amount of time just observing it from a safe distance to get acquainted with the odd sight.

But you'll have to interact eventually if you ever want to get anywhere.

Calm down. It’s just a market full of people. You’ve been to one of these before.

Easy as pie.

You sigh, and pull the hood up on the cloak Dren has provided you. Hopefully no one bats an eye to your form slinking in between the stalls, too busy to notice your passing by.

It's mostly food, some forged items and booths full of materials unfamiliar to you you stroll past, multiple people of all shapes and sizes rummaging around, heckling with each other. Your mouth waters at the scent of food, you've been sustaining yourself on oats these past few days - but you can't get too distracted.

You turn some heads, you note, and more than once you make brief eye contact with an unknown creature, all of them seemingly perplexed to see you. You quickly make your way through to vanish in the crowd.

Truly, you don't know what you're looking for, and feeling under constant surveillance isn't helping your nerves.

Whispers follow where you go, gentle mutterings of confusion of your presence. A sentry? Careful now, it sounds. As much as you try to blend in, you still feel like you stick out like a sore thumb.

Interestingly, though, it seems people who are aware of you are not necessarily fearful of you, but many turn as if to look for what they should be fearful of.

It’s frankly a little overwhelming, and you don’t even know where to start. No one here has seemed even somewhat approachable, and you don’t want to risk being pulled into a barter with wares you don’t want. It’s so loud here you’re not sure you’d even be able to have a conversation.

You glance around for some sort of reprieve from the onslaught of people in every direction you have to deftly dodge around. You're trying to ignore the prickling sensation crawling under the skin in your neck that’s associated with the feeling of being stared at, when someone idling just at the outskirts of the busy marketplace catches your eye.

At first glance you’d take them for human – roughly your size and shape, which is why they caught your attention in the first place. However, when they look up, perhaps sensing your eyes on them, under the hood of their cloak you spot tinted red scales making up its skin and the slit yellow eyes. As they are now boring into yours, it is a yet another reminder that you are not in familiar territory.

Wait. Your size, scales and eyes like a snake? Are those the snatchers Dren was talking about?

They’re standing in a corner somewhat isolated from the rest of the market along with a group of their own kind. You’re about to turn away, but out of the corner of your eye you register the red one elbowing a comrade to get their attention, and nodding in your general direction.

Uh-oh.

You don’t want to wait around to figure out what they could want from you, so you deftly start slinking in between stalls and people to hopefully lose them in the crowd.

They prove agile little things, however, and it’s not long until you see one you swore was where you left them standing next to a small building to your right. Looking behind you, you see two of them casually strolling after you.

Not keen on finding out exactly why they’re suddenly on your tail, you start searching for either a place to shake them off or somewhere they can’t easily come close while everyone around you is distracted by the general business in the air.

After a bit of tumbling around, you come upon the middle of the marketplace. Here you spot a small building that seems somewhat quieter than the rambunctious activity outside of it, so you immediately beeline for it.

The door is heavy, but you haul it open with a hard push, and quickly step inside and close it behind you, heart pounding. You glance around and find you’ve entered a small tavern with a good handful of common-folk sitting inside. None of them have looked up as you walked in.

Good.

Maybe you’ll at least have some reprieve from the ones following you. They wouldn’t do anything inside a public place, would they?

A tavern might actually be a good place to start, now that you're thinking of it. Now that you’re in here, might as well try and get what you came to the market for. Somewhat reassured you walk forward, though something in front of you suddenly yelps in surprise, and you realize you've managed to bump into someone.

"Goodness, I didn't see you, I'm sorry!" you blurt.

"It's okay!" comes a cheery childlike voice, and you look down.

A very small goblin-like kid is staring up at you with big yellow eyes. It occurs to you she's the first other living thing to speak to you since you got here.

"Most folks don't see me down here, so it's- WAIT!" her eyes widen in excitement. "Are you a sentry?!" she squeals, very loud and very clear.

Crap.

All of the common-folk inside are now staring at you, the tavern eerily quiet. A few stray whispers ghost your senses from the corners of the room, deftly supplying this already incredible unpleasant experience.

You try not to wince, or immediately bolt back out the door. Let no one know you're alone. You can't show fear here.

Instead, you turn your attention back to the little girl in front of you, looking up in awe with no idea of what she just did.

You lean down a little and wink at her. "I sure am!"

Her face lights up in a giddy smile baring a row of very small but needle sharp teeth. "I knew it! I've never seen one of you before!"

You smile a bit strained, gesturing at her. "Can I come in, please?"

The girl quickly steps aside with a cheeky 'sorry!', realizing she was in your way, and slips back toward a table near a window where a larger goblin, presumably her father, is sitting. He smiles at you somewhat apologetically.

You try not to make eye contact with anyone as you move toward the counter. Eventually conversation returns as the attention shifts slightly off of you, but you somehow still feel watched.

A plump woman with red skin, pointed ears and a single tusk protruding from her lower lip is managing the bar, regarding you casually as you walk up.

"Quite the entrance there, friend. Not often we get your kind around here. Where's your bodyguard?" she asks, glancing around.

I want you to lie.

"Waiting outside," you say, maybe a little louder than you needed to. "Getting some supplies from the market."

"Righto. Then what’re you doing in here?"

"Divide and conquer," you shrug. "She takes care of that while I take care of things in here. It's faster that way."

"Sure," the barkeep says, straight-faced. She leans over the counter. "What can I do for ya?"

"I'm looking for some magical advice," you say, trying to sound nonchalant. "I don't really know this area so figured this would be a place to ask for direction."

"Magic, eh? Well you'd be right," she replies, eyeing you. "I know this area like the pocket of my apron. But what do I get in turn?"

It’s a little odd people around here just ask you for payment for things you’d consider basic hospitality back at home. You’d never in a million years ask a stranger for money just because he wants to know where the bus goes. But perhaps there is a specific dynamic here you’re not aware of. Penny for your thoughts, or something along those lines.

Nevertheless, there’s a price to pay.

"Something for the same thing?" you try.

"Hah! You've just said you don't know shite about this place. How could you direct me anywhere useful? Nice try, sentry," the barkeep laughs, though not cruelly. She might have taken your offer as a jest. "I'm gonna need you to actually pay me, I'm afraid."

Great. You hadn’t considered directions as a part of en equal trade.

You actually don't know what it is people use to pay with here, but there must be some sort of currency? Dren does trades, why the hell wouldn’t he explain it to you before you left? Or, why the hell didn’t you ask?

You're about to offer up an excuse about your 'bodyguard' holding the money, when the barkeep snaps to attention looking alarmed at something above your head. Then, a small blue crystal lands in front of you with a small clink.

"I’ve got this one," a dark voice sounds.

You didn't register anyone sneaking up behind you and jump in surprise when you glance back - and then up. Looming over you, you see four red eyes staring from behind a curtain of chestnut-colored hair, sending you a fanged smile. The face belongs to a lean humanoid torso, clad in a green woolen shirt. Said torso sits atop a very large dark brown spider’s lower body. White and yellow spotted patterns run along their abdomen.

They're another drider.

You didn’t spot them when you came in, which shouldn’t have been too difficult given their imposing presence. They must have quietly entered sometime after you.

You note how people at the bar start shifting a bit uncomfortably. Some of them even straight up leave to go sit at a table instead.

The barkeep frowns at the newcomer. "..You sure about that?" she asks them, guarded, as they settle in next to you, red eyes never leaving your face.

"Of course! Gotta help out the new faces around here, don't we?" they respond with a smile, still just looking at you. They’re either oblivious or uncaring of what transpires around them, and soon enough the space around the two of you is almost vacant.

It’s a smidge unnerving.

"Alright then," the barkeep shrugs, pocketing the small crystal and returning her attention to you. "Ask away, sentry."

You manage to tear your eyes from the newcomer's red ones, muttering a quick thanks. They hum in response, remaining seated next to you.

You try an ignore their presence, focusing on the barkeep. "Where can I find someone to advice me on magical business?" you ask.

"Early in the morn' after half and full moons," she replies. "Come to the marketplace just after the crack of dawn, you'll find a big red tent belonging to a harpy. You'll wanna talk to her."

"Ah," you say, as if that made any sense. "I see. Thanks."

"Done deal," the barkeep winks at you, and then quickly turns her attention to other customers.

Well. At least it's a definitive lead and an instruction of where to go next. Now it's seemingly just a matter of watching the moon.

You turn again to properly thank the drider for covering for you before you take your leave, but startle when you find them still fixated on you. They speak the second your attention is back on them.

"A lil’ poor taste your custodian leaves you by your lonesome, isn't it? You alright there, friend?" they ask, effectively catching you in a conversation.

You feel eyes on you again from around the tavern. This can't be good.

"I'm fine, really," you say, subtly trying to keep a little distance by scooting back in your seat. "I'll meet up with him later."

They rest their elbow on the counter, palm against their chin. Their mandibles chitter quietly. "Him?" they ponder, but quickly continue: "Still! What could be so terribly important out there? It just don’t sit right with me.”

“Supplies,” you repeat. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that you can,” they smile. “Just figured you’d have a better time with some help? I’d love to give you a hand.”

There’s a somewhat determined look in their eyes you’re not quite sure you like. Their intense focus on you is off-putting to say the least, and you shift somewhat uncomfortably under the continuous red stare. You’re not even sure they’ve blinked.

How the hell do you get them to back off?

“Thanks, but really, it’s fine. He’ll be done soon, and then we’ll be on our way,” you say flatly. You don’t like having to rely on the lie of someone else coming for you just to get the stranger to take your ‘no’ for an answer. “Thank you for paying for my question, really. But you should really use your energy on someone more interesting.”

They laugh at that, a low breathy sound that sends chills down your spine. “That’s funny. You of all common-folk should know just how far more interesting to me you are than anyone else here.”

There’s a certain weight behind the words you’re not quite getting. What is this person’s issue? Their eyes haven’t left you even once since they’ve sat down. Are they enjoying watching you squirm?

“Sorry if that came out a little intense,” they chuckle, showing at least some awareness of your apprehension. They nod at the bar. “Can I at least get you something warm to drink while you wait? You're shivering."

..Are you?

The tavern is pretty stuffy and warm, yet you look down and notice they're right. Your hands are indeed shaking, and it's not from the cold.

Why is this affecting you so much? You're just being chatted up by a stubborn stranger at a bar – this can happen to anyone. Weirder things have happened in your life.

Granted, said weirdness doesn’t include a stranger who is a monstrous spider, and a bar full of 'common-folk', but the setting is the same. Some people just don’t quit, and you just have to make them.

Get a hold of yourself.

You look back up at them, face as neutral as you can. "No thank you," you say politely, but firmly, subtly wringing your hands to get them under control. "You've already paid for my question, I shouldn't ask for more. I should get going."

"Aw," they pout. "That's a shame. Can I at least walk you out?"

“That won’t be necessary,” you assert. Back off already.

You move to get up, but your chair doesn’t move an inch when you go to push off the counter. You turn to find the problem – and it appears a pointed spider's leg is effectively blocking any way to easily get out of your chair, and your path toward the exit. You’ll have to jump over it if you want to go anywhere. The stranger has somehow managed to cage you in without your notice.

"I insist.” They flash you a smile full of sharp teeth, fanged mandibles completing the set.

You look around, eyes darting to anyone for help, but note that, for once, no one is looking at you. It seems people are, in fact, very much adamant about not acknowledging you at all, not even the barkeep is glancing in your direction. You don't spot the little girl and her father in here anymore either.

You're alone with this.

You glance back at the unpleasant stranger, who seems smugly content about the whole situation.

"Fine," you relent through gritted teeth. You’ll have to lose them somewhere outside.

They purr and move their leg out of your way, falling into step next to you as you get up. They hold the door open for you as you’re about to exit, still smiling. “I’m Morgan, by the way.”

#colderwriting #monster x reader #drider #gn reader #monster lover #monster boyfriend #drider x reader #exophilia

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katyspersonal · 10 months ago

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Hello there ! Do you have any headcanon about Lady Maria ? Like maybe her relationship with other characters than Gherman and Adeline ?

Thank you for an ask! I've posted some headcanons about her past ( x )and her habits and alike ( x ) but it was a considerable time ago! Also I have a delayed ask from my friend @heraldofcrow regarding Maria's family because the sheer amount of people I needed to cover and contexts I needed to explain crashed me shdfhsd (I will post it when I am ready Crow </3 )

I will cover more or less solid ideas here though because some headcanons I am still just bouncing around!

Maria and other Old Hunters

Like it says here, she and Henryk were the ones helping Byrgenwerth, descending from the families with close ties to ancient cultures and having a lot of knowledge under their belts (as well as personal interest)! Both of them are not very talkative outside of "important" stuff. However, every time they do speak with each other it is very agreeable, fulfilling and positive experience! They share a lot in common and understand each other's struggles and fears effortlessly!

Djura was a person she respected a lot, especially for being the fellow denier of magic using, unlike the rest of Old Hunters that enjoyed arcane weapons, Moon-granted powers, bells, etc etc. That's why Powder Kegs were "heretical"! They both only relied on their skills, only he also was a great engineer! She considered straight up joining Oto Workshop (remains of which later became Powder Kegs) but did not like what their fixation on fire was unfortunately bringing in her. She has the secret pyromancy power, you know x)

^ The fact that concept art features a Charred Hunter similar to Djura with a rapier and one of Powder Kegs weapons imitates a Cainhurst weapon makes me consider the idea that Maria and Djura knew each other even before the Hunters stuff! I will examine this idea later, but them being old friends is an appealing idea! In either case, for her Djura was like that one "cool mutual" who instantly gives you self-esteem boost if they like your post! xD Djura was yet to undergo his character arc at the point Maria's resolve as a hunter cracked after Fishing Hamlet though, so his (former) feverish hatred to the beasts made her trust him less. She already got burnt when Gehrman somewhat harshly didn't understand her faltering and didn't want to risk getting judgement from Djura, the second person she admired, too.

Gratia is a cousin that Maria never learned of, as Gratia was discarded since birth (born same kind of Pthumerian-Human hubrid as Snatchers)! It was rather lucky to still meet within Old Hunters as adults. Maria felt quite comfortable with her, coincidentally getting sense of 'older sister' figure from her that she missed after parting with Annalise! Even though Gratia and Annalise are nothing alike of course x) But a much more stronger, more bold and confident, and more tall woman is something that allowed Maria to connect with her softer side, especially when Gratia would straight up pick her up in a (too tight) embrace when she congratulated her with something, or expressed vocal wish to "protect" her!

Matias (Blood Minister from intro cutscene) used to double as a bar man at the times when alcohol was still relevant in Yharnam, so she interacted with him outside of the hunt enough! She needed a glass sometimes, okay? xD He is a curious person though and prefers to get under facades and see what people are really made of, so he abused being sober while she was drunk to ask her about her feelings on various topics and people, or pry on her secrets. She was so stoic and reclusive, he just wanted to know who was the person under the Hunter role! Very crooked of him, but at least he didn't use drunk secrets of others for evil, he is Just Like This lol. He eventually felt guilty for being so shady though. As one of the first Old Hunters who started to experience the potential drawbacks of the hunt and blood (losing legs capacity, blindness, having to amputate fingers etc), he also was one the first to get in a wheelchair. Maria was so nice and helpful to him despite him becoming "useless", he should have been nice too, this old nosy bastard.

Maria and the Healing Church

Laurence... Alright, heeeere we fucking go again with my beloved image that is a pillar for many of my headcanons:

Maria and Laurence are not blood-related (at least as far as great-grand parents go, I didn't develop centuries of family tree!), but saw each other since younger age! They were not close though, as Laurence travelled and studied abroad in his kid and teen years! Whenever he visited, it was also not more than simple exchange of news at the dinner in a group of people. Maria and her squad (Annalise, Crow and King) knew him as arrogant asshole with inflated ego, but he returned in Maria's life in Byrgenwerth era, as admittedly more charismatic and pleasant person than before.

They managed to patch up years of awkwardness and distance and became friends, especially since he got along with Gehrman quite well! ...but then he decided that HE was special, and HE could tame the holy blood when Loran and Pthumeru Ihyll failed 🙄 Maria was more by the side of Caryll, Rom and Willem on the big bad academical infighting! She argued with Laurence a lot. When he convinced Adeline that letting him surgically alter her body to produce holy blood was a good idea, Maria straight up could not handle it maturely. It is a long one to go into but Laurence already tugged some unexplainable sense of fear and hesitation in Maria. She felt like his influence somehow was everywhere (not she alone, actually) and she never could stand up against him properly, but "losing" Adeline was the very peak of the sense of helplessness. She wished she reacted more maturely and her weakness only proven Adeline that Laurence was more reasonable trustworthy (owch.....), but in either case, since then a HELL of passive aggression and coldness followed between Laurence and Maria.

....and then, they somewhat broke the ice in Research Hall arc, after Maria abandoned the hunt and could at least entrust in evolution through Eyes and Stars. They both figured they took bad turns in life and there was no point in lamenting the past, they still needed to save what could be saved. They finally had pleasant, albeit very bitter-sweet interactions after years of mutual vitriol. However, I am considering a very dark idea of Laurence seeing that Maria was bordering suic1dal moods and not only letting it happen, but even "encouraging" it in secret, as he wanted her out of the way before commanding Cainhurst massacre. No, he knew that he had her will broken and she would just let him do it, he was not scared. But he... didn't want it. He figured it was a better way to go for her as someone who still believed she could atone for her sins, rather than living to reach complete state of helplessness. He "allowed" her one last "choice" in her life.

Fucked up concept, fucked up concept, I know.

With Brador relationship was a bit strained, but they were more of friends than Maria and Laurence. At least, she was not feeling so inexplicably cornered by him with all her might as a warrior, nor Brador was trying to scare her into being hush. He believed she was smart enough to not get herself or her friends into more trouble, albeit always felt bad for her kind, honorable nature. He knew he was an opposite of her, completely drenched and even reveling in disgraceful crimes he was doing to help "smarter people" advance. But, Maria pleaded with Brador to get a word out from her to Laurence, to pay attention at the weird actions of Doctor Micolash at the Research Hall and why patients kept suffering and diving into 'Sea', and Brador listened to her. It is quite a confession from Brador to go against Laurence for someone, and Maria knows this. They'd have very deep friendship under better circumstances, I think.

Vasylissa (White Church Hunter) is another character Maria saw often! Technically, Maria replaced her as an overseer and caretaker of Research Hall in the end. Even before that, Maria appreciated this person and was always relieved to find her in Grand Cathedral praying instead of Laurence. Vasylissa at least remembered to "fear the blood" much better than everyone else in the Healing Church. Very arcane-leaning, very should-have-stayed-in-Byrgenwerth person that helped Maria to feel less alone. They exchanged everything they knew as well as had many heart-to-hearts, and Vasylissa considered themselves to be good friends.. She was one of the people who cried and blamed herself when Maria was gone. I also like to play with an idea that Maria would like to approach her romantically, but noticed someone else had eyes on her - that Black Church female Hunter who guards her! So she decided to step back.

Ludwig was also a person with whom Laurence and Healing Church stuff didn't sour the things with! Heck, the guy loved what Laurence represented more than himself, and mostly was just fixated on the hunt (and his 'Guidance', but that was a secret!)! They are both knightly and full of honour, naive and kind but ruthless in battle! I even wrote a post of headcanons of them as a pairing once ( x ), but everything said in that post still applies minus the dating bit :') They were good friends that vented and could comfort each other, they disagreed on the same Healing Church's antics, they had friendly sparrings, they kept each other in mind upon separation and stocked up things to share with each other when they'd meet next..

I think when Maria went from 'magic bad humanity good' to 'maybe there IS some hope for humanity in pursuit for Stars and Moon 🤔', Ludwig showed Holy Moonlight to her. He was a little reluctant and jealous considering it, but could not see Maria so doubtful and lost. If sharing something so intimate could've helped her to finally make sense of her conflicts, then so be it. Only.. it made things worse, because Maria saw that the violence and murder was in the plans of even the Great One that was advertised by Laurence and the others as the way to help humanity!

Maria and Cainhurst

This is the part where I unfortunately have to restrain myself, because there is so much to unpack that, like I said, I still have a separate ask to work on this!

But, Maria had sort of a friend group since childhood with Annalise (half-sister from her cheating father), Eidinghardt (Bloody Crow of Cainhurst) and Elias (King)! Her relationship with Crow were the closest of the group, as the two were like siblings! They were fighting a lot but not in a toxic way, more like the typical siblings banters! Maria additionally pinched Crow's cheek or invited him for a nice fist fight when they were kids and Crow constantly made Elias cry, or was rude towards Annalise! He was an asshole, and she was an anti-bully ranger x) Yet, whenever it subdued, they were playing together a lot and getting into trouble together. Crow was very jealous when Maria decided to leave Cainhurst, like... I would not surprised of the 'straight up clinged to her leg and dragged after her across the floor' situation fdshhfd For people that fought a lot he felt only she truly understood him, and he never quite recovered from realisation that Maria might not really felt the same, even if she did love him too.

Elias was very gentle person when he was growing up, and could only really turn to Maria to hide from judgement for "shaming" his noble family. She was there for him during both of his most hardcore conflicts with Annalise (who was and is extremely hard to earn forgiveness from), and believed in him when he decided to become a warrior too. Annalise, like I said, Maria found a comfort in, lacking a mother figure and instead seeking a woman to turn to in older sisters figures. But also, Annalise gave her chills sometimes! She never dared to lie to her or break a promise to her- and she did see what happens on example of Elias. At the same time, Annalise was so reliable, someone Maria could share her problem with and just know that Annalise will help...

____________________________

This is all for now! Obviously this is not all characters to cover; there are still Logarius, Izzy, Caryll (one more cousin, but known one), Micolash and Rom, and relatives in Cainhurst! I just wanted to answer the ask now but I am still cooking some headcanons because I figured I can't rush it and right ideas find me at their own pace :pensive: Still, thank you for letting me talk about it in detail!!

#bloodborne #lady maria of the astral clocktower #multi character post #bloodborne headcanons #ask replies #doodles #dammit matias you ass fhfhds #I also made him kinda catlike and this is funny.. curious like a cat..#the part with laurence actually hurt me a bit #spineless I know considering it is BLOODBORNE where we eat babies a lifelong drama can't hurt this bad right?#right- ehhhh

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markerofthemidnight · 5 months ago

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who are the members of OO? Are any of them connected to the other characters in Doai?

Okay, it’s really rough so far but to give you the basic rundown (under cut cause this gets looooong):

Blaire

Blaire is the founder-but-not-leader of the Oneiric Observers. Well, she was the leader at some point when it was basically just her, but as she slowly began to add to the group, she went from being the leader to just the founder.

She’s the basic archetypical ‘hyperactive girl who may or may not have ADHD’, armed with nothing but an interest in murder-mysteries and a dream. A dream to, one day, be regarded as one of the greatest investigators of all time.

To be regarded as a hero to all those plagued by unsolved mysteries: and for a while, she settled simply for local disappearances and unsolved crimes from long ago. She was especially plagued by the mystery of the late, the great detective champion, Russel Hawke’s untimely death…

…until she realised that all those mysteries might be more connected than she thought. So now, she’s decided to stop going for small fry, and start shooting for the stars… unaware that, if she’s not careful, the stars might just shoot back.

She was named after Blaire Lily, the main protagonist of Unfriended, which you may recognise as being listed as the main inspiration for Myke and how he functions. Basically, to make naming them easier on me, every OO member is associated with a Veldigun and named after characters in/people who worked on their inspired movies.

Tyler

Tyler is kind of the main protagonist, in a sense.

I don’t have much of a personality for him down yet other than “loser who does not want to be a loser”. Unskilled in… more or less everything, but he’s got drive, and that’s what counts!… kind of.

Tired of living in his stupid-ass older sister’s shadow his whole life, the story properly begins when Tyler finally decides to take Blaire up on her constant offers to literally everyone in school to join the OO, or the “Paranormal Investigation Club”, as all the lame people who are out of the loop know it as.

He’s easily one of the most dedicated to their cause, desperate to finally prove his worth to a world that has forgotten him… and also, kind of to prove his worth to himself.

He was named after Tyler Ledford from The Menu, henceforth making his associated Veldigun Julian. A bit of a weird character to pull inspiration from, considering- other than being a member of the OO, which immediately makes you a bad person- he’s significantly nicer than the Tyler in that movie, but just roll with me here.

Miles

Miles is the first person to join the OO after its founding, who ascended to the rank of official leader due to his great skills and dedication to their cause.

No one really knows why he’s there. He’s regarded as fairly popular- or at least, was before he joined a club occupied solely by losers. In fact, joining the OO might’ve made his popularity even worse than it already was, so what gives?

Well, apparently he thinks all the attention he’s gotten so far is nowhere near enough. He wants more, and he thinks the OO and their investigation of the town’s surprisingly common disappearances might be key to that.

Out of all the main cast, Miles is the one who best sums up what it’s like to be a member of the Oneiric Observers- fitting, since he is the leader- in that he… is an asshole. Just a total douchebag who happens to be really good at hiding that.

He was named after Dr. Miles Bennell from (the 1916 version of) Invasion of the Body Snatchers, making his associated Veldigun Victor.

Oh, and just so you know, when not at school he keeps his uniform on but only keeps the top button done, so that way his cardigan looks like a cape. That’s how self-absorbed he is.

Akela

Akela is the second member to join after its founding, and probably the only one to join (besides technically Blaire?) out of a genuine interest in the paranormal and nothing else.

She’s the archetypical quiet, well-behaved girl with good grades who basically everyone else is really jealous of. She joined because she wanted to see what the Paranormal Investigation Club had to offer… only to be deeply shocked when it was not a bunch of professionals like she was expecting, but just a bunch of random losers grasping at straws in order to get popular.

The only reason why Akela sticks around is because she wants to see what will happen next… and also because, she may or may not genuinely believe that the OO might be key to getting more respect, rather than just jealous stares.

She’s also the kind of person who occasionally asks things like “hey by the way do you know which area you should target if you want to effectively torture information out of someone?” to people with no warning, just to freak them out.

She was named after Akela Cooper, who wrote M3GAN, making her associated Veldigun Candice.

Evelyn

The third member to join after its founding, Evelyn is… shy. She’s real shy. Easily the one starting member of the OO who’s the closest to being a good person.

She joins after being promised by Miles that she could be a hero to the people of her town if she joined, and she’d do anything to get her confidence up, so she accepted… not knowing what she’d be dragged into as a result.

There’s honestly not much else to say about her at this point in time. She was named after Evelyn Abbott, the mother from A Quiet Place, making her associated Veldigun Beau.

Doreen

Doreen is the fifth and final member to join the OO post-founding, which actually doesn’t happen until about halfway through the main story. She is also Tyler’s aforementioned stupid-ass older sister.

She’s regarded as pretty popular, in fact even more popular than Miles was, at least before he joined the OO. Both pretty smart and pretty pretty, everyone knows her, and everyone’s interested on getting her on their good side.

And she… is interested in absolutely none of them.

There are two main reasons why she joins: firstly, she knows her brother’s been roped into a really dangerous situation and she wants to help out in any way she can. Secondly, she would sell her goddamn soul if it meant getting all the admirers desperate for superficial relationships off her.

She’s the only one who knows that popularity does not equal happiness, a lesson that, unfortunately, not many of them listen to even after she joins. Still, she’s grateful to get all those eyes off her… even if it means getting other, far more dangerous eyes watching her wherever she goes.

She is unique amongst the entire cast- minus her associated Veldigun- in that she was not named after a character from a horror movie. Well, said Veldigun was vaguely inspired by The Black Phone, but that wasn’t his main inspiration.

His main inspiration was actually the real life disappearance of the Jack family in Canada, 1989, as described in Real Horror’s video, The Family That Vanished.

Specifically, one specific moment in that video detailing a strange event during the investigation in which an anonymous person called the police, told them the supposed area in which the Jack family’s corpses were buried- though it was too garbled and deep for them to figure out the exact location, to the point where to this day, no signs of bodies have ever been found.

I watched that video a while back, got to that absolutely chilling moment, and thought to myself, “Hey, I wanna make a character who calls people investigating mysteries, gives them a genuinely ground-breaking piece of information, and then immediately hangs up!”

Which then eventually resulted in Doreen being named after the late mother of the family of four, and Russel being named after the family’s first-born. Russel… he’s a pretty special guy. Even by Veldigun standards.

The video was really great, the mystery really enticing, and the case really… tragic, so I named them after two of the four total victims. It’s a shame that, after death, people are reduced to their method of dying and nothing more, but… I suppose there’s really nothing we can do about that. The least I could do was pay my respects, and naming OCs after them was the first thing I came up with to do so.

(Oh, and to answer your second question: whilst it’s both too early in the writing process and too spoilery to say if they’re connected to any canon characters, I think I can at least mention this:

The way DOAI: OO and canon DOAI are connected to each other is kinda similar to Jumanji and its two sequels in which they take place in the same universe, but have little connection to each other due to taking place in two completely different times with different casts.

There ARE a few connections here and there- and Six probably will show up, or at least get mentioned at some point- but other than that, it’s its own story.)

#dreams of an insomniac #dreams of an insomniac au #doai #doai au #doai oc #doai Oneiric observation #Oneiric observation #Oneiric observers #asks

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nasubeenwithcat · 2 years ago

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⚠️warning inspired:Phantom of the Opera (original by Gaston Leroux) contents:blood, swearing, yandere discotrain, mental illness, mind control, death, serious bullying, machine translation

🎬In the original work, Subcon Forest is the stimulating world and the Mafia is Persia. The Forest gives the Phantom different values. Having studied in the forest, he completed the Labyrinth of Mirrors for the Mafia.

🎬Next to the bird city is Subcon Forest. It is a place of artistic community and frozen time concepts. There are flowers and ice everywhere, and music is playing.

🎬Snatcher lives in Subcon Forest with his many friends. Of course he offers contracts to intruders, but his goal is friends, not souls.

🎬He is very jovial and lonely. He hates loneliness and loves art. He will try anything that interests him, but basically he paints.

🎬Subcon Forest has many residents. Minicons, spirits, Moonjumper, florist, Vanessa, cats, shapeshifter, birds, and more. They all hone their own art and appreciate others.

🎬Vanessa is good at ice sculpting and Moonjumper is the only doctor in the forest. Anyway, there are many dwellers. There are many forms of art. This means that the forest is not a completely safe zone. Snatcher does not demand that the dwellers follow common sense. No matter how good the rules are, conflicts due to cultural differences are inevitable.

🎬Subcon Forest regularly hosts an art presentation. It is a very big festival, and only on that day intruders are allowed to enter the forest without a contract. Naturally, food is also served. One must check for hallucinogenic drugs, though.

🎬Phantom was a dweller in the forest at one time. This means he is a friend of Snatcher's so he has free access to the forest. He is basically in the cellar of the cinema, but if he needs someone's help, he will turn to the forest dwellers.

🎬He learned more advanced magic there. At the freak circus, he could only learn very basic magic. But he was able to acquire enough knowledge and skills in the forest.

🎬Snatcher was originally a prince. But stress caused him to cut his ears and the ensuing infection took his life. That was the birth of Subcon Forest. Vanessa was the princess of a neighboring kingdom, but she is still alive. Importantly, vast tracts of time corrupted in an instant.

🎬The incident resulted in many deaths. They have become minicons and they are now living a new life in the forest, forgetting their painful previous lives. Snatcher feels very guilty about it, but all he can do for them is offer them a playground.

🎬Snatcher has tried everything that interests him, but he hates literature. Literature, both in writing and reading, requires errors of meaning in translation and an understanding of its background culture. But even with that much effort, it would be difficult to read the full artistic message of literature. It pains him that he has to dare to leave areas he does not understand untouched.

🎬Snatcher paints only for himself, but Bow writes for others. Their perspectives on art are quite different. Written expression? Snatcher believes that direct words should be expressed in their original form. Bow believes that words should be used with the reader in mind.

🎬The idea that art is only as good as its audience. From Snatcher's point of view, that is laziness. There is no freedom. The idea that art is about ego. From Bow's point of view, it is arrogance. There is no effort to communicate one's ideas to more people.

🎬Phantom also holds the view that art and audience are inseparable. What is the best thing of art? This idea has the best answer to this question. It is the deliberate manipulation and fixing of the audience's mindset. It is lazy without freedom. But it will make everyone happy.

🎬From time to time Mafia Boss comes to Subcon Forest. He is not interested in art in the slightest, but he comes once a month with various goods for the forest dwellers.

🎬He is an economic genius. He indirectly dominates about half of the planet through commerce. He has a small kingdom on an island and would rather be called "king" than "boss". Anyway, he has a keen interest in entertainment.

🎬He helped freak circus and built a huge amusement park. He likes to have fun. He found out Phantom through a sales visit to Subcon Forest and invited him to come to his kingdom.

🎬Well, I must say that ...... rosy times have come. He enjoyed Phantom's magic tricks every day, but after a year he grew bored with them. On a whim, he ordered Phantom to show him something gruesome and had Phantom build him the labyrinth of mirrors.

🎬I won't go into the details of the mechanism. Anyway, very cruel torture is possible there, and the owner of the palace could easily torment visitors with the flick of a switch. The boss found a new entertainment value in the immorality.

🎬He had Phantom build another castle palace in exchange for a beautiful hourglass he had recently found. It has a special wall structure and many hidden passages. The owner of the palace can hear gossip wherever he is.

🎬The boss liked the palace very much, but at the same time he began to fear the presence of Phantom. As long as he was there, the palace's security would not be perfect. He had to kill the yellow owl.

🎬The rest is simple. Phantom knows what the boss is up to, thanks to the special structure of the palace. The hourglass helped it and triggered a split in Phantom's time.

🎬The boss is a wayward person and likes children. He especially likes Timmy, who suddenly appeared and trusted him with the cinema. Yes, Timmy is an alien and a mafia.

🎬He didn't believe the " Phantom of the Cinema" rumors, and Timmy didn't believe them either. But if the little managers were actually in danger, he could always help them.

🎬He is involved in the management of the cinema in the form of a board member. Phantom does not take too kindly to him. To Phantom, Boss is an outsider who pollutes the bird city. The increase in the number of mafia stores has caused the loss of several traditional bird stores. He hates to see it.

🎬Timmy is very smart and likes to joke and prank. He doesn't know much about movies at all, so he had to have a movie specialist as his sidekick when he was running the cinema.

🎬Timmy and the Mustache Girl did not believe Phantom's rumors at first. Rather, they made fun of his warnings. They ignored Phantom's request not to sit in Box 5, but stopped doing so after the chandelier incident.

🎬They suspect that the identity of Phantom is one of the directors. They believe that someone created the " Phantom" in order to get out of work and that it is getting bigger.

🎬To them the boxkeeper is an insider, and to the boxkeeper they are the hated enemy. The boxkeeper demands that they accept the existence of Phantom. If they do not, his daughter will not be able to rise in the company.

🎬Boxkeepers receive many letters every day. The very first letter he received was the beginning of it all.

🎬Should I tell the story of the safety pin incident? It's a long story, read the original for the details! Phantom demands an "administrative fee" from them. A salary for managing the cinema's iconic abundance of water. And the right to use box 5 seats. Timmy refuses, but reluctantly pretends to comply after the chandelier incident. But the act did not go well, and all the pay was paid to the ghost.

🎬Importantly, they do not believe in the existence of Phantom. Timmy gradually begins to suspect that the mustache girl is stealing the envelope containing his paycheck. And indeed, the envelope is found in her pocket. Soon it is explained by the boxkeeper himself that it was the work of the boxkeeper, but which leads to the two of them keeping a close eye on each other. A safety pin was needed to remedy the situation.

#a hat in time #a hat in time au #ahit au #ahit fanart #ahit snatcher #the snatcher #phantom of dead bird cinema au #my art

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mxlfoydraco · 2 years ago

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Do you also follow some Drarry WIPs? Its very hard to find stories like that on recs. I am reading Tales from the Special Branch /by femmequixotic) and its amazing and very worth it and feels as satisfaying as reading a complete fic: do you have any recs of other uncompleted stories?

I would say Tales from the Special Branch first, you took it from my mouth! I’m new to reading WIPs but I know a few,

The Same Sweet Shock by @xiaq (20k, WIP)

One day, Draco Malfoy is going to get his life together. One day, he will be a respectable citizen. He will have a respectable job and his last name will no longer be a scarlet letter and people will no longer try to hex him in the street. One day, he is going to live a good, honest, ordinary life.Today, however, is not that day. Because today, he is driving a stolen police car and will likely be responsible for murdering Harry Potter.

survival is a talent by ShanaStoryteller (471k, WIP)

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they’re soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone. Their best isn’t perfect.

In The Dark by @bixgirl1 (102k, WIP)

In the aftermath of an apocalypse, Harry receives an order to find and bring Draco Malfoy nearly a thousand miles, to the tenuous safety of Hogwarts. But more than distance separates them from their goal. The world has fallen, and death is hungry.

Close Behind by @oflights (91k, WIP)

To rescue Draco from the Underworld, Harry has to look forward. Unfortunately, Draco has to look back.

Leo Inter Serpentes series by Aeternum (902k, WIP)

Just one conversation between two eleven year old boys goes slightly differently, and the world changes. Just how much will be different with Harry being sorted into Slytherin, and how much will stay the same?

The Dementor's Child by @xx-thedarklord-xx (119k, WIP)

Curiosity—the kind that got him here—was the reason his mouth opened and out came, “What is it you get out of stealing life from people?” The creature floated closer and all common sense that should have told him to step back was non-existent. Instead, Harry took a step closer. It was obvious what the creature wanted. He only stared for a moment, no hesitance before his eyes slipped closed and he took. Or the one where Harry encounters a Dementor as a child and doesn't flee, no he sticks around and mimics what he sees.

A Knife to the Throat by deluminatormischiefmaker (127k, WIP)

Draco Malfoy has always been the boy without a choice. When he finally gets the chance to switch sides, he picks The Chosen One. Set in Deathly Hallows. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione get caught by Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, Draco decides to join their cause. The usual camping trip, but with a few tag-alongs, several detours, and quite a bit more romance.

Most Favourite Bedtime Story by SasuNarufan13 (42k, WIP)

Scorpius' most favourite bedtime story? The story of how his parents fell in love. And his grandmother tells it the best!

At the End of All Things by @quicksilvermaid (91k, WIP)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are real and Harry starts dreaming of them.

Mutatum series by Vichan (298k, WIP)

In the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is drawn to a room in Grimmauld Place. Like the Gryffindor he is, he enters the room without fear. The room is a library, and Harry is surprised to find that he’s eager to learn. Then he gets the bad news: he’s been accidentally expelled from Hogwarts, and he needs to be sorted again. Everyone is confident that he’ll go straight back to Gryffindor, but with what he's been learning, Harry’s not so sure.

Whatever You Want, Draco Malfoy by DorothyAnn (92k, WIP)

Draco lost his home and the only society he knew after the war. He ended up living in the muggle world, making new friends and new connections and maybe some sort of peace. Even if that peace was usually found at the bottom of a bottle. It was enough for him. He was content to just exist. Then Harry Potter decided to ruin everything.

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of great on going fics. Open for call any Drarry writers to add on their WIPs!

#drarry #drarry fics #drarry fic recs #my recs #drarry recs #drarry wip #drarry fic rec #drarry reclist

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hannahwatcheshorror · 1 month ago

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JIGSAW (2017)

One of the most satisfying of the SAW movies. Cruel, ironic, puzzling, and intricate. I was concerned going in that this would be the beating of a dead horse but it was instead a song of triumph for the series. Heart Pounding, intoxicating, and sexy, this film is a worthy addition to an amazing series. The games and deaths felt deserved and purposeful but also fair and satisfying.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Jigsaw is back with five unsuspecting villains who need to work their way to confessing their crimes. Starting with chains leading them to saws, the first victim was unconscious and missed the rules thus "disqualifying" him. The rag tag team of misfits (brought together more by chance than common theme) meet a purse snatcher who is presented with an obvious solution to her poison problem but instead tries to leave the group hanging (ha). Acid in the blood frees the gang up but leaves them with three.

An attempt to leave through a "no exit" door costs one hapless male his leg as he must choose not to let the other two people left drown in grain. The nephew killing conman is sent into a blender of sorts which leaves us with a daring duo who come face to face with John himself. The gun fires backwards, taking out our child killer while the drunken male is left for dead. Flash forward to the future where Logan, our doting protege of Jigsaw is getting jiggy with Halloran, the man who let criminals roam free, like the one that killed Logan’s wife. A stunning twist with a fake death reminiscent of the first film, what an amazing ode. "I speak for the dead."

JIGSAW REWATCH

I knew this movie had a version of grain suffocation in it but it made more sense to me because they were being buried in grains, I didn’t know until A QUIET PLACE that you can sink in from the top which is somehow more terrifying and stressful. And, I love that Logan stood up for Eleanor, but he totally almost got her shot by Halloran and that was also stressful.

This movie did a really fun version of the whole time jump thing without making a big show about it like in SAW II. It was very clever to have this be one of (if not the first) Jigsaw trap and yet also still be the 8th movie in line. Bringing back Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, not so much as flashbacks, but presently because we didn’t know how long ago the game was being played and the cult of Jigsaw was making it seem like John Kramer was still alive out there. Really a fun film that I am still impressed with. Wish it had a few more familiar faces but we got a bit spoiled by that from SAW 3D.

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snakarscrolls · 2 years ago

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*hold up microphone* mustache girl headcanons?

lived with her grandpa (coffee clerk) before invasion, hes doing okay still but only visits him nowadays because she doesn't want the goons to harass him over associating with her

more under the cut!

since a ton of timepieces had to be smashed to undo the finale, nobody remembers it aside from aside from hatbow, mu and the undead (as suggested by snatcher remembering her in a deathwish, although only vaguely, for time piece or personal reasons). the barrier to that memory is however very flimsy and as such the memories can be reaccessed if someone is made to specifically recall the events of that re-rewritten timeline, meaning it has to be more specific that a vague sense of deja vu

that means that the mafia wouldn't try to persecute mu any more than they usually do, meaning nobody is trying to hunt her down and hurt her for what shes done. and that if mu wants to, she can confess what she did to individual people, i think cookingcat could be the first person she confesses to because i think cc helped her get food a lot pre game events. cc is very far from as mad as mu thought he would be, in fact he really regrets getting heated and swayed by the mob and yelling for her to get lost with them.

I think post finale she first wanted to isolate but faced with the fact that she doesnt want to be alone (got scared when everyone started killing themselves) and gaining meaningful support from cc she decides to travel around and get to know the world. this leads to her developing a positive relationship with pretty much every major hatgame character!

I think she and snatcher have a lot in common and given snatcher makes certain realizations about herself she could become a very good source of support for mu. maybe those realizations come from talking with her. snatcher pretty much acts as a guardian of the forgotten or otherwise lost children and mu fits the definition quite well. I think given he recognizes her as in need of support, and that his words can make a difference, hed really like to tell her she shouldnt give up on herself. shes still allowed to live a life

I think at the same time as arctic cruise happens grooves hangs out with mu, i think hed be very kind to her and theyd grow pretty close!

shed also have a great time in alpine skyline :)

either has some very very distant relatives in subcon or is at least partially a descendant of subconians (or just one) who went to live on the island and integrated into its community with no issues

in finale she prevented the mafia from ever entering the island but that way the lava faucets were never installed and it like. ended up flooding the planet. thru video game logic. I dont stand by this as much as I used to but its fun so im writing it down

likes to have her hair done, and doing other peoples hair! its a great way to bond with her

#ask

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studentofetherium · 1 year ago

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The Ark in Space is a classic serial, and one of the few serials from the old run of Doctor Who that i'd already seen before this. everything about it, from the costumes to the plot, is quintessentially Doctor Who

the costumes are the highlight of this arc, both the fantastic bug creatures as well as the bubble-wrap slime monsters. in the production department, as well, the sets for this arc were fantastic— a good thing, considering just how many of them were being reused constantly. both the main room and the hallway set set the tone wonderfully for what this serial is meant to be

the story, on the other hand, is the definite weak point, although it was still all-around solid. the idea of an ark meant to save humanity after a global disaster has a sense of Cold War-era anxieties to it, and the Invasion of the Body Snatchers-esque plot reflects that as well. however, all of this feels pretty indirect, and the central plot is more of a mystery or a thriller than anything political. the eugenics angle is the most unfortunate aspect of the plot, although it's common for stories of this type, and it seems that the show isn't especially interested in lingering on or examining what it's really saying here

also maybe it's just because i've seen Moonraker but i kept expecting them to blow up the space station miniature

#doctor who

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majormeilani · 1 year ago

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8,10 or 16 ?

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

snatcher being suave and having any amount of swag. he's so lame and pathetic he has no pull. (half joking) BUT for real. i feel like some people treat him as though he's like a huge romantic that understands how it all works or some kind of, pardon my phrasing, 'sex god' like.

i understand people wanting to ship and that's totally chill you do you, but to me he seems more the type to 'swoon' over flirtatious stuff rather than being the one who makes others feel that way.

but then again i dislike a lot of interpretations of him in romantic relationships so maybe i'm a little biased 😔

10. worst part of fanon

people leaving out grooves in fanworks. that or people completely disregarding his character as a whole and not using him for anything interesting when they explore stuff in hattytime stuff. i especially see a lot of people neglect the importance of his character dynamic with conductor, especially if it's done in romantic settings, and his feelings often hinge on conductor's. that's to say i think people often forget that grooves is a character and don't end up treating him as such so he ends up a 'background' character almost to everyone else.

basically, i wish people treated grooves' feelings the same way people treat conductor's.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

i don't really understand people giving hat kid an extremely angsty backstory. i know people tend to project onto protagonists and i totally get that but i just don't see it making that much logical sense to hat kid's character. i always thought of it more as her having a HOME to go to that's mostly good to her (not perfect of course!) because to ME it works better as a parallel to mustache girl, who lost her home. plus i just feel bad when i see a lot of unnecessary angst placed onto hat kid on top of what she goes through on the planet. i would hate to think of her suffering even more when she goes home; i would like to think there's still hope.

again tho, people are allowed to explore stuff like that but i just can't vibe with it and heaven knows i have tried.

#answered asks #anon #ty!!

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talesofsonicasura · 4 years ago

Text

Fallen Royalty

*warning: contains vivid curses and slight gore*

Trust is a very fragile thing. It can easily be shattered by misdirection, lies but the most devastating were secrets. And something very important is kept from someone by those they consider family, it can make a soul fall unto a very different path.

The Snatcher, a legendary and powerful spirit who ruled the Fallen Kingdom known as Subcon. He used to be a human prince married to a princess of a different kingdom named Vanessa. Before the prince and Vanessa lived happily ruling their kingdom but this wasn't a happy story. A misunderstanding had brought out a dark side within the princess. Her love unknown to the prince was actually toxic.

Anything that stood in her way of the prince had met brutal ends. Not even the young man himself wasn't safe. He purchased flowers for his sweetheart only to be accused of cheating by the insane princess now Queen. She locked the prince in the dungeon and unleashed dark magic all over Subcon freezing the land solid. The residents were cursed to live as spirits and the dark magic gave birth to the Snatcher from what was left of Subcon's prince.

Snatcher reigned over his fallen domain that became consumed by the forest around it. His magic kept Vanessa's frost contained in her castle and locked the witch away. Through his magic, the cursed citizens were given new bodies in the form of wooden puppets Snatcher crafted. Subcon Forest was created and its denizens lived in peaceful solitude. Then came the Demon King Satan.

Subcon brewed with so much magic that powerful demons sought it out. Demons dwelled in Gehenna and could only reach Assiah, the realm of man, through possessing an item there. However Subcon Forest's powerful magic could grant demons easy access to Assiah by harvesting its mystical energy. Something Satan wanted and wished to discuss with Snatcher himself. The discussion didn't turn out good for Satan.

The powerful specter had immediately been ready to refuse the Demon King access to Subcon's magic. Even though Snatcher hated outsiders, he understood the balance between their worlds and saw Satan as a threat! Being devious, Snatcher had the Demon King signed a contract. Before realizing what it read, Satan had already signed the paper. The demon began screaming in pain unaware of his own folly.

Snatcher could create powerful magical contracts that become true once signed. He had tricked Satan into hurting himself and his schemes greatly. The first was Satan could never possess any nonhuman for his power will burn it to ashes and humans will die from his possession. Second was the Demon Lord couldn't touch or set foot in Subcon for eternity and neither could his servants. And finally, a chunk of Satan's power became Snatcher's own along with a particular possession the Demon King would acquire in the future.

Satan cursed Snatcher before being banished back to Gehenna while the King of Subcon laughed. Though the spirit knew it wouldn't be the last time he'll see the demon or his schemes. The ghost didn't know what this key possession the Demon King would seek but he had enough time to prepare so he could eliminate it. However, he didn't suspect this.

A small boy ran through the busy crowd of Kyoto, Japan. He had dark blue hair and the brightest blue eyes leaking tears down his cheeks staining his white shirt and black shorts. His name was Rin Okumura and today wasn't a good day. The boy knew he was always different from everyone else. He was much stronger than what a 7 year old should be also he was more aggressive and easy to lash out at those who anger him.

People from kids to adults would look at him like a monster and call him a demon. He thought he could trust his foster father Shiro Fujimoto and his twin brother Yukio but clearly it was a lie. Rin had come back home a bit earlier than he usually did to see his Father and brother talking. What he heard broke his heart. Demons were real, Fujimoto and Yukio were exorcists that killed demons and Rin…was the bastard son of the Demon King Satan.

Rin had Satan's flames and they were sealed in a sword along with half of his soul, his demon half. Yukio being trained to kill demons by Shiro himself. His mother killed by exorcists the day they were born. A whole basket of lies and secrets hidden under his nose. It didn't take long for Rin to slip out of the monastery that served as home his whole life and run away. The boy didn't care where he was going but he had to get away.

Tears blinded his sight and sorrow messing with his rationality, Rin ran into the woods specifically a section banned from the public. A part of the forest where people disappeared and never came back, the Snatching Woods. After a few minutes of nonstop running, Rin sat on the ground and cried. He didn't notice how the forest around him had transformed into something otherworldly.

Glowing mushrooms of yellow, pink and red shining in a garden around him, a large picket fence with spikes lit in flame, a large marsh like pool surrounded by pumpkins, wisps of blue, green and orange floated about and finally the large tower shaped mushroom house that the boy currently sat on the front doorstep. Something large and dark purple began to slither through the home, no doubt searching for the crying source.

The dark purple thing was a large ghost. He had a noodle like body with thin arms each carrying two large claws, a mane of fluffy fur around his head, bright yellow childish looking eyes and a jack o' lantern smile with two small fangs. The towering ghost looked at the small crying child in utter confusion. "Hey kiddo? How the peck did you get all the way here?" The ghost questioned with his raspy and light static echoing voice.

Rin looked up from crying to see the ghost hovering above his head. "I don't know and I don't care! Rather die lost in a forest than live a lie." Rin cried. That clearly got the ghost's unwanted attention. "Why the peck do you want to die because of a lie? What kind of lie would get a kid this depressed?" The ghost asked as Rin looked back at the spirit. He definitely had to know the kid's story.

"I lived in a monastery with my twin brother since I could remember. I never knew that Father Fujimoto and my brother were keeping secrets from me. I walked in to hear their conversation about me. Demons are real and evil. Father Fujimoto teaching my brother to be an exorcist and...I'm the bastard son of Satan! My mother was killed because of it and I learned half of my soul was stripped out then sealed away." Silence carried through the woods once Rin spoke that last sentence.

The ghost figured Satan would find a new way into Assiah but...this was going too far even for him. And he was Snatcher, a spirit that ate unlucky souls and toss their husks away like a banana peel! However, he would never use his own child, even though he didn't have one, for a sick game like this. A particular girl and a purple hat flashed through his mind. He was going to regret this but he didn't care. No way in hell was this kid going to suffer from his bastard old man.

"Then to hell with them!" Snatcher exclaimed grabbing the boy's attention. "Kid, I ain't a good person but even I know common sense. Just because you are the son of an idiotic peckneck demon doesn't make you him! The fact that your own foster father not only kept important information like this from you but now your brother is wrapped around his finger. Not all demons are evil. Some of us are mischievous or just want to be left alone." The ghost began.

"You have the right to know your origin and your own mother. Plus, that peckneck doesn't know the damage he has done sealing half your soul away! Your power even though suppressed is unstable without your demon half. It messes with your mind making you aggressive as it fights to the surface. You are a walking infernal bomb capable of wiping out half the continent and yourself by reaching a major mental meltdown! You are a person, a child for pecking sake! YOU ARE NOT SATAN!!!" Snatcher exclaimed voice roaring with irritation at the cause of the boy's misery.

Rin stood shellshocked at what he witnessed. Other than Father Fujimoto and his brother, no one ever helped or cared about him. To see a ghost he just met get so angry at his mistreatment made the pain in his heart fade. "Thank you." Rin said as Snatcher looked at the boy. "Boy, what's your name?" Snatcher asked as Rin wiped his tears. "Rin Okumura." The boy replied. "Rin Okumura? You can call me Snatcher, boy. How would you like to stay with me in Subcon Forest?" Snatcher asked as Rin had a look of surprise.

"You aren't safe staying with an exorcist who sees you only as the Son of Satan and potential threat but also filling your brother's head with half baked truths. That kind of person can turn your own sibling into your potential murderer even as an unwanted consequence. I can teach you how to forge your own path and control the power within you. You see, I met your blood father and suckered him into giving up part of his power and any potential of escaping Gehenna." Snatcher explained conjuring a ball of blue flame in his hand.

"Pretty." Rin said looking at the glowing blue flame. "This pretty flame can also be used to craft some powerful spells as well. Along with fixing your unstable power, I'll be teaching you magic and the ways of Subcon. This place will be your safe haven and no secrets will be kept from you here. A clone crafted from my magic will take your place so no one will suspect a thing. What do you say kiddo? Want to live with me in Subcon Forest?" Snatcher asked offering the boy his hand.

Rin looked at the hand and remembered all the years living with Father Fujimoto and his twin brother. What glittered gold slowly rotted away to faded gold paint old wood. The boy reached his hand towards Snatcher's and took it. The deal was struck as blue light surged throughout Subcon forest. Many unaware of the single act that sent ripples throughout the world and it's future. 9 years later…

A 16 year old Rin Okumura was being attacked in the home of True Cross Monastery. A powerful demon hunting him had attacked the boy out in public forcing to realize he wasn't normal or human. Father Fujimoto had taken him back to the momastery fending off hordes of undead demons coming after them. However, one demon possessing a teenager had crashed a truck into the monastery giving it and other demons easy access to the sanctuary.

Rotten dogs, growing demonic fungi and any other unholy creature bridled with maggots, rot and decayed flesh were creeping towards the young man, head priest and his follow exorcists. Father Fujimoto faced Rin who wielded a blue scabbard sword in hand. Running a hand through his short gray hair and dark eyes was prepared to shove Rin into the hidden basement for safety only for the boy to push him down.

"Rin! What's the meaning of this?! You have to run!" The man shouted only to be confused when the boy began chuckling. "Why should I listen to the words of a liar? I'll handle these pecknecks myself." Rin spoke earning confusion from Fujimoto and the monastery men. "Pecknecks? What kind of insult is that?!" The possessed boy laughed only to jump back as a burst of blue flames erupted from under him.

"If I knew you guys were going to attack me earlier than I would have put on my best clothes already! Oh well! A quick costume change won't hurt. Ain Soph Aur!" Rin said before snapping his fingers. He ignited into blue flames to the group's horror and absolute confusion before it died down. The young man was completely changed from head to toe. His suit was replaced with a dark violet long coat with azure flame, a dark blue tunic bearing a peculiar symbol that looked like a spirit surrounding a burning tree, black tights often seem worn by royalty, fancy black Italian shoes, white gloves and a violet top hat with a yellow ribbon.

His ears were pointed as he had small vampirish like fangs and hints of yellow in his blue eyes. He was also much taller having 5 inches more than Fujimoto's 6'5 height. In his hand was a long dark blue umbrella with dark violet flame like flares on the fabric and a yellow handle. The air Rin now carried was of royal but very ominous and eerie compared to his cheerful street punk one. "Rin?" Fujimoto questioned.

He was caught off guard by Rin's sudden change but the boy merely ignored. "I'm giving you demons a chance to leave with your souls intact. I can't guarantee you'll even survive the trip to Gehenna if I slay you instead of the exorcists." Rin said with a wicked glint in his eyes despite his jovial smile. "You think we are afraid of your clothes change and a dumb umbrella? Sorry brat but you're going back to Gehenna to your father Satan!" The possessed boy laughed only to suddenly flinch.

The air was flooding with instant killing intent that leaked from Rin as he looked at the demons with a disturbing malice filled smile. "I gave you a chance but you spat on it. Prepare to die because your contract has just expired!" The young man laughed as his voice sounded distorted saying the last few words. Rin suddenly vanished from sight only for a group of demonic fungus to explode in blue flames!

Rin burst out from the burning blue mass almost as if he teleported from underneath them. He faced his umbrella at the demons he hovered above as blue flame spheres manifested at the tip before firing them like a gun. Multiple ghoulish corpses and vile living fungus ignited which crashing sphere burning in pure anguish. The horrifying part to the child possessing demon was the flames were actually destroying the demons instead of sending them back to Gehenna!

Demons possessing objects or people couldn't die in Assiah since their real bodies existed in Gehenna but Rin's fire was burning both through their souls! The chilling part was Rin was singing with the carnage. "Run along this forest trail. Now you'll find you'll failed. Never gonna reach that goal, now give me your soul! Some advice, don't think twice! Should have known I wasn't nice! Off with your head! Tata, your dead!" The boy sang as he continued his carnage. However the next few lines was when the demon truly realized that initiated a fight with someone that Satan himself couldn't win against.

"Got no more use for you! When you sign that dotted line you should've thought it through! Your subconscious holding on clinging to your fear. Every haunt just moved along but now the SNATCHER'S HERE!!!" The demon's face along with Fujimoto's grew dramatically pale. "You?!! You know the Snatcher?!" The demon questioned shivering in terror within his host's body. Rin merely laughed at the demon's frightened words.

"Know him? More than just that little peckneck! He's my true father! Not your dumbass king or this lying priest bastard that kept so many secrets from me! He treated me like his own son and taught me all I know. He was honest with me and actually gave a crap about me for being myself, Rin Okumura, not Satan's bastard son!" Rin roared as Fujimoto looked a bit hurt. "And don't think Satan will pop up here either. My father's magic will immediately expel him upon possession. It was listed in the contract the Demon King was tricked into signing." That had gotten the demon to literally piss itself in its host body.

"Enough talk! Time for the finish!" The young man shouted as he began waving his umbrella and danced as if he was on Broadway. "And the weird and the wild should have left you all beguiled. That is that, you little bastard child. Rid my jobs that took time and bask! Now it's time to take you to task!" A ring of blue flames surrounded the remaining demons preventing any chance of escape.

"As the ink is slowly drying, it's time you get dying! Your contract has expired, sleep now in the fire! You gonna meet your match! Your soul belongs to Snatcher! Now let's sing higher!" The flaming ring grew smaller as the flames burned brighter and more intense. It was so bright that Rin's face was shadowed revealing a terrifying jack o' lantern eyes and mouth smiling at the torture.

"AND THE WEIRD AND THE WILD SHOULD'VE LEFT YOU ALL BEGUILED. THAT IS THAT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD CHILD. RIP MY JOBS THAT TOOK TIME AND BASK! NOW IT'S TIME TO TAKE YOU TO TASK. THE INK IS SLOWLY DRYING AND IT'S TIME THAT YOU GET DYING! YOUR CONTRACT HAS EXPIRED! SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE! YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH! FOR YOUR SOUL BELONGS TO SNATCHER! BURN TO ASH IN MY MELODIC BONFIRE!!" With those last lines, the ring of fire exploded into a large burning blaze.

Every demon and their host burned away until their screams became silent and bodies turn to ash. The young man snapped his fingers as the blazing blue flames extinguish themselves before Rin glared down at Father Fujimoto. "Rin…" Fujimoto spoke only for Rin to interrupt him. "Don't say a word. I learned about the truth coming home 9 years ago. I watched you through a clone crafted by my father's magic and gave you multiple chances to tell the truth." The boy started.

"Did you know that sealing my soul's demon half made my power so unstable that I was a walking timebomb? Not only did you kept secrets and lie to me but you put everyone in danger. You didn't see as a child or son but a potential threat because of my damned sperm donor. If you did, you would have told me and trained me to be an exorcist than just Yukio. I wanted to die that day but Snatcher saved me from potentially killing myself." Fujimoto flinched and looked truly hurt once realizing what he had done.

"I won't kill you or get revenge for keeping secrets because you spared my life instead of killing me or my brother on the spot when we were babies. However, you, Yukio and everyone in this room are no longer my family. A true family would see me for me, not some bastard son of Satan or a potential threat. And if you go after me, I won't protect you from the full might of the Subcon Kingdom! You have been warned." Rin explained as he took the sword that contained his power before stuffing it in his hat like a magician.

"Rin! Please don't go! I'm sorry! It was for your own good!" Fujimoto cried out but Rin merely ignored him. "Goodbye Shiro Fujimoto." And with those last words, Rin Okumura disappeared in a flash of blue fire. Shiro Fujimoto fell to the floor and weeped. Secrets were a dangerous thing and he didn't listen to his friend's warning. The price he paid was his own son's trust now in the hands of the infamous Snatcher. Yukio came home to his weeping father and the approaching pike of mistrust that crucified his father's heart. It wasn't anyone's day at the True Cross Monastery.

And that's it! This was written last year so if the writing style looks different then that's why. Blue Exorcist was one of the first Mature mangas I ever bought, I got Volumes One to Three.

And honestly, I feel really bad for Rin. His brother tried to kill him, his foster father kept TONS of secrets, his friends immediately turned on him for his heritage despite him saving their asses and trying to regain their trust, or just being marked as a target for existing. I mean WTF?!

Poor boy needs better friends and a hug because I don't think Kuro or Ukobach(from the anime) could help for so long. This was also one of my early attempts into writing Snatcher before I got the game myself.

I did watch someone play it quite a few times but limited my experiences to the first three end chapter bosses and Snatcher's area being Subcon Forest. This was something I usually do before deciding to buy a game.

Snatcher honestly felt perfect for this especially taking the dad role. When you take his experiences in the ghost's past life to now, betrayal and mistrust are two big factors.

Even if Snatcher is an antagonist character, he does have some morals and personality than just the common soul eating specter with a grudge. This also takes place after the events in a Hat In Time.

And yes. Rin was singing 'Your Contract Has Expired' cover by Man On The Internet although the last bit was abridged on purpose. If this Rin had a theme, it would be the Phase Two Version theme of Your Contract Has Expired.

Anyways, until next time folks! Smell ya later.

youtube

This is an Phase Two Version of Man on the Internet's Your Contract Has Expired, done by Ben Newsome. Please read the description because they cited this song belongs to their original owner and not stole it. Poor guy doesn't need anymore accusations involving copyright.

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wordsfromaqueer · 3 years ago

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Batman doesn’t realise this has become a Thing until he’s beating up some criminal and they start begging him not to steal their kid.

Dick finds this hilarious, Jason starts using it as an alternate interrogation method (think: ‘give me the info or I’ll be having a lovely chat with batman about your kid, yeah?’)

I just remembered that Steph used to sit on her roof when she was little and her home life was particularly bad and wish that Batman would come save her. We know in canon that didn’t happen but I’m losing my mind over if it did. Like Bruce has already adopted Dick, just adopted Jason and is trying not to adopt Tim and now here’s ANOTHER child who’s giving him a Father’s Day card she made in class because she hates her bad dad so she REFUSED to make it for him and can she call Batman Batdad now

Okay I absolutely love earlier adoption AUs for any or all of the kids. Maybe not Dick so much because he actually had a nice family, but everyone else. Good dad Bruce with the little baby batkids is amazing and I love the idea of Steph coming into the family earlier and getting adopted (which I feel like she would be in this case)

#let’s be honest batman has a chronic adoption problem #half the bat kids actually play into this in public #like #the gang members include some kids #that they feel bad about beating up the usual bat way #cause they probably got coerced into this tbh #‘look he got to me but you can still escape’#‘I know things must be hard but trust me you gotta stop this before the bat adopts you too’#‘there’s no escaping if you continue down this path’#they probably ask jason to take them into his gang (adopted kids)#cause at least they know jason treats kids well #he just gives them loads of pretend work that isn’t really dangerous #if anyone suggests he has a heart and is just letting kids freeload #he’ll point out that if he doesn’t they’ll end up adopted by the bat #therefore adding to his arsenal #and he doesn’t wasn’t to give the bat any more feral children to dress up and throw at people #so really #it’s just common sense #anyway the criminal underworld lives in fear #of batman the kid snatcher #‘behave or batman will adopt you’ becomes a weirdly common threat for parents to use on their kids #batkids #batman #batfam

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ratcandy · 3 years ago

Text

Subcon Forest Analysis

Hi everyone I'm here to spill my aggressive overflowing thoughts on Subcon Forest and what it represents because it's been driving me insane since I finished the Sleepy Subcon time rift. Okay let's go. Obvious spoilers for AHIT ahead so proceed with caution.

This is also very, very long.

Disclaimer/warning: I will be discussing abusive/unhealthy relationships in this analysis. I mean. Vanessa. Come on. Also, there is a section on the nooses, and that delves, of course, into mentions of suicide. It will be sectioned off and easily skipped, but if you'd rather be safe and skip the entire post, that's completely understandable! Please stay safe. <3

Alright. Main point to be had here:

Subcon Forest is a giant extended metaphor for Snatcher's mind and character.

You all get to now listen to me spout nonsense about metaphors and symbolism because I'm a sucker for analysis and I'm given an opportunity to go ham. So perish.

The Ice

Let's start with the most obvious and most glaring thing in Subcon. The ice. It's everywhere. Not just outside Vanessa's manor, either; no, it's throughout the village, too. Shows up in the well and in random locations sprinkled about. When it comes to literal plot, we know that ice is just what lingers after Vanessa's wintery curse on Subcon. But going deeper and analyzing the meaning behind it?

Well, let's look at this from the perspective I've suggested. Subcon Forest being an extended metaphor for Snatcher's mind and character. A symbol for Vanessa then litters his mind, enough where it's certainly noticeable at first but blends in more easily once more of Subcon is unlocked to Hat Kid. This is clearly meant to be his lingering trauma, whether or not he wants to acknowledge it. Which he doesn't, as he never mentions it directly in his forest (that I can recall). Her influence plagues him, as to be expected with the traumatic experiences he went through with her. Breaking the ice is something Hat Kid must do in order to fulfill the wishes of the Fire Spirits (another subject I'll get into shortly), which, if self-indulgently playing with the found family idea, could mean that Hat Kid is helping him heal; if indirectly. Even if fulfilling the Fire Spirits' wish to die is... counterproductive, in that measure, which I'm now getting ahead of myself so hold on a sec!!

Vanessa. Ice. Everywhere. Traces of it all over his forest. That's the effects of an abusive relationship! Especially in a worst-case scenario where... yknow! One party in the relationship dies! So of course ice would be everywhere.

In and of itself, ice is a common symbol in literature and other forms of media. In this case, it's presented as an antagonistic force; emphasis is placed upon freezing and the harm that comes with it. The cold is unwelcoming, threatening, merciless. Snow can act as an insulating force, at least, but ice cannot. It can only make things colder.

A slight stretch: Seeing as this game deals a lot with time shenaniganry, I'm not sure if it'd be too out of left field to connect "freezing" with the theme of time. Yknow. Frozen in time. Both parties here, Snatcher and Vanessa, would be in this frozen state. One largely repressing it and never fully moving on, and the other doomed to her isolation ever since the event in question. They never moved past that moment after the Prince and florist's interaction.

The Fire Spirits (& the Portraits)

I'll put a slight warning here for suicidal ideation, if only because... it's the Fire Spirits we're talking about. It's not as grossly in-detail as the noose discussion will be, though, so make of that what you will.

To me, the Fire Spirits are a very interesting case. After all, they're fire. They're a direct contrast to the ice, thus being the only thing we're shown that could potentially melt it. The Fire Spirits, in my opinion, represent hope or a strength to continue. A strength to move on after troubles of the past.

...And that hope wants to die.

The Fire Spirits wish to burn out, to leave this mortal coil and abandon the forest to the cold. They make no effort to melt the ice, they simply dance, blissfully ignorant towards their surroundings. This being a metaphor for Snatcher's own hope for moving on is made all the more obvious by the fact he wants them gone. The first contract is to kill the Fire Spirits, to kill the hope. Perhaps he believes that sort of thing to be fruitless or naïve, so it only clutters his mind or has him foolishly optimistic at points. So, get rid of it. And the hope is happy to oblige.

(That, or their willingness to leave the forest to its own suffering and not aid in the ice's thaw angers him. Besides the whole "bark bark growl I can't get to parts of my forest because of them!!" which... also could represent a naïve hope clouding his judgement, not allowing him to see a bigger picture. But hope can't all be lost if one wants to move forward...)

A little side-tangent now on the portraits! And it's another slight stretch but the idea is in my head and I can't let it go. Portraits are another common symbol, usually being a physical representation of a memory or idea. For our purposes, let's say they're memories. I know in canon they appear to just hold souls captive or something but for now we're just Ignoring That(tm). The Fire Spirits have to burn the portraits to disappear. See where I'm going with this, maybe?

Instead of handling bad memories (or perhaps memories of the past in general) in any healthy manner, Snatcher chooses to forget/repress them, which just allows his hope to progressively die out.

I'm really hoping this is making sense because it makes a lot of sense to me but I might be insane rn

The Fact that this is a Forest

Forest symbolism breakdown! What's a forest usually mean in literature? "Traditionally, the forest has come to represent being lost, exploration and potential danger as well as mystery and 'other worldliness'." Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. That certainly works with the whole aesthetic we've got going on. Wood usually is life, growth and strength. But the trees of subcon are all dead. So what about that? It stands for death, big whoop, very spooky, we know Snatcher's dead and so are the children, yadda yadda wowie wowie. But. :) The trees in Subcon look a lot like trees that were scorched in a forest fire. Don't believe me?

(You could also argue they're just regular marsh/swamp trees bUT SSHHSUUHSH HANG ON HEAR ME OUT LOOK LOOK,)

What I believe to have happened was a controlled fire to rid the forest of the majority of its ice and snow. Likely done by Snatcher. It leaves behind a very desolate, depressing, barren scene... but. What else do dead/burnt trees symbolize? Rebirth. After all, controlled fires happen to make way for new trees to take the place of old ones. Some trees only drop seeds in fires/hot temperatures, so new ones take root and begin anew. Weird. It's almost like... I dunno. Snatcher was given some sorta second chance, given he's not just a corpse in Vanessa's cellar. So were the subconites. Another life given then by Snatcher. All connected I tell ya!!

Generally, aside from that, forests have many connotations. Mystery, isolation, claustrophobia; a place to dwell on regrets, or the past; to worry over one's future; to seek escape from or escape inside of... hmgmrnmm!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T / W -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Nooses

The t/w is given at the top and another cut-off point will follow the bottom of this, for those that would like to skip. This will delve into talk of suicide and abusive tactics used by abusers. Please don't read if it will upset you or make you feel unsafe!!!

Personally, I cannot stand the nooses, but that's just due to my own triggers. Were there a way to hide those from the game or replace the damned talking ones with anything else. I would take it. In a heartbeat. But I can still appreciate the potential analysis to be had with them. So now i'm gonna talk about it despite how uncomfortable it will make me to do so. yEa

So, what about 'em? There are three types of nooses seen in Subcon. At least that I remember but I didn't really go looking for them. Empty ones, ones containing empty subconites, and the talking ones.

Nooses in general obviously can hint towards suicidal thoughts or behaviors of the characters that interact with them. If saying Subcon is Snatcher's mind, it could suggest that he suffered from some sort of suicidal thoughts in life (or currently, if second death is possible... or if he never truly died... or maybe he's trying to figure that out...which has given me... a separate idea...uh oh). But. And hear me out. Different perspective.

A talking noose. I hate them with a fiery passion that is unmatched. But think of the packed symbolism of a noose that talks. And think more about what it says. "I wouldn't mind being strapped around a cute neck like yours." "Be careful now, I don't want to see you meet a miserable end anywhere, but with me." Oddly, a lot of what the noose says seems almost... endearing? One could argue it's a way of luring someone to put it around their necks, which in and of itself is a whole lot to unpack when it comes to suicidal thoughts beckoning one forward; painting itself as something romantic, almost. But. Here's a wild idea, now. What if the nooses, at least the talking ones, are another symbol for Vanessa?

They're tinted blue, after all. While Vanessa's scheme is more red, one could argue two things: One, ice. Blue. Ice. yeah. Or two, the fact that Snatcher's scheme is more purple. Blue and red... make... purple. So, for all we know, Snatcher's current state was a compound effort between suicidal thoughts and Vanessa's treatment of him. Perhaps he even found a way to put himself out of his misery before freezing/starving to death. (I know he has dialogue that argues against that, but... are we certain Snatcher would be the kind to admit suicide over freezing to death?... I don't think so.)

At any rate, a common threat by those in "control" of an abusive relationship is that of killing themselves should the other person not do as they desire. It's a cruel form of emotional manipulation to get their way, worse off if the other party is an empathetic individual. As a person who has been the empathetic individual in relationships like this... I would know. I've been here, unfortunately So, it's not completely out of the question to say Vanessa could've used some tactic like that, even before the whole... cellar ordeal. Did she? I dunno. I'm tossing ideas around. But if she did, the threats of such would sit around in the Prince's mind easily. Even if she has a reputation of not going through with it. It doesn't matter. That shit sticks with you forever, that scare, the potential of it ever being true, is horrifying and it ruins you. I'm projecting, Squirtle.

Still. A noose cannot hang itself. It has to have a victim.

...yea.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T / W PASSED -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Misc. Ideas

- The spiders: Aside from the usual things spiders can be chalked up to symbolizing - toxicity, alluring danger, just... general pain - I like the potential wordplay that can happen here. Yknow. A black widow. Say the Prince and Vanessa were married when one died. What would that leave Vanessa? A widow. ...She's red and black, too. Yknow. Like a black widow. HA wordplay is fun isn't it?

- Snatcher's tree: Love this place, love sitting in here. But not the point! The inside of Snatcher's tree is such a harsh juxtaposition to the rest of Subcon that it kinda throws ya off guard. After all, the dark, purples and blues then contrasted with the bright warm colors of the inside. Even the music switches over. The thorns outside aren't present indoors. Ohh yeah this is gonna be on the nose as hell but the Tree(tm) is 100% representing Snatcher's appearance/put-on personality vs. his truer nature. Spooky outside with thorns, foreboding, unwelcoming. Then the more comfortable interior. VULnerable. Have I even mentioned that the tree is HOLLOW I mean COME ON. The sturdiness of that tree? Nonexistent. He's not a sturdy guy at all no matter how he fronts

- Intrusions are unwelcome: Snatcher does not like the fact that Hat Kid sticks around in his forest. His personal space. His mind. In fact he tries desperately to get rid of her after their fight, not wanting her presence in his forest at all. He has no problem providing more contracts later on with the Death Wish thing, and he finds great entertainment in messing around with Hat Kid, so it's not just a weird sudden hatred he has for her; it's the fact that. After she's finished being useful, he no longer wants her around, lest she find some things she shouldn't find. Now he's just uncomfortable with her in his personal boundaries. Could just be a denial that she's helped him heal (breaking ice, stealing from Vanessa, being something interesting for his kids to interact with) or just not really wanting a child to get wrapped up in. All that. Most likely the former. Considering the amount of joke-hints he drops regarding his background during his Death Wish dialogue. I see you funny man, making jokes out of your trauma as a coping mechanism. Punts him

Annnd I think that's all I got, for now! I'll make an update post if I get any more sporadic ideas. If you read this whole thing, thank you!! and also!! Wow that was a lot!! Hell world. Please feel free to elaborate on any of my points or debate with me on em!! I'm always open to other ideas, just be aware that if I disagree I am not shy when it comes to debate hehehe, tho I won't be aggressive to any extent I prommy!!

Alrighty. goes to sleep goodnight

#clamtalk #VERY long ramble #a hat in time #snatcher #ahit snatcher #subcon forest #vanessa ahit #ahit #analysis #the prince ahit #goes crazy. goes insane #ask to tag #i'm frazzled I can't add more tags I'll do so later

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