#specifically people he cares about dying in the snow

[mera-kiin]

he'd just hate to see you cold, doctor

[linkspooky]

I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND ME

It's not surprising to me that Gojo's dying monologue he spent more time talking about his fight with Sukuna than any of his students. Gojo's priority from the beginning isn't to save Megumi but to fight all-out against a strong opponent, the line is: ""The Absolute Strong. The loneliness that follows. The one who will teach you about love is..."

This fight is basically the climax of Gojo's identity crisis which has been a long running issue for him throughout the manga. He's simultaneously a self-confident individualist with an overpowering sense of "ego" and a person with little idea of who he is outside of the role in society that was given to him. Gojo went into the fight looking for someone capable of understanding him, the fight is about Gojo seeking an answer to who he is, that's why he fights and that's why he loses.

Gojo is Not Normal

Nanami's statement is misinterpreted I think.

"You live for Jujutsu. You don't wield it to protect something. You use it solely for the sake of satisfying yourself."

A lot of people took this to mean that Goo didn't care about anyone but himself, even though Gojo directly contradicts this earlier.

"I love everyone and don't feel lonely snow, but somewhere along the way there was a line I drew, not as a human but as a living creature."

He states he does love other people, if only from afar, he just doesn't understand them. Gojo can't make other people his reason to fight, because he only understands himself. He only sees himself. He can only fight for what's inside himself.

"You can make a flower bloom, you can admire it, but you can't tell that flower 'I want you to understand me'

Gojo's students are the flowers. Itadori, Fushiguro and Nobara are all named after flowers. He's raising them up to be as strong as him, he's fond of them, but he doesn't think they relate to him because he exists in a different category of other people.

A lot of people want Gojo to be a more traditional caring mentor figure like Kakashi or Aizawa they're missing what's really interesting about his character. When Nanami says "Gojo only cares about being the strongest" it's true because his entire character is written around the statement "I am the strongest". He is conceptually about what it is like to be the strongest man in existence. That is the character concept, and Gojo's entire identity crisis revolves around that he's built up his personality around being the strongest at Jujutsu and nothing else.

Gojo can only fight for his own ego and self satisfaction as Nanami says, because he has nothing else, he has no identity outside of that.

However, before I get into why I want to point out that Gojo is not normal. It's not because someone on his power level is fundamentally incapable of relating to other people, but Gojo himself...is not right in the head. He's making an active decision to choose not to empathize with people whatsoever, it's not just that it's hard to understand him, it's that they can't understand him.

Gojo talks about his students like they're members of another species. They're flowers. They can't relate to him on a human level because he's something other than human. A friend had an interesting reading on why specifically it's flowers Gojo chose for his metaphor.

Plants are less sentient than insects, they don't contemplate anything they are just taken care of by their gardener and grow towards the sun. That's how differently he sees himself from others.

I wanted to include this take from @kaibutsushidousha as well.

Gojo's not from the planet mars he's a human who has human emotions and human psychology like everyone else, so that's simply not true, but Gojo believes it is and that belief influences how he interacts with everyone.

Gojo can't see himself reflected back in other people for some reasons that aren't his fault and some reasons that are. Gojo has been from birth, treated as different from everyone around him, not for anything he really did but because he was born with a really strong jujutsu ability. He's a literal chosen one. He always seen as the six eyes user, the strongest, before he was seen as a person. His entire life has been defined entirely by the abilities he was born with, he was born to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer so of course that's what he builds his entire identity around.

Not only is he told that he's categorically different from others, but he also believes it. We know little about his early childhood besides Gege's statements that he was spoiled, but we do see later on in childhood there are people who are willing to treat Gojo normally despite the position he has as the strongest. This is when it starts being Gojo's fault that he continues to see himself as different from other people.

Shoko, Gojo's closest confidante in his schooldays after Geto's days basically tells him that. She's been with him for years and yet he still has the audacity to act like he's all alone in the world. Even when people try to treat Gojo normally and relate to him on a personal level, Gojo actively ignores their presence in his life like he did Shoko because he's not only been told he's different from other people because he's stronger, but he believes it and he's built his entire world view around it.

This is why the only person that Gojo ever let in was Geto, because Gojo believed that Geto was someone who could stand on top with others. THe only person who could believe the strongest, or teach them about love was someone equally as strong. Gojo just happening to meet another sorcerer who was special class as a teenager not only allowed him to have a friend, but fit perfectly into his narrative that he was separate from others and only someone as strong as him could understand. There are people like Shoko and Nanami who treat Gojo normally despite the fact he's the strongest, but Geto was the only one Gojo met in because he met the qualifiaction of being someone equally as strong.

This isn't really the case for Geto. Geto comes to see weak people as inferior yes in the sense he sees Non-Jujutsu Sorcerers as inferior, but Geto is capable of making connections to other Jujutsu Sorcerer. Geto has his family, he has Nanako and Mimiko and the rest of his followers who he all cares about equally. Geto met all of them and chose to relate to them, he even tells Gojo after killing his biological parents that he's choosing who his real family is now.

"It wouldn't be fair if I made an exception for my parents, now would it? Besides my family now consists of more than just them."

Geto demonstrates someone as powerful as Geto can make a choice to relate to other people. It's shown in the way that Geto treats Nanako and Mimiko, he is their father and he raised them as his daughters. Compared to how Megumi is just a student to Gojo. Gojo's only invested in making Megumi into a strong Jujutsu Sorcerer, because Gojo doesn't fathom connecting to someone weaker than him. He's only their to raise up a strong sorcerer, whereas Geto who's capable of connecting with people in other ways is raising up Nanako and Mimiko and they're connected as parent and child.

Geto and Gojo are similiar in a lot of ways, same level of strength comapred to the rest of humanity, same god complex (and yes it is a god coplex, there's a reason the two people Gojo relates to are Geto who has constant religious imagery associated with him and Sukuna who's literally satan) and yet Geto shows someone roughly Gojo's power level can make connections to others Gojo just chooses not to.

This is where I'm stealing from a friend's post a bit. @theanimepsychologist points out that Geto notices the beginnings of Gojo's identity complex soon after it started with Toji.

I always thought of the panel above as Geto being jealous of Gojo surpassing him in strength but, in retrospect, I think Geto’s disappointment had more to do with Gojo’s sense of self over-identifying with the title “the strongest” and how that made him harder to relate to, which is one of the main themes in this chapter. I’ll come back to this in a sec. But first… Quick depth psych segway. I think I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating again that an overwhelming sense of self is all ego. There’s nothing wrong with ego per se. The problem is that an over-identification with ego means inherent separateness because, as an organ of the psyche, the ego sense of self is what gives us a separate identity from the collective.

Geto notices that Gojo is drawing a line between himself and other people, and pulling away because of that because people in the second category of weak can't possibly understand the strong and he's reacting to it. Geto is also the only person to underline to Gojo himself that he's unsure about his own identity.

Gojo knows he's the strongest, but he doesn't know anything about himself besides that, or even what being the strongest entails in his relation to other people. He's never constructed an identity outside of it in part because he's never had to, nobody has ever challenged him for his title as the strongest, and he also fits jujutsu society's mould perfectly. He's perfect at what he does, why would he need to change? Why would a person who reached enlightenment at seventeen need to reflect upon himself or figure out who he is? You can't really become more enlightened.

The other reason he's never constructed an identity is he's never interacted with anyone on equal terms. Metaphorically Gojo exists in a vacuum of human interaction. How appropriate is it in a way that he was sealed in a box where time didn't move completely alone for who knows how long, because that's kind of just how Gojo sees himself in relation to the rest of the world.

As Psycho points out an unregulated ego results in an inherent separateness from the collective. People don't exist in a vacuum however. We wouldn't know who we are if we were entirely alone. We are defined just as much as ourselves, as we are by our interaction with others.

Ich and Du, translated as I and Thou is a book by philosopher Martin Buber. His two main porositions is that we may address existence in two ways:

The attitude of the "I" towards "it" towards an object that is separate in itself, which we either use or experience.

The attitude of "I" towards "Thou" in a relationship in which the other is not separated by discrete bounds.

I -> It is the world of sensations. If I am looking at a chair, I say "This is a chair. This chair is an eyesore." I am seeing the chair. I don't relate to the chair.

I -> Thou can be used to refer to a relationship between human beings. You don't experience the human being., you can only relate to them and what that relationship means to you. He goes on further to say that love requires a subject -> subject relationship. To love someone means you have to relate to them as if they are another being, you can't love an object.

He's a philosopher to put forward that it's human's connections with each other and their ability to relate to each other that brings meaning to life. Gojo in Buber's terms is only experiencing the world around him, not relating to it. How appropriate of someone with the six-eyes, an ability that gives him sight far better than anyone else to see himself as only an observer to the outside world, like a floating pair of eyes.

The choice that Gojo makes not to relate to other human beings on an equal level, not only isolates him, it affects his sense of self. People cannot exist within a background. Gojo's like a vampire who can't see his own reflection. ? It's all because of this caveat that Gojo himself has set up that no one can possibly relate to him unless they were equally as powerful as him that he can't see himself in others. He can't see himself in others, he can't find anyone to help him understand himself, and therefore his identity crisis goes unresolved.

Twitter user @ det_critics pointed this out that the question: "Take away his strength and what is he?" isn't one Gojo has an answer for, and one he's actively been running from.

As I said Gojo literally doesn't have a reflection, we see that in story when the prison realm opens its eye and it's just a void where Gojo's face is supposed to be. Gojo choosing not to think of himself as the strongest is also a choice not to think about who he'd be if he wasn't. A question he evades over and over again by telling himself that he can't be understood by people who are weak b/c he categorically exists on a different plane of reality.

When he does look for an answer it's telling just how not normal Gojo is in who he chooses to empathize with: which is Sukuna.

This is who Gojo as chosen to be the only other person besides Gojo he felt he could relate to. The same person who monologues about weak people like this.

The same person who monologues that weak people shouldn't even be alive, they should be culled. Sukuna sees weak people as insects. Gojo sees them as plants.

The first person that Gojo relates to as a subject rather than an object Geto is cut short, the next person he relates to as a subject is Sukuna of all people. He chooses to see himself in Sukuna, because Sukuna validates that incorrect idea Gojo has that someone as powerful as him could never possibly be understood by other people. After all, Sukuna the strongest sorcerer of all time isn't even really human anymore, he's a curse a calamity. For Gojo who doesn't see himself as relatable to other human beings this is validation of that mistaken notion.

It's also telling of how much Gojo's own identity issues have warped him that he finds a curse personally relatable, and even pitiable because it's lonely. Sukuna, who's main problem is that he's bored because a life of killing people is unfulfilling and it's turned him into an adrenline junkie. This is who Gojo's personally chosen to relate to because they both only see the world in the category of "the strong" and "the weak."

Gojo's viewpoint of other people is mistaken for several reasons, but one interesting one was pointed out for me by Psycho. He refers to his students as flowers, but they're lotus flowers. Lotus flowers mean many things, but they're seen as symbols of purity because they rise up from the mud. Gojo is only looking at the flowers, not the mud they rise from .

"No mud, no lotus. The mud is what makes us who we are, and no one can 100% understand what wading through the mud feels like. I think people see oh shiny lotus, the outcome of wading through the mud but they overlook the self because we live in an outcome oriented society.

Gojo is someone who doesn't see the mud and therefore doesn't relate to the personal struggles of others. Which sabotages a lot of his personal relationships. Which like, to bring Megumi into this, Megumi is proof that Gojo IS NOT NORMAL.

Megumi is the kind of special genius that Gojo is, he's born with the strongest technique one capable of killing Gojo, but he doesn't become a special class at seventeen like Gojo, nor is he interested in doing that because Megumi is an entirely different person with differnt personal struggles than Gojo. He has all the raw potenital that Gojo does, but they have wildly different upbringings. Gojo was primed for success by being the spoiled child of his clan, while Megumi is an abandoned child. It proves again Gojo's maxim of people who have that much power are inhuman and don't follow human psychology is wrong because Megumi has all the potential to be as strong as Gojo, but he's just a normal kid. Megumi is still wading through the mud and Gojo doesn't see that.

GOJO IS NORMAL

Jujutsu Kaisen seems to be following Buber's logic on how identity is defined by the interactions we have with other people, because there was a period in Gojo's life where he did create an identity outside of being a sorcerer and that's when he was Geto's friend.

In the afterlife we even see him regressing to that previous state of being. There was a period for three years in his life that Gojo was something besides being the strongest, and that was when he was Geto's friend too. If Jujutsu Kaisen is about how identity and meaning are both constructed from the interactions we have with other people (subject -> subject) interactions then it's telling that Gojo reverts to his seventeen year old self because that was the first and only time in his life he was capable of relating to another person, and acted like a fully developed person outside of the role of sorcerer he was born to play.

If identities are constructed though that means they're not inherent. Gojo is not inherently the strongest, just as he's not inherently different from other people. This is different from what Gojo's been told his entire life. He was born the strongest. It's inherent to his identity, a fundamental part of who he is. Therefore people who are strong are inherently different from those who are weak, it's something internally different about them which makes it impossible for Gojo to comprehend the motivations of weak people.

Rather than just strong and weak being constructed categories. Gojo's the strongest at Jujutsu but if you took him outside of Jujutsu and asked him to work any other job he'd no longer be the strongest. He's only the strongest as long as he remains in his fish bowl that is Jujutsu Society. However, Gojo believes differently, he believes being the strongest is what he is, it's something inside of him, and something that makes him fundamentally different from others. This is the line that Gojo has been told due to being born with the six-eyes and this is what Gojo has bought.

This is also what his ability the limitless symbolizes, no one in this world can touch him or reach him, he exists somewhere else. However, the limitless can be breached and Gojo has been shown before there are others capable of touching him.

Toji is the first and only living human being to challenge him, until Sukuna comes along. However, Toji does arguably more in story than just give Gojo a good fight. Toji full on traumatized him, soemthing which Gojo refuses to acknowledge. Toji is the beginning of the end of Geto's friendship, the death of Amanai Riko sends Geto on a spiral for an entire years, and drives a wedge between Geto and Gojo's friendship when Geto self isolates and Gojo doesn't know what's wrong with his friend.

Gojo also experiences what it's like to be defeated for the first time in his life, and his response is to perfect the limitless so he runs it constantly all the time. Remember, before that he was exhausting it doing it for three days in a row, and when Geto told him to take a break Gojo reassured him he wasn't worried because he knew Geto had his back. Gojo was someone who could let down the limitless before that, but afterwards Gojo always insists on fighting alone with his shields up all the time. All to deny that feeling of vulnerability that Toji inflicted on him for the first time in his life, something he remembers years later, you know like trauma.

There are times when Gojo is reminded that it's possible he's the same as anyone else, he can experience human weakness. Geto's fall is another time, one post says it's particularly challenging for Gojo to comprehend why Geto would defect because he saw Gojo and himself as above others and therefore immune to human weakness.

gojou 100% has a god complex and thats why getous downfall hit him harder than anyone else. he saw himself and getou as above everyone else and exempt from ‘regular’ peoples flaws, he never thought either of them could be led astray and when getou finally snaps hes bewildered that something like that could ever happen to either of them. hes not just heartbroken over his best friend becoming an enemy, hes thrown for a loop because getou, the one person he thinks of as just as above everyone else and incapable of failing as he is, could ever do something wrong, could ever be wrong. hes finally put into a position where he has to face the fact that hes just as capable of screwing up as anyone else and he can’t make sense of it. gojous hesitance in killing getou isn’t just a byproduct of their friendship, it’s also him realizing that it could have easily been him on the other side of the conflict, which breaks the illusion of him being better than everyone for a second. and like that’s still not enough for him to reject this idea, personally i think that his comment about him and getou being 'the strongest’ in volume 0 is indicative of the fact that despite everything he still hasn’t grown out of this delusion.

Gojo has trauma, because he's a human being with human psychology. He makes mistakes, he has terrible past regrets like his friendship with Geto gone wrong, but he doesn't acknowledge those things because as stated above Gojo thinks he's immune to having regular people flaws. Gojo seeing himself in another category from regular human beings also allows himself to deny an vulnerability, because the strongest isn't supposed to have weaknesses. Seeing yourself as too distant to ever be touched by others also means they can never hurt you, emotionally or otherwise, an extreme form of the hedgehog's dilemna which is explored an Neon Gengesis Evangelion, an existentialist piece Gege takes obvious inspiration from.

The fact that he avoids other human beings, not because he's fundamentally incapable of understanding them but because he's distancing himself from human feelings like loss, pain, suffering these weaknesses that are part of the human experience just proves he's the same as everyone else. If he wasn't capable of feeling those things he wouldn't avoid it, he wouldn't spend ten years mourning Suguru but not killing him directly until he was forced to on December 24th, he wouldn't be trapped by the box because seeing Geto alive made him have a three minute long trauma flashback.

Gojo is a normal human, with normal human emotions and human psychology, albeit twisted from the power he was born with and his unique viewpoint of the world but he doesn't believe that he is. He uses that as an excuse not to interact with others and because of this his identity suffers. Gojo is someone defined by how limited he is in the story despite having limited power.

Gojo fails as much in the story as he succeeds. As my friend @justapanda put it.

"But, it loos like being strong isn't enough..." Another point could also be made here that, regardless of being the strongest at this point, Gojo was incapable of stopping his closest friend from straying down a dark path, which is perhaps Gojo’s greatest failing in the series. This failure also comes back to bite him much later on as Kenjaku’s ace in the hole to finally checkmate Gojo involved surprising him with the now possessed body of Geto, which distracted Gojo long enough for him to be successfully sealed by the prison realm. Once again, the vast amount of power that Gojo had attained turned out to be completely useless in preventing his own sealing, which has now placed him in an inactive role for over half of Jujutsu Kaisen’s duration. Earlier in the story, Gojo once said: “Ironic, isn’t it? Given everything, but unable to do anything.” when referring to the function of his own domain. This was another intentional use of foreshadowing to describe the dilemma that Gojo was inevitably going to face himself. Satoru Gojo is no limitless man, for no one man is without his limits." Another point could also be made here that, regardless of being the strongest at this point, Gojo was incapable of stopping his closest friend from straying down a dark path, which is perhaps Gojo’s greatest failing in the series. This failure also comes back to bite him much later on as Kenjaku’s ace in the hole to finally checkmate Gojo involved surprising him with the now possessed body of Geto, which distracted Gojo long enough for him to be successfully sealed by the prison realm. Once again, the vast amount of power that Gojo had attained turned out to be completely useless in preventing his own sealing, which has now placed him in an inactive role for over half of Jujutsu Kaisen’s duration. Earlier in the story, Gojo once said: “Ironic, isn’t it? Given everything, but unable to do anything.” when referring to the function of his own domain. This was another intentional use of foreshadowing to describe the dilemma that Gojo was inevitably going to face himself. Satoru Gojo is no limitless man, for no one man is without his limits.

Gojo has moments where he brushes up against the idea that he's not capable of doing everything, that he has faults and fails like every other human being. However, that feeling never really lasts for long. He always tends to double down on his belief that he's the strongest rather than facing his faults because that's where he's comfortable. Gojo can't see himself reflected in other people and therefore is not capable of reflecting and critically evaluating his faults. Not only that but avoiding looking too critically at those losses, he also stops himself from feeling the pain of those losses and denies that vulnerability.

Gojo exists on another plane from other human beings, and therefore why would he experience human sadness and pain? All he feels is a vague sense of loneliness and unfulfillment because he's been so alienated from his own emotions and in Gojo's mind that's better than struggling with weakness. Who would deliberately choose to be just like everyone else when you can be special? Why get close to others when the hedgehog's spines are just going to stab you? However, people form connections because of their weaknesses. Humans cooperate with each other because they are a social species. All of society exists because people divide labor and help each other out. Even Gojo can't say there's no point in his life where he was weak, because he was cared for as a child and raised in a family. He didn't come out of the womb a fully formed individual. The darwinian survival of the fittest, and the black and white strong vs. weak way that Gojo sees the world just doesn't exist, especially in modern society. There's nothing wrong with individualism, but the extreme end of individualism is wrong because no one exists in this world alone you share it with everyone else.

Gojo doesn't even see that though, because he's not living in the same world as everyone else. In his mind the limitless makes it so he basically exists on another plane of reality, but again the limitless can be breached.

Detective critics basically said that Gojo's delusion was always a false one, he always existed in the same world as everyone else, he simply deluded himself into believing otherwise. There are reasons for this, his upbringing, trauma and not wanting to face the pain of that trauma, but it's still a choice he made. Gojo didn't want to live for other people, he didn't want to relate for them, so he lived for himself pursuing his own strength. Ironically, it reflects Toji's own decision to take pride in neither himself or others and live only for the sake of showing that the Jujutsu World that rejected him was wrong.

Toji chose to live a life where he only lived to fight and prove he was stronger than the sorcerers who rejected him. He chose it over his own son Megumi, abandoning him in order to continue his lifestyle as a mercenary. He even chose it over continuing to live because he stayed and fought against Gojo to prove he was stronger than the pinnacle of Jujutsu. Toji lives for strength, and he is someone even Gojo respected the strength of, but what else does he have?

Toji's identity is unstable, he doesn't really live for any purpose, he kills people then blows the money gambling, he jumps from women to women to mooch off of them, he's also mentally unstable as well he shoots a little girl in the back of the head and feels nothing. The instability comes from his isolation, Toji is rejected by everyone the same way that Gojo is lauded by everyone. But Toji goes on step further in that he fails to construct any identity outside of being rejected and his entire life is spent rejecting the people who rejected him. Why does Toji want to be strong, he doesn't know. Purpose is something you have to construct for yourself, because there's no inherent meaning to life. Identity is something that's constructed by both yourself and your interactions with others because people aren't born inherently one thing or the other.

Gojo and Toji just refuse to do this, and only focus on themselves and the goal of being stronger. In Gojo's case I'd argue he doesn't fight for other people because he doesn't feel that connection with other people or rather he doesn't let himself. Hedgehog's dilemna to the extreme. Gojo only fighting for himself isn't Nanami calling him a selfish person who doesn't care about others, it's sad because Gojo never found any other reason to fight or meaning to his life but by getting stronger for its own sake.

Gojo only fights for the sake of satisfying himself, but here's the clincher, he's unsatisfied. Not only did he fail in his goal of giving Sukuna the fight of his life, because he knew Sukuna was holding back on him, but also admits to Geto that what would have really been satisfying is if Geto was there with him to pat him on the back.

He's failed on both fronts, he's failed at being the strongest and he's failed at making a connection to the people in his life. Gojo and Toji die in pretty much the same way, they die standing up in the middle of battle, but their last thoughts aren't of disappointment that they lost but their loved ones.

They spent their entire lives believing they were stronger and therefore different than others, and fighting to satisfy their ego and what does it amount to? Toji lived a life of hedonism and then died abandoning the one person he genuinely loved. Gojo has failed his stated goal of revolutionizing Jujutsu Society and dies before he can see whether or not his dream of a reset Jujutsu World will even come to fruition.

They belived they were someone stronger and therefore inherently better, and are put in their place when someone stronger comes along. They die just like all the other mortals. They believed they were alone so they died alone. It's sad and it goes to show how destructive being "the strongest" was to Gojo's identity in the end. Gojo thinks he's Sukuna but Gojo doesn't want to be Sukuna, because Sukuna's alone, and unlike Gojo you could make the point that Sukuna's not a human being who has human emotions because he's a curse. If Gojo was truly someone who could understand Sukuna he would have been truly alone the same way Sukuna is, and that's not what he wanted.

It's too bad Gojo never thought seriously about what he wanted, and therefore learned his lesson too late. He was always looking for someone he could relate to, except for in the people who were right in front of him.

[tonixe]

ਏਓ ` caged

``a/n: I'm back, guys I won't ever leave trust. But update I'm still obsessed with Coriolanus Snow, he is so hot, and sexy and I wanted him to degrade me. Tom Blyth is still my celebrity crush and I just wanted to write smut.

warning: p in the v, penetration, coquette style, lolita, objectification, exhibitionism, mirror sex, choking non-con to dub-con, and creampie. *** may be classified as dark content. (proofread??)

pairing: pervert!coriolanus x nymphet!reader

word counter: 3.1k

You were Sejanus's adoptive sister, you used to live in the district, specifically around District 6. His mother found you around the street, in an alleyway. You remembered cold, hungry, and almost dying from a cold you caught. You were unable to buy food or clothes with the low funds you had, resulting in stealing from people and food stalls.

Their family was your saving grace, being an orphan was hard being kicked out from an orphanage due to the high population rate there, no food, water, or clothes, no reason. Mostly Mr. Plinth who was a kind man indeed. He began to be your father, though he wasn't biological, he cared for you as your own, and you were happy for him to be your dad. From living on the streets to a place in the capitol. You would have never thought of ever seeing the clean capitol floors or walls, or even seeing the wonderful food on the table with the elegant style and decorum.

It took you some time for you get with and normalize yourself with the Plinth family. You couldn't use the word mom or dad, even father or mother because you didn't feel like you fit in always using Mr or Mrs with them.

You had to practice it yourself, hopefully make them your own traits of carrying yourself with elegance and suave. Mr Plinth hired a teacher to help you practice it, which you were grateful for. Even landing a spot in the capitol's academy, attending it with your older brother, Sejanus. Everything felt surreal to you, feeling yourself still in a dream looking in the mirror as you wore the blood-colored uniform, clipping a pink-colored butterfly hairpin in your hair to finish your pristine ponytail, fitting the appearance of a spotless uniform.

Though you were from the district, you managed to hide yourself from your origin, even with the relationship that people knew that you had with Sejanus. Everyone seemed to be more favorable towards you than him, flocking your desk before the professor came and class started. Talking to you, children from the rich, and the wealthy wanting to be your confidante. Your popularity rose from the ranks, and you were able to have a flourishing status in the academy. A person with good grades, elegance, and filled with poise.

The bell rang, and you took your books holding them close to your chest, walking out of the classroom. Hearing some footsteps coming closer to your walking form, your eyes flickering to Arachne. "So, are you excited for reaping day, it's in almost a month," She said, as you listened to her in response, nodding your head. Your heart starts beating faster as you hear of reaping day. Everything about reaping day triggered things in you, especially back living in the district. You heard of it, people going missing and plucked from their homes to be fighting in an arena for entertainment. You gulped, nodding to her words. "Yeah, it going to be a ball there, I wonder whats going what new things are going to happen, especially with Dr. Gaul" You replied, "Well, she knows how to entertain and put on a show," Aranche said, you guys simultaneously went into the dinning hall.

As you guys got some lunch being served, before you stopped in your steps, "What happened?" Arachne asked, as she stopped with you, "I'm going to sit with my brother" You stated, gesturing to him sitting alone, before she grabbed your biceps, "You're going to sit with him, Sejanus?" Arachne asked incredulously, "—Are you serious?" Aranche questioned, "Yes? Is there a problem?" You asked, cocking your eyebrows to the side, feeling Arachne's hands leaving your bicep before she walked away from you. As you walked to the table where Sejanus was sitting, another person was sitting next to him.

He was familiar to you, with curly blonde hair. He hung out with your brother often, his name was Coriolanus Snow—right? You continued to walk to the table, Sejanus's eyes flickered toward you, "Y/N, come join us!" He said that got the attention of the blonde man sitting next to him, you nodded, placed your tray on the table, and sat down on the chair that was across from Coriolanus.

"Oh, Y/N this is Coriolanus" Sejanus said, gesturing to Coriolanus, "Yes, how can I not, he's infamous at the academy" You smiled at the man who was staring at you, and he gave you a small smile before he went back to Sejanus, "So, is this your sister?" Coriolanus asked, "Yes, she little younger than us. I think a Junior, right Y/N?" Coriolanus just nodded at the statement.

Coriolanus was in awe of your appearance, he had known Sejanus for some time but never knew he had a sister as well. Your h/c and your eyes contrast with your smooth skin, enchanting your beauty, and your cute nose. He wonders what you would look like underneath the red uniforms, and how much your curves would show, trying to brush off the dirty, vulgar thoughts of his 'friend' little sister.

There were some talks about you especially among his male peers, mostly the vulgar gossip about how you would look bare, especially when your name was mentioned to Festus. He would always talk suggestively about you, though he didn't like Sejanus at all, he did like his sister. He was a hypocrite in his own words...he didn't like how men were looking at you and talking to you, suggestively, he actually hated it with a weird sense of rage every time your name was mentioned from someone's lips.

He attentively stared at you as you talked to Sejanus, your delicate fingers taking the ladle and dipping into the soup and putting it towards your dainty lips, drinking it. He watched as the soup went down your delicate throat, and gently put it back down. Everything you did was gentle and purified, you were an uncorrupted version of what came out of the capitol, that he wanted to protect.

"Coriolanus?" his eyes darted to voice, which was you, "is everything okay?" you questioned, cocking your head cutely. "Mhm," he nodded, the way you pronounced his name with every syllable with your dulcet tone, it felt like something inside him broke when you looked at him with your soft e/c eyes. "So—how long did you know my brother" you asked, "About a decade now" He answered truthfully, "Oh, that's nice" You gave him a little smile,

"Any hobbies, or such?" You asked, He found it cute that you asked him all the conversation starters in the book, it was adorable that you wanted to know more about him, and the hidden blush dusted on your cheeks. "Hunting" He answered, "I also enjoy hunting, what is your favorite season to hunt, I prefer spring to summer. You get to see all the flowers, fresh grass, and even baby animals" You exclaimed, ranting away as Coriolanus listened to your lovely voice.

He wondered how you would sound when your alone with him, but he couldn't stop his vulgar thoughts around you, it was always in his mind when he heard, saw, and listened to you. Made the blood rush all way to his dick. How embarrassing would it be to see his boner?

You and Coriolanus started hanging out more, spending more time together without Sejanus and you managed to form a relationship with him, becoming his friend but to his disdain he wanted more than a friendly relationship.

He would visit your home a few times but it was almost all for hanging out with Sejanus, but you didn't know that he only came to see you. You would greet him in one of your cute little pink lacy nightgowns, he found you precious at the informal act. The nightgown did hug your curves, it was something. that very something that got a rise out of him. Those rises that made him jerk off to you at night, the single thought of you with him alone and him stuffing you full with your pink lacy nightgown flipped over covering your face. Your soft-sounding, sweet mewls in his ears as he sinks himself into you, but it was only a fantasy as he spills himself on his hand, the thought of you taking all of his cum made him get aroused even more.

But this time Coriolanus had come back to your utter surprise, but what surprised you more was he wasn't with Sejanus at all, opening the doors to him, and nobody was home but you knew Sejanus was coming back in a few minutes or perhaps hours. "Oh, Coriolanus..Sejanus isn't here at the moment but you are welcome to come in—I think he'll be back in a few minutes" You said, opening the door to him as he walked in. You were still in one of your pink lacy nightgowns, and pink stockings, and your hair were in pigtails with pink bows on both of the sides.

You led him to the parlor room, "Would you like anything to drink? You asked, cocking your head to the side. "No, I'm alright." He answered, "You sure?' You questioned, he wondered if you act the same way if he were to marry you would you be a dutiful wife to him, making sure he's always taken care of—"Yes, I'm sure Y/N" he repeated, you nodded at him. "So, why are you here Coriolanus," you asked, "If you don't mind me asking, of course," you said, "To talk with Sejanus," he said, "Ohh". Coriolanus studies your appearance, the new jewelry that he noticed on your wrist, it wasn't something you would see in a jewelry store. It had a bunch of plastic rainbow loom-type beads on it. "What's that" Coriolanus gestures to your wrist.

You held the bracelet with your other free hand, "Oh, I made it myself" feeling your cheeks getting flushed, "Do you like it?" you asked, your eyes gleaming up to his. "It's...nice" He looked at your wrist, "Do you want me to make you one" you exclaimed clasping your hands with his, your eyes sparkling. He felt his face getting hot, his pale face being stained with a pinkish undertone, "Sure" He answered you, your hands wrapping with his as you grabbed him out of the sofa and led him into your bedroom.

He guessed rightfully on what your bedroom would like, it was all pink, and in different shades of pink to pastels to dark vibrant tints. There was a canopy bed with white sheets and pink lacey curtains, a vanity, and your room had pink cherry blossom wallpaper with pink roses, orchids, and carnations. It had a Victorian style to it, with windows that had lacey curtains with pink bows. His eyes darted to you as you were looking through your vanity trying to find the bracelet set. "You were actually the first person who complimented my bracelets before" you smiled to yourself, glancing back at him. "Well, I'm glad I was your first," He said, putting his hands into his pockets. You took out the bracelets from the chest you brought out. The golden, and pink box opens up with your delicate hands, taking out the charms in the compartment, sitting on your bed. "Sit" you patted right of you, as he sat down looking at the box on your lap.

He was wondering why you would bring a man into your bedroom, not even knowing his intentions at all. Your naive personality was worrying, but also adorable as you made a little bracelet for him, putting charms into the golden metal twine. A few minutes passed between you and Coriolanus, "I'm done" you smiled towards him, taking his wrist and putting the bracelet around it, Coriolanus looked at the bracelet with glee that it was made by you. He felt his heart pumping against his chest.

"It's cute," He said, the cool metal touching his arm before he turned his attention to you. "I'm glad" you smiled, your soft lips parting apart. Coriolanus felt something inside of him twinging, blood rushing down to his lower core. You felt his hands on your thigh, rising making you tense up, "Coriolanus what are you doing?" Your eyes darted onto his hands crawling dangerously up to your cunt. "Y/N" he called your name, as you got up quickly from him, "I think you should leave, Coriolanus" You held your hands backing up from him, and he got up too.

Walking towards you as you tense up, feeling your flight and fight senses kicking in. "You should leave...now" You flickered your eyes away from him, and every time he stepped closer you stepped back, the process continued still you hit your dresser. A set of panic coming in you, feeling his hand on your face. His body pressed into yours, "Your really beautiful when you're scared" he whispered, as he caressed your face.

"—You don't even know how long I waited for this" he finished, his arms trailing down from your face to your chest, as he fondled your chest, "Why do you wear these skimpy nightgowns when a boy comes around, like a common whore" he rolled the buds on your chest, as they hardened at his touch through your flimsy garment. You turned your head away, "Stop" you mewl out, feeling your legs getting heavy, his hand taking down the top of the nightgown revealing your breast on display for him. His hands were cold, groping your breast, feeling your cunt pulsing through your cotton panties.

"We should stop now– please" You choked out, putting your hands on his shoulders, you felt a weird sensation through your body. "Why, feels like you're enjoying it" he whispered, "Haah~" you whined, closing your eyes shut. His hands flipping up your nightgown, your hands darted to his, "We should stop, please, it's wrong" you plead, your doe eyes looking at his cold irises.

This look made him feel even more aroused, he ripped off your nightgown making you squeal so cutely, displaying your cute flimsy pink panties before he flipped you against your dresser. He took off your pink panties looking at the wet patch on them, as your ass made contact with his crotch. "Fuck" your eyes making contact with your mirror at the assault happening on the backside of you. He unbuckled his belt, the jingling sounds making you nervous, your eyes glancing back to him at the sound. Your eyes widened at the size of his cock, feeling yourself tremble at the size, "Corio...that's not going to fit" your lip quivered, "Please—don't put that in" Your eyes getting watery, "It's going to be okay" you felt his hand rubbing on your curves, as he lines up against your slit. He rubbed against it feeling your slick against his cock.

Your breath trembled, as he slowly entered into you, and the pain simmered into you as tears pricked on your waterline, "Shh, it's almost all in" he caressed your waist, his finger trailing to your clit, rubbing the nub. His pelvis bottoming inside you, you gasped, putting your hands on your dresser and trying to steady yourself.

"Don't move..please" your chest heaved, your lips already looking bitten up and your cheek looking wet. But you knew he wasn't going to stop, he moved his hips, plunging himself into you, groaning into your ear. You looked at the mirror, watching his hips fucking into you, his pelvis colliding with you.

"Fuck.. you're tight" he growled into your ears, he slipped into your pussy, and the sloppy sounds of the thrusts sounded erotic, it was dirty. You felt his hands on your pigtails pulling you up, the pain on your scalp hurting, your back curved as he thrust into you. Your tongue lolling out, eyes rolling up, as Coriolanus looked into the mirror at your fucked out face, it was erotic and dirty. The painful sensation turns into a pleasurable feeling.

You felt something bubbling in your core, and thrust into you, feeling a wave of pleasure coming through you, liquid dripping down from your cunt. The sloshing of your cunt and his cock connecting you together. Your tits bouncing at the sudden thrust of him, you gripping the porcelain dresser. His mouth connects to yours into a sloppy kiss, while he enters into you.

Everything that was running through your body felt good, making you drool but you knew it was wrong in your pretty little head. It was wrong to be doing this with your brother's friend, sleeping with him. You felt dirty, but you craved his touch further.

Feeling yourself getting closer to your climax another rush of pleasure passes through your body making you tremble very so slight. His hands on your hips, as he rams into you with an animalistic pace. "It's too much" you whined, "You're doing so well, dear" he teasingly rubbed your clit, making you shudder.

"Corio" you mewl under your breath, as he abuses your clit further getting a rise out of you, he bends you over the dresser, the delicate silver handles digging into your stomach, his hips driving into you. Pulling on your cute pigtails, "Look into the mirror darling" Coriolanus growls into your ear, making you feel wet and aroused, you were embarrassed. "Look" he demanded thrusting into you harder, you obey. Your face flushed and your puffy cheeks stained with wet tears. Your tongue lolling out your mouth, panting like an animal.

"I'm close" he groaned, as he caressed your stomach, feeling his cock bulging in your stomach. "Not inside—please" you whined, feeling his teeth on your neck, leaving little bites blooming on your neck, his hands gripping your breast.

"How can I not, you look so adorable when you look at that" He pulled your face in, your face was messy, tears, snot dripping out of your nose, and drool coming out of your cute little mouth. He plunges into you, "Fuck—" he groaned, before feeling hot loads inside of you, making you tremble from the sudden warmth. "Haah~" you huffed before he released you from your pigtails, falling onto your dresser, panting.

Feeling the sudden warmth coming out from you, as he pulls out from you. Hot cum leaked out from you to the wooden floors, your eyes darting to the mirror looking at Coriolanus's tired form, listening to his footsteps as he came to you, rubbing your stomach gently. Your eyes hesitantly peek at him through the mirror,

"You did so' well" He whispers in your ear, combing your hair, with his fingers, being careful not to hurt you in the process as he plants a kiss on your collarbone to your neck. You should have known better than to trust people, some can be sick perverts because thank god Coriolanus was here to protect you. <3

[mr-nauseam]

The day came to talk about Coriolanus' need for maternal affection and how that causes him to fall prey to Gaul's manipulations.

I'll get rid of the straw. From my perspective is natural for Coriolanus to some extent to long for the absent figure of his dying father to be covered in some way but I think this is intimately related to his idea of masculinity and rather than looking for someone external to fulfill this role in his life. He himself tries to be the one to fill his father's shoes once he passes away. And while I don't deny that he obviously had some affection (mostly admiration) for him, the truth is that even Coriolanus tells us the person who gave him love. Who filled this emotional void was his mother and he lost her very soon.

This is I think the void he is constantly trying to fill by looking for it in other people in his life. Or in other words I don't personally believe Coriolanus that someone is his father, he is desperately looking for a mother.

So the Snow's like the Plinth's are traditional families. The male head of the household goes out to work, he is the one who holds all the purchasing power and his labors will rarely focus on developing an emotional connection with his children. Crassus we could argue by his character if he had lived he would have wanted to cultivate this bond as we know Strabo tried although with disastrous results. I personally don't think Crassus would have tried, and what little Coriolanus remembers seems to indicate that this could be the case and it didn't seem to conflict him. Unlike in the case of Sejanus.

Before going into the obvious, I think we can freely say that Coriolanus was not so worried or burdened by an unloving father because his mother filled this void. Again under the traditional scheme the wife, housewife devotes herself exclusively to her children but again Sejanus has a loving mother why in him has this need manifested itself? I think it comes from the fact that Strabo would later try to cultivate this bond and had the opportunity to live long enough with Sejanus to create a conflicted relationship.

If Crassus had been alive he would have created a conflicted relationship with Coriolanus? Perhaps. It is likely but that is pure speculation, the reality is that he died and there is no such conflicted relationship in the corresponding sense. Coriolanus never felt loved by his father but that never mattered because he did not have the opportunity to have an emotional bond that would alter him emotionally, most of his conflicts arise from what his father represents. Again, he is more of an ideal of masculinity and social being to reach.

The case of Coriolanus' mother is not much different but there is a key aspect of why in the end their situation is unique: Coriolanus loved his mother. He knew that she loved him. And there was in fact an affective bond, so beyond what Coriolanus' mother represents in his life (love, vulnerability) there is a conflict with her person.

Let's look at it from this perspective. Crassus theoretically ensured financial protection and power for Coriolanus. He is not in his life and such aspects are lacking. He clearly misses possessing them because of the difficulties he has faced without them.

The absence of his mother again presents a bigger conflict because Coriolanus had people who cared for him and loved him and yet he resents the lack of his mother. It is not simply missing the aspects of his needs that she would have met if she had lived, it is missing her for who she was.

A loving woman. Who laugh and played with him, who sang him songs. We know almost nothing of what Crassus' personality was from Coriolanus mouth. It is a figure present but totally impersonal from his point of view. Even the few traits he can mention of his father are more accurated to a specific imagen that sometimes not match the imagen of people who actually knew his father have. However, during all TBOSAS there are mentions of who was the mother of Coriolanus. She have glimpses of a personality of her own that Coriolanus could meet by himself.

Something in contrast again because Coriolanus never knew his father, chose make up him. He constructs his idea of Crassus based on his memories, and his own values and ambitions. Almost everything about him comes from the perspective of a model that Coriolanus aspires to be while he briefly knew his mother, resents not having known her longer, and that she has left him alone. Which brings me to the next point of the conflicted relationship with his mother and his mother figures.

Coriolanus never says he hates his mother but recognizes her as weak, fragile and vulnerable. He never disputes this opinion even when others express it, and as we will see throughout the book it is these traits that he despises in other characters or that cause him great conflict. Sejanus is one of these characters but Tigris is another and here comes why neither her grandmother nor she could truly fill the void.

Both grandma'ma and Tigris are fragile beings that from his perspective must be cared for and protected by him. Coriolanus knows that his grandmother was not a woman made to survive the circumstances they live in, she is also old and delusional. She also places pressure and expectation on Coriolanus as the one responsible for saving House Snow. On the other side Tigris has acted more like a mother, taking care of them, that is why he constantly seeks her advice and emotional support however Coriolanus recognizes her vulnerability, and once again categorizes her as a deficient mother figure.

Tigris claimed his protection. Coriolanus is conflicted because, as he despises the traits that he believes murdered his mother, the ones that made her unable to survive the traumatic childbirth, he will speak at times as if his mother had given up and died on purpose. At the same time he refuses this idea and focuses his fury on the faceless rebels who killed his mother, for she surely would never have wanted to leave him alone in this world with no one to love him so much.

His feelings are then reflected in how he interacts with these deficient maternal roles. The grandmother demands Coriolanus to be an adult. Something his mother did not do. Tigris possesses the same flaws as his mother. He cannot rely on her to fulfill the void.

And there is another aspect. Mothers in our society and within Panem respond to impossible ideals about who they should be. Coriolanus idealizes his mother, he places her on an altar so any other maternal figure that cannot exactly meet his needs for love and emotional labor will always be flawed, leading to a constant and impossible search.

Again something that will never happen with his father, as this figure can be flawed, we see this with Coriolanus hearing the most horrible things about Crassus and not blinking at what is wrong with him. Why should he care about someone he never met, someone he can only look up to without worrying most of the time about his emotions because again. The role-models are not human nor is it possible to develop an affectionate bond with them, on the other hand his mother despite being held in an idealized memory that dehumanizes her at the same time is all too human. Because she died, the most human and unbearable act for a mother figure. In a rather horrible way Coriolanus was forced to recognize his mother as fragile and weak, a person of flesh and blood. A person he loved and died in front of his eyes.

Very different from the concept that died with his father beech in the distant D12.

So Coriolanus remains in search of a mother figure, one that he cannot find in his grandmother or cousin, and this is where Saytiria comes in. This is speculative, but I don't think the following statements are unreasonable, so for those who have never read the book, she is a teacher for whom Coriolanus is her aid. Both seem to have a good relationship, enough for Coriolanus to have a certain complicity with her, and in fact he seeks her out unconsciously in moments of stress during the games. A teacher, an older woman whom Coriolanus does not want to disappoint, is a very striking thing to see if we consider that he feels a great void of affection. And in fact it sets a precedent for Gaul but we won't talk about her yet. Before we have to attend to another figure that Coriolanus relates intimately with his mother, and with whom he shows a rather peculiar behavior: Lucy Gray.

We have to recover a point I already mentioned: Coriolanus never says he hates his mother and I don't think he does, however he resents her, since he relates the traits of her personality with weakness, they are negative characteristics to possess, and he thinks this not only for himself, but for the others: Tigris who is sweet and gentle, she invites abuse, Sejanus who is kind and warm is a fool, but if there is someone whom Coriolanus identifies with the traits his mother possessed in a positive way it is Lucy Gray.

That they both sing is the first thing that awakens in Coriolanus this connection. It is not the same lullaby, but Lucy Gray uses the same words that his mother once sang, the same words that made him feel truly loved and from then on a descent begins. Remember that Coriolanus sees his father as an abstract model of the man he should aspire to be? He will constantly try to fulfill this role in relation to others, especially those he identifies as being similar in traits to his mother, Tigris is the one who supports Coryo and his grandmother, and he feels deeply frustate because that should be his job from his point of view. With Sejanus there is a noticeable frustration at the protection that Coriolanus feels he should give him, but Coriolanus does not feel that way about the prospect of caring for, protecting Lucy Gray.

The reason? Because she has been able to reciprocate, and fill the void.

Lucy Gray is the first person similar to Coriolanus' mother that he can fully protect, that he can really help, it is in his hands to take care of her, at first for his own purposes but quickly establishes a bond with her. Their conversations are about topics that Coriolanus doesn't usually talk about with the people around him, topics that make him vulnerable and connect him with Lucy Gray, who he has allowed her to see a side of himself that he tries not to show to anyone. Coriolanus may care for Lucy Gray or at least try his hardest because he feels that in a way Lucy Gray has done the same.

Didn't she hold his hand and give him strength to face the interviews at the zoo? And didn't she save him before from those angry tributes who wanted to hurt him? And it doesn't stop there. Lucy Gray saves him during the bombing in spite of herself, and there is something in the way Lucy Gray is caring for him, showing how much she worry for him, her gestures speak of love.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Coriolanus decides to constantly give her objects that belonged to his mother. They are his most prized possessions, they are reminders that he was once loved, which he gives to his new love to prove the sincerity of his feelings. It is at the same time a way to confirm that Lucy Gray deserves the title that neither his grandmother nor Tigris nor his teacher have been able to receive, she will love him, take care of him and guide him. She will be the mother he has lost, but Lucy Gray fails.

She reveals herself as a lethal version, with traits that are far from his idealized vision of his mother, until the terrible truth is laid bare: Lucy Gray is a victor, she has survived the games, so she is tough enough to survive this world, what Coriolanus deeply wished was his mother, maybe then she would have survived, and he would not be a child impossible to love, a child who was not loved enough by his mother who died and left him alone. It is not rational, it is pure emotion, but Lucy Gray crossing these boundaries is not a problem until she reveals herself as the undesirable woman.

A manipulative, intelligent, sexual creature who cannot be trusted. A lying, snake girl who tries to kill him, and with Lucy Gray's disappearance, Mrs. Snow's memory and her place in Coriolanus' heart are ruined. Forced into the depths of oblivion, of denial, for being his ruin.

Let's recap. Coriolanus has found fault with every mother figure he has encountered. His grandmother cannot be a mother, she demands him to be a man. Tigris cannot be a mother, because Coriolanus should be the one to protect her. Saytiria cannot be a mother, because she is a drunkard, who would not really go beyond her student. And Lucy Gray in the end is a 16 year old teenager, with a difficult life that has made it impossible for her to fit into all these parameters.

She has also had his heart broken and disappeared without answers, similar to how Coriolanus' mother died abruptly, and with no explanation as to why it happened to a very young boy, who years later, is still trying to process and understand why his mother is no longer with him. Coriolanus may be many things, but he is also a very sad boy, and angry at the world, because his mother has left him alone.

Because she died and took his love with her.

And here is where Volumnia Gaul comes to give hope to that boy in the worst way, but that needs its own post, because she is ALL A CASE. Her name alone is crazy, the mother of Shakespeare's Coriolanus is Volumnia, so I think Suzanne Collins was pretty clear about what was going on between the two.

You know I've seen some posts saying that maybe Casca could have been a positive influence if he hadn't been a jerk to Coriolanus, and yes it's a possibility, but I also don't know how much of a chance he had of being listened for a child who wanted a mother and thought he didn't need a father. In fact he was convinced he didn't need one, which is why Strabo Plinth leaves him indifferent when he almost adopts him, but Gaul is a woman.

A mentor who believe in him.

Next post: Volumnia Gaul's monstrous motherhood

Tag list: @julietasgf @binarisunset @maidstew

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

My take on Snow's future fixation with Lucy Gray

So I've seen this take floating around that Snow hates Katniss because of her connection to Lucy Gray, that Snow hates D12 because Lucy Gray left him, or other variations of it. And for a while it just hasn't sat quite right with me, and I think now I can articulate why.

First of all, I get why this take is so appealing, especially to those who have only seen the movie. There's a sense of cosmic justice in it. It's satisfying to think that someone as abhorrent as Snow will be reminded of his first atrocities, not only with Lucy Gray but with the Games in general, until his dying breath. But this take hinges on the idea that Snow is thinking about Lucy Gray at all, and I don't think he is.

Reading the book makes it incredibly apparent that Coriolanus does not care about Lucy Gray on a personal level. He does not find her wants or needs significant, unless they align with his own. There's even a line where he says that he'd rather have Lucy Gray locked up in the Capitol, so he can always have an idea of what she is doing. I think there absolutely was some attachment there, I won't deny that, but I'm not sure how much of it was the selflessness that we associate with love.

I find it really hard to believe that Coriolanus spent any extended period of time thinking about Lucy Gray after her disappearance, and certainly not 64 years in the future. He does not care about her. After leaving District 12 I have to imagine he'd be ready to forget the experience and look forward to his future, which as we know became quite promising.

I don't mean to say that Coriolanus wasn't effected by this experience, because he definitely was. I just don't think his feelings were fixated on Lucy Gray. Instead, the situation in 12 just confirmed what he already thought he knew: that people are inherently evil, self-serving creatures, and even those you trust will betray you at the slightest provocation. He developed a contempt not just for Lucy Gray, but for people in the districts in general. Or even humanity as a whole. That's why Katniss is such a threat to him. Without the Capitol to keep everyone in line, humans will revert to what they truly are.

This belief may have stemmed from his experience in District 12, and was certainly exacerbated by Dr. Gaul's manipulation. But I don't think that he hates Lucy Gray specifically, because to him, she's not even worth thinking about on any individual level. Instead, he holds humanity as a whole in low regard, especially the people in the districts, and we see this play out as he becomes president.

Hopefully my thoughts make sense here, and I'd love to know what you think!

[aphfroghat]

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒖𝒎𝒑 - 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒚

Physical features

Norway is somewhat chubby, the kind you'd have to see him naked or squeeze him to notice. He's 179 cm tall and his complexion is pale. He has dimples only a few people know about and his hair is very fluffy, wavy and well kept. His curl, beyond its purpose of representing his fjords, also reflects his feelings; it takes different shapes as he feels different things:

He's touch-avoidant most of the time, but he doesn't mind being cuddly with Iceland.

Health & Psyche

Norway is generally healthy, he barely ever gets sick, and when he does it's never too bad. When sick, he becomes much quieter than usual (so he's pretty much silent) and he begs specifically Iceland to cuddle with him. This is a bit of a strategy to make Ice sick and have a good excuse to baby him and take care of him. It doesn't work much. He's myopic and uses strong prescription contact lenses.

He used to smoke, but he quit recently.

He fears speaking in public, thunderstorms and being forgotten. He sleeptalks and occasionally sleepwalks too (he has baked cakes in his sleep a bunch of times). His dreams are either unsettling or weird, and he frequently has nightmares about poverty and losing his loved ones. He's autistic and he particularly despises loud noises and some textures. His coping mechanism of choice is zoning out.

Personality

Despite being naturally aloof and reserved, Norway tries his best to be a tiny bit more open to his close friends and family, failing miserably. It takes him years to open up to someone and become comfortable with touch. He's very good at self-control and hates losing it. He's mostly calm so he has a hard time staying angry at someone, annoyed at max. He can be very blunt but he doesn't intend to offend most of the time. He dislikes crowds, parties and world meetings.

Hobbies and interests

Norway is an active person: he practises figure skating and skiing, and he likes hiking and fishing. He's very good at chess. He tried to teach Iceland too, but the latter is hopeless. He plays the violin well and he does duets with Iceland (pianist) often. His singing voice is also good. He stares at snow or rain as a hobby, sometimes he accidentally stares at people while spacing out. He's skilled at Just Dance but he will never be as good as Sweden. Norway is particularly into black metal and he's a hardcore Vundabar fan.

Social

Norway isn't much of a social kind of person, in fact he mantains a minimal presence on the few social media accounts he has: Facebook, a rarely used Instagram, and a forgotten Tumblr he used one time in 2014. He also downloaded TikTok to try it out with Iceland's suggestion but he deleted it in less than 10 minutes. He matches profile pictures with Denmark on every social media he has.

He barely ever uses his phone anyway, in fact it's better to call him than text him as he forgets to check his messages a lot.

He's in a fake polycule with England and Romania. He spoils Ladonia and Sealand with sweets and gifts, though sometimes his gifts aren't very appreciated because he's stingy. He got Ladonia coloured pencils for five birthdays straight once. He somewhat enjoyed the pandemic for the enforced isolation, a good excuse to avoid physical contact and world meetings.

Magic

Norway is a half fae. This gives him an average fae's features (pointy ears, shrinking in size, wings, a glow in their eyes when exposed to darkness, purring), with a milder shrinking and a better control over them. As a child, his control on those features– and on magic at all –wasn't very good, in fact he seemed to purr for no reason and to sneeze and emanate sparkles as an early display of magic.

Miscellaneous

- He's never sure about his gender and uses any pronoun.

- During an emo phase in his Viking years, he dyed his hair with blood.

- He has a very calming aura.

- He has a massive sweeth tooth.

- Cuddles make him sleepy.

- He always arrives to places 10 minutes early.

- He's not a morning person.

- His blood type is A.

- Despite being photogenic, he's insecure about having his picture taken.

[tornrose24]

I’ve been rewatching The Ghost and Molly McGee and have concluded watching season 1. These are my thoughts and observations:

-I love how Scratch slowly warms up to Molly across the season and it is easier to catch when you watch the episodes in order. From going to a complete jerk, to valuing her friendship, to caring about how she views him, to not wanting to lose her.

-I also love how this show’s art style is like a storybook come to life in every shot.

-It makes even more sense as to why Scratch haunts Adia’s old home. Todd’s soul gravitated to the one place in Brighton that held happy memories for him, where life had yet to turn him into an anxious, fearful adult. It was a safe space for him, and he was mad when a family managed to move in and invade it. Especially Molly specifically moving into his personal room/the safest spot in the house for him.

-Molly and Scratch are BOTH horrible liars. It’s funny how similar they are in that detail, and it’s even funnier if they call each other out on it.

-Scratch is an absolute asshole to a lot of people and enjoys seeing them suffer during this season, but I think that partly stems from a ‘I was/am miserable so I like seeing others suffer.’

-I’d say Molly’s worst episode is the Snow Day episode (not listening to what everyone else wants to do) and Scratch’s worst episode is the Internship episode (taking advantage of an intern to do basic, unhelpful tasks and being a bigger asshole than usual).

-Molly nearly dies 4 times (the machine during ‘Friend off,’ was willing to catch hypothermia in order to have fun in the snow, was almost hit by the truck, and was nearly sliced in half by Jinx).

-Scratch, Mr. ‘So afraid of dying that I never lived a day’…. Gets trampled by animals, eats poison berries, gets hit by a tour bus, gets blended by the machine from ‘Friend off,’ and is sliced in half by Jinx among all the possible things that WOULD have killed him in this season if he hadn’t been a ghost at the time.

-In ‘Very Hungry Ghost’ Scratch doesn’t get to eat any of the food intended for the ghosts. Because he wasn’t fully a ghost, that feast was not meant to be eaten by him.

-I admit I have yet to catch Scratch’s ‘nervous habit of scratching his arm’ during these episodes.

-There’s a recurring theme of the adult characters regaining their passion for something they once loved in a few episodes.

-However I also appreciate showing very realistic struggles, like financial concerns and how you can’t magically restore your community and town to its glory days without some effort put into it.

-Libby’s mom can be seen as an early cameo during ‘The (Un)natural.’ Of course, she would be there for her daughter ^_^

-I’m not a huge fan of the Christmas episode (never rewatched it until now) but GOD do I love the pink sky they use against the Christmas decorations and snow.

-In Pete’s news article in ‘Twin Trouble’, it mentions that other city planners mysteriously disappeared. However, I don’t think the show EVER addressed that, because such a story fascinated me and made me wonder if there was more to Brighton than meets the eye.

-There was a wasted opportunity in not discussing who or WHAT The Chairman was. Was this mystery meant for season 3?

-Scratch mentioning that he is dead throughout the show hits differently now that we know its quite the opposite. So does seeing him having to do mandatory things for the ghost world that he technically shouldn’t NEED to be doing at that moment.

-So does his interactions with Geoff. Oh boy.

-Was Scratch specifically assigned to scare Brighton? What about the other ghosts from there, like the Tugbottom siblings? Howlin Harriet? Sonia? Why don’t we see them doing their job as much as Scratch has to?

-The sheer irony of Scratch believing that he didn’t have any fears in ‘Scaring is Caring’ only for fear to be the reason WHY he was a ghost to begin with. Once again, there’s a hell of a difference between ‘Scratch as a human being afraid of everything’ and ‘Scratch as a ghost being afraid of losing Molly and would do anything to save her.’

-No seriously, it gets to a point where Scratch risks his existence to save Molly in this season and in the next one-if he had been human, he would have been willing to die for her.

-‘All Night Plight’ is an episode I hadn’t rewatched until recently. And it hits a LOT differently this time around. Molly wanted to form a forever memory with Libby and Scratch by seeing that comet and she managed to win over Scratch who went above and beyond to ensure that was possible. While that memory is now somewhere hidden in Scratch’s mind as a living person, this episode likely was one of the events needed to push him into becoming someone who would take chances and embrace life upon coming back to life.

-Considering the number of times Molly almost dies, it would have been one thing if Scratch didn’t take it too well if he failed to save Molly. But if he learned that he was the one who had the chance to come back to life and not her? Yeah, that would have seriously wrecked his mental state.

-That moment when you realize that it was TWO souls hovering on the edge between life and death that changed everything in the Ghost World. Also I could be wrong, but I caught that Molly AND Scratch both have a brighter glow compared to most other ghosts in the Ghost World. Was this stealth foreshadowing, or just a coincidence?

-Scratch’s declaration that knowing Molly was the highlight of his afterlife. That moment when you realize Molly brought him joy after years of being miserable as both a ghost and as a human. This girl reached out to him and was able to get him to open up when no one else did. This girl who is showing him how to truly live once more. This girl who he openly declares to be his friend no matter what others will think.

-When I see Wraith!Molly hugging Libby and Scratch, I just wonder ‘WHY DOES MOLLY HAVE 3 ARMS?!’

-As good as this show is, a lot of folks who watch these Disney Channel shows are likely used to the more story-oriented shows. While the ‘slice of life’ style for TGAMM did pay off, the slow pace and length it took for the episodes to release likely worked against it and I could see why it didn’t attract more viewers at the time.

Stuff relating to Todd:

-Scratch possesses people a lot in this show, but especially in season 1. I’m reminded of someone who talked about the wraith theory on YouTube and he had this guess that Scratch might someday possess Todd and then realize something is different this time. I think that having Scratch use the possession trick so often was building up to that one moment in the last episode because it WAS a matter of time until he possessed Todd.

-As I said in a previous post, I caught Todd in the stands during The (Un)Natural, which was his ACTUAL debut episode. It was easy to miss the first time, but its a noticeable establishing character moment since he’s the only audience member who is visibly NOT happy despite that the team is winning.

-Molly stopping at Todd’s house during the song montage in the bandshell episode hits a lot differently now after the series finale. But then I laughed when she smacked him in the face with a flyer upon stopping by the house a second time in the same episode.

-We have confirmation that Scratch (as Todd) knew the mayor when they were kids and that is a tale I’m very curious about.

-I caught Todd in the audience during ‘Citizen McGee’ when the mayor bestows the honor of being mayor for a day to Molly. I admit a cynical side of me thinks that this is how he actually remembers her name in the last episode…. But at the same time he was so on auto-pilot during that time that he likely wouldn’t pay much attention or remember those events that well. (Plus, you can’t be expected to remember someone’s name once all the time). I refuse to believe that he remembered this event and that Scratch’s memories were what actually triggered the name.

-Todd’s actual lines are very limited (I don’t think he gets many in season 2 compared to this one). While Dana Snyder was voicing him, Snyder lowered his voice so much that it’s really hard to tell that he’s the one voicing Todd. I keep putting my ear to my computer to listen, but Todd barely sounds like Dana. I think they did this on purpose to avoid making it too obvious that Todd IS Scratch. (And that’s probably why he doesn’t talk as much in season 2…. Until the last episode of course).

-The Internship seems to double as foreshadowing, and not just because Todd appears or that his ‘junk’ held some very crucial clues. Molly believes that the pawnshop is where happy memories go to die while Weird Larry assures her that it’s where memories can be reborn into something new. So… is the pawnshop a metaphor for Scratch’s own depression causing his ‘death’ and how he’ll be resurrected into a happier person?

[katiemay-025]

hey idk if you have ur requests open or not cause i couldn’t find anything that says that they’re not (or im just blind)

but if they are open can you please do a johanna mason x reader to the song stranger by olivia rodrigo specifically the part “your just a stranger i know everything about” like maybe instead of finnick dying it could’ve been reader or smtg like just an idea

no pressure at all if you don’t wanna write it it’s fine dw

I’m open to requests as of yet anon but I’ve got work so might take a while or I could have a random burst of inspiration.

~~~

Stranger

~~~

summary: Johanna arrives in Capitol after the war and finds out some horrible news.

wc: 3.2k

warnings: mdni, angst, use of y/n, character death, grief, not proofread.

~~~~~

Watching from the sidelines was agony. If it were for that stupid Block Test, Johanna would be storming The Capitol with you, with Finnick, with the damn Mockingjay herself. Yet, here she was in the hospital staring at the white tiled walls. She didn’t know if you were okay or not and it drove her up the wall.

Communication between the group could not be achieved without interference from the Capitol. The ‘fallen tribute’ propo was played and it nearly caused Johanna to faint. The District 7 girl marched down to Beetee and demanded to know the truth. He had shown her the hacked camera system in the Capitol where everyone in the team had gone underground except for the guy that Peeta pushed into the tar.

She replayed the seconds of you walking by the camera near the middle of the group. You had held your weapon in your right hand and your left hand fiddled with the blue hospital bracelet that Johanna had given you.

You were still alive but heading deeper into the heart of Panem. It wasn’t going to be easy for you and the team. Johanna believed in you, after all, you were nicknamed the Career Grim Reaper as you ended the 6 year career streak between Enobaria and Augustus Braun. In your Hunger Games, you won with a scythe, chopping people’s bodies and head clean in half. With the added bonus of your taller than average height of 5’9” for a woman you could reach enemies from further. As for close range combat, beetee made sure you were able to retract the staff and have your scythe double as a sickle.

A few days later was when Snow lost all his supporters by bombing his own citizens. Johanna could care less, about them. They all deserved to burn in her eyes. He was captured by the rebels and Coin wanted all the victors to watch his executions. Alas, that event would come later as members of squad 451 were injured.

She was flown to the Capitol in a helicarrier with Beetee, Haymitch and Annie. Johanna nearly threw Annie out of it for annoying her. Annie’s nervous habit of biting her nails earned glares from the district 7 victor. Coin and her sources never told them who was injured.

When the helicarrier landed, the victors were escorted through the mansion. It was like the opposite of the rescue mission where she and Annie were in the hospital beds and Finnick and you were the ones running to them.

Annie started running first, desperate to see if her husband was okay. It made Johanna run behind her to try and find you. Annie barged through the door finding Finnick with a cast on his left arm and torso. “Finnick!”

“Annie!” He held her with the same intensity he did in District 13, the same passion on their wedding day. The kissed without a care in the world as Johanna searched the room.

Her heart rate picked up the longer she spent without you. “Where’s Y/n?”

Finnick turned over and gave her a solemn look with tear stains on his cheek. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“What are you talking about. Where is Y/n?”

Annie had pulled away slightly curious as to his answer of where you were. In Finnick’s mind, he was reliving the moment after the Quell, when you woke up on the helicarrier and asked where Johanna was. It broke his heart because in both cases, he would have to deliver a painful blow. “She’s- she’s dead. Y/n’s dead.”

Annie gasped throwing her hand over her mouth. The room ran cold and Johanna scoffed. “If this is your idea of a joke, it’s sick.”

“You know this is something I would never joke about.” Finnick replies and Annie begins to cry.

Johanna shakes her head. “No I don’t believe you. Just bring me to her. I want to see her.”

“There is no body Johanna. She was blown up.”

“She can’t have just left nothing!” Johanna yelled, tears threatening to fall down her face. “What about her weapon, a scorched piece of clothes. The hospital bracelet I gave her as a token. Something.”

Finnick’s face twisted in pain remembering your last moments. “Nothing.” He said with his shaky voice. Unlike Johanna, he let the tears start rolling down his cheek. Annie reaches over and wipes his tears.

Johanna glared at the lovers tender moments. Oh how she wanted that more than anything right now. After all you and her have been through, that much was owed to her. She pushes her feelings down with a deep breath. “Tell me- tell me what happened. Please.”

Finnick closed his eyes and winced. Johanna saw him thumb the small robe he had with him. “We escaped underground to rest for a bit. We woke to lizard mutts tracking Katniss’ scent but it didn’t matter, they ripped through anything that moved.

“We lost most of the district 13 soldiers before we decided to get out of the sewers. They had us at a choke point, we were surrounded and we had to go up an old rusty ladder.

“We were one of the last ones to go up. When I climbed. The mutts pulled me down by my shoulder and parts of the ladder with me. I heard the crack in my arm and I thought I was dead. Y/n saved my life, she killed the mutts around me with her scythe, threw me over her shoulder and ran. The camera crew shot at the mutts behind us but they kept coming.

“Y/n got us to another ladder and pushed me up. Pollux and Gale were there to pull me out of the sewers.”Finnick paused as he began to cry again. “I thought- I thought she was right behind me but all I heard was her screaming. She was nowhere in sight. The mutts had gotten to her and they were ripping her apart. Katniss blew them up and put Y/n out of her misery.”

Finnick barely finished retelling your last moments before Johanna stormed out of the infirmary. Her feet brought her to a room of glass vases and ceramic podiums. They must’ve had some significance to Snow but she didn’t care. Her breath quickened. She swiped at the glass and watched them shatter on the ground. She shoved the podiums over and let them crack.

Johanna rampaged through the room throwing and kicking anything that could break. The glass, the clay. She hated it all. You were dead only several hours before the war ended. It wasn’t fair, of all people, you didn’t deserve to die. You were good. Johanna fell to her knees, not caring about the broken glass cutting up her legs. She clumped a bunch in her hands and watched as the red liquid cascaded down to the floor. The red contrasting against the white marble floor as pure as snow.

Snow. Everything went back to him. Her pain, her losses: Her family, you. You. Your suffering. Your agony. Your death. It was all his fault. Johanna grunted in anger before turning from the room. She didn’t care if Katniss wanted to be the one to kill snow, Johanna had every right to kill him.

Before she could though, one of the training doctors saw her bloody hand and Johanna was taken to the infirmary. They were gentle with her and she hated it. Memories of defying the District 13 doctors swirled in her mind. She had refused to allow treatment in fear of it being a facade. She was afraid to be hurt again and you stayed by her side glaring at the Doctors who would cause Johanna to even wince.

The cut on her hand didn’t hurt despite the amount of blood coming through. The pain came from her chest. How it beat against her rib cage like it was trapped and trying to squeeze through the ridges and jump out of her body. Johanna even felt her heart beat in her throat and it made her nauseous. Her breath quickened as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

She stepped away quickly from the doctors, not caring if they hadn’t finished patching her up. Something overcame her, despite her hate for the Hunger Games, she went to the library where all the games were stored in the archive. Johanna cradled your taped game in her bloody hand.

There was a small lounge area with a television and the District 7 victor sat firmly in it watching your game. You were 16 at the time and besides the baby fat you almost looked the same now. The same muscular features highlighted your tall stature. She spent 3 hours watching you and your games and when it was done, she rewinded all the way to the beginning to watch it again.

Another reason for your nickname being the Career Grim Reaper was that you killed them all. You managed to join the careers and at night during your watch, The other district 9 tribute emerged from the bushes and together you slit their throats. The other two barely had time to react to the cannons before you sliced their heads off.

Your partner tried to get the upper hand on you when you shook hands but you quickly held him in a choke hold yelling at him to stop. He kept thrashing and managed to stab you in the arm. With great reluctance in your face and a quick apology, you snapped his neck.

The 68th Hunger Games was replayed a few times before someone came looking for Johanna. Being the stubborn and cranky woman she was, she stayed in the single seat, ignoring her stomach’s call for food just to see you. She could feel your spirit and your strength as if you were sitting next to her. It felt comforting.

The house maid brought her food at Finnick’s request and Johanna proceeded to ‘rot’ in front of the televisions. She only got up to use the restroom for the next week. Then a district 13 soldier came to ask her to a meeting. She didn’t want to go through the trouble of finding you tape again so she pocketed it.

She was greeted by some of the other victors, Finnick, Annie, Beetee, Peeta, Haymitch and surprisingly Enobaria. Katniss walked in and Johanna glared daggers at the mockingjay. That brainless girl was the reason you’re dead, but the death of her sister enough pain for her. She’d know the meaning of loss for the rest of her life.

President Coin gathered the remaining victors and with a short protest, Johanna found that Enobaria, along with herself, Peeta, and Annie, they were granted immunity. Shes still trying to to kill Enobaria, she was probably lying comfortably in her bed while everyone else fought for their freedom. She proposed a vote for a symbolic hunger games.

This was unfair. You were a victor you should’ve been there at the vote. It was your right. It was upsetting how you were hours away from a stop at this table. Regardless, in her anger and revenge she votes yes in hopes that Snow’s granddaughter gets reaped and he has to watch her die.

After the vote, came the execution. Everyone far and wide came to witness the death of a tyrannical dictator. Imagine being hated so much that everyone comes to witness your execution. Katniss broke her promise again! Instead of killing Snow, she killed Coin. Across the way, she could hear Snow’s maniacal laughter. Johanna clenched her fists and she felt the glass piece from last week cut her hand. The girl quickly pulled it out and flung at Snow’s head.

She watched a brilliant spray of blood and his laughter cease. People shoved her aside as they stormed to get their hands on President Snow. If he wasn’t dead from the glass in his face, he’d be dead from the crowd. Either way, he wouldn’t get the last laugh.

One of the guards, yanked her from the crowd and pulled her to safety. Yeah, protect the victor. Where was this level of security for you? They sent the victors back to their districts and before she got on hers, Finnick and Annie approached her.

“We know how much you love the forest, so when you need a break with watching that tape, eat something okay. We’re going to figure things out on our end so we can go to District 7 with you.”

“I’m not a child Finnick, I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t fight us on this. If I come over and smell the stench of rotting flesh I will bring you back from hell to kill you myself.” Finnick stepped closer to threaten her.

“Really? Threatening a victor?”

“Yes, how low of me. I’m not threatening a victor, I’m threatening my best friend.”

Johanna snapped her head at him as he used those words. If looks could kill, Finnick would’ve been in hell. “Don’t call me that! We both know Y/n was your best friend and I swear if you erase her…”

“She saved my life. I’m not erasing her. It’s just that she’s de- I can have two best friends.”

“No you can’t.”

“Okay fine. I’m threatening my best friend’s lover. I owe her that much, to take care of you.”

On the train ride home, she watched your game again. Feeling prouder and prouder of what you had done. Watching you at that young age, you were like a stranger to her. A stranger she knew everything about.

She knew your hobby which was beer crafting. She knew your family consisting of just your grandfather who passed away at the old age of 83 a few months after the 73rd Hunger Games. She knew how the rest of them died, your mom dying in childbirth and your father dying a couple months after from heartbreak. She knew about your spunk, any thought you said, you said without muttering. She knew about your habit, like how you’d pick at the skin around your finger nails or the way your eye twitches when someone chews with their mouth open. She knew of your fears, like your fear of the dark and being alone with no one to love you. She knew your favorite food, her own Marionberry pie with a bit of ice cream on the top. She knew the way you’d pick up the telephone by saying hello twice in quick succession. She even knew your fighting style and that you preferred close quarter combat.

After finding out about your passing she had yet to cry. Annie had cried, Finnick cried, Katniss almost cried. Hell even Enobaria cried. Her voice had broke on the phone a few months after returning home and she cried to Johanna. She just pulled the phone away from her ear and brought it back when she thought Enobaria was done. Alas, she was still in tears. Johanna managed a ‘there there’ and called it a day.

It wasn’t because she didn’t miss you she missed you everyday. She just couldn’t cry even if she wanted to. It’s as if she’s wasted all her tears before ever truly knowing you. She watched your games less and less throughout the years, and the Odair’s even named their daughter after you.

There were days where she couldn’t get up because of the heartache and then days like today she hadn’t thought of you so far. Finnick and Annie had their kids over for her birthday tomorrow and Johanna played with them as they splashed through the splash pad. Annie slowly got Johanna to be comfortable with the water.

She was turning 24 tomorrow and it dawned on Johanna that you never got to be 24, dying a few months short. You would never get the chance to be 24, 25, 26 and so on. She didn’t know what overcame her, before she knew it her tears fell out of her eyes torrentially.

Wiping at her tears, Johanna grew crazy when they wouldn’t stop. The time for crying was long over. It’s been over for 3 years. She was okay now, Johanna was sure of it. The weight of grief had lifted off her chest already, but now she felt it all. You were forever going to be 23 and she was going to be older than you now. The last time she saw you in person was when you told her you’d ‘see her soon’. She never got to see you again and anytime she conjured up an image of you, it was the 16 year old stranger. It was unfair.

She bit her lip to stop herself but the moment your namesake saw the glistening skin under her eye, her small hands shook the victor’s shoulder asking, “Aunty Jo? Are you okay?”

“Y/n I’m okay.” She looked into the child’s eye and burst into tears. Johanna pulls Finnick and Annie’s second child in for a hug and bawls repeating your name. The parents snapped into action when they heard the crying only to find Johanna in tears.

It was Annie that arrived first. Her daughter stood there confused and wouldn’t move when Annie tried to pull her away. Your namesake wrapped her arms around Johanna to let her cry. Finnick arrived shortly after seeing Annie pat her on the back. He mouthed ‘what happened’ to his wife but she only shrugged.

The couple were at a loss for words, but luckily, as parents, they knew what to do. They tried to pry Johanna from their daughter but she held on. It wasn’t until later at dinner when Johanna spoke up.

“I don’t want to celebrate my birthday.”

Finnick and Annie darted their eyes between each other and their honorary oldest child. “Why not?” Johanna mumbled her answer. “What was that?”

“I said I don’t want to be older than Y/n! I don’t want to be 24 when she’s stuck at 23! She had so much ahead of her. I’m forgetting what she looks like, what she sounds like. I miss her laugh. At this point she might as well be a stranger. I had no right to cry.”

“Everyone has a right to cry Johanna, we do it. Tears don’t make you weak and you can designate time to cry but it doesn’t mean grieving is over. It comes and goes. We tell our kids about Y/n, they remember her through stories. They practically know everything about her at least from what we knew of her. We keep her alive that way.” Annie tells as Johanna pouts.

“It’s unfair.” Johanna says.

“Auntie Jo.” Your namesake called. “Mommy and daddy say we live for the people who cannot.” Johanna smiles hearing your words echo throughout the Odair family.

“Yeah even if we never met old Y/n, it’s like we still know her!” Their son joined in.

That was who you are now, a stranger the people around you know everything about and although it has its sad moments you live on through memory.

[pinkrangersarah]

Hey! I was wondering if you'd answer requests for Red Shoes and the seven dwarves.

I'd actually like to request Headcanons for the Fearless 7 watching a Horror Movie or going through a Haunted House! 🫶

oooOOOHH 👀👀👀 yes, hello!! i would be happy to!! please, feel free to send in whatever you'd like :) i will do my best to answer ^^

merlin

like i mentioned in a previous post, he is actually a huge baby. he won't ever flat out say he doesn't want to watch a scary movie or go through a haunted house, but will 100% try to divert attention away or try to lean the vote toward something else. it never works.

gotta put on that tough guy act, though. he can't let arthur hold it over him, so he tries to crack jokes and insists it isn't that scary.

has absolutely accidentally zapped a few haunted house actors. they've actually been banned from a few because of it (not that merlin is really complaining, even if he genuinely feels bad for attacking people).

he's never run out of a haunted house, but he is always the first to scream. hans thought it was a girl in trouble once.

he somehow always ends up under a blanket or behind the couch during scary movies, but will claim he was looking for something he dropped.

arthur

second biggest baby, but much better at hiding it. will actually vouch for watching a scary movie or going through a haunted house while simultaneously dying inside.

has almost hit a haunted house actor, but merlin usually gets scared first and accidentally does it first. will tease merlin about it despite also being scared.

slasher movies are probably the least scary for him because in those situations he feels the protagonist should just punch them. "just punch'em in his stupid hockey mask face, goddam".

has jumped into jack's lap at least twice.

jack

biggest. asshole. ever. to watch scary movies or go through a haunted house with. especially if he has the cape with him. he doesn't stoop to juvenile levels often, but he just can't help himself in these very specific situations. merlin and arthur tend to be his victims as they're the easiest to scare.

jack himself, however, is incredibly difficult to scare (which merlin hates). he's never been much of a screamer. in fact, he grew up with his mother telling him ghost stories, which he'd always enjoyed.

other genres don't really do it for him, though. just ghost stuff.

doesn't really care for haunted houses since he doesn't get scared. he only goes because (a) the other guys want to and (b) he can at least find joy in tormenting merlin and arthur.

hans

like jack, he doesn't get scared much, but when he does it's more like a thrill. almost as if he likes being scared. he'll let out a scream and laugh about it almost immediately after.

is the best at telling scary stories, and he's the only one who even comes close to making jack a little unnerved. snow didn't believe any of them until she actually heard one of hans's stories.

cannot sit through gore fests, though. he will vomit on the poor bastard next to him.

pino, noki, & kio

honestly a little annoying to sit through a scary movie with because they will spend the entire time trying to pick apart with logic. ghost stories in particular they will try to explain away, despite it being a movie. jack think it's a coping mechanism, because they are not immune to classic jump scares (though maybe they would be if they were actually paying attention).

similarly with haunted houses, they can only get into the vibe for so long until they find something they must investigate.

oh, terrifying pumpkin head contraption, how does it work 👀👀👀

could not tell a scary story to save their lives. too many contradictory ideas and eventually lose track of what they were talking about all together.

[alicentflorent]

Why do you like Gale? No hate, I’m honestly glad because I feel like we’re a minority because everyone seems to detest him. What is it specifically about his character that draws you in? For me it’s his endurance despite loss, his devotion to the cause, he’s the flawed rebel that isn’t pure because the system doesn’t allow him to be.

I like him for the reasons you just listed too. His growing hatred towards the capitol and his commitment to ending the oppressive situation is relatable and REAL. He is willing to make the hard choices that aren't always morally right but under the circumstances I can understand why he is willing to use violence, why he accepts that they aren't going to win this rebellion without a few civilian casualties. He was fully committed to the rebellion and was willing to die for Panem to be free and wasn't naive to how that was going to be achieved. I can respect that. Especially given his life circumstances and how much trauma he's been through (something that fans ignore because he wasn't in the horror that is the games, therefore, his trauma doesn't count). We get insight into his view on the people in the capital, the privileged, early on, Before the reaping he says "if they all stopped watching, there wouldn't be any games." in his eyes they are all complicit, which isn't necessarily true for every single peson but you can understand his point. The people in the capitol could at the very least all boycott the games and this would put an end to them because then no one would be profiting off them. We know this to be true as well because the games were not successful and barely anyone watched them in TBOSAS and they were likely going to stop them.

Another reason I like him is because of how loyal he is to his family, the everdeens (he would have taken care of them if Katniss had died and was taking care of them when she wasn't around) and his loyalty to his district. He saved as many people as he possibly could from 12 during the genocide and yet, he still felt guilty that he couldn't do more. It is important to note that it was AFTER witnessing the genocide that he fully became involved in the rebellion and the creation of weapons and was willing to make the tough calls that would've got people killed. He was still a rebel in the making before then but who can blame him? his father is killed in the mines and he has to take care of his mother and siblings and make sure they don't starve to death (yes people in district 12 were literally dying of starvation if anyone is forgetting that fact) and Katniss was the only person who understood this. He resents the fact that some people are living in luxury when his people are suffering so much, he hated the class system and wealth disparity which separates the districts and that is something most of us can understand in todays world. In catching fire, when more people started hating him, he's working 12 hour shifts in the mines that killed his father and yet, his family still don't have enough food to get by, he has siblings who are now getting old enough to enter the games and there's nothing he can do to help them if they get reaped because he's aged out and can't volunteer on his behalf. He acted like a dick at times but he was also suffering and lets not forget that moment when he was TORTURED by peacekeepers and could have been killed had Katniss not stepped in.

I don't agree with all of his decisions but when this war started there was no going back, they either win and create a better Panem or they die, their loved ones die or worse, they suffer fates worse than death and worse than the lives they had before. The first rebellion resulted in the games and further oppression of the districts, imagine how it would've ended if this rebellion was lost? When you're fighting a leader as brutal as Snow you have to fight dirty and be prepared to make terrible moves that Snow thinks you haven't got it in you to make.

Gale is resilient, passionate, a fighter, loyal, smart (disagree with his strategies but they were good and pragmatic war strategies) and just as flawed as any other complex character. It is a shame people hate him so much, and mainly because of a love triangle that Suzanne never intended to write in the first place.

Sidenote: the way the fandom hated on him just made me analyse his character more closely and like him MORE which is a bit of pattern with me and unfairly hated characters.

[quatribobo]

LOVE the Drabble you posted for the Hanahaki prompt. When I noticed there wasn’t a named ‘unrequited love’, my mind immediately went: PLOT TWIST. Danny’s love for his town is slowly killing him in more ways than one.

In reference to this post from @stealingyourbones

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! See, I left that part blank purposefully so that people could bring in their own interpretations. DP x DC? Parental love? Sam/Tucker polyam with Sam and Tuck only having eyes for each other? You bring it!

But Nonnie, that never even crossed my mind and I LOVE it. It's an honour to meet such a fellow angst enthusiast!

You can do so incredibly much with this, so *cracks knuckles* let's get into this.

Okay first of all, I'm going to presume Danny knows that this is the love he's feeling. He's having trouble opening up to Jazz, because however protective he is of Amity, that's about how protective she is of him.

She, however, will not accept his silence on the subject. Her baby brother is dying, she's damn well going to find out if she can help, even if that means she's going to have to be the best wingman in history to get this done.

Danny doesn't want to tell her because he knows she'll be crushed once she finds out. How is he supposed to tell her if he knows she'll want to help him, but go mad when she realises she can't?

Still, she persists. On and on she goes. He tries to convince her: hey, this just happens sometimes. People get cancer too sometimes, can't he just enjoy the time he's got left?

Jazz argues that even people with cancer deserve a fighting chance. They don't usually give up beforehand, before even trying. Not without a proper reason, at least.

That's when it dawns on her: there's something he's not telling her, other than the identity of his love. There's something bigger going on. Her prodding becomes more and more targeted, until she manages to force just enough out of him that it suddenly clicks.

Just as Danny predicted, she's crushed when she finds out, because even she knows that making the town love him back is somthing that won't happen. She's seen enough over the past few years to know this.

What Danny hadn't predicted though, was that she was not going to accept this as a dead end, not at all.

Back to plan A, she said. Removing the plant from his lungs.

Despite Danny's protests, she goes into the Ghost Zone - alone, as Danny is far too ill at this point - and goes to see some people.

First up is Frostbite. She asks him if there is any way to teach her what to do and have him guide her through the operation, maybe via an earpeace and a camera? Unfortunately, the aswer is no. The procedure is just too complicated and precise, and there was no way he'd let her perform the operation with absolutely no chance of success. She'd fail, and only blame herself for that for the rest of her life. Despite her avid arguing, he refuses. Only when he explains to her how the procedure goes, does she get his point. There's just nothing she can do in this operation.

So, she tries a different approach.

In the real world, medics can use robotics to perform surgeries from a distance. Is that an option?

The way Frostbite's face lights up, is answer enough.

And so, the second ghost she goes to see, this time with Frostbite in tow, is Skulker.

At first when he hears what's going on, he couldn't care less. It's only when Jazz mentions how such a valuable pelt would completely go to waste, that he agrees to help. It's a good thing he did, since both Jazz and Frostbite were just about ready to tear him a new one.

So they start talking about what's possible and what isn't, and for the first time, Jazz actually starts to feel a glimmer of hope.

However, when Skulker starts to ask about the specifics of the situation, that hope melts like snow in the sun.

He asks why they'd go with the risky procedure, instead of trying to wingman their way out of this. When Jazz explains what's going on, both ghosts freeze.

Jazz doesn't want to ask why.

She does anyway, and the answer wrecks her.

Amity isn't just what Danny loves, they explain, it's his obsession. If they'd successfully remove the disease, his love for Amity would disappear alongside it. In other words: they'd be removing his obsession, the one thing that's keeping Danny together and forming his core. And if they'd harm his core, he'd fade within seconds.

So, Frostbite summarises, even if the operation was a succes, they'd kill Danny with their own hads.

And how was Jazz supposed to continue with this?

How was she supposed to go home, knowing that Danny's obsession was allowing the disease in him to survive?

How could she face Danny, knowing that the one thing killing him was his core itself?

[esther-dot]

"Sansa would call this an enchantment, and tears would fill her eyes at the wonder of it, but Arya would run out laughing and shouting, wanting to touch it all."- Jon(ACOK III).

"I almost fell," she said, with tears in her eyes. "Twice. Thrice. The Wall was trying t' shake me off, I could feel it." One of the tears broke free and trickled slowly down her cheek."- Jon(ASOS IV).

"Drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover's kisses, and melted on her cheeks."- Sansa(ASOS VII).

"The ice crystals had settled over her face, and in the moonlight it looked as though she wore a glittering silver mask."- Jon(ASOS VII).

Tell me why wouldn't Jonsa will be endgame. Ygritte was never going to be endgame for Jon.

I also got these anons on this topic:

After Ygritte die, Jon noticed her face covered with ice crystals which shine under moonlight making it seems like a silver mask. Sansa as Alayne in Vale felt snowflakes melting on her face like lover's kiss. Ygritte was Jon's redhead and Sansa was jon redhead cousin. One was dying while other was building WF and hiding herself.

Ygritte told Jon that his name Snow is dark and omnious and she died surrounding ice. In contrast to Sansa feels Snow kisses as lover's kisses and made WF out of snow.

Martin really likes the way silver looks in the moonlight and describing the moonlight as silver, that comes up a few times, including with Sansa's hairnet. Because of the proximity, I did wonder if there was some connection in his mind between the net and mask, but I can't really argue that. Sansa was meant to marry Joffrey, ultimately had an unknowing hand in his death. Jon was involved with Ygritte, and led the defense against the FF during which she died. Reading the passages though, they don’t feel particularly associated to me.

We talked about the Tyrion and Ygritte Wall quotes and the seeming Jonsa connection over here, so it makes sense to read a Sansa and Ygritte foil situation into this too, since Ygritte’s singing reminds us of Sansa, and of course, Tyrion is one of Jon's foils, so it's something to consider. The thought that one girl is being hidden away to protect her from an enemy (even if LF has ulterior motives) while the other girl has died at the hands of hers and snow/ice being brought into the picture...that's interesting.

TBH, I had not thought to compare Sansa’s drifting snowflakes to Ygritte’s ice crystals on my own, but now that y’all mention it, it is striking that one is the sign of death, the other is welcomed as a lover and carries with it the hope for safety, for Sansa to return North and home. That fits in with the contrast between Sansa and Dany who has the lover relationship with fire, rather than snow. Anytime something crosses over POVs and multiple books it's significant imo, so this may be a thing!

Regardless of any specific reading of the ice crystals and snowflakes, I don’t think Ygritte and Jon were written in a way that indicated they had a future. Jon was always loyal to the North even when he didn’t want Ygritte to get hurt/die. I think I’ve seen people say that in GoT they thought he might have considered abandoning the Watch for Ygritte, so maybe D&D's version of Jon/Ygritte has impacted how people think of them. In the books, it seems much more clear that rather than primarily being a love story, the dynamic was really a means for the author to write Jon coming to understand and care for the FF in a way that makes him unique among Northerners (link).

[aikoiya]

LoZ: TotK - The Desert Merchant Set

Do not misunderstand me, I very much like the Desert Voe Set. I just don't think it's the sort of thing that a non-Gerudo should wear.

And I say this, not for any sort of "cultural appropriation" bs (as people in-general seem extremely eager to share their cultures so long as people do it respectfully), but because there's no damn way that Link isn't hella sunburned after running around in the desert with only a fucking spauldron to keep his torso covered! I do not care if the infusion on the clothes say "Heat Resist," that getup isn't protecting anyone from sun poisoning!

If it were up to me, I'd make the Sand Boots part of a full set where Link wears a burnus & shemagh (maybe even put those terms in the description so we have more canon Gerudo terms). But keep the boots as Sand Mobility while the other parts are heat resist. Or, make the whole thing Sand Mobility, but then when the set is upgraded to lvl 2, it gives Heat Resist. Or vice versa.

A burnus being a white or beige hooded wool cloak with a split in the front & a shemagh being a cotton scarf that you wrap around your face. Add to that a pair of leather goggles that he'd normally wear on the top of his head & whenever you walk into a sandstorm or just a thin mesh fabric sewn into it to cover the eyes. Either way, Link will have a little animation where he lifts the shemagh to cover the lower half of his face (& possibly lower his goggles to cover his eyes to keep the sand out of them).

Then, just do whatever with the top. Go full Gerudo aesthetic with the top maybe with the full burnus, shemagh, (& goggles) together as the headpiece. Make it bright with interesting patterns. The bright colors & pretty patterns could contrast nicely with the more muted tones of the burnus. Though, I'd rename the Sand Boots to Gálkhutwàïr Adhien, which I hc means Sandstrider Boots in Gerudàn.

The top itself, though, I'm thinking about some sort of demi-curiass over a cotton top with vibrant colors & Gerudo patterns.

I do know that I saw some great art for a design for the shemagh!

(Problem, the artist was a fucking dick! And since it's obvious that they wouldn't want me to use their art, I'm not going to. I'll see what I can do to make one of my own.)

Call it the Desert Bandit or Desert Merchant or Dunerunner Set.

I'm just saying, the Gerudo have obviously adapted to be able to handle the sorts of extremes that come with living in the desert.

The Hylians, on the other hand, have not. They are white-white!

Well... I suppose the residents of Lurelin aren't, but you get my point.

For that matter, I would expect the Rito to only come out at night in the desert for fear of dying of heatstroke in the day! I'm not being facetious here! People actually legitimately die of overheating in the desert IRL & we don't even have feathers! It must be like an oven for Rito!

I mean, they're from Hebra, so their feathers are likely specifically geared towards heat retention rather than dispersal.

It could've also been interesting to do something similar with the Snow Boots. Because it's implied that there are Gerudo living in the Highlands, so why not have a full set to represent them too?

Something Nordic could be very cool.

Or Tibetan! I see the Highland Gerudo having a more Tibetan style to them!

LoZ Wild Masterlist

LoZ Cultural Masterlist

[emeritus-fuckers]

uhm hello hi this is for the match up thing

so uh looks wise i’m a 5’6 female, extremely fucking pale😭😭 i have dyed dark red hair that’s like quite long. i have light blue eyes and i have freckles. fashion style wise uh i’d say it’s like kinda like sort of fairy grunge in a way if u know what that issss but my makeup always varies between like what i’m wearing/how bothered i can be... idk where this should go but i am a scorpio who was born on halloween so i pride myself on that!!!!

uh personality wise i’d say i keep to myself and my close friends a lot i can be pretty talkative if i’m talking about my passions tho, i’d say i’m loyal cause like i’ve had the same friends for years and i’ve never replaced any of them for anyone ever, i can get quite jealous easily but that’s down to attachment issues (womp womp) 👎👎👎 my friends say i’m a really funny person so!!! does nostalgic count as a personality trait?? because like people always speak to me if they want to like feel like the old times but that’s because i’m stuck in the past a little too much and have like quite a good memory…..errr….i’m good at comforting people i guess and at giving advice since i was my friend groups like therapist friend.. people have told me i look quite intimidating at first glance but when they get to know me i’m not but that’s just cause i have like a raging rbf😭😭 i’ve been told i’m quite like helpful aswell and i like doing favours for people i care about tho so!!! i’m also very sentimental. and i am almost worryingly competitive….i will throw whatever is in arms reach at you if i lose…but i guess i’m just quite a quiet person unless you’re in my close friends circle then i can be quite loud and energetic…but i do have like crippling anxiety so…..slay….

okay uh interests wise i really like painting, reading, baking, listening to music, photo taking, i’m like really into the paranormal and like spiritual shit like crystals, incense, and i’m currently learning tarot!! i’m also very into history. my music taste is like all over the place so i can’t name any specific genres but some artists are; ghost (obvs), lana del rey, fleetwood mac, mitski, kate bush, abba ykkkk

here is some add on info!! : my favourite colour is purple. my favourite animal is cats, and i have a black and white one called crystal. i have like an uncontrollable obsession with candles and incense….i am a hoarder for that shit. my fav board game is uno because i am literally the master but i will throw the cards at your face if i lose….my favourite season are autumn and spring because i’m indecisive, favourite weather is rain but only if i’m indoors if i’m outdoors then it’s snow. i am a just dance PRO. my fav movie is phantom of the operaaaa, my fav tv show is either modern family or what we do in the shadows. my fav book genre is either fantasy or romance. if i was one of the seven sins i would def be fucking gluttony cause like i am snacking all day everyday, i have such a sweet tooth omgg…..

sorry if this is very vague especially for personality wise i just have no sense of my personality and would need to be told what i’m actually like to know….but my friends are asleep…..so!!!! 😭😭😭

Your match is... Secondo

To him being born on Halloween is just the coolest thing. He always gets carried away with your birthday celebrations.

He can handle you getting jealous, he understands it comes from attachment issues.

He loves how loyal you are. It's a trait he values highly in people.

This man is an expert at uno so you won’t always win.

While your competitiveness greatly amuses him (he’s very fond of it), if you throw cards at him, he will raise an eyebrow with an amused smile. The smile that means you are in trouble.

If you allow him too, it will most likely end in him pinning you down on the table and punishing you in a very enjoyable manner.

He is very impressed by your good memory. He will often ask you to tell stories of your first dates together.

He also loves hearing about your past to learn more about you.

He doesn’t open up much about his feelings but when he needs to talk he’ll go to you.

You both look very intimidating before people get to know you.

When you are feeling anxious he’ll spend the day with you. Baking, reading, photography or painting. He loves doing that stuff with you.

He helps you learn Tarot

He is very fond of your cat Crystal (don't tell another soul).

Because Crystal is black and white he’ll call them 'Papa Crystal'.

Ps I’ve just seen your other ask re this matchup, I will add this: He always leaves food on his plate for you to eat. He says he’s full but really he just enjoys seeing you happy when you steal his food.

~

This post is a part of Match-up Event. The Event ended on July 15th.

Written by Nyx

[scandalouslamb]

Hi in the books Felix is the cousin right? But in the movie, he is the son of President. What do you think about it?

Yes, so in the book he is the President’s great-nephew, so Felix’s grandfather would be President Ravinstill’s brother.

The TLDR of my thoughts are it’s an understandable change to streamline the story for a movie’s runtime. I believe that streamlining the story is also why Felix dies instead of Gaius Breen.

The Long Version Where I Tack on a Discussion of More Book Stuff:

I think the choice to make him the President’s son is just to streamline the story and make the thought process behind releasing the snakes easier to understand. Otherwise, people might ask “sure, he’s family, but great-nephew? Does the President really care?” Also it would just raise more questions about that whole relationship that don’t even get answers in the book!

Without the context of Snow’s internal monologue and having to read (which would help certain ideas and details stick better), non-book readers would be pretty confused why they should care about some guy named Gaius Breen dying (he’s who dies as a result of the bombing in the book). “Why does the Capitol care enough to release snakes?” Is what people might think. Having a character who is already established as the President’s son die makes it easier to follow, I imagine. (Unfortunately, the average viewer is not me who is eating up every crumb of the Academy students)

Now, arguably the point is that the Capitol doesn’t really care that Gaius Breen specifically dies. It only cares that there has been an affront on the Capitol by proxy because Gaius has died. The question doesn’t ask me about it, but I have to touch on the lack of funerals for Arachne Crane and the Ring Twins in order to get to what I think the changes to Felix kind of tough upon.

To me, the funerals are great parts of the book because it shows the how the Capitol is using them as propaganda to look down on the Districts and uplift itself.

BUT to me at least, it also shows how the Capitol as an entity makes the Capitol children’s deaths into a spectacle just as much as it makes the Tributes’ deaths a spectacle. It’s all about saving face and showing how great the Capitol is and not really about the people or the families themselves (this is very prominent in Arachne’s funeral). It’s always reinforcing the boundary between Capitol and District (dead Capitol students are shown dignity and the Tributes are not, except when Reaper and Sejanus give them burial rites). But the televising of the funerals is still a spectacle especially when Arachne's family clearly doesn't want Brandy suspended in the sky at her funeral, but the Capitol has to send a message! (This is different from the televising of the bombed District 12 in the main series obviously. The Capitol can afford to mourn its dead in private, but it still chooses to parade them around to send a message.)

I would have liked to see at least Arachne's funeral, but in the absence of those funerals, I do like the decision to show Felix’s body. What a terrible thing to do! Especially if Felix is the President’s son in this version! It’s definitely interesting to think about whether the President authorized the usage of his son’s body to send a message or whether it was Dr. Gaul’s decision to do that.

Regardless, it does play into a theme that I read into the book that I feel isn’t really, if at all, present in the movie: The Capitol doesn’t care about whether or not you are one of its elite (The President's Son even!) or not. At the end of the day, nobody escapes the consequences of the Dystopian government. In its eyes, everyone is a tool to be used. It’s not going to be sentimental about using and/or disposing of you. (This is something Coriolanus starts to realize after Clemensia’s snake bite too actually. Unfortunately for Panem, he just doubles down and adopts the Capitol’s views as his own).

Book! Felix’s possible characterization is pretty subjective, so it’s hard to have an opinion on how the great-nephew-to-son change would affect him at all as a character, or whether it changes anything major there.

I have thoughts about how I choose to characterize Felix based on both the books and movie, but I won’t really go into it here. I’ve rambled long enough. If someone asks, maybe I’ll write something out, but honestly, I’m not confident anyone’s going to read all of this post so…

[wereh0gz]

OC lore dump because. Yes

I already talked about Eterna's creator deity, Null and The Little Traveler (that was. Months ago. Lmao) so now it's about time I talk about Zephyr, Sage, and Siren, the world's Guardians.

Let's start with some general facts.

Each one has a specific "domain" they watch over and protect- the skies, the earth, and the oceans, respectively. Each one is specifically attuned to their domain, with their appearances and powers being influenced by it. They are not bound to them, though. They can explore as much of the world as they wish (to the extent their physical limitations will allow.) Their appearances are also somewhat influenced by the creatures and people they have met over the many, many years they have existed, so they didn't always look the way they do now.

(More under cut)

Zephyr, Sage, and Siren didn't exist when the world or the universe were first created. In fact, they were made long after the first sentient creatures came along. There's a lot of myths surrounding how exactly they came to be. Some say they are lost souls who died among the elements they now watch over and control, given a new lease on life by Null who took pity on them. Others think Null just made them outright for the sole purpose of protecting their elements from the greedy who choose to exploit nature.

They're all the same age, a couple hundred thousand years old (which I'll say is the god equivalent of late teen-young adult in this universe. Time gets funky when you live forever.)

They don't remember how or why exactly they were born, and, frankly, none of them really care. The circumstances of their creation aren't too relevant to their current lives. They're mostly worried about the world slowly dying from the Penumbra.

Now moving on to more specific facts about each Guardian, in order from when they first meet The Little Traveler.

Starting off with Zephyr!

Zephyr is the Guardian of the Skies. He watches over the atmosphere, up until where the air meets space. He's made up of solid clouds, so his form can shift slightly, dissipate, or even produce rain, lightning, or snow when needed. He's very light and cool, and if you were to touch him, it would almost feel like there's nothing there at all. Some say he is a piece of the sky itself given eternal life.

He has full control over the winds and the weather. He can summon great storms at will, though sometimes he'll summon them involuntarily if angered or saddened enough. He's usually very chill and carefree, though, but that demeanor only came after many years of being unable to control his emotions or the storms that came from them.

He's a bit playful and quite sociable. Most people see him as strange for a deity, as he'll regularly visit villages and towns to rest after a long flight or to talk to people and make friends. You wouldn't really expect that from such a powerful being. It makes him quite well known among what remains of the population, and though he's still revered as a deity, some people see him a bit more like the person that he really is. He doesn't like being worshipped, anyway, so he doesn't mind his relationship with people being as casual as it is. In fact, that's exactly how he wants it to be. He often calls himself lazy, but he can be more determined than anyone, given the right motivation.

He enjoys flying, adventuring and exploring (especially when it's with Sage and Siren), and chatting about said adventures. Sometimes he likes to test how high up into the sky he can fly. He can reach high enough to see the stars beyond, even in the day, but that's about as far as he can go. He doesn't get to do the things he likes much anymore, though, due to the all-consuming darkness taking over Eterna.

When he first meets The Little Traveler, he is the only Guardian who remains. He doesn't know what happened to his siblings, but he fears the worst, and is on a quest to find and save them. But he's at his wit's end, having exhausted himself fighting off Umbral Beasts and keeping what remains of civilization safe.

If I had to give him a voice, I'd say he sounds a lot like Pit from Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Next up, Siren!

Siren is the Guardian of the Oceans. She watches over Eterna's oceans, down to their deepest, darkest depths. Her body is made entirely out of liquid, so she will freeze or evaporate depending on the temperature in the environment. Her form is very malleable, able to change shapes at will, and will blend in with surrounding water almost perfectly. Despite her fish-like appearance and lack of legs, she can move out of water just as easily as she can in it by swimming through the air itself.

She can easily control the water around her, able to create large waves and change the tides by just raising a fin, and can draw out water molecules from the air and condense them into liquid form. She can also create ice or burning steam at will. She can swim at great speeds underwater and reach down into the deepest parts of the oceans without the pressure affecting her. (She knows what's down there, but refuses to tell.)

She is energetic and very mischievous, though she's never outright malicious with the tricks she plays on people. She is also confident and headstrong, and not afraid to try something new and take risks, which leads her to butt heads with Sage a lot. Many people see her not as a deity, but as a sea monster, or a force of nature, and she is the least known out of the group because of it. She seems almost unbothered and perhaps even unaware of the majority of the population's perception of her, though.

She enjoys pulling pranks on people, especially sailors at sea, scaring them by causing the water's to become rough suddenly or even pretending to be a monster. She never goes as far as to truly hurt anyone, she just gives them a spook. She also likes to sing, and has a beautiful, almost hypnotic voice, which some believe is how she got her name. Though she greatly enjoys company, she also values her time alone, so sometimes she will swim off as deep as possible and simply remain in the darkness for a while to relax.

A lot of the seas have been consumed by the Penumbra, and by the time Zephyr and The Little Traveler find her, she had already fallen to the darkness. She is frozen inside a cavern by a beach stuck in eternal winter, unable to do anything about the Penumbra except silently pray that her siblings are still safe out there.

This isn't the first time The Little Traveler had seen her, though. They'd been to this cavern before on their adventures, before they met Zephyr. But they thought her frozen body was just a strange ice sculpture, and it wasn't like she could speak to tell them otherwise.

And last but not least, Sage!

I had a hard time coming up with a voice claim for her and Sage, but the recent release of Sonic Prime gave me the perfect voice for her (yes I'm bringing Sonic into this. Shut.) She sounds almost exactly like Rouge the Bat and her Shatterverse counterparts (especially Rebel Rouge).

Sage is the Guardian of the Earth. They watch over Eterna's continents and their flora and fauna. They were once just a sapling who created a body for themselves using their roots, molding it from the dirt, clay, and stone of the land they were once rooted in. They often smell like flowers (usually lavender) and wet earth after rain.

They are fully capable of molding the earth around them, as well as understand and communicate with animals, and grow and control plants to their will. Sometimes grass and wildflowers will sprout from their back when they're in a particularly good mood. Their appearance and energy levels also change depending on the season of the area they may be in. Just like a tree, their leaves will wither and fall during autumn, and they may go into a state of hibernation during winter.

They are very introverted, preferring solitude and the company of the animals and plants around them. They take their duties as deity much more seriously than their siblings, and they are not afraid to raise hell if people harm the nature they were made to protect. Because of this, they are seen as a mysterious being, and some believe they are more volatile and frightening than they actually are. And while they do dislike a lot of what people do and how they can cause unnecessary harm to nature, they don't hate them. Deep down they yearn for a connection with the people of Eterna, but their sense of duty gets in the way of that.

They enjoy order and calm above all else, and especially like listening to the sounds of nature and studying critters as they do their things and go about their lives. They also particularly enjoy creating flower arrangements by growing certain flowers on the ground below them, and making sculptures out of dirt and clay. They prefer their siblings' company in moderation, as they seem to take pleasure in annoying them (especially Siren.)

Their domain is mostly shrouded in the darkness of the Penumbra. They have unfortunately fallen it, their body being consumed by Umbral Rot, leaving them unable to do anything but watch as the world around them- and their own body- rot away in darkness. It's up to Zephyr, Siren, and The Little Traveler to save them.

The Little Traveler had seen them before on their adventures, too. But they couldn't understand Sage's weak cries for help. Their body had deteriorated too much to speak at that point.

The closest I could find to how they sound in my head is Howell Wizard from Bee and Puppycat.

And that's about it for now! Thank you for reading this far! Here's a picture of my cat for your troubles.