#started spitballing

[wonderpig204]

rewatching nbc hannibal with my mum, and then hearing her opinion of it once we finished it made me realise how much you have to interpret this series as i think it was intended: as an archetypal Shakespearian problem play.

it combines the discussion of drama and very grave topics with bursts of humour and recurring intellectual bits, essentially fitting into a similar tragicomedy genre as several of Shakespeare's plays

and this dichotomy of theme is set up from the very first episode!! like the whiplash scene cut between the discussions of the murder committed by hobbs' copycat and hannibal having a ball cooking her lungs to swelling classical music establishes this blending of genre from the beginning of the series.

hannibal's one liners (sometimes even LOOKING DOWN THE BARREL OF THE CAMERA *cough*s3 when he killed that guy with an ice pick*cough*) also add to this uneasy sense of comedy, one that one is only able to interpret and appreciate once having accepted that the atrocities being committed are just a staple of this storyline and universe that, although are used to convey meaning in different ways, are not indicative of the tone of the series as a whole.

like in measure for measure, for example, the basic facts of the story are that claudio is going to be executed, unless his sister gives up her morality. this threat of death hangs over the whole play, and most of the themes discussed in it are dark and complex ruminations on justice, power, and authority- this would lead the reader to expect a tragedy or some sort of drama. however, this is interlaced with occasional bouts of bawdy humour to lighten the mood, not dissimilar to hannibal's rather self-incriminating cannibal jokes in the midst of investigating murders that HE COMMITTED.

i just find it really interesting how differently one sees the show if not being able to get past the barrier of its dark and dreary themes.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[deliriuxe]

i forgot one

[tiredwishes]

how has no one written the fic where oscar finds out lando not only held checo up cooled his tyres which helped oscar's race out BUT ALSO climbed eleven whole places AND oscar's deliciously adrenaline high off his win, so when he finally gets back to the hotel and sees his beautiful, gorgeous, perfect boyfriend waiting for him, all he wants to show lando is how proud and grateful he is.......

"Oh hello," Lando's voice washes over Oscar the second the hotel door shuts behind him. "Welcome back, two-time race winner."

He's sitting on the edge of the bed, their bed, bundled up in one of Oscar's hoodies that hangs off his frame just slightly. Phone tossed to the side, Lando beams across the room at him through damp curls, and Oscar feels his heart stutter.

God, he's beautiful. Oscar watches as his boyfriend moves to his feet, to him. Lando stops infront of Oscar, eyes impossibly bright through his lashes.

Oscar inhales sharply, and all he breathes is the familiar notes of Lando.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Lando frowns, "Tell you what?"

"That you-" Oscar splutters, because how is he supposed to be normal about this? "That you covered Checo off with the undercut. That you protected your own race even when doing so. That you drove so well."

"Oh."

Lando blinks, clearly not expecting all of that. He stares up at Oscar, two figures in the hallway, the lingering scent of champagne slowly intertwining with bergamot shampoo.

"It's not that big of a deal." Lando shrugs, before whispering with the smile he's only ever had for Oscar. "Osc, you won."

At his words, Oscar stares at his boyfriend like he's grown a second head. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes, you could." Lando's face scrunches in protest. "I saw your overtake on Charles, and your defence after was spectacular. He never would've gotten through. You would've won even without me."

It makes Oscar want to scream. Because his incredibly talented boyfriend, who out-performed what everyone thought was possible, would use every breath in his body to defend Oscar's skill, only to not save anything for himself. The thought of it pains Oscar so terribly.

Oscar pushes back. "I might not have. Charles fought strongly, and Checo would have been a lot closer if you hadn't held him off."

"Still," Lando says stubbornly, refuses to budge. "You would've won anyway."

"Not without you."

"Even without me."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes- Why are you fighting me on this?" Lando snaps, crossing one hoodie-clad arm over the other. It shouldn't be as endearing as it is. Oscar shouldn't be finding it this hot.

The glare he's giving Oscar makes him want to kiss him senseless, amongst other things. Oscar looks into Lando's sea glass eyes, and all he does is want.

"Because," Oscar says plainly, stepping into his boyfriend's space. Lando's sharp intake of air goes straight to his core. "I need you to know how I could not have done this without you. I need you to know how your race was absolutely bloody brilliant, it was fucking hot. I need you to know how much I care about this, about you."

Oscar's hands fall to the sides of Lando's waist, and all it takes is a singular, fluid motion for their bodies to be pressed together. Lando lets out a squeak of surprise, the tips of his ears turning pink.

"And it really fucking kills me that you don't think the same about yourself, you know that?" Oscar continues, despite their lips being inches apart. "Eleven fucking places, Lando. And nevermind that, you won't even let me tell you how proud I am or otherwise."

Lando's flushed brilliantly, and Oscar smiles slowly at the sight. Then he leans in, and Lando lets his eyes flutter shut, waits for his boyfriend's next move.

Only, Oscar's not quite done.

"So I guess I have no choice but to show you." Oscar murmurs next to his ear, it takes him by surprise. Lando jumps, eyes flying open. Oscar's breath is hot, starved, it sends shivers down his spine. "I don't think I've thanked you properly yet."

His thigh presses between Lando's legs. The sudden unexpected pressure has Lando reeling. At his boyfriend's whine, Oscar pulls back. Lando's eyes are blown wide, and they meet Oscar's, dark and wanting.

"Please," Lando nods desperately. He whispers, begging. "Please."

With a smirk, Oscar sinks to his knees.

[aashidoodles]

I've been playing so much stardew that I feel like making some comics. Here's my farmer to start

[thornswoggled]

i think there is a convo to be had about how chises dragon curse - for all of its confusing mechanics - functions less as a plot point and more of a physical manifestation of the character growth chise has yet to undertake, and an unwillingness to reckon with the person she is past the roles she serves in the lives of others

chise takes this curse on when she returns to the auction house, and location is everything here. at its core, this curse is anger, hatred, fear, pain, and a deep desire to return to comfort - destructive emotions that rip apart all it touches. when chise breaks down at the sight of the frightened dragon for sale, elias tells her that those are not her emotions, that she shouldnt let them overtake her - but they are her emotions, that dragon is her, and there was never a possibility that she wouldnt follow it on its flight over london. seeing as things have "worked out" for her til now, chise hasnt yet reckoned with the gravity of what it meant to sell her life away. she hasnt reckoned with the hatred and anger and pain that she still harbors - unfortunately, moving to a quaint little english cottage does not undo a lifetime of neglect. her attempts to fix those around her, philomela being a prime example, will only get her so far. eventually she will have to look within, and i dont think shes done more than dip her toes in. "this is my past, these sad things happened to me, now things are better" is not the end of her self-reflection. now that we know the past she carries with her, what does all of that mean for her? what kind of person is she? who will she become?

im thinking too about this recurring theme of "atavism." its a key feature in tambs dragons, who are able to evolve at will to suit their needs, and yori also mentions it when noting chises appearance. atavism is the reoccurrence of dormant or ancestral traits, and you could make the argument that its also functioning metaphorically here. evolving to suit the world around you, past burdens and trauma reemerging when its unexpected or inconvenient... my thoughts on this are loose right now

theres this concept that we've been getting, too, that chises dragon curse is something temporary. arc 1 left us with the idea that her two curses must remain in balance, in perpetuity, for her to survive. but theres this new interpretation of it being something that serves her for now, but she might shed it once it fulfills its purpose

continuing with the idea of the dragon curse as a sort of... idk, ptsd metaphor, what are these two examples from ch 98 implying? that her negative emotions will serve her when it comes time? that this sort of baggage cant be exorcised away? framing the dragon curse as temporary broaches the possibility of chise one day being cured of it, but what does that mean? and should she be?

(of course, the 'future chise' we see in ch 1 doesnt have a visible left hand, but is that meant to be a literal glimpse into the future, anyway? theres also a dragon made of vines behind her in that panel, didya notice it?)

i mentioned the auction house at the beginning because i feel that if chise sheds the dragon curse, it will be in much the same way she attained it. chise has been told that she is free, she is loved, she has told her "mother" that shes moving on with her life. but all of this is just the beginning - and lets be real, i dont think elias is putting her into therapy. joseph is the only character i can think of who is truly, earnestly pushing chise toward the difficult self-reflection she needs. im excited to see what he says when she taps into her "cursed fury"

this is why im so excited that we are being told explicitly, time and again, that things are about to go really bad for chise. tamb is such a masterwork of character writing, it is so incredibly emotionally intelligent and gives so much grace and patience to its characters. i have no doubt that chises character arc is going to go in such a spectacular direction

[heretherebedork]

Mew is confident enough to not just turn Top down but also agree to let him share his bed and cuddle but not fuck. Mew knows not just himself and his worth but also his limits and his value.

Ray has no confidence. He gets too drunk to function, calls himself a burden, pulls away from any real show of emotion, lashes out at everyone around him and doesn't understand why they're annoyed because why should what he says matter? He's a burden, he's unimportant, he doesn't matter to anyone.

Sand is confident enough in his own identity to know that he can't jut let Ray drive drunk and that he can't leave him alone in his car because he's not trustworthy and he knows how to take care of this stray drunk-cat he's taken in but also enough confidence to be offended and kick him out and wait for the real apology when they meet up again.

Top is so confident he oozes with it like slime. He knows himself, what he wants and what he will do to get it which is anything. His awareness is high and he doesn't hesitate to act on what he wants because he knows his worth as he defines it, at least.

Nick is confident but in a gentler way. He wants what he wants and he will try and he's confident enough to take a topless picture of himself on the phone of a customer that had eyed him and turn the lights off at work to make out with him as well. You gotta have confidence to do that... but it's not loud confidence and it's not the same steady and comfortable confidence that Mew has. It's a confidence that he has but it is not firm, it is not unshakeable, it is confidence but with an unsteady base.

Boston is confident but he is confident in his exact way and in who he is and in nothing else. He is confident when he is doing what he wants and likes, he is confident when he is fucking and flirting and photographing and otherwise he is just someone out of their element and he pulls back quickly.

[clonerightsagenda]

Another classic conversation with the family:

Me: I just want to know what they mean by human remains that they found in the Titan sub. Like what was left at that point. Bones? Teeth? Can you get DNA from teeth and bones?

My mom: You can get DNA from bone marrow. I don't know why they bothered DNA testing it though. What did they expect to find?

Me: Ok but imagine if they did DNA testing and they found a sixth guy down there

[camellia-thea]

okay. just rambling here, but, i think armand took more than just the end of the interview away from daniel.

we got that little moment about that night, saying 'you asked me to' to louis. 'you asked me to take this from you, you could not live with it,' leading into, 'i look after you when you cannot look after yourself, i make those choices for you.'

we know that during the chase and devil's minion era, daniel was an addict, who was, by his own admission, slowly killing himself. he was also addicted to blood.

it's really not too far to make the jump, if devil's minion occurred, that armand made the choice to step in, in his own mind, for daniel's best interests. i know this isn't a unique jump to make, but; again with armand's "i look after him when he cannot look after himself" continual reiteration, i think it's a fair assumption.

he can also replace and blur memories, which makes the discussion of alice and paris -- why the dessert from that night? -- and how immediate and sincere his answer of "she wanted to say yes, but she didn't trust you. you hadn't given her a reason to." this could be the night he took them away, replaced himself with alice, planted something similar for her to start the relationship, then step back and watch it fall. and i think the thing that stands out there is just how tender he is while saying it. there's an undercurrent of something else entirely underneath, it isn't a dig at daniel in the moment, despite the pushing earlier in the scene.

and then in s1, when louis say to daniel, "i'd give it to you now." and the cut to armand, still in disguise, and his micro-expression of horror, the way he stiffens and looks away... and the little moment of what i read as conflict when daniel says no. his jump to "may i be excused?" i can't tell in the moment, if he's horrified about the offer itself, the fact that it is louis offering to turn daniel rather than himself, or the fact that daniel denies it. because i don't think armand could actually let daniel die if this was the case.

the disguise itself-- why pretend to be rashid? i think part of it is to try and hide behind a human persona to keep those memories at bay; especially given the little moments of flashback that got triggered by little mannerisms. i can't decide whether they're intentional pushes or not, whether armand wanted/wants daniel to remember on his own, or wants to keep it under wraps. i think, even if he believes he doesn't want it to come forward, he truly does deep down.

and once he's revealed himself as armand, the way he gazes at daniel, his beautiful boy. the continued "our boy", from both he and louis, the "he's still in there, somewhere..."

and i think "our boy" is also really interesting, because why would daniel be armand's boy, based solely on the moments that louis initially remembered? armand didn't really have any emotional connection to daniel that night, sure, he saved him, but that doesn't really mean anything; he saved daniel for louis, not for daniel's sake.

and, jumping back "our boy,[...] he's still in there somewhere"... there's implication that louis might know about it? again, i don't think this is related to the original interview, or at least, limited to it? i don't have anything concrete here, just vibes, but again, why is armand's boy still in there somewhere?

and sure, some of these are reaches and i don't think i'm necessarily right, but god it would be deliciously awful if i was.

[arsenicflame]

Hornigold's Izzy was the worst, of course. A version of himself that never escaped that terrible place, who lived his life as little more than an object. He still has nightmares about all the things Baz told them, about all the things he didn't.

It doesn't really surprise him, after the first ones, not at its root. To be Izzy Hands is to be someone's after all, though seeing his own face on someone so fundamentally different to him never gets less weird. The people who these other Izzys attached themselves too often left him with more questions than answers. Jack's Izzy, he can understand, from a certain view, though the man himself felt like a fever dream. The less said about Stede's Izzy the better, he's never going to forgive him for the ideas he put in his Stede's head.

Then there was Sam's Izzy.

The first thing anyone noticed about him was that he was happy. He smiled and laughed without thought, and went through life with an ease Izzy didn't think he had ever felt. The crew took to him immediately, accepting him in a way they never did the other Izzys, and certainly not their own. They prodded him and asked him endless questions, and he took every touch without a flinch and answered every question without a hint of a grumble. This Izzy was free. He was open, unburdened, trusting. He was happy.

Sam's Izzy was the one that hurt the most to see. He could accept the worst that Hornigold could've offered, that he would have suffered and been broken. It was infinitely harder to see that he had a chance to be this happy. That it slipped through his fingers.

He's never looked back before, but now? Seeing what might've been? He can't stop himself from considering the possibility that maybe he made the wrong choice back then, going with Ed.

[teamfortresstwo]

youre talking like i talk when im Lying

I don’t know what to tell you here man

[spaciebabie]

unamed is a "failed" (really they only failed b/c they were unable to be controlled) biological weapon and dahlia is a military girlie who has started to be disillusioned w/what she's actually fighting for (its nothing: spoilers) and it comes to a head when her squadron is tasked with terminating this "biological weapon" that has somehow evaded the government for years and killed a good portion of their soldiers. everyone is super vague about it, they tell the squadron (minus the leader) basically what they need to know and nothing more. its a biological weapon. it can kill you. it has killed before. it has the ability to rip chunks of concrete off of buildings and destroy entire blocks of city. you must kill it.

now dahlia is scared for her life. shaking in her military boots, she knows shes a good soldier, but is she fit for this? shes not the best around and she doesnt try to be, there are others who fill that position for her, but after this? she could become a military hero. it makes her stomach curl up in a knot b/c she already was considering quitting because of the shit shes seen. maybe this was a sign that she should actually quit

but she doesnt

and thats the best/worst mistake of her life.

they get out to where this biologican weapon has made a "home" for itself and its run down, stinky, dirty, just the worst possible place any living thing can...well live.

so thats immediately a red flag for her! but, she has orders to follow.

they get all stationed up. they're going to ambush this thing and put it down like a dog. its a bit sad she thinks to herself as she sets up the rifle for use. shes the one tasked with sniping this thing when it emerges. her squad mates all light up the in ear radio with testing testing...bravado to delta barking out various military speak. shes not really paying attention. shes just thinking about the "biological weapon" that had the misfortune of being born into this world.

yet another innocent life ruined by the government. and better yet the same entity that created this life is going to end it. that truth is more bitter than the blackest coffee in the world. and after this, dahlia says, shes going to finally quit. she thinks about what form this biological weapon could have taken. some kind of big cat? maybe a wolf or dog (she knew they were experiementing with those). maybe some unorthodox animal like a cow maybe a chicken (she didnt know why chicken experimentation was kept under such strict wraps but whatever. the military is weird.) or ape. really, there were no limits. the big guys did what they wanted. and then one of her squad mates gives the signal that the weapon has left its chambers and headed into the main area. dahlia sniffs (its freezing out here), steadies her breathing, and coils her finger around the trigger...she waits for the target to enter the view of her scope and...

its a person.

its a whole ass living breathing person. a skinny, malnourished looking one at that. they're effectively wearing rags, their dark skin is ashen, their cheekbones protrude from their face, it looks like they havent had a good bath in awhile, and dahlia falters. her breath hitches. she removes her finger from the trigger. surely this isnt the weapon they're speaking of. this guy looked like they could barely pick up a spoon. so she radios her squad leader who had seen a picture of the thing and is like, "hey i think there's a civilian out here" leader is like, "okay we'll check it out hold your fire". a moment passes. the civillian is still just kind of standing there not doing anything. looking around absent mindedly. kicking rocks. interesting. when they catch the real bioweapon she's gonna go down there and help this person out. get them some clothes, a bath, and-

"there are no civilians around solider, free to shoot" what. surely she must be mistaken. and so she asks again. and is met with the same response. so she asks more clearly, "is the bioweapon a person?" there's a beat of hesitation before the leader confirms that yes, that poor looking fellow below is actually what they were sent here to kill.

but she doesnt have time to register what that means or throw down her weapon because the ground is suddenly ripped from under her.

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Idea: after having done FTEs with Kokichi, Shuichi decides to co-operate with him in the Chapter 4 case after all, with the opportunity to learn more about the situation (even the motive itself!). This route is locked to you however if you didn't do the FTEs- as he doesn't have the means to question unknowns (such as why he's presenting a clue about the killing game in a cryptic series of games) and thus develop enough willingness to press on what he's trying to accomplish

Then Kokichi drops a bombshell that only Shuichi is supposed to know. Cue a decidedly unnerving partnership-borderline-blackmail

[cowboybrunch]

i wanna write a story about academic rivals and elemental magic and a professor/mentor who has Seen Some Shit. i want it to be a prestigious university with secret societies, and i want it to be low stakes until it’s not, and i want them to kiss at the end. i wanna talk about how fear can feel like love (heart racing, palms sweating) and how hating someone with a passion still means there’s passion. i wanna talk about two halves of a whole and what it means to face your reflection and loathe what you see

[tumbleinthenet]

now, i don't know if this is a thought somebody else has had before (surely right??) and i don't know how feasible it is given everything but.

imagine if sasha's dad became a villain just to see his son again.

[amogus-real-not-clickbait]

welp, it's done! whiteboard rules everyone, it's time to let it die o7

this was so much fun what the heck!! we gotta do it again sometime :0 thank you everyone who joined or was in some way a part of this experience!!<33333

[air-exec]

Dial Drunk by Noah Kahan only it’s post war John, calling Gale from a police station in the middle of the night, drunk and sad and angry, bc he promised Marge that after the wedding he’d back off from Gale but Gale is all he can think about, especially when he drinks🙂‍↔️