listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded psychopath happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.
I think we overlooked the fucked up polycule dynamic potential of team bolas x the dog that hunts them
they gave him a house. he paid rent. he hunted them, picked them off one by one, but when they sought to hunt him he ran. the tormented and the tormented. the hunters and the hunter. them huddling around a fire, burning themselves as he lurks in the dark to devour any that stray too far from the light. when they gather their rocks and throw them as one he flees, tail between his legs as he hunts for his own safety
is there not familiarity in that? is there not love in the violence? let me kill you, i will return your greatest treasure. let me kill you, you’ve already destroyed me and mine. there is loneliness to the dark and hate in the bloodshed. what is hate if not the other side of love. what if obsession if not love driven too far. all of them bathed in the blood of the others, baptized by sin after sin after sin. mothers carry their litters in their mouths- when do the teeth at your throat start to feel gentle? bad once said about cellbit, “it was like throwing a ball, and saying fetch.” that went wrong for him. cellbit once said about bad, “you’ve gone soft.” that went wrong for him, too.
do you remember the slime kills? slime was bad’s first blood, his first taste of oncoming violence. bad was slime’s last kill, an end to the desperation that was sparked with the first base raid. do you remember that first day? bad on the water, slime on the shore, calling him in like a siren. ‘look at me, look how killable i am’ says the bait, desperately trying to build a trap even as the prey fears the untied-noose wrapping around its throat. do you remember the tension? do you remember how the sun punished them both?
‘look at me, look how killable i am,’ says the poisoned frog to the wolf. the bird to the dog. do you remember the kindness? the killing and the killing and the killing, and the laughter. the killing the killing the killing, and the earnest offer to help? remember how jaiden fed herself to the dog. remember how the dog listened. ‘where is your stuff? i’ll take you to your body.’ thousands of blocks away. then more blood, no screaming, just laughter.
do you see? do you see? they built him a dog house, and he paid them rent. hunters snd hunters. he killed them to bring back their children and he failed and they brought back his instead. how can he ever repay that? their blood coats him. his blood coats them. all of them animals. all of them desperate. remember the familiarity of teeth and the taste of your own death. when its all said and done what will they miss the most- being the hunters? or being the hunted?
and then they all make out and take turns getting beaten to death by jaiden. shes part of the group murder but not the romance of death. instead she gets to go to the club (the Spawn Rave)
the more i read of this book the more is cements in my mind that this was never meant to be a snow apologist book people just don’t have any reading comprehension anymore
sometimes i get obsessed with thinking about law turning rocinante’s death into an act of martyrdom. into “he died to take down doflamingo, he died to protect the will of d., he died knowing i would finish it for him. he died trying to be good. he died a saint for a righteous cause and what kind of ungrateful monster would i be if i didn’t take revenge for him.”
because otherwise he has to face the truth that rocinante did not care about any of that when he was dying, he died so that law could be free. but then thinking that it was all for him would mean putting more guilt on his shoulders than he already does, so he has to reframe it as something else so he can keep going at all.
good morning btw. have a rare snow pikmin i got after the silly storm that hit us here.
i miss having close to 420 followers. come back, even if u are a bot. i miss the funny number :(
im still active for a good while. my comic stuff is scheduled super in advanced. im also a semi active streamer (that streams nowadays routinely juuust to keep my sanity in check..)
this is a No One Knows AU & Full Hazmat AU where Danny ended up in the Ghost Zone & didn't go back into the human world initially because he thought he was dead. by the time he realized he is, in fact, at least half alive, he'd already been missing for at least 2 weeks.
will probs never finish homsh sorry. i wrote this a couple years ago in a haze & just haven't been able to finish it because i can't replicate the style, which i find is what i love about this fic the most. it wouldn't be the same without it.
posting the flashback introsーwhich are meant to be read between chapters/the actual plot, starting after chapter 1ーcuz fuck it. excuse typos & shit, i never properly edited it, as i forgot it existed immediately after i wrote it
original description of homsh: Danny Fenton has officially been missing for over a year. Maddie & Jack Fenton refuse to give up on their son. Sick and tired of the police running them in circles, and the case getting colder by the day, the Fentons turn to their last resortーPhantom.
800~ words (full unfinished fic is 20k~)
-
When Danny woke up surrounded by thick, green fog, and couldn’t breathe without swallowing heavy air that was more like water than anything, he was sure he was dead. The portal glowed behind him, illuminating the pitch darkness around him in soft, yellow, warm light.
He almost went back.
Almost.
He was dead. His parents were ghost hunters. They had drilled into his head from the moment he was born that he could never, ever panic in death. That he would accept it. That he would not be scared. So he would be prepared to be brave in the face of death and would not become a ghost.
He panicked. He did not accept it. He was terrified. And so he woke up in the Ghost Zone.
-
Danny went back through the portal when he saw some ectopuses acting… strange. Like they had an idea in their heads. Like they had a plan.
Which was weird, with animal ghosts. He had only been in the Ghost Zoneーmom and dad called it that, he rememberedーfor a couple weeks. Or, he had already been there for two weeks. Or maybe time worked differently and he was there five minutes, or four years orー
The ectopuses went through the portal and, despite everything, Danny went after them.
While he was busy reeling at being home, the ectopuses immediately attacked dad. Danny was horrified. Jack was overwhelmed. Danny stepped in, in a moment fueled by sheer adrenaline and stupidity, snatching a Fenton Thermos™ off a shelf and releasing his shaky invisibility. The ectopuses didn’t stand a chance. And when they were safely in the Thermos, he slowly turned around to dad, ready for the confrontation. Ready for the “what happened to you?” and the “where have you been?” and the “we’ve missed you”.
Dad scrambled to shoot at him.
Danny fled.
His parents didn’t recognize him.
-
The Lunch Lady attacked when Danny was mourning Halloween.
He’d waited all year. He made a costume that summer. He wouldn’t get to go trick or treating with Sam and Tucker this year. Or any year. For the rest of his lifeーor existence. Whatever.
The Lunch Lady appeared in the school and demanded in straight fury, “Who changed the menu?”
Everyone pointed at Sam.
Danny hadn’t known just how powerful ghosts could be. His parents never told him the specifics. Just that they were dangerous.
This ghost grew and her aura hit him like a hurricane, almost physically pushing him back. It was so strong that the students in the Casper High cafeteria seemed to feel it too.
The Lunch Lady was a much harder opponent than the ectopuses. She levitated meat. She used it as a weapon, and seemed to bring it back to life. She created weird meat creatures that grew sharp teeth and claws out of bones. They were mindless, attacking everything that got too close to the ghost. Danny would have run away without hesitation, if Sam hadn’t been in the crossfire.
Danny fought the Lunch Lady. It was a long struggle, but he caught her in the thermos after over an hour. When he turned to Sam and Tuckerーboth of whom he had to save due to Tucker trying to jump into the fightーall three of them bloody and bruised, he cringed. But a part of him hoped. Desperately.
Surely they would know him on sight.
“Wh-what are you?” Sam gasped at him finally.
Danny flinched as if she had struck him. “J-just… your friendly neighbourhood phantom.”
-
Danny didn’t know what possessed him. Oh. Pun not intended.
He just barely caught the Fentons leaving in the GAV, dragging suitcases behind them. He couldn’t help himself. What on Earth were they doing?
They were going to Vlad Master’s mansion for their college reunion.
It was a whole thing. But something was off. Besides all the adults reminiscing about the 80’s.
Danny sensed ghosts immediately but he couldn’t see anything. Unfortunately for him, Vlad could also sense him. It was two days of Danny staying invisible, and Vladーthe halfa? Is that what Danny is?ーtrying to kill Jack. Somehow, Danny managed to fight off Vlad, not turn back, and without the Fentons getting hurt. His secret intact.
VladーPlasmius, also learned about Phantom. And Vlad hated him. The manーghostーwhatever, seemed to only care about one thingーpossession. Of money. Of things. Of people. He was more ghost than Danny had ever seen. Vlad’s obsession was overwhelming.
Danny couldn’t believe someone so much like himself could be so disturbing.
[ID: Part one of a short story featuring Batman. The first image is the cover, announcing the title as 'The Snow Queen'. There's a snowflake and ice skates behind the text. The rest of the story is narrated like a storybook and will be transcribed (hopefully) as smoothly as possible instead of divided per image:
Once Upon a Crime... there was a man lost in a storm. And another who searched for him. Each step became a burden. Each inch forward, a promise. The Batman would continue for as long as he could hold out. But nature was relentless. And she was winning. Batman has his cape and arms wrapped around himself in a futile attempt to block the merciless elements. He walks away from the Batmobile, the snow coming up to his knees as a harsh wind blows his cape behind him. He continues through the snow, growing weaker and weaker until he collapses.
Until she appeared. A radiant glow of serene grace. A royal lady in white, dressed in soft fur and crowned in crystal. The Snow Queen. The ethereal woman stands before Batman. She offers him her hand as he looks up at her in a silent awe. The narration continues, As she approached, the white surface remained undisturbed. She helped him to her carriage. Where her faithful transport patiently waited to depart. He lets himself be guided to her reindeer led carriage and settles into it, the Snow Queen sitting beside him.
As he trembled, she smiled. Not uncaring, but with kindness. The cold air chilled him. His breathing became more labored. Unable to continue, he exhaled, allowing his breath to escape. Batman's head is slightly downcast as he breathes through his mouth. Each struggling breath is suspended in the air as a long vapor. It trails all the way back to his exposed mouth as The Snow Queen looks ahead with a frown. The narration continues, But swiftly, she retrieved it with a delicate touch. Offering it back to him, warm and in full. Restoring what was, so he could continue. She has her hand extended near him as the transparent cloud now surrounds Batman's mouth. He picks his head up with the gift of life, having the strength to look ahead once more. He looks over his shoulder briefly as his car gets further and further away.
Leaving his vehicle, he could not go back. For she needed him for something else. He soon forgot what he left behind. His only concern... what lay ahead. - 'Where are we going?' he asked. "We are searching," she answered. "For what?" he wondered. And she replied, "A cold hand to hold."
The carriage continues through the bare trees and across the icy tundra. Wolves howl on a cliffside above their heads as the narration continues, Faster they raced, over land and lake, across snow and ice. The cold wind roared, the wolves howled, and the birds screamed above. But the Batman was not afraid."
something from the book i so wish had been in the tbosas movie is the way snow thinks lucy gray is below him...and the fact that he never grows out of it (which doesn't mean he doesn't like her, he just also kind of despises her and people like her). when i reread the book i had just seen killers of the flower moon and snow and lucy gray's relationship was very reminiscent of ernest and mollie's relationship for me like when king hale asks ernest "can you stand [mollie's] kind?" even though their kind were doing unspeakable things to her kind? snow and lucy gray's relationship is very much like that to me and there's also the power he has over her by literally being responsible for her life and idk i feel like if you only watch the movie you can delude yourself into thinking he's somewhat overcome his prejudice against people from the districts by falling in love with a girl who isn't from the capitol when he never does he thinks they're savages from day 1 to day like 60 and he thinks it on day 55 too
If you became super rich and could design your own house, but could only add THREE unnecessary/random/expensive home additions (like how people will have bowling alleys, movie theatres, closets with museums of shoes, car display rooms, spa rooms, wine cellars, etc. in their mansions) - what three would you choose?