#and refuse to let him come out

[halfagone]

I see your vivisection/dissection fics. I see your Identity Reveal Gone Wrong fics. And I offer you: Fenton parents who can accept that their son and Phantom are one and the same, but don't like the fact that he's a hero. Look at his grades, they're atrocious! He doesn't have a sleep schedule to speak of. Heroism is dangerous, what would he have done if they'd actually gotten him? At the end of the day, he's still their baby boy after all.

It doesn't matter that Danny is Phantom. But the Fenton parents are willing to do whatever it takes to stop him from being a hero.

#dpxdc #this is part of this whole au i'd come up with #where the fenton parents practically trap danny in his own home #and refuse to let him come out #while amity park is being overrun with ghosts #because they refuse to let him continue with heroics #and it gets so bad that the justice league get involved #eventually they ask about phantom #because really #this seems like something he would have handled by now #and they brush the league off #at first the heroes think it's because the fentons are back at it again #with their diatribe about ghosts #only to find out they have their son #aka phantom #locked in a ecto-proof bubble down in the basement #because he's still their baby boy after all :)

[s0fter-sin]

“simon riley’s dead,” ghost chokes out; bitter resentment coating his tongue. “i’m just wearin’ ‘is corpse.”

mactavish doesn’t shy from his venom; sees through his hiss and doesn’t fear his rotten-fanged bite. he reaches out, pressing the flat of his hand to his breast and ghost damns himself for the way his breath catches; for the way his shoulders curl in around it in a silent plea for it to stay.

“that’s no drum in your chest,” he whispers defiantly.

his hand slowly drags over his chest, coming to rest over his sternum and he feels its possession like a brand against his skin.

“it ain’t bellows inflating your lungs,” he dares and he involuntarily inhales; his body longing to rise to his challenge.

mactavish pushes and he rocks back on his heels just to sway in closer; just to beg for the pressure to chase the phantom weight of six feet of dirt from his bones.

“you’re far from rigor mortis, riley,” he promises and there’s air at ghost’s back instead of decaying wood and infested flesh. “i won’t let the earth take you from me yet.”

#guess whos back #back again #buried alive simon rileys back #tell a friend #ghost insisting hes wearing simons skin as a defilement so he doesnt have to admit he doesnt know how to live within it #and mactavish refusing to let him rot in a coffin he already escaped #talk to me ghost #we’re a team. ghost team #coming out of my cage and ive been doing just fine.txt #09 soapghost #09 ghoap #09 soap #captain mactavish #john soap mactavish #soap cod #09 ghost #simon ghost riley #ghost cod #soapghost #ghostsoap #ghoap #cod mw2 #cod

[rodatirhaalo]

I think my favorite little parallel between Ascended vs Spawn Astarion has to be this little, probably even unintentional, detail in the epilogue:

Mr Vampire Ascendant, when confronted about freedom, asking the pc if they'd prefer sleeping in the dirt over "living" in his prescribed decadence.

Meanwhile, if left as a spawn Astarion is like

*Passes several chairs, rugs, a pile of pillows, and two log benches to plant his pretty little ass in the dirt*

"THIS DIRT'S THE BEST! I LOVE DIRT!!"

#get tav/durge drunk and let him have a little sippy and he's GONNA be makin' little gothic mud castles #Shadowheart come over here and enable this man! #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #bg3 spoilers #astarion ancunin #spawn astarion #ascended astarion #Like it's so inconsequential but like it's so not? #i've heard it's a sneaky little EA reference #but still #dirt gremlin time #Dirt is freedom guys #Y'all ever sat in dirt just because? I recommend it #Also while I was getting that bottom pic Halsin was creeping ever closer to my durge like he was makin' a move #First sitting on the floor then on the far end of the log then the spot on the log next to my durge #almost spit out my drink when i saw it #Note: Mr Ascendant would refuse to sit down as well. He physically CANNOT relax #Fs in chat

[layla-keating]

Are you into dudes now or something?

DAISY JONES & THE SIX Episode 8: Looks Like We Made It

#djatsedit #tvedit #djatsblr #filmtvcentral #gownegirl #userallisyn #userlolo #usermandie #userquel #graham dunne #karen sirko #daisy jones and the six #suki waterhouse #will harrison #~ #it's the fact she refused to let them make fun of him to finally come out and reveal their relationship

[todayisafridaynight]

#rgg #ryu ga gotoku #ryu ga gotoku 7 #yakuza series #yakuza like a dragon #yakuza 7 #masato arakawa #ryo aoki #snap sketches #AH jumpscare #i aint drawn aoki or masato (funny as hell i have to distinguish) in forever BYYYYYEE i miss him. i want him to be even more dead #my favorite genre of masato art is aoki killnig him so its my turn to do that. kinda. in spirit #Understandably its always aoki as the aggressor but i wanted to ask myself Can I Flip It #evidently aoki wasnt happy even with all of his power and all.. it makes me wonder how much his self hatred exists in aoki #A LOT EVIDENTLY LMAOOO but im having issues trying to articulate what i mean #aoki is very much a persona Fake Through And Through so sometimes i wonder if aoki ever gets tired of having to act all the time #he's on edge all the time and constantly trying to figure out how to use people instead of just. chilling LMAO GROW UP #he refuses to let himself be genuine and vulnerable with others yet at the same time he wants the love that comes with that #sure his new persona gives him the life he wanted but its gotta be wild to think 'people only like me for what i can do for them' #its hard to accurately describe what i was thinking while drawing these i just know i like rattling masato in a can #there's just so many layers to him it makes my brain itch SOOOO bad #having the love and sincerity he said he always wanted but not being able to see it because of his own self hatred... wild... #relatable... im gonna throw up... he still sucks tho lol...... #ok bye im gonna contemplate drawing something moody cause i guess it's a moody sunday idk sue me

[emberwritesinsight]

Whatever the hell is wrong with Saionji's family situation is fully un-sibling-related so it doesn't get narrative focus but there is definitely Something. Dude is straight up homeless after getting expelled (and I'm pretty sure they didn't give his dorm back even when they un-expelled him) and spends the rest of the series alternately couch-surfing and camping. Where the FUCK are his parents.

#revolutionary girl utena #kyouichi saionji #shoujo kakumei utena #saionji kyouichi #rgu #sku #did they kick him out? was he too afraid or ashamed to come home? #or was he convinced he could find a way to get readmitted and so just REFUSED TO FULLY LEAVE CAMPUS? #and they just LET HIM? #does he not HAVE parents?

[jamietwat]

Jamie would 100% make Roy a dating app profile sometime after the Keeley rejecting both of them thing to try to help him move on and meet people when clearly he’s refusing to get back out there organically and he’d think he’s being so helpful and generous and the best wingman ever. He’d handpick what he considers the sexiest pictures he can find and put a bunch of shit Roy would never say thinking he’s being accurate and helpful and not even taking the clear opportunity to make a joke account to embarrass him or anything when he easily could have just made fun of him and chosen the worst pictures possible instead

And then he would be SO offended when it doesn’t go well when Roy finds out about it and is not properly appreciative at all

Roy thinks it’s Jamie’s account when he starts showing Roy girls like what do you think of her and asking him way too many questions when Roy has no interest in participating and has no idea why the fuck Jamie seems incapable of swiping without trying to get Roy’s opinions first. Meanwhile, Roy’s giving one word answers at first and then increasingly trying to brush him off when he doesn’t stop and then he’s just flat out like “Choose your own dates and leave me the fuck out of it” and Jamie’s like “Nah, this is your account. You should have a say” and instead of being grateful and appreciative and thanking Jamie for being oh so generous with his time and energy, Roy just scowls at him and growls out “You did not make a fucking Tinder profile for me” and Jamie just smirks and decides now is not the right moment yet to mention that he actually made him accounts on like three different apps because he wasn’t sure which Roy would like best

Roy barks at him to delete it and Jamie’s all whiny like “Come on, I spent a lot of time on these and you haven’t even considered it. Plus, even if you’re not ready to date someone yet, you’d still be less miserable to be around if you at least found someone to shag in the meantime”

And Roy’s like “Delete it. I don’t want a fucking Tinder profile.” And Jamie looks at him confused for a moment and then seems to have an epiphany as he goes “Oh, do you want a Grindr one instead? Hold on a second” and he flips to a different app and Roy’s too busy being baffled by the fact that Grindr is already on Jamie’s phone and that he’s having to sign out of his own account to try to make one for Roy to even stop him before he’s already trying to sign up for a new account and Roy goes “That’s not what I meant. I don’t want any dating app”

And Jamie pauses his typing and turns and looks at him so skeptically and so judgily and suddenly somehow Roy is trying to fight for his life trying to defend why he’s not looking for some random stranger to date or fuck around with

#Also a possibility: Jamie not signing out of his and asking Roy what he thinks of #guys and when Roy is like stop that why did you make me a Grindr profile why are you swiping on guys and even if you were WHY that one #And Roy’s trying to get the phone out of Jamie’s hand and when he does Jamie’s like stop that’s my account let me swipe #on him I was just trying to find out what kind of guys you’d be into before making yours 😔 #+ Roy being so critical of Jamie’s taste in men like him??? seriously??? because the idea of Jamie messaging any of them bothers him #I may turn this into a RoyJamie fic at some point or possibly RoyJamie that has Keeley later too #Obviously Roy’s brain obsesses over Jamie’s Grindr profile and what he may or may not be doing with it just as much as he obsesses over #Jamie in general after this and he’s stuck trying to figure out how to casually bring it back up to him #(Spoiler alert: it’s Roy so it absolutely won’t be casual and yet Jamie won’t care that it isn’t at all #) #Jamie would GLADLY be the one fucking around with Roy but he’s also out here advocating for Roy to fuck in general #RoyJamie #Roy Kent #Jamie Tartt #Ted Lasso #Mine #Grindr fic #Putting that there for when I come back to this because I have a lot of thoughts #Once again I refuse to reread words and edit rn so I’ll just be bummed about the errors later

[blue-rose-soul]

For hazbin hotel au: what if alastor arrives at young age? Let say an incident which both he and his ma die at same time but because of his heritage, he got sent to hell, forced to survive in the streets until he meet Charlie and the rest of the hotel residents. How do you think will happen if he meet Lucifer?

Oh, so an AU of the AU? Sounds fun! Let me think...

Well, my first thought is that Alastor's demon form would be fairly different, since it's so closely tied into the manner in which he died. Buuuuut... I really like him as a deer demon, so I'm going to handwave that away. I'm also going to have him keep his powers associated with radio, despite him not yet having become a radio host, with the justification that listening to the radio shows together with Nicaise and making her laugh by perfectly imitating the radio man's accent were such fond memories for him they carried over to his demon form.

Ultimately, this version of Alastor still becomes the Radio Demon. But unlike the Alastor who died as an adult, nobody knows what the Radio Demon looks like. He's a mystery, known only for his radio broadcasts and striking down Overlords from the shadows. So when this little red kid with deer ears shows up on Charlie's doorstep introducing himself as the Radio Demon, she and Vaggie are understandably skeptical.

That skepticism dies when he blasts Sir Pentious's airship right out of the sky.

Alastor still brings in Niffty and Husk - two of the only people who know who the Radio Demon really is - still fixes up the building, and still acts as the facility manager. But everyone involved in the hotel keeps his identity a secret, at his request.

When Lucifer arrives at the hotel, he's in sheer disbelief that the hotel's manager is this tiny kid. Never mind Alastor frequently pointing out that he's around a hundred years old now. That doesn't really clarify anything for Lucifer who's several millennia old. He's less of a condescending jerkass to Alastor at first, seeing him as a kid, but Alastor doesn't take kindly to being treated like a child. So Alastor does what Alastor does and prods under Lucifer's armor. He starts throwing himself at Charlie, hanging off her arm, acting like a precocious kid and interrupting Lucifer's attempts to bond with her while shooting the King of Hell smug looks.

Charlie finds it a bit weird given Alastor usually acts more like an adult, but she does think it's kind of cute so she allows it. Lucifer is furious. He frequently refers to Alastor as, 'that damn brat,' and casually picks him up and teleports him to other rooms of the hotel for 'a time out' and generally treats Alastor like he's a nuisance, not a member of the hotel staff.

And then... Alastor's parentage comes out.

Lucifer is just as awkward with the childlike version of Alastor as he is with the version who died as an adult. That awkwardness just manifests differently. He keeps trying to make amends by treating Alastor as though he's an actual kid, lavishing him with gifts, inviting him on trips, so on and so forth. Alastor really doesn't think he should have to decline a trip to Lu Lu World more than once. Charlie tries to step in on his behalf, but she's not so great at dealing with Lucifer's awkwardness either.

One of the most insulting gifts is a pet, similar to Razzle and Dazzle, who is supposed to keep Alastor safe.

Alastor explodes.

He died when he was ten and he's been keeping himself safe ever since then, thank you very much! He was strong enough and clever enough to become one of the most feared Overlords in the Pentagram, all without ever showing his face once! And it's been over a hundred years since then! If Lucifer wanted to be his dad, he's about a century too late!

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of being stuck in a child's body is that sometimes his adult emotions are too big for it. All the anger and frustration comes out as tears, which only makes Alastor that much angrier. Lucifer tries to offer comfort, to pull Alastor into a hug, but Alastor melts into the shadows before Lucifer can even touch him.

#ask #anonymous #Hazbin Hotel #the Devil's Bastard AU #kid Alastor AU #the poll results are in! #although this is a spinoff AU... #I started writing out the whole history of kiddo Alastor waking up in Hell and rising to become the Radio Demon #including him making a deal with someone who HATES Lucifer #then I realized I was going off topic #but some other changes that come with Alastor dying as a kid: #he never met Mimzy when she was alive. they might have crossed paths in Hell but she doesn't come running to him for protection #since she doesn't know Alastor IS the Radio Demon #Vox still has his obsession with the Radio Demon #but since they never met face to face and never became friends it's more of a straightforward rivalry #Vox has no clue who Alastor is and doesn't care #kid Alastor is friends with Rosie still #she doesn't know how powerful he is but she has some guesses #she treats him a bit like a stray cat who swings by her shop every so often stays a few days begs for treats then dips #Rosie has offered to let Alastor live with her permanently but he refused #since Alastor didn't attend the Overlord meeting in person he didn't learn about the exorcist's death the same way #his shadow attended and reported to him later #and he went to investigate Carmilla himself later on #his relationship with Niffty is mostly the same #Husk doesn't like kiddo Alastor drinking and keeps trying to stop him #with no success #They're relationship is pretty similar to canon but Husk is the tiniest bit sympathetic #since Husk can just look at the age that Alastor died at and know how badly that must have fucked him up

[theloveinc]

bakugo technically can't stop you from having a job but he can pester you about not working overtime

#bakugo #u refuse to let him financially take care of u but there's literally no reason to work any extra LOL #i have three night classes this semester and i am so . arg #anyway thought abt bakugo behind u on the phone going 'dont agree to overtime dont agree to overtime' #u come home at seven and he's getting ready for wind down time already IT'S NOT FAIR TO HIM #same with night classes #he's in the back corner of your zoom camera looking like a creepy pasta bc he's so annoyed at ur class going on til 9:30 #LMFAO IF YOUR PROFESSOR keeps you late in the classroom he's walking in to come n get u #(bc ofc he picks u up) #and the next time when he gets locked out u see his face pressed up to the little glass window on the door #its a tradeoff #shii posts #gen

[padawansuggest]

So I recently discussed this with @bitter-chocolate-stars and I need you guys to know I am CLAMBERING for an AU where the nulls, who famously (to their brothers who probably think they’re ICONS) took over a whole fucking part of the whole cloning facility of Kamino after the Kaminoan’s told Kal Skirata (Dad) to get out because they don’t need trainers anymore and the war just started and the nulls are like ‘what if we stage a coup’. And it fucking works?????

Yeah I want an AU where the Jedi are like ‘lmao that’s a good idea y’all know any other clones that can help with that to take over more of the facility?’ And Alpha 17 and his commanders melt out of the walls like ‘hey we got this’ and take over all of Kamino and the Jedi look at the senate all ‘sowwwwwwwy, we twied so vewy hawd to get them to stand dowwwwwwwn 😭’ and force the senate to make a draft which halts the entire fuckin war in its tracks and then Palpatine throws a tantrum and reveals he’s a Sith so they kill him and go hunting for the other generals who got sat on by the Kilo beast lmao whoops.

Anyways. I think the nulls should have been allowed to take over Kamino and declare themselves a third faction of the war and maybe even convince the droid army to get jealous and stage their own coup with R2-D2 as their general and idk man idk that would be super funny.

Kal, after being handed the entire clone army: oh my god my throat is gonna kill me after I say the gai bal manda for all of them

Also Jango is alive and under house arrest in the Jedi temple with Boba so he’s like. Whatever. Might as well happen. Fuck all y’all at least he has his kid and probably anxiety meds from the healers. He’s taking a vacation. Boba is learning how to steal initiates to cheer Buir up by shoving them in his arms when he looks sad in the gardens. Grogu is his little pal he’s such a bad boy they commit crimes together.

The nulls find Tag and Bink and adopt them what crimes do you think they will commit? Tax fraud probably.

#star wars #kal skirata #clone nulls #I just think they should kick the cloners out they house and give it a paint job #jango fett #obviously Jango is tryina get in nice master Kenobi’s underbritches #Padme and Anakin come back from their Tatooine wedding that Shmi officiated and are like *shocked pikachu face* #Walon killed Priest and refused to let the clones get hurt after some therapy thanks #and by therapy I mean kal yelled at him for like six straight hours after ordo got hurt #he needs more therapy than Jango no fuckin joke #but priest needs death by sword up the ass

[bruciemilf]

Haunted by gladiator! Bruce and consort Clark/Talia thoughts

#like. im utterly pathetic when it comes to worldbuilding. but let me set the scene okay #you're bruce wayne. you're carved out of your mother's stomach when your kingdom is invaded while your father's head rots on a spike #you used to be a prince; you used to be someone. and now you're a battle spawn -- a thing. less than nothing. a machine of gory #entertainment. you refuse to kill. everytime you do they punish you. everytime you care HURTS. you keep caring #you never hated anybody but your emperor might just make you. the first fight you lose is to a blue eyed CHILD. trembling in his armor #before you. you let him pierce your abdomen. when you fall you hear him weep. when you fall you see the king's consort - a new one z #look at you with big eyes and shock. you 're bruce wayne getting sewned back in place because you'll be dead before you're free #you're bruce wayne and the king's consort comes to see you regularly. they ask you 'just name what you desire. i'll do my best to get it' #you're bruce wayne and you haven't spoken in years. battlespawns don't speak. speaking is for people. you point at your abdomed #*abdomen and lay back in bed. you're bruce wayne and the king's consort touches you gently and you weep. #text #gladiator bruce au #aaaAAAAA #superbat #brutalia

[journey-to-the-attic]

happy birthday to the three realms' most specialest girl!!! (i promise i love you even though i put you through so much)

#(that's alatus with her by the way!! little guy) #art #obey me #as you can see i figured out one (1) cool-looking thing in that satan piece and am refusing to let it go #in my defence. i'm so bad at backgrounds #so once i've found one that looks good (i.e. big moon) i'm just gonna do it again #same applies for the whole shading process (i have once again employed my ultimate move: pale yellow on an overlay layer at 30% opacity) #i was gonna add the rest of the newspaper club too but i still haven't designed demon forms for them and i wanted them to fit the theme #(mephisto doesn't count since in present he never takes demon form anymore anyway. also it's mephisto) #(shhh you can't see him) #alright here come the character tags #jtta ik #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me solomon

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

do you ever just sit there thinking about your favorite ocs while violently shaking. god. clenches fist. They're So.

#every time a song from their Joint Playlist comes on i go fucking feral #the betrayal the refusal to Let Go the haunting the persisting love the renunciation the resentment the abandonment the resignation #the overwhelming desire to do good vs the fear of admitting you were wrong vs the two people you love most tearing each other apart #AGHHHHH FUCK FUCK FUCK IM SUDDENLY DEEP IN THE ORIGINAL SAUCE #five seconds i was Normal. scribbling welcome home #then One Of The Songs Came On and now im losing my fucking marbles #perceived betrayals leading to real betrayals.... #going too far and now its too late you're Committed you cant go back #he came to you thinking he could make you understand and you could work together to make things Better #and instead you ripped his heart out and left it bleeding on the floor for everyone to see #THEY MAKE ME MORE INSANE THAN LITERALLY ANYTHING #absolutely unprompted #the oc Unwellness comes and goes in waves but its the only true constant obsession with my life #god those three... my dearest darling Trio.... how old are they turning this year? #is it year eight of having them? year nine? #one of the two is for sure how long ive had My Specialest Boy Light Of My Life The Reason I Am Still Alive #the other two came after... maybe only mere months after but he was the first and he is just. i love him so fucking much #he is so so personal to me. he has a permanent place carved out in my chest #he sleeps on my ribs <3 #the other day i was reminiscing about his development over the years. his changes his different Versions #and fuck... he's really changed with me huh?? #his past selves are echoes of my own self over the years #like he is Very different from me but at the same time. i created him with little pieces of myself sewn in #we hold the same views the same beliefs. im not him and hes not me but we're Kindred yk yk #i think i need to go listen to his playlist.... how long is it now... let me check... 15 hours 13 mins... 228 songs... #my gay 5'2 powerhouse of a guy. him <3 #maybe 'them' too he's played fast and loose with gender over the years. holy shit wait #his development echoes mine... i characterized him as 'fucks with gender norms' long before i realized my own gender fuckery #god damn. i love him even more now. i didnt think that was possible. im going to cry. hes so important to me #he has been with me through my worst years... and will be with me through all the hard times to come <3

[coquelicoq]

crashes ur board meeting n drags u out by the collar but its fine bc youre the one always saying shit like "im looking for people i can use" ok lol. get used idiot

#just tracing like. the sequence of events that had to take place in order for this to come to pass #1. natori and his shiki are skulking around homura stalking ban. possibly it's just his shiki and natori is elsewhere. #either way 2. natsume shows up and natori learns about it either bc he witnesses it or a shiki comes to tell him #3. natori gets in his little richard scarry apple car (this is my mental image for some reason) & fucking. BOOKS IT to the matoba compound #4. goes inside. presumably matoba lackeys try to stop him bc their boss is in an important meeting but somehow he gets past them #(possibilities here are v fun to think about. maybe natori does this all the time and they're used to it. maybe he's never done it before #but they're all on orders to let natori in if he ever shows up. maybe natori convinces them he's supposed to be IN the meeting #which is great because it sounds like some important clan thing so what is he in the clan now??) #5. interrupts matoba's meeting like 'i need you' and matoba's like 'bye everyone whatever this is is more important' #6. they get in natori's comical apple car (again the apple car is not canon don't worry about it) #& natori drives like a bat out of hell back to homura. (SOURCE: matoba is so scarred he refuses natori's offer for a ride later) #i wonder what they talk about on the way there? because they don't talk about why natori is stalking ban until much later #so they must be busy talking about something else. but what?? #that or they're both too distracted by all the near-death experiences from natori's crazed driving lol #natsume's book of friends #natsume yuujinchou #homura cats arc #horrible exorcists #my posts #sidenote i feel like that page at the end where both matoba and sensei refuse natori's offers of a ride is really funny because #sensei's reason is that it will take too long. but sensei did you know natori drives like a speed demon? think it thru... #also like. how long did it take him to decide to involve matoba? was that his backup plan all along? #also it's pretty lucky that he found matoba at all considering he could be anywhere...the matoba have like 15 houses... #he has matoba's schedule memorized lol #natori sparkling to the assorted clan members in the meeting: sorry ladies and gentlemen i just need to borrow this~ #*throws matoba over his shoulder and fireman-carries him to the parking lot*

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

my experience with maxing out the twins' friendship is just-

Hawke: So, Carver, my dear baby brother who I love and adore, I only need +10 more points to max out your friendship. I've done the grind; through gritted teeth I've kissed templar ass so that we don't raise suspicion. I've supported and defended you and let you take the lead whenever I could. You're my favorite warrior. I took you to the Deep Roads with me because you desperately wanted to go and then made you a warden and you found a place, a purpose. I've practically written my own guide on how to earn as much friendship with you because I love you and it's totally worth it so can I please please have the last +10...? Carver: Hawke: Carver please I'm begging you Carver: Carver: +5 Friendship Hawke: AAUUGGGHHLKSAJDLKAJSDLK-

Hawke: So, Bethany, my dear sis- Bethany: +50 Friendship Hawke: Bethany: :)

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #da2 #bethany hawke #carver hawke #i love them both they're my favorites #but oh my god the grind of maxing out carver's friendship because it's absolutely worth it and then playing another run with bethany #where i blinked and suddenly her friendship was maxed out was a wild experience sksksk #and it's interesting to think about how carver is 'difficult' when it comes to getting friendship whereas bethany already starts with +50 #so it's easier to max her out just by being kind to her and doing her quests early #but after act 1 carver becomes so much softer when your friendship is high with him BUT bethany? i'm leaning more toward making her a warde #and i know she's going to be so resentful of me for it despite having maxed friendship like that's so fascinating?? #how the twins start off on such opposite ends with different attitudes toward hawke?? and how after act 1 they switch?? #well for the warden routes anyway... i refuse to let carver join the templars and i really REALLY don't want bethany to go to the circle #she won't be happier there no one can convince me she's happier as a circle mage... 'accepting your place' isn't the same as being happy #carver can find a place he's content with whereas bethany is screwed over either way since her magic isn't something she can just let go of #like yes both twins are bitter that they didn't survive the deep roads but carver's always worn his bitterness on his sleeve #whereas bethany felt she had to hide hers because she felt she had to be grateful for the sacrifices her family made for her #and now they are both trapped and free at the same time... carver just happens to thrive but bethany feels she traded one cage for another #ugh the hawke twins THE HAWKE TWINS Y'ALL #I just want them to be happy and loved and alive... why is that too much to ask for??

[themthistles]

something about the way guilt is portrayed in beyond evil. guilt as a state, guilt as a place you're condemned to. 'i will go to hell' 'life is hell' 'you shouldn't even set foot in that hell' but it's not really the hell we think of, not in the traditional sense. hell is where you're supposed to be sent to suffer and repent forever but all of them go there willingly. (that's why han kihwan will never end up there as juwon wants because he feels no remorse over his actions) they choose to stay and let it scorch the life out of them until all that's left is someone hollow and brittle, real person buried beneath the surface in a grave they themselves dug. in that way it's not lee changjin or the water that killed nam sangbae. it's guilt. that's what doomed him in the end. that hell of his own making he never managed to escape. and as he drowned, he probably thought he deserved that too. jeongje's still there until the end but so much of him died long ago. he's a ghost haunting himself. he tells juwon 'if you don't get out quickly, every breath, every moment of your life becomes a nightmare' if you stay that hell alone long enough, that's what happens. at a certain point you can't wake up anymore. you forget how to leave

#there are these parallels between nsb jj and jw #how both of them give him advice that comes from experience #'don't do this you'll regret it' 'don't do this there's no coming back from it' and both times he doesn't listen and ends up just like them #jw's almost a ghost in the beginning like jj but ds and manyang yank him back to life #and then ds doesn't let jw become another nsb he refuses to let him stay in that hell alone he says as much #i think ds learned how to claw his way out a long time ago #what he says in ep14 #'wouldn't regret be a luxury for me' #a luxury #he understands that guilt at its most extreme is ultimately self serving #because it keeps you in this woe me state where you become so obsessed with your own failure that everything else gets drowned out by it #ds does the opposite he decenters himself in his mind focuses on the pain of others instead of his own #'this is how he makes himself happy' this is how he survives #he knows that wallowing in guilt won't do any good won't change anything what's done is done he accepts it #he says 'if i could go back i WOULD do the same thing again because that's all he could ever do #he did what he thought was right at the time now he has to live with it #nsb can't figure that out can't accept his mistakes can't move on from them so he's stuck in the past #he dies stuck in the past #'you want to cry aloud for your mistakes but to tell the truth the world doesn't need any more of that sound' you know? #that i think is the point in the end #but does that ever fuck you up how jj nsb and jw (for a while) are driven by guilt but ds always acts out of love #he has so much of it despite everything #and juwon only surivives because he starts acting out of love and care and devotion instead of shame and remorse #beyond evil