#* tobias. / imagery.

[eiralivered]

obsessed with james fitzjames offical photograph where he poses like the virgin mary

[ghostdrinkssoup]

why do all the killers in s1 want to date hannibal so bad. he’s the hottest girl in school and they’re all down horrendously bad but he’s obsessed with will, the sad loser in the corner who doesn’t even notice him… what in the high school romcom is this

[divorcedtom]

cinematic parallels

[yeonban]

Behold: Baby, pre-teen and young teen Tobias

[felixwriting]

OC in 3

tagged by @jezifster :D

Rules: Post three pictures or images you feel relate to a character. They can be face claims, famous artworks, photos, anything you think fits the Vibe™.

I'm doing both Sirena and Tobias again because....I simply want to lol. Admittedly, these images are off of Pinterest, so idk their proper sources >.>

Sirena

Tobias

Tagging @koganelovesmcclain and leaving an open tag for anyone else who wants to do this ^.^

[mandonan]

WHAT

[barkilphedros-hat]

Serve my head up on a plate,

It’s only comfort, calling late.

Fuck it *scurvy-fies your naval commander*

(Pen and ink on sketchbook paper 😅)

[gayspock]

dont know much about the andorians i'll be franky with you cept for their brief stint in tos. do you think they'd get rather cross if i asked them to blue man group it up with me tobias fünke style

[yorkcalling]

Video: Tobias Arbo - Saudade

Video: Tobias Arbo – Saudade

Tobias Arbo is a Stockholm-based, Swedish musician who has just released his debut single Saudade. The title is a Portuguese word that doesn’t completely translate to English, but alludes to the longing of missing something you never had. (more…)

[carnivore-voyeur]

Where does “Sodo” come from? An Informational Post

Since there’s still some confusion about this, I’m going to go into a little bit more detail about “Sodo” (the man) so you can understand and respect the difference between him and Dewdrop (the ghoul).

Unfortunately, these names have become conflated in a problematic way such that people treat “Sodo” as intrinsically linked to Ghost fandom rather than an independent aspect of Per Eriksson’s identity. So, let’s talk about some misconceptions about that, what “Sodo” really means, where the name came from, Per Eriksson’s links to Ghost and Ghouls, and why this name should be treated differently from Dewdrop. This will include discussion of Satanism and its connection to “Sodomizer.”

First of all, “Sodo” is short for “Sodomizer.” I know some people are uncomfortable with or grossed out by the name as it may bring to mind graphic or even violent imagery depending on how the word is used. In biblical terms, “Sodomizer” comes from “Sodom,” a city which was destroyed by God for their wickedness. “Sodomizer” also calls to mind someone who participates in anal sex and/or anal penetration. Sodomy laws are called as such to punish people for this very act.

Second, there’s some things you need to know about Per Eriksson. He’s been in the death metal and progressive metal scene since he was very young. Per is also a Satanist, whereas Ghost frontman Tobias Forge is more of an atheist utilizing Satanic imagery in his art. You can almost always identify Per by his Baphomet Sigil necklace or “inverted pentagram.” He recently got a major back tattoo of Baphomet, and he can be seen doing the As Above So Below hand gesture as Dewdrop during Ghost rituals. See below for reference.

This is a Per Eriksson thing. His connection to Baphomet predates his relationship with Ghost. However, some of these symbols and gestures have also been adopted by his fellow Ghouls. Per, Jutty, and Cosmo have matching elbow tattoos of the hands which you can see on Per’s right arm in the image of the back tattoo above. While Ghost may utilize some of this Satanic imagery, this has been an integral part of Per’s lifestyle and philosophy before Ghost existed.

Note that Baphomet is also positioned with the As Above So Below hand gesture. Baphomet is often viewed as symbolic of a balance between opposites on a spectrum. Baphomet is viewed by some as a deity and by others as a demon, but is really neither. Baphomet is shown to be both human and inhuman, with goat parts. Baphomet is shown with both male and female traits. Etc.

You may be asking, what does Baphomet have to do with “Sodomizer?” I promise it’s (most likely) related. Per’s bandmates in Katatonia revealed that “Sodomizer” actually came from “Goat Sodomizer.” Before you flip out about the implication of bestiality in the name, this likely connects back to Baphomet - the goat headed figure adorning Per’s back.

(Source)

There's also the very strong possibility that Goat Sodomizer comes from the Swedish metal band of the same name, which includes former Ghost Bass player Gustaf Lindström. In fact, Per Eriksson is probably the "Lill Per" referenced in the "thanks to" portion of their mixtape.

(Source)

My evidence being that it says "Lill Per n' Genocrush Ferox." Per was in the band Genocrush Ferox before Katatonia, and he was in fact... just a little guy at the time. The demo tape is from ~2002 according to the Metal Archives and Per was just twenty years old at the time.

Ghost did not give Per Eriksson the nickname “Sodomizer” or “Sodo.”

Per has happily referred to himself as such for years, even before joining Katatonia. In a funny way, his nickname has a loose connection to Ghost but this just goes to show how Per has existed in the same circles as Tobias and the earlier Ghouls way before joining the band.

It's also why you may hear Copia shout "Sodomizer!" on stage from time to time. He's known him as Sodo for a long time! Whether the name originates with a metal band or connects Per to his religious beliefs or both or neither, it's become a part of his personality.

It's not tattooed on his belly for nothing!

Love it or hate it, it is a part of him. If you prefer Sodo in reference to the real person, that's fine. But. Sodo is not The Ghoul. You can make up your own mind on what to call The Ghoul in fan works, but as I've said before it's important to differentiate.

Regardless, Per "Sodo" Eriksson is the real person behind the Ghoul and his nickname links him to the Death Metal scene and all of the blasphemy and grotesque imagery that comes with it. Though Ghost is Your Friendly Neighborhood Satanic Band, it's more tongue in cheek about Satanism and less extreme than say... Bloodbath, a Death Metal band Per was in that features really disturbing horrifying content.

[slytherin-paramour]

Whew! Boy, this was meant to be a lot shorter than it is! This is a sad tale revolving around the Richard Jackdaw storyline, if it diverges from the actual story at all I don't care! 🤣🙏

(Thank you to @cuffmeinblack for the imagery of #aliveRichard lol)

💠▪️💠▪️💠

So I've started outlining a story in which you are Richard's best friend.

You grew up together, and now you are secretly in love with him.

You do everything with him, go exploring with him, keep his secrets, lie for him etc.

He constantly batters your ear with talk of Apollonia and how much he wants to court her and even though it's like a dagger to the heart you listen on with a smile and encouragement but secretly cry with despair when you are alone.

Apollonia knows how you feel and uses every opportunity to make you feel worse, flirting with Richard and stringing him along.

Eventually, Richard gets tired of chasing Apollonias unrequited love and focuses on adventuring with you again, and your heart starts to feel better.

You help him to store away random items and artifacts that he discovers, in a little enchanted cavern down by the lake. (He informs you that he'd stolen a few of these items in an attempt to impress Apollonia, which you frown upon and roll your eyes.

You spend a lot of time there in the lake cavern with him, chatting about anything and everything, playing wizards chess and trying to decipher old tomes.

One night, Slytherin are celebrating a quidditch victory over Gryffindor in The Three Broomsticks. Student's from all house's are gathered there, having a good time and drinking.

Richard and you are there, and this is the night when he finally gets acquainted with a pretty Hufflepuff named Anne Thisbe. Anne becomes besotted with him, and he is ecstatic at the attention. You'd seen her about the castle but not spoken to her-a year below you, you think. Your heart lurches as he chats animatedly with this girl. And so begins a tragic tale.

Richard starts to spend a lot of time with Anne, to your dismay. Because of this, you instinctively draw into yourself and away from him, throwing yourself into your studies.

You are surprised one day when he seeks you out-alone. He's noticed your lack of presence and questions you about it, to which you conjure up a lie of some sort to placate him. He sees the tired look on your face, dark rings under your eyes and is worried for you. You wave him off and swallow thickly, asking him about Anne. It's then that he mentions something about some ripped out book pages that he'd stolen from Peeves the Poltergeist, that included some sort of a map that he intended to follow in the next few weeks.

He shows you the pages, covered with cryptic imagery and symbols that aren't like anything you've seen before, and you can't help the bad feeling that runs through you as you brush your fingertips over the parchment.

You consider telling him about the bad feeling, but looking up at his excited face as he stares at the pages from over your shoulder, you lose the will to ruin his joy.

You think, and hope for a moment that he's going to ask you to go with him, as usual, but your heart drops in your chest when he starts to talk about leaving fun little riddles for Anne to solve, that he couldn't wait for her to join him on this exploration.

He falters as he witnesses your crestfallen face, mistaking your heartache for exhaustion as he brushes his thumb over your cheek gently. The touch sends sparks through you and you look into his beautiful brown eyes as he speaks.

"You don't look so well. You should try and get some rest."

There's an annual ball coming up in the next couple of weeks, and it's all the Hogwarts students can talk about. You don't think you'll go. Don't want to see Richard dancing with Anne. Whom you know that he invited. But then you are surpised by an unexpected invite by a boy in your year named Tobias Ashworth, a Gryffindor. He's handsome, you note, but a bit quiet. Likes to keep himself to himself, usually. Then he tells you that he's noticed you around the castle, in your quiet moments alone when you're in the library or tending your plant's in the greenhouse. He thinks that you seem like a nice person and would love to take you to the ball, get to know you better.

You think of declining, but then you think of Richard, and of Anne, and so you smile at Tobias and accept his offer.

The night of the ball is in full swing. Tobias is off getting you drinks. He looks very handsome in his tailored dress robes. You are wearing a fine gown of green silk and lace, long pearlescent gloves up to your elbows. You stand in a corner, watching. Looking out for Anne and Richard. You see them dancing at the far end of the Great Hall. You also see the seething glares of Apollonia Black as she watches the same couple, blatant jealousy shining through even though she had a good looking boy on her arm tonight. You roll your eyes, the action becoming a habit of yours.

Tobias returns with your drinks. You try and forget about Richard and focus on your date, accepting with a small curtesy when he asks you to join him on the dancefloor.

You don't notice the disapproving looks sent your way by your best friend, who although dancing with Anne, has noticed your presence and is quite disconcerted about the fact that you're dancing with a random boy that he's never met before. He also thinks that he's never seen you look this lovely before, noting the curves of your body in the pretty dress that you're wearing. He doesn't enjoy the fact that your dance partner is holding said curves and frowns, returning his focus to Anne when she notes his distraction.

Tobias presses his lips against the back of your gloved hand just outside the Slytherin common room, thanking you for a perfect evening and bidding you goodnight. You watch his figure dissappear up the stone steps behind you, a smile on your face. Turning to enter through the enchanted snake archway, you are shocked when a voice whispers into your ear.

"He seems...nice."

From nowhere, Richard appears, dropping his disillusionment charm and looking down at your scared form with a smirk on his face. You frown and reprimand him for sneaking up on you, before putting two and two together and realising that he must have been following you. You ask him as such to which he scoffs and looks away.

He informs you that he wasn't being creepy. He just wanted to make sure that Tobias' intentions with you were above board. He thinks that the other boy is a terrible match for you and that you deserve better.

You look at him incredulously, not sure how to respond to him, but silently seethe. How dare he? How dare he presume to have any say over who you decide to date? Who would be good for you? Tears fill your eye's and you turn to storm away from him, afraid you'll say something you'll regret. That is until you feel a hand wrap around your gloved wrist to yank you back. Your head snaps back toward him angrily, tears now flowing down your face. You tell him to go back to Anne. To leave you alone.

Richard is confused. Confused because he doesn't quite understand what he's feeling tonight. He thinks of Apollonia, the vile temptress. And then he thinks of lovely Anne, with whom he said goodnight to earlier before giving in to the jealous streak that made him follow you tonight. And then he thinks of you. That wonderful constant in his life. There through the best and worst of his times. He remembers the way that you danced with that other boy tonight, and the way the sight of it sent sharp tentrils of pain through his chest. Confusing.

He sees you now, tears streaming over flushed cheeks, angry azure eyes barely focusing on him, and he thinks that you are possibly one of the most beautiful, strong and smart girls that he's ever laid eyes upon. How hadn't he noticed that before?

Coarse fingertips gently brush stray hair from your temple, another hand cradling your chin as though your face were made of china. Chocolate irises gazed into your angry ones with intent. Your lungs struggle to take in a breath of air. When had he gotten so close? And then his lips, divine and soft, were brushing softly against yours, slowly and unsure. You barely had a chance to register before he was pulling away, forehead resting against yours as you both took deep breaths.

"I'm sorry."

He spoke the words and then shot away, down into the Slytherin common room and out of sight. You stood alone, trying to process what had happened, your fingers trailing over your lips as another stray tear fell to join the salty streaks on your face. You briefly wonder whether you are destined for heartache.

You don't speak to Richard for the next two weeks, only seeing him in classes and rare glimpses throughout the castle. You don't even see him in the common room. The distance makes you feel physically sick, the memory of his soft touch constantly replaying in your mind. You miss him terribly.

The few times that you do see him, Anne is predictably by his side, smiling her perfect smile as he laughs at something she'd said to him. Another blow to your tormented soul.

Tobias says hello now and then, if your paths cross in the hallways. Though you get the feeling that he too, is keeping his distance. You wonder if Richard has said anything to the poor boy. Likely.

You begin to regret not having a wider friend group. Days that were usually spent in Richard's company now reduced to a pathetic loneliness in his absence. You feel increasingly more hollow as the days pass by.

It's late one evening when you awaken in your dormitory bed, the girls that you share your room with are sound asleep. You wipe the sweat from your brow. Another nightmare. About Richard, and those damned pages of his. You can't quite recall the dream, but it was bad enough for you to wake up in a cold sweat. You wrap your night robe around yourself and walk as silently as possible out of your dorm and into the Slytherin common room.

Curled up on one of the plush, elegant sofas in front of the fireplace, you stare into the flames. You are unable to shake away the awful feelings that stemmed from your dream. This, along with your injured heart, causes twin tears to trail down over your face. You wipe them away, frustrated. Another tear. Then another. The deluge refuses to stop. You press your face into you knees which are tucked up against your body and sob. Your body shakes visibly from the force of your anguish.

An arm wraps around you. The sofa shifting as a body presses up beside you. Your face snaps to the left, shocked, embarrassed to be caught in such a state.

Richard's face is laden with guilt. He pulls you further in to him, burying his face into your hair and mumbling something that sounded like 'sorry' in a regretful tone.

You should be angry. You should be storming away from him and not looking back. You quickly realise that you could never do that, though. Not with him. Instead you press your sodden face into his neck, your arms winding around his broad form and you let him hold you, comfort you as you finally release your frustration.

After calming down somewhat, you ask him why he kissed you that night, to which he replied honestly. He has feelings for you, and is confused. He has feeling's for Anne as well, but his feelings for you had bombarded him out of nowhere. Smacking him like a bludger to the head.

After about an hour of reconciliation, apologies and emotionally charged conversation, you're feeling exhausted. Your feelings are still very much all over the place. Truths had been spoken but made thing's even more confusing than before.

Richard runs a hand through his soft brown curls and yawns. He informs you that he's planning on following his mystery map the next evening, with Anne hopefully joining him should she figure out the puzzles he'd left for her. He gives you a longing look before sheepishly asking if you'd like to join him.

You shake your head quickly, that feeling of dread curling down your arms and into the tips of your fingers. You grip onto Richard's shirt sleeves tightly, looking up at him with fearful, desperate eyes. You beg him not to go. To forget about the pages and the silly map. You even offer to go treasure hunting elsewhere with him, so long as he promised that he'd abandon this quest of his. He chuckles and pulls you closer to him so that your head is resting on his chest. He card's his fingers through your hair, a soothing motion that makes your eyes droop. You reach out to grip his hand, already half asleep, and press your lips against his knuckles.

"...Promise me...promise that you'll stay...I need you..."

His heart clenches as he watches your eyes finally flutter shut, his hand still clasped in yours. Leaning down, he presses his lips against your forehead, wordlessly asking you to forgive him.

You wake late into the day to the sounds of students bustling around the common room. You were exactly where you fell asleep in the early hours, the only difference being the lack of Richard by your side.

Your chest still tightened when you thought of him, and of Anne and your situation. You push the thought's to the back of your mind and head to the showers to clean up.

The day passes by uneventfully. You throw yourself back into your studies, feeling at least a tad lighter now that your emotions were laid bare and Richard was speaking to you again. You don't see him all day, which doesn't surprise you anymore. You hope you'll see him later in the common room.

Night falls. He still neglects to make an appearance. You think suddenly of the map and the book pages. That's where he was, you thought. He was off adventuring with Anne in the moonlight. You'd asked him not to go, but he'd gone anyway.

You close your eyes and stare out into the murky depths of the black lake. The tall glass windows shimmered with the motion of the water. The quiver of foreboding is present once more.

After a night and morning of practically no sleep, you are sitting alone at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. You pick at your food, chewing away at the tiny pieces. Your mind was on Richard, and how he had fared with Anne on their outing. Something wasn't sitting right with you though. A quick enquiry earlier had informed you that he hadn't returned to his dorm that night. Your instant thought was that he'd most likely slept in the lakeside cavern instead of disturbing his dorm mates. He'd probably taken Anne there too. You soured at the thought.

This hypothesis was thrown to the wind when none other than Anne herself approached your table, quietly asking you for a word.

She wants to know if you've seen Richard this morning. She informs you that she did not, in fact, accompany him on his venture last night. She found his letter and his puzzle, but being unable to solve it, decided not to go to him. Anne looks sheepishly at the floor. You begin to panic. You try to remember the landmarks on the map, but come up blank. You take off from the Great Hall, leaving Anne standing there dumbfounded.

It's hard to breath. The dread. The nightmares. They were trying to warn you of something, you just knew it. As soon as you were outside, you pulled out your retractable broomstick and extended it, hopping on and flying as fast as you could towards the one place you could remember from the map-the Forbidden Forest. You'd search the entire damned place if you had to, praying to Merlin that you would find your best friend.

Weeks had passed and you'd run out of tears to cry. Your searching had proved fruitless. The pain inside you was incomparable to anything that you'd ever felt before. You missed him. Missed his voice, missed his touch, missed his friendship. The school was aware of his disappearance, and Aurors were sent to investigate but even they came up short. It was as if he'd simply vanished.

You knew in your heart that something awful had happened to him though. And you were numb. If he were ok, he'd have come back to you by now.

You dreamt of him frequently, his fingers on you skin, a look of pure, unconditional affection shining in his eyes. And then you'd wake up, drenched in sweat with your face sticky from your tears.

It was one such night, lying in your bed, that you'd woken yourself up with your whimpers and snot ridden nose. Your hair stuck to your wet cheeks and you sobbed into your arm that draped over your eyes. You lay there in your grief, briefly considering casting muffliato, when an echoey yet familiar voice broke through the darkness of the room.

There, at the foot of your bed, stood none other than Richard Jackdaw. Or rather, floated Richard Jackdaw. Your hand shot up to clasp around your mouth, unable to handle the absolute agony of witnessing your best friend, your lost love...hovering before you as a ghost. A fresh flood of tears waterfalled from your eyes and you groaned into your palm.

Richard looked at you with despair, his ethereal form moving closer to you, as if to comfort you. He brought his wispy hand up to your face, but sadness befell him when his fingertips passed through you. You try to ask him what happened, through shaking breaths, but he can't remember how he died. He apologised for not listening to you and for being a terrible friend, to which you denied with a sob.

He begins to move away from your bed, at which you panic and whisper for him not to go, not to leave you again. He turns to look at you with a sad smile, his once vivid eyes now black and lifeless.

"I was in love with you, you know."

And then, he was gone, and you wouldn't see him again for a long, long time.

That night, you cast the silencing charm around you and screamed and cried until your voice was hoarse and you had nothing left to give. You cursed that map, and you cursed yourself for not being able to save him.

Fin.

[moonlightdancer26]

HELLO!!! okay so i’ve recently gotten my severus obsession back and i’ve been writing fics nonstop lol, i was wondering if you could give me some constructive criticism on this fic im planning to publish about eileen and severus accidentally on purpose killing tobias and fleeing to greece.

this is the first part of it

P.S trigger warning for some religious imagery and abuse

ONCE UPON A TIME, when the marks on his back were still fresh, Severus had told himself that he was growing wings.

After all, his mother thought he was an angel, even if his father said he had the devil in him. Severus had never done anything to make his father think that, but the man claimed he could see the shadow in the boy’s eyes. And whenever he caught a glimpse of it, he’d take Severus by the arm and lead him out to the private chapel that sat beside their clapboard house.

Severus used to love the little chapel—it had the prettiest picture window, all red and blue and green stained glass, facing east so it caught the morning light. The floor was made of stone—cold beneath Severus's bare feet, even in summer—and there in the center of the room lay a metal cross, driven straight down into the foundation.

Severus remembered thinking it seemed violent, the way the cross broke and split the floor, as if thrown from a horrible height. The first time his father saw the shadow, he had kept one hand on Severus's shoulder as they walked, the other clutching a coiled leather strap.

Severus's mother watched them go, laid in her own pool of blood. “Tobias,” she had whispered shakily, just once, her own body tattered in violet, blues, greens and reds, but Severus's father didn’t look back, didn’t stop until they’d crossed the narrow lawn and the chapel door had fallen shut behind them. Tobias had told Severus to go to the cross and hold on to the horizontal bar, and at first Severus had refused, sobbing, pleading, trying to apologize for whatever he’d done.

But it didn’t help.

His father tied Severus's hands in place, and beat him worse for his defiance.

Severus had been nine years old.

Later that night, his mother had treated the angry lash-marks on his back, and told him that he had to be strong. That Magic tested them, and so did his father. Her sleeves had inched up as she draped cool strips of cloth over her son’s wounded shoulders, and Severus could just see the edges of old scars on the backs of her arms painted over by the newest ones as she told him it would be okay, told him it would get better.

And for a little while, it always did.

Severus would do everything he could to be good, to be worthy. To not let the magic, the darkness, inside him out. He did everything to avoid his angry father’s gaze.

But the calm never lasted.

Sooner or later, his father would glimpse the magic in his son again, see the darkness pooling in those unnatural black eyes of his, and lead Severus back to the chapel. Sometimes the beatings were months apart. Sometimes days.

Sometimes Severus thought he deserved it. Needed it, even. He would step up to the cross, and curl his fingers around the cold metal cross, and pray—not to God, not to Magic, not at first, but to his father.

He prayed that his father would stop seeing whatever he saw, while he carved new feathers into the torn wings of Severus's back. Severus learned not to scream, not to let his magic lash out, but his eyes would still blur with tears, the colors in the stained glass running together until all he saw was light.

He held on to that, as much as to the steel cross beneath his fingers.

Severus would chant the words his mother taught him, to silence his mind and block out the pain.

Nothing is good or bad without first being determined so by the mind.

Pain cannot touch the mind.

Fear is subservient to the mind.

No wall can imprison the mind.

The body is the vessel and the anchor of the mind.

The mind is both one and multiple.

The mind has many rooms.

Memories half-forgotten and secrets long locked away.

In these natural protective barriers lies the power of the Occlumens.

The Occlumens must divide himself from his weaknesses.

The Occlumens must divide himself from unfulfilled desires.

The Occlumens must not permit a thought that could become a weapon to his enemy.

The Occlumens must place his trust in the strength of his mind.

A scarred mind is a protected mind.

Severus could never truly understand how he was broken, but he wanted to be healed.

If it meant that he would never have to endure such pain again.

He wanted to be saved.

And at last, his liberation came in the form of his father's lifeless eyes.

I’m so insanely and horrifyingly sleep-deprived and I’m on the brink of dying from exhaustion (this is a draft so now I’m in a much better state 😭) but AHAHHSHDJEHRJXKWKNRKFKSD I’M SO HAPPY YOU’RE BACK !!!!!!! I MISSED YOU SMMMM I REMEMBER BEING HEARTBROKEN WHEN I REALISED I COULDN’T FIND YOUR ACCOUNT. Welcome back to the Snapedom 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

also WOW I literally read this with half-opened eyes and I still got chills all over my body 😭 I knew you were a great writer but DAMN. plus I LOVE fanfics where Tobias is a religious fanatic and considers witchcraft to be a sin, and he takes it out on Severus. It’s scarily realistic and it very much gives me Claude Frollo and Quasimodo/Esmeralda vibes. I love when people include these kind of themes in their stories/fanfics, so props for that! I genuinely don’t think I have any criticism to give you, I legit got chills all over my body as I was reading this. I think it’s a great idea and I enjoy the details you’ve added. I am not bluffing when I say you have EXTREME potential. If you publish any of your fics, I want you to RUSH to my inbox or DMs as soon as humanly possible 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Again, so glad you’re back!! Your writing is spectacular as per usual 🩷🩷🩷

[guttersnarls]

"Ghost, for me, is one of the most unique rock bands out there. Tobias’ sense of melody is only matched by his storytelling. The blistering imagery of him and the band is unlike any other. The balance of dark lyrics with soaring (and dare I say… angelic) melodies, make listening to them a different experience than any other band out there. At least that’s what it does for me."

[theoriginalnikegirl]

I'm finally to a point where im happy with ALL of my animorphs playlists so im making a new pinned post with all of them:

They are all (except one) in the vicinity of an hours length bc i made these to share and i feel like you should be able to listen to any of these in a single sitting, two tops. I feel like you'll be able to tell who's who but I'll provide brief (ish) explanations under the cut just in case you care

While there are six playlists above there is not one for Ax. This is because while Ax appreciates many things about human culture he canonically dislikes music and also I can't even begin to fathom what he would listen to if he did

Meanwhile, Rachel has two playlists. This is because she is my favorite character and I think about her most often. One of her playlists "the original nike girl" breaks my "in the vicinity of an hour" promise but it's also more vibes based than any of the other playlists and the only one that's meant to be listened to on shuffle.

Her other playlist "Dirty Work" is based around my understanding of Rachel's character arc: her death was pointed to in the opening pages of the series and the entire length of the series was an exercise in a whole hecking lot of people (crayak/Drode, Jake, David, Cassie & Marco to an extent, etc) gaslighting her about what kind of person she was so that we could all sit here and say "Oh bUt shE wOUldN't bE aBLe To fUNcTioN WitHOuT tHe wAr" which to be clear is *not more true of her than any of the rest of them*. Yes I will die mad about this.

In Marco's playlist "RUTHLESS" my idea was really to challenge the idea that he coped with the end of the war better than the rest of them. Like, just because his coping mechanisms are higher-functioning than Jake's or Tobias' does not mean he's doing well. The entire series Marco acts like he's fine with the stress of the war and the *whole thing* with his mom but he is pretty clearly never for a single second fine, and personally I don't think that would be any different after the war. And I think I really managed to convey that with the frenetic tempo of this playlist so im really stinking proud of it

Cassie's playlist "to save some lives" has Americana/bluegrass/gospel/folksy vibes and I managed to incorporate a lyrical motif across several songs of going to a body of water and drawing from it until it was dry which convinced me of an interpretation of Cassie's character and role on the team being (what the other animorphs see as) a bottomless resource of justification for their actions which we see when Jake demands she justify creating the auxiliarymorphs in 50 and she finally has to say "okay. Then it's wrong. But we're going to do it anyway" and how that energy might carry her as the only survivor of the war

Jake's playlist "Brother Against Brother" is part of my ongoing campaign to rewrite the beaver book bc CIVIL WAR IMAGERY IS PARTICULARLY SALIENT TO JAKE FOR A FREAKING REASON. Ahem. But I am fixated on how personal and immediate the stakes of the war are for Jake specifically because he literally shares a roof with the enemy.

And finally we come to Tobias' playlist "A Kind of Freedom" which gestures at my understanding of Tobias as someone who wants to be happy at the same time he as he wants to wallow. he wants to sit in his sadness. and he does. And I am not judging him here because I was the exact same way when I was his age (which makes his books very hard to reread now) because he, unlike me, was not afforded the chance to grow up and learn what it felt like not sit in his sadness. Anyways yada yada yada there's a reason he didn't answer when the Ellimist asked him if he was happy.

Anyway, if anyone's read all this, I hope you enjoy these playlists as well!

[yeonban]

Somehow arrived at the topic of names and now I'm thinking.......... Tobias... the Book of Tobit/Tobias in which the son of Tobit, Tobias, is sent to recover money and an angel in disguise accompanies him to teach him how to drive out demons. Tobias, who later grows wealthy, and is told to depart from his hometown forever and live in righteousness away from it because it will be destroyed as an example of wickedness... Elijah... the prophet from the Book of Kings... always the messenger and herald, thought to appear before the 'great and terrible day'... challenging the demons and the priests alike...

[ghostdrinkssoup]

Imo S1 Will is a good person. He secluded himself from society to not harm others. He gave up on fulfilling relationships. He was taken off the police force because he let someone stab him instead of pulling the trigger. Who did he actually kill? Just Hobbs, a serial killer who was going to kill Abigail. And he even tried to quit in Coquilles. People like to bring up how he covered for Abigail but at that point he thought Nicholas Boyle was the Copy Cat and attacked her. If he was a bad person he would just be any old cop who kills as much as possible.

hello !! it’s always so interesting to see how people interpret the show and its characters because I view will very differently. I think much of my opinion stems from 1) the nature of his character progression 2) his worldview as shown/set up in the show’s first season and 3) his foil dynamic with hannibal. I’m tempted to write a detailed explanation and tear s1 apart piece by piece but I want to actually sit down and write a separate post about it so I’ll spare you the details and just give you the infodump summary ✨

s1 will is complicated because 1) not all of will’s persona is false (he doesn’t like meaningless violence, for example) and 2) I think he lacks a level of self-awareness concerning his own nature. he’s not entirely ignorant, but he is in denial. he’s a recluse because it’s the nature of his person suit: it’s meant to repel people, rather than lure them in (this changes in s2, honeytrap will my beloved 💖). his empathy is extremely overwhelming for him, yes, however he also has a taste for righteous violence. killing hobbs exposed that, and the rest of his arc follows an internal battle between his preconceived normalcy and his lack of remorse, as well as the thrill he gets from punishing those he feels deserves his wrath. you can understand his worldview by watching the opening lines of the show, as well as the choices he makes during the following seasons, and how each shape his character arc. there’s also a lot of “unmasking” and “seeing” and “becoming” imagery sprinkled throughout this season. these all set up his character arc too

he does try to quit in coquilles, but it’s because he feels himself unravelling. of course jack manipulates him into staying, and since will so desperately wants to believe he’s a good person he latches onto jack’s idea of “saving people” and refuses to leave the job for the remainder of the season. he doesn’t want to confront his own nature, he doesn’t want to unmask himself, and he wants to hide from the truth of himself. he doesn’t refuse the possibility of a relationship with alana when the opportunity presents itself to him despite said isolation, but I think this is because his desire for her is synonymous with his desire for “stability” and “conformity” (hello there heteronormativity)

it’s also important to note that most of his delusions surrounding abigail are tied to a desperation to prove he’s still a good person. he idealises her in his mind and it takes him a long time to realise she’s the bait, even though it’s the most logical conclusion. the reason hannibal is able to manipulate will into keeping quiet and lying about abigail is because he proposes that her killing boyle and him killing tobias is the same as will killing hobbs. hannibal is aware of will’s denial and uses it against him, creating a situation where if will was to condemn abigail or hannibal’s murders he would have to confront himself, which he doesn’t want to do. if will only confronted his own nature, he would’ve figured hannibal out in that scene. but he doesn’t, because by seeing hannibal, he’s forced to see himself. the rest of his arc follows a similar trajectory, for both himself and hannibal. we also can’t ignore the fact that the moment will accepts himself (and realises hannibal is in love with him) the first thing he does is break a dangerous cannibal out of prison NSBSJSJ

still, does all this make will an “evil” person? he isn’t any old cop who kills as many people as possible, you’re right. he’s not a monster, but I think that’s the point. he’s an incredibly complex, human character. we’re meant to empathise with him, but at the same time he exists beyond absolute “good” as well. especially when much of his suffering is tied to repression of the self, as well as unwavering moral conformities. he’s a lot more interesting than the “haunted hero” persona if you look beyond it. also I think using “good” and “evil” to describe will isn’t helpful in an analytical context simply because the show goes out of its way to blur moral absolutes? he exists within the complicated grey, blurring with hannibal. again, much of the show is about deconstructing polarities, particularly the difference between humanity and monstrosity