#This guy is supposed to be so evil

[chronomally]

"It would be unethical to attack them." Does this guy looks like he gives a single fuck about things like "ethics"

[vagabondart]

Resident Evil color wheel because Capcom really does love to color-code their characters.

[lord-squiggletits]

I think the key component to my personal reading of post-Delphi Pharma is that he's trying to be a horrible person on purpose. Not "on purpose" in the way that people have free will to exercise their own choices, but in that Pharma's "mad doctor" persona is a performance he puts on to deliberately embrace how much everyone else hates him. Basically, if people already think you're a "bad Autobot" and a horrible doctor who just kills his patients for fun, why try to prove otherwise to people who have already made up their minds about you? Just fully embrace the fact that people see you as an asshole. Don't try to change their minds. Don't plead for their forgiveness or understanding. Just stop caring. If you're going to be remembered as a monster, you might as well be a memorable monster, and eke as much pleasure and hedonism as you can out of it before karma catches up to you and you inevitably crash and burn.

I mean, I guess you could just go the route of "Oh, Pharma was always a fucked up creepy guy and Delphi was just him taking the mask off," but I really don't like that interpretation because, for one, it feels really wrong to take a character like Pharma becoming evil under duress and going, "Oh well clearly he did the things he did because he was evil all along," as if somehow Pharma breaking under blackmail/torture/threat of horrible death was a sign of him having poor moral character. As opposed to, you know, suffering under the very real threat of horrible death for himself and everyone he cares about while being manipulated by a guy who specializes in psychological torture.

The second reason is that it just doesn't make sense to write Pharma as having been evil all along. I mean...

Occam's Razor says that the best argument is the one with the simplest explanation. Doesn't it make way more sense to take Pharma's appearances in flashbacks, his friendship with Ratchet, his stunning medical accomplishments, and the few we see of him speaking kindly/sympathetically (or in the least charitable interpretation, at least professionally) towards his patients and conclude "This guy was just a normal person, if exceptionally talented." Taking all of these flashback appearances at face value and assuming Pharma was being genuine/honest is a way simpler and more logical explanation than trying to argue that Pharma for the past 4 million years was just faking being a good doctor/person. I mean, it's possible within the realm of headcanon, but the fact is Pharma's appearances in the story are so brief that there simply wasn't room in the story for there to be some sort of secret conspiracy/hidden manipulation behind why Pharma acted the way he did in the past.

I just can't help but look at things like Pharma's friendship with Ratchet (himself a good person and usually a fine judge of character) and the fact that even post-Delphi, pretty much every single mention of Pharma comes with some mention of "He was a good doctor for most of his life" or "He was making major headways in research [before he started killing patients]" which implies that even the Autobots themselves see Pharma's villainy as a recent turn in his life compared to how for "most of his life" he "used to be" a good doctor.

And although Pharma doesn't know this, we as the readers (and even other characters like Rung) know about Aequitas technology and the fact that it actually works, so... if Pharma really was an unrepentant murderer, why couldn't he get through the forcefield too? The Aequitas forcefield doesn't require that a person be completely morally pure and free of wrongdoing or else how could Tyrest get through, just that they feel a sense of inner peace and lack feelings of guilt. Pharma has murdered and tortured people by this point, and put on quite a campy and theatrical show of how much he sees it as a fun game, so why then can he not get through?

It circles back to my headcanon at the start of this post that the "mad doctor" persona is just that-- a persona. Delphi/post-Delphi Pharma's laughing madman personality is just so far removed from every flashback we saw of him and everything we can infer based on how other people see/saw him before that, to me, the mad doctor act is (at least in large part, if not fully) a persona that Pharma puts on to put his villainy in the forefront.

To avoid an overly simplistic/ableist take, I don't think Tarn tortured Pharma into turning crazy. To me, it's more like the constant pressure of death by horrific torture, the feeling of martyrdom as Pharma kept secret that he was the only one standing between Delphi and annihilation, the physical isolation of Messatine as well as the emotional separation from Ratchet, being forced to violate his medical oaths (pretty much the only thing Pharma's entire life has been about), etc. All of that combined traumatized Pharma to the point that the only way he could avoid cracking was to just stop caring about all of it. Because at least then, even if he's still murdering patients to save Delphi from a group of sadistic freaks, Pharma doesn't have to feel guilty and sick about doing it. As opposed to the alternatives, which were probably either going off the deep end and killing himself to escape, or confessing to what he did and getting jailed for it.

In that light, Pharma becoming a mad doctor makes sense. It avoids the bad writing tropes of "oh this character who was good his entire life was actually just evil and really good at hiding it" as well as "oh he got tortured and went crazy that's why he's so random and silly and killing people, he's crazy" and instead frames Pharma's evil as something he was forced into, to the point where in order to avoid a full psychological breakdown and keep defending Delphi, he just had to stop caring about the sanctity of life or about what other people might think of him.

Then, of course, the actual Delphi episode happens, and Pharma's own lifelong best friend Ratchet basically spits in his face and sees him as nothing more than a crazy murderer who went rogue from being a good Autobot. Then Pharma gets his hands cut off and left to die on Messatine. At that point, Pharma has not only been mentally/emotionally broken into losing his feelings of compassion, he's received the message loud and clear: He is alone. Everyone hates him. Not even his own best friend likes him any more. No one even cared enough about him to check if he actually died or not. He will only ever be remembered as a doctor who went insane and killed his patients.

So in the light of 1. Having all of your redeeming qualities be squeezed out of you one by one for the sake of survival and 2. Having your reputation and all of your positive relationships be destroyed and 3. People only know/care about you as "that doctor who became evil and killed his patients" rather than the millions of years of good service that came before.

What else is there to do but internalize the fact that you'll forever be seen as a monster and a freak, and embrace it? People already see you as a murderer for that blackmail deal you did, so why not become an actual murderer and just start killing people on a whim? People already see you as an irredeemable monster who puts a stain on the Autobot name, so why beg for their forgiveness when you could just shun them back? You've already become a murderer, a traitor, and a horrible doctor, so what's a few more evil acts added to the pile? It's not like anyone will ever forgive you or love you ever again.

Why care? Why try to hold on to your principles of compassion, kindness, medical ethics, when an entire lifetime of being a good person did nothing to save you from blackmail and then abandonment? Why put yourself through the emotional agony of feeling lonely, guilty, miserable, when you could just... stop caring, and not hurt any more?

[galactic-rhea]

[ID: Screenshot of a chat that says "just leave my queen alone, she's already suffered enough. She wanted a life with her malewife murder monk pilot mechanic racer and you should respect her for that!]

It's Padmé defending's hours for me

I have been seeing more negative (with very weird connotations, tbh) posts about Padmé on my dash lately, and while I'm a firm believer of the "scroll past it" rule, it really irks me a lot because MOST of these takes sound a bit mysoginistic to me and also (to me) shows a lack of trying to understand her as a character, not in a "you don't get her" way, but in a "you don't even try to understand the character and her context in the damn story just because you wanna sound holy than thou" way.

I'm all for accepting takes about Padmé's flaws or having a slightly more privileged/closed view (and that makes sense, she's aristocracy) but these people are SO WEIRD whenever they wanna talk about her 🤨

I'll forever mad that George eliminated SO MANY scenes with Padmé in the movies, but I feel like even if we had those scenes, people's complaints would be exactly the same.

But also i think half of the time people fail at understanding Padmé is because they're also failing to understand Anakin's as a character, idk

[medicalunprofessional]

meat? in our circus?

[arohuacheng]

imagining the story from pei ming's perspective is rlly funny i think. this god from all that time ago ascends again (you were there for the first two times) and immediately waltzes into a situation that fucks something up for your descendant (putting both of your reputations on the line, messing up how hard your descendant worked to become a god and how hard you worked to ensure that he would have that chance) and then refuses to let you smooth the situation out and on TOP of that your friend's little sister (who hates you and who you are trying to look out for by request of your friend) is on your case about it too. so you've gotta work all that out and then like. you chill for a little bit (still kind of upset about your descendant) until your friend undergoes a heavenly calamity. and then in the space of like A Day the god from earlier shows up again with a fucking ghost king, your friend dies, the little sister you're supposed to be looking out for disappears, and everything just kinda goes to shit. so you're like. grieving. trying to process everything. until your OTHER close friend goes off the fucking rails with the spirit of that guy she murdered, and then you get called out to the spooky ghost mountain where you're confronted with the girl whose death YOU were essentially responsible for and have never really come to terms with, and then like. you just kind of hang out with these gay people until everything resolves itself. fight some ghosts. fight the heavenly emperor. get your friend to stop being evil for a little while so she can fix the filing systems. and then you just have to keep being the god of love i guess

[gingerteaonthetardis]

honestly what would btvs even be without spike's damn cheekbones. fundamentally different show (worse)

[hyperfixatedfandomer]

I need an angsty found family AU where Olrox, instead of killing Richter’s mother as revenge for taking his lover instead goes “you took someone I loved, so I’ll take someone you cherish” and up and kidnaps little Richter. One second the boy is there and the next, shadows descend onto the empty street, and the moment after — he’s just gone.

THE DRAMA of Olrox traveling the world and keeping the kid at first purely to spite and worry his mother, or as part of some evil plan to lure her to her death, but quickly grows attached to him and they become this duo of vamp dad and his (not) son. The angst of Richter hating his abductor and crying and kicking him and telling him that he hates his guts, but when night falls and nightmares force little Belmont to turn and toss in his sleep, it’s Olrox’s lullabies that keep him calm, sung in a language he doesn’t know but with a gentleness only a parent could provide.

And as Olrox puts a hand on Richter’s head, carding his hair he realises, terror-struck, that he doesn’t want to let the kid go. He comes to a horrific conclusion that this is his baby now, whether the kid likes it or not, and it sends the old man’s mind into a spin.

Richter is unlike anything Olrox ever had. He’s never been a father, and doesn’t know how express love and care he’s so desperate to provide. He thinks of turning his newfound son more than once, but settles on waiting as for a little vampire hunter, an event like that would be far too traumatic.

And let’s talk about Richie himself for a second. This poor baby was about to travel to his aunt’s place one night and then got express-adopted by an immortal who is surprisingly gentle with him, yet doesn’t plan on letting him go. As result, baby Belmont throws tantrums every chance he gets, tries using fire-magic against the man (to no avail) and attempts to escape at every turn. At first, he’s in fight or flight mode almost constantly because he knows that the dragon vampire has to be using him for some evil ploy…but then weeks pass, a month, and there doesn’t seem to be much of an evil ploy happening. The two of them simply travel form place to place, where Richter has to awkwardly stand while his…kidnapper? Temporary guardian? Is running errands and talks to other gross, smelly vampires.

He hates Olrox, he’s confused, he feels a strange warmth in his chest when the vampire picks him up and carries him around when he’s too tired to walk, or checks up on him to make sure he’s warm and well-fed.

Just imagine the bittersweetness of Richie developing a bond with his captor in these horrible circumstances, and they start to get along. He feels all kinds of guilt and self-hate for it, every time he fails to stifle a giggle at Olrox’s jokes or can’t help but lean in when he offers comfort.

It’s just such a messy, tragic dynamic, don’t you think?

[perilegs]

I think Gortash's design is very interesting. Yeah sure even his coat's description mentions "a maddening attention to even the most minute details of the filigree," but what I really enjoy about is the sharpness of it all. Humans are all soft, rounded teeth, round ears, even sharp features are in reality, very soft. Gortash's coat's details are all sharp. You couldn't hug him without several pointy miniature horns poking at you. His right hand, has a metal claw on every finger. If you're not careful, even a handshake with Gortash could draw blood. On his left hand, only the ringfinger and pinky are clawed. A gentle touch from that hand could be followed with a sharp blade cutting skin.

His back however? Completely bare from any decoration. He doesn't think anyone will approach, or even see him from behind. His clothes are meant to be seen standing, in front of a crowd, maybe on a throne. Ruling over everyone. However, it's a strange choice to leave your back so bare from what protects you on all other sides. Maybe he thinks his god has his back. Maybe he knows there's no one there. Maybe his trust in himself and those under his rule is firm enough.

[confused-wanderer]

Clark Kent is fucking terrifying as a reporter.

All he does is take an interview with the suspects, before throwing down some of the hardest questions that leaves them squirming in their seats.

They see this shy man who always hunches, wears dorky glasses and assume they’re the ones in charge. But the moment he timidly asks if they can record the session, lulled by their false sense of security they end up agreeing and the tables turn so fast none of them are left standing.

Question after question, of events that could not have possibly been made public, of deals and skeletons in the closet no one has dared open.

And the man is a bloodhound.

Clark uses his superhearing to help gather information. He knows drop locations, families, the plotting betrayals and plans. So all it takes is a little investigation, connecting the dots before blowing apart the criminals’ plans.

The villains, aware of his reputation, tell everyone to lie their ass off.

Most even pass the lie detector. But Clark never uses it.

He asks them questions that don’t seem related to the case, throwing them off their game asking about their health, the weather and so forth.

And there’s just something about him that makes them drop their guards without realising it. Something that even Batman has admitted to. The fact that despite his appearance, there’s an almost non existent aura, and you don’t even realise you’re saying something confidential or sliping up.

The villains lie about everything there is, avoiding every trap yet somehow from an interview about rabbits Clark Kent now publishes a plot of robbing Metropolis’ banks along with the details all laid out.

If Clark Kent comes for you, everyone knows it’s a death sentence.

This post can be summed up in this quote

Villain *to hunched back, averting gaze Clark Kent* : Do you know how to walk on your knees?

Clark *suddenly standing straight, looking them in the eyes while towering over them* : Do you?

[razberrypuck]

I do not trust el q at all but also his response to charlie saying that it felt like gegg was gone being just. "no, gegg is my son. gegg is my son." like I GET it could be some way to get charlie to feel bad for him but I'm also thinking about. when foolish shot gegg in the first presidental debate, el q physically jumped in front of him while yelling at foolish to stop. put himself between foolish and gegg, with a gun momentarily pointed at him, while baghera and jaiden made sure gegg was okay. this is the same man that doesn't usually address the eggs at all. this is the same man that barely recognized the ticket quackity got when he adopted tilin. rrhgvhehgr idk im. conflicted.

[basketobread]

is lotus a durge? i think they are so fucking hot

thanks! but no, they're just like that 👍

[completeoveranalysis]

[7]

It's almost strange seeing Fai use his magic after all this time, and I can’t even enjoy it knowing what it cost

But oh how the spell he casts here also looks like an eye as it takes them into Evil Wolverine’s Evil Branding Department HQ

Like they're all being carried by the exact piece of Syaoran that he left behind (Fai's Eye) for them to use

Ohoho

Ok despite everything I do like Evil Wolverine looking completely different to normal. Evil Wolverine bleeding? Evil Wolverine almost looking scared as they show up?

WONDERFUL. Lovely sight. 10/10, only improved by Kurogane and Lava Lamp leaping into the air to attack him instantly. 

[stikybug]

It has come to my attention that in the cn server prefect luminary says he's got pads and painkillers at the ready when you're on your period and I'm just

[sweetlullabyebye]

[betasuppe]

A very much so my-styled Uprising Rinz as my cool down distraction for the night♡

Close up because ehehehhhhh.... he so pwettyyyy♡♡♡