#people are overestimating him

[toriangeli]

Armand's red flags in 2.02

You know how people kept accusing Lestat of isolating Louis from his family? And then Louis actually kept visiting his family, so if Lestat was isolating him, he did a really shit job of it?

Yeahhh. Armand shows us how it's really done.

Disclaimer: Armand is my favorite, precious boy, and I will defend his right to be as fucked-up as he damn well pleases, but he is indeed very fucked-up. So don't come at me accusing me of being biased in favor of Lestat (and even if I was, so what? this is Tumblr, not BBC News). I love Lestat, I love them all, but Armand is my trash son and if he isn't horrifically fucked-up on the show like he is in the books, it's a massive betrayal of the complexity of his character and the logical outcomes of his background. He hurts, and like any creature in pain, lashes out because of it. He knows how to do all kinds of diabolical shit, but he doesn't know how to be a person, and that's why I love him (trying to remember who the Youtuber was who said, "No one's a hero, everyone's a victim" about this series because they were so right).

First off, Assad is truly phenomenal at creating this effect:

If you don't suspect Armand of the shit he's about to pull, it's not your fault. This is how he is. Part of it is real innocence, in a way, or perhaps an inverse of innocence--he doesn't realize this shit isn't normal.

So it's very striking to me how Armand laid the foundation for his relationship with Louis so subtly and early on. He approached Louis in the park while he was alone, Claudia nowhere to be seen even though his invitation was for her as well. Claudia would ask questions. Armand wants to dangle the carrot before any questions are fired off. By the time anyone in the coven actually speaks with Claudia, she is already sold on them all. There is no time for her to form suspicions. With Claudia on board, Armand has free access to Louis. She feels at home with the coven, so she's not watching Armand too closely.

Then at the Delacroix mansion, Armand warns Louis against the rest of the coven. He says "a few of" the coven members are unforgiving, though he doesn't say who, which would be useful information if Louis is to defend himself (spoiler alert: it's all of them), just tells Louis to close his mind to the others. So Claudia is with the rest of the coven, while Louis is available only to Armand. Armand does not give this warning to Claudia. The only person she can hear it from is Louis, who she won't believe. They're now spending time apart, weakening the link between them. Armand knows he can seduce the hell out of anyone he desires, and once he does that, all he really needs is to break the filament binding Louis to Claudia and he's got what he wants.

He also warns him not to contact Roget again, which is probably good advice, but what Armand knows that Louis doesn't is that Lestat is alive. And Roget is the one person in the world Lestat would be able to contact if he could. So in the unlikely event that Lestat gets the chance to call Roget, Louis will not hear of it.

In just a few sentences, Armand has managed to distance Louis from Claudia, Lestat, and everyone else in the coven.

And how does he do it? By making sense, basically, by preying on Louis' preexisting (and sensible) fears about the coven. It makes sense for Louis to be on his guard. But Armand has set it up so he appears to be "different" from the rest of the coven, the only one Louis can trust, while issuing vague warnings about everyone else. And while Armand in the book is a pretty hands-off leader with the TdV, don't think for one second he can't do anything to protect Louis and Claudia himself. Here, he's acting like he has no sway with these people. He does. No matter what he says, he does.

So yeah. I'm really impressed with how smart the writers are being about this so far.

[op3ra]

you're counting all your sheep in disguise -- caught up in the world of lies

[sailing-through-hawkins]

inspired by this anon ask given to @steddieas-shegoes because i'm ALWAYS down for lovestruck not-exactly-human-anymore eddie (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ) it's not perfectly written to the prompt with the demon-ness and swaying around the kitchen but it was fun to write!!!

To become more, you must sacrifice that which holds you back.

The things that limit you.

The people.

Henry had become more. He left ashes behind his every footfall and, in turn, became the god that he is, the god he was always meant to be.

Humanity does not share this fate, he is sure. Eleven had proved that even those who have only potential will always bend to the confines of their limitations.

They must have the will to break free of the cage.

The ambition.

Henry walks along, his creatures making way for his path. They shiver and keep their distance, in awe of his control, his power. He almost smiles.

In front of him lies a body, void of life, of purpose.

Perhaps, he thinks as he raises a hand, perhaps he can give it purpose.

Perhaps those who have potential just need his aid to find the will for it.

It takes time, too much time, too much of humanity has tainted this one, but his new creature finally rises.

It stares up at him, loyal and keen. More readable than his other creatures, more cunning, more like him.

Yes, this realm's god has made it in his perfect image.

Stronger, faster, sharper. More powerful than what was, it is perfect.

And even more perfect as he hears the distant shrieks of his creatures. Someone is slaughtering them, attempting to destroy his vision.

Attempting to ruin the world's evolution.

He watches through the eyes of the lone survivor, flying high above the carnage, sees a young, grimy boy, swing a weapon into the neck of his beautiful creatures with a snarl on his face.

The violence of humanity disgusts him.

The boy drops the weapon, running towards another, a girl on the ground. She is weak and will die soon enough, he is sure.

"Robin, Robin, are you - shit, shit, shit, that's blood -"

"Steve, it hurts so fucking bad, I - I'm - oh my god, it hurts -"

"It's okay, c'mere, I got you, it's gonna be okay -"

"Go," he says to his creature, turning his nose when it tilts his head. Still too much humanity. Perhaps not as perfect as himself. "Find the boy. Steve. Ensure he does not get another chance to delay us."

His creature knows what he saw, had seen it with him. It bows its head and begins its flight to the other world.

"Soon," he says, staring up at the thundering skies with an almost-smile. "Soon, it will all burn. Ready...to be reborn."

"No, no, stop, please -"

Steve laughs as Eddie blows raspberries into his neck, long and keen tail wrapped around his wrist.

Eddie sits on the counter, arms wrapped around Steve's neck as he pulls him further into the space between his legs, poking a cold nose into the skin where his neck meets his shoulder.

"Come on, you've proven your point," Steve tries squirming away but the tip of Eddie's tail just swoops in under his shirt to softly tickle his sides, where the bite wounds are still sensitive, and he can't stop the burst of laughter pealing out of him. "Eddie!"

"The demon lord requires more, a much greater sacrifice," Eddie says dramatically into Steve's neck, arms tightening around his neck. Eddie inhales and yells, "It's your pride!"

With a squeal, Steve muffles his laughs into Eddie's shoulders as Eddie tickles him even harder. "Okay, okay, I give, I give," Steve manages to say between his bouts of giggles. "I give, you win, oh Great Demon King."

"That's Mr. Great Demon King to you," Eddie sniffs as he loosens his grip on Steve and hops down the kitchen counter. Brushing off imaginary dust, because Steve and Robin keep this place clean as fuck (mostly Steve since Robin almost got her leg chewed off that one time, but she makes up for it by yelling directions at him), he turns around and pretends to walk away very slowly.

"C'mere," Steve grabs his hand and spins him around, leaning back against the counter with Eddie in his arms. The fake snooty expression on his face melts away when Steve curls a lock of hair behind his pointed ear, cupping Eddie's jawline gently. His thumb strokes his cheek, gliding over the stretched, scarred skin. "Hey."

Eddie's eyes, brown and red and like there's a whole world inside them, soften and he bumps their foreheads together as the purr in his chest starts up. "Hey yourself, handsome."

He's been really cold ever since he came back but he doesn't seem to care much. Steve cares a lot, maybe more than he needs to, and always tries to keep him as warm as possible with sweaters, blankets, whatever works. In this moment though, where Eddie's pressed against him, the kitchen lights making a golden light behind him like some kinda halo (the irony makes him grin), his horns like little upside down vampire teeth. Maybe there was something to the vampire theory, he thinks as he ruffles the curls at the back of Eddie's neck.

"Steve," Eddie sighs, his eyes closing as he smiles goofily, fangs poking into his bottom lip and wings fluttering.

"Yeah?" Steve smiles, pressing a gentle kiss to Eddie's cheek.

"Just wan'ed to say it." Eddie nuzzles into Steve's cheek with the mumble, sighing again when Steve wraps his arms around Eddie's waist, his tail winding up the sleeve of Steve's shirt. "Like sayin' yer name."

Something bubbles up in Steve's chest and he giggles to let it out, the warmth and sweet affection pouring out of him. "Yeah? I like saying yours too."

"Then say it," Eddie's head quickly shoots up and he stares at Steve, the tip of his tail flickering back-and-forth on Steve's forearm the way Tews' does whenever Dustin swings a toy in front of her face. His pupils are massive, way bigger than any human's should be, and it makes his eyes look even bigger. "C'mon, say it."

Steve hums, tilting his head one way, then the other, laughing when Eddie huffs and pouts at him. He leans in closer, pressing a kiss to his nose, and says softly, "Eddie."

The gust of wind that Eddie's wing-flapping causes is so strong it makes the entrance door slam against the wall and makes Steve jump, but he just laughs when Eddie's wings stretch up and around them both awkwardly in apology.

"Think it's time for dinner, angel," Steve whispers into the tiny space between them.

"Call me angel one more time," Eddie whispers back with a glint in his eye. "And I'll show you exactly how unholy I can be."

"Whatever you say," Steve grins and boops Eddie's nose. "Angel."

"That's it!" Eddie hunches down and lifts Steve over his shoulder, bouncing his way around the kitchen. "The Great Demon King has declared no dinner for defiant knights!"

Steve laughs and shoves at the wings crowding over his head, "What if I used true love's kiss to appeal to the judge?"

The bouncing pauses and Steve blinks when he finds himself right in front of Eddie again, his limbs bound by Eddie's tail and hands. Eddie squints at him and sniffs, the snooty expression snobbier than ever. "The Great Demon King rejects your offer and demands five true love's kiss in repentance."

Rolling his eyes, Steve pecks the corner of Eddie's mouth, grinning when the tip of his tail wags back-and-forth again. "Well, when you put it like that, how could I say no?"

[spinjitsuburst]

I’ve been reading a very very very dark Skybound Fic all night and I feel slightly ill but I’m so so obsessed with literally every “how Jay’s lightning works” headcanon

[cesarescabinet]

💐Flower Festival Freebie💐

Another (belated) offering for @queer-ragnelle's May Day Parade! Since there was no specific theme, I tried to nail down some character designs with varying success (mainly a parade of characters who I either love or want to study under a microscope. Or both!)

[zeebreezin]

I need to start selling people on the Scintillating Harbinger . You all need to understand how bad of an idea it was to put Beverley in the sky.

[unnerving-presence]

i realize a lot of people tend to over-characterize wesker and completely disregard some of his main personality traits. (long post that’s not rlly organized read at ur own risk lol)

i’ll often see videos/edits about him and a lot of people will say something along the lines of

“he’d instantly kill me” (read this on a thirst post LMAO)

“he’d threaten to kill me if i ever spoke to him”

“wesker would kill all of us if he found out we were simping for him”

and that always really confused me? knowing wesker’s character i feel like people would know he doesn’t kill people unless he really has to. there are few moments where he does kill and they’re mainly because he has to/has real reason behind it.

in reality, he likely wouldn’t kill you instantly, especially if you simply weren’t a threat. who cares if you simp for him? he sure doesn’t. even if you were a threat, he’d send out other people to take care of you first and if he had a confrontation with you he surely wouldn’t take you seriously (i highly doubt y’all mfs know how to fight i’m sorry 😭)

you wanna know why wesker fought chris in the first place? he thought it was amusing and didn’t even take it seriously. the whole time he just messed around, clearly not trying to kill him. he literally tells chris he has 7 minutes to fuck with him like he’s got a strict schedule. dude was not taking any of that seriously. he took a phone call because chris and sheva were so irrelevant to him. they were considered ‘threats’ but clearly not enough to him for him to really care. he has enough confidence in his own abilities to know he could take care of something if they really posed a threat to him.

it’s actually surprising how people make out wesker to be this ruthless angry killer who doesn’t put up with anything when in reality he’s just a goofy little comic book villain who has the zoomies half the time.

we have visual proof of a wesker simp trying to fuck him (excella) and him simply using them before killing them. keep in mind he put up with her for 5~ whole years.

moral of the story, no he wouldn’t threaten you or actually kill you the moment you spoke a word to him. that’s seriously out of character for him and i’m not sure why after seeing him in so many games that people will automatically assume that he’d do that. he’s capable of fighting but clearly prefers to use his charm.

[dappersautismcreature]

saw someone in the tag say "what does bad mean he could do worse? what could he do worse than what he's done??" <- paraphrasing

and like, dude, so much, thats what we've been telling you,, so much, he could be wayyy more of a little dirty playing shit than he is. he couldve placed traps all over the bases, he couldve spawnkilled wayyy more, he couldve done so much more. this is him polite and guilt ridden.

[tswwwit]

Hihihi I'm here with another opinion. And its thats Other Bill is a dumbass.

Other Bill really though familiar Bill was weak because he was playing house with a human. So what if he's domesticated? Does he not realize that this is a version of himself who actually has something to lose. He's the most dangerous!! :/

Other Bill's thought process kinda went like this:

This Bill is Soft for this guy! It's clear when you look at the human's reactions - and even in the environment! All the context pointed right towards some domesticated moron.

And Soft Emotionally = Soft Everywhere = Soft Target. No threat at all!

Clearly this was some whimpering, wailing, quivering, pathetic Bill, that would fold under a bit of pressure. Honestly, he'd be doing the multiverse a favor getting rid of that guy! Squishing (or stealing) his (admittedly cute) human would be a fine precursor to putting him down.

Other Bill did not expect a Bill who was, well. Still very Bill. The mistake he made was thinking that because Bill went soft in one single place - that he'd gone all jello-like everywhere. Classic overgeneralization. Along with a lot of egocentric cognitive biases.

The other dumb thing Other Bill pulled was not changing his plan.

He could have course-corrected when Familiar Bill reemerged- even that first interaction showed him he wasn't dealing with a total pushover - but he figured, hey! If one dumb human could ruin this guy, what could he possibly do against another Bill?

And then he found things out the hard way.

[findstenicht]

apparently the next step in my dad's plan for retirement is to move to ghana for three months and spend the majority of his savings on 'coming up with an idea.' like. genuinely. hes very serious about this. his whole plan is 1. move to ghana 2. spend money 3. ???? 4. profit. how is this man real

[worldblight]

who is your favorite one piece character. *staring intently no pressure no pressure no pres (⁠´⁠灬⊙⁠ω⁠⊙⁠灬⁠`)⁠♡

Idk some fucking guy that showed up on screen for a bit he was kinda cool

[lady-shadow-and-darkness]

Whenever I see people saying that Dazai's an asshole and doesn't care about anyone I laugh. Guess he did a good job of fooling you buddy.

[kissingthebeehive]

I miss my oc Stu. I need to draw him

[knight-of-blaze]

ok im rewatching the og tailors shop scene and its making episode 9 hurt a lot more

hob directly asks if either rue or binx know who was at fault for the breaking of the engagement. rue let hob leave that conversation still believing it was apollo. they immediately pulled the conversation away, asking him about it being his victories that lead to the engagement.

maybe it was originally a first step. a lead-in to a confession. an explanation of how this has all been a big misunderstanding. but rue never gives that impression. they never make it seem as though they have other ideas of who hob is looking for. even knowing that it was themself.

they go on to have this revelation of their on feelings heightening into love at the reveal of hobs first name. and what do they do next? they scold him. yes, theyre telling him he deserves better and the sentiment behind those words are positive overall. they want whats best for him. but wouldnt it have been a perfect opportunity to come clean? to say "knickolas, i care about you so much and knowing the full scope of what youre going through now i cannot bear to continue hiding this from you"? wouldnt they understand that to criticize his very nature is to use the exact same tactics that his own court uses to keep him in line?

as far as im concerned, all the misunderstandings could have begun to clear in that moment. but rue chose to prioritize the pushing of their own ideals onto hob. they chose to hide. to not give even a hint to hob that they know the answers he seeks.

[enneamage]

Don't know if you missed it but Wilbur is now going to therapy. Said so on his stream.

I was under the impression that he had gone before as well- I thought I remembered on his Origins streams a while back that he was trying some thought-adjustment techniques that he got from a therapist.

Probably good that he's got someone looking out specifically for his mental health as Lovejoy is picking up even more steam. They've been on the grind and it's really showing with the places they've been.

[ceilidhtransing]

I never fail to be staggered by the invisibility of trans men in society. And I'm not talking about invisibility in culture - not having enough representation and whatnot - I'm talking about everyday, real-world society. The fact that it won't even occur to a lot of cis people that the flat-chested, short-haired person in front of them, dressed in clothing from the men's department and introducing themselves with a traditionally male name, MIGHT IN FACT NOT BE A WOMAN is... just stunning. It's not even "I should ask if it's a man or a woman" or "hey you what's your gender", it's "ah yes I will default straight to she/her for this person".

And this isn't one of those "debating whether trans men or trans women have it Worse"-type things - I have no time for that - but it's amazing that were a trans woman to go to the equivalent amount of effort to present as a woman, most people would not interpret her as a cis man. (That doesn't mean that they would be kind, or respectful, or that they would use she/her, and it should be noted that the greater visibility of trans women in UK society is largely down to an incessant barrage of transmisogynistic media coverage - again, this is not a "xyz group of trans people has it better than this other group of trans people" thing - but something would at least ping in their brains to say "this person? probably not a man".) And yet you can present 100% as a man, with a generally men's name - hell, you can even be on testosterone - and so many cis people will still be like "YEAH THIS BOOBLESS LITTLE GREMLIN SEEMS LIKE A SHE/HER TO ME".