every time i rewatch the stand 2020 i always get so thrown off by the fact that lloyd and trashcan man hate each other. because like. OUT OF ALL CHARACTERS TO MAKE HATE EACH OTHER??
"Ora, tu mi sembri un uomo che deve apprezzare il valore di una buona chiave", disse l'uomo. La pietra nera scomparve dentro il suo pugno stretto e all'improvviso ricomparve nell'altra mano, dove riprese a passeggiare tra le dita. "Ne sono sicuro. Perché le chiavi sono fatte per aprire le porte. C'è qualcosa di più importante nella vita che aprire le porte, Lloyd?"
"Signore, ho una fame tremenda".
"Certo che hai una fame tremenda", convenne l'uomo.
Randall Flagg has all these different animal associations. I kinda step outside of the usual view that “these are spooky animals and he is spooky” because not a damn one of them is bereft of adorable gifs. I just headcanon that crows, wolves, cats, rats, and weasels are associated with him because those just...happen to be his favorites. And whatever else develops due to lore is just flavoring. Everyone esp in the Kingverse is just “ooh evil portents” and meanwhile the Walkin Dude is over here like
It also doesn’t escape me that all but ONE of his favorite animals are the sorts who are extremely social and have strong familial bonds you don’t gotta tell on yourself so hard guy.
This also led me to wonder on animals associated with other King characters. Lloyd Henreid for instance reads like this list to me:
1. Raccoons - tiny trash panda energy, just fits, cannot explain better than this
2. Deer - You know how baby deer, if they think they’ve been spotted by a predator, will try to act as strong and healthy and cool as possible as a way to go “I am too healthy and cool to eat, kill a sick baby deer who is not me instead”? Yeah that is definitely how Nat Wolff!Lloyd tends to merge with whatever energy the room is giving him when he’s at the Inferno. ...Also pretty sure he would randomly dart into traffic if you let him, he does a lot of coke.
3. Ferret - They are like weasels, even do the scrappy war dance thing (and Lloyd def has that energy). But they are also not anywhere near as smart. Kinda like weasels, only more social and with the homing instinct of a brain damaged corndog.
4. Cheetahs - I made a post about this animal already and how I associate it with ADHD. But bursts of competence powered largely by adrenaline, followed by exhaustion and anxiety. Which is pretty much how someone like Lloyd can run New Vegas.
So, I should be writing the upcoming Chapter for Just Keep Diving Down. It's November, everybody else is writing. But my brain is just going 'Nope, No.' much like Eddie faced with Upside Down insanity. So I did another sketch for a previous chapter instead.
Chapter Twenty Seven: Time Heals Some Wounds
(Spoilers - Should that be a concern)
This chapter starts with a six-month time jump, and I may end up going back here and writing single shot scenes once the main story is complete, because Lloyd learning magic.... I can just picture him accidentally destroying so much shit in their home.
Using my story taglist: @anths-girl, @raith-way, @ocs-supporting-ocs, @chickensarentcheap
This interaction does a LOT to me. This loyal to the end mutt who’s just stepped too far out of his comfort zone, screaming and crying and thrashing away from his master’s touch. The master, who watches him chase his own tail nervously and lay down and whine and bark and howl at the sky for god’s forgiveness, but pets him and reassures him it’s ok. And the pet listens anyways, because that’s who he’s supposed to be for his master. Good and loyal.
Lloyd’s eagerness to please Flagg falling for a second is a KEY part in his story, even if it’s almost right at the end. This doubt just rips all my heartstrings to PIECES and it shows that Lloyd’s scared side never ever went away. That even when following Flagg’s orders, he can still find ways to defy him. The thing is that almost immediately after he falls right back into Flagg’s hands. He’s not immune to this manipulation and that’s his downfall.
Lloyd is WAY more complex than a lot of people give him credit for in my opinion.
Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg in The Stand (2020) Pocket Savior
Ep2
Musician Larry Underwood is on the cusp of his big break when "Captain Trips" strikes New York. Alone and wandering an empty city, he meets an alluring new acquaintance also desperate to escape. Meanwhile, an incarcerated Lloyd Henreid comes face-to-face with Randall Flagg, The Dark Man himself, who makes him an enticing offer.