#paranoia trilogy

[pygartheangel]

Roman Polanski's signature "Peephole Distortion" shot from the three films that make up his "Paranoia Trilogy (aka Apartment Trilogy):

The Tenant-1976 / Rosemary's Baby- 1968 / Repulsion - 1965

#roman polanski #the tenant #rosemary's baby #repulsion #melvyn douglas #ruth gordon #john fraser #apartment trilogy #paranoia trilogy #film #cinema #horror

[vietgiorgio]

"You make a man think that he's accepted. It's all a great big game to you."

Klute (1971)

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Cinematography: Gordon Willis

#klute #paranoia trilogy #alan j. pakula #jane fonda #donald sutherland #roy scheider #charles cioffi

[sloshed-cinema]

Klute (1971)

Movies like Barbarian or any of the Insidious flicks ought to up their fucking game.  The primal fear of descending into a dark, creepy basement ought to be the easiest thing in the world to convey.  But few films capture the fear of the dark with such visceral sensory specificity as Klute.  It really proved an all hands on deck effort.  DoP Gordon Willis works wonders in how he deprives the sequence where Klute chases down an elusive stalker he catches on Bree Daniels’ rooftop of light.  Flashlights create fear in their limited ability to reveal what danger lurks in the shadows, and editor Carl Lerner draws out the tension in lingering on shots, daring the viewer to anticipate if and when a flurry of action will break out.  Ambiguous images of darkened doorways and junkies and ladders call into question if Klute will even make it out unharmed.  This escalates from earlier scenes, Bree alone in her candlelit apartment, her end-of-day relaxation interrupted by strange sounds she can’t quite explain.  It starts out slow, small noises or instances which could just be purely incidental.  But keeping the shot locked down with Fonda small and vulnerable in frame allows the shadows to encroach, dangerous in this isolation.  This is exactly what it feels like when your familiar home suddenly seems threatening.

While it uses the seedy underbelly of New York as its backdrop, Klute is at no point interested in leaning on the “call-girl who finds the right man” arc.  Instead, it examines power dynamics and self-denial within this world.  Peter Cable embodies this on a more societal scale, fundamentally devaluing the lives and livelihoods of the women he hires, torturing them physically and psychologically while feeling wholly justified in his conquests.  He operates freely in a world of junkies and desperate individuals, one the world either turns a blind eye to or punishes.  But this landscape has a personal impact too.  We see Bree struggle with addiction and make choices perhaps not in her best interests.  But we also listen to her processing this with her therapist, trying to explain for herself why she makes the choices she does, self-destructive or not.  While Cable is a terrifying cipher up to the end, Daniels renders herself vulnerable in a positive way.  Jane Fonda is immaculate in the role, steely and vulnerable in turn, breaking down as she is played a recording of a former friend’s demise and giving her best Irish-ish accent when the story calls for it.  

Mr Goldfarb’s secretary is a true gift of a one-scene performance.  She truly does not give a shit, and any person who makes an entire outfit out of one kind of textile is certainly not to be trusted in any clothing-adjacent profession.  MR GOLDFAAAAARB!

THE RULES

SIP

Someone says ‘trick’, ‘John’, or ‘freak’.

Someone starts a tape recording.

Narcotics are mentioned.

A phone starts to ring.

BIG DRINK

Bree picks up a John.

Klute smiles.

Bree names a fetish.

Bree puts on an accent.

#drinking games #klute #alan j pakula #jane fonda #donald sutherland #paranoia trilogy #thriller #horror & thriller #crime #drama

[forevercloudnine]

From the chapter “TURNING TO THE DARK SIDE: CHALLENGING AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY IN THE SUPERHERO GENRE” in Terence McSweeney’s The ‘War on Terror’ and American Film: 9/11 Frames Per Second. Interesting read, and made me wonder if there’s any correlation between comics depicting Batman using torture on criminals and the Bush administration’s dismantling of prohibitions against torture in U.S. and international law.

#christopher nolan #nolanverse #batman begins #the dark knight #the dark knight rises #i keep getting ao3 comments asking me to watch these movies and i DON'T want to #but they ARE an important part of batman's image in american pop culture #and they're obviously representative of a lot of american paranoia and punitive conception of justice #so it would probably be academically interesting #plus i can't kid myself and pretend they've had no influence on his characterization in the comics #this book talks a lot about how bane + joker + ra's all drew from different stereotypes of 'terrorism' #with nolan freely discussing how ra's al ghul was entirely based on osama bin laden #maybe i'll wait until matt reeves is done with his trilogy #and then i can watch them both to compare and contrast how american anxieties have changed over the last two decades

[itspileofgoodthings]

eyes open (Taylor’s version) is iconic

#eyes open #always been a low-key fave of mine #I love safe and sound too but I think I like this one better #just captures such a specific spirit. does the entirety of the hunger games better in 3 minutes than the whole trilogy #just kidding (not really) (I like to drag the hunger games) #anyway this song though. That second verse!!!! the deep understanding of the paranoia but also the real danger #young famous taylor said yeah I understand that

[theparallaxview]

all the president’s men is a top 10 movie of all time and you have great taste

Thank you!

It’s been my all-time comfort film since I was a kid, I’m SO normal about it <3 (lying)

#My discord icon right now is definitely not Robert Redford as Bob Woodward photoshopped onto the lesbian pride flag. #Also! My number one favorite film (The Parallax View) is also a part of Alan J. Pakula’s Paranoia Trilogy! #asks

[eurekavalley]

film nerd dunce level: getting Alan Pakula and Alan Smithee confused

#one of these men directed the paranoia trilogy and the other doesn't exist #i need to watch klute

[papermachedragons]

Girl help there was a massive spider in my living room and I killed it (don't come for me, I have insane agoraphobia if I didn't kill it i would have to burn down my apartment block) and I was shaking so bad for at least 40 min. so I had to distract myself. As the super intelligent, incredibly, so fucking easily scared person I am, I of course decided to combat my spider fear with EVEN MORE FEAR by watching 30 minutes of Fear Street which had me paranoid and scared for five consecutive nights after I watched the first movie to the extent where I was scared, super paranoid and saw the dead killers in the dark when I turned off the lights (fuck you, too, imagination)

What is wrong with my logic. Why would I think "hey I'm still shaking and fucking crying and I can't stop seeing spiders everywhere so why don't I watch a horror/slasher movie that had me scared shitless for a full week so I can see dead killers and be scared of those instead??" Like what the fuck is wrong with me (aside from killing innocent spiders and being scared of stupid pointless shit)

#dont come for me #if i could trap spiders and release them i would but id rather die than do that #ive tried and i cant okay i wish i could but i cant dont cancel me #anyway im actually still more focused on the spider than fesr street which is a surprise but nice #depsite being scared and paranpid and so easily affected by horrors im still infinitely fascinated by them #and i wish i could watch them without losing my sanity because im honestly a horror fan (once you look past all the fear and paranoia) #anyway ive been fascinated by the fear street trilogy since it came out and i caved and watched the first movie two weeks ago #and i literally cant stop thinking about it im so intrigued and fascinated #im just waiting until my curiosity wins over me again #and i cave and watch the last two movies in the trilogy #because i know i WILL cave im way too facsinated not to despite the fear i know will haunt me for at least five days after watching #thats all on my spider and fear street adventures #fear street #fear street 1994 #fear street: 1994 #can i tag the movie? is me mentioning it enough to grant passage? idk im still gonna do it #spider #spiders #tw spider #spider tw

[melit0n]

Seen a couple other people do this, so, here are some recommendations for replacements for Wilbur's music and Lovejoy!

Crywank -> indie folk punk with lots of acoustic guitar with descriptions of paranoia, depression and a lot of dry humour.

Los Campesinos -> indie rock and indie pop! For their older music, they implement more 'emo' lyrics, but overall they have really good lyricism (you might have already heard them from Lovejoy's cover of Knee Deep At ATP!)

Arctic Monkeys -> literally what Lovejoy wanted to be. They come under almost every subsection of rock ever, and have the tendency to have absolutely stupendous bass lines.

Cavetown -> similar indie vibe to Wilbur's old music!

The Backseat Lovers -> alternate rock with intense and emotional lyrics! You may have heard of them from 'Kilby Girl' from their 2019 album 'When We Were Friends'

James Marriott -> obvious choice! As a prev Lovejoy fan, I can tell all of you you'd really anjoy his music.

Together Pangea -> typically fast paced, garage pop, or whatever you want to call it. They also have a small US tour happening soon!

Half·Alive -> you may have heard them from 'Creature' from their album 'Now, not yet'. I highly recommend these guys; very lyrical and have an insanely beautiful mix of jazz, rock and pop.

The Frights -> another indie rock/pop band! Has some really fast paced stuff, and some calmer acoustic stuff.

I've seen a lot of people saying 'seperate the art from the artist!' but, full honesty, go listen to new music! I can't take back the emotional attachment I had to his old music, especially YCMGA, but listening to his shit gives him money, and there is no way I'm giving money to an abuser. Let alone, it's become glaringly obvious that the e-girl trilogy isn't a persona, that was just him. Let alone the theme of Your Sister Was Right.

Plus, he's said multiple times that the money and the fame was all he cared about; he would disappear for months and, when he wanted attention and money, would come back to a dedicated fan-base who gave him exactly what he wanted.

Go listen to new music, and support Shelby lads <3

#also been seeing some stuff float around about his off screen abuse to his younger fans which I might talk about later #because what the fuck man #lovejoy #the band lovejoy #wilbur soot

[mrsnancywheeler]

the river (1) // finnick odair x f.reader

summary: the Capitol has taken you away from Finnick, the life you've been trying to build together and now he has to fight to get every part of you back

the end of a trilogy

the lakes previous chapter

next chapter

masterlist

7.2k words

warnings: angst, fluff, mental illness, suicidal ideations, self hate, young finnick and reader dynamics, a love triangle that was never a love triangle, smug finnick, it's so cheesey, pining, this is not a slow burn, implied soulmates, unedited, no use of y/n, allusions to trafficking, mentions of torture

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Finnick’s been staring blankly at the hovercrafts’ walls for longer than he can imagine, since it had stopped waiting and left you for dead in the dilapidated arena. He knew if he reacted the way he wanted too they would sedate him and currently he needed to live with his guilt. He should've refused to let you go with Katniss, or have torn out your tracker himself. Most importantly he should never have told you about the rebel plan, of course he only revealed the basics on how you were to get Katniss out of the arena and go to District 13, but that could seriously jeopardize any semblance of sympathy the Capitol would have for you. 

He imagined you on the beach, devoting your life and love to him, and how before Snow broke or killed you, maybe even both, he'd never given you a proper wedding. All the traditions from back home, in a proper ceremony, with a dress would never happen. A large part of him didn't even feel like fighting the rebellion for you, since there was a probability that if the rebels one, you wouldn't be there on the other side to greet him. What was the point of a life if your future, the happiness, the children you could have had if all of this was behind you, if you were gone forever.

Plutarch begins to say something, but Finnick raises his hand as if to indicate he can't listen or speak right now. He's trying not to snap, not to take control of the ship so he can immediately perform his own rescue mission. Of course people were going to get hurt, even die, in the cause of the rebellion, but it was never supposed to be you. Why was he cursed to love someone who refused to patiently wait for him, who needed to be a part of the action? That's what had always been so magnetic about you though, the way you refused to fall into any constraints about how your life should be lived. Maybe, if you hadn't been left consumed by guilt after your first Games, you would've heard his plea and helped the rebellion from home, or he would've never told you about it at all to keep you safe. But that was wistful thinking, instead compassionate, worried, steadfast, beautiful you was in the grasp of the Capitol.

He decided he couldn't stay quiet any longer, he doesn't care if it's futile, what type of husband would leave his wife behind? For years you'd been fragile, like a bomb waiting to detonate, and he'd done whatever he could for you, he couldn't just give up on that now. You would have done it for him, you would have thrown yourself out of the hovercraft to save him, and knowing that hurt him and made him love you more. Finnick had spent years trying to prove to you that life was worth living even if you refused to admit that you felt that way, which in truth, caused him to grieve for the version of you from before the Games. The you that longed for a life that wasn't expected, to be lead by her heart and the wind, to be excited, until suddenly it was the you who didn't think she was worth being trusted, the you who stayed up wishing for death, and the you who wanted him, but felt guilty for it. Snow had taken that away from him, away from you, and now would take more from you. Finnick couldn't help but wonder how much was left to take, you had your compassion, your humor, your love, and if that was gone you'd be a husk of paranoia that he would desperately work to restore. Maybe death would have been kinder.

“Communications are down in seven, ten, and twelve. But eleven has control of transportation now, so there's hope of getting some food out." Plutarch says to Haymitch and Finnick can no longer be quiet.

"We have to go back.” His voice is hoarse, cracking with each syllable.

"I'm sorry, you know we can't do that. Her tracker was still in, they've definitely got her by now.” Plutarch tries to sound somewhat sympathetic, but it doesn't work.

“She's smart, she'll think of some way to pretend she knows less about the rebellion. If she can convince them of that, then she'll be used as bait.” Haymitch sounds so sure of himself, but Finnick isn't. You hadn't known too much, but not only were you willing to do anything if someone threatened him, you were like a glass sitting on the edge of the table, with one nudge you'd shatter.

Finnick starts shaking his head, “No, we have to-" Whatever plea he's started to make is interrupted as Katniss bangs through the door. 

“Done knocking yourself out, sweetheart?" Haymitch focuses on Katniss, “So it's you and your syringe against the Capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans." He's chuckling slightly, but only Plutarch would also want to laugh right now. “Drop it." He's forced Katniss to get rid of the syringe and sits down by Finnick, who's been infested with thoughts about how if he hadn't let Haymitch convince him of putting Katniss and Peeta first, he could've focused on you. 

They're rambling an explanation of the rebellion to Katniss and Finnick is left once again wondering if he could hijack the ship. Snow probably wants him to, expects him too. You probably don't blame him, but Finnick knows your self-destructive ways. First, you'll try to find ways to end it all, and do nothing but mourn him, then you'll start to convince yourself maybe he left you on purpose, that you weren't stable or trustworthy enough to help with the rebellion, but you still wouldn't blame him, you'd tell yourself it's what you deserved. Finnick needed to be there to intercept the doubt before you ate yourself alive. Additionally, he didn't know how long he could last without you as an anchor, his sweet girl, refusing to acknowledge her own problems while trying to keep him afloat.

“I still don't understand why Peeta and I weren't let in on the plan." Katniss is saying, her voice just as broken as Finnick's had been.

“Because when the force field blew you'd be the first ones they'd try to capture, and, the less you knew, the better.” Haymitch explains.

"The first ones? Why?”

"For the same reason the rest of us agreed to die to keep you alive.” Finnick finally chimes in although he resents the words he's saying. He should've instead let you work your magic, try to convince someone to volunteer for him ahead of time, and stayed at home with you. If he stayed there was a higher chance you would too, yet maybe you would've gone over his head and decided you still couldn't live with yourself if you didn't volunteer.

"No, Johanna tried to kill me.” Katniss argues.

"Johanna knocked you out to take out the tracker from your arm and lead Brutus and Enobaria away from you.” Haymitch is seemingly getting exhausted and annoyed from all the explanations he owes her.

“What? I don't know what you're-"

Plutarch interrupts her, “We have to save you because you're the Mockingjay, Katniss. While you live, the revolution lives."

More words are mumbled and Finnick's head buzzes, it wasn't worth fighting the revolution if he couldn't do it with you. There was no way he could stomach it without your help, there's no way you would admit to it, but you kept him from drowning.

The way Katniss hisses at Haymitch helps Finnick zone back in, “Where is Peeta?" She's finally caught on, that her survival is without the person she loves safety.

“He was picked up by the Capitol along with Johanna, Enobaria, and-" Finnick hits the table interrupting Haymitch's train of thought. No one can be outraged at him for long though because Katniss has launched herself at Haymitch, screaming, and scratching, he's screaming back and Finnick is forced to leap into action. Katniss is only doing what he so desperately has been holding back on, how dare these people not understand that you had to be saved too. Yet he's dragging her off, back to her bed, to be tied down, sedated.

“Katniss. Katniss, I'm sorry. I wanted to save all of them, but I couldn't move." Finnick whispers, he doesn't know when he started crying, but he has. When the lighting hit the tree and Katniss' arrow had flown, the burst of electricity had left him helpless, frozen on the ground when he could hear you in the distance, screaming for him. “It's better for him, they'll figure out he doesn't know anything pretty fast. And they won't kill him if they can use him against you.

“Does she know too much or will she be used as bait, Finnick?" Katniss' voice is hazy in the mess of the sedation, but it's clear she's not very empathetic with her statement.

Finnick lets the tears take over him, weeping for you, how he couldn't save you. “I wish she were dead." He quietly admits, probably echoing something you'd agree with. "I wish they were all dead and we were too. It would be best.” Katniss is far gone, but Finnick can't stand his own thoughts any longer. He's basically begging to be sedated until they let him, he wants for it to stop the thoughts, leave him in a world where he's still with you. Even if you haunt his dreams. 

             𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

He knew of you, from school, from the similar social scenes, and you were well liked enough, but although he'd never admit it, Finnick Odair had never been confident enough to talk to you. Maybe it's because so many people spoke highly of you, but you'd never approached him. Shamefully he was a passive admirer, watching as you laughed at parties, nursed drunk friends, charmed customers at the markets. Maybe though he was scared that the person who everyone considered genuine would reject him as a person worth being around, see him the way he saw himself.

One sunny day in the market though he decided he had to take the step, see if were really the way people described you as, and possibly put to rest the infatuation he'd had for you. One that had really sparked when one of fair-weather friends, Beckett, had mentioned how you'd basically saved his life when he was drunk by a dock after another party. Kind, but brazen especially when Beckett tried to pay back the favor the next day by walking you home. Eventually the same night he told Finnick about you, he'd left to find you at the party and your magnetic company. You just seemed to draw people to you, a charm that Finnick couldn't resist much longer.

So there you were, flashing your tooth bearing smile to every potential customer. He'd talked to plenty of pretty girls before, but usually they introduced themselves to him, and the fact he barely existed to you certainly made you more intriguing. The moment the customer you were with was gone he forced himself up to your booth, one that was full of crates with huge crabs. 

“Most of what the Capitol serves is from here anyways, so it's certainly not a downgrade." Your sweet, peachy voice spoke first and Finnick was somewhat taken aback, unintentionally sending you a quizzical look. “The crabs." You smiled, probably wondering why he didn't pick that up the first time.

“Oh, yes, of course, the crabs." He feigned interest in one, picking it up.

“You know, if you're not here for the crabs you better say something before I start listing off facts." Finnick decided he wouldn't mind that, your voice soothed his ears, but more importantly he'd been given a piece of who you were.

“Who says I'm not here to talk about crabs?" His natural playfulness shined through any persona he was scared he would have to put on if you weren't like he'd been told about, observed. For less then a second there was a flash of what must have been embarrassment in your eyes that quickly subsided with a shrug of your shoulders.

“They're caught in the-" Finnick couldn't stop himself from laughing when you diligently started on your promised list.

“No, please, you'll bore me to death. Guilty as charged, I'm not here to talk about crabs." He put down the crab he'd been holding, hands in the air.

You leaned on the counter, hands propping up your face, “Okay then, what are you here to talk about, Mr. Odair?"

“Finnick." He said almost too quickly for his liking, “Just wanted to talk to you." It was cocky the way he said it, but he couldn't help himself when you seemed so ready to bite back.

“Flattered, Finnick." You paused, like you were waiting for him to say something, “I'm working."

“And I'm a customer."

“Are you planning on buying anything?" Your hands moved from your face to the counter top.

“Maybe." He shrugged, his usual smug smile making its appearance. 

You sighed like you were defeated, but your body language said otherwise. Maybe you'd wanted to talk to him just as much, but he'd been the one holding out on you. He'd like to think that even if it was presumptuous. “So, what does the Finnick Odair want to talk to me about?”

He didn't really know what he wanted to talk about, just that he wanted to talk to you. "The party, tomorrow night, are you coming?” It was a stupid question, you were at all of them, but much to his amusement you shrugged.

"Depends.”

"Depends on what?”

“Do you want me there?" You were bold and your aura exuded that even though if he stared deep enough into your eyes he could sense it hid other feelings.

“Are you flirting with me?" He clicked his tongue, head shaking as if it wasn't what he wanted.

“No."

“I don't believe you."

“Well it's your party, your house, I'm just asking permission." Your eyes widened, feigning innocence, and he decided you were nothing in short of perfect. Maybe he was just clouded because someone finally wasn't oooo’ing or ahhhh’ing at him. Or because he'd admired you from afar for so long that anything you said would be enough to draw him in. He also didn't really care because he'd made up his mind about liking your presence, more than that off any of his fickle friends.

“You've never asked permission before." The look on your face told him he'd caught you, that was your brain racking for a response before your face could slip back into its soft smile.

“You've never talked to me before." Maybe your words were even, but the way you fiddled with your necklace spoke measures to him.

“So you just show up at the houses of men you've never talked too?" Finnick teased, but he knew you'd always had plenty of invites from other people unlike the crazy fans who'd try to push their way into his home. Regardless, the parties were a way for him to keep up Capitol appearances and drown out his sorrows, so extra guests with actual connections to his social group hardly bothered him.

“If you wanted to talk to tell me it feels like I'm intruding, then you can just come out and say it. I get it and I won't go." You maintained a somewhat playful sound, but were so genuine it shocked him. So willing to give up your entire social scene if it made him slightly uncomfortable.

“No, I do want you there." He felt like he said it much too quickly, but he didn't regret it when your smile widened.

“Okay." You bit your bottom lip when another presence was ducking into the booth beside you. The local healer who whispered something to you. “You know you can have as many as you want for it, we can't thank you enough." You said earnestly. He handed you a couple of bottles of some type of medicine that you shoved into a netted bag before grabbing him a smaller box.

“Four or five?" The man said quietly and you filled the box with crabs before handing it to him. “Thank you, now you tell your mom I wished her the best and let me know how she's doing."

“Will do." You smiled as the man scurried off. “Sorry about that." Your attention was back on Finnick.

“Is your mom not well?" It was an obvious question but he wanted to show he cared, you just waved your hand in dismissal.

“She's okay, don't worry about it." So he respected the fact you didn't feel like opening up about it and moved onto playful banter again. “If you want me there and already knew I'd be there, why are you talking to me now?" You led the conversation back and it was obvious to him that it was a sore subject, perhaps you were one of those people who didn't like to trouble others with their problems. 

“I can't talk to a pretty girl?” 

"You talk to pretty girls all the time, Finnick Odair, and you've never talked to me before.” Your hands settled back up to support your face. 

He leaned in closer, “Don't tell anyone, but maybe I needed to hype myself up before I talked to the prettiest one." Your laugh was addictive and he wished he could've seen more of how your face scrunched up when you buried it in your hands. 

“God, you're treacherous." One of your hands decided to nervously play with an earring and the other went back to the necklace. “I bet that's what you tell all the pretty girls." Finnick's ears were blessed with another nervous laugh.

“Just you." He winked, grateful that he'd found an easy rhythm in talking to you. You were teasable, but would bite back, for the first time in a while he was glad he trusted his observations.

“You know flirting with the girl at the market to get free food only works for people not famous all across Panem."

“Good thing that's not why I'm flirting with the girl at the market then." 

Your face was once again buried in your hands with a giggle, "You're dreadful. Is this how you usually entrap a girl, don't speak to her, and then it's all sweet talk?” 

Finnick wished he could say it's because seeing you around gave him unexplainable butterflies deep within his stomach, but that wasn't a very suave explanation. “I had to make sure you didn't have a boyfriend first.” His voice was low and he could tell it was giving you goosebumps, or maybe you were just cold in your sundress.

"Oh, you're bold." You guffawed, “Besides you already have a hole in your story, there isn't a single person anyone would think I'm dating.”

"That's a bold-faced lie, sweet girl, most people think you do since he's always trailing around like a lost puppy.” If he was lucky you would melt at the pet name and you somewhat did before you scoffed.

"Who?" You didn't seem like the oblivious type, but so earnestly confused.

Finnick's eyes dragged over to a nearby booth where the subject stood, sulking and your eyes followed, “Looks like he might attack."

“Conway?" You shook your head so earnestly it made Finnick feel like he could blush from how ardently you wanted him to know you weren't taken. “No, no, no, no! God, no, he's just my friend. We're friends.”

"Have you told him that?” He smirked.

You were so cute, when you were biting back, when you were nervous, when you were embarrassed, he didn't know how a person could manage to be so adorable all the time. “Yes, he knows that, he's just, well he's just Conway. It's just a phase, he'll grow out of it." You rubbed your neck as a much more forced laugh escaped those perfect lips.

“Hopefully, looks like he's coming over to rip my throat out. Please come to my funeral, front row, no roses on the coffin, lilies preferably." Finnick pulled a faux terrified face as he clasped his hands together with his plea, successfully turning your laugh into a much more genuine one.

“Hi, Princess." Conway approached the booth and Finnick wondered how you could ever think he was getting over you. Behind the brunette's back he shot you a look, teasing you for as much which you seemed to instantly understand as you bit your lip with a shrug.

"Hey, Conway. You guys finished up?" You asked, that dazzling smile on your face.

“Yeah, mom was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight? Nixie and Delta had something they were excited to show you.” 

“Yes of course! Tell them I have something for them too, and I'll meet you guys after I've dropped everything off at home."

“I'll walk you."

“I'm gonna walk her home." Finnick seized the opportunity, even if you said you were just friends he couldn't let himself lose the build up he was working for. Conway looked at him like he'd forgotten he was there and was angered to have remembered. “If you want me to, do you want me to?" Finnick looked back at you and you genuinely had a look of complete confusion.

"I always walk you home.” Conway said softly and Finnick wished he felt worse for interfering with another person's love, but he couldn't help that he felt a spark just by looking at you and fireworks in your presence.

"You wanna walk me home?” Your eyes were glued on Finnick, like you thought he'd just been bored and was going to leave after finding his enjoyment in flirting with you. He wanted to get inside your head, see why you were so vulnerable, prove to you that you deserved to feel better about yourself.

"Of course I do, sweet girl.” His voice was less focused on being charming and so earnest it rewarded him with the happiest, biggest smile he'd gotten out of you.

“I'll walk you home after dinner though, that way you're not walking home alone in the dark." Conway inserted himself once again and after a pause you shook yourself out of whatever haze you were in to turn to him.

“Thank you so much, you're so kind, Conway. Either way I still have to wait until everything closes or I sell out, so it could be a while."

“Oh, mom sent me over to buy the last half crate for dinner tomorrow,we've got some extra wiggle room, and we're all tired of trout and crawfish all the time. So a little something special until I'm sure we'll all get tired of the leftovers. Do you want to come tomorrow too?" He pulled out the money from his pocket to slip into your hand.

“Lucky you, I hope you all enjoy it!" You took the money to put into the small metal box where you must have been storing the cash. “I've got plans tomorrow or else I definitely would." You picked up a box to move the crabs into.

“Is there a party? You should've told me, mom won't want me to miss tomorrow and you'll have no one with you."

“Conway, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I don't need to be watched over. I'm perfectly capable of myself." You handed him the crate, “Besides you hate going to them and I don't want to drag you to one just for you to mope in the corner."

“And I'll be there anyways." Finnick raised his hand as if to remind everyone he was still there and you did seem to soften when you looked at him.

“Yeah, Finnick, will be there. I'll be fine!" 

Conway took a step closer to you as he filled his box, trying to whisper, but it wasn't hard for Finnick to eavesdrop. "You barely know him.” 

You glared back at Conway and mouthed a ‘Stop it!" The much taller man seemed to reluctantly relent as he stepped away. “I just have to close everything up then, and I'll be ready to go." You look back at Finnick who nods and smiles.

“Let me help you."

“Oh no, you don't have to do that!" You quickly assure.

"Angel, I want to.” You seem to respond well to that pet name as well whereas Conway is instantly glaring into Finnick's head. He doesn't mean to be cocky, but Finnick can't resist a cocky shrug to the other man the moment you're going to retrieve your bag and the little metal container of money to shove into it. Finnick’s nimble fingers are quickly undoing the ropes holding the top up.

You exit the structure and walk up to him, “How'd you do that so fast, the knots always take me forever to undo."

Finnick can't hide his amusement with your awe,"Always been good with knots, I could show you sometime.” 

You're nodding in agreement when suddenly your mouth is agape and you're playfully shoving him, “Finnick Odair, I hardly know you!"

“That's not what I meant, honestly!" He defends, laughing, and he's being truthful. It hadn't crossed his mind when he said it, he would love to show you how to tie a rope, he'd always found it calming. “Says a lot that your mind jumped to that though." He tilts his head and the way your eyes widen makes him wish he could feel how hot your face must be by now. 

“You do barely know him." Conway mutters and Finnick wishes he would disappear.

You seem to regain your composure and point to the left, “I'm about 30 minutes that way, so you really don't have to walk me home if you don't want to, it's long."

“Stop worrying about me, I'm certain I want to walk you home."

You're nodding softly and biting your bottom lip, "Okay.” Swiftly you're leading the way, both men trailing behind and Finnick is annoyed that Conway is still sticking around, before he realizes his family's booth is in that direction. Suddenly you're stopping before basically leaping towards a booth, a fruit booth Finnick recognizes. “Douglas, you have peaches! Why didn't you say anything?"

The older man chuckles and gives you a knowing look, “Because you can't afford them and will barter me for them."

You gasp in mock offense, “So rude and after all this time too, Mrs. Damaris would be astounded by your behavior.” 

"You know if you sneak me a couple of crabs tomorrow I'd give you a whole bag.” 

"Your father would be angry-” Conway begins some sort of lecture when you're snapping at him like you'd also like to be rid of his presence.

"I know, Conway.” The look you shoot at him could kill, and Finnick feels a weird sense of elation knowing you're more peeved that Conway won't let you be alone with Finnick. 

“Then I'm sorry, sweetheart, nothing's going to work on me this time. I've prepared myself."

Finnick is already pulling out his money, “It's okay, I've got it."

“No." Your resistance shocks him, he's used to people begging to be around his wealth and to charm you he's more than willing to she'll it out. “You're not buying things for me, Finnick. I'm serious." He says nothing, but doesn't return his money back to his pocket. 

“Come on, princess, you'll live without one." Conway manages to still sound so kind and you purse your lips, refusing to satisfy the man you feel pestered by with a response. Finnick is busy trying to silently communicate with the vendor that whatever you try to barter he'll give him the money right after.

“My ring?" You hold up your hand, waving the finger around and the older man shakes his head.

“I can't accept every piece of jewelry you find on the beach."

You sigh dramatically and Finnick thinks he's finally been able to indicate to the vendor. “Mrs. Damaris would love this necklace, look it's got an actual ruby in it and I didn't find it. Someone gave it to me, it's worth a lot more than a peach and I only want one.” The man reluctantly exhales, glasses at the end of his nose, “Please Douglas, we barely ever get them here.” Your pout has to make you even more adorable and Finnick wonders how you can be so perfect.

“Fine!" The man grumbles with a sly smile and Finnick can tell the man would've taken the necklace even without the money he was about to give.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!" You gush as your fingers rush, struggling as you unclasp the necklace. Putting the necklace on the counter as the man hums. You take your time picking out the perfect peach before grabbing one, “I love you so much, Douglas, Mrs. Damaris is a lucky woman!" You began to walk off.

Douglas nods, “Sure she is, take care of yourself and bring some actual money next time." The moment your back is turned Finnick is putting the money on the table, with a little extra.

“Thank you." He mouths with a smile, grabbing the necklace.

“No, thank you. I've got no use for the necklace, or anything else she's given." The old man is shaking his head with a smile, grabbing the money. “You take care."

Finnick nods, catching up to you where he can hear another tense conversation between you and Conway. “God Conway, it doesn't matter. Tallulah gets me a gift every time I take care of her during a hangover because she feels bad, it doesn't matter. Yes it was pretty and I really liked it, but I'll tell her it fell off in the ocean and she'll buy me a new one.”

"You're just so careless sometimes, it's a fruit.” Conway shakes his head in disbelief.

"And it's just a necklace, what's your problem? It's not even from you, and it's not a big deal. I liked it, I'll probably miss it, but I might not have a peach for another year and Tallulah will have given me another gift by the end of the week for the hangover she'll definitely have from tomorrow night.”

"She's not a bank for you, and that trade was so uneven.”

"Why are you trying to make me feel guilty? That's not how I see her, I've been her friend for years and it's just how we work! You're being so weird about this and it's none of your business. I don't take her money, or ask for it, or let her pay for things, she just gives me them when I help her out!” Finnick finds himself being enraged at Conway for the way your voice shakes as you defend yourself, for the way he's making you seem selfish when you adamantly refused to let Finnick buy you something as small as a piece of fruit.

Finnick is suddenly standing beside you holding up the little heart necklace, it swinging in front of your face. You stop dead in your tracks, “Finnick." Your voice is so soft it makes him want to melt, "You don't even know me, Finnick. I don't need you to buy things for me, you don't have to do that. I traded it for a reason, go give it back.”

"He's much happier with the money, anyways, sweet girl. I have enough money to drown in, you're hardly breaking the bank with a peach. And I know you enough to want to do that for you. Can't a man buy things for a pretty girl?” You look like you might cry, but you don't allow yourself too and Finnick comes to the conclusion that you're not used to being helped, to have someone willing to just do things for you without some sort of transaction involved, and he's intent on changing that. "Red looks good on you, angel, let me put it back on you.” You're playing with your earrings as you finally slowly turn to let him clasp the necklace on. He adored the way you shiver when his fingers brush against your neck as he puts it on and the way you seem to miss his touch the moment it's gone. It's like fate designed the two of you to meet each other, to be perfect for one another and he's only just forced himself to talk to you.

He also gets a sick pleasure from how vexed it makes the other man vying for your affections. Within a few more steps you've arrived at the Delmare family booth and they're ecstatic to see you before they've calmed down. “I'll see you tonight?" Conway asks.

“Yes, of course." You offer a smile even though Finnick can tell you're still seething underneath and Conway nods somewhat sadly. You turn you back to him as keep walking, “So are you-"

“Yes, I'm sure I want to walk you home!" Finnick interrupts with a laugh and you accept the answer and finally begin to eat your peach.  “Let me take your bag." He offers, hand reaching for it.

"It's okay I've got it.” You must have decided you're able to slip back into your normal playful tone, and he curses Conway in his mind for making you anxious enough to ever stop in the first place, “I know you must be used to women throwing themselves at your feet, but we are in fact strong enough to carry our own bags."

“You have an indent in your shoulder from it." He remarks, with what he's sure must be an infuriatingly smug smirk. You don't look at him as you seem to reason in your head that it is quite heavy and slowly pry it off your shoulder. He's grabbing it from your hand before you're even reaching out and although it's nothing for him, he's surprised by the weight. “Good thing I want to carry your bag even if you're a woman throwing yourself at my feet." He clicks his tongue as the two of you stroll down the cobblestone street.

You elbow him softly, “I'd say you're throwing yourself at mine." 

“I'd agree and say I'm glad I am." 

“Finnick." Your voice is suddenly much more serious.

“Yes, angel?"

“Seriously, why are you talking to me?" He assumes you must be trying to protect yourself and it hurts him to think you'd ever imagine that his intentions were anything less than true. 

“Because I like you."

You laugh so delicately it could be carried into the breeze, “No you don't! We've never talked before, I mean you don't really know me at all."

“So you don't like me?" He teases, a glimmer in his eyes.

“No, I do, I mean, I just, that's different." You stutter through it, hands moving as you speak.

“How's it different?"

“Because you're you, you're Finnick Odair, everyone likes you and if they don't they're stupid. And I'm just, I mean I'm just some girl, who you've been trying to fluster."

“People talk about you too, I see you around, listen to you, what you say, what people say about you, and I've decided that I like you. And I think that if you didn't want to be flustered, you'd tell me. That's it, that's the explanation, and I'm talking to you so I can really know you.”

There's a silence where you must be deciding if you're satisfied with his answer, "What do you want to know about me?” The walk to your house seems to go by too fast with the stories and banter, the way you sass him back and then get ruffled when he makes flirty remarks before you make them back, and the way you savor each bite of that peach like you'll never have one again, which he'll make sure you will. He's already mourning your company when you're walking up to the door, “This is me, I know, it's not much to look at." It's a dilapidated little house, cracked, white brick and he can tell it used to be nice. You're slowly walking up to the door and he hopes you feel the same way he does.

"Go out with me tomorrow.” Finnick says abruptly.

"What?” You turn to him, trying to not act as giddy as he can tell you are.

"Tomorrow, just you and me, an actual date. It's a Sunday, so the market will be closed. We can picnic by the water, there's a lovely, private piece of beach in Victor's Village and we'll swim, we can do whatever else you want too.” He tries to sound nonchalant as he runs his hands through his hair.

"Okay.” You nodded, fingers running up and down the chain on your necklace. "Yes, I'd like that.”

"Okay, good, that's good.” He doesn't mean to seem desperate for your time, but he is. “I can be here at noon? I'll walk you." 

“Yeah." You muttered, by now you're both standing at your front door. Staring at him and he prays you'll never go inside and just stand here with him. “My bag."

“Sorry, yes, your bag!" He pulls it off his shoulder and feels more embarrassed than he ought to be, “Sorry!" But you just laugh it off as he hands it to you. 

"It's okay.” You're back is to the door, slowly pushing the handle. He wants to kiss you, but he's already moving so fast with everything else, he figures that he better let you have something to wait for even if it's disappointing to you know, it disappoints him too.

"I'll see you tomorrow, at 12.” He reiterates, feeling like a magnet being pushed away from his other half as he steps away, ready to fly back forward.

You do look somewhat let down as he moves away, but he has to be resilient,"Thank you, Finnick! Have a good night.”

"Have a good night, sweet girl!” He flashes his Panem adored smile and forces himself to turn his back towards you. Finnick decides he's glad he listened to the caverns of his soul when they called him to you. He can't help himself from being so forward with you when he's already so sure, like he's been with no one before, that you must be meant to be and he's running back to the marketplace praying that Douglas hadn't yet closed down shop.

             𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Doctors occasionally hover above him and the ceiling is white, which is all he knows when he's in his sedated state. Sometimes they let him be without, but he can't process their questions, not when he's thinking of you which sometimes leads him back to being sedated when he starts lashing out at the nurses and doctors. Screaming, insisting you need to be saved. He's not sure when he asked, but at some point they give him a piece of rope which he diligently ties knots in to calm himself. It always seemed to work until he thought about how hard he tried to help you master different knots, but your hands would fumble. At some point he'd become sure that you did it on purpose so that his fingers would be by yours and his back pressed up against you, but he didn't care, it was heartwarming. Then he would fly into a fit again.

The same thing had happened when they'd brought him some type of dry oatmeal usually with a mix of berries that made it barely tolerable, once he could've sworn he caught a whiff of peaches in it that had him desperately trying to inhale the scent. Sobbing over the bowl until his nose was so stuffed he could no longer smell it, smell you and the sobbing became too uncontrollable. The doctors couldn't calm him down and he was once again sedated.

For weeks that's all his life was. Haunted by you, what could be happening to you, all the things he missed about you and trying to stay calm enough that he wasn't being restrained or returned to a cloudy state. Although the sedation sometimes brought back good memories he could dissociate into, other times all he could picture were all the things the Capitol, that Snow could be doing to you.

What if you were still being sold off like some kind of doll on top of what you were having to endure. And you'd have no one to comfort you at the end of the day which would drive you to insanity. Or he could picture you hypothermic on the floor. Or being taunted with jabberjays screaming in his voice. Or it could be a violent torture. He could picture thousands of unpleasant things that made him wish the rope was long enough to be a noose.

Sometimes he'd picture the last time he saw you, begging with him to not be upset when you parted ways with Katniss' insistence. Each time he thought about it he'd come to a different conclusion. Most of the time he blamed himself for letting you go, for not fighting harder to stay together or not tearing out your tracker right before you left even if it alerted someone of the plan. Sometimes he'd blame Katniss for forcing your hand in the first place, why couldn't she have just followed the plan that had been so carefully structured out. And on a rare occasion he blamed you for trying to follow the objective of keeping Katniss safe and leaving him, for not remembering to take out the tracker, for not keeping your promise. Which would then make him sick with himself for thinking anything slightly negative about your actions when you were probably enduring unbearable lengths of pain for him, for the rebellion. 

On the lucky occasion where he wasn't heavily sedated he'd been anxiously tying small knots into the rope when the television began playing some mandated report from the Capitol and there was Peeta. Proclaiming how he and Katniss knew nothing about the rebel plan, that Katniss had coincidentally shot her arrow into the dome when the lighting struck, and how there needed to be a ceasefire. Finnick wished he hadn't told you about the rebel plan, that you would just be bait, not someone trying to hide that they had some semblance of information regarding the rebel plan to get out of the arena. He'd signed your death warrant and delivered it straight into the Capitol's cold hands.

Finnick got swept up in his thoughts of what he could've done differently, how much he despised himself for not doing so when suddenly it was your voice on that television screen.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

so exited to start the river with you guys and to explore reader and finnick's past more. thank you all so much for the endless support and for continuing to read my little series, ily all. as always reblogs, comments, and likes are super appreciated, and my ask box plus request are open even if they take a hot second more me to get through. again endless thanks to you all and love you 💋

taglist: @coriolanussnowswife @avoxrising @artsyaquarium @jennaaaaaaaaaaaa @secretsicanthideanymore @darlingsoulbeautifulthoughts @thatonegayloser616 @libertyybellls @meri-soni-meri-tamanna @ravensinthedaylight @innercreationflower @uhnanix @aesthetic0cherryblossom @yourdailymemedelivery @ang3lflor @maxinehufflepuffprincess @prettybiching @miserablebl00d @wowzabowza69 @nomorespahgetti @problematicpastries @abaker74 @nj01 @whens-naptime @sarcasticbooknerd12 @cakes-hq @honethatty12 @s1lngwns @alliex-o

#wanda 💋 #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair #finnick odair x y/n #finnick odair fluff #finnick odair angst #finnick odair x reader fluff #finnick odair x you #finnick odair x reader angst #thg #the lakes #the river #finnick odair fanfic #finnick x you #finnick fanfic #finnick x reader #finnick odair imagine #finnick imagine

[thegreenthepeacetheorange]

the self-hatred that katniss outwardly expresses in mockingjay is actually present right from the first book and it makes me so sad. her feelings of being a terrible person are there right from the start, she has such low self-esteem. the paranoia she has about peeta before the first games extends to lavinia too. she feels so horrible about not doing anything for her (even though what could she have realistically done without getting herself hurt or killed instantly) and she’s convinced that lavinia must hate her and can’t wait to see her die in the games. and yet lavinia is so gentle and cares so much about her. and katniss can’t understand why because she thinks that’s she’s a terrible person undeserving of love and kindness. after her father died and her mother withdrew, she really closed herself off (mostly) to gentleness and love (and yet she’s so naturally maternal to prim despite that). she doesn’t understand why madge likes her, the baker etc. she thinks everyone is doing her favours for prim. that the whole square in 12 goes silent at the reaping because of the tragic drama that’s happened and not because she’s actually a valued and cared for member of their community.

no wonder she takes so long to fully allow herself to be loved by peeta, to allow her own feelings to grow. she’s kinda stunned that he even managed to notice her when he already had a big group of friends. her self-esteem is literally in the gutter. but she allows herself to be loved by him and in turns learns how to love him back and express it and that is HUGE for this poor broken teenage girl that has never truly had that. her getting love and peace and being cared for at the end of the trilogy is really important. Katniss needed that tenderness, that care, not the solitary faux life of a girlboss.

#Everlark #the hunger games #thg #katniss everdeen #peeta x katniss #katniss x peeta

[sloshed-cinema]

The Parallax View (1974)

Free filmmaking advice: don’t kick off your film by yeeting someone off the Space Needle.  For one thing, it’s probably a lot harder to pull off now with the new setup to the observation deck.  For another, how are you going to top that for sheer excitement?  Opening with a literal bang as a senator is assassinated while visiting Seattle, journalist and witness Joseph Frady becomes plunged into a dark world of conspiracy and secrecy.  Everyone present at the killing suddenly has a much shorter lifespan, and soon enough the mounting coincidences are too much for even him to handle.  Frady’s editor accuses him of being a two-bit reporter, but if nothing else he certainly has gumption and resolve.  To an extent, his investigation is detrimental to those around him—two witnesses are killed through his presence or inaction, and he offs at least one of those attempting to do the same to him.  But despite it all, he manages to make it to the heart of it all: the shadowy Parallax Corporation.  In some regards, he seems to be able to pull one over on these “human engineers.”  He passes both tests, one through guile and the other seemingly through his subliminal self.  He becomes close to his handler with Parallax, Jack Younger, and even manages to thwart an assassination attempt.  In some cases, he manages to pull of an act, behaving aggressively around Jack to seem antisocial.  But he’s still an impostor and an outsider in this world.  When Joseph stalks the Parallax assassin into the convention center where another doomed candidate will give a speech, we watch both characters ascend an escalator.  The assassin remains still, controlled and cool, an apex predator assured in his supremacy.  Joseph begins the ascent in a similar fashion, but even by halfway up he’s fidgeting and shifting, climbing steps when he could stand still.  How thoroughly did he really pull the wool over their eyes?  He may think he’s the sheep in wolf’s clothing, but he was still perfectly set up to play the patsy when another undesirable candidate bites the dust, caught in the rafters near a sniper rifle while the dead man careens ignominiously into a set of tables on his golf cart.

Yet despite the corporate dressing of the killings, this is a very political game being played.  Director Alan J Pakula makes an interesting and very intentional choice in directly brainwashing the audience through the Parallax screen test sequence.  After the lights fade on Frady in his chair, we the viewer are directly shown the same thing he sees, allowed to respond to it in whatever way we might.  The frenzy of images creates such paradoxes as to break the mind and draw out a rage response: Is America powerful or dying?  Is racism bad or good?  Are lovers sensual or depraved?  Is my father a protector or an abuser?  Is mother nurturing or feeble?  I am Thor, an Übermensch, and I am all that stands between good and evil to protect this country.  But at the same time, these images are elemental.  The film opens on a wonderful shot visually paralleling a First Nations totem pole with the Space Needle, suggesting we have always felt a compulsion to build monuments, no matter the culture.  And the images of presidents—Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington—are present in both the Parallax “orientation” video and the campy college card display at Sen Hammond’s rally.  These men are, among many other things, symbols, and symbols can be used in many ways, to many paradoxical ends.  We are all exposed to propaganda in some form.  Nobody is immune.  The film’s score knows this too, building a baseline of placidly reverential patriotic trumpets but inflecting this security with paranoiac stings.  Is the government aware of the cabal killing off select candidates?  In their Kafkaesque panel, the committee investigating these assures the public of their tireless efforts to uncover all evidence (available eventually, of course), but be certain that there are no conspiracies afoot.  There will be no questions.  Go back to your shiny cards and marching bands.  

THE RULES

SIP

A Parallax Corp pamphlet appears onscreen.

A conversation is shot through a glass door or window.

Someone is wearing sunglasses in a scene.

BIG DRINK

A piece of furniture in the Salmontail bar is broken.

Someone present at the opening assassination dies.

A shot is fired.

#drinking games #parallax view #alan j pakula #warren beatty #hume cronyn #paula prentiss #drama #crime #paranoia trilogy #space needle

[thecreaturecodex]

Lloigor

"Monster Concept" © devinatArt user CobraVenom, accessed at her gallery here

[Sponsored by @tar-baphon. The name "Lloigor" is related to multiple traditions in the Cthulhu Mythos and Mythos-adjacent works. It initially appears as a proper noun, one of "Lloigor and Zhar", in August Derleth's elaborate family tree of Great Old Ones. It's used as a synonym for "Great Old One" in the Illuminatus! Trilogy, and from there has trickled into the works of Alan Moore. And, in Colin Wilson's "The Return of the Lloigor", it appears as a species of incorporeal psychic dragons. This is an interpretation of that third version.

"The Return of the Lloigor" can be thought of something as a remake of "The Call of Cthulhu", in that the story takes the form of a journal chronicling the narrator's conversion from skepticism to paranoia about a world-spanning cult serving horrors from human prehistory. Only the main action is in Wales, rather than Louisiana and the South Pacific, and the lloigor have a rather more direct hand than Cthulhu. The CR was by the request of the sponsor, which is in keeping with Call of Cthulhu making lloigor top-tier threats, but in the story proper their power is usually limited to causing malaise and pushing old people down the stairs. They can cause explosions, but this seems to be deeply draining for them. In CoC, their ability to drain the mental energy of victims is an area of effect, but I made it a touch attack. Both in order to have a lloigor actually be something a party can encounter and fight, and because I think it's much creepier to catch a glimpse of a tendril-tail actually dipping into your room as your bunk-mate thrashes in their sleep]

Lloigor CR 18 CE Dragon This thing resembles a malformed embryonic dragon with oily, pallid skin. It has two long limbs, each of which terminates in a hooked claw, and a long thin tail that lashes and drips behind it. Its face is something like that of a deep sea fish, all staring eyes and long thin teeth.

The lloigor are the creations of the Great Old One Ghanathoa, created in a fit of pique over the physical perfection of dragons. When the world was young, lloigors ruled openly as masters of humanoid creatures, but as humanoid civilizations grew stronger, they went into decline. Lloigors are the ultimate pessimists—they are literally incapable of feeling joy or hope, and feed by draining these emotions from the minds of others and leaving despair in their stead.

A lloigor is intangible, more a pattern of energy than a physical being, and they move effortlessly through soil and stone. Lloigors slip through the ground into people’s homes while they sleep, draining their joy with a touch of their ribbon-like tails. Doing so grants them access to more psychic power, and if a lloigor is expecting a fight, or intends to punish someone, it typically goes on a feeding frenzy to charge its psychic energy. They prefer to fight in incorporeal form for its defensive benefits, but if enemies are capable of injuring it, or if it runs out of psychic magic, it can temporarily assume corporeality and fight with claw and fang.

A lloigor radiates malaise in a wide area, and many benighted towns and areas with unusually high crime rates are under the lloigor’s influence. Those that succumb to a lloigor’s touch too often may have their personalities warped and become evil, and lloigors use their telepathy and ability to shape dreams to encourage people to rob and murder one another. As such, a lloigor’s influence can be subtle and felt throughout an adventurer’s career, long before they are powerful enough to confront a lloigor themselves, or even know what they are. Lloigors keep themselves secret, and have a habit of killing people who speak openly about them.

Lloigor    CR 18 XP 153,600 CE Huge dragon (incorporeal) Init +12; Senses darkvision 120 ft., Perception +31, thoughtsense 120 ft. Aura malaise (1 mile)

Defense AC 28, touch 28, flat-footed 15(-2 size, +1 dodge, +12 Dex, +7 deflection) hp 324 (24d10+168) Fort +20, Ref +26, Will +21 Immune ability damage, ability drain, death effects, fear, paralysis, sleep SR 29 Defensive Abilities incorporeal traits, negative energy affinity; Weakness hopeless

Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect), burrow 40 ft. (earth glide) Melee touch +22 (drain hope) Space 15 ft.; Reach 20 ft. Psychic Magic CL 18th, concentration +25 (+29 casting defensively) 15 PE—crushing despair (4 PE, DC 21), dream (4 PE), fear (4 PE, DC 21), greater invisibility (4 PE), invisibility (2 PE), nightmare (5 PE, DC 22), telekinesis (5 PE, DC 22), telekinetic storm (9 PE, DC 26), utter contempt (6 PE, DC 23)

Statistics Str -, Dex 35, Con 23, Int 25, Wis24, Cha 24 Base Atk +24; CMB -; CMD 56 (cannot be tripped) Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes,Dodge, Flyby Attack, Mobility, Multiattack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Spring Attack, Toughness, Whirlwind Attack Skills Acrobatics +29, Bluff +27, Diplomacy +27, Fly +25, Intimidate +27, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, engineering, geography, history, local, nature, nobility, planes, religion) +31, Perception +31, Sense Motive +31, Spellcraft +27, Stealth +30; Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (all) Languages Aklo, Draconic, Terran, Undercommon, telepathy 120 ft. SQ assume flesh, compression

Ecology Environment underground Organization solitary Treasure none Special Abilities Assume Flesh (Su) A lloigor can, as a move action, become corporeal. It loses its deflection bonus to AC and incorporeal traits, but gains a natural armor bonus equal to its Dexterity modifier, a Strength score equal to its Dexterity score, and natural attacks. It has a bite, two claws and a tail slap, gains powerful blows with the tail slap and rend with the claws. While corporeal, its statistics are as follows: AC 33, touch (-2 size, +1 dodge, +12 Dex, +12 natural); Melee bite +34 (2d6+12), 2 claws +34 (1d8+12), tail slap +32 (2d8+18 plus drain hope); Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with tail slap); Special Attacks powerful blows (tail slap),rend (2 claws, 1d8+18). A lloigor can resume its incorporeal form as a move action. A lloigor can remain corporeal for a number of rounds/day equal to its Hit Dice (24 rounds for an ordinary specimen). Aura of Malaise (Su) All creatures within 1 mile of a lloigor suffer a -2 penalty on all saves against emotion, fear and madness effects. This does not function in a consecrated or hallowed area. Drain Hope (Su) The touch of a lloigor’s tail deals 1d6 points of Wisdom damage. A creature that takes this damage must succeed a DC 29 Will save or be affected by the pessimism spell for the next 24 hours. This is an emotion effect and the save DC is Charisma based. A creature that succeeds this save cannot be affected by the pessimism effect for the next 24 hours, and takes minimum damage from that lloigor’s drain hope attack during that duration. If the creature fails this save, the lloigor gains 3 PE. A lloigor can gain PE above its maximum in this way, capping at twice its normal value. A creature that has its Wisdom reduced to 3 or fewer with this ability must succeed a DC 23 Will save or be afflicted with the moral insanity madness. This is a madness effect with a flat DC. Hopeless (Ex) A lloigor can never gain morale bonuses, and suffers an additional -1 penalty whenever it would suffer from a morale penalty.

#lloigor #dragon #sponsored post #cthulhu mythos #eldritch horror #pathfinder 1e

[3d-wifey]

TBOSAS was a great movie and an even greater miss---here's why:

The problem here is no fault of the movie. It's not that it isn't a good adaptation or that it cut out too many important scenes. The casting was amazing, the acting phenomenal, the writing and plot translated immaculately into the screenplay format, and the ending was tragically beautiful. All of those boxes are ticked. The problem lies with one thing: Coriolanus Snow.

To understand what I mean, I'll bring the main trilogy to the stand. All of the books were written in first person from Katniss's pov. There were things that we as the audience don't know because Katniss doesn't know them and vise versa all do to her inner monologue. But there are also things we as the audience do know that Katniss doesn't because she's an unreliable narrator. She often misreads people because, whether she'll admit it or not, she's highly suspicious of those that aren't obviously weaker than her and is quick to judge in general. Her biases and black and white moral standpoint can be attributed to her environment, ptsd, and, though not confirmed, Autism (source: I'm actually Dr. Autism) or bpd. So, in this case, she's unreliable, but we understand it's not malicious and it was translated well in the movie (i.e. her thinking Peeta wanted her dead, her thinking Peeta is only acting like he's in love with her, her misconceptions about Finnick.)

Coriolanus Snow on the, other hand, is an entirely different case. He's a bad person at the start of the book and that isn't up for debate. His thoughts about Lucy Gray should make you angry, let alone about people who knew and cared for him for years (Tigris and Sejanus). He is also an unreliable narrator, but in a completely different sense than him. While hers is founded in ignorance and defensiveness, his is built in paranoia and narcissism. He's obsessive, possessive, demeaning to any and everyone, and thinks he's owed more than he is and hates anyone that has what he doesn't. We get all this through his inner thoughts as well (him hating the very idea of Lucy Grey being with anyone before him and likening her to a whore---implying she's slept with peacekeepers, wanting to own her in the literal sense of the word hating Sejanus for having basic human empathy, hating looking down on the Plinths who have been nothing but kind to him, so on and so forth). I say he's bad because, though he hasn't done any of the horrible things he thinks about or acts on them is because he didn't have the power or social standing to back them, something he has plenty of as a president. All this to say, the movie lacks that insight into the character that we gain with Katniss. Enough that people that have only watched the movie genuinely believe he was a nice person drove to the brink or thought there was a little gray area in regards to his morality. Enough that people that think the actor is hot will say they like "Coryo" not Snow, or some people send hate mail to the author because they think she tried to humanize him/excuse his behavior, the exact opposite of the point of the book. I don't fault the movie too harshly for this too harshly. Other than having a voice over, they could do very little to convey his every horrid thought. And because of this and Tom's phenomenal acting, Snow was able to manipulate the audience just like everyone else he fucked over.

Snow is a narcissist who can't wrap his mind around people genuinely being kind while having no ulterior motives, because he would never do that from the kindness of his heart. He thinks everyone is trying to back stab him and want to turn on him and are out to get him or are trying to embarrass him because that is what he would do if he was in their position. Unlike Katniss, he can read people and he can act his ass off, but unlike Katniss, he can't see the best in people because he doesn't want to/it doesn't benefit him. He had many opportunities to do the right thing or the kind thing and actively chose not to.

He, more than anyone in the Capitol, even more than Sajanus, should know what the Districts go through. He grew up poor, starved, and was forced to grow up too soon. He knows what it means to have nothing, be starved, and go into the arena and almost be killed. Yet, he looks down on them and sends children who were younger than him when he went into the arena, to their deaths because it benefits him.

He's a horrible person. He's always been bad, but he strove to be worse. I'm not saying the movie wasn't able to portray this in it's own way, but since it's not as obvious and in your face if you're too focused on how cute you think his face is, you can miss it. You'll find reasons to justify his actions just like he does and, ironically, become like his inner monologue where he continuously made himself the victim in almost every scenario.

Again, great movie! Fantastic even, my I beg of you, read a book. Or watch a youtube essay about it.

#tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow #coriolanus x lucy gray #i can see why people ship him and sejanus in the movie since you aren't forced to read how horribly he thinks of my poor boy :( #coriolanus x sejanus #sejanus plinth #sejanus deserved better #sejanus my beloved #sejanus plinth the man you are #sejanus plinth you will always be famous #if you hate sejanus for any reason you'll go to hell and burn with Snow (REAL NOT FAKE!!!) #lucy gray baird #lucy gray x coriolanus #coryolanus snow #coryo and sejanus both are like ”i can fix him” and they’re both wrong #tigris snow #tigris snow i'd treat you so right #grandma'am snow #ma plinth #strabo plinth #hunger games catching fire #the hunger games #coriolanus snow you FLOP #3d wifey talks

[piglet26]

Reylo Scenes: TLJ

Rian Johnson gets loud vocal dislike for trying to make part 2 to JJ Adams film and his treatment of Luke Skywalker. Now I'm going to be honest..... Star Wars fans complain. That's part of the passion of it all. I guess. One area that he did succeed in was Reylo. He dealt with it with complete mastery. His invention of the forceskype or forcetime which allowed the protagonist and antagonist to actually talk was genius.

To add, I read the novelization which does expand on the story overall and it's great to read. There are comics as well. All which expand on the story.

Rian Johnson also is due a thank you for this moment.

We'll call this no-more-daddies-Ren. That face should not be covered up.

Romance has always been apart of Star Wars. Yet, in the sequel trilogy there was this hyper paranoia of anything feminine and so anyone who sensed a romance happening I guess was just an unhealthy fool.

From a pure storytelling stand point, the dynamic between the hero and the villain is genuinely interesting. The fact that they are Ying Yang, alike but different, bonded yet on opposing sides and they attracted to one another only adds to the drama. It's the richest dynamic of the sequel trilogy.

So to all the Reylo haters

In the first forcetime scene the rules of the forcetime get established. Rey can't hurt him physically (yet) and Ren can't jedi mind trick her.

The production team continued to show their balance yet opposition. When Rey wakes up the warm sunlight is on her face and her smooth cheek. In Ren's scene the light on his cheek is mechanical and the skin is scarred. Rey is surrounded by nature. Ren is surrounded by technology. They both have a childlike innocence to them. Something is happening to them that had never happened before. Something unique even amongst force users. Ren is curious. Rey is just pissed off.

Ren is a man who feels very let down/betrayed by everyone in his life so by the time we meet him in The Force Awakens he doesn't want or need anybody. Within his comic Ben Solo is described as someone that everyone, including his peers, watched for signs of darkness. He's a bitter, hurt and jaded young man.

Rey is the denial queen. She has a childlike way of thinking that is purely optimistic. She latches onto people very quickly Finn, Han Solo, Chewie, Leia, Luke on and on. She understand the stories of the resistance, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, but doesn't understand any of the complexities. She's a very 'this is the truth as I know it so it must be the truth' kind of person.

When we arrive at the second Forcetime.

Rey overlooking the ocean. Ren overlooking the first order. Ren begins hearing the ocean waves. Rey begins to hear the snap of electricity. Ren sensing her turns and Rey, sensing him, adjusts and there they are.

Rey, understand that she can't physically act out her anger against, verbalizes it. She's angry, but she wants the anger to be simple and it's not. He is tied to her in a way in some way.

What's interesting is Ren is very open to her in wondering why the force is connecting them. In the book Rey describes his eyes as hungry. Also, Ren wants to be understood by her. He uses this moment to reach her and get someone to understand a portion of how he became the man he is. The audience sees him approach her, get into her space, challenging her emotionally, physically and her ideas about him.

"ah, you do" if it's possible to verbally create a orgasm....Adam driver accomplished it for women. It doesn't hurt that these two seem to always be eye fucking each other. The intensity in which they lock onto each other and don't pay much around them any mind. The actors writers dream of.

The scenes serves a purpose though. Kylo is once again shift from simple bad guy to complicated bad guy/human being. She doesn't know everything. In the mix of all of this is her experience with Luke. She disillusioned and she's disappointed with Luke. Her experience is shifting her to understand Kylo's position more.

Which leads to their third forceskype aka shirtless Ben

Rey, girl, you're not asexual. It's the first where we see she does have a reaction to him physically. She opens herself to understanding. She wants to know if he had a good reason for killing his father. She also expresses her jealousy of him. He has a family, he had a father who loved him. She would give anything for that. Kylo is also expressing his pain and how relates to her. They both feel abandoned by their parents. Kylo wasn't abandoned in the way Rey was, but he feels abandoned. Kylo looks at Rey like 'hey you don't see the similarities between us?". You also being to understand Kylo Ren's need to embrace the dark side because everyone on the light side failed him.

Part of her journey in The Last Jedi is about embracing her womanhood. After the force bond with the shirtless Kylo Ren. She goes to the dark sided vagina cave. She jumps in and when she emerges her childhood hair buns are gone. Rey enters in this vision and looks for answers as to who/where her parents are. Nothing is revealed to her. She didn't find the answers she was looking for and the hope that she will find them goes out of her. In this moment she's desperately lonely. Here our hero spiritually seeks out through the force bond the one individual she feels will relate to her, our villain.

Why do people call this scene "The Finger Touch Love Scene"

Cause the level of intimacy these characters reach without many words and without being lewd. Rian Johnson, bravo!

The way Kylo Ren is just present, reassuring and nurturing as Rey relays her trip into the dark cave. This is a moment where he could stoke her negative emotions to the dark side. He doesn't though. He's completely emotionally present for her. Kylo Ren sits within his ship in a area that's lit with a soft blue light as he reaches towards her he's in the warm of the firelight. Now he is physically present for her.

Rey is completely raw. She's allowing herself to be seen emotionally naked. This is the first scene where she gives him something with free will. She gives him union.

She reaches out from underneath the blanket. He takes his glove off and they slowly, innocently, reach for each other. The eye contact they maintain as the force theme begins, we as the audience understand something profound is happening. Within them, in this moment, there is a balance in the force.

They both have a vision of one another. Ren sees her past. Rey sees a glimpse of his future. This is the moment for Reylo, they both said to themselves "we're never letting this go". Rian Johnson confirmed it's from this moment that Ren decides to kill Snoke because that's the only way to protect Rey from him. Rey shift her belief system to complete Team Ben. She doesn't have a plan when she goes to meet Ben within the First Order. She just has complete faith in him that when the moment matters he'll stand by her.

We arrive at the elevator scene and just prior when she arrive onboard the supreme in a coffin from the Falcon that has his calligraphy on it. It's their first interaction after that intense force bond.

She expresses her faith in him and the possibility of a future. This is the first scene where she walks up on him. She wants that closeness and connection now. He's closed off we come to understand later, he's become he's protecting his mind from Snoke understanding his true intentions. They both express what they saw in their vision and conviction that one will join the other. It's canon that in this moment Kylo Ren wanted to kiss Rey.

Snoke - It's not his story. Kylo Ren looked like a badass killing him. That's all we needed you for boo. However, I did enjoy the internal dialogue of Snoke that the novelization affords. Through the force Snoke can feel Kylo Ren's need for approval which is something that frustrates him. He can feel his conflicted nature for Rey and for the light. He can feel his pain and confusion when Snoke says he bridged their minds (he didn't). That was enlightening.

My favorite moment is right after Kylo kills Snoke and Rey and Kylo looks at each like

"You with me?"

"Yeah, I'm with you"

And they turn to face the pretorian guards. They are with each other, but they do have a misunderstanding on what that means.

The fight scene is great and beautiful. Kylo Ren is a supportive partner to her and she to him. Kylo support her body with his and he takes on the majority of the Pretorian guards. He has a moment when he checks in on her, she get's hurt, he's upset and scared but then centers himself. When he's in trouble she supports him. It's described in the novel that they can feel each other's emotions through the force.

(Couldn't find the gif of her getting cut)

#star wars #ben solo #reylo #finnrey #rey skywalker #rey star wars #kylo ren #kylo x rey #ben solo deserved better #ben solo x rey #ben solo lives #rey

[oc-poll-tournament]

OC Poll Tournament Round 1 Poll 5

Propaganda below the cut:

Meparik (he/him) @gailynovelry: Meparik of the Frostbitten Court (he/him)

Meparik is many things! He is a feyrie, a pickpocket, a sign-language user, a voracious reader, and an accidental religious leader. He understands more of the political goings-on of his realm than most adults do, and profusely hates the gods for it. His bedraggledness is matched only by that of his best friend (unwilling messiah lesbian). Gaze upon the child, your honor. Do you feel it? The desire to feed him warm soups and wrap him up in a cozy blanket? I rest my case, your honor. I rest it well.

Nat Finch (he/him) @albatris: I'd like to submit Nat Finch! he/him, 25 years old, brand new baby vampire. he works the night shift at dodgy petrol and convenience store Stop 'N' Go, where he falls asleep on the clock and encourages shoplifting. he's schizotypal like me and he loves cats, cooking, and his friends! he's the protagonist of my campy gory horror trilogy, though he'd rather not be!

he's short and fat with red eyes and lots of freckles. his hair is long and black, often uneven and choppy in length, because he just cuts tangles out instead of untangling them ❤

he's a sweet boy, earnest boy, awkward boy; he doesn't have many friends at the start of the story due to his paranoia, psychosis, and social anxiety, but by the end of it has a whole bunch of good friends AND a kitty he adores named Grub who purrs like a faulty tractor

in this story vampirism is a sentient entity and all connected via a hivemind known as "the Garble".... it lives in the vampires' blood and can manipulate their thoughts as well as give them heightened strength and speed, claws and fangs, and night vision when they need it. it can be useful, but mostly it's a bully and an inconvenience

at the centre of the Garble hivemind lives the very first vampire, an undead rotting corpse and the god of vampires, and a few of their close friends and confidants. all life force collected by regular vampires flows to them at the centre and grants them immortality and power. it's a sweet deal for the folks at the centre, and a terrible deal for ordinary vampires like Nat who rarely reap any real benefits from their condition, but are threatened and manipulated into participating in this system regardless

Nat's story sees him struggling to solve the mystery of how and why he was turned and trying to balance his kind, caring nature with his new violent condition... and eventually leads him to, "hey, I think I'm going to hunt down and eat the rest of vampire god"

good for him!

some other Nat Facts:

huge drama queen (will play up being sad and pathetic to get what he wants)

vampires are hardwired to seek warmth and coziness so Nat is always down to snuggle 24/7

bouncy cheery overexcited lad who will grin for weeks if you say something nice to him

vegetarian, aside from eating people, which he insists does not count

speaking of eating people, primarily preys on rich pricks and abusive bosses

is too awkward to tell his neighbours he bought them a cute knitted blanket he thought they might like for their corgi because what if that's a weird thing to do. this has been going on for three weeks

is too awkward to tell his neighbours his name is Nat, not Matt. this has been going on for three years

has a giant scary monster mode full of eyes and teeth >:3

please consider voting for my boy!

#oc poll tournament #round 1 #oc: Meparik #oc: Nat Finch