Cw Murder - Tumblr Posts
TRAYVON MARTIN was walking home with an iced tea and Skittles. He was shot by George Zinneman, who was found not guilty.
KEITH SCOTT was sitting in a car, reading. He was shot by a police officer, who was not charged.
ATATIANA JEFFERSON was looking out her window, and was shot by a police officer, who is still under indictment for murder.
JONATHAN FERRELL was asking for help after an auto accident. He was shot twelve times by police, case ended in mistrial.
JORDAN EDWARDS was riding in a car and was shot in the back of the head by a police officer, who was found guilty of murder.
STEPHON CLARK was holding a cell phone, and was shot 8 times, 6 in the back. The officers were not charged.
AMADOU DIALLO while taking out his wallet, 41 shots were fired by four different officers. They were all acquitted.
RENISHA MCBRIDE after an auto accident, she knocked on someone’s door for help. The homeowner was found guilty of second-degree murder.
TAMIR RICE was playing with a toy gun, and was shot by police officer arriving on scene. Officer was not charged.
SEAN BELL was hosting a bachelor party. 50 rounds were fired by police officers who were found not guilty of charges.
WALTER SCOTT was pulled over for brake lights, and was shot in the back by a police officer who pleaded guilty to civil rights violations.
PHILANDO CASTILE was pulled over and told officer he had a legally registered weapon in car. Officer acquitted of all charges.
AIYANA JONES was sleeping and was accidentally shot by an officer in a raid on wrong apartment. Officer cleared of all charges.
TERRENCE CRUTCHER needed help when his vehicle broke down. Was shot by a police officer who was found not guilty of manslaughter.
ALTON STERLING was selling CDs, and was shot at close range while being arrested. No charges filed.
FREDDIE GRAY was beaten to death by officers while being transported in police van. All officers involved were acquitted.
JOHN CRAWFORD was shopping at WalMart, holding a BB gun that was on sale—police officer was not charged for his murder.
MICHAEL BROWN was shot twelve times by an officer, including in the back. No charges filed.
JORDAN DAVIS was killed because he was playing loud music. Shooter found guilty of first-degree murder.
SANDRA BLAND was pulled over for traffic ticket; was tasered and then arrested. Suspicious “suicide” while in jail. No charges.
BOTHAM JEAN was fatally shot in his home, which female officer ¿mistook for her own? (Which I’ll never understand.) Officer found guilty of murder.
OSCAR GRANT was handcuffed and placed face-down, officer then shot him in the back. Officer found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
COREY JONES was waiting by his car which was broken down, and was shot three times by police officer, who was found guilty of murder.
AHMAUD AUBREY was jogging. He was shot by two racist men who claimed they suspected him of burglaries. Both men were charged with murder and aggravated assault.
GEORGE FLOYD was suspected of alleged fraud. He handcuffed and pinned to the ground by an officer’s knee. He begged for mercy and he was ignored.
ERIC GARNER: Stopped for selling cigarettes on a nyc street and choked by a cop in broad daylight. Complications of the stress put on his throat by the hold caused his death; Openly said “I can’t breathe” several times and pretty much died while three other cops watched their compatriot kill a man. Eric was well known for just trying to sell goods as a side hustle and never actually hurt anybody.
DJ HENRY was fatally shot in his car by police officer Aaron Hess in the early morning hours of Oct. 17, 2010. DJ's passengers say they were doing nothing wrong when Hess ran out in front of them in the road. Hess says he only fired because he was in fear for his life. Hess later admitted to lying on multiple occasions after DJ’s death about the shooting.
These were all murders. They were not accidental. All of these innocent people: men, women AND children. Were murdered because they were black. Not because they were violent. Not because they were threatening, but because they were black. Something has to change. We have to MAKE a change. Black lives matter. Black men. Black women. Black children. Non-Binary blacks. Trans blacks. Every single one of their lives matter. Your friends. Your neighbors. Your teachers. Your brothers. Your sisters. We are the change.
——————
this list isn’t even close to a being a quarter of the wrongful African American deaths in America and if there is anyone you’d like me to add please message me. I will gladly add them because people deserve to know their names.
The Sad Saga of James Morgan and Company: Nobody Is Safe
More of my Pokémon occult AU, barely-there OCs, and James whumpage (I swear he's my favorite character I don't know why I did this to him).
This fic contains: Colorful language; general angst; possible out-of-character moments for Jessie, James, and Meowth; underdeveloped original characters (and their fridging); violence and blood; convoluted occult lore; murderous, occult-powered Jessiebelle (now with fucked up whip action!); attempted murder; main character death (RIP Jessie); Jessiebelle is really messed up; ellipses abuse; Jesus Hades Christ eleven!me tortured James a lot in fic (this extends to Jessie and Meowth it seems); James still has magical powers
-O-o-O-o-O-
*Imagine Tylas quit being Jessiebelle's guard because he didn't want to help kill James. He figures out that James is in love with him. Jessiebelle decides to kill him by putting a curse on James. So, because James loves Tylas, if they kiss each other, Tylas will die.
*James is running from his Victreebel, which is chasing him. Tylas is running, too. He wants to get away from Jessiebelle's dungeon. They both run into each other.
James: (gets up) I'm sorry. It's my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going. Tylas: I wasn't looking either. And I was running too fast. I should be sorry.
*They both look into each other's eyes. Victreebel ruins the romantic moment by pouncing James. James gets Victreebel back into the Pokéball. Tylas is looking at him.
Tylas: Are you okay? James: (shyly) Yes. (blushes) Tylas: You sure? You're turning red. James: I'm fine. (blushes harder)
*They stand there like that for a few seconds.
Tylas: Are you, by any chance, in love with me? Is that why you're so shy and blushing? James: (breathes) Yes. Tylas: Wow. (smiles) James: Well, I have to get back to the camp now. Tylas: Okay.
*They walk away from each other.
Meowth: Did you tell him? James: Yes. At least I didn't kiss him. Then he'd die.
*The next day, the trio and Tylas walk toward each other.
Tylas: James, I know you're kind of shy around me, so I'll make this short. I love you.
*This is too much for James. He bursts into tears.
Tylas: Was it something I said? James: I'm sorry….I shouldn't have started crying. (sniffles) It's just that….Jessiebelle put a curse on me and if I kiss you, you'll die. Tylas: I still love you. James: So do I. But I can't kiss you. Tylas: That's okay.
*Jessiebelle is spying on them.
Jessiebelle: He's too smart. He won't make a mistake. I'll have to kill Tylas myself. James will either beg me to kill him, or die of a broken heart.
*Jessiebelle traps James and Tylas. Jessie and Meowth follow them. Jessiebelle gets out a dark occult knife. She locks James in a cage.
Jessiebelle: Now you'll witness the death of your lover! James: No! Let me die for him! Jessiebelle: No, this time, you can't die for your friend. I'm going to dip this knife in a very powerful potion. It's so powerful, your life potion and your powers won't be able to bring him back to life. I call it "Pure Death." (dips dark occult knife in the pure death potion)
*Jessiebelle stabs Tylas with the the dark occult pure death knife. James's vocal cords lock up and his breathing is shaky.
Jessiebelle: You want his dead body? James: (shakily) Yes.
*James grabs Tylas and gets out of there.
James: You're not going to die. You can live. I can save you. Tylas: She stabbed me with the pure death knife. James: Maybe she was lying about how powerful it was. Tylas: She wasn't. I know that potion. I saw her make it. I will always love you. James: I will, too.
*Tylas dies.
Meowth: You okay? James: No. (is quiet awhile) Maybe I'm not meant to love anyone. (gets up and walks away) Meowth: Where are you going? James: To get a shovel and to bury him.
*Jessie and Meowth see James standing out there in the rain, burying Tylas. He says something, but they can barely hear it. Then he comes back.
*The next day….
Meowth: Love is cruel. James: I hate that word now. Meowth: What?! James: I hate the "L" word. Jessie: You're being ridiculous. James: Everyone I love dies. I managed to bring Meowth back to life, but Tylas is gone. If one more person I love dies, I might consider committing suicide. Meowth: You must've liked him a lot to feel that way now. James: I did. (sighs heavily) I don't want to hurt your feelings, but can I please be left alone for a while? Meowth: You're not hurting our feelings.
*Jessie and Meowth go into the tent. James stays outside. He lets go of the fact that Tylas is dead and realizes that sometimes when you really love a person, you have to let them go.
-O-o-O-
*Imagine Jessiebelle captured James and then Jessie and Meowth followed them and got chained up, too. Jessiebelle injects poison into James. It isn't the pure death poison or some other deadly poison. She sets off a bomb, leaves the dungeon, and lets it blow up. Jessie, James, and Meowth blast off, get separated, and land in three different places. Jessie lands in a lake. James lands in a tree. Meowth lands in another dungeon.
*Jessie gets out of the lake.
Jessie: I wonder what the other two are doing.
*A bunch of kids see her coming out of the lake and start laughing. Meanwhile, James is up in a tree, on a branch. He loses his balance and falls. The tree branch snaps and falls. It lands on his head and knocks him out. At a dungeon….
Meowth: This must be Jessiebelle's new dungeon. (looks around) I'm never blasting off again.
*At the lake….
Jessie: I would take off my skirt and wring it out if all those kids weren't staring.
*At the tree a blond boy finds James. The boy's name is Lucian.
Lucian: He's hurt really badly. Jessiebelle doesn't have to know about this.
*Another boy (red-haired) comes out of the bushes.
Boy: What happened? Lucian: This boy is really hurt.
*The other boy's name is Lenny. He's Lucian's friend.
Lenny: How could he have gotten all those injuries? He looks so young. Lucian: He's only seventeen. His parents want him to marry Jessiebelle, but Jessiebelle has been abusing him. I'm Jessiebelle's new guard. It's a shame he's being abused. Lenny: How has he not died? Lucian: He's a witch, so he has some slight protection against her. But I'm going to protect him more.
*Lucian spreads a paste on James's leg where the poison was injected into him.
Lucian: He's got a bad head injury. Jessiebelle must've hit him. Or maybe he fell out of a tree.
*James wakes up.
James: Where am I? (sits up with difficulty) Lucian: I'm going to help you. I don't care what Jessiebelle thinks. Where are your friends? James: I don't know. We got separated when Jessiebelle blew up the dungeon. Lenny: Who are your friends? James: One of them is a girl named Jessie. She looks exactly like Jessiebelle, but tougher and with longer hair. The other one is a talking Meowth. Lenny: A talking Meowth? I think you should lie back down. James: But it's true. Lucian: He's right. I've seen the talking Meowth. They seem quite close. What happened to you? James: Jessiebelle injected poison into me and blew up the dungeon. Somehow, when we blasted off, Jessie, Meowth, and I got separated. I landed in a tree, but I lost my balance and fell. Then something hit me on the head and I blacked out.
*Jessie and Meowth step out of the bushes.
Meowth: What are you doing? Lucian: I'm helping him. Jessie: A likely story. Lucian: But I want to help him. Meowth: So you can earn his trust and then ambush him when he least expects it. Lucian: No! It isn't like that. I just found him unconscious a few minutes ago. He told me he got separated from you and he didn't know where you were. Meowth: You gained that much of his trust to find that out. Lucian: I took care of his wounds. Meowth: Usually he does that himself. Lucian: He was unconscious.
*Jessie and Meowth share a look.
Meowth: Okay. You can help him. But we'll stay with you to make sure there's no funny business. Lucian: (to James) I'll take care of you.
*James is looking up at Lucian adoringly. Team Rocket befriends Lucian and Lenny. James is in love with Lucian.
-O-o-O-
*Imagine Jessiebelle wants to make James die of sadness. She kills Lucian. Then she decides to try to kill Jessie, then James will commit suicide, ask Jessiebelle to kill him, or die of sadness.
*The trio is walking along the road. Jessiebelle grabs James, knocks him out with her potion, and runs. She comes to a toll booth in the middle of the forest.
Toll Booth Attendant: Where are you going? Jessiebelle: Sorry. I can't tell. It's top secret.
*Later, Jessie and Meowth come to the toll booth.
Toll Booth Attendant: You again?! Jessie: That was just someone who looked exactly like me. Which way did she go? Meowth: And was she carrying a boy? Toll Booth Attendant: She went that way. (points) Yes, she was carrying a boy. Jessie: Did you see what the boy looked like? Toll Booth Person: He had long violet hair. His eyes were closed. He was wearing a uniform similar to yours. Why? Do you think she's going to do something bad to him? Meowth: She's going to kill him.
*They find Jessiebelle's dungeon. James is locked up in a cage. He's kicking the door and trying to blast it open with his powers.
Jessiebelle: Kicking it and using your powers won't do anything. James: I have to at least try!
*Jessie and Meowth come in.
Jessiebelle: Since you're here, I'll just kill one of you. I can't kill that hell cat or I'll get cursed, so I'll have to kill you. James: No. Don't you kill her. Let me die for her! Jessie: James, you're too young to die. I'll die for you. James: No. I couldn't save Tylas and Lucian, but I'm going to save you. Jessiebelle: (dips dark occult knife in pure death potion) I think I'll end this argument. (stabs Jessie)
*James starts screaming and kicking the cage door to get it.
James: You bastard! How could you?! Jessiebelle: Young witches. Always so temperamental. (lets James out)
*James grabs Jessie's dead body, grabs Meowth by the hand, and gets out of there.
James: She's already dead. I didn't even get to say goodbye. (starts to cry softly)
*Meowth can't say anything because he's crying, too. James gets a shovel and buries Jessie.
*The next day, Jessiebelle jumps out of a tree and lands on her feet in front of James and Meowth. She's dressed like Jessie.
James: Jessie? Is that you? Jessiebelle: It's me. Your worst nightmare. Meowth: You're not Jessie. Jessiebelle: Meowth, that's right.
*James faints. Jessiebelle is about to stab James.
Meowth: Fuck off of him! (scratches Jessiebelle across the face)
*Jessiebelle screams and runs off.
Meowth: James, wake up!
*James wakes up.
James: What happened? Meowth: You passed out when Jessiebelle came back.
*Meowth notices James trembling.
Meowth:What's wrong? James: She couldn't have made a Team Rocket uniform that quickly. She would've had to take it off Jessie's body. She dug up Jessie's grave and disrespected her body. Meowth: You're sweating. James: I hate Jessiebelle. Meowth: So do I. James: What did Jessie ever do to her? Why did she have to kill her and do that to her dead body? Meowth: We've gotten killed by her, too. What did any of us do to her to make her kill us? James: I think she wants to make me die of sadness or beg for death. She's getting back at me for not marrying her. Meowth: That could be right. James: I think I should put something on Jessie's grave. Meowth: What are you going to put there?
*James gets up. He goes over to Jessie's grave (which is next to Tylas's grave) and takes out one of his roses. It's a blood red rose. There's a faded pink one on Tylas's grave.
Meowth: But that's your rose you say the motto with. James: I know. I'll carry a black rose because I'm in mourning. Meowth: She'd probably want us to continue saying the motto as we steal Pokémon. James: I don't know if I can continue to be a Team Rocket member. I think she'd want me to, and I want to honor her memory. Meowth: I want to, too. James: Why don't I just dye my uniform black?
*Jessiebelle jumps out of a tree again. She grabs James. Meowth runs after them. They all end up at the dungeon.
Jessiebelle: Marry me or die. I know a great way to kill you.
*Jessiebelle pokes James in the dick with the handle of a dark occult knife. Meowth manages to free James, take him by the hand, and run out of there.
Meowth: Why don't we tell Officer Jenny about this? James: She'd never believe a Team Rocket member. She'd probably laugh if I told her I was sexually abused.
*Jessiebelle kidnaps James and his grandparents. Meowth gets catnapped (or Poké-napped) too.
Jessiebelle: I thought you could use your old-age wisdom to set your grandson straight. (whips James around the waist)
*The whip wraps around James's waist and starts choking him. Jessiebelle tugs on the whip, trying to strangle James.
James's grandfather: What are you doing to him?!
*Jessiebelle lets go of the whip. James falls backward, unconscious. His grandparents catch him before he falls.
James's grandmother: This is madness. Meowth: Why are you killing him?
*James's grandfather is holding his body.
James's grandfather: You killed him. Meowth: (listens to James's heartbeat) He's not dead. He's just unconscious.
James's grandmother: You're going to be all right.
*James comes to.
James: What happened? Meowth: Jessiebelle tried to strangle you to death. James's grandfather: You leave our grandson alone. Jessiebelle: And if I don't?
*Growlie comes in and sets Jessiebelle on fire. She pours water on the fire. Meowth scratches her face. Everybody else runs out of there, taking Meowth with them.
James's grandmother: I'm so sorry we didn't intervene earlier when your parents tried to force you to marry Jessiebelle. We didn't know the danger they were putting you in. James: It's okay. They covered up a lot.
*After James's grandparents and Growlie leave, Meowth comes up to James.
Meowth: I guess it's just the two of us. James: Yeah. Just us. Meowth: Let's go.
*James and Meowth walk into the sunset.
-O-o-O-o-O-
Moral of the story: Even in the middle of nowhere in an occult-infested forest, you can't escape the toll booths.
borne from a convo my bf and i had <3
Made Shane and Una in BitLife, made them get married, have kids. Una passed away of a heart attack, so I continued the legacy with one of their sons. Shane moved on and remarried, and one of the sons quickly killed her. That is the ride or die energy I expected from my OTP. ✊🏻🤠
The Art of a Moment
Summary: This wasn't art.
A look into one of the most intense moments of the game, in Sam's perspective.
-----
Sam clutched his handbag close when he faced the cold weather outside, shivering involuntarily at the gust of wind that hit him and wiping his nose using the end of his sleeve for the seventh time. The weather was the last thing on his mind right now; he was focused on saving the love of his life and solving the puzzles of this masked maniac. It was hard enough to constantly keep track of what items he had and where he needed to go. His mind was always working and thinking - he doubted he would have a moment of rest until Anna was back in his arms.
He entered the generator and the intercom above flashed a green light. He was met with the familiar voice of Oscar:
“I heard once that true art lives in a sparkling moment… that it’s a flash, leaving a bright trace, and is remembered for a lifetime… it never becomes routine…. Do you understand what I mean, Sam?”
He was going on about art and immortality again. Sam really couldn’t care about Oscar’s monologuing. He was constantly putting himself and his ‘art’ on a pedestal. It was enough to have to see the embalmed vessels of dead bodies, but he also had to put up with this man’s justifications for them. He didn’t care how it was done - murder was murder , and he was going to put an end to this bloodshed of young people.
Sam was grateful for the green scarf wrapped around his person, as he had to return indoors and re-enter the freezer so he could smash some ice to obtain what was underneath. As he reeled back into position, wielding the icepick in both hands, he could hear a voice enabling him from around the room:
“Go on, Sam, smash that anger out of you, but things are going to change… soon.”
And maybe he did. Maybe those grunts weren’t out of exhaustion, but of anger , of realizing what predicament he was in, of thinking of all those innocent people immortalized in green chambers. From musing how a murderer like Oscar could convince himself that thieving these people of their lives to entertain his sick view of mortality was nothing but a favor done to the victims he claimed.
Sam scowled as he dropped the icepick. Anna was what was important. He could deal with all of this later.
He pressed a button and a keycard emerged from the frozen device. He knew what it was for. He traversed the house and returned to a locked room he previously could not access. He slid the keycard in and was prompted to enter a code. He grabbed his journal and flipped through the pages until he found the combination he’d written down. A smart move - he had a hard time memorizing what he came across with all that was going on.
127530.
The moment he entered the code, the door unlocked itself and he threw it open impatiently. He was once again taunted by the cool voice from the intercom above:
“Ready or not..!”
This was nothing more than a sick game to him..!
Sam grit his teeth angrily as he moved forward. Anger was a very powerful thing, something he normally did not feel to such a degree, and he felt it pooling more and more inside of himself. He’d reported on stories that sickened him and exposed unjustful doings of people and companies…but nothing stirred him like this .
He wasn’t surprised to find himself in a rubber room. Someone like Oscar probably needed it. The door across from him was open and feeding light into the dim room. He could see a sliver of elaborate wallpaper beyond it and determined that it led somewhere new. As he moved to cross the threshold, the door suddenly slammed shut - trapping Sam in the padded cell. The light above him flickered off, closing him in complete darkness.
His heart raced as his eyes widened, overcome with a sense of fear. Yes, Oscar must have control over the doors and lights. It made sense, if he had gone through the trouble of wiring up his intercom system and placing these puzzles everywhere. But he hadn’t done anything like this before - and it took Sam completely aback.
He had no time to react any further. Oscar’s voice became the only sound in the room. The giddiness in his tone made Sam’s stomach twist unpleasantly.
“Well, I’ve decided, Sam. I decided to try a new kind of art. The art of a moment will fill the house today. Get ready..!”
There was a pause, although he was not done recording. Sam took this opportunity to attempt to find a handle on the door, but there was none. He tried banging on it but it did not budge. It was clear that the only way it would move was when Oscar decided to control it again.
He listened intently to the sound of the killer’s own footsteps. He was clearly walking down a hallway, as Sam recognized the sound of heels hitting hard tile. Why was he still recording if he wasn’t speaking? Whatever was coming next didn’t bode well, and the journalist found himself holding his breath and tensing every muscle in his body so as to prepare for it.
Oscar started speaking again, but it clearly wasn’t to Sam. There was the sound of glasses moving, of murmured voices and conversation carried far in the background. Were there…other people here? Besides him ?
“Distinguished guests, as you all know, today I prepared a private presentation of my new variety of Goldvale Whiskey. Its wonderful taste and aroma will astound you. So let us drink.”
He listened - horrified - to the audible sound of clinking glasses. There were groans, he even heard a voice asking ‘what was that? ’, before the recording was overcome with coughing and exclamations of agony. There was the sound of tables being knocked over, glasses shattering on the floor, woman audibly fainting and exclaiming…Sam processed all this with his jaw agape and desperately tried at the door again. No matter how much he pounded and attempted to rip at the padded walls with his fingernails…nothing happened.
He didn’t even know when he started screaming. He was exclaiming at the top of his lungs to warn those people to get out of there - don’t drink the whiskey! - this was a murdering madman and they were at his mercy!!!
The column he’d written in the Wellshire Telegraph briefly flashed before his eyes. His warning to the public, of the man who moved in the same rich, highly educated circles who was firm in conviction. That he could be anyone - even naming a random situation like a business partner inviting someone to a charity dinner in his mansion. He compared him to a chameleon - changing to fit his surroundings, suspecting him to reside in a country mansion.
Has Oscar gained inspiration from his column? His random example of masking himself and inviting others to dinner? Except now it was a whiskey presentation?
Sam wanted to pull his hair. He wanted to scream his lungs out. The murderer’s voice rang over the intercom, sounding disgusted and disappointed with what just happened.
“And they call this The Art? Mass murderers are not worthy to stand with me! Oh, now I ruined so many beautiful showpieces and I will never forgive myself for that!”
The light flickered back on and the door opened again. Sam hesitated before moving out and into the room that he had been sealed from. A horrifying sight greeted him - five bodies laying limply on the couches and chairs, facing a table with a bottle of poisoned whiskey and four full shot glasses. He could see the shattered remains of one by one of the bodies, who had dropped his share in the fit of the moment.
He was in a room full of dead bodies. Not one embalmed and dressed person - but several people, who had been breathing and talking mere minutes ago. The aura of death reeked heavily here and he could almost taste it on his tongue. He feared touching them because he knew they would still be warm. They were fresh and effective kills - not a sight of a massacre, but several murders, nonetheless.
As his eyes studied the scene, widened and full of discernment, Oscar’s voice surfaced in the room.
“Are you condemning me? Well…I must admit you’re right. That was…sloppy.”
Sloppy .
That was how he was going to describe it? Because they weren’t preserved pieces of ‘art’? Oscar single handedly poisoned five people by hosting a fake presentation, while also monitoring and steering Sam in this gigantic circle of a puzzle. How and when did this happen? Had he planned for this to happen, and have him witness the sounds of people dying?
He felt sick. He felt numb. He had no idea how to grasp this situation as his eyes hovered over the slumped bodies. He started imagining Anna as one of them, eyes shut and no longer moving. Just the thought caused him to retch a little in his mouth, and he adamantly turned away from the sight.
His hand shook as he went to record this in his journal.
This wasn’t art.
day 5 of @podcastgirlsweek: god forbid women do anything. celebrate a female villain. defend your #problematic fave.
i am here in defense of abigail reed >:]
you guys have to here me out on this one cause i’m not 100% sure she’s classified a villain, but she is absolutely a #problematic fave okay
abigail reed is the deceased wife of solomon reed (aka the worst person ever). she took her own life, and was subsequently trapped in a fife by said terrible husband. while trapped in said fife, she was constantly screaming, which is really girlboss of her.
she did sew her son’s mouth shut and leave him to starve to death but WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES
(i’m joking, this was obviously wrong)
but!! she was clearly not well, and shouldn’t have been left alone with percy. solomon is not as responsible, but i still want to blame him for it. so i will.
also, her story (ep 40 graves - stuck on the needle) is written SO WELL
“Judgement day was past, and she had missed the rapture, and the rain burned her eyes and her soul. It was something else—invasive, a virus or a parasite, altering her. She could feel it churning within her bone marrow. She couldn’t let it, couldn’t be changed…”
BARS
“Abigail nodded, and descended quietly, brushing a hand through her son’s hair. It was funny, she thought, how much he looked like that preacher’s boy. She wrapped her arms around him, and he cried quietly, and she was not repulsed. The tears that fell from her eyes surprised her, burning like stars themselves.”
BARS!!!!
kind of the only reason she wanted solomon was because he was quiet and wasn’t annoying. and calls him a ‘funny little thing.’ which is SO REAL.
despite her upbringing and everything else, she learns to accept percy for who he is. her son, not her daughter.
she also saved riot, and didn’t kill that family.
i just really think she’s cool okay
Re: Light Yagami’s presumed sociopathy and why he is objectively not a sociopath /psychopath
For as long as the Death Note fandom has existed, the question “Is Light a sociopath/psychopath” has existed in tandem. Many essays about this already exist, but to my knowledge none of those posts were written by a person currently training to become a psychiatrist which is why I’m throwing my two cents into the pool. As this post’s extremely subtle title suggests, I’m pretty solidly on the side that argues Light is not a sociopath/psychopath. The idea that Light is a sociopath is misinformed at best and most insidiously might just be a symptom of a broader social stigma on mental health. A psychiatric diagnosis is not pre-requisite for violent crime. Those who have a mental health diagnosis are, in actuality, far more likely to be the victims of a violent crime rather than the perpetrators.
Bringing the conversation back to Light specifically, the idea that he’s a sociopath cannot be proven with the information presented in canon. This point is not debatable; there is simply not enough information given for any reasonable psychiatrist to make that determination. Furthermore, canon does not support that theory well either. Frankly speaking, anyone who thinks they can call Light a sociopath solely because he appears to meet criteria on a checklists doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about. Human behavior is incredibly nuanced and determining what is or isn’t pathological is not nearly as simple as meeting criteria on a DSM-5 checklist. It is simply not a well informed argument to say that Light is a sociopath because he meets x amount of criteria.
While this ought to go without saying, I’ve seen enough people over the years seriously suggest that reading something online means they understand psychiatric disorders that it seems to need stating anyway: the ability to read articles and checklists online does not translate into academic or clinical literacy.
And by the way, the issue of academic and clinical literacy goes for me too, While half a year of clinical psych is more exposure than is typical for the average person in the fandom, I am also still learning and my opinions are not those of a licensed professional. Do take what I say with a grain of salt, but take people who have no training at all with even more grains of salt. There is a reason people go to grad school to study this stuff.
So that all said, Light isn’t a sociopath.
Now you may be going, “Eh, but if nobody can prove he is a sociopath, then you couldn’t prove that he isn’t a sociopath either.” And this is where I sashay in because ruling that out is actually pretty easy because so much evidence goes against it. This post will be going neck deep into the details of why Light is demonstrably not a sociopath. He is messed up certainly, but not a sociopath.
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so this picture of an ai combination of every serial killer into one person is currently going viral on twitter, despite the fact that it isn’t an ai combination of every serial killer into one person and is in fact just a picture of jerma with his shirt photoshopped to say ‘red sex’, im going insane
I’m sorry-
These are comments on a post about "immoral porn" and it made me so fucking angry I had to rant here. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Consuming "fuckdd up" content, including sexual content, does NOT corrupt you or numb you to the point you'll seek out worse and worse stuff or suddenly be okay with doing it IRL.
Do you know why people say this? Where it comes from? FUCKING TED BUNDY saying that "hardcore pornography" was the reason he killed women. SERIOUSLY. Obviously HE WAS LYING!!! He was a lying ass bitch who wanted to kill people, then once he was caught he invented an excuse that would make him look more sympathetic!!
Porn is not actually a slippery slope into serial killing. People choose to do awful things because of their underlying value system, not because of the art they engage with.
EVERYONE STOP SCROLLING AND READ THIS NOW!
Bestie, this is everything I could've ever wanted. You mind! You're beautiful mind! I don't know what to say. This was food for my soul. You've inspired me to study film analysis. This breakdown blew me away! 🤯 I'm just rambling cuz I'm genuinely floored. Wow!
Queer Text/Subtext in Shallow Grave (1994)
CW: BLOOD, STABBING, MURDER, NON-SEXUAL NUDITY, DRUG USE
I guess I wrote a rough essay... about the queer subtext in Shallow Grave... Here... have the rough draft if you'd like...
Overt references to queerness:
When we look at contemporary movies, we often have a knee-jerk reaction to dismiss any “funny” references to queerness or sexuality to be taken as jokes and nothing further than that. Unfortunately, this has become all too common, and does a disservice to the films we watch. So I will be taking every moment of referenced or implied queerness as serious, even if it is delivered in a humorous way. Especially because this movie is not meant to be a comedy (despite some humorous moments).
Furthermore, references to queerness in movies should be taken seriously because they establish not only the existence of queerness (in universe, as one might say), but can also demonstrate the character’s attitudes towards queerness. Its important to notice that at no point in this movie are any references to queerness played for a laugh – they might be humorous, but we are not meant to laugh at the character for being queer, which indicates that queerness is taken seriously within the universe of the movie (or at least between the characters).
The first overt reference to queerness is when Juliet asks an interviewee if he is having an affair with a man or a woman and the man is not given screen time to answer. This same man bursts into tears after Alex, a man, says, “When did anyone last say to you these exact words, ‘you are the sunshine of my life’?” (this is a reference to the Stevie Wonder song of the same name). While it is technically (according to the script) said by Alex to a different interviewee, the arrangement of the shots does not indicate that, as it cuts directly from Alex asking the question to the man crying. This could imply a number of things.
The second overt reference to queerness comes at the charity ball, where a Scotsman says, “ladies and gentlemen, and those of you who are neither or both,” which is then met with a drumroll. Alex immediately responds, offended, “where did they dig him up?” implying that Alex finds the joke to be outdated and, perhaps, distasteful.
The third overt reference is when Alex dresses in drag. He also appears in the same scene, on the tape recording wearing some rather flamboyant costumes. The fact that Alex is in drag is not addressed by any of the other characters, nor by Alex, indicates that this is either a usual occurrence, or, for some reason, entirely unremarkable to the characters. Specifically, it is interesting that David does not comment on it, as he walks into the scene unsuspecting.
The fourth, and final, overt reference to queerness is when, upon being told of Juliet and David’s relationship, Alex says to Juliet, “I’d do exactly the same thing except I don’t think I’m his type.” If the line is interpreted sarcastically (which I think most viewers will) then we can assume that he is jealous of David for being with Juliet. If it is interpreted as earnest, then we can assume that he is jealous of Juliet for being with David. It also could be an ambiguous combination of both.
Queer Subtext:
Now let us dig into the subtext, which I actually find to be much juicier....
The Squash Scene and the Car
Directly after the interviews have concluded, we are given a scene which helps frame the relationship between the three characters as one built on dynamics of domination and submission and gives us a baseline to understand each of the character’s roles within this dynamic. This scene takes place on the Squash court.
There is a deviation here between the script and the film, as several lines have been cut, but I will include them as they add some context to the scene.
In the above text, Alex indicates that he sees this game of squash as a struggle for dominance. In this case, the game between Alex and David is won by Alex, who then, despite having called David a “bad loser,” demonstrates that he is a sore winner when he gloats over David by saying, “defeat, defeat, defeat – sporting, personal, financial, professional, sexual, and everything.”
David is clearly annoyed by this and storms off. This scene sets up the ongoing power dynamic between Alex and David in which Alex is the dominant one in the relationship. It also is the first time that we see David being emasculated by Alex, which will continue occurring for the first half of the movie.
Immediately after David leaves the court, Juliet takes his place to play a match against Alex. In this scene she is wearing a rather masculine outfit which is similar to that of the two male characters. She also sports short hair throughout the movie, but this is the scene in which she appears the most “boyish.” When she enters the court to play, Alex begins to make the same statement (“Did you know squash is-”) that he made (in the script) earlier, to David. Thus he is using this exercise as a way to exert dominance, not only over David, his male sexual rival, but also over Juliet, thus implying that she is on equal footing – therefore also a sexual rival. However, Juliet cuts him off and tells him, “Alex, just serve.”
The action of cutting off Alex denies him domination in that moment, thus establishing that the two of them are on much more equal footing, or possibly that Juliet is in fact the dominant one between the two of them. This scene serves to establish that typical gendered dynamics are somewhat blurred between these three individuals, and that David, instead of Juliet, takes on the most feminine/passive role in the group.
The next scene once again highlights the complicated gender and power dynamics within the group. Juliet drives the car (masculine) while Alex and David bicker with one another from the back seat and passenger seat, respectively.
In this scene, addressing Alex’s win, David says, “Victory is the same as defeat – it’s giving into destructive competitive urges,” which distances him from competition, and could be interpreted as him rejecting the masculine urge to dominate. Alex, in return, emasculates him by belittling his reliance on a “discussion group,” (implied to be therapy). During this scene, Alex and David are looking at one another, however, the rear-view mirror blocks both of their eyes. This symbolizes their unwillingness to see “eye-to-eye and perhaps a certain level of repression between the two of them. Also in this scene, Juliet physically dominates Alex by elbowing him in the chest, and attempts to emasculate him verbally by implying that a woman that he is interested in hates him. She does this specifically in response to Alex’s emasculation of David, thus establishing that while Alex might be dominant over David, she is dominant over him. During this exchange, however, in her attempt to protect David from Alex, David is further emasculated because he relies on someone else to defend him.
Discovering the Body / Three Friends, Three Bodies
When the trio discovers Hugo’s body we see some more of this interesting dynamic.
David stands by shocked while Alex ransacks the room searching for paraphernalia, while Juliet (the doctor among them) attends to the body.
Hugo’s nude corpse in this scene represents male vulnerability. He is prone and exposed on the bed, having overdosed on heroin, and can do nothing while his privacy is violated (by the dominant, Alex). The injection of drugs into the body, in this case, could also be said to symbolize emasculation - the breaking of the body barrier through penetration of a syringe (phallus). This exemplifies a significant cultural fear at the time – death of the male body via penetration, which had become a major concern due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. (If I was writing this essay for real, this is where I would insert articles that demonstrate horror’s preoccupation with AIDS and gay stuff during the 80s and 90s, but this is just for fun)
David, of course, is enamored by this display of the fragility of the male body. I would suggest that he identifies with Hugo’s vulnerability in death, and that the treatment of Hugo’s body by Alex and Juliet mirrors the way that they treat David. While Alex takes advantage of Hugo’s vulnerability in death by violating his privacy (thus dominating it), Juliet emasculates Hugo’s corpse by tending to it. In one shot, we also see Juliet’s fingers dangerously close to penetrating Hugo’s mouth.
We can also expand upon this by recognizing that the two male characters that are pursuing Hugo and the trio in search of the money, are parallels to Juliet and David. The two men are able to dominate Juliet and Alex through violence, only then to be killed by David. Thus, the three bodies that the trio end up burying are parallels to the trio themselves.
David Overcomes Emasculation, Alex Becomes Emasculated.
Alex’s emasculation of David continues throughout the first half of the movie, culminating in David being forced to dismember Hugo’s body (the very body that he identifies with). When this occurs, he becomes the violator/aggressor/dominator.
This occurrence proceeds the change in the group dynamic. Around the midpoint of the movie (during the charity ball) we see David transition into a dominant role in the trio, while Alex becomes submissive.
This is demonstrated first by Juliet dominating Alex while they dance. Alex falls to the floor, drunk, and Juliet takes that moment to step on Alex’s mouth, forcing him to lick the bottom of her shoe. He then willingly kisses her ankle, meeting her eye contact submissively. It is made clear through his facial expressions and laughter, that he finds joy in this act, thus embracing the emasculation (whereas David had always responded poorly, rejecting it).
Alex then attempts to re-exert control over David by forcing him to toast when he doesn’t want to. David eventually concedes after Alex yells at him, demanding that he toast to “love and happiness forever.” (Alex also humiliates and emasculates Cameron in this scene).
David finally exerts control when Brian McKenly (a man keen on pursuing Juliet) interrupts their conversation. David responds by standing on level with Brian and stating, “If you want to talk to my girlfriend, you talk to me first. If you want to dance with her, you apply in writing three weeks in advance or you end up inside of a fucking bin bag. You didn’t apply – so you don’t dance!”
While David shrinks a bit afterwards, admitting that he found the interaction stressful, both Juliet and Alex embrace him, in high spirits (one might say… aroused…). Alex exclaims, “He [David] was really good – fucking bin bag – I really liked that. You really explored your maleness to the full there! You were magnificent.” This statement indicates that Alex, who has rarely had an encouraging word for David over the course of the movie, is invigorated upon seeing that David has stepped into a dominant role, exerting his masculinity onto others. Immediately following this, Alex is assaulted in the bathroom by Cameron (who he had emasculated twice prior) and two other men, who beat him quite badly, thus emasculating Alex.
The following day, Alex’s emasculation is made complete when he dresses in drag and spends the day in debauchery with Juliet. The framing of his and Juliet’s bodies during this scene is also worth noting, as they are often visually indistinguishable from one another – with Alex being noticeably more feminine than Juliet in several shots due to his makeup, jewelry, dress, and rather delicate shoulders.
(Notably, during the entirety of the ball scene and much of the drag/video scene, Alex is often pictured smoking a cigar instead of his usual cigarette, which could be said to stand in for a phallus.)
From this point on, David is almost always dominant over Alex. (One notable exception is one moment where Alex leans in close to David during dinner and orders, “now swallow,” while making very intense eye contact. David regains control by reminding Alex that David was the one who dismembered Hugo’s body.)
After this point it is clear that David is undergoing some extreme psychological stress, and has become paranoid and aggressive. His shift in demeanor is most clearly symbolized by this shot, where he calls out of work so that he can begin making plans to protect the cash.
The Wickerman
During one scene, an injured Alex lays on the couch and watches the final scene of The Wickerman (1973).
The Wickerman tells the tale of a conservative Christian police officer who goes to a Scottish isle to investigate the disappearance of a girl, only to discover that the locals are practicing a form of paganism that involves human sacrifice. The police officer discovers that he is in fact the sacrifice. It is implied that he is the sacrifice because he is a virgin and a heterosexual, and he is unwilling to have sex with Christopher Lee’s character. Christopher Lee was most well known at the time for playing the lead in Dracula (1958) – another movie with extremely well documented queer subtext. The audience of The Wickerman would have been aware of this.
During this scene, the drumbeats of the pagan ritual, where the police officer is being marched to his execution/sacrifice, synchronizes with David’s steps overhead, a sound that the characters and the audience come to associate with surveillance and dread.
Honestly this scene has me a bit stumped. Who does Alex identify with in this situation? The heterosexual victim? – is the ending subverted because his submission culminates in… the penetration of Alex's body… thus making him queer? Idk it's been a long day.
Surveillance
During the second half of the movie, David moves into the Attic and rarely comes down when his housemates are home. He is protecting the money, both from his housemates and from the men who eventually come looking for it. While Alex and Juliet are brutalized by the men, David is the one who has set a trap for them, and is able to kill them. He also leads the trio to dispose of the bodies, and drives the van (whereas Alex had driven the van the first time they disposed of the bodies, when he had been the dominant one in the relationship).
During his time in the attic, David drills holes in the ceiling so that he can spy on his housemates. He is literally in a dominant position over them, looking down on them while they go about their daily tasks. In one scene, he spies on Alex and Juliet while they are sleeping. In this scene, he is shown first to be watching Alex. David is also in a state of undress that we have not seen before, implying a certain sensuality to the observation. We do not get to see Alex in a state of undress, but the scene finishes with Alex putting his shoes on, the camera looking down from above, implying David’s Point of view, and that he had watched the whole time. After Alex leaves, David moves to watch Juliet, in a scene that is much longer and more explicitly inappropriate and sexualized, especially because we come to understand that David’s temporary attic bed is located directly over her bed. However, before she begins undressing, he looks away and holds his head in his hands.
This scene simultaneously offers us a leveling effect between the two objects of David’s gaze (Alex and Juliet), while simultaneously prioritizing the heterosexual coupling. However, the implication that there is shame associated with the heterosexual gaze, complicates the situation.
Penetration with the Drill (Phallus)
When Alex goes into the attic to look for the money (and finds it in the water tank), he climbs back down the ladder only to be confronted by David, who is holding a drill (phallus) as a weapon. Alex’s hands are wet from the water, and he frantically wipes them on the seat of his pants, behind his back, visually placing his hands as a barrier to his anus. The Drill makes contact with Alex's head and breaks the skin in an act of penetration (the body barrier is broken). This is the first scene in which David directly engages in domination (and penetration) of Alex.
David’s Glasses and Alex’s Photo
Lenses, mirrors, and portals/doorways are deeply significant visual aids in this movie, but I want to highlight the one that stood out to me the most. When Juliet and David have (implied) sex, at which point they solidify their status as a couple, David removes his glasses, and places them on Juliet’s bedside table. Underneath the glasses is a photo of Alex in costume, a cigar in his mouth, framed through the lens of the glasses. The photo was taken on the day in which we see Alex at his most feminine, at a point where he had been thoroughly emasculated (beaten in a bathroom by a man that he had emasculated multiple times). The framing of the photo, through the lens of David’s glasses implies that this is how David sees Alex – costumed, emasculated, and with a phallus in his mouth.
This photo is also shown once more in the film; David holds the photo of Alex as he lies in his attic bed, and he pins it above his head so he can look at it. The scene cuts to Alex, also in bed, who then gets up. It once again cuts back to David, who also gets up, and we see that Juliet lies asleep next to him. This follows a pattern of shots that we’ve seen before in the film (see the Surveillance section), where we see David watching Alex in what could be interpreted as a sexual or romantic way, before the camera reveals Juliet and lingers significantly. The implication is that whatever there is between David and Alex always gives way to the relationship between David and Juliet.
Returning to the glasses - the final time that we see them is during the climax of the movie. The three characters are struggling against one another, and David’s head is forced into the refrigerator so that Alex can try and smash him with the door. He manages to throw Alex off, but not before his glasses are caught on the shelf of the refrigerator, thus knocking them off his face. Having David’s glasses be knocked off would not typically be significant in a fight scene such as this, however the camera goes out of its way to linger on this shot, indicating that the symbolism here is important. The other time that we have seen David remove his glasses has been before he has (implied) sex with Juliet. In this case, the removal of the glasses occurs just before David pins Alex in his final act of domination, which then culminates in the ultimate symbolic act of sexual penetration – David stabbing Alex with a knife (phallus).
NOTE: David is also pictured without glasses at the beginning of the film, where he is lying on his back, and halfway through the film, after he has dismembered Hugo in a symbolic act of violence against his own vulnerability. In the first scene we hear his monologue; “I’m not ashamed, I’ve known love, I’ve known rejection. I’m not afraid to declare my feelings. Take trust for instance, or friendship. These are the important things in life. These are the things that matter, that help you on your way. If you can’t trust your friends well, then what then? What then? This could have been any city, but all the same.” It is unclear until the end, but it seems that the first time that we see David, right at the beginning, we are actually seeing him postmortem in the morgue. Meaning that the monologue is a lament on his life... (You're not ashamed of what, David? Being a bit gay, perhaps?)
Penetration with the Knife (Phallus)
At the climax of the movie, after David’s glasses have been removed, we arrive at David’s final act of domination over Alex. David pins Alex to the floor by sitting on his stomach, with Alex’s legs pinned underneath his knees in a position that could be interpreted as sexual. He then holds Alex by the throat, and stabs him in the shoulder, slicing clean through and penetrating the floor. The act of stabbing (penetrating) a victim with a knife (phallus) is one often noted in analysis of horror films, as having sexual implications (again – I’d find some article about it here if I was a serious writer lol).
Before David can stab Alex again with a second knife, David is stabbed with a knife through the throat from behind by Juliet. Thus Juliet, who has been a dominant character throughout the movie, is symbolically penetrating David with a phallus. Furthermore, the location of the stabbing in the throat and from behind, implies that David has now suffered, once again, an emasculation, just as he had just preformed on Alex.
David collapses and dies, just as Hugo did, from emasculation through the body barrier being broken from penetration. Thus, David’s identification with Hugo’s corpse and the vulnerability that it represented, is complete in this moment.
Juliet then kneels over Alex, taking up the same position that David had just occupied, and places her hand on the knife in Alex’s shoulder, pressing on it, thus taking David’s place as the one to dominate Alex. She then removes her shoe, and in an act that mirrors the scene from the charity ball in which she dominated Alex by having him lick her shoe/foot, she uses her shoe to hit the knife three times, driving it deeper into his shoulder, further penetrating him. Thus, in her final interaction with both David, and Alex, she has penetrated them.
As she puts her shoe back on, we can see inside of the refrigerator, where we once again see David’s glasses, recalling once again that this scene is coded as sexual in nature through the movie's visual language.
As the movie closes, we discover that Alex is alive (probably), and that he has hidden the money underneath the floorboard. In the ultimate irony of the movie, the character that spent the second half of the movie being coded as the submissive (homosexual receiving) partner, has come out on top, despite the other two character’s attempt to dominate (and kill) him.
Uhhh the credits roll, and they're all shown as they were in the first scene of the movie, smiling, laughing, and the love song "Happy Heart" plays...
MR. SELF DESTRUCT (2022) | Felix Clayton
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