#psych 101

[thecalloffantasy]

Can I ask T-T how do you write manipulative characters? Like the charming and smooth-talker type? Thank you! 😅

Manipulative characters are really fun to write actually! There are so many different ways to manipulate people, whether they're overt, subtle, or even subliminal. So it depends on what you're going for. (Yes, I know it sounds bad that writing manipulation is fun but we manipulate our characters all the time into thinking we'll give them a happy ending so it's fine-)

And it depends on what kind of character you're writing, because a coward can be manipulative, as can a confrontational person.

PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS ON REAL PEOPLE - WRITING ONLY PLS

I do not want to be the reason ppl become master manipulators, so maybe if you see this you'll recognise if you're being manipulated

If your manipulator is in person they're more likely to use gestures and wording to manipulate thoughts (like a mentalist: mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities) and behaviour. So subliminal messages.

Definition of: manipulation (noun)

"Controlling someone or something to your own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly." (Cambridge Dictionary)

A charmer and smooth talker is similar in the way that if they want someone to do something for them they'll try and make things seem like their target's idea, and are likely to heavily utilise psychological concepts like reciprocity ("The norm of reciprocity is a social convention that compels people to return a favor when someone has helped them..." (Waude, 2017)). This allows them to shift blame if it's an illegal action that their target commits, and even if they've been manipulated into it the perpetrator can say "I never asked you to do that" or "I never told you to repay me". Even using guilt from the action or shame to say "oh well you've done it now, might as well do similar actions" etc...

Their kindess is often quite strategic.

Think of Ted Bundy (unfortunate that a serial killer is an effective example) if you want a manipulative smooth talker, he wasn't exceptionally good looking but preyed on innate kindnesses and emotional triggers like helping someone who is injured. Lots of serial offenders utilise psychological theories and concepts to lure victims.

Manipulators, in order to be effective, have to be able to read people and their tells, and be observant.

So a checklist?

☆ Give them social intelligence, make them say what their target wants to hear.

☆ Avoid making them speak in direct terms, manipulation works best when the target is guided there, because the suggestion is much more powerful when the person finds it themself

☆ Have them mirror their target, familar behavious and speech patterns, logical target needs logical guidance, emotional targets need emotional guidance.

☆ Selective honesty, so partial truths, omit key details, and frame it so they hear what the target hears what they want to hear or it is in the target's favour.

☆ Imply so they can infer. Especially with reciprocity and guilt. E.g. instead of a direct "you hurt me" say something like "It's fine. I thought we were closer, but I guess I misread things" because then the perpetrator is framing it as the victims fault.

☆ Write them as calm when they're challenged, because becoming defensive often portrays that they're hiding something.

☆ Gaslighting; it's an effective way (if done right) to make the victim doubt reality and their memory and senses, and makes them easier to manipulate into remembering things that didn't happen. (There are some very good studies on the suggestability and ease in which memories can be planted, specifically one by Elizabeth Loftus)

☆ Lastly, don't make them too perfect, because then it's not realistic. Have them slip a few things especially if their target isn't as 'malluable' as they wanted or the half truths are getting hard to hide.

I am putting a a few links to some things if yall want to read a transcript or study or so relating to this stuff

Subliminal manipulation is often considered harmless because its effects typically decay within a second. So far, subliminal long-term effec

Read the full transcript for the Lost in the Mall (False Memory) video

References

(cause yes i like psychology and it's good to read things like this when they are written in easily understandable language, and it's good to understand concepts like these, and I want yall to be able to read stuff yourself because then you can deepen your understanding and know how you want to write things better, instead of me telling you)

Waude, A. (2017, January 23). Norm Of Reciprocity: Persuasion Using The Social Norm Of Rewarding Positive Behavior. Psychologistworld.com; Psychologist World. https://www.psychologistworld.com/behavior/compliance/strategies/norm-of-reciprocity

Luna, K. (2019, October). Speaking of Psychology: How Memory Can Be Manipulated. Apa.org; American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/memory-manipulated

What is an expert witness? (2025). Derby.ac.uk; University of Derby. https://www.derby.ac.uk/online/course-taster/forensic-psychology-masters-msc-online/issues-with-expert-witnessestestimony/lost-in-the-mall-false-memory.php

Ruch, S., Züst, M. A., & Henke, K. (2016). Subliminal messages exert long-term effects on decision-making. Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2016(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niw013

[mellohd]

just spent like two and halfish hours searching psychology scholarly articles in attempt to find articles that relate to me so i can write about how i can apply psychology to my every day life and its like every time you enter a search query it brings up exactly what you DONT want thats vaguely related like bro im trying to find a simple study about communication and how it improves interpersonal relationships or some bs IDC ABOUT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHILE THEYRE GETTING THEIR WEINERS BOUNCED ON OR SOMETHING not specific but idfk im fristrated can tou tell ive never used scholarly databases before

[chaotically-human]

The False Perception of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Starting in the early years of psychology and psychiatry, psychopathy and sociopathy have gained notoriety as being cold-hearted and ruthless disorders. By looking at what representation that is readily available in the media, versus studies and documented cases which are harder to procure, it is easy to see why there are misinformed opinions held by the genral public. With social media being the driving force of the misrepresentation and mislabeling of ASPD Gen Z and Gen Alpha have been given false information and poor representation of antisocial personality disorder. 

Antisocial personality disorder is, “a mental disorder in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others.” (MFMER, 2019). It is classified by the American Psychological Association as a cluster B personality disorder which also “includes antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders. Individuals with these disorders often appear dramatic, emotional, or erratic.” (American Psychological Association 2013). The term Antisocial Personality Disorder first appeared in 1980 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders Volume III (DSM- III). By creating the diagnosis of ASPD, Robert Spitzer who was tasked with the reorganization and restructure of the DSM, chose to group together the preexisting sociopathic personality disorder and the newly contrived psychopathic personality disorder. Though in the current version of the DSM, DSM-V, both are umbrellaed under the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, Mental health experts are pushing to separate the two disorders and reinstate them as separate personality disorders because of the varying diagnostic criteria (American Psychological Association 2013). 

  Psychopathy itself first rose to the forefront of psychology in the mid 20th century, but in the mid 19th century French physician Philippe Pinel described individuals with psychopathy as “insane” but “without delirium.”  (Perez, 2012). He went on to describe those with the disorder as, “having a characteristic lack of restraint, and as those whose behavior was marked by complete remorselessness for their actions” (Perez, 2012). Individuals with the disorder were later described by Hervey Cleckley as being charming and astute, but also lacking in emotional depth. Unlike psychopathy, sociopathy had been included in the DSM-I; the diagnosis at the time consisted of antisocial, sexual deviation, and dissocial reactions. When the DSM-II was published the diagnosis moved away from more antisocial behaviors and instead shifted towards sadistic and sexual deviant behaviors. When sociopathy and psychopathy joined as one, the criteria diagnoses leaned more towards the sociopathy criteria than the psychopathy (Houser, 2015), while in modern day diagnosis it tends to be the opposite. 

While DSM-III's diagnostic criteria for ASPD revolved around the psychopathic component, the 2013 verson of DSM-V focuses on the sociopathic component. DSM-V criteria for the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder is as follows: 

“A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following: 

Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest. 

Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure. 

Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead. 

Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults. 

Reckless disregard for safety of self or others. 

Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations. 

Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another. 

The individual is at least age 18 years. 

There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years. 

The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. “ 

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013) 

Because the diagnostic criteria for ASPD in the DSM-V, diagnosing an individual under the age of 18 can be complex. Often markers will be prominent in adolescent before the ages of 18 and will more than likely be diagnosed with a conduct disorder because of the antisocial symptoms. Diagnosis of adults with antisocial personality disorder can be equally as difficult for two reasons. The first being misdiagnosis, professionals may give a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder because an individual might fit the criteria for psychopathy, even if the individual does not fit the criteria for ASPD (Houser, 2015). The second being that by the age of 18 it is assumed that a substantial portion of the undiagnosed adults are incarcerated or in the criminal justice system. Because very few adolescents with conduct disorders choose to be tested for ASPD only an estimation can be made as to what percent of the genral United States population has the personality disorder. In a study published in 2007 by the Journal of The American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, data was presented the study from all five of Connecticut's adult jails. The study consisted of a sample size of 508 incarcerated individuals, 307 of being male and 201 being female, the data conclusion showed that 39.5% of the studied males were found to have ASPD and 27.9% of all females studied presented with ASPD (Trestman, 2007). It is estimated that 50% of prison population in the USA have a diagnosis of ASPD, well less than the 1/6th of the general USA population with a diagnosis of ASPD. 

ASPD is challenging to treat, as normally a combination of psychotherapy and medication is required. When utilizing psychotherapy professionals will likely use either Cognitive Behavior Therapy or Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Cognitive Behavior Therapy can help to bring to light negative behaviors and thought patterns, while giving alternative replacements two negative patterns. Psychodynamic Psychotherapy revolves around the subconscious tension in an individual psyche. While Psychotherapy is not always effective, its success is dependent on the individual's attitude toward it, as many with this disorder do not believe that they need help or that they even have ASPD. Other forms of therapy can be utilized such as anger management and counseling but those are not always effective (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2019). ASPD though uncurable, treatment could help to lessen the individual manifestations of antisocial behavior and can often be managed by the previously mentioned therapies and medications. 

Today's generations are presented many different claims of ASPD. Many of the perspectives coming from social media, influencers, and large Hollywood productions that focuses on turning a profit. Because of this, illness both physical and mental, are romanticized by the media and forced to fit a created narrative that best suits the creator's agenda. For example, creators on apps such as Tik Tok, YouTube, and twitch are being labeled as Psychopaths for presenting negative behavioral patterns. More recently in a YouTube documentary produced by Shane Dawson in titled “the mind of Jake Paul”, Dawson mongers fear around youtuber Jake Paul's controversial past and behaviors that have been deemed “psychopathic” or “sociopathic” by the YouTube community (Dawson, 2018). Because of productions like Dawson’s, the main representation of ASPD is negative and projects poorly on the personality disorder.  

The issue behind this newly arising problem with social media influencers is their prominence in our society and the accumulation of affluence. Many of the social media stars on the receiving end of the harmful sociopath or psychopath accusations are marketing their videos or projects towards adolescences. The old adage of monkey see monkey do is exceedingly notable when it comes to children. Children are observational learners for the most part and gain a lot of their behaviors from watching parents, their favorite TV shows, or YouTubers. When children observe negative and dangerous behaviors that are gratified by increase in popularity or affluence, they are more likely to mirror those behaviors. For that reason, when YouTube and other social media platforms market games or TV shows that put forward violence or negative behavior to children, it can shift already learned behaviors and increase a child's likelihood to follow the negative behavioral patterns shown by their favorite influencers. Parents and guardians need to pay closer attention to what media is being consumed by children and adolescents as at a young age child are very impressionable and are easily swayed. 

          A creative outlet is important as it allows for individuals to express themselves in any way that they choose. With the growth of social media websites and the growth of Hollywood this has become more apparent in the immense impact that these massive platforms have. When we label celebrities or social media stars with outdated terms such as psychopath or a sociopath, we are the ones contributing to the toxic culture and responsible for spreading detrimental ill-informed opinions on another human being. There's no way to know if an influencer, social media star or celebrity is diagnosed with any mental illness, unless there is an actual diagnosis from a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist.  

Additionally, the misinformation and uninformed opinions  

Another reason this is such an issue is the lack of knowledge of the public towards ASPD and other cluster B personality disorders in general. For the general population, the only information readily available on antisocial personality disorder is what can be gleaned from movies, YouTube videos, or documentaries. While some forms of media can be informative, such as documentaries or articles produced by credited sources, more often than not readily available material such as YouTube videos and TV shows are rarely credible. They present a false idea of mental health and those who suffer from mental disorders. But human beings are excited by what is unknown known to them and with the outpouring of Hollywood's manufactured, ideas and agendas it would appear to the everyday viewer that what they are seeing on the big screen is how the disorder manifests. Thus continuing the cycle of misinformation and misrepresentation.   

  ASPD has gone through many changes have been made to the definition and the diagnostic criteria, the misrepresentation has both psychopathy and sociopathy has been present since the very beginning. Sociopathy and psychopathy are similar, both affect the individual differently and required different treatments. Because of this it is the hope of many in the mental health community that ASPD will be dissolved in a coming version of the DSM and sociopathy and psychopathy restored to their respective positions as separate disorders. After taking a look at what representations of ASPD are readily available to the public there is no confusion as to why the current generation is being led astray. I believe the best way to remedy the issues with antisocial personality disorder and the misrepresentation of it in media and social media like is through education. Educating and giving a platform to those with the actual disorder and those licensed to treat the disorder will allow us to dispel toxic stereotypical opinions and the romanticization of a high-risk and unpredictable disorder. 

References 

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Cautionary statement for forensic use of  

DSM-5. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). doi:10.1176/appi.books .9780890425596.744053 

CM;, G. (2017, July). Social Media Use and Conduct Problems in Emerging Adults. 

Dawson, S. (Director). (2018, September 25). The Mind of Jake Paul [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bpkr91p2xY 

Houser, M. C. (2015). A HISTORY OF ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER IN THE DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND TREATMENT FROM A REHABILITATION PERSPECTIVE (Unpublished master's thesis). Southern Illinois University Carbondale. doi:OpenSIUC 

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, (2019, December 10). Antisocial personality disorder.  

Perez, P.R. (2012). The etiology of psychopathy: A neuropsychological  

perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior 17, 519–522 

Pickersgill, M. (2012). Standardising antisocial personality disorder:  

The social shaping of a psychiatric technology. Sociology of Health & Illness 34(4), 544-559. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2011.01404.x 

Trestman, R., Ford, J., Zhang, W., & Wiesbrock, V. (2007, December 01). Current and Lifetime Psychiatric Illness Among Inmates Not Identified as Acutely Mentally Ill at Intake in Connecticut's Jails.  

[short-form-whump]

“I said it’s for you,” a fellow psych ward patient repeats at the Whumpee. The Whumpee comes to as if waking up from a sleep, but are surprised to find that they’re sitting on a bench in a hallway outside of the shared phone area in their ward. “Thanks,” they say, feeling disoriented - why did everything feel like they were constantly being transplanted from place to place without memory? The Whumpee enters the makeshift booth and grabs the phone’s receiver from the hands of the other patient then hold it to their ear. “Hello?” The sound of the voice on the other end makes the Whumpee turn pale, filling them with a sense of deep dread. The head of the other patient pops back into the booth area. “Don’t take forever this time,” the other patient says, their sudden reappearance making the Whumpee almost jump out of their skin. “Yes,” agrees the voice of the Whumper on the phone line. “Don’t be too long in there.” The Whumpee keeps the phone to their ear but warily looks out of the booth and into the empty halls now that the other patient has gone, nervous that the Whumper can somehow see them. “What do you want from me?” the Whumpee asks with a hand cupped around their mouth and the phone’s microphone. The Whumper on the other end is syrupy sweet in their reply. “I just want you to get better. I hated seeing you in pain when we were last together. It just eats me up inside thinking about it.” The Whumpee screws their eyes shut and rubs their brow to try and dissipate the rising fear they feel. They aren’t here. This isn’t real. “But you are. And it is,” the Whumper reads their mind. “I’m telling you, it just eats me up inside. Like a secret I can barely keep, or a knife being dug into my sides. Do you know what that feels like?” A growing sense of discomfort escalates from within the Whumpee’s gut as their sense memory overwhelms them, and that feeling boils over as rage. They take the phone receiver and slam it into the wall again and again, the skin on their knuckles immediately breaking and bleeding onto the scratched graffiti that surrounds them. The Whumpee breathes hard as they slowly back out of the booth until they hit the opposite wall from it. The fellow patient has returned and stands in the hall staring in disbelief, then walks over and takes a look at the damage to the wall and phone. The Whumpee stifles a dry heave with the back of their bloodied hand against their mouth, then gestures at the phone. “It’s all yours.”

[quietlyimplode]

Whumptober2020 - Day 11 - Psych 101

Day 1 - Waking Up Restrained // Day 2 - Kidnapped // Day 3 - Manhandled // Day 4 - Caged// Day 5 - Rescue // Day 6 - No More // Day 7 - Support // Day 8 - Isolation // Day 9 - Take Me Instead // Day 10 - Blood Loss/Trail of Blood // Day 11 - Psych 101

Natasha’s first therapy session.

“God you’re like a ninja.” He tries to hide his surprise with sass.

“You just don’t pay attention.”

“My hyper vigilance works differently to yours.” He retorts.

“When does she get here?” Right to the point he sees. Tries to see it for what it really is, anxiety and trepidation.

——-

“How does this work?”

Tony looks up, surprised. Focuses his attention to Natasha, no context for what on earth she’s just come here for. It’s the first time he’s seen her since Clint brought her back; it’s been a couple of days but he honestly thought she’d look worse. If only he bounced back as quick.

“What do you mean?” He clarifies, a tad exasperated that this is their initial conversation.

“I mean how does this work? I need…” she pauses, gulps, looks resolutely, “a therapist and you just happen to get one that Clint knows and trusts, that will come to the tower? What did you do?”

Tony side eyes her, “I made some calls, paid some salaries. It’ll be fine.” He smiles, “who knows; if she’s any good maybe I’ll join you in therapy. Pepper always says I need to go.”

Natasha rolls her eyes and stalks out.

Feeling that the conversations over, Tony returns to his project. He’s trying to figure out how to add in a first aid kit into his suit. One would think that it’d be relatively easy, but logistically it’s built for stealth and ease of use - nanoparticles aren’t great at adding solid matter. Maybe in his old suit he could have added compartments in, but the tech of his new suit is just so good. He breaks down what he wants in his kit, maybe he can modify that, and build and program the nanobites to do what the old school kit would do. Maybe…

She’s in front of him again.

“God you’re like a ninja.” He tries to hide his surprise with sass.

“You just don’t pay attention.”

“My hyper vigilance works differently to yours.” He retorts.

“When does she get here?” Right to the point he sees. Tries to see it for what it really is, anxiety and trepidation.

“I don’t know, Nat, soon? I said 4, so I assume she’ll be here at 4.” Looks at her, watches for a nervous tick. Doesn’t see one but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Adds, “I’ve told her to set up in mid level - the room where Pepper used to work out of, you remember?” Tries to get her thinking of something else.

He looks at the clock, 3.50. Turns around so they’re not facing each other; feels it’s less confronting. “Do you want me to get Friday to let you know when she’s ready?

When she doesn’t answer, Tony assumes she’s left again. Asks Friday to let the doctor in and direct here where to set up; and to let Natasha know when everything is ready; maybe give a 2 minute warning. Just because he’s organised it, doesn’t mean he wants to deal with it.

.

He’s back working when he gets a notification that the doctors set up but Natasha’s nowhere to be found. Friday comments that she thinks she’s on the roof but can’t confirm that. Tony’s torn. Let Clint deal with it or give a clumsy speech of why it’s good to talk through things and be a complete hypocrite?

He asks Friday where Clint is. No read there either. Friday thinks maybe the roof too. Tony sits. Wonders if he needs to intervene, help. Clint’s had it rough, looked worn when he returned, had tried to keep tabs on her at pretty much all times. Maybe he should help.

Tony puts down his tools, takes of his gloves and heads for the roof. Asks Friday to make the doctor comfortable and check if she needs anything whilst she waits.

He reaches the roof and sees the couple (he assumes anyway, who knows with these two?). They both looks stressed. Clint’s hand is touching in between his eyebrows and Natasha’s hands are in tight fists. They’re talking tersely - not yelling, but short sentences packed with meaning that potentially only they know. They’re not even speaking English.

“Nat?” He calls out

“she’s here.” Clint says.

Natasha looks caught.

“I’m not going.”

“Nat,” Clint tries.

Tony doesn’t feel particularly tactful.

Tact is just not saying true stuff. He’ll pass on that.

“Natasha, the Doctor is waiting, you agreed. Give it ten minutes - five even, if you don’t like what she’s got to say you can leave.” Clint's nodding.

Natashas scowling.

“Come on. If you don’t go, you have to hang out with me and Clint. And you know the whole time, we’re all going to be thinking that you should have just ripped the bandaid off and gone. Plus, if not today; then I’ll ask her to come back tomorrow; or the next day; or the one after. You get me? We aren’t letting this go. You need someone, that’s not; well, us.”

They wait her out.

It’s 4.10, Tony hopes that the doc has nowhere to be.

Clint walks towards the door, holds it open for the others.

“Come on. Put on an alarm and suck it up.”

If looks could kill, Tony’s sure that Clint would be eviscerated.

Natasha rolls her eyes and follows Clint through the door. Tony follows behind them.

They all but frog-march her to the office. Stand with her in a row in front of the door.

Tony knocks, Clint opens the door, and they wait, again, for Natasha’s courage to push her through.

.

Clint and Tony stand guard outside. Tony makes a bet that She’ll be in there for five minutes. Clint shakes his head. Doesn’t take the bait.

They wait.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Clint shoots Tony a look.

Thirty minutes.

Sixty minutes.

It’s ten to six when Natasha emerges. She looks.. Tony doesn’t know if there’s a word for how she looks. But she does look pleased to see them waiting.

“I’m coming back the day after tomorrow.” She announces.

Shrugs.

Struts off.

Tony’s fairly proud of her.

Clint looks hopeful.

Tony walks off, asking Friday to keep the doctor on call and on the books for the foreseeable future.

——-

Team, I love Clint and Nat and Tony dynamics. Be prepared for more. The weekends will be under the cut tomorrow. Also 50 points if you catch the buffy quote.

[siegrrun]

Disappointment

Reginald Hargreeves knew from the very beginning that the children were special. From the earliest stage of their lives they showed signs of extraordinary abilities and he couldn't have been more satisfied. And so he started monitoring their progress with great interest and even greater expectations.

* * * 

Number Seven is his first disappointment. He quickly learns how uncontrollable her powers are. Of course, all of the children's abilities are dangerous, there is no denying that, but hers are the most destructive out of the bunch. The most wild. The most... apocalyptic. 

It's a shame, truly, to waste such a potential, but he can't take this risk, not after she attacked him. She's too dangerous. 

So he locks her up, hides her along with her powers, away from everyone's sight. 

A Pandora's box never to be opened. 

* * * 

Number Four is his second disappointment, perhaps the greatest one as he never put any real effort, never even tried to understand and control his abilities. Too weak, too soft, too scared of his own shadow to realise how powerful he truly was. 

Reginald can only sigh watching him cry and tremble in the corner as he adds another hour to the kid's training.

* * * 

Then comes number Five, who was his biggest hope but turns out to be yet another disappointment. 

He's smart, logical and driven, focused on the task on hand in a way none of the others could manage to be. But his intellect and the quick pace in which he masters his powers make him arrogant and rash, and Reginald can sense a disaster coming from miles away. He tries to discourage the child, putting him through harder and harder training, showing him how truly unprepared, how incompetent, how unexperienced he is. 

But number Five's will is as strong as his and so one day he disappears, leaving the Umbrella Academy one member weaker.

***

Number Six has always been a mix of satisfaction and disappointment. He too is afraid of his powers, of the creatures living inside him, of himself. Scared to fight, scared to train, scared to live. But, unlike number Four, he does try to live up to his father's expectations. He never truly succeeds, but Reginald is satisfied. 

Until he isn't.

Number Six's death truly is inconvenient. He was finally getting somewhere, finally taking control over the eldritch monster inside of him.

Disappointing, Reginald sighs, turning away from his son's grave.

***

The Umbrella Academy is falling apart, the children leaving one after the other.

Number Two is one of the first, slamming the door behind him, a bag in his hand and a curse on his tongue.

Reginald's far from surprised. Number Two has always been a temperamental one, seeming to be permanently stuck in his rebellious stage. He shakes his head, not even looking up from the papers on his desk. He might have taught him to use his powers efficiently, but he could never control his temper.

***

Number Three is the last to leave. Her reluctance doesn't change anything though, she has disappointed him a long time ago. The addiction to her powers was her weakness and the greatest failure.

She showed signs of it from an early age - he still remembers the frivolous way she controlled everyone around her long before she learned to tell rumours (the phrase he thought of when he realised how much danger her power posed; a phrase long enough for him to react if used against him) - now he can't believe he's never seen it before.

She leaves in the end, doors closing softly behind her and the Umbrella Academy is no more. 

***

Only number One stays, a leader without a team, the one whose powers are insignificant compared to the others. 

Reginald sends him to a mission, after mission, after mission, more out of curiosity than necessity. He wonders when number One will finally break like the others did. 

Number One's spirit doesn't break, but his body does and Reginald's once again disappointed. What use is to him an undestructable man that can so easily be destroyed? 

Reginald Hargreeves looks out of the window. It's a full moon, he notes absently. He sighs and takes off the monocle to rub his eyes tiredly. 

The Umbrella Academy was an utter failure, a true disappointment through and through. He wonders if the rest of 43 children would be more competent, if a different set would fare any better. 

If he could, he'd try it all again. 

[mythyk-art]

it’s a wip. posting now since making it digital will probably take longer than october, but i want it out there.

Whump 11: Psych 101 (I could not get hallucinating out of my head)

Whump 15: Into the Unknown

Whump 16: A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

And the only way I can explain this is @ze-smol-snek encouraged my crossing over of shenanigans. Well, I can elaborate on that, but fyi it’s gonna be spoilers for... probably up to episode 160 of The Magnus Archives (if friend of mine sees this they’ll know for sure) and HLVRAI (Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware).

So, basically, I really love the characterisation of Half-Life Gordon Freeman by ArdeaWrites on Ao3. I also love shenanigans with Black Mesa Sweet Voice and skeletons in HLVRAI. Just to make this even better, I used Helen from The Magnus Archives.

Combined: Mr. Gordon Freeman from Half-Life is having a horrible day fighting his way out of Black Mesa but has somehow walked through a door (Helen) and ended up in this weird place he’s pretty sure he’s hallucinating. But you can’t be too sure. Those skeletons look ominous and what is up with those glowing orbs. Why is light scaring him. Gordon has no clue where he is. It looks like Black Mesa but at the same time, it doesn’t.

[luninosity]

Catching up on some more @whumptober2020 prompts!

This one combines theme 11 – Psych 101; specific prompt: defiance; theme 12 – I Think I’ve Broken Something; specific prompt: broken bones; and theme 25—I Think I’ll Just Collapse Right Here, Thanks; specific prompt: blurred vision/ringing ears!

This one’s back to Steve/Bucky, and it’s actually the follow-up to my very first Whumptober ficlet, which had the prompt of “restraints” (but not the fun kind!), which can be found here! This one should stand alone okay even if you haven’t read that one, though.

Warnings...not too much, non-graphic mention of various injuries?

#

Steve’s angry. That’s not an uncommon emotion—anger at injustices, at bullies, at shortsighted selfishness—but right now his anger’s got a clear and specific target.

 He glares at the Hydra goons. They’re in his way. He takes some justified satisfaction in knocking them all down the stairs. He has to get back to Bucky.

 He has to get back to Bucky, because the last time he saw Bucky there’d been a weapon firing and an explosion, and Steve had woken up being dragged toward a flying Hydra escape monstrosity, like a helicarrier but more spiky and evil, with orders being shouted about taking Captain America and abandoning the base and shooting the remaining prisoners—

 The base is falling. The explosion’s made the foundations unstable. Steve pauses to punch a minion or two and keeps running. Defying fate, defying Hydra’s trap, defying their plans. How many times now?

 The answer’s a lot. Between him and Bucky: a lot of defiance. Not doing what Hydra wants. Making would-be conquerors, monstrous scientists, and their henchmen all very annoyed.

 Good. Steve’s annoyed too.

 He’d woken up and knocked out the guards manhandling him, and then taken a running jump at the flying den of evil, with the result that it never managed to lift off and now sits smoking on the launchpad like a broken toy. And he’d bolted for the stairs: finding Bucky, finding captured agents, hammering in his thoughts.

 His ears’re still ringing. His vision’s a little blurry. Must’ve landed on his head after the explosion. Must’ve been bad; he has to stop for a second as the staircase wavers. Getting better, though.

 He has to be just fine. He has to find Bucky.

 He can’t let Bucky die for him again. He can’t leave Bucky again. Not now, not ever.

 Not now, when he and Bucky have fought for each other and fought each other and fought their way back to each other—they can have this, they’re not going to lose this, this tender wondrous perpetually amazed joy—

 He has to save people. It’s what Captain America does. What Bucky would tell him to do.

 He stumbles into a corridor—the fortress is a maze, twisting as a serpentine dungeon—and finds cells, and hostages, the kidnapped agents who’d been the bait. The doors’re easy enough to break; he tells them all to get out, to find the rest of the SHIELD team and head for the planned extraction and meeting-points, to watch out for slowly sagging old stones and crumbling walls.

 It’s not a fast collapse. The building’s taking its time. But a chunk’s missing from its underside, and it totters with every shift in weight.

 None of the people he’s pulled out has seen Bucky Barnes. Steve swallows a spike of glass—he protected you, he loves you, he saves you and saves you and you can’t even FIND him—and doesn’t press his hand to his temple, though his head’s throbbing; he has to project authority, command, control of the situation.

 He runs for the stairs again.

 He runs into a knot of Hydra minions, all of whom try to kill him. Steve plows into them. They’re keeping him from Bucky.

 This one’s a dense group, lots of them, and they’ve been well trained. Steve’s ears and eyesight are getting better but the ringing and occasional double vision are messing with his balance. He’s not as fast as he should be. Ends up briefly pinned against a wall. Magnetic cuffs on a wrist. A shot through his left knee.

 Bodies shift. Stir. Fall. Not Steve’s doing. Someone else, quick and efficient. Steve pushes against the cuffs, takes advantage of distraction, tosses a minion down some stairs. Spins back to find a heap of disposed-of Hydra, everybody taken care of, and—

 “Bucky—?” His voice scrapes, horrified. The fortress groans.

 Bucky’s so badly hurt—visibly, clearly, painfully injured, broken ribs from the way he’s moving, broken ankles that’re healing but obviously not quite right, bruises around his throat, and then his arms—the vibranium’s twisted and bent, though plainly functional, but the other one’s only barely recognizable—

 “Figured you could use some help,” Bucky rasps; he makes a face at the sound of his own voice and lifts a bloody hand to touch his throat, even as Steve throws himself that direction and throws his arms around the other half of his soul.

 Bucky staggers a step because Steve’s not light these days and they’re both healing, but holds onto him with reassuring strength: whatever Hydra and the explosion’ve done, he’s upright and mobile. Steve touches his cheek, hand shaky; blood gets on both of them, from both of them.

 He kisses Bucky, then, because he has to: wild and frantic, proof of life and heartbeats, as the walls tremble and the fortress shudders around them. Bucky kisses him back, equally fierce, equally real.

 They’re here. They’re here and still them. They’ve saved the captured agents; they can save each other, now.

 Bucky holds onto him a little more as Steve pulls back; Steve stops instantly. “You ready to get out of here?”

 He means: are you okay, can I carry you, please let me help? But Bucky just nods, not bothering to try to talk, and braces himself against Steve’s shoulder.

 “Okay,” Steve says, “together,” and they support each other, they hold onto each other and heal, and run for the extraction point as the fortress comes down.