#a shadow milk analysis

[lilacthebooklover]

Rating: Teen Fandom: Cookie Run Word Count: 1990 BTHB Prompt: Isolation @badthingshappenbingo

He looks at this cookie, at this amalgamation of everything he’s ever loved and all that he despises, and he wants. He wants so desperately that it starts a fire in his soul, destructive and potent and far too large to be contained. Because it’s Eternal Sugar he sees in that soft smile, it’s Burning Spice he sees in that defiant glare, it’s Silent Salt he sees in that minute furrow of his brow, it’s Mystic Flour he sees in his unwavering morals, it’s himself reflected back at him as he looks into the face of a scholar. That damning mix of intelligence and naivety, the contrast of haunted eyes and innocent ideals, the idea that even after everything, purity remains embedded at this cookie’s very core- it strikes a chord somewhere deep within the corrupted confines of his heart. Looking at Pure Vanilla is like gazing into the shards of a mirror he shattered long ago, albeit twisted into something designed to be less troublemaking, less problematic, less strong-willed. Pure Vanilla Cookie is everything Shadow Milk was supposed to be, everything his Light of Truth wishes for him to embody. And oh, does Shadow Milk want.

OR: A study of Shadow Milk Cookie's corruption, imprisonment and thoughts upon release.

[astral-disastral-catastral]

MERRRY NEW YEAR CHAT!1!1!1!!!!! Ermm I ran out of space in the tags goes to show how reluctant I am to shut my up fck abt these 2 buffoons [/aff] and in general about anything BUT that's otay. When I say "probably thr most toxic pairing in the game [...]" I mean it affectionately beast×ancient enjoyers would NOT be on my DNI list if I had one you're all welcome here💥💥💥💥💥💥💥 ANYWAYS.. have this ig‼️❕️❕️❗️❕️❗️❕️❗️❕️❗️❕️❕️❕️‼️ its finally not 2am!!

Also have this that was supposed to come with thr smilk design analysis thing aswell however didn't... pretend I'm super smart and know everything abt the French language and France and that I know what im talking abt here

I had to use Pinterest to find jester images because the MOMENT I tried finding ANY on GOOGLE I was IMMEDIATELY faced with AI "art" which PHYSICALLY makes me feel icky and disgusted and uncomfy and i have some strange genuine fear of looking at it or touching it so..

[nutterzebutters]

Honestly given the update I'd like to say a few thigns

First things first, white lily cookies separation!

This character is so brief that one might not think about it, however I do have it in mind that this Tower keeper had purposely reminded pure vanilla and white lily of the riddle in order to push Lily to make a decision sooner, rather than later as originally intended. I do believe it was a good decision for her to go off on her own, as we all know that pure vanilla is quite lost on the topic of dark enchantress vs lily- at this very time we are unsure if truthless recluse is a further repressed version or a version that has somewhat accepted it. Furthermore, if truthless recluse is a shard/illusion I do feel it may defeat a lot of storyline purpose, and do hope that it is truly a pure vanilla or part of him that has since transformed.

As for this sprite - I will not lie this is not the Sprite I was expecting to be edited for beast eyes! I totally expected the mental breakdown Sprite. I've seen a few say that this might not be pure vanilla as Shadow milk is tampering with memories- however!!!

Part of the tactic is to put pure vanilla in situations so that he may react himself in order for shadow milk to place the narrative that he will become just as bad as him. He can use these reactions and insecurities against pure vanilla- after all he poked at pure vanilla on the matter of Lily becoming dark enchantress. That she may have been more qualified to wield the power of Truth regardless, using pure vanilla's self perceived failures as the device.

This one's a little peculiar, I have a few ideas here.

Step one, I feel I should clarify if it's not already obvious that the implication of pure vanilla being Shadow milk is not a literal one~but one that works in tandem with the ladder truth of the story. Much like Shadow milk, pure vanilla does lie! Even if Shadow milk used it for his own game, pure vanilla is self-aware enough to recognize that he too has lied so that cookies may find a sweeter world. Even if it's about himself, or about the situation at hand regardless if it was for comfort it is always dug him into a hole and has even gotten him in trouble with friends. He too is somebody that has been shown to be skilled tactically- it is very reasonable to say that beyond the soul jam this was the sub-context shadow milk was bothering pure vanilla about back in episode 2 of beast yeast, "the biggest liar" as a means to place on pv.

Now let's talk about the sheer silent terror that Truthless recluse is bc I can't express enough how unnerving he could be.

Throughout the entire time, fortune teller cookie still kept a rather calm demeanor. Keeping pure vanillas soft spoken attitude and quick thinking when it comes to help- even when faced with his current self. He was silent, he was an observer and he did it without much hassle showing how cold and calculating fortune teller cookie operates. It's a different type of imposing presence than Shadow milk but I would imagine it isn't any less cold.

It does not seem that shadow milk had given him any power boost either, rather that he was holding back the first time gingerbrave and Co fought him. This is a character who is making moves with precision bearing a frigid expression not at all like the warmth that the characters have come to know. The safety that was pure vanilla cookie has been ripped out from under Earth bread at this point, as for a large majority he has somehow remained the catalyst/nexus for a lot of progress events in the main story..

-----------------

I don't have a screenshot of this part, but I do remember golden cheese appearing next to clotted cream in the Republic! I do feel that shadow milk had used the likeness of such figures to instill what may have been a previous anxiety of pure vanillas. Especially towards golden cheese, whom seeks comfort in the fact that he has experienced the same events regarding his kingdom. It shows that for pure vanilla there's always been a confliction and form of denial regarding Lily- losing the trust of everybody he has put every effort into protecting is definitely a huge fear.

I'd also like to point out in case some were confused, the doubt pv has of his power being Shadow Milks is not merely a ownership conflict despite the wording!!!!!! I can already smell the misinterpretations.

It's that everything pure vanilla has worked through was only really lent to him, his skills and anything else that may connect to the soul jam has created a permanent tether to the ladder: making it near impossible to escape. Even from episode 2, Shadow milk has set up the very open paranoia of forever watching pure vanilla- it's a consistency so we cannot say for sure that this part is a lie!! After all, in the developer commentary live stream it stated that shadow milk is more incomprehensible than the other beasts- and just unlike the other beasts his relationship with pure vanilla and the way their soul jam works is entirely different.

Pure vanilla is aware that now that shadow milk has been there the entire time, he needed to be extra careful. Now with this vision he feels that he can't use it at all unless he wants to bring danger to the cookies he cares for- damned if he does and damned if he doesn't! As if the soul jam attached to him is nothing but a tracking device with a chain.

Just like the countless appearances of Shadow milk you can only really go off of consistencies in a world of lies. One of these consistencies is the idea that pure vanilla is more connected to the other-realm/dark side of the moon then your typical cookie. It's hard to say if he inherently came from the realm, like some sort of magic birth such as candy apple but the fact that shadow milk left it so open ended leaves it as a possibility-

NOW. I will not be showing the awakened spoilers, as I am aware they are about and circling. For those who wish not to see it, I will not show it! However I will talk about a few details that I will keep for the sake of selective obscurity as I do believe that the pure vanilla Nation won💀

We all remember the theories?? Hell, even with the connections to moonlight and keys. Y'all he's gorgeous. I cannot WAIT until he gets patched in. It also seems that some of truthless recluse stayed! Hinting to the idea that pure vanilla did not escape unscathed and reinforcing the narrative that being somewhat more intertwined with Shadow milk is not a lie. That pure vanilla will eventually gravitate towards a different balance, Fun things!

[mothymoon]

I think it's kinda interesting how, while the Beasts are opposites of the Ancients, some feel like reflections to Ancients they're not directly related to.

Starting with the pair that feels most obvious, Silent Salt and Dark Cacao. Their designs especially seem similar with the armor, sword, and color palette. Silence also feels like it can be related to Dark Cacao's isolation during his previous arc.

This feels the same as with Pure Vanilla and Mystic Flour. Again with their color palettes, but also with their religious theming, both being obligated to help all those that seek their guidance.

Again, mostly similar vibe with these two. You could even argue that Destruction can be considered an extention of Passion in a way. These next pairs get a bit weaker with their comparisons, which is why I started with the strongest ones first.

My comparisons for Golden Cheese and Eternal Sugar come down to both of them having wings and some speculation I have. "Eternal" I feel could imply abundance, which may be a motivation for Eternal Sugar's slothfulness. It's possible they simply have all they desire, thus no longer having the will to do anything.

Lastly, for White Lily Cookie and Shadow Milk, the biggest point of comparison I have is that Shadow Milk Cookie's theatrical presentation could also be considered an extention of freedom (especially since it's implied that he used to be an academic). This is the one I really stretch the most with, I'd say.

Why do I bring any of this up? What I think about these possible links is that the Beasts reflect what each of the Ancients could become, if taken to their logical extreme. Also, with those that share their Soul Jams being their opposites (Pure Vanilla being truth and Shadow Milk being deceit, etc.), it can imply that each of the Ancients are each other's opposites as well. Opposites that mesh well enough despite it, anyway.

I'm bad at analysis, so do what you will with this. I don't know if this is anything. Implications and whatnot.

[lvxiferianemblem]

Lvxi SMC character analysis (SMC isn't one dimensional)

As promised, I'm putting down all my thoughts regarding SMC, including general analysis and personal interpretation. This is just an amalgam of all my recent thoughts, but I'll do my best to make it as coherent as possible.

There's no such thing as 'evil for the sake of it.' Despite what most cartoon villains tell you, there will always be a reason for why someone does things, even if those reasons are as shallow as brief entertainment. In this case, however, I don't think SMC fits either of those bills.

Going back to the origin of SMC himself, we have to understand what exactly his story is trying to convey---or at least to the best of our ability.

It's common knowledge that before everything, the apostles of evil were embodiments of virtues, and SMC's virtue, in particular, was knowledge, before he spiraled into the power of 'deceit.' However, I think it's important that we look deeper into this and what his symbolism is trying to convey.

In the Beast Yeast storyline, we see that PV describes SMC as having lived an isolated path previous to becoming what he is now and that being the figure of truth is a damning one. His statue is regal and important, bearing the appearance of a monarch rather than anything like the jester we're familiar with, and it stands tall like an idol of worship.

This statue is old. And it's quite clear that within an amount of time, something drastic has occurred to SMC that caused him to make that shift, so the question is, what exactly was it? In CRK, we know that SMC essentially fell victim to corruption of sorts, and details around it are cloudy at best and vague at worst, but we have background information to assist with that.

As Dark Enchantress Cookie's story tells us, the heaviest burden that will drive one insane is the truth of everything and the knowledge of the purpose of their creation. SMC, being the apostle of knowledge and truth, would no doubt harbor this knowledge.

But how do you tell an entire society this truth? In a world where no one wants to hear you and nobody is willing to follow you in the first place, how do you convince them of something they don't want to hear? You beg and plead for them to listen, but they only call you a liar. They call you a deceiver and a traitor, and they turn their backs on you. So what else can you do but fulfill their wish?

After all, in the court, the jester is the only role that can mock the king without judgment, because no one takes him seriously.

SMC makes it very clear throughout his story that his values are not only his own and that they're more accurately a representation of other people as a whole. He says that people would 'much rather believe a sweet lie' and that the world operates on deceit. He does what he does not only because it's fun but also because that is the only way people will listen to him.

SMC is a liar and sweet talker, but he's also a performer and an entertainer. Everything he does is based on 'audience participation'. It's a social art.

Isolated by his own talents, SMC inevitably falls into corruption through a self-made spiral.

He sets the stage to sing truths hidden in sweetened lies, and his audience only watches to see him dance, but by god, they're finally looking at him, and everything feels less lonely.

As time goes on, SMC becomes a creature of habit and is no longer a last-resort performer. He no longer forces himself to don the mask of a fool to garner listeners, and instead, he cares only for shallow company to fill the void of isolation he is so desperate to always be free from. He loses himself to it and falls into corruption, becoming more and more willing to lie to others and himself just to keep a captive audience. It becomes about his emotional needs rather than his logical ones, and his power over others pushes him to go to further extremes to keep them close, becoming exceedingly cruel as a result.

Everything is easier if he lies. He doesn't have to think about the truth or the horrors of it, and everyone will love him if he does.

Throughout the story, everything SMC does screams LOOK AT ME, yet also insecurity and fear. He mocks people in deflection when he's panicked or confused, he gets extremely aggressive when people threaten his imprisonment again, and he demeans PV when talking about how he took his soul jam. Everything he does is an emotional reaction to what seems to be very deep-rooted fears.

Despite his confident persona, SMC is desperate for everything to go his way, and if they don't, he quickly unravels under it all. He needs to be seen, and he needs to be heard, or he might lose himself altogether.

In his story, he never even attempts to kill PV. Instead, he corrupts him to see the world as he does, desperate that the closest thing to him might understand what is now his own truth and that, in this twisted companionship, he will never truly be alone again.

Unlike the Ancients, the Beasts were not 'tested' for their power. They were created with expectations, not proof of function. They fail because of this.

You give a warrior a sword and they slay your enemies, give a child a sword and they slay everyone without caution or understanding.

Or maybe they're just cookies idk.

[akipatzzio]

I hate it when people ship Pure Vanilla and Shadow Milk. Are we forgetting that Smc is constantly terrorizing Pvc??

To begin with, we can already see that Smc is rather vengeful because of the souljam. he will not back down until it is his, but Pvc doesn't want to give it to him. after all, Smc was a beast cookie - a corrupt cookie who got drunk off of his own power and threatened earthbread. Thus, the witches had stripped him and the other beasts of their souljams.

It is a popular theory that Shadow Milk had been watching over Pure Vanilla since his childhood, albeit I disagree, because the "proof" was simply Smc tampering with Pvc's memories. Shadow Milk has repeatedly disguised himself as the Light of Truth, making Pure Vanilla doubt himself constantly, and making almost every moment hellish. To have constant doubts and the stress of everything around him being fake must've been absolutely horrible, and it was all the work of Smc.

It's rather obvious that Smc isnt the least guilty about what he's making Pvc go through - rather, he finds it amusing to torture him psychologically.

I still haven't finished Beast-Yeast ep 7, so a lot of this might be wrong. This is just my personal interpretation on their relationship. Correct me if any thing's wrong!

[gingersmidge]

We don’t have a lot of information on the beast cookies before they corrupted, but I still feel the need to ask..

Did they ever grow up? Did they get to grow up and live a little before getting their power (like the ancient heroes), or were they just sort of made ready to help and guide the cookies by the witches?

Spoilers ahead. TLDR at the end.

The answer is probably the second option, but I still ask because I feel like that could be part of why they corrupted so easily (for the most part).

Think about it, Burning Spice Cookie got so bored of watching the cycle of civilizations over and over that he decided to destroy them himself. (I’ve seen some great theories about it being deeper than that, but I’m going off of what we’ve been told in-game).

Shadow Milk Cookie learned what lying was. That’s the only info we have so far, but it probably isn’t more complicated than that.

Mystic Flour Cookie broke under the pressure of cookies constantly wanting their wishes granted and then getting mad at her when she didn’t/couldn’t.

2/3 of the beast cookies we have had a simple evil backstory, so what? Well, remember the question I started off this post with? Imagine this, you are just born into the world, and suddenly you’re expected to guide civilization to be the greatest it can be. You’re given an immense amount of power, people adore you and admire your every word. But alongside that, you have an immense responsibility to not screw it all up. Everybody has their eyes on you and what you do constantly, you have the weight of an entire society on your shoulders. To top it all off, that’s all you’ve ever known about life. You never got to live for yourself and make you your own person and make meaningful memories and relationships. Your friends who were made for the same reasons as you will probably be the only friends you’ll get because they’re the only ones who’ll truly understand you and see you as an actual person. That alone is enough for a villain backstory.

And then there is the ancient heroes, who got to live as regular cookies before getting the soul jam. They got to experience life for what it really is and really should be. They learned first-hand why life was precious and what they were fighting for. They made and ruled kingdoms, which is stressful, but they got the choice to do that. The beasts never did.

I think that the beasts only ever knowing responsibility and pressure along with never being treated as people certainly helped in them being corrupted so easily. I think that it took Mystic Flour Cookie being pushed to the edge to corrupt was because her power is volition and willpower. Remember, resolution was half of that power.

While this doesn’t excuse their actions, it certainly helps to explain them.

TLDR; I believe that the beasts backstories have been simple so far is because them being made for the sole purpose of guiding society and without ever getting to live for themselves contributed to them becoming evil.

[cheesecakemermaid1048]

Tbh I find interesting out of all beast names, shadow milk and silent salt are only that stick out(least to me).I know some people have come with their own fan name for pre corrupted beasts and that's cool,but if anything,it's more likely the name change only applies to those two(Maybe burning spice but eh).Meaning whatever happened to them must have been pretty traumatic.

With shadow milk,it's obvious his name was change along with everything but with silent salt case,I find it interesting how their name matches their corrupted virtue.And bit side note but the cloak he wears in a silhouette design interests me too.It gives vibes of a knight who was once respected but now is a wander,cursed walk through a wasteland.

Anyway,sorry for getting sidetracked lol.I tend to do that.

[fluffshi-wxffle]

If it turns out that Shadow Milk does lie about his backstory and we have to figure out what is the truth, I’m calling it now that a majority of the fandom is gonna fall for the lie and parade/be upset with it considering how their reading comprehension was for Burning Spice’s story 💀💀

[lilacthebooklover]

🎭..........Shadow Milk

of course <3

🎭 A headcanon about what they lie about

as the beast of deceit, there's not a lot shadow milk doesn't lie about. i think that pre-corruption, he would have prioritised sharing knowledge above all else, blunt and factual and seeing nothing wrong with saying the whole truth. that's not to say he wasn't still mischievous- no, his tricks were plentiful, but he always took full, proud responsibility for them. i think he's the kind of cookie to lie about how he's doing, whether that be by dismissing 5 nights of no sleep with an "i'm fine", snapping at people about him "handling" everything when he's deteriorating, and generally putting on a facade of normalcy while the corruption started to deteriorate him. after falling, i hc that he found it way easier to lie. he takes entertainment in seeing people struggle to identify whether his words are true or not, so lies even about the simplest of things (e.g. what he dreamed about). i do think him claiming that pure vanilla had only "one droplet" of his "ocean" of power was a lie, to offer a specific example. we also see him talking about how pure vanilla managed to "steal away half [his] power", so i believe he has a lot less power than he likes to make people think he does. he's stronger than the ancients, sure, but he would have been defeatable while not fully corporeal.

[the-lovely-cambion]

Shadow Milk Cookie Analysis (Part 1: The Motif and Possible Backstory)

For some weird reason, I always ponder on why Shadow Milk Cookie has this clown? jester? performer motif. Yeah sure it’s meant to show that he’s somewhat of an actor that exaggerates stories to deceit cookies, but how come he’s shown as this performer persona in the first place. Most of the other beasts (that have been released so far) have shown to have motifs that show off religion and some sort of myth or legend.

So far, there hasn’t been any information on what Shadow Milk Cookie’s design is actually inspired by or what it actually symbolizes outside of the jester imagery, so it’s most likely that he’s the odd one of out of all the beasts (this is just from speculation since the other two beasts, that being Eternal Sugar Cookie and Silent Salt Cookie, aren’t yet released. So we don’t actually know yet if Shadow Milk Cookie is just the only odd one or not since he’ll be released next year). I might delve deeper on what could possibly be the inspiration of Shadow Milk Cookie and the symbolism it shows, but i’m not too sure yet.

Another thing to note is what his design will symbolize in his backstory on how he became what he is today. Since both Mystic Flour Cookie and Burning Spice Cookie have elements of their designs, based on the cultures they were inspired by, to be part of their backstories (Mystic Flour being a bodhisattva and Burning Spice being a deity). For Shadow Milk Cookie, we haven’t seen what he may represent (from what we have seen so far). Although, fans have depicted him being a scholar or professor (from what I can perceive) at Blueberry Yogurt Academy since both are connected with one another. But how does that fit with him being a jester?

I did some more digging and I think I found something that may be tied with Shadow Milk Cookie’s backstory. It’s possible that he may be the founder of the academy since (from what I can see) both his past design shown it the “An Ancient Force Awakens” video and the lost portrait relic, it’s possible that the two are related. Plus, it was stated in the lost portrait relic that the name of the founder was worn down. So there’s a high chance that may be him.

I still need to dig deeper into this, but I wanna see what you guys think about what his character design may symbolize and what his backstory may be.

[makerofmadness]

I have specimen 7 on the brain curse you Carl Jung

[crypticcalypte]

let me see if i remember the main story beats well enough LOL.

CRK SPOILERS. Literally the story beats in B-Y 7 LOL.

Don't click if you want to experience the story yourself! Otherwise, it's under the cut.

Also, it's... nearly 3,000 words. Sorry OP.

If you'd like to skim through, I've added on standout plot points in bold text for easier reading.

1. Chapter Seven starts off with a dream sequence; it's important to note that dialogue ("I recognize these eyes from somewhere...") implies that this is a false memory of sorts; in all of the dream sequences, do not take them as solid, undeniable fact. Everyone is an unreliable narrator in Beast-Yeast Chapter Seven. The dream is one of Pure Vanilla Cookie in his youth; taking care of sheep and raising them. He finds one that looks like Shadow Milk Cookie, and upon being frightened, wakes up. We learn that he, White Lily Cookie, our three main protagonists, and Carameleon Cookie are searching for ways to uncover the Beast Binding Ritual. In order to do this, they go looking for the Tower of Knowledge*; where the Fount of Knowledge (Shadow Milk pre-corruption) lived and worked. Notably, Pure Vanilla finds that the Beast Binding ritual is not able to be done by Cookies; the Witches locked the information away. However, he and the others press on further into the area, to see if the Witches were right, or if this is just one of Shadow Milk's schemes.

*Might not be what it's called, but it's the name I'm using.

2. On their way further into the area, they encounter a cookie named Apple Cookie; she's important. Once they find Apple Cookie, Carameleon leaves back for the fairy kingdom. Apple Cookie guides them to an inn, and it's stated in story that they are firmly within Shadow Milk's territory now. This is also important. At this Inn, they meet a cookie who is labelled in story as Fortune Teller Cookie; they get a Tarot reading done by this cookie as well. I'll admit, I'm not sure what two of the cards are; but the first card is The Tower, and it shows up later. The Tower represents everything that is bad; it shows you that you will have turbulent times ahead, and it prepares you to weather the storm. Fortune Teller Cookie ends up disappearing after this; straight up poofing into dust. They will come back later.

3. After leaving the Inn, they encounter an NPC; a shepherd who needs help. They need help getting their sheep back... except not is all as it seems. The Shepherd, while using our Protagonists as bodyguards, tells the tale of the Boy Who Cried Wolf; a story which has the moral at the end of it to not lie, lest you end up in trouble when you really need help. In our case, our Shepherd here is the Boy. They tell how they would lie, each day, about there being a wolf that attacked their sheep. They tell how fun it is to lie; Pure Vanilla and the rest are confused by this. The reveal is that the Shepherd's sheep are actually wolves, parodying off of a Wolf in a Sheep's disguise, telling us how the innocent look Cookie ended up lying all along.

3a. Now, either before or after this (I believe it's after), Pure Vanilla has another dream; before he got his Soul Jam, when he was taking his pilgrimage. A cookie in the party, desperate for healing, gets angry with Pure Vanilla, and gains the eyes that Shadow Milk has. He wakes up soon after.

4. After this, they get to the tower. A riddle awaits them, however; about the Sun and the Moon, and how they always have to part ways because the dusk and dawn are never long. White Lily and Pure Vanilla both knew the answer; the kids did not. Coincidentally, this is where White Lily takes her leave to go look at some other things, relating to the fairies and how to be a better guardian if I remember correctly. Apple Cookie guides them up the steps after that, and they stop in a room with a lot of books; there's some funny additions here, like the book talking about how Earthbread is flat (canonically, it's round), but what's more important are some of the things Apple Cookie says here. You've likely surmised at this point that Apple Cookie is Candy Apple Cookie; she starts to act more oddly, showing her true colours—talking about how the inside is beautiful, and notably, how the book about the world being flat could be a metaphor for how running in place too long could lead to your doom. She also mentions how "everything you once knew is wrong" here; the clock ticks backward and it chimes whenever it pleases. This is important; things do not work as normal. Keep this in mind.

5. After this, I... don't remember what happens, but I know they keep exploring the tower up until the Candy Apple boss fight; this is where Pure Vanilla and the kids get separated. I'm going to talk about what the kids are doing first, then Pure Vanilla.

5a. They get separated, and the kids... don't know this at first, because Pure Vanilla is right there. Except that's not Pure Vanilla; that's Shadow Milk, who shapeshifted into Pure Vanilla. The kids demand to know where Pure Vanilla is at, and Shadow Milk decides to, frankly, traumatize them by giving them the card of The Tower we saw earlier; except this time, it plays an animation of Pure Vanilla going up the Tower. The kids determine that he must be at the top, and so, they start to fight through hoards of monsters. We learn that the Tower of Knowledge is now showing it's true self as the Tower of Deceit; this is told to us by Fortune Teller Cookie, who presumably followed our protagonists there. Fortune Teller, however, tells the cookies to head back; that they cannot defeat Shadow Milk. The kids are stubborn as always though, so off they go. More on that later. We learn some more exposition while we're doing this; notably, the fact that the Tower of Deceit bends time and space. The future and the past can intersect. This is a point I see people miss frequently. With this plot point, I can see why things get confusing, haha. It is, however, crucial. Fortune Teller Cookie points out that they can follow Pure Vanilla's path by following the Light of Truth; much like the breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel left.

5b. Pure Vanilla, meanwhile (or thirty minutes before, it's rather unclear; we may not know the true timeline of events, as of yet), is going through the Tower, being taunted by Shadow Milk all the while. Shadow Milk has a belief that Pure Vanilla will end up just like him, whereas Pure Vanilla detests that statement with his whole heart. Interestingly, Pure Vanilla calls Shadow Milk the Light of Truth on accident, and Shadow Milk responds by saying that he's both. I have yet to check the original Korean for if this is changed or not (more on that later), but the English translation says it to be so. Pure Vanilla keeps going up the Tower; and eventually comes to the top, where Shadow Milk reveals first that he was in those dream sequences—telling Pure Vanilla that he had known from the very beginning that he would end up this way. Again, notably, this is a character who lies and is known for lying; do not treat his words as any sort of gospel. Secondly, he tosses Pure Vanilla into visions of the "future"; one where he gets shunned from the Creme Republic for associating with White Lily, the "enemy", and another where they're in the midst of a battlefield. Pure Vanilla hesitates to use his healing because "it will bring Shadow Milk right to them", causing a Cookie to die screaming in agony as to why Pure Vanilla won't help them. More on this later. Shadow Milk finds them anyways, because this is likely a false memory of the future. This is where the image of Pure Vanilla going absolutely out of his mind with rage comes from, stating that he will destroy Shadow Milk. When Pure Vanilla awakes from this, he finds that he is not looking at his body in the mirror; he's looking at Shadow Milk's. His body is lying on the floor, and he despairs in front of a cracked mirror.

6. Next part now. The kids reach near the top of the Tower, and they get a vision of Pure Vanilla's memories; of what just happened up there... and more importantly, of Pure Vanilla jumping off the Tower. Understandably, the kids are devastated and will be needing therapy ASAP once back in Crispia. They begin to deny what they just saw, chalking it up to being one of Shadow Milk's tricks. Except... are we sure that's not what happened? Fortune Teller brings that up, that it could've happened. Worse things have happened here, on these hallowed grounds. They start being poetic, and talking about this and that. I can't remember what, exactly; I'll come back and edit this later.

This is where, if you have been playing the English dub, you learn through Gingerbrave that Fortune Teller Cookie sounds like Pure Vanilla. If you were playing any other dub... well, that was likely obvious from the beginning. Regardless, this is where we get the reveal—

That Fortune Teller Cookie is the Truthless Recluse, otherwise known as Corrupted Pure Vanilla. Understandably, if you missed the "timelines are accepted here" line, this is where people are getting confused. Imagine the Tower of Deceit and it's surrounding areas like a Timebubble; a bubble of time wherein the future can intersect with the past and your 'present' is the only present that matters. Time and space warp and bend and lie to everyone as to what it's doing. This is what I'm liking the story for right now; it lies to you. Granted, we'll probably get clearer answers in a month... but regardless.

We close out on the kids having to fight the Truthless Recluse. The Truthless Recluse overpowers them in the end though, closing us out on "It's time to say goodbye"... and the most devious 'To be continued' I've seen outside of fanfiction.

Now. You asked for analysis.

Firstly, I would like to say I'm biased. In the interest of documenting everything, I would like to say I do ship Pure Vanilla x Shadow Milk, however I'm very much able to put my extremely-based-in-fanon ship aside in favor of pure analysis, and in fact, prefer to do that; I find I can come up with much more pleasing conclusions that way that actually have something worthy to say. That being said, do not take my words as fact; I'm known for getting many things slightly to the left of wrong. I will say, however, that as a (reluctant) Homestuck I have many years of interpreting time shenanigans under my belt. So let's get started with:

The Fairy Tales:

This is a theme I haven't seen anyone touch on, so I wanted to dedicate a bit of time to it. The candied apple in Snow White, the Boy Who Cried Wolf, Hansel and Gretel; all of these are classic story tales that show up within the Tower of Deceit story line. Given the overall nature of the story (not to mention, the religious symbolism between Pure Vanilla and Shadow Milk that I do not have time to get into here), I think that these will play a big role in how the story shapes itself, and I'm looking forward to seeing if there's any more I'll be able to find in the coming updates.

The Kids Being Stubborn And Continuing On:

Later on, right before he reveals himself, the Truthless Recluse remarks that he used to admire that in the three. We also have it commented upon by Candy Apple with the book about flat Earthbread; how if you keep pressing on, you'll eventually fall off the world. I believe the Truthless Recluse asked this intentionally; to see if they still had the fortitude to continue on, despite what they've seen thus far. These three's perseverance has been a plot point for ages now, even if it's tucked behind walls of text—starting with when they started chasing the Cakehound, most kids would simply turn away from what they saw and instead go back to playing. Gingerbrave, in particular, has always been stubborn and this trait has been given to his friends. Which makes the reason why the Truthless Recluse asked this all the more interesting; I think that the way this might go is that the Truthless Recluse will be shown that these kids are good as they are telling the truth and that will make him not see the nihility of it all. You'll see what I mean.

Translations:

This is an aside, but I need to put this somewhere; the original Korean of the game vs. the English dub is quite interesting to see. Oftentimes, things can get lost in translation; stuff like honorifics, for instance. In the Korean, Shadow Milk calls Pure Vanilla his "lesser half" as opposed to "other half", whereas in the English, Shadow Milk refers to Pure Vanilla as "my boy" whereas in the Korean, he doesn't do that at all (outside of possibly one occasion where he calls Pure Vanilla along the lines of his student). Again, take all this with a grain of salt; I went looking for those two specific lines, but like I said, I'd be interested to find out what Shadow Milk really said with the "You called me the same thing twice" line—as the Korean dialogue simply repeats a word twice as opposed to what he says in the English.

Now for the real meat, The Nihility Of It All:

I've had this theory for a while; Truth would corrupt into Nihility.

The Truth is ugly. The Truth is bitter; as Shadow Milk states during the story, a lot of people would rather embrace the lies than face the cold reality of this world—some, even, finding joy in spreading said lies. Nobody wants to tell the Truth; to see it on their Instagram feeds, to read it on the news. This may just be me, but as a 20 year old nonbinary autistic person, the world is scarier than ever as I try and figure out how to survive in the midst of it all. I'm lucky enough to have my parents support, but I wouldn't be able to afford even a studio apartment without college, and I can't go to college because it costs too much money. So, I turn to the internet; look at funny memes, cat videos, talk to my friends. I don't want to face the Truth... and neither does Pure Vanilla.

Pure Vanilla is not a Saint. He's close, but he's not quite there. He actually lies, at one point, during this chapter; by omission rather than anything direct, but still. This happens right after the second dream sequence, where White Lily asks him if it was another bad dream and he says "no". One thing I left out is another real world example; how nurses and doctors and EMTs and everyone in the medical field deals with losing patients. Oftentimes, it's a hurdle; the make or break point. How well you can deal with death even in the face of inevitability. During the fake future cutscene, Pure Vanilla lies to the Cookie bleeding out that they'd be fine; the Cookie, understandably, calls him out on this. Empty platitudes in the face of certain death do not make things easier, a lot of the time. Pure Vanilla, in Episodes 1, 2, and 7, has been struggling with the Light of Truth; because the Truth is not just being good and nice, it's about being true to yourself and being honest.

And given that absolutely soul crushing, bottled up sprite of rage we saw, I don't think he's been entirely true to himself for a while.

My theory is this; Truthless Recluse is Pure Vanilla like how Dark Enchantress is White Lily. Either Truthless Recluse came from the future to tell the kids to turn back; as one last act of trying to protect them from the ugly truth that this is what he became, OR Truthless Recluse is just Shadow Milk again and is scaring the kids and doing a damn good job at it. Either way, at the same time, the present-day Pure Vanilla is grappling with being in Shadow Milk's body. He'll have to accept the Truth, it's ugly faults and all.

And then he'll win because it's a kids game and the heroes always win and blah blah blah.

To those who read to the end: thank you! It's great knowing that people like to read all my... thousands of words, LOL. To those who skipped to the end to see if I put a TL;DR: nope! But I will encourage you to go and read the cutscenes for yourselves; either through a YouTube video, or through the purple-roofed tower in your Kingdom. To those who are going to comment "too long, didn't read"... more power to you? I guess?

As always (I say, as if I've posted any analysis on here before), I welcome criticism. If you have any points you'd like to bring up, or anything to add, or even something to debunk that I read wrong (because, being autistic, I read things wrong often lol), please bring it up in either the comments or the reblogs.

Thanks for reading!! And uh... sorry to OP for writing all this under their post, LOL. Hopefully it's understandable!! :D

Can someone do an analysis on what the heck happened in episode 7 because I am genuinely so confused at this point

[iheartjulessforlife]

(p.s: this is heavily inspired @jadeshifting & @hrrtshape . )

— SOME OF MY MAIN DRS

MODERN (?) FAME DR ; daughter of rihanna & asap rocky… MAYERS has a successful career in hollywood and is recognised as a film and fashion icon. MAYERS is cited as the best-proclaimed female actress and is the wealthiest female actress with a net worth of $1.4 billion as of 2022.

꒲ INTRO !　　　

1990’S FAME DR ; MONROE rose to fame in hollywood during the late 1980s, becoming a celebrated figure in both film and fashion. from milking cows to red carpets.

꒲ INTRO !

CRIMINAL MINDS DR ; super visors special agent benson a member of the FBl's behavioral analysis unit; a profiler who specializes in linguistics, statistics and geographic profiling.

꒲ INTRO !　　　

THE CONJURING DR ; time stamp reads: 1956 when a child who start seeing unexplainable things like spirits which would eventually gain her physic and clairvoyant abilities.

꒲ INTRO !　　

꒲ MY POWERS IN MY DR !　　

THE O.C. DR ; a girl with no worries other then starts her mornings surfing the waves, hitting the local boutiques with her daddy’s credit cards, attending pilates classes, and staying active in the beautiful coastal town in newport, california.

꒲ INTRO !　　　

— SOME OF MY NICHE DRS

MEAN GIRLS DR ; if the ultimate 2000s popular girl trope was a person it would be her, a privileged young woman from california who lives for social events, romance, and retail therapy, all while rocking perfectly styled hair, flawless nails, and the trendiest outfits. On the surface, she’s a queen bee in the Plastics, but secretly, she’s dating Regina George, adding a thrilling twist to her glamorous life. (we love mean lesbians.)

꒲ INTRO !　

CLUELESS DR ; a extremely privileged young woman from Beverly Hills who puts social events, dating, and shopping sprees at the top of her to-do list, living life with all the confidence.

꒲ INCOMING INTRO !　

GOTHAM DR ; in the shadows of Gotham City, there’s a fierce girl who embraces her dual life as The PINK PANTHERESE aka Gotham’s Most Lethal Siren. Each morning, she begins her day not by catching waves, but by catching criminals off guard, she glides through the streets, stealing the spotlight and the most dazzling jewels from Gotham's elite. In a daring throuple with Harley Quinn and The Joker, she plans heists that would make any CEO shiver. After a night of thrilling escapades, she might hit the local boutiques—not for clothes, but for the thrill of the chase, leaving chaos in her wake. Active and unstoppable, she transforms Gotham's dark alleys into her playground, where every day is an adventure filled with mischief and magic.

꒲ INTRO !　

JULES signing off !

[pumpkinspliice]

**SPOILERS FOR ALL OF BEAST YEAST EPISODE 7!!!

My personal analysis, letting it escape from my notes app! Fun!! This has to be split into parts because it's long

Back in the beginning, it's established that shadow milk is messing with pure vanilla through his dreams. His dreams consist of memories from his childhood and past

To be clear, Shadow Milk is not present in these moments when they happen. That sheep did not have shadow milk's eyes when that happened.

Shadow milk is taking his time on presenting his planted lies

This is foreshadowing PVs awakening. The light refers to PV true Light of Truth. The spire of knowledge did exist, but it was turned into the spire of deceit.

Personal theory but I feel it'll go back to the spire of know when PV awakens, as he will accept his light.

Fortune Teller and pure vanilla can coexist at the same time since shadow milk's domain.

It's rather confusing, but I'm trying to think of it as a paradox. There's one that fits well but I can't remember which one. But we know that past, present, and future coexist at the same time here

This story has some sort of significance to pure vanilla's past. Shadow Milk is using this as a way to subconscious twist pure vanilla's memories again. By giving him a memory of his childhood, as well as a character who is a shepherd, he's trying to make PV believe he was always a liar. That the boy who cried wolf was him!

Shadow Milk is taking a separate way to confuse PV this time. During the Theater of Lies, he had taken lies and sprinkled on truth. But instead he is taking the truth of pure vanilla's memory and twisting bits and pieces to confuse him. The parts that involve shadow milk are these lies

Pure Vanilla knows these memories happened, that they are true. But he struggles to sperate and notice the lies within them. A part of him knows this but as SHmilk puts more and more, he grows more and more doubtful. Shadow Milk is trying to confuse pure vanilla so he will see and accept the "truth" that he wants him too. The truth that shadow milk has been guiding him the entire time, which isn't true

Shadow milk confronts PV with a situation, presumably one he would have gone through as a healer. It's a troubling situation, Pure Vanilla does not want the cookie to give up hope of he tells them he can not save him. It is a cruel truth, so he lies. Pure Vanilla lies for a different reason that Shadow Milk, he lies to help. Shadow Milk lies to confused, but both use deceit.

Pure Vanilla ends up panicking since he knows he lied, he knows he could not save that cookie. Shadow Milk uses this illusion to make him feel that lies can be good, a sweet lie away from the cruel truth

shadow milk uses this riddle to separate the two. He knows PV knows the answer since he can see into his memories. White Lily was the reason PV did not corrupt before, he has to separate them

Also this sets up White Lily and Silent Salt meeting!!

Pt. 1/4,, the rest are in the reblogs!!!

[agathasfamiliar]

you better make me better (pt. 4)

agatha harkness x fem!reader (+ rio is here now)

A strange woman, who clearly shares a sorted history with Agatha, interrupts your moment together. Agatha asks for your help to deal with Death, and you're more than happy to oblige.

other parts: 1 2 3 4

word count: ~4800

warnings: 18+ MDNI, dehumanization/objectification, exhibitionism/voyeurism, fingering, "good girl" and "pet", tiny bit of degradation and praise, jealousy, mention of death, brief description of a corpse, smut

author's note: it has been a bit! sorry for the delay but i hope you enjoy this part and let me know if you'd like more. also thank you for all your help, you know who you are.

tag list: @lanfear-is-my-darkmistress

You’re still catching your breath, Agatha’s eyes making a meal of your every coy adjustment, when a sudden strident sound overwhelms your senses from all sides.

It’s akin to a ringing in your ears, but with a bassier root noise that vibrates your jaw in its sockets. The higher pitches seem to claw the inside of your brain causing every hair on your body that isn’t already at attention due to the chill in the air, to stand on end. Punishing blares somehow surround you while also feeling like they are coming from inside your skull, making it clear that this isn’t simply some terrible musical instrument foreign to your ears, but rather something of an otherworldly origin.

Confirmation that you’re not alone in this strange experience comes with Agatha’s head whipping to face the clearing behind her. Her long curls sting your cheek with the force that they slap against your face in the proximity, but you don’t mind. The scent of her hair meets your nose fully in the process and you inhale the biting of a citrus peel that teeters on bitterness, but remains mouthwatering, mixed with something deep and earthy like black tea leaves with a hint of peppercorn.

Another rush of wind disrupts your analysis as it carries the overpowering smell of juniper into your nostrils that causes you to chase after the retreating scent of the woman before you. Juniper, you find odd, as you hadn’t observed any such trees in your trek through these woods.

“Shit!” Agatha swears, eyes scrunching up as if suddenly remembering, upon arriving home from the market, that she’d forgotten to buy the milk she needed.

“What is it?” You ask worriedly, trying to draw the woman’s attention back to you, to no avail.

Rather than a proper answer, you instead see the feminine silhouette of a figure clad in a long black bombazine mourning dress, trimmed in a deep green shade. She steps from the treeline opposite the two of you, a long torch in hand that roils with bright green flame, casting harsh shadows against the delicate features of her face. 

Some preternatural awareness tells you that the ringing in your ears, which has only minorly subsided, as well as the new scent added to the already woody air, has come from her. A pit settles in your stomach as you scan black hair and dark eyes from a rapidly closing distance. You can’t put your finger on what about this seemingly innocent woman, witch rather, if her colorful flame and entrance “music” was any indication to go by, is sending such bolts of doom into the core of you with a single glance. 

A glance from you, that is, as this woman, in all her approaching, has not spared a flicker of her vision for anything but the one that still brackets you against the tree.

Just as the awareness of Agatha’s maintaining hold crosses your mind, she is releasing you, instead turning to face the other witch head on, as she now only stands feet from you both. You glower to yourself at the loss of contact for a split second before Agatha’s hand comes up to hold your left hip in place, as if making sure you stay behind her. The small gesture of protectiveness sends a thrill through you as well as worry at the prospect of what could possibly cause Agatha Harkness to show any measure of fear.

“Agatha,” the green clad woman speaks her name like a blessing and a curse.

“Fancy seeing you here. Not like you to stick around at the scene of the crime…anymore, that is.” The black haired woman says like the two are sharing a secret you are definitely not privy to. 

Though you can’t see Agatha’s face, you can feel the slight twitch of her fingers against your hip at the final phrase before she speaks back.

“Seems I lost track of time, you know how that is.” She returns in a ridiculing tone you’d watched her use with your coven, though now with a more personal intent that stabs the words into the air.

The woman holding the torch nearly pouts at the response, completely nonplussed by whatever secret message is being communicated.

“Shame, here I was thinking you wanted to have a bit of fun.” The stranger replies teasingly, such that you feel both a twinge of jealousy in your gut and utter fascination at the history between the two witches.

“Ha! Actually, we’ve already had quite a lot of fun.” Agatha retorts with a laugh, the hand not holding you gesturing playfully over her shoulder to where you stand. You flush with pride at what borders close enough to praise, as well as the thought of her using you as some sort of brag to this woman she clearly has some significant past with.

Your mouth runs dry as you move your eyes from where they have been fixed at Agatha’s back to gaze at the woman whose name you still haven’t caught up close. She’s looking over you like she truly hadn’t even noticed there was a third living person in the general vicinity, though you find that hard to believe.

Her eyes case you in an instant, running over every visible inch and lingering for a moment over what you know is an already forming bruise that sits in the dip of your right collarbone from Agatha’s earlier exploration. The spot almost burns at the attention and you wonder if it’s just in your head or truly some magical product of the other woman’s glare. In all her searching though, deep brown pools never lock to yours. Not in a shy or anxious way, but rather in the way one might not think to look into the eyes of an animal, feeling no need to address it as conscious. 

With every near pass of her gaze to yours, your heart pumps faster in your chest and you’re not entirely sure why. Part of you wants desperately for this woman you don’t even know, to acknowledge your personhood, while another loathes the potential loss of the tension forming around her continued neglect. 

“What is this?” The woman asks, clearly referring to you, but looking to Agatha as she starts to further close the already small distance. Her eyes, which you haven’t been able to look away from, blaze slightly and nostrils flare in resentment as she does. 

“Not of your concern. She’s alive.” Agatha fires back pointedly and the statement causes you to internally quirk an eyebrow, trying to deduce the exact implication in it. She gives a half step to her left in order to guard you more fully from the other woman’s advance. 

This doesn’t seem to deter the darkly dressed witch at all as she steps up to Agatha and peers over the shorter woman’s shoulder to get a better look at you, her face now only inches from yours. A tickle spreads along your hairline and cheek where she scans your features, though she does not touch you. One hand remains at her side while the other extends behind her to keep the flamed torch at bay.

“Hm,” she starts thoughtfully, “it’s pretty.” The sweet word takes the shape of an insult in her mouth.

“Don’t you have a job you’re supposed to be doing?” Agatha asks accusatory, once again causing your mind to run wild chasing after its meaning.

“Can’t shirk your duties now.” She continues, the words being spit out like poison in her mouth.

The final word is heavy as lead and files itself away in your head as a possible piece in the boundless puzzle that is the dynamic between these two women. Two dark eyebrows lace together for a split second in what looks like a hurt expression on the stranger's face before she schools her features back to that of contempt and shifts to her heels to meet Agatha’s gaze again.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Especially after you’ve left such a gracious offering.” She replies with a wink and a wicked smile that you feel causes Agatha to tense even more in response to.

An offering, you wonder to yourself, images of altar gifts and tithe collections spring to your mind along with the memory from minutes ago of that purple halo surrounding Agatha’s head. You’re unsure how long you’re lost in thought, but before you know it the odd woman is stepping away from the two of you and approaching the splayed, grey-ish corpse of your coven leader at a casual stroll.

“What’s she-” Your question is cut off by Agatha’s interjection and another squeeze to your hip, still not having turned from her position facing away from you.

“Quiet, pet. You’ll see.” She responds in a tone that is half harsh and half very far away, gaze following the black-haired woman’s movements as she stoops down to the face of your former superior and traces the sharp, black nails of her free hand along the side of her hollow cheek, lazily.

From this angle, you can no longer see the faces of your coven leader or the one who leans down to touch her, but your breath seizes in your throat as a stirring starts to come from the body that has been lying still and lifeless for some time now.

Her crooked limbs twitch and spring to life as though waking from a fitful dream; it’s all you can do not to let out a yelp of fear at the apparent resurrection. Agatha’s nails digging into your hip are no longer enough to ground you to the situation, and before you can decide otherwise you are wrapping your arms around her waist from behind and burying your face into her left shoulder blade to shield you from the horrible sight.

A grateful calm washes over you when the witch doesn’t push you away and even relaxes marginally into your embrace, especially after her previous chiding. The irony isn’t lost on you that this image is somehow more frightening than that of all the bodies of those you’d known most of your life dropping motionless to the grass not too long prior. 

It isn’t until the previously diminished oppressive sound creeps back into your senses that you’re able to tear your eyes back open and peer over Agatha’s shoulder at the view before you again. The reverberating noise that rattles your skull and presses on your eardrums blocks out the details of the conversation that is clearly being had between the two witches who now stand several yards away. Even from this distance you can see your coven leader’s face has been returned to its former health and fullness. She doesn’t seem to notice you, despite you standing in her direct eyeline. 

All of this feels suddenly surreal again, as if you’re moments from waking from a dream due to your realizing its falsehood. That is until your eyes travel down the bodies of the pair to the ground below, where you see the clear image of your coven leader’s form still drained and stiff in the same position you’d remembered her in.

Your breath starts to come quicker as your eyes flick rapidly between the version talking to the darkly dressed woman and the one with sallow, sunken features unmoving in its permanent rest. Panic starts to well up within you and stinging tears brim at your eyes in your confusion, that growing sound turning from a droning to a screeching in your ears that you would claw at if you thought it might help. The burn you feel growing across your brain might very well be your neurons firing in succession to try to make sense of what it is you are looking at.

The answer doesn’t snap into place until a darkened doorway appears between two trees at the wave of the strange woman’s hand, spilling fog the color of jade onto the ground in front of it. She sends one last glance over to Agatha before stepping through it after the retreating lively version of the inexplicably dead woman who once led you and your fellow witches. 

Your panicked breaths cease completely at the reveal of the sudden change in her visage as she turns. What was just moments ago the elegant, if slightly languished features of a woman have now been replaced by a shadowy and vacant skeletal structure; bone white brow and cheekbones protrude over exposed teeth and a jaw that fixes her expression into an unrelenting mockery of a grin that strikes the identity of the formerly nameless woman into your heart.

The ringing in your ears reaches a fervor that seems will not let up until you admit what it is you now know to be true. The words leave you without your express permission, but as if breathing and releasing them are cosmically tied actions.

“She is Death.”

“Yes, very good.” Agatha responds, louder now that Death and the ghostly figure have vanished into the summoned portal, or perhaps it just seems that way with the sudden pause in the ambient noises that seem to follow the primordial being. 

The way she draws out the vowel on the confirmation brings a condescending tone to the perceived praise at your deduction skills, as if she’d been waiting impatiently for you to put two and two together. This interaction feels completely divorced from before, when she’d lit up at your realization of what she wanted, your pleading. It takes the wind out of your sails momentarily as you cast your eyes down to the dirt in shame.

“Oh, come on, don’t pout. It doesn’t look good on you.” She twists in your grasp before placing a hand on either side of your cheeks to roughly raise your face back to look at hers. You reluctantly meet her eyes and find them still slightly put-upon, but more satisfied with your following of instructions. They search you with a consideration, as if weighing her options. 

“You want to help me with something?” She asks, almost patronizingly in the way she clearly already knows the answer. You would feel shame if it weren’t overridden by just how much you do want to be useful to her. You nod, measured and desperate, and the smile she gives you melts away your fears and is well worth whatever it is she’s going to demand.

“Good girl.” She admires, hands supporting the weight of you melting into them at the title. Maybe, you think, you can endure the bite of her admonishments for how much sweeter they make the taste of her following commendations.

Her hands release your head once you’ve gained your composure back enough to return to an upright posture. Luckily, there’s not even enough time for you to mourn the loss before they have grazed down your sides and are maneuvering you around by the waist.

Agatha silently walks you the few paces back over to the center of the clearing where you had shared your first kiss such a short time ago. The determination on her face is fascinating but you think better than to ask her too many questions, especially after her response to the latest one. 

You stand with your arms awkwardly at your sides, letting her shift you a step to the left or right, a glance over your shoulder allowing you to deduce that she’s trying to find the perfect angle directly in view of the still-swirling doorway that Death has left behind. The witch hums in delight when she’s found the perfect spot for you; you bite your tongue in favor of mentioning that you’re almost certain this is the spot you started in. 

“Perfect!” She declares, clapping once to seemingly applaud her own curious work. 

“Now, lay down.” 

“What?” Your mouth asks before your brain can remember to nix any questions. 

Jumping into action before she can answer, or more likely scold you for the inquiry, you drop to the soft grass and fan your skirt around you to cover your legs from the chill of the blades swiping along them. You try to maneuver your hair to do the same, but the poking sod snakes its way along your neck and face and you already feel somewhat itchy. You push the need to fidget away and focus every thought on being still, being good.

Agatha watches you get comfortable with a smug sort of grin and you can tell the pieces of whatever plan she has brewed up are coming together.

You admire her for a moment from your worm's-eye view. The contrasting light cast by the starry night and sickly green magical fog strikingly paint her already stunning features and that fear you’d noticed at Death’s arrival has somewhat quelled with the giddiness in her at this mysterious plan. You’re happy for it, even if you have no idea what to expect next. 

She must catch your trailing stare that now dances shamelessly along the taut column of her neck, because the toe of her right shoe starts to playfully ghosts along your ankle to shift your legs further apart and ride up the hem of your dress just slightly. It’s an innocent enough action, but so soon after the previous events of the evening makes it enough to send shockwaves through your core in anticipation. It does little to tamp down the improper thoughts that the image of her long, exposed neck have already started brewing as well.

Your eyes drag up to Agatha’s face in delighted curiosity, only to find her staring off into the portal. It’s almost as if she hasn’t even noticed her own toying movement against your leg. 

She looks like she’s waiting for something, and you’re about to ask her what it is when your train of thought is cut off by action behind and in front of you. 

Having thought her request for help would involve some sort of ritual or spell, you’d been silently mourning the more pleasant section of the evening that seemingly came to an end with the arrival of the lady of Death. However, when said umbra-clad woman finally steps back into view through the magical vessel just ten feet from your head and Agatha drops to her knees between your spread legs at the arrival, you know it has only just begun. 

The facial expression upon the returning woman’s face, whether it’s surprised or even there at all, is lost to you as your gaze is locked on the one kneeling between your legs and the way that the cloth covering you ripples as her cool, searching hands crawl up your body from beneath it. The chill of her fingers causes you to inhale sharply through gritted teeth, your lower half still damp with sweat and furnace-hot from your earlier activities. Your eyes flick between Agatha’s face and her moving hands in delighted confusion, whatever she is doing now at least taking the shape of something you desire. 

Perhaps, you think, you do hear the faintest intake of breath from behind you at the obvious bulge in the fabric as Agatha’s left hand briefly hovers just over where you want her most, and it’s the only sign of this display having any effect on your newfound company until she speaks. It won’t dawn on you until much later that Death herself taking a breath is probably about as shocked of a reaction as they come. 

“Agatha.” Death uses her name now as a warning, as if cautioning a child from playing a cruel trick. 

Does that make you the trick? 

The thought of it should, you know, breed a certain amount of indignity in your heart. The way Agatha’s looking at you, however, like you’re just the suit she needed to pull in a high-stakes game of cards, causes any humiliation you’d have about the scenario to evaporate. While she may be using you, she's using you.

“Rio…” Agatha’s mocking return of the woman’s name trails off, so pointedly not looking at your only other living company, if you can call her that. Instead, her eyes rake over your body as your muscles tense and roll against both her hands that finally settle to grip your bare hips beneath your clothing. Her strong fingers work to still the slight rocking against nothing that you hadn’t even realized you’d started doing.

Rio, you think. At learning what you assume is the more human name used by the entity, you can’t help but turn over your shoulder to finally take her in once again with your new knowledge in mind. You breathe a quiet sigh of relief at the confirmation that you’re not being met with exposed bone, but a very human face looking on to the scene before her in intrigue mixed with simmering fury. 

The fact that she still actively avoids meeting your eye as you lay before her makes you run both hot and cold at once. She surveys you like one might regard a piece of furniture in a room and her gaze only reaches as far as your exposed, flushed neck before making a path right back down your supine form. It’s a level of supposed disinterest that can only be achieved through truthfully great curiosity.

“You don’t w-” You hear the beginning of Rio’s continued attempts at reasoning but they are lost to the sound of your own loud gasp that tears from you unexpectedly. 

Before you know it, there are two fingers buried in your wet heat for the second time tonight, the remnants of your first orgasm still enough to allow little resistance for Agatha’s reentry. You hadn’t even noticed her left hand leave your hip in your contemplation over the spectator in your midst, giving you no time to brace for the intrusion or try to stifle the loud noise that came of it. 

Her fingers don’t let up as they set a slow, but deep, curling pace that has you making a concerted effort not to instantly start writhing on the ground beneath you. A hot blush fills your cheeks when you find Agatha grinning at you as her hands work you over, your brows knit up and teeth sink into your bottom lip in your effort to keep some semblance of your composure. 

Of course you’d realized some aspect of Agatha’s intentions moments ago, but the actual experience of having her buried up to the last knuckle inside you as a near perfect stranger watched on, was something else entirely. Especially when that stranger was Death herself. 

“Sorry, what was that?” Agatha cheerily asks Rio, finally turning to meet her eyes as if she is simply knitting a sweater and not dragging you closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy with every thrust of her hand. 

“Couldn’t hear you over the…” The casual chuckle in her voice and the way she raises her eyebrows once in emphasis as if to say ‘you know’ almost makes you want to laugh right along with her in your delirious state, having gone from quiet contemplation to whimpering mess in mere moments.

“Oh, my mistake! Should I talk louder!?” Rio replies, much louder now and with a naked anger in her voice.

Agatha’s pace quickens right along with the volume of the other woman’s exclamation, slamming that spot inside you in such rapid succession that you can’t help but let out another loud moan that trails on longer than you intend. This only seems to delight the woman fucking you all the more.

“That was a bit too much, honey!” Agatha fires back amusedly, matching Rio’s theatrical shouting. For a moment you think she’s referring to your moans and you flush with embarrassment before realizing her true intent.

Something about watching the two of them argue, both with focus locked on the other so intently that Agatha’s ministrations between your legs are the only indication that either of them even know you’re there, has somehow brought you hurtling towards climax much faster than before. She isn’t even touching your clit, but that doesn’t seem to matter at the moment. A little bit more of this and you’ll be gone.

The thought of coming apart around Agatha’s fingers like this, while she might not even notice it’s happening, somehow strikes both a feeling of dread and carnality through every inch of you. 

“Oh, you think?” The woman standing just a few yards behind you questions with irritation that now meets your ears with an undeniable elation laced within it. This is thrilling Death. 

You rock your hips even harder at the thought, partially involuntarily and partially to try to signal to the otherwise engrossed women that you’re moments from release. You’re torn at the concept of interrupting the display, canines digging so deeply into your lip to stifle your moans that you taste iron on your tongue. 

Agatha’s earlier teaching also springs to the front of your mind, but you can’t muster any “please”s at the moment. In fact, you’d rather drag this out longer than beg for more. The dark haired witch driving into you clearly has other plans, though, ones that involve her yanking you down even harder onto her fingers by your right hip all while she continues looking past you and maintaining her conversation. 

Your eyes roll and your head drops back at the somehow redoubled pleasure coursing through you. You can’t even moan now, mouth open in a silent scream. If this isn’t Agatha giving you the signal of her permission then you’re not sure of anything anymore.

“Yeah, I do.” She says with a sarcastic pitying tone and nod of the head.

The way she drags in and out of you, her rhythm and angle never faltering in her performed passivity, feels almost too good. The growing pressure below your belly is going to snap at any second. As much as you want to hold onto this deliciously sinful feeling for a while longer, with Agatha’s permission granted and your body screaming at you for its much needed release, you give yourself over to its whims.

“Better than not enough.” Rio bites back in a way that you know is meant to strike you, despite your back being to the woman. 

And it does, a spike of shame lances your heart in the exact same moment that you utterly come undone. If your first orgasm crashed over you, this one tears out of you. You can do nothing else but let the warm liquid that gushes from you to coat Agatha’s waiting hand as you release a string of guttural groans and high pitched gasps of pleasure, as well as embarrassment, that mingle in your brain to create an intoxicating concoction. 

Agatha’s fingers don’t cease for several more seconds, aftershocks causing your hips to jump and force her even further into you for a moment. You start squirming at the overwhelming sensation, words failing you as you bat her hand weakly. She stops her movements, but leaves the digits within you for the time being as you come down.

This is not an out of body experience like before, but a thoroughly grounded one. You feel a heaviness of satiation in every limb like gravity has suddenly become stronger around you and you figure if you weren’t already laying down you would’ve collapsed by now in pure fulfillment.

“See, it’s done already. Shame.” Death tuts dismissively down at you, eyes floating somewhere around your middle.

“Don’t worry, Agatha. I’ll just get finished up here and we can have some real fun.” She continues.

Agatha laughs darkly at that, but even you can hear the thread of longing within that threatens to rear its head.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. You go ahead and do your “work”, we’ll manage just fine.” Agatha starts, releasing your hip to make air quotes with her right hand while the other remains inside you.

At Rio’s assumption of your inadequacy and Agatha’s signal for more, you find a renewed vigor throughout your body and push up on your elbows into a more upright position.

“Please.” You plead in the most desperate voice you can muster, and you know from the look on Agatha’s face that you’ve done the right thing. 

Just out of the corner of your eye you can see Rio, who must’ve taken a few paces forward in the time you were otherwise occupied with your waves of euphoria, as her eyes flare at your word and Agatha’s gleeful reaction to it. She turns pointedly away and starts towards one of the other five bodies. 

It sends a chill down your spine, that in this moment, Death is jealous of you.