#and then has a redemption moment where he writes a note to her saying ‘it wasn’t your fault’ or something

[midnightquips]

Something Like Salvation

Owen Taylor x Reader

Summary: You visit home reluctantly, only to find Owen Taylor has returned. But some things are different now. No longer are you the obedient girl nor is Owen Taylor the pious golden boy. In quiet corners and long drives, you chase something warm and reckless. It may not be redemption... but for Owen, you felt something like salvation.

🔴 MINORS DNI 🔴 Warnings: 18+ content, religious guilt & themes, explicit sexual content, nsfw, eventual smut, dirty talk, praise kink, semi-public sex, soft aftercare, pwp, piv sex, unprotected sex, mild praise kink, foreplay

Author's Note: Please note that this is set in a universe the Jem Starling DOES NOT exist. Owen is also NOT married here. Although I set this to be in a 2nd Person POV, my entire intention is to establish that Y/N is a full-grown adult.

💫 Something Like Salvation Masterlist 📌 Sign Up for TAGLIST

Chapter 4: Deliver Us

It happened fast.

You were just outside the back of the chapel, tucked between the brick wall and the church’s long-forgotten storage shed. It was supposed to be a quick goodbye. One more kiss before you both returned to your separate, practiced lives. But then a door creaked open. 

One of the older women from the congregation stepped outside. It was Sister Marianne, the one who always wore florals and carried gossip like scripture. You saw the pause in her steps. Her eyes narrowed, gaze dropped to your swollen lips, making it apparent she noticed how close Owen’s body was pressed to yours.

She didn’t say anything though, just turned back inside with a knowing flick of her skirt.

But the silence that followed felt thick with doom.

In the car, Owen stalled starting the engine right away. His hands were gripping the wheel, knuckles white. His leg bounced once, sharply. Then blurted.

“We can’t do this,” he said.

You felt the irritation stir in you, before you turned to him slowly. “We already did.”

“Not like that. Not where people can see.” 

“I wasn’t the one who kissed you out in the open.” 

His jaw clenched. “I wasn’t thinking.”

You looked out the window. “That’s obvious.”

The silence between you stretched long and loud, but you hear the walls of your pretend days slowly crumbling. Brick by brick. 

He hadn’t meant to pull away from you or the version of himself he was finally starting to like. The version of him that was freer, unraveled, a little braver. But the moment he saw the flicker of recognition in Sister Marianne’s face, he felt something old and ugly twist in his chest.

Fear. Shame. The voice that still sounded like his father’s saying, you’ve ruined everything. It all comprised the anchor that continued to bind him and it felt heavier than ever.

He truly desired to want more. He wanted to say yes, to leap, to believe that he could leave this place and not unravel entirely. But he didn’t know how. And worse, he didn’t know if he truly wanted to let go of everything he’d built his identity around.

So he stayed quiet, letting silence fester where words should have gone. 

And he could only hope that you couldn’t see how much he hated himself for it.

You didn’t hear from him the next day and it didn’t surprise you. 

But when you decided to get some sandwich in town, he passed you by on the street and barely nodded. And that’s when it creeped it. The shame. Not for what you’ve done, but for almost believing he could set himself free.

You pull up at the gas station and a woman you didn’t know — tall, tidy, the type who probably memorized Bible verses to win arguments — muttered loud enough for you to hear.

“Some girls are really just walking temptations by Satan.”

You turned and met her gaze dead on. She looked away as you stared her down. 

But the words were enough to trigger the ache in your chest and it hardened into something sharper.

You began writing again. Not for anyone else. Just for yourself.

You’d pulled out your laptop, the one still covered in stickers and scratch marks from Austin, and started typing. Once it started, it kept flowing. Everything about being home, about what this place tried to erase. About him. About you. About how easy it was to lose yourself here if you weren’t vigilant. About the version of you that was vanishing again, piece by piece.

And it actually helped somehow. But it didn’t stop the gnawing ache that something was unraveling.

Then the dawning realization seeped in, that this wasn’t just about love anymore, it was about the survival of the person you’ve become.

When he finally did text, it was a short message, no punctuation. It was after dark and you found yourself not even wanting to respond. 

And when you finally did, he asked you to meet at the same secret spot you first rode him. But it didn’t feel special anymore. It felt tainted. Especially by the way he kept looking back behind your head, as if he hadn’t pushed you enough behind a tree to hide. 

It felt like he’d shoved your entire story into a dark drawer and only opened it when no one else could hear.

You don’t beat around the bush, looking at him directly. “I didn’t come back to disappear.”

He flinched at your words.

You stepped closer. “You said you wanted to leave. That I made it feel possible. Was that just something you said to get me into bed?”

He looked at you, pained and pleading. “No. I meant it.”

“But now?”

His voice cracked. “I–I don’t know.”

You swallowed, throat tight, but your silence tugged at the tension between you. 

“I’m trying,” he added, desperate. “But every time I think about leaving, I wonder if I’ll survive it. If I’ll still know who I am.”

It was only a few seconds but Owen felt you’d been silent for hours. 

Then you spoke softly but clearly, “My time here is running out.”

His breath caught.

“I have a life out there. One I built from scratch. And I won’t lose it for anyone… Not even for you.”

You took a steadying breath. “This… whatever it was… maybe it was just an experience for both of us. Something that felt real in the moment.”

He looked like he wanted to argue and his fingers itched to reach out. But he did neither. 

You finally stepped back. “It was silly of me to think you’d be brave enough to leave.”

And maybe it’s true that he’s hurting and that he’s trying, but it wasn’t enough and you weren’t going to bleed for him anymore. Not when you worked so hard on your own learning how to heal.

He didn’t follow you when you walked away. His feet kept him mounted to the ground.

And this time, it was okay because you didn’t look back.

The whispers only took another day.

By Sunday morning, you could feel the weight of it. The glances turned to stares, conversations that stopped as you walked past. Sister Marianne’s gaze followed you like a shadow through the sanctuary. She didn’t have to speak, because the judgement was already so loud. 

Everyone there knew who the sermon was about. And almost makes you laugh at how ironic that the first and last sermon you heard from this place was about you.

“You heard what they’re saying, right?” your sister asked, catching up to you by the car.

You didn’t answer.

“People are talking, Y/N. Loudly.”

“I know.”

“They’re saying it’s you and Owen.”

You leveled your gaze at her. “Is it that surprising?”

She frowned. “You’re not denying it?”

You opened the car door. “I’m not going to lie just to make people comfortable.”

It took another day for Owen to be called in by the elders. The texts between you have ceased and so he couldn’t even tell you. It was your sister who did and despite the previous night, you found yourself rushing to him, waiting behind the chapel after evening prayer.

“What happened?” you asked without hesitation

His expression tightened, eyes avoiding. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“That’s not an answer.” You pressed, voice firm.

“They just... wanted to talk.”

“Talk?” You crossed your arms. “Owen.”

He exhaled hard. “They asked me to step back. For now. Until things... settle.”

You stared. “Because of me.”

“They didn’t say it directly.”

“They didn’t have to.”

You walked away with only more proof that the time to leave was imminent.

He felt the squeeze in his chest while he watched you leave. As he leaned against the brick wall of the church, he could still hear their voices, could still see the curve of Sister Gwen’s frown, the way Elder Thomas laced his fingers together like a man preparing to pass judgment.

“This isn’t about punishment,” one of them had said, like it made it more believable.

But he knew this was. Specifically when they spoke about moral responsibility, about optics, about “what the youth might think,” they meant her. They meant you.

He wasn’t repentant at all, but he despised himself for not defending you. It wasn’t because he couldn’t, but because defending you would have been admitting it. And that would’ve meant giving you up in front of them. Making what was sacred between you into something they could crucify. And that he could never let them do.

So he sat, nodded, swallowed and folded into himself. And hated how easy it was to fall back into obedience. He hated even more that he couldn’t be like you or even ever be good enough. You were fierce, unwavering, already halfway out the door with a world waiting. He was still tethered to a version of himself he didn’t even like, too afraid to burn it all down.

You had chosen yourself. Time and time again. And he admired that. God, he envied it.

But he couldn’t tell you that. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Owen’s body was on autopilot. Driving to your house after sulking at the back of the church. Already there before he could stop. Texting you he’s outside your house. He didn’t expect you to come out but you did and when he allowed himself to look at you as you walked toward him, he realized his breath still stopped at the sight of you.

Once you were in the car, he admitted to you what happened. Or at least the gist of it. Inside, he’s ashamed because after all that he lacked in action, he still had the audacity to look to you for some semblance of comfort. You only stayed silent.

He stopped short, shoulders tense. “Y/N…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to drag you into it.”

“You mean you didn’t want them to know how far it’s already gone.” You accuse.

He looked away. He couldn’t explain. You didn’t have to deal with the mess in his brain.

You shifted closer, with a decisive look. “Come with me.”

His eyes snapped back to yours. He expected the opposite, but this made his heart beat faster.

“I mean it,” you press. “Come with me. Let’s leave. Tonight.”

One of his hands rubbed his knee nervously while the other held the wheel tightly. He didn’t speak for a long time when finally: “It’s not that simple.”

Your face went blank. “Yes, it is. You just don’t want it to be.”

He reached for you, but you pulled away instantly. Like his touch would poison through contact. Maybe it already did. 

“You can’t ever expect me to stay,” you said. “Not when you don’t even want to. You’re just too afraid to leave.”

“Y/N, I just... I need time. I’m not ready.”

You felt something in your chest fracture. The last air of hope fizzing through the cracks.

“I see that now. Perfectly clear.”

He tries to reach out again. “Please.”

But you shook your head. “I refuse to keep chasing a version of you that only shows up in the dark.”

He stopped arguing because that hurt more than anything.

You entered your home and found your mother in the kitchen, standing by the sink with the lights off. Only the blue of early dusk filtered in through the window, painting everything in that hollow in-between gray. Your mother stood hunched over the counter, scrubbing a glass that had been clean minutes ago, her knuckles tight from the same motion over and over.

“I’m leaving,” you said, voice calm. Final.

She didn’t look up, just kept scrubbing.

“So that’s it?” she said, tone clipped. “You come back, stir up a mess, and then run again?”

You stepped farther into the room, making the old linoleum squeak under your feet.

“I didn’t come back to stir anything,” you replied. “I came back to rest. And I never ran. I left.”

“Then why,” she said, finally setting the glass down, “does it smell like sin every time you walk through the door?”

That landed hard. The air between you grew brittle. You didn’t flinch. Didn’t let her see the crack.

“Then maybe…” you said softly, “you should open a window.” 

She turned toward you then, slow and deliberate. Her eyes were cold, narrowed. Her hand trembled, still holding the dish towel like a lifeline.

“I raised you better than this.” 

You shake your head gently, light scoffing. “You raised me to be quiet. And obedient. And ashamed. And I unlearned every bit of it the second I left.”

The silence that followed was thunderous. The clock ticked behind you. Somewhere down the hall, a pipe creaked.

“So you think you're better than all of us now?” she asked with disdain, baiting you with words

You held a gaze as steady as your voice. “No, but I know I deserve better than this.”

You were somewhat thankful that you’ve already started packing the past few days. You were finalizing things when your sister stepped into the doorway. She leaned against the frame like she didn’t want to fully enter, afraid of what it would mean if she did.

“You’re really going?” she asked quietly

You zipped your suitcase. The sound sliced through the stillness.

“I can’t stay,” you said

She hovered there, arms crossed over her chest like a shield. Her eyes shimmered with something between guilt and longing.

“You could wait,” she said. “Just a little longer.”

You turned to her, voice softer now. “For what? For this place to stop being what it is?”

She stepped inside. A single step. “No. Maybe… For me. Because I’m also scared of leaving and not knowing who I am out there. Of not belonging anywhere. Of being alone.”

You feel your heart break for her. Because you knew the exact feeling before you left. You were her.

You walked over and took her hand. “I know. I was too. But just know, staying here won’t keep you from feeling lost. It’ll just convince you you’re supposed to be.”

She swallowed hard as her grip tightened.

“But when you’re ready,” you assure, “find me.”

“You’ll be there?” she whispered.

“Anywhere… As long as it isn’t here.”

You weren’t entirely sure you wanted to but still left a note on the kitchen table anyway. Just a few lines, scribbled in handwriting you barely recognized as your own.

I can’t be who you want me to be. I hope one day that’s okay.

You stood by your car in the waning light, sky streaked in orange and indigo. The air smelled of earth and fading summer. It was then you finally decided to text Owen one last life line.

I’m leaving. If you want this, come with me.

No response. Minutes passed. The sky darkened. You almost laughed at your stupidity.

Then you heard footsteps. Heavy. Slow. Familiar.

He came into view from the side yard, his figure backlit by the dying sun. There was dust on his boots, sweat in his forehead, a crease in his brow that seemed it hadn’t smoothed in days.

You straightened as he approached.

“You got my text,” you said.

He was catching his breath as he nodded. “I did.”

Silence settled between you like a weight.

You looked at him. Half expectant, half heartbreak ready. “So?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stepped closer and reached out, brushing his fingers against your cheek like he was memorizing it.

“I thought I could,” he whispered. “I really did.”

You closed your eyes, as if pained by it. His touch was gentle, reverent, but it didn’t anchor you. It couldn’t.

“I’m not angry,” you said quietly. “I’m just… disappointed.”

He looked down, ashamed. He presses his lips in a tight line.

“I understand why you’re scared, Owen. I do. I know what it costs to leave. I just didn’t think it would cost me my heart.”

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but nothing came. You reached out first this time. Pressed your forehead to his.

“I wanted you to be braver than this place,” you whispered. “But I can’t be the only one fighting.”

He finally leaned in and kissed you. It was deep and slow but the finality fully expressed. It wasn’t a promise. It was a goodbye.

When he pulled away, you watched him step back not too far, just enough. You opened your car door and sat in the driver’s seat, eyes on him still. He didn’t reach for the passenger door. He didn’t ask you to stay.

“I’ll always wish to be as brave as you,” he said.

You blinked, while the ache in your chest sharpened.

“I know you are,” you said.

“I wish I was.”

You stay silent. One last glance. One last breath.

You finally started the engine, backing out of the driveway slowly. And this time, you really didn’t look back.

The road out of town was quiet.

You didn’t put music on. The hum of tires and the occasional whisper of wind curling through the open window filled the car. Your fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel, holding steady, like an achor to remind you where you should go.

Your hometown disappeared behind you fast. Nostalgic roads gave way to the familiar open space again, the sun finally dipping below the edge of the hills. For the first time in days, your chest felt like it could rise all the way without caving in on itself.

But you didn’t cry. Not even when the town limits sign faded in the rearview. Not even when the phone stayed silent. Not even when your heart gave one last stutter in the shape of his name.

Because you won’t cry for people who couldn’t choose you.

By midnight, you’d decided to stop at a roadside diner. There was a flicker in the neon, a waitress with tired eyes and hot coffee, and no one who knew your name. It was perfect to calibrate your body, your mind.

You opened your laptop at the corner booth again, fingers hovering over the keys. And then, it started to move, type about the heartbreak that you won’t let come in tears. Processing the grief for a possible love lost.

You didn’t try to make it neat, only honest. 

Somewhere near dawn, you pulled into a motel on the edge of another nowhere town. It was sufficient with its clean sheets & cheap soap. A window cracked open to let in the coming light. It was the same motel you stayed in when you left the first time. A deja vu.

You sat on the bed, laptop on your thighs, bare feet tucked beneath you.

You stared at the wall, trying to process how a few weeks at home had thrown you completely off track. Owen’s face flashes across your mind. You know why and your heart clenches.

But you know you’re going to be okay, because you’ve done this before. You’ve walked away both times.

You’re not sure how long it will take to forget him or if you ever will, but it’s enough for now.

Back in the town you left, the chapel lights flickered in the morning haze.

Owen sat in the back pew, hands clasped tightly, head bowed low. He didn’t pray. He just sat there in the silence you left behind.

The pew beneath him was familiar, worn smooth by years of routine. His body knew how to fold here. His knees, hands & head bowed like a reflex, but nothing in him felt anchored.

He had spent the whole night replaying the sound of your car engine starting, the way you didn’t hesitate. The way your voice didn’t crack when you said goodbye.

He was angry but only at himself. That he couldn’t be as brave as you. That he didn’t have the same willpower you did when you’d chosen yourself, even when it broke your heart. That he’d watched you drive away and didn’t take a single step forward.

A hundred excuses crowded his mind but nothing made sense. The weight of the town. The legacy he thought he had to uphold. The fear that leaving meant erasing the only life he’d ever known. None of them made him feel better.

He missed you already. Not just the body, not just the nights. It was specifically the way you looked at him like he was more than what this place told him to be. Like he could be something else. Something better. And he hated that he let fear steal that from him.

Sunlight crept in through the stained glass windows, painting fractured colors across his hands. He stared down at them, open and useless.

He wasn’t ready to follow you. But he wanted to be.

He could only hope that one day courage would take over.

Taglist: @shantellorraine @slvt4her @anxious-alto @irlbaristaoc @dontpulloutman @re-permadrivercurse @lostwhitebunny @loonysbarn @msbyjackal @lewispullsman @wildflowernightmere @ae-aeitch @midnighttithe @sarapixieelliott08 @cloudyzip @yoong1stangerine @crashingout2point0 @alltimelowsuckedmydick @kez-bez @a1exisdelreys1eepy-bear @louloulemons-posts @dazed-and-confused101 @wowitsafemale

[adyophene]

lucifer x husk is something i never knew i needed and as a multishipper im screaming

literally. king of hell x some alcoholic furry guy

i love them i need to know how they wouldve met, fallen for each other and started dating. and how much thatd piss alastor off

Ooh I am so happy other people are enjoying this pair as much as I am! I've gotten a few asks about my headcanons for them, and I am happy to blab on and on. Fair warning. This is gunna be a long and rambling essay.

I'm gunna put it all under a readmore, just cause I want to insert the art I've done of them so far, since I've been half-heartedly trying to tell a visual story through the doodles.

Okay. On we go!

How they met;

We did see them technically meet in the show, where they shared their singular canon piece of dialogue, which was just Husk saying 'hey'. And then in the finale where we see a literal split second moment of Lucifer holding Husk's arm.

(also seeing the sweet looks huskerdust is giving each other here just makes me feel so delulu for writing this all, but crackships are silly by definition, so lets get back to the lucihusk) For me, what I imagined, is after the Hotel is finished its rebuilding, that is when Husk and Lucifer finally actually meet in a proper manner. I think Lucifer would be trying to make a good impression on all Charlie's friends at this point, endeared to all of them from their actions during the finale. Unfortunately, I think he is also the King of Bad First Impressions.

[Note. I think at this point Lucifer wouldn't even remember Husk's name quite yet. I think he would call him 'Keekee' ( by accident) or 'Dusk' (confidently incorrect) or just be like "Hey!.... Uh... You?" until Charlie or Vaggie finally corrected him. ]

Husk, on the other hand, I feel like maybe wouldn't gel with Lucifer right away. Wouldn't hate him, but also maybe not be enamored with him right away. Same as Lucifer, maybe he would have sweetened on him a bit through the hotel's rebuilding, but I think they'd start out at very neutral feelings. Maybe a vague sense of 'He's okay, but I don't know if we will really get along.'

Despite this, Lucifer is persistent, and he's going to be everyone's (except maybe Al, unless they start getting along by s2) buddy. He'd start hanging around the bar and participate in the redemption exercises.

Now, we know Lucifer struggles with depression, and I think he would be trying real hard to mask anything going on during this time. They defeated Adam! They rebuilt the Hotel! He believes in Charlie's dream, and he's more involved with her life and other people than he has been for years.

His only issue being Husk sees right through it, both because Husk is perceptive, but also because even the King of Hell can't help but have a lonely night or two at the bar where he ends up venting about his divorce and subsequent lingering loneliness.

[snapcube ref aside, )I really do think Husk would start to feel more positively toward Lucifer after Luci would drop the act somewhat. That they could bond over feeling both at their lowest of lows, while also being to admit that things seem to be getting better!

This would be about the point that I imagine Lucifer developing more romantic feelings! Husk would be a bit less prickly, and Luci would just absolutely eat up any and all positive interactions they'd have. I like to picture a lot of little shows of care at the this point, like Husk memorizing what Lucifer likes and even making up 'fun' drinks just to try and cheer the guy up. And Lucifer would fun a fun game in trying to get the grumpy cat to smile, and just, lighting up himself any time he was successful.

And that culminating into the two of them making each other laugh, with Alastor being an easy butt of the jokes, and a good way for Husk, himself, to finally get a chance to vent. I think Lucifer would be one of the only 'safe' options for Husk to do that with, in just so far as Al can't really threaten Lucifer, and Lucifer already sees Al as a bit of a manipulative bastard.

Falling for each other; At this point, Lucifer would start being a bit more caring toward Husk, though with that wonderful, oblivious flair of his. I don't think Lucifer himself would realize he'd have a crush up until he'd start feeling protective or jealous over Husk, and it would really throw him for a loop at first.

Because fake dating is one of my all-time favorite tropes, I have always had a idea for a fanfic (or comic) that I haven't gotten around to yet, based around Lilith coming back, and Lucifer panickily asking Husk to pretend to be his boyfriend, so he can appear well adjusted/completely over her. Of course the whole thing would backfire, as Lilith would see through it (as Lucifer wouldn't be as good of an actor as he'd think), and that Husk would end up kind of feeling hurt by the whole thing.

Husk, who'd go along with the plot with an eyeroll, would find himself seizing up through the whole fake date/encounter. Would find weird, sudden emotions bubbling up and absolutely hating it.

I don't think that man would think about the class difference between him and Lucifer up until someone would say something about it, maybe Lucifer himself trying to rationalize the (at this time still fake) relationship to Lilith. Now, Husk feels uneasy about the whole thing and ends up drinking heavily the whole night so he doesn't have to think about feelings. (Blitz and Stolas who? Ahaha. fuck.) Meanwhile, while the date would be fake, I think Lucifer would really rather like having Husk on his arm and feeling like he'd have a love-life again, while also not really getting why Husk's mood would be getting worse throughout the night. I think they'd still end up on good terms, but both of them would have their feelings in a jumble, and Husk would not like it. (he thinks he's lost the ability to love, after all)

I think somewhere at this point, as they are starting to develop feelings for one another, is when Lucifer finally starts really realizing how tied to Alastor Husk is, and he starts to make it everyone's problem. I do think Al and Lucifer would stay snarky at each other this whole time, but that it'd only get worse, as Al would poke back since he'd find Lu's over reactions funny.

I also think Al would be maybe the last person to realize anything romantic would be brewing between Lucifer and Husk, and he'd just think it'd be a purely platonic thing.

Beyond just bitching about Alastor, Lucifer would really be ramping up his attention towards Husk too. Fully in that 'puppylove/crush' stage, and trying his darndest to make Husk feel good and special. Husk would be resistant to it all, thinking it would just be Lucifer rebounding hard, and not wanting to get wrapped up in Morningstar family drama when he could happily (miserably) keep his head down and just keep drinking the days away.

But then Lucifer would find out about Husk's love of stage magic, and his history as a performer, and it'd be all over for the catman. It would become Luci's new pet project to rope Husk into some joyful self-expression, and after a song and dance number's worth of convincing, Husk would start to come around. I have to post all these images now cause- I drew them with the intention of mimicking a musical number! Husk starting off as a bit resistant before jumping in whole heartedly, and Lucifer overexcitedly dragging him along throughout the music number, hyping him up and just all around being smitten.

And this is where Husk would start really falling. Getting swept up in indulging his favorite, least destructive hobby, and having someone who absolutely loves it to bond with. Especially when it would be over. When they would just settle down and talk, and laugh, and bond over what they love about performing. The spectacle, the audience, the love of the craft. Its about the comradery!!!

@belladonazeppole wrote a wonderful series of fanfics based off these pictures, as well as the songs from 'The Greatest Showman' that really fit the ship! I would be remiss to not mention them here, because Bella and their fics are just wonderful!

How they started dating;

Now. Don't think just cause they both caught feelings for each other, that they'd immediately admit to it. No. I think both of them would drag their heels. I don't think Husk would admit to them at all, without some outside force effecting it. I think he'd stubbornly try to ignore the crush or drink it away, rather than let his heart become vulnerable to anymore damage.

Meanwhile, Lucifer would be struggling between his feelings for Husk and Lilith. (In the actual canon, I do think they might try to rekindle things, depending on what kind of person Lilith turns out to be, but I digress.) Part of him would be so swept up in a giddy kind of excitement, while the other would be set firmly in the camp of 'this is a bad idea, this won't work out, just look at what happened to your last relationship'. It wouldn't stop him from being outwardly more and more affectionate, but it would be weighing on him.

I do think Lucifer would end up being the one who would be thinking; "What am I doing. He'd never like me back." While Husk would be just sitting there (echoing what was said in the ask- sorry I went all wild and wrote this much about the ship dear god)- "I'm just some fucking furry alcoholic, what the fuck would the king of hell see in me??? Am I delusional? What the fuck is going on??" And I feel like this stage would go on for MONTHS and drive everyone else nuts. It would be clear to everyone (except Alastor, who again, would be just this meme

Though that wouldn't stop him from getting a little pissy about it) And then it would all come to a head during something benign, like a board game night. There would be flirting, there would be jealousy, there would be arguing, and then finally, loudly and with a lot of feeling, Lucifer would shout his way through asking Husk out on a date. A real Date. A capital 'D' date out on the town, dressed to the nines and a real good time. The board would be knocked over in the fray, game pieces raining down upon them while Husk would just stare blank faced, trying to process what just happened. An awkward half-minute would pass before he'd finally, trying to play it cool, shrug out a 'sure'.

How much it'd piss Alastor off;

In the aftermath, a radio static would just lowly grate everyone's ears as Alastor would be slowly coming to terms on how just annoying it would be to have his friend (/Unhealthy co-dependent pet friend possession??) romantically involved (ew) with the King of Hell (double ew)??? Then, either it would be something light hearted like 'he keeps trying to break them up but failing cause he hates interacting with romance' or a darker route where 'he keeps trying to manipulate them into breaking up by preying on all their worst insecurities in the relationship'.

And that, my friend, is all I have in mind so far for this delusional crackship au! There is more I could flesh out, of course, like Angel's role as a friend or potential third in the relationship, or what I imagine as Husk becoming like a stepdad to Charlie, but I've typed enough for the whole month. Hope any of that was coherent! I did not bother to edit or proof read it. Just pure stream of consciousness.

[harmonized-disarray]

the things im reading here are really saddening.. this week's episode was a really good one, it finally unraveled the mystery surrounding one of the main characters, and also explained how we got to where we are now. It was fun, it was emotional and it was intense. as well as a declaration of intentions for the characters.

agatha and billy are now standing on equal ground. they're seeing each other face to face (mostly. because there's still more agatha backstory to discover) in the sense that the sigil is broken, the jig is up, and even though at this point they both have issues with each other, they know they still have to work together to get through the road. It's a mutually beneficial treuce.

This happening now is necessary to lay the groundwork for their actual development. Agatha being visibly pissed at him but still telling him he is a witch?? And a survivor?? That's such an interesting fucking moment!!! It's an interesting dynamic and it's so well done!!

It's episode 6! Which means there are still three whole episodes left. Have you people not watched the mid season trailer? (If you actually haven't I won't say anything specific but read at your own risk) the show is still about agatha. It's been about agatha (all along [i couldn't resist.]) Come on now, haven't you all watched wandavision either? It's the same people doing this show and the structure is pretty similar. Have a little faith.

I get wanting to see your favorite characters and their every interaction but that's actually not what the show is about. Is Rio a crucial character of this story and her relationship with agatha a huge deal on this show? Of course. But so is Billy. That's why we needed this episode, because he is important to the story and to agatha herself.

I don't know. To me it's just pretty obvious that the whole thing with Agatha and her past is going to be the big BIG emotional climax because it is the big BIG foundation that makes Agatha, Agatha. It's quite literally the point. To know how Agatha got here, what she wants, what she's willing to give up, to do, in order to get it. Whether she can actually be good or not. Whether this is a redemption story or not. Whether she changes, if the road changes her this time. Whether she forgives Rio or not. Hell, even if she lives or dies. This is what the show is about. Every episode has shown us a different part of Agatha up until now, even this one. And so, the remaining episodes will be the same. They'll be the answer, just like this episode was the answer to Billy's questions (who is, again, crucial to the story, Agatha as a character and a part of the coven). And I believe that will include the coven's history, rio, nicholas, and of course Agatha.

[Also, i find being upset about the heart a little silly. The note had a black heart that symbolized Billy because due to the sigil, he couldn't say his name to the others, Lilia could not write a name she couldn't know or remember. To AGATHA (and the viewers) the black heart symbolized Rio, because that's what black hearts remind her of. That's why she had such a visceral reaction to it, why she hid it from 'teen' and refused to accept it. BOTH things are true and that's fine. It's good writing because it made sense back in episode 2. It makes sense now in episode 6. And it was never an actual lie.]

[sir-adamus]

this isn't directed at anyone specifically, as this is a sentiment i've seen a lot, but i think some people were expecting some kind of catharsis in regards to Neo being punished or just straight up dying in the volume 9 finale because they don't personally like and are therefore dismissive of the character; and then making claims that it was bad writing that she didn't get the shit kicked out of her and was then killed, but instead getting to bow out gracefully and taking the first step to improve on herself and find herself again (which, i have to say, is not a redemption, the claims of 'bad writing' always paint it as such which is weird to me - it's like, the start, at best)

and i've been seeing this sentiment for months and, from the perspective of someone who never really had an issue with the character and liked the way she was handled, every time i've always had the same question of like, is it bad? or do you just not like it? cos let's be real that's been a major, major problem in this fandom for years, and even the people who complain about it coming from the loud vocal minority are often guilty of similar behaviour, just in more 'acceptable' ways

there was this really good post i reblogged the other day, which i'll link here, which basically covers my general feelings on this in regards to media in general, but in specific regard to the show;

a) the main characters' priorities have never been on personal payback, and neither has the show's (which it makes a point with several times, with Yang and Blake giving Adam multiple opportunities to stop and just leave as just an example, which he doesn't take), so there's no reason for them to go after Neo when she's no longer a threat

b) by the time WBY would've had the opportunity to 'punish' Neo for everything she did, Neo was possessed, and in the aftermath of that, was no longer hostile to them because of the events leading up to her getting possessed in the first place

RWB/Y is a show with lots of thematic resonance, we see parallels and layers and one of the major themes in the show is grief, and how you handle it; in the Ever After, Neo serves as a microcosm of Salem - she lost the one positive (though ultimately co-dependent and not particularly healthy) relationship she had after a horrible childhood of isolation and instead of coming to terms with her grief, she dedicates herself to revenge (which was her characterisation click moment when she returned in volume 6, as that return actually gave her motivations and a goal, versus how she was in volumes 2 and 3, where she was just kinda there and didn't have all that much to her) and it consumes her, so when she actually does get that revenge she wanted, instead of there being any kind of catharsis, she's just left hollow and empty because she has nothing left, which leaves her open to getting possessed by the Cat

but after being freed from possession, Neo has no reason to keep fighting because of that prior realisation, and comes to the conclusion that she needs to move on, with the best opportunity to do so being letting the Tree help her. and this is what loops back to the post i linked; Neo is given the option to stop and change and she takes it

does it come too late? sure - but by the same note, better late than never. besides, the Ever After is a fairytale world where the normal rules don't apply, so 'late' isn't as damning as it would've been

[jedisandspacepirates]

I have things to say about the finale.

Now that I've seen it, now that the emotions are settled down.

Spoilers for 1x08, so under the cut in case somebody's not seen it yet.

So I'm actually pretty happy with the finale. Really happy because it ended with the victorious people being who it always should have been, the kids. Fern, KB, Wim, Neel, working together and their parents too in their way, to save the day.

I absolutely loved the hug at the end, when they all went to find KB and just that exchange of "Did we win?" "Yes!"

We did NOT get a huge expansive backstory for Jod, but neither were we promised that. All Jude hinted at was a bit about his childhood and how or why he's Force-sensitive. Well, Mr. Law, that last part wasn't quite...we just know that Jod is actually able to use the Force, but the how or why hmm. Unless by that he meant that his Jedi master had taught him how to use it, I suppose.

Anyway.

I actually loved the information they chose to give us. The picture of a (presumedly) orphaned Jod (I wonder what happened to his parents...did they abandon him, were they killed?) living in a metaphorical (or maybe he was literal here) hole depending on the next meal and living a damn rough life. Then a Jedi finds him, teaches him a little about the Force, and she MUST have said that thing to him that he says to Wim, the Qui-Gon idea. (Of course that's a Jedi principle, not solely Qui-Gon's words, but where would Jod have picked that up if not from her?) And this is the tragic part, she took him under her wing and taught him their ways, but then he was forced to watch when they killed her.

That scarred him and definitely damaged him in a real deep way. I am not excusing his behavior departing from 1x05 and his descent there. That's not okay and I'm still mad at him for all that, but the past they've given him tracks with that, I suppose, and it makes sense that Jod would develop such a dark outlook on life from his experiences. Seeing the galaxy as a dark rotten place with only a few pinpricks of light etc...

And, here, look it comes. I, who have argued for Jod's redemption until blue in the face, am content with the way they ended it because I admit, if they had made him do another heel turn or come to some sort of decision as I thought he might have, I don't think it would have been done so well. It wouldn't have been convincing or felt very real to me. That sort of thing needs time. But what I absolutely adore almost above everything else is--and I don't know if it was purely just the writing or Jude's own decisions with acting, his expressions, etc--the nuances of his actions in that last episode.

I saw a post somewhere saying that Jod had "messed up" by not killing the kids because if it were Anakin, he'd have had At Attin under his boot in ten seconds or something like that. That just caught my eye, and it's worthy to note that Jod didn't harm them. He could have, but he didn't. Yeah, he was trying to pass himself off as the emissary and all that stuff, whatever. But when it was just Fern and her mom with him? He could have killed them.

This interview sheds a whole lot of light on stuff like this, and I'll have you know, the showrunners--the creators of this blessedly amazing series--the creators, people, were saying "those small gestures, his tiny bit of hesitation when he fires", referring to the moment he shot at Fern. The interview perceived that he had intentionally missed Fern, and that's when the creators comment on it. Seriously, he's him. He could have hit her squarely, but I really don't think he intended to. If anything, I believe he did mean to miss or shoot just shy of her.

Also, again, the creators saying he's in "a morally gray" area, "tortured by his behaviour". Whether that means conflicted because he has 'greed treasure I will be rich forever and happy' on one hand and 'i care even a little bit about these kids and don't actually want to hurt them' on the other and those are two forces warring in his soul, I don't know. But there is conflict there, and in any villain I've known in TV shows, movies, books...if there is conflict of evil and good in them, they aren't 100%, completely and irredeemably gone.

Just all of this complexity put into Jod and pulled off by Jude Law was completely and utterly amazing, and that is something I really enjoyed about the finale.

I'm saying it's not the end of road for Jod, and that's what's fantastic about fanfiction.

[girddlepatchilles]

Random Finale Thoughts

Needed more Moira and Rita. Just in general.

Was... was there hints of Moira/Rita in the karaoke scene? Or was I seeing things?

The karaoke scene was delightful! I loved how all the handmaids and Rita were just having fun together. And we got to see Alma and Brianna again.

I adored the Emily return. I love how they did it. There were so many great little call backs to the first episode and how Emily and June first met. The scene where they walked by the Wall and we saw the spontaneous graffiti memorial was incredible!

Luke's growth over the season and the way his relationship with June has changed has been wonderful to see. His whole little speech about why June should write down her story and how everyone deserved to be remembered was wonderful.

Tuello being a Commander? I dunno how I feel about that. I did chuckle though. He's the One Good Commander.

June deciding to continue to fight against Gilead is very fitting. That whole scene with her mum was so wonderful.

Janine! Janine! Janine finally got a fucking break!

Lydia still having a position in the Gilead power structure does make sense and work. All the Commanders are dead. She knows how to play to the egos of godless men. She's devious.

I think Naomi did learn something from living with Lawrence. Either that or Lydia just bullied her into letting Janine get her daughter back.

Upon reflection, I suspect June only told Serena she forgave her for Serena's sake.

I wouldn't call Serena's fate the culmination of a redemption arc. She's going to be stateless for the rest of her life, or at the very least she's going to have a hard time being anything other than a refugee.

That said if you ship Serena/Tuello? I suspect there's going to be a lot of fics about the "I'll find you" moment.

The final scenes where June goes into the old house and goes back to her old room were great. No notes.

When she starts saying the opening narration of the first episode? Oh that was great. This is how she creates the tapes, this shows the voice overs as June getting down her story. The creation of The Handmaid's Tale document.

I can see why some people were disappointed by the episode, but on the whole I quite enjoyed it.

Good finale. Handful of notes.

[brunossan]

HOW TO NOT WRITE VILLAINS: THE SITH RESURGENCE EDITION

Note: The Post about The Fic resume is still on the oven. This is an extra about a thing i need to complain about on this damned fanfic.

Kylo Ren in this fanfic is more of a punching bag than a proper villain.

But lets start with a point.

A thing everyone who knows Lily Orchard knows is that she hates a certain group of characters. These characters are what she calls "The White favourites of fandom", and they all fall in the same archetype according to her:

1: They are male.

2: They happen to be White most of the time.

3: They usually start as villains or antagonists but get their redemptions at some point or are so loved by The fandom they are used in other media like references or even full participations that makes People change their vision on them.

Her list include characters like Hunter (The Owl House), N (Pokemon), Arthas (World of Warcraft), Silver (Pokémon), Laios (Dungeon Meshi) and a bunch of others, but there is one in the list that gets the crown of most hated one.

Kylo Ren.

Lily hates him A LOT. Like, when i say a lot, i mean that almost ALL HER VÍDEOS INCLUDE HIM AT SOME POINT. IN HER POKEMON REVIEW SHE NAMED SILVER KYLE RON JUST TO "Beat him without remorse", AND EVEN IN HER STAR WARS FANFIC HE IS THE WORST VERSION OF HIM.

Now, lets take one thing clear. Kylo ren is a trash character? Yes he is. He had a cool concept but got a bad execution, thats why in some fanfics People try to make him either a better villain or redeem him. However, in Lily's case, she made sure he is a pathetic punching bag for her main characters.

This is now a resume on how Kylo goes in this history and how to NOT write a villain.

1-Not a Real Threat

A thing Lily claims to love are "Low stakes histories", wich are normally histories focused on small things like personal problems. However, The Sith Resurgence is on the problem lots of histories fall that its called

The villain is not a real threat.

And still, Lily tries to sell the ideia on Kylo being a threat. Like, lets jump to chapter 2 of the fic.

The chapter introduces Kylo Ren as an explosive person, but while in the movies we see his first introduction as being more threatening and serious but with anger issues that make him a bad Darksider, in this fic he is literally a manchild with a Lightsaber. All his flaws are upped to 100%.

In fact, in chapter 2 he senses Aliana's presence and after she denies coming with him, they fight. However, Kylo gets stomped by Aliana and is forced to run back to his ship by her. After that, it becomes a snowball, because every single fight, argue or even a moment in the fic he SHOULD show his strenght...

It fucking falls on ground.

Not only he is extremely weak, Lily sells the ideia that he is actually extremely powerful but had a bad teacher and was a bad student.

A bad student i can excuse but luke a BAD TEACHER?

Go fuck yourself, Lily.

Anyways, right after this loss, Kylo Ren starts getting more and more disrespect, even from his own allies. He is bullied, disrespected and even threatened by his own companions. This makes him wanting more and more to defeat both Aliana and Rey so he could get his respect and pride back.

But

Every

SINGLE

TIME

HE GETS HIS ASS FOLDED BY THEM BOTH. ALL HIS FIGHTS, ALL THE MOMENTS HE COULD BE SELLED AS THE BIG BAD OF THIS FIC, THROWN IN THE GROUND FOR NOTHING EXCEPT MAKING HIM THE PUNCHING BAG OF THE MAIN CHARACTER AND HER WIFE!

Kylo Ren in this fic is not a real threat to any of them. He is just the punching bag. Why?

Because Lily hate him.

2-The Hate blinds a writer, so a cat on a blender.

Its not uncommon doing histories out of spite of things you dislike. But in case of lily, at least 90% of her histories (Iris and Kiera not included) are made because she spites things of a certain média. Pokemadhouse has lots of moments where Lily calls out things of pokemon world, like Pokeballs being the tools to enslave pokemon, and her Warcraft fantiction used to tackle a lot of both Blizzard and Wow mistakes. However, most of the problems came from The fandom itself.

And one the only things i can agree with her is that shippers can ruin a media or the reputation of it.

Yes.

Im talking about Reylo.

You see, Lily absolutely despises Disney Canon, the Star Wars fandom in General and Reylos. But her hatred moved her on this fic decisions, like the Curse on the Beniko Clan and the hatred the Force have for them. She claimed in one post from her now-deleted old account that she took inspiration on them for it, on People who dislike her fic, her vision on Sith not being evil or her critics about how star wars is handled by media. Wanna know the worst part about the Force hate in this fic?

In this fic, The Force is Reylo. Not exactly reylo, but you remember the Force Bond thing in The Last Jedi, where Rey and Kylo share minds and start talking with eachother then Snoke reveals that it was him who bonded them?

Well, it all falls to the ground because of this scene (TW: SA Mention below)

Where Lily compared the Mind Probe, a Dark Side Force technique to read minds.

To R4pe.

Yes. Mind reading counts as S3xu4l 4ssault somehow, and this is a Cat in a Blender situation on the fic.

Cat in a Blender is a term that is used to reference moments where the writers make certain characters do horrible things to excuse the main characters actions. In this fic, Kylo Ren actions are considered the worst of crimes, even when Aliana actions are literally pure evil most of time. She kills, and threatens and even uses mind tricks to get rid of all enemies in her way, and yet the punching bag of the fic is accused on SA just to excuse the "Punishment" he receives. The hate of this character is so big that his suffering extends for 46 of the 48 chapters of this fic. And not only that but ends with not only he losing again but in such painful and destructive way that makes it feel pointless.

The ideia of a villain being ruined because of the writer hating on the character is a reason why i took almost 2 months to finish this history. Because at some points, it was just Cat in a Blender situations all over again. And other points were just Lily using her fic to directly attack star wars and its fans over and over again. Hate can really blind a writer from its own mistakes.

3-The Hatred 4 years after the fic ended still remains.

We all need to grow up at some point, even if we keep disliking one thing. But the thing that lily cant stop doing is remembering People she hates certain characters and considers their existence like the coming of the anti-christ. Kylo Ren hate stopped being cool after the Rise of Skywalker, People moved on of it. But all the time she must remember People on her vídeos that Kylo Ren sucked, that his fans are thrash, that Reylos are thrash...

Girl, move on. Its a bad character and you made the character a punching bag for being bullied and tortured the entire fanfic where the Mary sues could do everything and him nothing. We get it.

But still, its been years the fic ended. Move on. You remember the warcraft reference you made on this scene.

"Its all NOTHING!"

[samantha-and-her-chaotic-desires]

My perspective on Alastor from Hazbin Hotel, and my ideas on how else to present him: writing AND art.

Hi guys! As y'all know, Alastor is my favorite Hazbin Hotel character. He's one of the main focuses in most of my fanfics, series, side blogs, art, etc. etc.. However, there's a certain way I write/draw/see him. This is gonna be rambly so beware!! <3 (side note: I still don't support Vivziepop's actions xx)

Under the cut I'll be giving personal portrayal, critiques, gripes, issues, compliments, and even rewrites/"redesigns". I do NOT belong Hazbin Hotel nor Alastor (created by Vivziepop). This is an interpretation of what has been produced, how I look at it, and what I can do to rewrite. I am NOT fixing anything, so please do not say that I am.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT COME AND HARASS ME. This is MY personal interpretation of him. I have issues with Hazbin Hotel despite still being a fan, and I will address them. Any future anon hate will result in me immediately turning off anon, or the inbox itself: that is a PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT.

also this might be messy and all over the place, but bare with me :) The writing portion is in more so personal portrayal rather than the redesign, so heads up!

Without further adieu, let's get into it! :D

1) Personal Portrayal:

For the longest time, I've pictured Al as the "laughing on the outside, crying on the inside" type guy. This was in the glory days of the pilot. I remember the winters where I would read fanfic and draw fanart of any potential Alastor angst. Along with this, I would slowly have him go through character development. The Hazbin pilot was a complete eye opener for creativity, and a break for me. Of course the deer overlord caught my eye, and he led me to where I am today.

To me, he is complex: not revealing motives at first, but slowly guiding us into false hope, then a betrayal. Possible redemption, but he wouldn't be a goody two-shoes after it. He'd still be a dick, he'd still make mistakes, but he's slightly softer than before. Considerate might be a stretch, but it's a start that he is working on...albeit begrudgingly. He grows to love the Hazbins, then after a while supports the hotel.

Him and Husk are more rivals/buddies than what the show portrays. Yes they bicker, but it's lighthearted instead of harmful. There would be moments where hurtful things were said/done, but after reconciliation and consequences of actions, things would get better. Yet with Husk, Alastor is soft: platonically, as I still interpret him as aro-ace. Even during shitty days//arguments, there would still be a time where they could have a drink together, play poker/whatever card game, laugh their asses off, and enjoy the company.

Nifty and Alastor would be a father/daughter duo. He took her under his wing after a mishap, and she's been loyal to him since. He cares for her and is the only one out of two he allows himself to be soft with at first. (The second would be Husk). She cleans up after Alastor's mess when need be, and it never goes unappreciated. He helps her clean some days, and it could serve as a bonding moment. Jazz music in the background, cracking jokes, and things just feeling homey.

Alastor would break the smile when comfortable: it takes a while as someone who would mask emotions, but when he occurs, he feels lighter afterwards. Crying is another story: that'll take a longer time for him to overcome. He bottles it up until it unleashes at the wrong person. After some talking it out with Charlie, he finally lets go. This all happens very slowly, not in the same episode.

He's still a cannibalistic serial killer: he will have to own up to his sins. There's no glorifying them or babying him, he's a grown ass man that needs to own up for his actions. When he does, he probably won't be redeemed for a long while. That's okay though: he needs the development.

Also haha my sona is adopted by Alastor haha /hj (but seriously, he has become one of the closest comfort characters mainly due to my own portrayal. It's fiction after all! Everyone interprets things differently!) Now, moving onto the next topic.

2) The Pilot's Alastor:

My opinion: the pilot is better than the show. Sure I still like the show, but the pilot has more charm to it, y'know?

Ed Bosco's voice for Alastor in the pilot was perfect. It was devious, menacing, dare I even say intimidating. It accommodated the radio effect well, cutting in and out. It had a drawl, yet somewhat of a light tone in certain words. He felt like a radio host that happened to be a serial killer. The laugh. The smugness. It was just amazing. We didn't know anything about him, aside from the story Vaggie told. His motive was unknown (and still kinda is). But it showed us, not told us. It was solid and quite frankly, well done.

Black Gryph0n's singing voice for him was phenomenal! It was and still is one of my favorite voices of all time. It screamed 1920s and 30s. It was witty, smooth, yet eccentric and almost booming. Insane, Inside of Every Demon Is A Lost Cause, Heaven 2 Hell, Thank You and Goodnight: those were songs I had looped for months, even years. Inside Of Every Demon Is A Lost Cause was my alarm for a whole year, then Insane.

Design wise: too red. I still love him, but he's too red. The darker shades of brown/maroon on his lapel and tie were helpful though. Somewhat. Still, he blends into the setting of Hell itself: it's not as intense in the pilot, if I can remember correctly: it was still too much, but it wasn't an eye sore to me. Continuing, I never understood the hair (and it was a struggle to draw the first time around) but I liked the ears. It was overall a cute factor to a menacing character.

We knew from streams and old pieces of work that Alastor was a momma's boy, he's mixe Creole, he's aro-ace (while asexual in canon, I still see him as aro-ace), he has a dislike for dogs, the list goes on. In the pilot days, those were the only notes of info we had, and the fans made our own spin out of it. It was a fun time, reading fanfics during the winter while it snowed. I had popcorn and my iPad out to draw, and I was simply just...enjoying the content.

Moving onto the actual, set-in-stone Alastor.

3) The Show's Alastor:

Amir Talai's voice, while pleasant, is just...lacking something. I commend his work and still think he's awesome at what he does, don't get me wrong! But the way Alastor is presented just lacks what Pilot!Alastor had. While Pilot!Alastor was mysterious and menacing voice-wise, Show!Alastor feels more mischievous and playful, more than anything. An anti-hero instead of an opposing force, per say. It's not that I have a problem with it: it just doesn't fit with what his character is supposed to be. A deeper voice does him justice.

The design, although barely changing, is still too red. Nothing against it, but I have a slight gripe with the white border of the lapel. It feels out of place, plus a frustration to remember when I'm drawing. Same thing with the monocle, but the monocle is bearable.

Alastor's writing in the show is.....I dunno how to put it. Don't get me wrong: I loved when he has screentime! It would've been completely fine...but he's supposed to be mysterious. He was too open, too pushy, and it felt like it was shoved in our faces constantly. "hAhA lOoK aT tHiS sCaWy OvErLoRd OvEr HeRe DoN't YoU sEe HiM hAhA lOoK sEe?" to put it as nicely as possible. It just feels like his potential was butchered.

Him having a feud with Vox? Still clever! Video killed the radio star after all! While Stayed Gone is one of, if not my favorite Hazbin song, it could've had more potential. More banter, more singing than "rapping"/talking (I'm not quite sure if him and Alastor's talking was rapping, but eh, who knows).

His and Lucifer's beef is entertaining but unnecessary. What was the reason? Just for shits and giggles? It might have been, but it could've been done better in a filler episode. The way the banter was and how Lucifer didn't kick Alastor's ass, despite being the literal King of Hell AND the Devil, he didn't do shit. Lucifer could've smited him in an instant, yet he didn't. Because he's a soft uwu baby. /s Though we're talking about Alastor, not Luci.

Adding on, when the scene of him and Husk came to light, I was left conflicted. We're supposed to fear him, yeah? Well, why have him around 24/7? He should be lurking in the shadows, barely participating in hotel activities yet he is always in the background just watching. This would add the mystery factor. It would make the viewers go "wait, where's Alastor?" and have them guessing. With him being shoved in our faces, it feels useless. (deadass that scene where he tortured Husk made me feel a lot of hate towards Alastor. Genuinely: I was not happy. I don't fuck with that scene).

His full demon form in Episode Five is not great. I'm sorry. I preferred the form to be similar to Episode Two, where Vox pissed him off so much. With his [Alastor's] demon form, it should be slowly morphing. Also...maybe no voodoo? Because the show hasn't done actual research into voodoo. I have a book from New Orleans about the subject, and it's so fascinating.

Now: time for more of my creative side (kinda).

4) Redesigns/Overall Ideas:

I'm probably going to get some hate here, but eh. It don't bother me, I'm just a gal providing my own thoughts. ANYWAYS with my redesign/rewrite, it's gonna be a mixture of notes and paragraphs, so please bare with me.

I. Episode Two/Stayed Gone:

The song (as much as it's one of my favs) could've been wiped out completely and we could've had shenanigans with the two! Bickering, bantering, even fighting in the streets: causing Alastor to lose his cool and transform into the demon form he had at the end of the song. Perhaps Sir Pentious was a secret aid all along, tag teaming with Vox to try and take down Alastor. Charlie intervenes, Alastor is humiliated with himself, and there could be a bonding moment between them. Scolding and glaring from Vaggie, but bonding nonetheless.

I don't have many critiques for Episode Two, so let's slide into the next one.

II. Episode Five: Dad Beat Dad:

Yikes....okay. This episode isn't my favorite, but it's somewhat still enjoyable. The Lucifer/Alastor thing though? Entertaining but useless. Also still annoyed Lucifer didn't smite Alastor's ballsy ass. The gall you have to have: then again, it was to get a rise out of Lucifer. HOWEVER: Lucifer is the literal Devil, and we could've seen his potential.

Subtle glares and comments could've been arranged in Episode Five, yet Alastor has to be courteous. It's the King of Hell, the literal Devil. While it's okay for a character to be ballsy, there has to be limits...unless the aim is for the overly smug character to get their shit rocked: in that case hell yeah!

Then, something happens to the hotel: a greater threat, possibly because of Mimzy still, but they could work together to stop it. They still hate each other, but there's still enough respect to not kill the other.

III. Design Changes (Redesigns)

Give this man curly hair, first of all. While I'm not a POC myself, I have scene human!Alastor fanart, or even some canon design Alastor fanart where they made his hair curly! I would like to see more of it, so with my personal redesign, he has curly hair. I don't have my iPad on me (alive) right now, but once I sketch out the possible redesign, I'll share it!

There's also sometimes, with redesigns of Alastor, green added into the color palette. I personally love it, but with the red I don't want him to turn out Christmas-y lmao

I feel like black pants paired with white and black 1920s/30s tap shoes could cause the red to pop out. Maybe no red tuxedo coat.

^ BUT if there was a cold winter option, a red and maroon winter coat (ironically could be made out of deer pelt/skin) could do. The color scheme would be 2019 Alastor color palette.

His ears...OUGH. I would draw out the deer ears on the side of the head, and have the curly hair. Maybe hair tufts in the ears? Optional, but again, when everything is drawn out, it'll make more sense.

I do love the cunty red eyelids and the eyelashes. Keep those. Yesyesyes.

The antlers can stay black, but I'm just more worried about them blending with the hair or not. Design reasonings and such. Also maybe different shaping? Make them look bigger, more intimidating.

OH. MY GOD. Give him radio dial eyes 24/7 instead, but in that genuine look of fear/desperation/vulnerability, the normal eyes can pop out. That's just optional though.

5) Conclusion:

That's all I really have for Alastor. As much as I love him, he's flawed. This is a post that took me a few months to complete, I had it cooking up in here but life got in the way. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not harass me. But I hope you enjoyed my rambles!! <3

[oneatlatime]

A Precariously Stacked Pile of Random Season 2 Thoughts

These are notes I took as I watched the season. Usually after I’d already posted about the episode in question, and I thought of something I would have added to the post. Rather than edit them into my posts, I’m rounding them up and posting them all at once. As such, they are vaguely chronological. Unfortunately, because I made the notes legible to me and me only, I didn't bother to write down what episode I was referring to. I've also added some notes in as I was editing these notes. So this is also a bit of a scavenger hunt. Enjoy!

Iroh poisoning himself: dumbass moment or 5D chess?

My autocorrect corrects “Sokka” to Sock, and “Sokka’s” to socks. This causes double takes when editing.

Badgermoles have excellent eyeliner. Is that where the Kyoshi Warriors get their jaw dropping cat eye?

Why is Ty Lee spelled Ty Lee and not Tai Li? Why is Dai Li spelled Dai Li and not Dy Lee?

Sometimes Sokka makes me think of Mulan. Am I crazy?

Are the swampbenders’ moves based on a real martial art style too?

Why didn’t Aang use his swamp sense to locate Appa post-appanapping?

Where did Toph, who spent her whole life as a prisoner of her parents’ house and a moonlighting WWE wrestler until Team Avatar busted her out, get such emotional intelligence?

Why did Zuko’s dad put forward the plan to disinherit Iron in favour of him less than 24 hours after Lu Ten’s death? Why did he think that moving quickly was the right approach? Does the Fire Nation not do grieving periods? In what world was 'strike while the iron is hot' the correct course of action here?

Looking back, I’m amazed that season 2 didn’t end in Zuko’s redemption. I didn’t much like Zuko Alone, but I was sure that a season that included that much set up for a Zuko redemption arc would prioritise finishing that arc.

I haven’t even met this Firelord guy yet, but I am peeved that that twerp has a name as cool as Ozai.

Why haven't I met that Firelord guy yet?

I really thought that the older brother character in Zuko Alone would make an appearance later on in the season, giving Zuko a chance to flex some newly acquired morals. But the parallel to Lu Ten and the general message about the evils of war lands better if we never hear of him again.

Zuko in the first half of season 2 had me so annoyed that I was incredibly uncharitable to him in my write ups. Reading through some of the stuff I wrote while watching episodes, I kind of wince now. Zuko in the second half of the season was much less annoying. Which I feel bad for saying, because he’s clearly not in a good place in the second half of the season.

I would love to know why the writers decided to have Toph and Iroh meet in the wilderness. I think it’s a good choice, but I want to know how they came up with it, and why those characters? Is there anything about Toph (especially at that point, when we’ve known her for 1 episode) that suggests that she and Iroh should meet? Or would get along if they did?

Zuko has so many rock bottom fake outs this season: Zuko Alone? Nope, he gets worse in The Chase. The Chase? Nope, he gets worse in Bitter Work. Bitter Work? Nope, he gets worse in the finale.

I’m still peeved that Azula won a 6 on 1 showdown. Sorry, but that breaks immersion.

I bet the Blue Spirit could make lightning.

If water is the element of change, why does the Northern Water Tribe have such strictly defined traditions? I get that it's literally the element of change, in that water can exist in different physical states, but shouldn't the metaphorical interpretation also be true?

I like that Toph can think like an Airbender sooner than Aang can think like an earthbender.

What is Sokka’s boomerang made of? Is it metal? Because if it’s metal, does that mean that there’s a blacksmith somewhere in the South Pole? With a forge?

I still can’t get over how dumb the whole eclipse plot was.

Suki is TINY!!!

I mocked this guy’s 80s aerobics video leotard aesthetic, and I stand by that mockery, because this guy is ugly. Those colours are awful. But do you know who else has those colours?

Jet this season fascinates me. He’s positioned as genuinely repentant and legitimately seeking a second chance and I don’t believe him for one minute. Why don’t I believe him? This show has a theme of learning from mistakes and doing better, so shouldn’t Jet be a perfect fit for this show’s themes? I should be primed to believe him. And yet I don’t.

I have to applaud Iron’s enthusiasm for their new life in Ba Sing Se. A lot of that cheer (at least before the tea shop) is put on for Zuko’s sake. I don’t know where Iroh gets the energy to keep trying with Zuko after years of minimal results, but I’m glad he does.

I think Aang and Ty Lee should hang out. They have similar circus energy. Or maybe it’s that they’re the only two characters in the show so far who are remotely playful.

Aang = surface silliness, core of calm. Not that the silliness doesn't run deep, but he seems to have an untouchable anchor of calm deep within that rarely gets disturbed. Gyatso raised him well.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~Poetry bouncer ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

I need next season to have more Appa & Mono subplots à la their escapades in The Swamp. Not à la Momo’s Tale.

Tales of Ba Sing Se definitive ranking: Momo Aang Sokka Zuko Iroh Katara & Toph

I love that Momo still sleeps in the Momo bag from The Blind Bandit

Are Suki and her warriors sitting in the middle of some Earth Kingdom forest in their underwear?

So are Smellerbee and Longshot just done? Will they be back in season 3? What happens to their life now? They are known associates of an enemy of the state who was just executed. It doesn't look good.

Everyone on this show has big ears. Zuko has the smallest ears simply because he has the least amount of ears remaining. But everyone else? Big ears.

Can I have more Gyatso? I forgot how cool he was. More Guru too please.

Hakodilf.

Everyone in the SWT has such wonderfully fluffy hair.

I like Sokka’s boots. Southern Water Tribe boots in general.

If this is the grand total of the SWT, I have some bad news about population dynamics.

Is there a proper naval term for what the SWT are doing? They’re a stealth strike force that seems to be going after individual enemy ships, using both direct and indirect tactics. Not pirates, because as far as we know they aren't going for FN supplies. They're doing what submarines do, but above water. There’s got to be a proper name for that.

Is there a raft of FN corpses chilling in the waters in front of the NWT's big wall?

I saw ATLA described as a show where all the characters are Asian-inspired people of colour, but isn’t Suki a blue-eyed redhead?

I had no idea that you could decline an Agni Kai. Zuko should have done that.

Why are the Dai Li so in love with Azula? I get that they're pissed with Long Feng for getting arrested, but wouldn't the logical choice be to direct their loyalties to the Earth King rather than a wildcard princess? I'm not going to pretend for a minute that the Dai Li are loyal to the Earth Kingdom or to Ba Sing Se, but the Earth King is a known quantity. Seems to me that it would be easier for them to re-puppetify him, rather than a FN princess.

Katara & Zuko bonding over their missing mothers is the same “makes sense until you think about it for five seconds” as Song & Zuko bonding over losing their fathers to war. Technically the same, sort of, on paper, but actually kind of rude to equate them once you know the full story. Same with the parallel between Lu Ten and the older brother in Zuko Alone. The proper dead mom parallel is Katara and Jet. Although Katara doesn’t object to the Zuko comparison, so I have no grounds to do so.

I’m really glad that Katara didn’t remove Zuko’s scar with her spirit oasis water. Both because she kind of really needed that water, but also because one thing this show has always done right is permanence. No quick fixes, no fake outs, no take backs. Lu Ten is dead, and he stays that way. Princess Yue is the moon, and she stays that way. Half a dozen people’s moms are dead, and they stay that way. Aang is the last Airbender, and he stays that way. Zuko is scarred, and he stays that way. There are no hand waves, no easy fixes. All the characters can do is learn to live with it, and go forward. And I’m grateful the show is like that, because that permanence, as well as being a good lesson to learn, functions as a reward for audience investment.

Aang did come to a crossroads of destiny in the finale, chose his duties to the world over his friends, and got aggressively slapped down for it. I have a feeling that he’ll take the wrong lesson from that, since he was already inclined to shun that path.

Overall Season 1 was prettier.

Ty Lee was the cause of more than one Beat Up Sokka Quota fulfillment this season. Make of that what you will.

Will Zuko & Azula spend season 3 bouncing between the FN and Ba Sing Se? They could be heavily involved with establishing the FN governance over Ba Sing Se, since the city is already inclined towards royalty.

Favourite episode this season? The Guru. The Blind Bandit and The Swamp are tied for second place.

[moonlightreal]

The Jewel Riders graphic novel

so, how was it?

What I loved:

-The art. Gorgeous! Flowed well, the colors were good. Love it!

-That they made Merlin creepy. In the cartoon Merlin is clearly supposed to be a gentle, all-wise mentor but something about him always came off as a tiny bit creepy in a way the creators of the show did not intend. The creators of the comic picked up this creepiness and ran with it and I am well chuffed that something that was a fanfic idea I had was also going through these creators minds and they went with it and I love it.

-The creators’ love for the world of the Jewel Riders. They brought back the sheep! They remembered Kale’s evil-baby-deer form! They love Tamara and got her spot on! (true Jewel Riders fans love Tamara, we all just do) they had a scene where Fallon is upset and sits with Moondance mirroring one of the more powerful moments in the show. The writers of this comic must have really loved the cartoon, the silliness and the darker tone both together. This is completely a Jewel Riders graphic novel. It’s got the right vibe, the right worldbuilding, it is so perfect at being what it is!

-The plot driver being Queen Anya/Adrianna’s love for her banished sister, with flashbacks to them as teenagers in training to be Jewel Riders. Setting up Merlin as being responsible for Kale getting denied her magic jewel and turning evil and opening up redemption possibilities. Flashback images of young Kale and Adrianna. This is the perfect plot decision, I love it, 10/10 no notes.

What I did not love:

-The story was presented… not badly, but there were a lot of moments that made me go “I think this is what they’re trying to say, but I’m not sure.” For example, Gwen is getting ready to marry Drake and become queen, and she doesn’t want to. I think the intended plot is…

Land Beyond Dreams, that’s what I think the intended plot is. In the cut-from-the-final-version words of Princess Rosella, “But I’m not prepared to put my freedom on the shelf. How can I share with someone else what I don’t understand myself?” Gwen likes Drake but isn’t sure she wants to marry him and she knows she doesn’t want to marry him right NOW, and she knows she’ll be queen someday but she isn’t ready to stop adventuring YET… is what I think the graphic novel is saying, but it isn’t saying why Gwen can’t just say all that and spend more years as a Jewel Rider.

And it seems like Drake got fired from being a wolf riding boy Jewel Rider to… be Gwen’s full time bodyguard and fiance? But why would that mean giving up his own adventuring? And why does everybody seem to be cutting him out of all the action? There’s no logical reason he isn’t still a Jewel Rider. He even has his Forest Stone in a few panels.

While I utterly love how Queen Adrianna missing her sister summoned said sister back from evil banishment but it happened kind of confusingly. Adrianna summoned her sister, started seeing visions of Kale? Gwen didn’t see them. And then suddenly the land is all thorny and apocalyptic with no “Since Merlin said that Kale had returned, evil thorn plants have been growing out of control!” from anybody.

...is anyone else getting the same vibe that I’m trying to describe here? Like there’s a good plot, but like I’m having to do some long stretches to connect the pieces and the writing could have been changed just slightly to pull everything together in a way that requires less “it seems like” from the reader.

-And here comes the rant.

The thing I really did not love. The thing that made me downright furious with the creators of this graphic novel.

The book had nothing to help new readers who hadn’t seen the cartoon understand what was going on. No little explanatory text, no introductions to the characters and world. There needed to be at least a simple character page like manga have in the beginning… hang on, I can photoshop. The graphic novel needed this:

Ok I made that in like 5 minutes and it’s garbage, but you see my point! This would have added so much for people who just thought the cover was cool and picked up the graphic novel with no prior knowledge of the world. Without it, I’m afraid that the book will only sell to fans of the show, and I can’t imagine that there are enough of us to keep a graphic novel series going. So I think the creators’ decision to write something that’s ONLY for old fans and NOT AT ALL for new fans will result in the series being a flop instead of delivering more Jewel Riders fun for all of us for years to come, and for that I am so angry I could spit nails, so angry I could yell at the people who made a graphic novel that I have so much good to say about!

I hope so much that I’m wrong, and there will be more volumes published because I am just going wild to find out what happens next. What’s up with Kale now that she’s back? What’s up with Merlin now that he’s getting more and more questionable?

And as a longtime fan, what else are the creators going to bring back? Kit the prismfox? That critter made an impression on a lot of us! Ian, the beast of the forest who Gwen kinda had a thing with? The gliders? Will Morgana be back? Will we see any of the other girls’ parents? Will there be anything about Moondance and Cleo being princesses of the unicorns? Might they introduce another zebracorn friend for Shadow, or explore his origins? Could they go mining in the show bible and pull out the biggest unused gemstone: Gwen’s younger sister Tara? They’d have to figure out a way to explain how Tara was never mentioned once in all the show, but maybe she was hidden away for her protection, or kidnapped and the queen was so distraught she swore never to speak of it or something, silly lampshades but why not?

The world of Avalon has so many directions for a writer to explore and I want to see all of them!

[plusultraetc]

hii three questions in one ask for fun. who r ur favorite charas, what r ur fav arcs and what r ur fav subplots in mha :}} big fan of the todofam sideplot and the endeavor agency arc… bkdk third wheeling family drama. hilarious… 😁😁

genuinely HOW could you do this to me, I am so indecisive and I have so many favorite things </3 Also get ready for the sheer volume of words I am about to throw at you :D

SO, favorite characters. Obv there are So Many Characters in this show, but I still feel like I can count the ones I don't like on one hand and have fingers left over. I definitely have some obvious favorites (Aizawa, Mic, Shinsou) and some only-slightly-less obvious ones (Shigaraki, All Might, Hawks), but there are also some faves I don't yap about as much like Kirishima, Jirou, Miruko, and VLAD KING the LOVE of my LIFE. I queued a post recently about Inasa being an underrated fave, which is still true, but Vlad King is truly the king (haHA) of underrated faves. I love that man a ridiculous amount. THE TL;DR HERE IS THAT I LOVE 98% OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS SHOW SM IT'S UNREAL.

Arcs & subplots under the keep reading bc my main personality trait (never shutting up) struck again ! The short answer is Sports Festival & Todorokis, Shinsou, Rooftop gang for anyone who doesn't want to stare at that wall of text 😭

Favorite arcs: I have almost as many favorite arcs as I do favorite characters LMAO. You are SO RIGHT about the Endeavor Agency arc; usually people are forced to witness Midoriya & Bakugou's drama but oh, how the tables have turned. I also love Fuyumi and Natsuo and am always delighted to see them, even if they <3 punching me directly in the feelings :(

The USJ arc is, imo, a perfectly executed plot point, so from a writing perspective I really love USJ. It's got action, it's got character spotlights, but most importantly, it ties together the plot/character/worldbuilding threads of the first season so perfectly. Like. It's seamless. It was a writing school level moment. No notes.

The Hideout Raid arc (specifically All Might vs AFO) and Paranormal Liberation War gave me grays at 25. Joint Training is always a delight. But if I had to pick One Arc to Rule Them All it might honestly be Sports Festival?? It features all of my top three favorite characters for more than one (1) scene each and it is just. Such a wild time.

There is so much to unpack about this arc but it has a very special place in my heart bc the first time I ever watched it (so, like, 5+ years ago) my sister and I for some reason decided to treat it like people who care about the Super Bowl treat the Super Bowl. It was our Olympics except the team we were rooting for changed depending on the episode. To this day I remember my sister turning on a DIME from hating Bakugou since Season 1 Episode 1 to CHAMPIONING him with her whole chest bc Monoma pissed her off so much when he stole Bakugou's headbands. And now he's like her second favorite character in the entire series so?? Origin story moment ig.

Last but not least, favorite subplots!!

TODOROKIS. YEAH. Their entire plotline was one of the major factors that motivated me to catch up on the show. I was like what do you mean they're trying to give superhero Fire Lord Ozai a redemption arc? What do you mean that other fire guy was actually a Todoroki? Like... you have to remember that where I left off w this show, Endeavor seemed to exist solely to give Shouto a backstory, and honestly I remembered like nothing about Dabi. If getting back into MHA was a pit of quicksand the Todorokis truly walked me right up to the edge of it. It was like that part of TAZ where Taako is like 'okay that's weird enough that I'm gonna go in there.'

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Shinsou's off-screen character arc is EVERYTHING to me. I could write a thesis on this side character who appears like. Three times in the entire show. Shinsou really said 'I will be a mirror character AND undo the First Great Contradiction of this series AND have tangible, believable character growth, all while being given less screen time than Mineta' and I love that for him.

The rooftop gang... I'm not going to say much on this one for manga reasons but it's definitely a subplot I find very compelling. I'm still ruminating on its execution so far but I Did Cry over the Reveal in season 5. It re-contextualized so much, not just about Aizawa and Mic, but about UA and the lives of hero students. Ack.

TYSM FOR THIS ASK, this week has been three weeks long but I had so much fun writing this exhausted ramble <3

[roadkillgrlf]

diary entry

no picture

i wonder how my parents see me—my lifeless eyes that were so hollowed out from a depression i can briefly recall in the trenches of 2019. i had been feeling it for years prior to writing a note to my teacher. i told her i had been self harming and so was allie. just before i had to transfer schools. it felt like the right thing to do. it was.

nobody was ready for it at home.

i knew i was a burden long before my mother told me in the car ride to school—i was quiet then i cried when lining up for class. mrs bartlet took me to her counselling room, it was under this huge building and had so many things like a sand pit — boxes of toys and colouring books. on a rug and a floor pillow, i sat with her and meditated. this school was smaller than the previous one with a greater learning support team for children with disabilities or additional ‘needs’ as they say. i admire that. i think i’ll visit them sometime soon.

i never truly grasped how to sugarcoat how i feel until i learnt of mandatory reporting obligations. of course, they’d tell home about how my collection of glass shards is a hazard and that i want to kill myself. just because i gave a nervous smile—i was called unserious and they told me i shouldn’t joke about it. nobody knows the few times i have tried.

i wonder if that’s why my parents are so lenient with me. i’m the youngest. all my siblings have fought for whatever i have. we display mental illnesses to the point where mum and dad just have to get over their conservatism—they’re mentally ill too. i see it. we all tell them. dad has diagnosed depression—i don’t know the context but i would sit in the silence with him because i know what it feels like to wait on hope. even if it comes in the form of a knock on the door. i’ve seen glimpses of his depression, it comes in the head hitting when he thinks he’s not being watched. i know he has headaches but he tells mum that he wants to die and that he’s tired of being a sick man.

at first i really felt it. i would cry. i would sit near him. i would reach for hugs. i would massage his head. i would hold his hand. i put aside my memories of him doing that to me in bed, a time where my dignity was sacrificed for something i do not like saying. he rarely hit me. i can’t remember. i think i wanted to show him something like a toy and he was tired — he wanted to sleep. he slapped me so hard that i fell off the bed into my toys on the floor. lol….when i told mum then she made him apologise to me then they laughed it off for some reason. it’s such memories that make me not want to be around them anymore. i’ll just move in with stephanie when the time is right.

i think my father is scared of me. i look like him.

i look like you

i look like you

i look just like you, anthony

i look like you

i look like you

he knows i’m his redemption before Isabella. the second that divorce was being contemplated, he confided in me. i would always think i’d go with dad to keep him safe and healthy—but i felt a sense of discomfort at the same time.

“who would you go with? you would pick me, right?”

the moment i showed hesitation and uncertainty. he realised he’s on thin ice. he could be losing me as well.

some say i had a great dad and that they wish they were part of my family. they wish they were me but they don’t know a thing.

he spoils me because that is how he makes amends. he takes care of me now because that is how he reconciles with me. he is somewhat more emotionally available now. we don’t talk about anything that happened. he just drops me off to therapy with his credit card in my hand.

i think they got scared when they saw how numb i became at just 12 years old. they told me it was a surprise but then i caught on—it’s a fucking hospital trip. i locked myself in the bathroom but of course, my door knobs got taken away. that’s so great … mum and dad !!! i live with a child predator and you all agree to this !!!! what the actual fuck !!!

i remember really beating my sister up and thrashing around. why was she holding me anyway? my brother should’ve done that, isn’t he the ‘strong’ one here? he just watched it happen. he’s quite apathetic at times. i thought he was a sociopath at some point. i remember being home alone during his melt downs. his screams vibrate through the walls and floors. a grown man yelling. i just plugged my earphones in and continued doing pilates. my mum had the biggest cackle when i told her. this girl…

i mean what exactly was i supposed to do at 13 years old with a brother who is 2x the size of me and has schizophrenia.

[justabitscrewy]

Just want to say I adore your OC Izen! I don't know his whole story but the snippets I've seen are tantalizing and I really enjoy him. Also his design is so cool like, I'm a tiny bit afraid of spiders but he is adorable and epic and utterly amazing.

Thank you for sharing him and your art!

THANK YOU SO MUCH. i know i should've just answered this ask when i received it, but i was so excited at your words that i spent like,,, two weeks drafting a primer? just so that way you'd have more context?? Theres a LOT of lore that provides the foundation for Izen's backstory, so writing a primer of any kind was DIFFICULT. I've parsed it down substantially. The vibes are there, and i think it all tracks, but I haven't broken down any specific timeline or events, because a) it would be way too long, and b) some of those events haven't come up at the table yet.

Summary:

Izen fled the Monks of Mercy after becoming a drider, and found sanctuary with a formless voice that lives deep in the underdark, a voice lingering on the boundary between life and death. This voice would become Izen's undead patron and friend, and provided Izen with magic and means of defending himself. The patron is missing pieces of himself (ancient relics that were scattered to the surface) and Izen has made it his mission to leave the underdark in order to find his friend's missing pieces.

On the surface, Izen first met Phaela -- who would quickly become the greatest friend he ever had. She would offer him safety and transportation (in the form of her truck) and more importantly, a kind hand and an eagerness to show him how beautiful and wonderful the world can be.

Now, Izen and Phaela are traveling with three more people -- and the more people Izen meets the safer he feels. The world is a kinder place, and these people are good. He believes in them, he trusts them, and he wants to help them.

Breakdown of Themes and Lore are under the readmore!

THE THEMES BABY:

Pre-Campaign:

Izen sees his drider transformation as a victory over death — society told him that he was cursed, condemned, and in need of redemption. He refused to internalize the guilt and blame and fought tooth and nail to separate himself from anyone who would manipulate him.

Izen is driven by equal parts hope and fear. Fear of death, fear of captivity, fear of pain — but an unwavering hope and raw belief that life has to be good, that freedom is obtainable, that there must be a kinder and softer place for him out there somewhere.

Now:

Izen is trying so hard to embrace the second chance at life and freedom that the surface has provided him. He has a best friend in Phaela, someone who has proven to him that he was right all along. He was right to never give up, never give in, that the world could be better and kinder than what he was raised in.

Izen is absolutely enthralled by what he finds on the surface. The moon, the stars, the changing of seasons. And he’s torn between being fully enamored with the people he meets while still harboring a paranoia at being found out and returned to the drow. But every person he’s met, from Phaela, to the party, to strangers along the way, has only reaffirmed that the cruelty he experienced in his past was the outlier.

He loves bright colors, clashing patterns, soft blankets, scented soaps, and beautiful candles. Simple and beautiful things that brings such small but profound comfort and vibrancy

AAAAHHHHH Lore Notes:

Enlightenment: The Drow are a culture that lives in division. There are the days of Enlightenment — the days of now, where they have agriculture, cities, infrastructure, mining, industry — and the days of Descent — the days of a previous age, where they were nothing more than primitive warriors who had to fight to survive in a savage time, barely more enlightened than the monsters and beasts they fought against.

Death: The Drow believe that the moment of death is the most important time in a drow’s life. Death is when they return to Lolth, death is when Lolth sees how far the drow have come. For every drow returned to Lolth, her judgement of their entire progress shifts. This is why the Drow believe that it is imperative for each individual to die with pride and dignity — to never fear death and always welcome its embrace. Only animals fears death, and the Drow are not animals. And the individual will be held against the whole.

Drider: The Drow believe the drider transformation is a divine punishment from Lolth. And given that Lolth has not spoken to the drow in generations, it’s the only form of contact she has with them in this age. The Drow believe that the Drider are a lingering scar of the Descent — a time when they had to become monsters themselves in order to survive. When Lolth turns a beautiful drow into a hideous drider, she’s revoking their progress — reminding them that they haven’t grown at all. It’s a warning that they are still no better than their primitive ancestors that crawled in the dirt of the under dark. And worse of all — given that ever drider transformation is given to a drow near death — its a rejection. Lolth only wants to receive the brave and the enlightened. For Lolth to seeing a dying Drow and instead of ending their misery and welcoming them into her embrace — she prolongs their life by twisting them into a monster that isn’t even a drow anymore. It’s a rejection. A guilty verdict. That drow was so fallen that she spit them out and left them to be an example and warning so that others might learn from their mistakes. This is what they believe.

[nogoawaytism]

My second thingy for Nitpick November, because I'm not gonna do this consistently the way God intended.

It's just so... interesting to hear RWBY stans bitch about any sort of criticism regarding how certain male characters are treated. Apparently if any of us commit the unforgiveable sin of saying something like "I wish Sun/Adam/Mercury/Ironwood was treated better by the narrative + explored the unique themes that are a part of their identity as characters." rwby stans freak the fuck out and start whining about how RWDE only wants a show about a white male character. And I'm like

*looks at the vast majority of the cast, especially the heroes*

*looks at V9*

It's just so... interesting how these double standards work, because I guess a white male character getting the spotlight is ok when it's Miles's self-insert.

Meanwhile, Sun has a Chinese allusion despite being a blonde, Ironwood was modeled after Jason Rose who is half Asian (Oh wait, I bet we don't count mixed people). Interesting.

Also, Sun is an established, in-universe minority, an abuse victim thanks to Blake, which is frequently downplayed because Blake is a girl and a main character, and is therefore perfect, and Sun is evil because he isn't psychic, and expressed attraction to a main character. How evil.

Also, Ironwood is a veteran with PTSD facing a horrible situation, a triple amputee, and the only one of the cast who actually has a feasible plan. Oh wait, losing his arm made him lose his humanity, what an evil bastard. He probably lost over half his body on purpose.

Also, Adam is an established, in-universe minority, a former child slave, who has the SCHNEE FUCKING DUST COMPANY logo burned onto his fucking face. Adam should be a good faunus, and not complain at all about faunus oppression, otherwise he's a fucking nazi.

Also, Mercury was trained for an extremely dangerous job as a young child, and abused so badly to the point where he LOST BOTH LEGS. Man, white men really do be the worst.

Yes, two of these characters are villains, and yes, we should hold people accountable for their actions instead of inborn characteristics. Oh wait, y'all already did that when you bitched about them being "white men", while almost every important non-white character has been presented as a villain at some point, and the two non-white characters in our main cast, Ren and Oscar get treated so poorly compared to the other heroes. Sure, complain about how RWDE "wants to center white men" while Ren's mental state and feelings are invalidated at every turn. Sure, complain about how RWDE "wants to center white men" while Oscar the literal child that got dragged into this war is constantly the one bearing the brunt of physical abuse that we haven't seen our other characters experience + half of that physical abuse is by characters who ARE heroes and by Hazel who got the last-minute redemption treatment. Sure, complain about how RWDE "wants to center white men" while y'all treat this show like the best shit to happen to media since Charles Dickens when *checks notes* it's written by white men, which isn't inherently bad in my opinion, but in this case they write every fucking issue in this show in such an insensitive light, and are still horrible xenophobic people. Miles and Kerry ARE stereotypical horrible white men, but y'all still defend their stupid writing while bitching about white men abused by the narrative.

Oh, and might I add: the fuckers saying this stan Coco. I wonder what her allusion is.

So you mean to tell me, that expressing just a little bit of tact about Adam being a branded child slave, or Ironwood losing three limbs and being traumatized, or Mercury being abused and losing his legs, is super duper evil, but this Nazi insert is an absolute slay queen. Y'all really made a doodoo with this one, whoopsies!

Anyway, take the historic moment before Mercury rightfully whooped this Discord light mode-looking mf who's also a Nazi:

[bonebabbles]

What are your thoughts on Thunder himself, btw?

ughhh I want to like him, I like the IDEA of him, but he sucks just as much as everyone else.

We get our proper introduction to him in Thunder Rising, Book 2, through a magic dream with his dead mom who "Feels Right And Loving" unlike his 'adopted' mom, Hawk Swoop

DOTC HATES adoption. His sole interaction with Jackdaw is finding out that actually he resents him because he suckled from his wife. Incredibly unpleasant

That's not an issue with Thunder himself, exactly, but this series is deadset on concluding Adoption Bad like a moth making a beeline for open flame and this character is used for that purpose.

It is important to remember that characters are storytelling tools... and Thunder is a brush to paint an ugly picture.

So Jackdaw, Hawk, Acorn, and Lightning occupy a shitty space where they're not his family, but closer than friends, with whatever book you're in flipping wildly between these things

Lightning Tail really suffers here because he is most compelling when the series accidentally hates women so much it clips into looking gay. The first time I was legitimately invested in Blazing Star was when LT seemed jealous of Thunder spending time with Star Flower.

And speaking of that; Thunder's romantic relationships are some of the absolute worst in a series that is already rock bottom

Him and Star Flower are not compelling, it's not cute, it's boring. This is slop.

Same with Violet Dawn, who appears out of thin air later to be his wife because god forbid a single member of Clear Sky's family go maidenless

In his early appearances, he's already whining about His Faaather despite Sun Trail closing out on the famous line where Gray Wing announces, "ILL be his father from now on."

It's a huge let down from the previous book, which ends on such a good note. Absolute waste of setup.

That Magic Dead Mom dream, btw, is her saying that one day she'll "Help His Faaaaaaaaaaaather see the good in himself" so right from the get-go, Thunder is set up to be responsible for saving his piece of shit dad.

I can't lie; I think that is a downright evil trope and I'm immediately uncharitable towards any piece of media that peddles it unironically. No, you CANNOT SAVE your abusive parents through being a good child. People who put this in books for minors should choke. In minecraft

So the moments that I LOVE Thunder are when he's rejecting that idea, like in First Battle where he spits at Clear Sky and tells him "I will never be cruel."

THAT'S my favorite Thunder, that's who I wish he was. Someone who cuts through Gray Wing's quibbling to speak the truth, for justice, for righteousness.

But unfortunately that's rarely who he is. Most of the time, he completely unironically swoons and fawns when Daddy Looks At Him.

He is also really bad about towing Gray Wing's line at times, like when he was freaking out that the Moor cats wanted to train for combat as Clear Sky was becoming more violent towards the border, cheering on public 'gladiator' style battles between his own cats

And the constant crying about Self Defense Makes You Just As Bad is insufferable. Which, of course, they've just unceremoniously dropped now that One Eye is an Evil Foreigner who hurt Clear Sky's feelings

The most consistent thing about him is, unfortunately, that he's annoying. He wants Clear Sky's approval and the page has to remind you about this constantly. He joins the same Clear Sky Pity Party that everyone else does in Blazing Star, totally forgetting the first three books where he was an abusive monster completely responsible for every bad thing that happened.

Thunder deserves so much better than this. The writing is a disservice to how complicated and painful it feels when your beloved family loves someone who's bad for them, for you, and for everyone. But unfortunately, DOTC is Clear Sky's story, and every other character revolves around his pathetic "redemption arc."

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Chaos Chapter 18

Previous | First | Next

Master Post - Patreon

The following day was set aside for everyone to relax and catch their breath. There were plans for a meeting between the Discordant Gods, The Arbiters, and the city council, but that was being saved for the next day. Tusk was taking it easy at the monastery, trying to get his wedding plans in order. Sigmund hung around as he wanted to attend the big meeting. Razor and Mizuki approached the two in the courtyard, with the former having a slight spring in his step.

“Hey, Tusk? Can I go back home now that we’re done?”

He looked up from his notes. “I don’t see why not.” Tusk smiled. “Feeling a bit exhausted?”

Razor nodded. “I think I’ve had enough fun for one week…”

Sigmund chuckled. “Go ahead and take a rest, Razor, you’ve earned it.” He then shook Mizuki’s hand. “Also a pleasure to meet you, Mizuki Kitagawa. The Forest has been telling me about how you’ve been helping my son.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Chief Sigmund, but how did you know… how did the forest know?”

“The Forest of Old is vastly more expansive than it appears. Not only that, it can speak with entities you wouldn’t think possible. And since Tusk and I are grown from it, it can communicate with us no matter where we go.”

“Subarashī…” Mizuki remarked. “Is that how you were able to show up to help us?”

“Indeed. The Forest was panicking, so I checked my divination crystal and nearly had my heart stop. And if I may say, Tusk, you realize how dangerous taking on Gratiana was, right? And taking on the form of the Ancient Tree Titan? By the Source, my boy…”

Tusk sighed. “I know, but I had to give Torunn and the others a fighting chance.”

Sigmund shook his head, then chuckled again. “No more grand scale adventures, my boy. You’ve earned your redemption and then some.”

“No promises, dad.” The two laughed.

“I had no idea Lady Gratiana was so powerful,” Mizuki admitted after going over what had happened the day prior in her head. “Um, pardon my saying…”

“Aye,” Sigmund replied. “Those ties go all the way back to Feuerland, back when the Arlotti family had power. They were one of the founding families of the kingdom and cemented their status by offering the first child of every generation to Leonard for good fortune. Oddly Sir Gideon Arlotti rejected this tradition, causing the honor to go to Gratiana. Given the blasphemy and the fact that each champion was supposed to be a man, It makes me wonder if the family didn’t incur some form of misfortune over that upset.”

“Ha, funny how the irreverent always stub their toes,” Tusk pointed out. Sigmund cleared his throat, causing Tusk to groan. His father chuckled.

“That battle yesterday really put into context what Torunn’s team have had to deal with,” said Razor. “I feel really bad for them.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Razor,” Sigmund assured. “Torunn is no slouch on the battlefield and Weaver knows how to fight.”

Mizuki thought about her skills for a moment, realizing she could have done more. “Chief Sigmund, would Torunn take me on as a student? I feel as if I need to learn more.”

“Of course she would. Just hold off until The Eternal Church is gone as things are about to get messy over in Shadowland. You are more than welcome to stay in the village as long as you like.”

“Arigatō, Chief Sigmund.”

“Oh, Razor?” Tusk interjected. “Tell my mom everything’s alright before she has a conniption, ha,” he requested as Sigmund opened up a calm, green portal.

Razor laughed. “Will do, Tusk. Follow me, Mizuki. You’re going to love the Tree People village” he said as they vanished, the portal closing behind them.

Tusk gave a massive sigh of relief. “Do you know how worried I was about those two?”

“Understandable. It was a bit out of the blue for Magnus to spring that upon you. I think you did a great job regardless.”

“Thanks, dad.”

After a couple minutes of writing things down, Randalph paid the two a visit. “Tusk, Chief Sigmund!”

“Oh, hey, Randalph,” Tusk replied.

“Randalph, good to see you again!” Sigmund gave him a hug. “How have you been doing? You haven’t visited the village in a while.”

“I’m doing fine, chief. Got my staff fixed, Grendel’s doing fantastic with his alchemy, and dad and the Thundee Council are considering moving the city to The Unlight.”

“Well that last one is a surprise,” Sigmund remarked. “What prompted that decision?”

“The Gods of Order. They’re causing Limbo to become unbelievably unstable. We’ve had multiple poor footing incidents in recent times with the city, more than what we would deem acceptable.”

Sigmund nodded. “That would do it. Where are you planning to put the city?”

“It’s up in the air at the moment, but The Iron City region is a strong contender. Near the Valley of Eons is also on our radar, but that might be a no go. It sucks because I love that place, but we have to concede that it is a heritage site.”

“A good call if you ask me regardless of where you settle down, Randalph,” Tusk complimented. “I never did trust Purgatory…”

“Oh, Tusk; recently Lucanus and Lilach’s domains stabilized, making them explorable. Would you like to come along with me, Mayhem, and Faustus to explore them?”

“I guess so, but who’s Faustus?”

“He’s a fire devil I met recently who’s been looking to explore beyond his Inferno. I’m aware of his affinity, but I think you’ll like him regardless.”

“Alright then, as long as things don’t get too hairy.”

Sigmund tapped his staff on the ground. “Call for help if anything serious pops up, you two.”

“Don’t worry, dad, we will,” Tusk reassured.

Randalph checked his watch. “Tusk, want to go shopping for your wedding? I spied some stores full of stuff Donia would love. Good stuff at that.”

Tusk got up, stretching with a yawn. “Alright then. See you later, dad.”

“Best of luck to you, son,” Sigmund said as he began to walk off. “If you boys need me, I’ll be speaking with Master Ealdhelm.”

Once Tusk and Randalph were in the city proper, Tusk realized something was missing. “Hey, Randalph? Have you seen Maxima? I wanted to thank her for the help she provided.”

“She said she wanted to go check out The Magician’s Labyrinth, but I believe she may have accidentally gone to the wrong time.”

“Oh, well that’s not good…” Tusk stated. “Well it can’t be all bad if we’re still here.”

The rest of the day was spent getting Tusk all squared away. Many passersby were asking if he was okay due to the missing bark, to which he replied with slight groans and assurances that he was alright. All of the ruckus with the Discordant Gods had kept him distracted, but Randalph and Mayhem had managed to get him back on track. Donia was going to love her presents and Tusk could finally sleep easy. It was a bit funny that he was more concerned about his wedding than the fate of the Cosmos itself.

Everybody was up early for the big meeting the next day. Seeing a great deal of the Discordant Gods in one place was surreal, but the addition of the arbiters made it a grand sight to behold. The citizenry present were eager with anticipation while everyone else watched their televisions with utmost attention. Presiding over the meeting was Mayor Rubenn Mattsonn, an older yet sharp man of the law.

“Alright, everyone settle down,” Rubenn called out as he took his seat at his desk. “It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally at the end of our conflict with the Discordant Gods. Would you like to speak, Ealdhelm?”

“Actually I’ll let my brother speak first. Wulfric?”

He cleared his throat and stood up. “Thank you, Ealdhelm. Now I know all of you are probably fairly annoyed at me and I don’t blame you. As a Discordant God and a leader, I apologize for how boneheaded I’ve been up until now.” There was a round of applause for this. “Now I don’t want to sound militarant, but that attack we dealt with tells me we need to work together. Driskoll, could you take it from here?”

“Of course, brother. Wulfric is not suggesting we conquer the Cosmos, rather we need to be ready for the threat Karnage and the rogue gods pose. Kleitos and I have looked into it and we’ve concluded that The Running God and The Crimson God are in league with The Eternal Church and Order, further under the leadership of The Sepulcher God”

“That is very serious, Lord Driskoll,” Rubenn agreed. “What are your reactions, Ealdhelm?”

“It is certainly troubling. The Arbiters and I have resolved to start looking for ULTRAMagic neophytes again. The quicker we can bolster our numbers, the better.”

“That’s easier said than done…” Wynnstan interjected.

“Boy, have some faith in your uncle,” Wulfric replied in rebuttal.

Delphine nodded. “The finest gemstones don’t form overnight.”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on the Unlight through Gratiana,” Leonard pointed out. “It sounds like The ULTRAMagic Guild has us partially covered, aye, Tusk?”

Everyone looked at Tusk, causing him to laugh out of nervousness. “Er, yeah, um… talk to Ultimatum here.”

Ultimatum gave him an incredulous look, a little annoyed that the buck was being passed to him. “But you’ve been recruiting the most people so far.” Tusk tapped him on the arm. “Oh, alright” he said as he stood up. “Given the steps Achasiah, Deimos, and I have been taking in combating The Lich of Old and Milosh Proch, we are moving ahead with the guild. It’s still in its infancy, but we are making progress.”

“Will you be working with the Arbiters?” Rubenn asked.

“Well obviously given that our enemies are working together and our similar goals.”

“Very good. Now Wulfric, you realize that for the longest time Karnage has been under your command, right?”

He nodded. “Yes, Mayor Rubenn.”

“How do you plan to deal with that fact?”

Wulfric sighed, reflecting for a moment. “Karnage has left a massive stain on my honor and I am not happy about that. I created that ungrateful little…” He finished that sentence with a growl. “I feel like saying sorry isn’t enough. Ealdhelm and I have talked about it and the two of us are going to duel. No ‘to the death’ nonsense, no ‘winner takes all,’ just a friendly bout between brothers.” The audience was whispering amongst themselves.

Ealdhelm continued. “This will also be accompanied by a festival tomorrow. Everyone is welcome and there will be food, music, and activities for all ages. We figured after all of that conflict, everyone needs a fun, happy fair of sorts to wind down and whatnot.” The audience clapped again.

“The duel thing worked for Englehart and Dunja, so hey, why not try it out ourselves?”

“Well then, that’s quite the pleasant surprise,” Rubenn stated. “If you feel that is the right thing to do, then Droomopolis would be more than happy to assist you.”

Adelheid stood up. “I would also like to announce that after this festival, Ealdhelm and I shall be getting married.” The applause resumed with some cheers.

Kleitos laughed in excitement. “Wow, I think this is the most orderly we’ve been in some time,” he said to his kin.

“Fine with me,” Ulrich replied. “It’s about time we all came together as one big happy family.”

“We just have to face off against the rogue gods, no pressure,” Rahela commented with a nervous chuckle.

Leonard patted her on the back. “Don’t worry, kid, we got this.”

Wulfric made his finishing remarks followed by Ealdhelm’s. Droomopolis was excited and very proud that day. The conflict was over and they were all united. The Discordant Gods could not shake their worries though. Karnage being so brazen was an ill omen. And what Audawakrs had revealed did not bode well with Tusk and Ultimatum. Only time would tell what would happen. Thankfully they all had a festival to attend to ease their nerves.

Next: Chapter 19

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)