#deadbeat motel charlie

[deadbeat-motel]

ᐯᗩGGIE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕᕼᗩᖇᒪIE ᖇEᗪEᔕIGᑎ

These two are simpler than the angel dust design I did since I didn't have a lot to go off of. Posted on Valentine's Day because yes I can.

I don't think Charlie is significantly different from her Pilot design because I genuinely think it was the best design from the cast (before the redesign).

Thoughts below, though TW for the creepy charlie image at the end:

My issues with their Original designs:

Vaggie:

The giant "X" over her eye is really distracting and even world-breaking because

1. Why had no one put 2 and 2 together that the only character in Hell who has a visible 'X' mark on her face might be related to the angels who also sport that X mark on their faces.

2. Why is it shaped like an X? Her eye was taken out via a single slash.

3. If the hair's purpose was to cover it, why would it show through it? What's the point of the hair then?

The hair that was supposed to cover that wounded eye looked so ugly and confused as to what it should be doing. I mean every shot that showed that thing in a sideview shot of Vaggie felt like the animators had to make their own guesses as to how that was supposed to look like. It was distracting for me personally and I hated it so much.

It's been said over and over again, but her clothes look like she works at McDonalds. I get needing to change her outfit so that she looks like she works at the hotel, but it's just been poorly designed.

Why change her clothes' colors from white to red? the white helped her stand out from Hell and the Hotel's majority red background. (In the finale, she at least has a non-red attire)

She's also one of the very few women in HH and she falls under the skinny stick side of it despite being an angel exterminator.

Her hair is kind of hard to visualize looking at in any way other than what it is when it's static. However, when it changed into a ponytail or a bob, it's actually really nice to look at.

Unsure of what that bow's purpose is for the design.

Charlie:

Charlie is a simple but very confused design. The pilot design was a lot more coherent than the current show design

It's disappointing to see the bouncy Pilot hair go and be replaced by that boring bubble braid of all things.

Her undershirt peaks out of her tuxedo.... why???? to separate the top jacket and the pants? You wouldn't need to do that if her pants were a different color like the pilot design.

Thought about it and was confused, as a demon with an angelic father, why didn't she have wings as well? She didn't need the 6 wings like Lucifer but maybe a pair of one would appear?

Out of all the characters for the show's redesign, Her's was by far the MOST infuriating to me. Her pilot design wasn't perfect but it was good, they had to downgrade her for some reason.

I didn't have much to say about Charlie. it basically sums up to "the Pilot design was better".

On to the thought process for these two:

Valerie the fallen:

Yes, she got a rename. Sue me.

I had to remove the moth aspect of her design because it doesn't seem like it makes sense for a heaven-born to follow the sinner's rule of "gaining features based on the life you lived" since she basically never lived right?

In this redesign (and eventual rewrite), Valerie is not ashamed of her exterminator background. In fact, she was known as the most recent "fallen" in hell. her short stature doesn't make her less of a threat to the demons.

She's also visually thick with muscle because why not let one of the show's women have a body type that isn't stick-thin?

She's using the wings that were torn off of her as both an interesting article of clothing and as a way to remind others and her that she is (or more accurately 'was') an angel who could kill them if she wanted to.

Her clothes are pure black underneath the pale feathers to show that while she is an "angel", deep down, she is far from a good person.

She's also getting an actual skin color because from what I gathered myself from the show's heaven. Most of the souls there still retain a human appearance (Adam, Lute, St. Peter, and the other random human angels up there still look human..... but just don't mind the fact that most of them are white.)

Her hair is that ponytail she had in the finale because as much as I didn't like that episode, some designs looked actually decent.

Also, her hair actually covers the eye scar properly.

I wanted to keep her ribbon as a splash of brightness on her design but the OG ribbon looks a little out of place on a warrior so It became that (Plus it pays homage to her OG moth influence with its shape looking like the fluffy antennas of the moth)

Gave the spearhead a little bit of detail on it plus a chipped side so that it has a bit of charm as an old weapon she still decides to keep around.

A note about Valerie's design is that I haven't tackled the armor of angels yet so I was unsure of what pieces of the undesigned armor to give Valerie as of now.

Charlie:

I honestly actually enjoyed her Pilot hair, so I tried to put it back and also simplify it a bit so there are not a lot of strands for me to keep track of. Plus it was a genuinely cute design for her. (There's a reason that version was used in the Verbalase video.) <- I'M JOKING

Replaced her button nose with a goat's because a friend has commented how it looked like the noses of the women in a Goofy Movie and I will never be able to unsee that.

Her hair is also a lot brighter compared to her washed-out blonde color.

She has the same design thought process as Valerie, Covering the darkness of her true nature with white fluffy fur which is stylized like feathers at its ends. She has pitch-black skin underneath and looks like a proper nightmarish demon like the image below.

I ditched the tuxedo look, since almost all the cast has a similar outfit already, and gave her a jumpersuit instead. (Idk what it's really called but that's what I think it is). It's a light grey because she's a mix of bad and good (though a bright grey because she prefers to be on the good side)

Her horns are there and visible because yeah it's cute but also helps her read as the half-angel/half-demon character she is.

Tiny goat tail because can you imagine every time Valerie holds the rare angel smile of approval, her tail is visibly wagging in glee and excitement???? My heart would die. I love these lesbians with my life.

Has wings from her father.

Anyways, those are my thoughts and redesigns... I wanted to add more details to them but I didn't really know what to add that didn't feel unnecessary.

Also bonus! Concept art of Charlie's true form:

[kandy-sticks-zaza-blogs]

Heres Charlie and Agatha the sapphics gf!

I made Agatha buff and made her 2000s goth.She have skull heart tattoos with wings and put her iconic skull earrings on her.

I make Charlie looks friendly but with creepy smiling mask that made her look human and jointed legs

Charlie still have her bubbly enthusiastic personality but I made her unhinged when someone disrespect her

Inspo:

@deadbeat-motel

Bonus: Charlie hides her face when she took off her mask while kissing her gf

[scarecrowmax]

Pt 22 to my Emma Lives AU plot requested by regnumveritatis on AO3

Emma hated having Chuck in the bunker, God or not he was annoying and disruptive to the flow of their lives. Plus he never seemed to wash his own dishes and she was half tempted to break his stupid #1 Dad mug over his head. #1 Deadbeat maybe, but #1 Dad he is not, she had only met a few angels for any length of time but she knew enough that he'd royally screwed the lot of them up in one way or another. Cas absolutely felt abandoned by him and would get the same kind of look on his face at times when God was brought up as Dean did when her grandfather was brought up and that told her enough right there. She'd read John's journal and if God was anything like John, then well, a mug would be the least he'd be owed. The main thing that kept her from doing it was the fact that he said he could help them with Amara, and getting rid of her was too important to ruin their chance on that. 

She only felt more off-kilter when Lucifer arrived wearing Cas, if there was any way she could kill him without hurting Cas she would, she hated seeing Cas used like that. She knew he had to have been completely tricked by him. And she could see how Sam flinched any time Lucifer got near him, her dad had told her the basics and she knew not to ask Sam but she wished she knew just what he'd done to her uncle so she didn't risk making it worse when he was dealing with the memories of it all.

Trying to do family therapy with Lucifer and God just felt ridiculous, how do you help them get past all their shit also, how can you possibly fix millennia of abandonment/daddy issues? Lucifer was just throwing barbs and trying to get attention and an apology for the cage and everything else but Chuck wouldn't do it. 

Emma finally interjected, knowing they weren't actually getting anywhere and that direct accusations from a neutral party could help. "You gave Lucifer the mark when you guys sealed up your sister right? Didn't you have some understanding of what that would do? Isn't it your fault he's like this? I mean I read the books, when he was facing Michael in Stull he did say something about you wanting an adversary, was he right about all that?" 

At nearly the same time Lucifer said "Thank you!" And Dean panic asked "You read the books?" aware of just what kinds of things had made it into the ones he'd read when they first discovered them.

"Charlie told me what stuff to avoid before giving them to me, don't worry."

Chuck huffed annoyed, "How could I have known that? I'd never done anything like that, I can only foresee things to a degree based on past knowledge. I just have more knowledge than other people and can see it that way. Definitely didn't foresee you though, would've thought that would go differently."

That last bit hit her like a slap to the face. Did he mean it like he would have expected her to kill her dad or for them to have killed her? Odds are he meant the latter based on how well he knew Sam and her Dad. The rest of the conversation had Lucifer leaving to put on the moody teen act, and Emma took the opportunity to slip away to the kitchen. It was far enough away from both Chuck and Lucifer that she could collect herself. She was losing it just a little and she didn't want to be. Didn't want to think about the fact that God pretty much just said she was supposed to die that day in the motel room. She was supposed to have died at three days old and she couldn't get that out of her head. She really wished Cas was around, he always seemed to know what to say when he caught her after nightmares about that somehow. She could call Benny or Gath, but they probably wouldn't be quite as comforting to talk to about this over the phone as they would be in person. Maybe she could call Jody, but she was probably working and she didn't want to interrupt her. Thankfully Dean chose that moment to walk in. He saw the look on her face and just pulled her in for a hug, she had the back of his flannel fisted in her hand, and was almost in tears.

"It never woulda gone differently kiddo, you're my kid and I love you okay. Always have, always will. Loved you since the moment I saw you in your crib."

That simple statement said it all, he loved her before he even knew for sure she was his. He was her dad, always would be, and would never kill her. Even at his worst, his most demonic, he didn’t do it. Chuck was wrong and she just had to hold onto that, her existence defied God���s knowledge and she was good with that.

It all went to shit again when her dad offered to be the vessel for a soul based bomb to kill Amara. She wanted to scream, couldn’t things be okay for five friggin minutes? Did she have to lose him again? After everything, she knew he blamed himself for her being let out but Emma also blamed herself. She was the one who had pushed Sam to try and find a way to get rid of the mark because she was scared. She was just as culpable as him and if there was any way he'd let her do it she'd be the one going for Amara. Even Crowley and Rowena could tell how much it hurt her to see her dad offering himself up like it was nothing. Charlie, Benny, and Meg weren't there to talk sense into Dean, Sam understood his guilt and was willing to let him do it, Rowena didn't care enough about him to stop him, and Crowley wasn't going to stop him either he just put his hand on Emma's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. If only Cas would just tell him not to do it, Cas could convince him to stop but he didn't say anything. He didn't stop him this time and she felt like her world was ending.

Saying goodbye was the hardest thing she'd ever done, and him joking about what kind of funeral he wanted was too much. 

She knew she'd be safe but him asking her to try and be happy was almost too much. How could she be with a hole in her heart that big? He knew what it was like to lose a parent, how could he be selfish enough to leave her voluntarily. She knew he was destroyed by his dad doing the same, how screwed up Sam had been when Dean made that deal, how could she not be just as messed up by him doing this? His parting words weren't good enough to be his last, no words really could be though. It was gonna feel like she'd been ripped apart no matter what.

 After he left they all scattered a bit. She needed to get out of the bunker, get away from it all for a bit, she left a note for Sam and Cas saying what she was doing and jumped in her car and drove off for Benny's. But it felt like Dean was still there, getting out of the bunker didn't let her escape the memories because they had fixed up her car together, they went on the inaugural drive together, he was everywhere and she knew he was heading off to die. She had to pull off the road because her tears had clouded her eyes too much to safely drive. She wiped away the tears and angrily smacked the wheel wishing things were different, that her dad wasn't about to sacrifice himself. She just wished that everything was different. But it was what it was, and she couldn't change anything. She just hoped being around Benny would help, someone had to tell him what happened at any rate. She’d let Sam make the calls to Jody and the others, she couldn’t handle doing that, telling Benny would be hard enough.

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Also now on AO3

[destielfanfic]

Silver and Cold

Silver and Cold by superhoney [ @pomegranatedaffodil on tumblr] Rating: NC-17 Word Count: 65,000 Summary: The death of a young man in an apparent animal attack brings hunter Cas Novak to the small town of Sydnam, Maine. It doesn’t take long for him to realize he’s tracking a werewolf, but discovering the killer’s identity is no easy task. All signs point towards Dean Winchester, a lonely recluse who lives in the middle of the woods and whose antagonistic behaviour does little to lessen Cas’ suspicions. As the investigation drags on, their mutual distrust gives way to a wary alliance. Cas’ instincts warn him that Dean is hiding something, but as he uncovers the man beneath the mystery, his professional interest becomes far more personal. Praying his faith in Dean isn’t misplaced, Cas races to catch the killer before the next full moon rises and another life is abruptly cut short.

This story takes place in a world similar to the show - supernatural exists, hunters are doing their best while law enforcement and general populace are clueless. For me, the best feature of this excellent case fic, besides the captivating Cas POV, was all the lovely SPN side characters, being alive and interacting with each other. The Roadhouse crew meets recent SPN hunters kind of deal. My favorite part was Roadhouse operating as a cover for MOL Bunker who’s lead by none other than Charlie herself. Cas, a former civilian turned hunter, is here begrudgingly reporting to Charlie and adamantly refusing to work with a partner. Cas has his own a tragic backstory, as all hunters do, but he has yet to meet Dean. And then there’s Dean, a recluse, a loner, estranged from his brother, unable to move forward from the lot the life has dealt him.

The case part of this fic has all the traditional bits - deadbeat motels, impersonating the FBI, frustrating misleads and suspicious townsfolk. But, at the same time, this is also a wonderfully crafted, slowly moving falling in love story. Dean and Cas have all the reasons to be suspicious and yet they also connect, and take a leap of faith with each other. At the very heart, this is an engaging story about facing your past and moving forward. About appreciating people in your live and not giving up on the special ones. A wonderful story for all readers who love SPN universe but are not afraid from some shuffle and mix with a twist.

A DCBB 2018 fic

Fanworks inspired by this fanfic at destielfanworks (other fanworks by title)

If you enjoyed the fic, please drop by the archive (AO3) and let the author know with your comments and/or kudos! And if you found our recs useful, let us know by Liking and/or Reblogging our posts! <3 

Suggested further reading (links go to our reviews or sub recs)

Convenient Husbands by Annie D (scaramouche) - read it for hunter Dean, creature Cas and Roadhouse hunter crew.

thunderbird by spnhell (previously recced here) - read it for young hunter Cas and older, retired hunter Dean leading the hunter network.

or visit our Tags Page and check out tags relevant to this fic  #hunter!cas tag,  #case fic tag, #hunters tag (fics with other hunters meeting TFW), #law enforcement tag (TFW has to deal with law enforcement while on case)

see this post about latest changes in our fic review format. And sorry if formatting is wonky, we blame tumblr!

*pffft, the links are back! it took only couple of hours instead of days like the last time*

[maddie-grove]

Bi-Monthly Reading Round-Up: March/April

PLAYLIST

“Hey, Little Songbird” from Hadestown (The Wager)

“New Slang” by the Shins (Spinners)

“Auto de Fé” from Candide (October Wind)

“Let’s Generalize about Men” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure)

“Juice” by Lizzo (Shrill)

“Love’s Been Good to Me” by Frank Sinatra (Sex and Violence)

“Heroes” by David Bowie (Cracker Jackson)

“Listen to Her Heart” by Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers (The Cybil War)

“Satellite of Love” by Lou Reed (The T.V. Kid)

“Distant Shores” by Chad and Jeremy (Love’s Willing Servant)

“Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod?” by the Mountain Goats (The Cartoonist)

“Ghost World” by Aimee Mann (Summer of the Swans)

“Floating Vibes” by Surfer Blood (Not the Duke’s Darling)

BEST OF THE BI-MONTH

The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli (2010): Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, a nineteen-year-old nobleman in medieval Sicily, loses his entire fortune to a tidal wave and soon finds himself on the brink of starvation. That’s when the Devil comes knocking with an offer: endless money for the rest of his life if he doesn’t bathe, cut his hair, shave, or change his clothes for three years, three months, and three days. This is a retelling of a lesser-known Sicilian fairy tale and, next to the sublime Breath, it’s Napoli’s best work. Instead of taking the easy route of making Don Giovanni a stupid brat who learns to be nicer and more frugal, she complicates things by making him sweet and resourceful from the beginning, as well as callow and somewhat thoughtless. (His first action after seeing the damage wrought by the tidal wave is to go out and help bury the dead for three straight days.) This makes the message of the book more powerful; if someone deep-down good and intelligent can stand to think more about others and help the less fortunate, then clearly that lesson applies to everyone, not just the worst sort of rich people. Don Giovanni’s unprocessed grief over his long-dead parents and longing for human connection are also very affecting.

WORST OF THE BI-MONTH

Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen (1999): In medieval-ish Scotland, a poor tailor longs to marry his sweetheart, a spinner, but her father will only consent if the tailor can show he’ll be a good provider. The tailor tries to make a dress that appears to be made of gold and succeeds; however, he still loses his sweetheart to a rich miller and his health to a magic spinning wheel (as one does). Years later, the sweetheart’s daughter, now a skilled spinner in her own right, finds herself in trouble when a king gets the wrong impression about her being able to spin straw into gold. File this one under “cool idea, half-assed execution.” After a certain point, Napoli seems to run out of her own ideas and just follows “Rumpelstiltskin” to its original conclusion. This wouldn’t be great for any fairy-tale retelling, but the ludicrous “Rumpelstiltskin” needs more reworking than most. Also, the tailor’s sweetheart is such an ableist tool! I’d get it if she chose the rich miller out of concern for financial security, but she just dumps the tailor because the magic spinning wheel basically gave him a supernatural stroke and she thinks it made him evil? You can do better, baby!

REST OF THE BI-MONTH

The Cartoonist by Betsy Byars (1978): Alfie Mason, a quiet eleven-year-old, takes refuge from his unhappy family in the tiny attic of his ramshackle house, drawing faintly absurd cartoons. Then his ne’er-do-well older brother Bubba loses his job, prompting a way-too-excited Mrs. Mason to decide to renovate the attic into a bedroom...so Alfie barricades himself in the attic and throws the family into chaos without saying a word. I first read this book when I was eleven, and even then I found it deeply upsetting. Mrs. Mason seems incapable of seeing anyone but Bubba as a full human being, and she never regrets hurting Alfie or her daughter Alma in order to benefit her eldest. The best Alfie and Alma can do is call her out on it--Alfie through his silent protest, Alma by finally standing up for herself and her little brother--and try to move on. It’s certainly an unvarnished message for a middle-grade novel, but it’s not a bad one, given that some parents are just like that.

Shrill by Lindy West (2016): In this memoir, Lindy West reflects on her personal experiences with fatphobia, the general strangeness of having a human body, abortion, the ethics of comedy, and Internet trolls, among other subjects. This book was genuinely inspiring and amusing to me at a time when I greatly needed a lot of confidence and some laughs, and for that I am eternally grateful. The humor can feel very social-media-circa-2015, but there are worse things than a book capturing a specific moment.

Cracker Jackson by Betsy Byars (1985): Eleven-year-old “Cracker” Jackson Hunter realizes that Alma, his beloved former babysitter, is being physically abused by her husband. Even though his divorced parents forbid it and Alma herself warns him against angering her husband, he tries his best to help her, with mixed results. By all rights, this middle-grade novel should be a tonal mess--Jackson and his best friend Goat get involved in some legit Wacky Schemes--but instead it’s a moving portrait of a kid who has to deal with gut-wrenching adult realities while also navigating sixth-grade drama. I also loved Jackson’s three parental figures. They’re all flawed--Jackson’s mom is a worrywart about stuff that doesn’t matter, his dad can’t hold a conversation with him without lapsing into Dracula impressions, and Alma sometimes treats him more like a peer than a kid--but they all clearly care about him and try to make things okay. 

Not the Duke’s Darling by Elizabeth Hoyt (2018): Years ago, a horrific murder and a dubious attempt at revenge tore apart the lives of Christopher Renshawe and Lady Freya de Moray. Now he’s a widowed duke with severe claustrophobia and a blackmailer on his case, while she’s an undercover spy for a secret society of Scottish witches who help women. (Awesome.) (Also some of them are lesbians.) When they end up at the same house party, she vows to keep hating him for wronging her family, but does that last long? No, because they’re reasonably good at communicating and can appreciate each other’s goals! This spooky Georgian romance didn’t knock my socks off, but it’s a good start to Hoyt’s new Greycourt series and it has a light touch with the serious issues it handles.

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan (2019): Violetta Beauchamps, a sixty-nine-year-old* bookkeeper, is cheated out of her pension by her landlord boss. In desperation, she hatches her own retirement plan: swindling Bertrice Martin, a wealthy seventy-three-year-old widow, by pretending to be her insolvent nephew’s landlady. Bertrice has refused to pay her nephew’s debts on principle, but she’s willing to make an exception if Violetta will help pester him into vacating his lodgings. Shenanigans and old-lady romance ensue. This mid-Victorian-set romance novella is like an ambiguous image (for example: that picture that’s either a vase or two faces in profile). Look at it as the tale of two L.M.-Montgomery-style elderly women falling in love, and it’s delightful; look at it for deep social commentary, and it’s pretty simplistic and sometimes even callous. I enjoyed it, but it only works on certain levels.

Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (1970): Lately, fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey has been feeling awkward and out of charity with everyone: her absentee father, her plainspoken aunt, her beautiful older sister, the other kids at school, and even her little brother Charlie, who has been mostly nonverbal and easily disoriented since sustaining serious brain damage during a childhood illness. When Charlie goes missing in the night, though, her only thought is to find him. Despite loving Byars, I avoided this Newberry winner as a kid because it looked kind of boring. It is a little sedate in a classic-American-coming-of-age-story way--part “The Scarlet Ibis,” part Judy Blume--but I still loved Sara, who is always ready to throw down, and I found the depiction of Charlie to be surprisingly sensitive for the time. (The language is outdated, but the passages from Charlie’s POV aren’t condescending, plus he isn’t killed off, as I initially feared.) The descriptions of the coal-ravaged West Virginia countryside are also very evocative.

The TV Kid by Betsy Byars (1974): Lenny, a preteen living with his single mom at the kitschy Kentucky motel she owns, struggles in school and has no friends. (His family moves around a lot and he probably has a learning disability.) He has two sources of solace: watching TV and sneaking into the abandoned lake houses in his neighborhood. One day, though, his favorite hobbies get him into trouble. This was one of my favorite Byars books as a kid, even though I was not familiar with the TV landscape of 1974. I liked it a little less this time, but not because it was dated; instead, I was disconcerted by how pro-getting-bitten-by-a-rattlesnake it is. Also, a significant portion of the story is devoted to a child suffering horrible pain from a snakebite, which is harder to take as an adult reader. Still, it’s got some of that classic Byars melancholy.

The Cybil War by Betsy Byars (1981): Eleven-year-old Simon has had a crush on his classmate Cybil for years, because she does awesome stuff like advocate for more active roles for girls in the yearly school pageants. He’s not inspired to act on his feelings, though, until his awful best friend Tony decides he likes Cybil and starts talking shit to her about Simon. There’s a lot to like about this book. Cybil, with her nonchalant confidence and kindness, is a wonderful character, and Simon’s thorough admiration for her is adorable. I also like how Byars ties Simon’s complicated feelings about his deadbeat dad to his efforts to navigate small-scale fifth-grade drama; both weigh heavily on him, and Byars is never condescending about this. Yet the book’s not Byars’s best, mostly because of the lack of generosity towards Cybil’s fat friend Harriet and, to a lesser extent, Tony. 

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian (2013): Seventeen-year-old Evan doesn’t do serious relationships, instead preferring to hook up with girls and ghost them when he starts having feels. (His family moves around a lot and he’s got some trauma.) Then one girl’s jealous ex orchestrates a horrific assault on them both, leading Evan’s distant widowed dad to take his traumatized son back to their Minnesota hometown. It turns out okay. I liked this novel a lot more once I accepted it as an intentionally messy coming-of-age novel, rather than an issue novel...but it was still a little too messy for its own good. I felt like I was supposed to condemn Evan for having casual sex, something that’s both morally neutral and natural enough for a teen who moves every year, yet the narrative all but endorses his contempt for lower-class girls. I was also uncomfortable with the revelation that Evan was a survivor of statutory rape. It seemed like he was being punished by the narrative only for hyper-sexuality that clearly stemmed from trauma--with a physical assault with some strong sexual implications, no less--but let off the hook for his thoughtless middle-class-boy prejudices. I did feel for him, though, and that carried me through most of the book.

October Wind by Susan Wiggs (1991): In late-fifteenth-century Spain,  Cristóbal Colón (aka Christopher Columbus) tries to convince Queen Isabella to fund a westward expedition. Meanwhile, nobleman Joseph Sarmiento learns an enormous secret about his background and must decide whether to alter the course of his life. During this time, Rafael Viscaino, a young scribe, strives to rise in the world while his friends, aspiring doctor Catalina and cheerful but troubled half-Roma Santiago, have their own struggles. This historical novel (which just barely qualifies as a romance) has a lot of potential, but it wastes too much time on Columbus and Isabella, plus it gives them more credit than they deserve. Wiggs should’ve focused on Joseph, the sexiest and most likable character, and made more of his eventual relationship with Anacaona, a Guanahani woman. Or else she should’ve just made it a poly romance with Rafael/Catalina/Santiago, which she comes this close to doing.

Love’s Willing Servant by Avis Worthington (1980): Left penniless by her father and betrayed by her childhood sweetheart, Lettice Clifford decides to take herself to her sister’s home in colonial Virginia and get a rich husband. She’s surprised to find herself sharing a ship with Geoffrey Finch, a neighbor who has been betrayed by his evil twin and sold into indentured servitude. When his indenture ends up getting bought by her brother-in-law, they grow closer, but multiple creepy people and Bacon’s Rebellion threaten their love. Maybe I’ve just seen too much, but I was pleasantly surprised by the relative inoffensiveness of this Old School romance. Geoffrey is a reasonable person, there’s not a sexual assault every other chapter, and the racism issues are more “the black characters should be more central” than “this is just a defense of slavery” or “calm down with the n-word, Quentin Tarantino.” These small mercies aside, I also enjoyed the absolutely bonkers plot and the use of historical details. I didn’t care much for Lettice, though, because she’s usually either boring or kind of a dick. 

*Nice.

[hekate1308]

I Shall Wake In The Morning To Sing With The Lark, A Drowley Christmas Calendar, Chapter 13

Masterpost

AO3

“So let me get this straight” Crowley said finally when Dean was done with his explanations. “Not only is one of your best friends a vampire but another one happens to be a witch who is dating a fairy.”

“Yeah, that’s about it: For what it’s wroth, Charlie assured me that no one else in my friendship group is anything other than what they appear to be.”

Crowley was shaking his head. “I was right about you.”

“Oh? How so?” Dean couldn’t help but ask, but Crowley wouldn’t answer him immediately. Or at all, really. When he finally resigned himself to not getting a reply he said, “but at least you know that you don’t have to worry about Charlie.”

He looked sceptical so Dean affirmed,” Really. She was just looking out for me ‘cause benny saw us together and drew a few conclusions –“ He could have bit his tongue when he saw Crowley perk up at that.

“Oh? Conclusions?”

“Yes. You know. About you and me and what we were doing there together, that sort of thing.”

“That sort of thing”. And then Crowley was looking at him with a very hungry gleam in his eyes, and to his shame Dean had to admit he didn’t mind one bit, but he had to keep his head straight. Thank God he’d only had that one drink before the demon showed up.

“Yes, you know. He thought this was a date.”

“Well, darling, it could be whatever you want it to be...”

“I thought you were after my soul?”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t mix business with a little pleasure now and then.”

Dean decided that he should definitely turn this conversation around and began, “Yes, well, but I assume you want to hear more of my sob story so you can come to different conclusions?”

Crowley frowned in disappointment. “Fine. Go ahead.”

Five minutes later, Dean had actually gotten out the photo albums. In truth, he rarely if ever did so. His memory worked just fine, and there were many things he didn’t feel the  need to remember, like that one picture where he was obviously trying to hide a black eye Dad had given him because he had returned home (well the motel there were staying at) shortly after Sam had run away and hidden. But there were good things too – there, that one, Thanksgiving with Bobby, that had been pretty good. And of course there was his high school graduation, and much more important, Sammy’s, and his college graduation too…

“You are very proud of your brother” Crowley told him eventually, sounding strangely emotional.

“Yeah, you know��� he shrugged, “I basically had to raise him on my won, with dad being so dead beat... he was practically out of the picture by the time I was ten.”

Crowley hummed. Oh. Dean knew that tone. “What about you? Any deadbeat parents I should know about?”

“Our bet says that I get to learn about you –“

“But it also says that you have to be honest with me” he grinned.

Crowley emptied his glass and snapped his fingers, undoubtedly refilling it with something far more expensive. “If you have to know, I had a brother my mother actually loved, and then there was me. She tried to sell me for three pigs once.”

“You’re joking.” He waited for Crowley to elaborate, but he didn’t and he realized that he wasn’t joking.” Good God.”

Cowley nodded. “And the price, too – I was a cutie kid! I could juggle! I was worth five pigs at least!”

“Nah” Dean said lightly. “Juggling? That’s a solid six pig kid there, and make no mistake.”

They looked at one another, then burst into laughter. “man Look at us. The loser parents club.”

“At east I learned a lot from my dear old mother “ Crowley mused. “She was a witch as well. Red haired, too.”

“Yeh, but good luck finding Charlie trying to sell a kid. The way he has with them, she’d rather decide to keep them for herself.”

“Rather a new way of providing lesbian couples with children.”

“Don’t worry if she ever starts making a gingerbread house I’ll let you know” Dean said, suddenly realizing that he sounded as if he expected Crowley to stick around for a lot longer than Christmas, for some reason.

Crowley seemed to be thinking along the same lines, at least as far as the holiday went, for he was now looking around.” You don’t decorate?”

“Used to, didn’t feel like it this year” he said, shrugging his shoulders, although he kind of could now see the appeal again. Maybe he should work on a little holiday cheer for when he came home from work…

Crowley hummed again, then demanded, “Tell me about this one” and pointed at a picture of Dean with the newly-restored Impala.

[deadbeat-motel]

I. Really like , your redesigns????? They actually take advantage of the setting and back stories that we get while also giving unique body sizes????? I can't wait to see what else you got in store!!!

Thank you! My main thing about this rewrite/Redesign is making sure every Sinner has a body type distinct from each other and a color palette that tries to be as different as possible.

I tested this out by making a color palette of each character from the original and my own roster and at least for me, I can tell who's who in mine.

(the characters are aligned with their own counterparts btw.)

If you can tell who's who from the original palettes then you will be able to know which ones are which in the Deadbeat roster (Cherri Bomb is the only one I haven't designed yet.)

[deadbeat-motel]

Ummm…I know it’s probably a while since you updated but do you have a redesigning so far for either Lucifer or Lilith I would really love to see it.👉👈

Hello, yes, it's really been a while. I apologize I've been getting busier and busier these days and coupled with the fact that I've been getting sucked into another hyperfixation for a while now, I've neglected this blog.

When it comes to both their redesigns, I really couldnt settle on one as I'm going to redesign them based on what their role and character in "Deadbeat Motel" becomes. However I have had drafts of their designs, this one just happens to be the one I felt best about.

Some details about their designs:

Lucifer's skin was charred into pure black as he fell violent from Heaven, his face was the only thing to be unaffected as he was covering it with his hands.

I made Lucifer's body a little bit more feminine in shape since this was supposedly the "girl led show" and a majority of the time, men happened to take a majority of the big roles. Plus I thought Lilith would be someone who would be more into a feminine resenting partner (wether they would be male or female)

Lucifer's wings and tail are huge on his smaller frame as I assume seraphims should have extremely large pair/s of wings to match their powers/status.

Lilith's upper half is basically a costume, it can be taken off anytime she wants.

An Idea I wanted to play with was that Lilith remains human since it was another avenue I could play Lucifer's shame of Charlie (as he sees that she inherits more of him than she did her mother, another avenue his self hatred has manifested as) and the fact that it was a funny and adorable idea that Lilith would dress up as her own demon-sona to keep charlie from being ashamed of her demon nature.

However these are still Ideas, I'm not yet sure wether these should be set in stone or not (though I am tempted to keep Human Lilith)

If I ever revisit this blog, expect some things to be tweaked here and there as I try to re-immerse myself in the work again and people's roles and relationships change for a more solid idea.

[deadbeat-motel]

ᗪᗰ!ᗩᑎGEᒪᗪᑌᔕT ᒪOᖇE ᗩᑎᗪ TᖇIᐯIᗩ

Deadbeat Motel's Angel Dust Lore under the cut. (If you squint hard enough, you can see Vaggie and Charlie's rough design too.)

ᒪOᖇE

Angel Dust was never the best mafia member of his own family. He was too weak-hearted to deal with the types of people who made their home within the seedy world of crime. He was no good with taking a man's life nor was he any good with commanding the goons their family had, so his father had kept him trafficking drugs to be somewhat useful for the family. Angel Dust was happy about that, It was far from being in danger, and if he was careful enough, he would be able to have drugs from the stash he's supposed to be giving out to their clients.

One night, however, while high on PCP, a drug deal he and his brother were on had gone bad because their client finally got wise to Angel's stealing. A gunfight broke out killing men on both sides of the deal. AngelDust, while high on drugs, had killed someone in the middle of it, and he was still reeling from the shock of it when his high came down. His brother punched him in the face causing a black eye and told him how incredibly fucked they are because of what he's done. It was revealed that this drug deal was a way for their group to make peace with one another and killing those goons in that room had doomed the family to a Turf War they were not that prepared for. Going to his father to attempt to apologize had only gotten him killed in his father's rage.

AngelDust wakes up to Hell with a body he was surprised to like (despite his family being homophobic and possibly also misogynistic and transphobic). He's surprised to know how common and easy to find drugs are in this new place he's in but quickly finds out he's broke and unable to find a job because of how unused to his own body he is. His first few weeks in hell have been rough until he realizes he can utilize how this body works to his advantage. Many men and women lined up to want a piece of him and they paid good money too. Plus if they ever tried to hurt him, well this body showed him it's more than capable of keeping him safe. He actually did enjoy sex work more than his work as a former mafia member.

Everything went to shit when Valentino found him, he thought he was just another client who frequented him often and paid big money. When presented with a contract to work with him, he accepted since it looked as if the only thing he was asking for was to be his employee. However, as soon as he signed, hidden words started to reveal themselves on the paper. It turned out, he wanted more than what he was letting on. Val was a new Overlord and he's been slowly gaining the reputation that he has today and unfortunately Angel Dust had been duped by this demon. he just hadn't shown him his true colors back then to lower his guard around him.

Angel Dust has tried to fight Val before but nothing good came out of it. He wouldn't be able to do much about him if the contract was still in effect. He even lost the mandibles on his mouth because he had bitten Valentino reflexively one time. For 2-3 decades (might be subjected to change) he's had to deal with Val's abuse of him All optimism has dried out, and he's been living and coping with despair.

Angel Dust learns of the Motel and checks in mainly to get away from Val (He constantly moves places and doesn't feel safe in his previous apartment as Val has found him once again). He doesn't take the entire point of the motel seriously because he'll be gone within a month or two. After all, that's how often Val found him and sure enough, he did find him. Val starts talking like he owns the place, starts threatening everyone, and even attempts to control Valerie and Charlie when they confront him about what he's doing to Angel Dust. They of course are unaffected because of their angelic natures and Valerie absolutely thrashed the unliving shit out of Val. But before she can kill him, Val brings up the fact that if she kills him he will kill Angel Dust, taking him and the other hundred souls he has under his contract. With Angel Dust's and the other hundreds of souls' lives on the line, they had to concede and let him live, but not without warning him that if Angel Dust dies because of him, both women are going to make sure he begs for a second death.. This of course is not a big change for Angel Dust, but he's glad he can keep crashing at this motel knowing that Val won't dare come into this place if he wanted all his limbs attached to his body.

Angel Dust has become a permanent resident of the motel.

TᖇIᐯIᗩ:

Angel Dust frequented more LGBT-friendly speakeasies before he died (considering OG Angel Dust's family was homophobic iirc) and while he didn't participate in "pansy shows". He did want to join them.

Angel dust can produce webbing and uses it to slow down his pursuers. They've got a really strong grip on anything that touches it.

As a last resort, Angel Dust uses his webbing whips. They're non-lethal (At least I think so) since he mainly uses its sticky factor. They're good at disarming enemies who have guns from far away, especially since Angel Dust is creative with his uses of it.

Angel Dust used to have sharp teeth but had them forcibly flattened because Val was tired of the fact he's been nicked by those teeth of his multiple times.

The motel is actually the first place in a while he's stayed in for a year. Angel Dust has been able to make his room more comfortable for him and has his own stash of knick-knacks on display.

He is never seen front-facing. The view in front of Angel's face is treated like Phineas' front-facing view. Never allowed to be seen other than in smear frames.

A running joke for me is how everyone has no idea how a Spider's anatomy even works (I don't either).

Yeah, he'd still be shipped with Husk but I'm not having Husk call him a loser because my blood would boil, plus I'm changing their dynamic but I'll get into that when Husk is finished.

A big plot point for Angel Dust would be that he gets to kill Val with the aid of Valerie/Husk or the both of them and that while he'll be free of his abuser, it has screwed over his ticket out of hell in the eyes of heaven. However, it was able to spark a debate within Heaven's court... should the rules be so strict that they would punish a victim that finally fought back against his own abuser? (It's not that deep but it's a start at least rather than "You don't know what gets people into heaven?")

Currently unsure as to how Cherri Bomb would fit into his story but I might be able to figure it out later when I get to her redesign

I think that's all for now? This may be subjected to change at some point in time, but ask me anything about this version of AngelDust

[deadbeat-motel]

Deadbeat Motel: Lucifer

"You've come to seek the end have you?" a figure stands in its lonesome greeting his visitor.

The King of Hell as he once was called, it had been some centuries since anyone had addressed him by that title. The number of sinners who still knew him by that monicker dwindled as time marched on. Now the only ones who call him by that are prideful Overlords seeking to find an end to their long afterlives but would never let another claim the glory of being their executioner.

The Overlord before him didn't say much, opting to avert their gaze.

"The time to have shown shame was long before you came to my realm. If you truly wished to find an end, then look me in the eye."

When the overlord finally grew the courage to do so, they felt something pass through their body. Lucifer's arm had pierced them with the tips of those clawed fingers glittering like white angelic steel. The overlord looked at their torso, Lucifer's fingers definitely passed through their body but it left no mark. They were almost doubtful he did anything to them... but that's when they finally felt it. Its origin on their torso, small and focused like a snake's bite, radiated such an imense pain bringing the overlord to their hands and knees shaking.

"I never promised a painless death..." The overlord's body shakes and trembles as they choke through screams

"... toughen through the pain. You earned your place in hell, you need to earn your death."

That's where Lucifer comes in, being the only other angelic being in this place, he can offer the same end that these angels do with the sinners.

There always comes a time in every Overlord's afterlife where their mortal soul can no longer stand an eternal life of hell. Despite the angels overpassing these souls during the extermination, they are not free from other overlords. Paranoia seeps into their mind as the fear of who would eventually toture them never leaves their mind.

Trivia:

Zestiel, being the only mortal soul that has reached 700, has impressed Lucifer with how long he's kept clinging to his sanity. Though he assumes that once Carmilla is gone, he should soon be seeing him come through his doors.

Lucifer in the show shows disdain for sinners but I feel like they had to brush through it with their 8-episode limit. Which sucks so I amped it up to 11 here where he sees every human as disgusting for forsaking his gift of free will. He is quite hostile and antagonistic when interacting with sinners.

Lucifer has NOT seen Charlie since her birth, he was an absent father. Ever since he left, Lilith has broken all ties with him. Theres a deep pit of guilt and shame inside him that festers from his regrets.

While I am aware that Lucifer and the 7 sins have a circus motif going on. The execution is so bad I don't really want to attempt salvaging it. I'm scrapping his entire ringmaster vibe.

--------

This was an interesting idea i just wanted to get out in writing before I forgot.

[deadbeat-motel]

Just saw and commented on your new sinner designs, LOVE them all so much!

I do have to ask because your Deadbeat Motel lives rent-free in my head at this point, already a much better execution than HH IMO. Would Charlie and Valerie be tryna redeem Crymini, Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb- and possibly Husk and Nifty- or would their main focus of redemption still just be Angel Dust?

And one more question, does our silly awkward transmasc anglerfish king Baxter come into this story at all?

Ah! I'm really happy to hear that since I've been using this as an exercise in writing and character-building. Plus It's genuinely the only way I'm able to enjoy HH as I'm fixing so many big issues that I have about it wasting the potential of some genuinely amazing and creative concepts. (AngelDust, Charlie and Nifty come into mind)

Also, I'm really glad you asked (since looking at my schedule, it might take me a while to finish everyone's rewrites and redesigns) So here's the answer to your question (and a sprinkle of trivia about Deadbeat Motel):

Charlie, Redemption and the Sinners:

Charlie and Valerie will be focusing on redeeming Every sinner of the motel, including Alastor (who in this rewrite, is not a patron of the hotel but a powerful overlord who was roped into this project because of Lilith's meddling).

The sinners and Valerie all have varying degrees of faith in this project (A little spoiler-y but who cares, I'm not making an Amazon show.): > Valerie is in this project because she too wants to know if there is a chance for a sinner (maybe even her) can find some way to become good enough to be accepted in heaven. Despite having been taught to know that the answer is "no.", Charlie has taught her to believe in what others think is impossible. > Angel Dust is honestly only here because it's the first place that feels safe for him. He doesn't believe it's possible to redeem him but he's happy enough to have a place that Val can't find some way to ruin. > Despite his pessimistic outlook, there's a part of him that would want redemption to be possible. His son died fairly young and was in heaven, so far out of his reach. If redemption is possible, then maybe he can see him again. > Nifty is indifferent, to her, it was all grown-up talk she wasn't interested in. Redemption? Blegh, if it was a boy, it would most certainly be one she would stray away from. > Cherri Bomb doesn't care about redemption and frankly thinks it's impossible, she's just here because no other Women Group wants her and this is the only one that wants to accept her that has only 3 men. Even if it's possible, she doubts that the people she hurt want to forgive her. > Crymini doesn't even fully understand why she's here and hates hell. She's just in this project because she thinks she deserves to be up there in heaven. She doesn't believe she needs to do any kind of redeeming. > Alastor has absolutely no faith in the project and that he can be redeemed, he thinks it a waste of time as he knows that even certain people belong in hell (Overlords like himself for example. Humans who earned that spot in hell for their Heinous sins while they were alive.) He's only here because he struck a deal with Lilith to look after Charlie. > Pentious...... I'm still working on her

If I had to rank them from Most redeemable to irredeemable, It'd be: Crymini -> Husk -> Pentious -> Nifty -> Angel Dust -> CherriBomb -> Alastor

Oh! and to be true to the name, they are actually running a small motel instead of the grand hotel we see in the show proper. It makes it feel a lot more tight-knit.

Baxter:

To be real honest with you, I have no idea how to write Baxter into this since There's not much I know of the guy and I try to not have duplicates in this rewrite. The mad scientist role already belongs to Pentious. I might make him Pentious' partner in crime, and possibly make Cherri Bomb feel somewhat threatened that some person may have her snake's heart before she does.

Also, Baxter is the one character I might not want to redesign because miraculously, this is the first Vivziepop design that I have absolutely no problems with. I don't even mind the little bowler hat. It's absolutely adorable!