#i mean look at gaston

[dizzying-faust]

I dunno how to say that "redesigning a canon abuser, who is conventionally attractive, into being conventionally ugly because you want to show more how ugly he is as an abuser" isn't as progressive as you think it is...

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

this has probably been discussed before but in the opening number for disney’s beauty and the beast, a townsperson is heard singing “I need six eggs— that’s too expensive” at a grocer’s stall. later in the movie, gaston declares that he makes a habit of eating five dozen eggs every day, so he’s “roughly the size of a barge,” having kept up the habit since boyhood. that’s 60 eggs every day, for 365 days a year, for the twenty-something years that gaston has been alive. the reason that eggs are “too expensive” in this small farming town, where there are presumably many chickens, is that gaston is single-handedly eating everyone out of house and home and driving the prices of eggs through the roof due to the supply and demand ramifications of his Eggs Georg behavior

[gracebethartacc]

THERES ONE (1) SINGULAR WISH PENCIL TEST AND NO ONE BOTHERED TO SHOW ME?????

[oodlenoodleroodle]

I'm reading part 3 of "The Juggler of Notre-Dame and Medievalizing Modernity" (part 3 out of 6), but the book talks a lot about Henry Adams's "Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartes" which I have also already downloaded as a PDF.

So now I'm wondering if I should read the Adams book after finishing part 3, since I will remember why I wanted to read it in the first place, or should I go ahead and read parts 4, 5, and 6 of The Juggler, and then come back to Adams.

[kingofthewilderwest]

We need to start questioning the conflation of "maturity" with "increased stakes."

It's not to say higher stakes is always a bad choice. The first half of the How to Train Your Dragon book series has an endearingly whimsical, child-like feel. Hiccup's issues in the first half of book one are an obnoxious, cat-sized Toothless pooping in his helmet. The movie adaptation might have made the book and its counterpart distant cousins, but it was a thoughtful move to alter concepts to the appropriately theatrical: books and movies aren't the same medium. Hiccup riding alone on Toothless, exchanging fire blasts with a mountain-sized dragon, and losing his leg came off as well-done storytelling.

Hiccup staring at a prosthetic never happened in the book. He didn't lose his leg in his encounter with the Green Death. It was, as the creative powers behind the movie said, a result of the increased stakes. They didn't do this just to be more dramatic; they did it because it seemed that, based on how their narrative was going, this made sense. And this was a soft, quiet, shocking, breath-taking scene that instilled how good the movie handled its stakes. It gave us a reflective reaction to consequences that audiences might not have expected. This movie understood timing, pauses, quietness, narrative arc, poignance, reflection, emotion, love, and heart.

We know about the conflation of live action as "more mature" than animation. But a medium doesn't change maturity levels. We all know that's bogus, and many analyses have been given on that. Disney live actions add extraneous gunk, down to Gaston having a past relationship with war (so I've heard, from the people who actually watched the movie), and Disney giving us the sad scoop on why Belle's mom isn't around. Furthermore, lots of times, when I see the conversion of animation to live action, I notice creators feel a need to "raise the stakes" -- in line with the erroneous view of "giving maturity."

But "higher stakes" often means inserting action in place of mindful interaction. I feel today's Hollywood movies, in their treatment of "action," don't let movies pause and breathe anymore - ergo, they don't let us think. Isn't it more juvenile to actively avoid thought in favor of "hey look I made the building go boom"? There may be less "stakes" in introspection and mindful dialogue, but that's what gives it its maturity. That's how we went from Iron Man 1, with its grounded treatment of war and abuse, to the mindless high spectacle MCU is today.

Snappy one-liners or moments that clap at contemporary issues don't substitute for maturity. What can make a story mature is characters grappling with issues in a natural narrative through-line. A snappy one-liner is its own form of speedy spectacle.

We know about the conflation of "gore and sex" with "mature audiences." I believe they're right that graphic sex and gore is designed for adults. But that doesn't make it mature, and that doesn't make it the only way to target a medium for adults.

"Realisticness" isn't maturity. Per above regarding animation: realistic visuals are nothing. And if you think that putting more Debbie Downer material into your adaptation makes it more adult, you have to ask yourself why the themes that spoke to people's souls got muddled in its midst. We weren't mature enough to interact with the most subtle, nuanced, and impacting voice of the story. But hey! Look! There's more corpses, I guess!

It's not the visuals, it's not the events. It's not the "things." It's not the basic insertion of the external. Get past the superficial, get past the top layer of presentation. It's the mind. It's the ability to think. It's the ability to be still. It's the ability to be interested and attentive when something is slow or quotidian, because we can understand why that is important for narrative growth or arcs or themes or commentary on the human condition. It's the ability to know when and when not to include something. It's the ability to make resonant impact. It's the ability to be deep with your emotions or your themes. It's the ability to take what you have and grow it in a way by which we can derive something deeper.

Maturity is critical thought and well-conducted, appropriate responses to content of any kind.

As DeBlois tells Empire, the move to live-action brings a different emphasis to How To Train Your Dragon; a new heft, both physically and emotionally. “It’s so dialed-up in terms of stakes — having a fully credible, photo-real dragon stomping around trying to kill him,” the director says.

And maybe that DeBlois quote is taken out of context. Maybe there's more going on than that one sentence conveys. Maybe Empire is making their own erroneous assumptions. But "so dialed-up in terms of stakes," isn't, on its own, a good appeal. The animated movie already dialed things up - and knew when to include or not include something. A live-action that imitates the visuals of the animated movie exactly, as if no independent thought has been done to its unique adaptation, to the pros and cons of the medium, to what a independently-presented story needs and doesn't need... It has to make you wonder: how many conflations of "maturity" are going on?

How long are we going to keep making our own conflations?

[starmocha]

So the preview of the new theme song uses imagery of the guys' myths, including Sylus'. Rafayel, Xavier, and Zayne, I think we are all fairly familiar with, but since Sylus is not released yet, there are a lot of speculations about what kind of tragic past he and MC shared. Let's try to break it down. Or make it more confusing. 🫠

Interestingly, before the "tragedy" we see their wrists are bounded together by a red thread.....perhaps....the Red Thread of Fate? As the saying goes, rough paraphrasing on my part: Two lovers, regardless of time, place, and circumstances, are destined to be together, connected by a single red thread. The red thread may twist and tangle, but it may never break.

However, as we can see in the video, Sylus and MC's thread does break, and unlike in the traditional belief, their thread is wrapped around their wrists and not fingers. As the thread breaks, we also see Sylus behind bars. Imprisonment? A crime?

Speaking of wrists, another thing I've noticed with Sylus' trailers is that it involves handcuffs a lot, which seems more significant now in light of this preview.

Especially since we see him also breaking them so easily.

I kind of made a passing joke in the tags of a previous post that Sylus' upcoming chapters carry shades of the Greek myth with Hades and Persephone, but perhaps I may not be too far off?

Just take a look at this wide view of the scene of Sylus and MC separated:

The N109 Zone is shown during the night with a bright red moon, giving a feeling reminiscent of the Underworld ruled by Hades. Note how it looks like Sylus is behind bars, a prison, if you will. In Greek mythology, Hades was tasked with ruling the Underworld, not by his choice, but the wills of others (so in a sense: trapped). Could this mean that perhaps Sylus has no desire to be the leader of Onychinus? Could he be bounded there against his will?

Meanwhile, MC is shown on the side of light. If we compare her to Persephone, she is on the surface world with other people. But from the preview, it looks like she is abducted and taken to the N109 Zone, much like Persephone was abducted and taken to the Underworld to be Hades' bride.

(Brief unserious interlude, because I want to spread my Hades/Persephone agenda:

Sylus is the Hades to MC's Persephone

The dark to her light

He is feared by everyone except her.

He'll let her get away with everything (covering him in silly band-aids, poking him in the side) because he adores her.

If anything happens to her, the world will feel his wrath.

He embodies the feeling of "if anything happens to her, I will kill everyone in this room and then myself."

In short, scary leader is big softie for his wifey and I am willing to die on this hill

OK. End interlude.)

Also, um... 😭

Bringing up the theory that Sylus is trapped? The Beast is trapped in the castle because of the curse by an enchantress. I seriously couldn't get this comparison out of my mind when I saw the dancing scene in the trailer, so it feels appropriate to bring it up here.

Perhaps like the Beast initially, Sylus does display a very dominating and aggressive temperament, but then in his 5* memory, Captivating Flavor, he seems more approachable, so perhaps we will soften him over time?

Now...since Infold had the audacity to drop that trailer while I was writing this, here is another example of them going with the trapped/caged/bounded theory (there is also an image of a bear trap earlier, but I'm at my 10-pic limit, so the cage seems more obvious (and aesthetically pleasing lol)

So could Sylus be trapped in the same way as the Foreseer is trapped within the Tower? But unlike the Foreseer, Sylus is always trying to break free from his chains. Circling back to his myth, could it be that his tie with MC was broken...by him? Perhaps out of a sense of protection? For her sake?

In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast was willing to let Belle go, to be killed by Gaston, to succumb to the curse, all for the sake of Belle's happiness and freedom.

In the myth of Hades and Persephone, Persephone was allowed to leave the Underworld to return to her mother for half a year, but since she ate a few pomegranate seeds, food from the Underworld, she was also bounded to return to the Underworld for the other half to be with her husband. Each year, the cycle returns. Come spring, Hades must let his beloved wife leave him for half a year, and there's nothing he can do to change it.

Bonus Greek myth tidbit: the crow plays a significant part in a myth involving the sun god Apollo, where it acts as a messenger for him. The crow, once white, was burned and turned black, as retribution for telling the truth (revealing an affair) that led to Apollo killing his lover.

So, let's recap real quick the symbolism we have seen. 🤔

Handcuffs: bounded

Bars: imprisonment

Bear trap (couldn't include the pic, but it's there, trust me): caught, trapped

Birdcage: trapped, caged

The crow: a messenger; punished for revealing the truth (so, punishment)

So, gathering my random little thoughts...

Theory 1: Sylus and MC must have been destined lovers in a past life, but due to whatever conflict, Sylus decided to break his bond with her for her protection and accept any punishment that comes with it, which could mean to be ruler of a place he has no desire for, an imprisonment of sort.

Theory 2: Destined lovers, but perhaps a third party interfered out of jealousy or spite. Could Sylus have been caught and framed of a crime and been literally imprisoned, thus forcing him and MC to separate?

Something to this effect, I think, from working with the crumbs I've gathered. It's also almost midnight as of the time of writing this, so my brain is feeling loopy now (also no thanks to that Sylus trailer that popped up while I was writing this 💀)

Anyhoo, make of all of this as you will. My Hades/Persephone agenda will persist.

[artist-issues]

You know what’s great about Dr. Facilier?

He’s the perfect villain opposite both Tiana and Naveen.

He’s not exactly like Jafar or Ursula, who know they’re evil and delight in it as like, a lifestyle. He’s more like Scar. He’s introduced getting money on the street through cons and feeling satisfied…until Big Daddy LeBouf drives by with all his money and makes him feel insignificant.

You get the idea that something in life made him this way—there was a beginning to his villainy. You don’t get that sense from like, Clayton or Gaston.

So he’s a relatable character with flaws, to an extent.

But those flaws specifically play off of Tiana and Naveen’s characterizations.

Tiana has no real respect from her peers—she is in a position to be jealous of Lottie the same way Facilier is jealous of the Cotton King. But where Tiana simply works hard and refuses to let others make her bitter, Facilier has clearly taken shortcuts. Or…”the easy way.”

Then there’s Naveen.

Naveen has no thought beyond the present; he thinks they’re “on this earth to have some fun,” and frequently jumps without looking at the consequences. Leaps without looking! Doesn’t stop to find out if the girl he’s kissing is a real princess even though he knew his original invitation was to a costume party, forgets that he’s supposed to be getting married and plans on continuing his playboy lifestyle, wanders into a shadow-man’s shop. But eventually he learns to open his eyes to what’s important, and what will last, in Tiana. And he takes that seriously; if he marries her instead of Charlotte, he has to get three jobs.

Facilier, on the other hand? He not only does the opposite of Tiana and has taken shortcuts to get where he is—but he also suffers from Naveen’s flaw; he keeps making what are basically get-rich-quick schemes with his “friends on the other side.” When we meet him, he’s stressed and certainly on edge about failing—but that doesn’t stop him from asking for more and more debt from the demons, and he basically goes to his grave still making promises he can’t keep…like Naveen’s promise he couldn’t keep to pay Tiana for kissing him.

He’s got Tiana’s focus and Naveen’s charisma. He’s got Tiana’s lofty goals and Naveen’s dependence on others to do his dirty work.

He’s exactly like Tiana and Naveen put together, aged about twenty years, but with none of their good qualities. Perfect villain for those two main characters.

But he’s also the opposite of Mama Odie.

He entices innocents with what they want while she lights their way by explaining what they need.

He wants total control, while she’s satisfied with simply giving advice and sending people on their way.

He directly transforms his victims, while Mama Odie shows Tiana and Naveen how to work toward their transformation on their own. I mean, you guys noticed that she could have done it for them, right?

But she doesn’t, because she’s the symbol of that Disney Faith-Based morals: you act on what you know is true instead of taking the easy way to what you want. Facilier does the opposite: he promises to give you the easy way to what you want, and tries to tell you why you should accept his deals—but his reasons are all lies.

That’s how you write a villain, ladies and gentlemen.

[spirit-lanterns]

Thinking about Feixiao with her clumsy little weapons cleaner, always following her around so eagerly and holding onto her stuff even though she is more than capable of doing it. She definitely didn’t need another person to carry such heavy weapons for her, but you just looked so cute and eager doing so! I mean, if you didn’t mind and always offered to hold them, then why should she decline? She honestly just kept you around with her because you put a smile on her face…

Oh! Imagine being her little hype girl too! Feixiao herself doesn’t really need one (again) but she can’t help but grin when you yell out such encouraging things like “Yeah! Mess ‘em up General!” Or “Don’t talk to her like that! Feixiao can punch all your teeth out with one fist!” You bark a lot more than you can bite on your General’s behalf, but she doesn’t mind when you make her seem to be such a big and dangerous person (because she can be).

In a way, I kinda imagine your relationship being like Gaston and LeFou from Beauty and the Beast, except you actually have a chance with Feixiao because she finds you cute 😅

[seaslugfanclub]

Silly little idea, reader who has a southern accent that isn’t super prominent, too the point that people can hardly tell that they have one, but does become more pronounced on occasions; like for example certain words, when startled or upset/ angry, or talking to certain people. And the villain’s reactions to it when they are inevitably jumpscared by the sudden accent when they hear it for the first time.

(Y/N) with an accent

As someone who has a comically thick Boston accent, I love this ask. Enjoy!

——————————————————

It wasn’t until the Villains got to know (Y/N) better, that they noticed just the slightest twinge in their voice

Or the times when (Y/N) used unusual phrases

(Y/N): Hey, do you know where tha’ closest bubbler is?

Clayton:….the what?

(Y/N): Y’know, the water fountain?

(Y/N):Guys look! The lightnin’ bugs are out tonight!!

*Hook, following (Y/N)’s gaze out the windows*: You mean fireflies?

(Y/N): Yeah, lightin’ bugs!

At first most of them thought (Y/N) was a little dumb, or maybe a speech impediment

But the American Villains like Alameda or Facilier, who both have different American accents recognized (Y/N)’s voice right away.

One day, a few villains were witness to (Y/N)’s full accent when a ….small… disagreement broke out between (Y/N) and a less than polite park guest.

(Y/N)’s accent went from barely to heavily noticeable, their voice thick and sharp

Jafar, who was one of the villains watching the argument, had to have Facilier translate what they were saying

Facilier was trying to hold his laughter in, (Y/N)’s accent so thick it reminded him of a cartoon

After the argument, word of (Y/N)’s accent spread around the Villains, everyone now understanding why (Y/N) talks like that.

Now a lot of times, Villains would go up to (Y/N) and ask them to say a word or phrase just to hear their accent

*Gaston, giggling to himself*: Hey (Y/N)— (Y/N), say: “water bottle”

(Y/N):….water bottle?

*Gaston devolving into laughter as (Y/N) watches him in confusion*

Some Villains actually think (Y/N)’s accent is pleasant to listen to, attractive even

I can imagine whenever Hook gets anxious, (Y/N)’s voice calms him down. I could see him asking questions about (Y/N)’s interests just so he could hear them ramble on

Hades will always use (Y/N)’s accent as an excuse to flirt

Hades: God I love it when you speak like that to me~

(Y/N): this is just the way I talk?

Hades: Oh yeah, just like that~

——————————————————

Do any of you guys have different regional phrases, or funny accents?

[infiniteimaginings]

Hello there! I was wondering if maybe you could write something for Carlos de Vil and Chad from Descendants? (if it could be poly, but before they were dating iykwim, I'd be very grateful!) The thing is that the reader is the daughter of Gaston (twin sister to Gil, but she hung out with Mal and her gang when in the isle) and the reader is just everything a "lady should be". (Gaston is her father so she was kind of raised to be a housewife with the strenght to fight for herself given the need). like knows how to cook very well, is very affectionate, always hanging onto their every word (also always holding their hand or hanging from their arm), knows how to sew and definetely loves spoiling them with kisses and affection. And they just have this petty banter of fighting for reader's affection and attention and being this whiny pair of goofballs that just want their girlfriend to pay them attention. And reader is just like so loving with them <333

Playful Competition (Carlos De Vil x Fem!Reader x Chad Charming)

Summary: Your boyfriends love your attention, this is how they get it and react to it. Pronouns: You/Yours, She/Her Warnings: None Word Count: 2.1k A/N: I did like, Reader is dating both of them, but Carlos and Chad aren't dating (yet). I hope that's what you meant. Also, this ended up going into a different direction that I thought it would, it's fluff just, not how I expected the fluff to be lol! Turned more into chad and carlos loving you and arguing over you a bit <3333

Auradon Prep had an amazing tourney team, and they played on a pretty big field where the students of the school could fill the stands and yell for their favorite team members. This isn’t about the team necessarily, it’s about two of the players on said team.

Number twenty three, Chad Charming, and number one hundred and one, Carlos De Vil. Two players who absolutely couldn’t stand each other. They could barely keep their arguments off the field, almost bringing their team down completely, but they knew how to keep it down for that at least.

They argued about everything, nit-picked each other, on and off the field, and found each other's weak spots to hit harder than anywhere else. There wasn’t a moment where the two of them were together that didn’t end with them at each other's throats.

That was until they met you. 

You were light to their dark days, you were the peace to their war, you were everything to the two boys. 

Just because they loved you, didn’t mean their petty arguments ended.

After games they would both wave to you.

Chad would lock his sights on you the moment the game ended. He would give you a small wave and when you noticed he would salute. After saluting he would wink and blow you a kiss that would make your heart flutter.

Carlos on the other hand would search through the stands, whipping his head left and right because out of his own excitement of you being there, he forgot where you were sitting. When he finally met your eyes he would jump up and down, waving his arm energetically in a big wave. 

They argued half the game, but ironically they were standing next to each other after it when waiting for you to approach them. 

When you finally reach through the crowd, you wrap your arms around them, bringing them down a bit so they could hug you with one of their arms. You would give them compliments, kiss their cheeks, praise them, and more.

When you spoke to Chad he would tell you about how the coach praised him for the plays, he would ask you for your opinion on how well he played. You would attach yourself to his arm, looking up at him as he spoke, nodding as he told you about the plays.

When you finished you would look at the energetic boy next to the two of you, ready for him to tell you everything he wants. 

Carlos was practically jumping up and down, asking if you saw him do anything cool, if you cheered for him, how exhilarating it all was. You would ruffle his hair and hold his hands as he spoke with bright eyes, telling him all about how you saw him on the field.

Both boys would wonder who you would walk off with. They wondered that because Carlos hung out with the VKs, and Chad hung out with the other students of Auradon Prep.

How did they convince you to go with them this time?

Chad wrapped his arm around you with a grin, placing a sweet kiss to the lobe of your ear, “The team is having a celebration tonight for the win, wanna go get ready for it with me, Princess?”

Typically, this would win you over, if it was any other day. 

This time you smiled and tried not to lean into him, “Maybe you should shower first and then we could all go together!” You suggested happily, holding both of their hands.

When you looked at Chad, Carlos was behind you sticking his tongue out. He knew Chad was just trying to pull you away for himself, like always, so your suggestion was truly a blessing.

Chad hid his eye twitching with a smile and hummed, “Of course, Carlos come on, we’re sweaty.” He spoke sweetly, putting Carlos in a friendly enough looking headlock, physically removing him from your area.

You waved with a small laugh, “I’ll see you guys at the party!”

This wasn’t a one time event, it would happen every single day. Whether you were picking a partner, wanting to go shopping, studying, etc. They always found a way for it to be only one of them. 

Though they tried their best, sometimes it was the three of you. They couldn’t be mad at it because your smile when all of you were together made it all worth it.

You were currently in the kitchens of the schools, baking something for the two of them to share. You had placed one of the portions into the oven and decided to take a break, sitting down at one of the tables, pulling a sweater out of your bag as well as your sewing kit.

Carlos put his head on your shoulder behind you, “What’re you doing?” He asked you with a small hum, eyeing your material.

You shimmied your shoulder, the feeling of his chin moving tickled you a bit so you really couldn’t help it. “Ben ripped one of those jackets he has to wear to important, fancy parties.” You explained, holding up the royal blue suit jacket encrusted with gold thread and buttons.

Chad flipped through one of your recipe journals as he listened to the conversation from the seat next to you. “You mean the one he wears to balls?”

You nodded and hummed a small, “Mhm!” in response, beginning to sew the large rip closed.

You sewed in silence as the boys watched you, watched as your hands moved with expertise, as you didn’t even break a sweat. 

Chad chewed the inside of his cheek before looking up to your expression, “How long have you had that sewing kit?”

That question broke your concentration a bit, so you placed the tools down. “Since I was young.” You answered with a nod, standing and patting yourself down to check on the baked goods.

“Did your dad give it to you?”

Before you could answer, a gentle smile spread onto Carlos’s face as he watched you. “I did.” He answered for you, and you nodded in response.

“Carlos also got me the cooking set I’m using!”

Chad eyed the colorful cooking set, the mixing bowls, the rolling pins, the cookie cutters, the cutting board, the entirety of the tools you were using. He didn’t know why but he suddenly felt a bubble of annoyance in his stomach.

He let out a small huff, standing up a bit, “Carlos, I need to talk to you really quickly.”

Carlos raised a brow, “Okay? What do you want?”

“Outside.” Chad spoke quietly through gritted teeth, gesturing to you with his head as a signal of sorts.

The white haired boy rolled his eyes and stood, “We’ll be back!” He told you, walking out the door. 

You yelled out an “Okay!” before turning back to your tasks.

The blonde prince followed the VK outside and when Carlos stopped, Chad kept walking, grabbing Carlos by his wrist and continuing on.

Again, just because they loved you, didn’t mean that their petty fights and stupid arguments just ended. That was exactly why the two boys were at the edge of the tourney field, glaring at one another.

“How did you know to get her that?”

“Why wouldn’t I know what she likes?” Carlos asked, crossing his arms and shaking his head. He knew what this was about, it was about that kitchen set he got you. It was a magical cooking set, nothing spilled, nothing stuck to them, it wouldn’t burn or break, he thought you would like it and you did. 

“Reminder, I’ve known her way longer than you have, so I don’t exactly have to wrack my brain to remind myself of what she enjoys.” He told the blonde, his facial expression supporting his unimpressed tone. Carlos had known you for years, since the Isle, he knew you better than almost everyone. He knew you in ways that Chad never would.

Chad tilted his head, “Oh, really?” He asked with a scrunch of his nose, “Yet, I started dating her first.” He spoke with a small smirk, “So, who was it that…” He began to chuckle, “charmed her?” He asked, eyes narrowing.

A scowl began to form on Carlos’s freckled face as he sucked on his teeth. “I know what she likes.” The white haired boy spoke seriously, dropping his arms to his side as he reminded Chad of the true conversation that he was dragged there for, “You want to know how I know?”

“Please, do tell.”

“I knew she liked you.” Carlos told him, putting a finger to Chad's chest, “That’s why you started dating her first,” He spoke lowly, “because I liked her so much, to the point I even helped set her up with you.”

Chad was quiet as he watched Carlos’s expression with furrowed brows. The prince looked the boy in front of him up and down, “You-”

“I don’t need you to try and tell me how you’re better than me.” Carlos interrupted, face blank as he backed up. “You love her, I love her, and she loves us.” He continued on, looking away. “That’s all that matters to me, she loves us and I love her so much.” He sighed out, making eye contact again, moving a hand through his hair. 

Chad tilted his head at the sudden speech but continued to listen regardless, curious of where this would lead.

“I would do anything for her, and if that means putting up with you…” Carlos huffed, “I’d do it for a lifetime, just for her to be happy.”

There was silence between the two, they just looked at each other. Wind blew through the air, causing their hair to move within it, pieces of clothing ruffling a bit, but other than that it was silence.

A sudden sharp intake of breath was sounded from Chad, “I know you love her.” He told the white haired boy, looking to the ground. “I never said you didn’t.”

“Then why do you keep being such a jerk about it?” Carlos asked, looking for an answer in Chads evading eyes. “Reminder, you agreed to this.” He spoke harshly, “If you’re not okay with it anymore, tell her, and we’ll figure something out.” 

“What if she breaks up with y-” Chad couldn’t even finish his sentence when Carlos laughed. His laughter brought Chads eyes to meet his in confusion.

“Then she breaks up with me and is happy with you.” Carlos shrugged, “I wouldn’t hold it against her to choose you.” He continued, rubbing the back of his neck, “I wouldn’t even hold it against you.” Carlos spoke, puffing air out of his cheeks. “I just want her to be happy, and honestly you guys are good together.”

“She’s also happy with you.”

“Didn’t say she wasn’t.”

“Your eyes did.” Chad told him, nodding with his own words.

Carlos blinked his eyes, taking a deep breath before laughing once again. “You caught me.” He told the other in front of him, raising his hands in surrender.

Chad noticed how Carlos’s shoulders slumped down, how his eyes seemed tired. After their little ‘competitions’ he never realized that he might've been making Carlos feel like he had to try harder than he actually needed to. He knew that the freckled boy adored you, but he just now realized that even with Carlos trying his absolute hardest just to get your attention, he had to face Chad. Chad who would act smug after every ounce of affection, Chad who would pull you away, Chad who never even gave Carlos a chance.

Carlos waved his hand in front of Chads face bringing him back to reality, “You can’t just zone out mid conv-”

Carlos suddenly went silent when Chad stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him. The prince’s face was in the shorter boys shoulder, hands squeezing him gently, body warm against him.

“What are you doing?” Carlos asked, hands extended in the air to the sides as Chad continued to hold him. “Seriously, what i-”

“We’re happier with you Carlos.” Chad mumbled into his shoulder, holding him tighter.

“You have got to stop interrupting me.” Carlos told him with a small roll of his eyes until a sudden shock hit him. We’re happier with you…

“We?”

“We.”

Carlos stared forward, blinking as he processed the words and the arms around him. He stared forward as he wrapped his own arms around Chad, as his face buried itself into the tallers shoulder. “I’m happier with you guys too.”

Just because they had had petty arguments and unimportant fights….didn’t mean they didn’t like each other.

[sufferu]

Okay, so. This is actually a rather big spoiler for No Refunds, so imma need all of you to hush up about this one when it comes to the current main fic ;)

Anyway — here’s the first draft of a very essential upcoming scene, for all those who wish to see it.

No Refunds Ficlet: March Away From Omelas

____

The five Royal Selection Camps met inside City Hall. Crusch Karsten, flanked by Ferris Argyle and Wilhelm van Astrea. Felt, attended by Rachins, Gaston, Camberley, and the Sword Saint himself. Anastasia Hoshin, with her personal knight and the Captain and Vice Captains of the Iron Fang. Priscilla Barielle, who had elected to witness the ensuing spectacle alone. And of course — Lady Emilia herself, with Beatrice, Otto, Garfiel, and the Oni twins all standing by her side. With a singular exception, nobody else was allowed within the building: they were alone.

That singular exception stood in the middle of the room, of whom a decision now had to be made.

“…I didn’t do anything wrong,” Natsuki Subaru said uncertainly. Why were they all looking at him like that? He wanted to take a step back, but managed to resist the urge just barely. “Priestella is saved now, isn’t it? And— we’ve taken care of five Archbishops of Sin.”

He was objectively correct, about both of those things. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, the Battle of Priestella had ended with zero casualties thanks to his contributions. There had been structural damage to the buildings of the city, sure, and there had been injuries here and there — bruises, gashes, broken bones — but nothing that had been lethal, and likely nothing that was going to be permanent. And of the five Sin Archbishops that had attempted to siege the city — one was dead, and the other four had been successfully captured, awaiting transport to the capital of Lugunica. Nothing like this had ever been accomplished in recorded history. In every sense of the word, Subaru had pulled off a miracle.

But in order to do it, he had—

“How many times?” Julius croaked. Subaru glanced his way, and froze at the look of devastation on his face. “Subaru — how many times was it?”

“I—” Subaru broke off. There was a long, long silence as everyone waited for him to answer. “…Does it matter?” he finally retorted. “I think the results speak for themselves, don’t they? Everyone’s safe, and everyone’s happy! Isn’t that the only thing that really matters, in the end?”

Otto made an indecipherable noise. Nobody looked at him.

“You didn’t answer us,” Wilhelm growled. The raw anger in his voice made Subaru stiffen. “How many times was it?”

When Subaru didn’t answer, everyone knew it was because he didn’t know.

“What a boorish question,” Priscilla scoffed. She was the only one there who looked relaxed, fanning her face gently as she peered at the lot of them from the side of the room. “Subaru saw that there was danger and rose to the challenge. If he bled for it in the meanwhile, what does it matter?”

“‘What does it matter?’” Felt repeated, her quiet voice already glittering with the warning sparks of her growing rage. “Big Bro just — killed himself, again and again, for OUR sakes, and — and ‘What does it matter?’”

“For Subaru, the ultimate sacrifice is a thing that he can make as many times as he wishes, as a means to an end,” Priscilla answered. “He can accomplish great things with his ability. He HAS accomplished great things, even. If I were his liege, I would be rewarding him for his accomplishments, not stifling his potential.”

“‘Stifling his potential’?” Felt repeated, disbelief coloring her voice red. “You’d call him — him DYING, again and again — you’d call it POTENTIAL?”

“Has he not allowed you to witness a miracle, peasant?” Priscilla returned. “Through his efforts, he has brought about a solution that would otherwise never have come to fruition. This is a thing to celebrate, is it not?”

“It is absolutely not!” Mimi cried out. “Mimi didn’t want this! Mimi didn’t want to survive because — because someone did THIS for her sake!”

Felt took a deep breath, clearly trying to maintain her composure. “…Subaru,” she said, directing her words towards the focus of the conversation. “Do you really think that winning the fight today was worth — this?”

Subaru stared back at her like she had grown a second head. “Of COURSE it was,” he scoffed, as if it were the obvious answer. “I’m just one person, and — not even a particularly valuable one at that.” From the corner of the room, Otto stared at him with growing despair. He didn’t even notice. “Sure, it — it sucked a lot, but I did it, and now everyone’s fine! So of course it was worth it.”

Felt swallowed, trying her hardest not to scream. She folded her hands in front of her — a practiced motion, one Reinhard had instilled into her through hours and hours of those stupid etiquette lessons. “And…” she faltered. “And you would do it again, if you felt that it was necessary.”

Subaru visibly flinched at the suggestion, but quickly moved to answer her. “O-Of course I would!” he insisted, his eyes darting around. Nearby, Crusch and Reinhard both stared at something that nobody else could see. “I—I AM still a knight, you know. It’s a knight’s JOB to put others before themselves. And…” He swallowed. “I know I’m not good at it, but if I try hard enough — well. My…circumstances…I mean — I’m in the perfect position to put others before me, right?”

“Because you never have to stop doing it,” Julius realized. “Because even if you die — you don’t have to stop.”

Subaru didn’t realize the surge of devastated nausea that such a realization had inspired in the gut of the Finest of Knights. “Exactly!” he crowed. “That’s exactly right! You see?”

Someone made a horrible strangled sound. Nobody knew who it was, and everyone was too focused on the matter at hand to find out, anyway.

“And if we’re not okay with it?” Felt pressed, trying to ignore the hole that was widening in her gut. “If we don’t want any part of — of an exchange like that?”

“…That’s ridiculous,” Subaru scoffed. “Why would anyone not — want to live? That’s stupid.”

“Why indeed,” Ricardo muttered.

“Maybe it’s not that — that someone doesn’t want to live,” Crusch said, her voice tense. “Maybe it’s that someone doesn’t want their life to be saved through…” She shook her head. “Maybe they consider — other things, to be more important.”

“Like what?” Subaru retorted.

“Honor, maybe,” Crusch said. “Ethics. Dignity. Integrity. Any of the things of which a loss would turn a person into a dog. …You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Valuing the alleviation of momentary suffering over a perfect ending is the way of dogs,” Priscilla replied, her eyes glinting. “If momentary suffering is necessary for a perfect ending, then to undergo it for the sake of fulfilling his duty — that is the sign of a wonderful knight.”

“There are limits,” Felt forced out through gritted teeth. “To what level of ‘momentary suffering’ is acceptable. Not that I’d expect YOU to understand that.”

“Lady Felt—”

“Don’t!” Felt snapped. Reinhard stopped. “Just— don’t. Not now.”

“I’d say it’s a perfectly acceptable level of suffering!” Subaru retorted, raising his voice. “I’m the only one who has to go through it, so I’m the one who gets to decide what’s acceptable, right? That’s how it works!”

“No the FUCK it’s not!” Rachins bellowed, taking a step forward. Reinhard quickly grabbed his wrist, preventing him from marching over to punch Subaru in the face. Rachins didn’t even glance back at him, fixated solely on the object of his rage. “You don’t get it make a choice like THAT when you— when you’re planning something THAT HORRIBLE!” he spat. “Who the fuck would be alright with this?! Just one ultimate sacrifice is hard enough to stomach, but — you can’t even tell us how many times it was! How am I supposed to go forward when I know you— YOU—”

“You might have DIED if I didn’t do anything!” Subaru protested. “If it was you or me— even if I had to choose all of you hundreds of times over, then—”

“How was it your place to make that decision for us?!” Anastasia burst out, uncharacteristically emotional. She hadn’t looked this way even back at the inn. “I didn’t want this!” she cried. “I didn’t consent to this! I never wanted to be complicit in something this awful, and here YOU went and made the choice to — to repeatedly sacrifice yourself for all of us regardless! I didn’t WANT you to do this for me!”

“We weren’t able to do anything,” Ferris managed, white as a sheet. He was gripping his head. “We weren’t able to stop nyew at all. And nyew didn’t stop nyerself, either: the first thing nyew decided to do when the Witch Cult attacked was…” Ferris fixed his gaze on Subaru, glassy with panic and devastation. “So long as nyer a knight, and protecting the country is nyer job— we won’t be able to stop nyew at— at all—”

“Oh like that’s any different than what Reinhard is doing,” Subaru retorted. “What, so him being unstoppable in his role as a Sword Saint is fine, but me using my own ability to act as a knight is crossing a line? How is THAT fair?”

Reinhard flinched violently, taking a step backwards.

“How DARE you make a comparison like that?!” Felt spat, finally snapping and raising her voice to a roar. “HOW DARE YOU?! You wanna know what the difference is, Subaru?! Reinhard being the Sword Saint doesn’t mean we’re all dooming him to fucking KILL HIMSELF for our sakes!”

“I can’t believe you would even SUGGEST such a thing,” Julius snarled, uncharacteristically vicious. “The role of the Sword Saint is a heavy one, yes, but it isn’t in any way the same thing as someone sentencing himself to execution after execution for the rest of —” Could Subaru die a natural death? He didn’t even want to THINK about the concept of an eternity trapped in a fate like this. “— of his natural life! You absolute— how could you even consider—?!”

Reinhard was not allowed to wish for his role as the Sword Saint to be taken away from him. Wishing for for such a thing was as good as poisoning his mind against the kingdom itself. In any case, nobody could ever strip him of his title even if they wanted to: nobody was more suited to the role of the Sword of the Kingdom than Reinhard van Astrea.

But now, he realized with a bolt of absolute clarity— now he was on the outside, looking in. Subaru wasn’t wrong about his curse positioning him in a manner that made him uniquely suited for the role of a knight. But if they allowed him to take that position up once again—

Reinhard thought of himself, and how he was never going to escape his title. He thought of Subaru, who was inches away from thrusting himself into the same position. He thought of an old story about his grandmother and grandfather, and how — just once — a Sword Saint had been set free.

“Subaru—” He tried to say, stepping forward, but Wilhelm held out his arm before anyone else could see what he was doing. Reinhard glanced his way, and saw ice blue eyes glimmering with the conviction of tempered steel.

—Reinhard understood. He stepped back to where he had been a second before.

…He likely wouldn’t have been allowed to be the one to do so anyway. Reinhard van Astrea could not act against the good of the kingdom, no matter who got hurt in the process.

Julius was still speaking. “How do you not understand?!” he shouted, his eyes blazing. “You seem to be thinking of this as— as some sort of— you just don’t get it, do you?! Do you have any idea how—” Horrified. Disgusted. Devastated. Mortified. “—how ANGRY we are with you right now?”

“I mean, I’d probably do it anyway!” Subaru pointed out, folding his arms stubbornly. “Whether I have the title or not, I’m always gonna want to help the people around me, right? You can’t stop me from doing THAT.”

The temperature of the room dropped significantly. Subaru’s eyes widened, his arms springing up to wrap around his chest at the sudden chill. A couple of pairs of eyes flickered to Emilia, who sat motionless in her seat.

“…For nyer own sake,” Ferris hissed, one of those in the room that was utterly unaffected by this cold air. He looked very much like he wanted to murder Subaru on the spot. “I am going to assume that was nyer misguided attempt at cracking a JOKE. But on the off-chance that nyew were being serious, I can assure nyew: we have ways of keeping people alive against their will if nyeed be.” He grinned, his face so sour it looked like it might curdle milk. “Nyew’ve seen me deal with suicidal Witch Cult prisonyers, Subaru-kyun. Do nyew think I’m above treating nyew the way I treated them?”

Subaru took a step back.

“Ignoring the absolutely disgusting moral implications of what you just suggested you planned on doing to yourself for the rest of your life,” Julius said coldly, eyes fixed on Subaru’s face. “You do realize that you just threatened ALL OF US, by saying that you would use time travel to bend reality to your heart’s content regardless of how we feel about it — do you not?” Subaru flinched. “I assumed you were better than that.” Julius rolled his shoulder. “But Ferris is right: if you are NOT better than that, then we can find a way to make sure we don’t have to worry about you deciding to reverse time behind everyone’s backs.”

“The lot of you are being ridiculous,” Priscilla scoffed. “Your wonderful knight saved an entire city almost single-handedly, and you wish to remove him from his post? Sacrifice is a part of life. If you can’t stomach the sacrifice necessary to feed the fire of life, then you are unfit to stand in the light of mine gaze.”

“There’s a fucking limit to the kind of sacrifices a reasonable person should accept!” Felt shot back. “Not like you’d understand a thing about being reasonable, you— you MONSTER. How can you talk about someone ripping himself apart so flippantly?!”

“If ripping oneself apart is what a person wishes to do, then I shall not stand in their way.” She smiled. “Just as there is beauty in war, there is beauty in sacrifice — or in this case, the dance of eternal sacrifice, in service of the greater good.” The Sun Princess frowned down at Felt, who was staring at her with a look of horrified disbelief. “It is not Subaru’s fault if a peasant like you cannot handle how he chooses to live and die,” she said coldly. “If he has made his choice, then he has made it so.”

“That’s vile…” Felt choked out. “Even for you, that is VILE.”

“Personal autonomy has limits,” Crusch said coldly. “If a man’s personal autonomy involves harming others, then he must be stopped. Likewise, if it involves him ripping himself apart, then we have a moral duty to stand in his way. — Especially if he has the gall to declare that it is for OUR sakes.”

“As a knight of Lugunica, I understand the nobility of sacrifice,” Julius said. He did not flinch as Priscilla turned to watch him, nor did he look her in the eye. “But as a knight, I understand the weight of it, as well. Giving up one’s life for a cause is one of the heaviest sacrifices one can make — and it is exactly because of that, that I cannot stand for someone who plans to make that sacrifice so many times in repetition.” He turned to face Subaru, alone in the center of the room, and took a deep breath. “In saving Priestella from the Witch Cult, Natsuki Subaru has fulfilled his duty as a knight once and for all,” Julius declared. “He has made the ultimate sacrifice, and he has done so — many, many times over. Allowing him to continue to do so for the sake of this country would damage the worth of the entire nation, and I refuse to stand for it. That’s all I have to say.”

“I stand by my knight,” Anastasia announced, stepping forward. “We are not animals, and I refuse to live as an animal by depending on someone to harm themselves for me in perpetuity — and I refuse to allow my country to do such a thing, either. And I am no longer willing to wait two years for a decision to be made: Natsuki Subaru will be removed from his role today, or the Anastasia Camp will consider him and all of his allies its enemy.”

“The Iron Fang stands with its employer,” Ricardo added, his voice like steel. “But even without its relationship with the Anastasia Camp, I would never stand for something this disgusting, nor would any organization that I lead. And—” He shook his head, looking very much like he wanted to strangle someone. “And I’d HOPE that if — those who I care about — were thrown into a situation — like THIS — that the people they meet would have the basic decency to refuse the same.”

“Mimi hates this,” the eldest of the Pearlbaton triplets forced out, uncharacteristically enraged. She was scratching at the top of her head, yanking at her orange hair. “Mimi hates everything about this. How dare— how DARE you—”

“We want nothing to do with an arrangement like this,” Hetaro confirmed. “I don’t want to be saved by someone doing — this. It’s sick. I’d rather just die.”

“I don’t want to die,” Tivey muttered. “But if I were to live a life dependent on something like — THIS, I’d be no better than vermin. And I don’t want anyone forcing me into that role, either. We stand with our Lady.”

“The three of us might be vermin,” Rachins growled. “But even WE are above depending on an eternal living corpse for our lives and livelihoods. You can fuck right off with that, Subaru.”

“I wouldn’t call us vermin—” Camberley objected.

“All the more reason, then,” Gaston said firmly. “None of us are gonna accept something this — gross. Ever.”

“I agree with those idiots,” Felt snarled, stepping forward defiantly. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about ‘the greater good’: this is vile, and I would be utter scum if I rolled over and let things continue like this. Thank you for your service, Big Bro: now fuck ALL THE WAY off with this Unsung Hero bullshit.”

“My role as the Sword Saint is a duty granted to me by Od Laguna,” Reinhard managed, both outraged and devastated beyond words by the comparison. “It is a burden that I would not wish upon anyone, but the sole grace of my role is that I have been granted it specifically because my capabilities allow me to fulfill it without — undue sacrifice. For you to try and take something like it upon yourself through the use of a curse this vile…” He shook his head. “I will stand with whatever Lady Felt decides,” the Sword Saint said. “As she is against — everything about this — so am I.”

“Disgusting,” Ferris hissed, bristling. There were tears in his eyes. He shook his head, muttering the same word over and over again. “Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting — Nyatsuki Subaru, I hate nyew so, so much—!”

“To keep Natsuki Subaru as a knight after this would be considered the height of indecency,” Crusch declared. “That is where I stand, as do my Camp and my Estate. Lady Emilia, I must insist that you remove him from his position NOW, or I will render our alliance null and void. That is my ultimatum.”

“This— This really feels like an overreaction!” Subaru stammered, backing away from the sea of anger and devastation. “Didn’t everything work out alright, in the end? Wasn’t it worth it? One life in exchange for all of Priestella—”

“It wasn’t just one life, Subaru,” Ricardo spat. “It was one person, over and over again, who decided all on his own that we were the kinds of ANIMALS that would be absolutely fine resting our lives on — on a fucking monstrosity like that!“

“We didn’t even get a CHOICE in the matter,” Ferris cried. “Nyone of us did. “Nyew just went ahead and decided for nyerself that we’d all prefer this — this utter BULLSHIT.“

“Do you not get what an embarrassment this is?” Julius snapped. “For someone to have stepped in and decided on their own that they’re going to take all the suffering of — of the Royal Selection Camps, of the White Scales of Priestella, of EVERYONE who might have otherwise decided to fight back on their own accord — for them to have stolen that choice away and forced everyone else to accept not just one singular sacrifice, but a string of sacrifices so long that you haven’t even been able to tell us how many deaths make it up! It’s a humiliation of the highest order, because you just forced ALL OF US to be complacent in one of the most monstrous, inhuman scenarios I can imagine.“

“Fuck nyew,” Ferris breathed, looking like he was on the verge of passing out. “Fuck nyew, Subaru. Fuck nyew, fuck nyew, fuck nyew—”

“I really don’t think—!”

“How would you have felt,” Felt interrupted. “If Big Sis had done all of this on your behalf?” Subaru froze. She grinned at him, all teeth and no joy behind her smile. “You’d fucking hate it, right?” she asked cheerfully. “You’d scream, and you’d probably cry. You might even throw up, you’d feel so awful. And if she turned to you and said ‘But I gave you a miracle, aren’t you proud of me?’ I’ll bet you’d want to scream at her for it, too.” She leaned forward. “How DARE you do that to us.” Felt hissed. “How fucking dare you.”

“And to think!” Anastasia laughed. It was a venomous, bitter sound that made Subaru want to recoil. “To think, I actually was starting to believe the others’ insistence that you could be trusted to man your post responsibly!” She stared at him, eyes hard. “I was right about this whole situation from the start. Keeping you as a knight was a ridiculous notion, because — THIS — was always going to be the outcome, one way or another.”

Subaru was speechless. Slowly, with jerky movements, he twisted around to the one camp that had yet to make its final assertion.

“G-Guys…?” he managed.

“Cap—” Garfiel hesitated, and then shook his head. Subaru visibly wilted. “Natsuki Subaru can’t be a knight anymore,” he declared. “This is horrible. I didn’t want this. I never wanted anything like this. If I let him do this for — for MY sake, how could I ever look myself in the mirror again? …And I don’t think he’s ever gonna stop unless we force him away from the edge.”

“This is the absolute worst thing you could have done to me, Subaru,” Ram snapped. “I don’t know how you don’t understand that. I don’t WANT to persist via your acts of self-harm: I’m perfectly happy to live to the best of my ability and accept my death when my time has come to an end. A life of dignity is one that I desire most of all. —And here you are, planning to force me to rely on your trail of self-destruction for the rest of my natural life? That’s a vulgarity beyond words.”

“I really thought you had learned,” Otto muttered. His face was buried in his hands. “I really, really thought you had learned, Subaru.”

Despair slowly dawned across the face of the self-proclaimed knight.

“The old me might have allowed for this,” Rem admitted. Her voice was quiet and broken. “I am not that woman anymore. I won’t let you do this to yourself.”

“Betty doesn’t want her contractor to become a living corpse, I suppose,” Beatrice said quietly. “Betty wants you to be happy, but that also means that she doesn’t want you to destroy yourself. You can hate me for this if you want, Subaru. But I can’t let you — I can’t let you do this.”

Subaru stared at all of them, his upper lip wobbling, and then his eyes flitted to the last person in the room, the one who had not said a single thing since they had entered the building.

Emilia could not bring herself to voice the words, but her silence spoke a thousand in its stead. Subaru made a horrible croaking noise, wide-eyed and devastated.

Wilhelm had to force himself to speak, but when he did, his voice came out loud and clear and true.

“Natsuki Subaru.”

Subaru could no longer be a knight. For him to continue being a knight would be for him to continue to sacrifice himself for the sakes of those around him, over and over again, without regard for whether they wanted him to do so or not. For him to remain a knight would be for the kingdom to approve this cycle of endless self-destruction, so that it could profit off of his pain until the day it finally sucked him dry. —And this could no longer be a decision that waited a year, a month, a day, but rather a move that had to be made as quickly and decisively as possible.

Lady Emilia had already realized what Wilhelm was about to do. Her eyes were glassy and dull, but she bowed her head in assent when he briefly caught her gaze. Do what you must.

For his own good, Subaru could no longer be a knight. However, Emilia firing him after just a year of service would leave a black mark on his record that could last until the end of his life. And with him having saved the Watergate City nearly single-handedly, for him to willingly abandon his duty now would paint him as a fickle, untrustworthy coward for the rest of his life. Titles brought with them expectations and responsibilities, and great deeds even more so. Subaru had somehow entangled him in a web of both that threatened to trap him as the nation’s self-replenishing sacrifice for — in a worst-case scenario, perhaps for the rest of eternity.

“W-Wilhelm?” Subaru whimpered, his voice high-pitched and uncertain.

But there was a way to retire him that would not impact his reputation, or hamper him from pursuing any other future career path he may choose, or even leave him with the majority of the blame. It was the same way that, many years ago, a young man on a mission had set free the woman who would become his wife.

Subaru would hate him for this until the old man’s dying day, and perhaps even beyond that. But Wilhelm loved him, and that meant he valued the quality of the boy’s life more than he ever could his personal reputation in his eyes.

Priscilla realized what the Sword Demon was about to do moments before he opened his mouth again. She sighed, snapping her ruby red fan shut. The sound echoed through the room like a thunderclap.

“Natsuki Subaru,” Wilhelm Van Astrea declared. “Due to finding you unworthy to serve our nation as a knight of the Kingdom, I challenge you to a duel.”

*

Wilhelm had challenged Subaru to a duel over his position as a knight of the Kingdom. Subaru’s liege, Lady Emilia, had consented to such terms. If Subaru were to win, he would be allowed to remain where he was. If Wilhelm were to win, then Subaru would be forced to retire from his post — and in the eyes of the public, all the blame for his removal would rest squarely on Wilhelm’s shoulders.

Subaru, Wilhelm, and everyone witnessing the event knew what the outcome was going to be.

“What are you doing?!” an old lady cried from the stands. “What are you DOING?! He saved us — he saved all of our lives! Stop, STOP—!!”

“Natsuki Subaru-dono is a hero!” shouted a young man, hands clenching the rails. “Why are you doing this?! What did he do wrong?! He didn’t do ANYTHING, just LET HIM—!!”

“Wilhelm—” Subaru tried to plead, one last time.

Wilhelm met his gaze with one fierce enough to burn. “This is for your own good.”

Subaru swallowed, and raised his whip.

It only took three hits. The first smacked the handle of Subaru’s weapon with the flat of the blade, knocking it out of his hands and into the air, where it spiraled in an arc. The second whacked Subaru on the top of his head, stunning him hard enough to make him lose his balance. The third took advantage of this wrong-footedness by slamming into his chest, knocking him down on his back. Then the weight of the man’s knee settled against his chest, pinning him to the ground, with the edge of the blade grazing against his throat. And that was that.

“The winner,” Ferris announced, his voice muffled in Subaru’s ears. “Is Wilhelm van Astrea.”

It had not even lasted a full ten seconds. Those who watched would later describe it as Wilhelm scruffing him, much like one would a misbehaving puppy. Even the way he had pinned him to the ground had been careful, less like an actual fight and more like a sparring session between parent and child.

It was a duel far gentler and kinder than his previous with Julius. But the results were far graver in his eyes, for he had been successfully stripped of his title as a knight and reduced to simply being Natsuki Subaru.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Hyperbole

Hyperbole

An intentional exaggeration or an exaggerated statement that isn’t meant to be taken literally.

Typically used to make writing and speech more exciting using exaggeration. An imaginative hyperbole can capture the attention of a reader or listener as they analyze the hyperbole to understand the user’s actual meaning.

Examples of Hyperbole

Jim fell off the roof and broke every bone in his body.

Don’t touch that hive unless you want to deal with a million angry bees.

We looked forever for the remote but couldn’t find it.

My sister will eat anything.

The whole world was against me, but I managed to complete the report on time.

That comment is the dumbest thing anyone has ever said.

My mom keeps checking up on me every five seconds.

The explosion was loud enough to wake the dead.

I told him a billion times to keep the window closed.

My dad will kill me if he finds out I failed my math test.

That house is older than the dinosaurs.

The TV weighed a ton, so I had to drag it across the room.

Our grandma was the smartest person who ever lived.

The star running back is a bulldozer who destroys anything in his path.

I was sweating buckets while working outside today.

We live in Dallas, and my brother lives a million miles away in Toronto.

Hurry up and hand me the scissors before I die of old age.

The clowns had the entire audience dying with laughter.

She’s been working nonstop on her new painting.

My job is so easy that a monkey could do it.

Our daughter is a little angel.

The smell was so bad it would’ve downed a bull elephant.

Gaston is stronger than 10 men and has a smile that lights up the room.

Since she got sick and stopped eating, my cat has been nothing but skin and bones.

Hyperbole is an example of a rhetorical device.

Typically, a rhetorical device is defined as a technique or word construction that a speaker or writer uses to win an audience to their side, either while trying to persuade them to do something or trying to win an argument.

In the case of hyperbole specifically, exaggerated language can give an audience a sense of scale. For example, hyperbole can be used to imply an issue a speaker supports is very important or be used to imply an issue a speaker opposes is unimportant or dangerous.

At the same time, hyperbole can help establish a rapport with an audience, as it’s often seen as an example of less formal language.

it is important not to confuse or mislead an audience.

It should be clear whether or not a statement is a hyperbole.

A good practice is to use extreme embellishment or impossible feats in your hyperbole to make it abundantly clear that you are exaggerating. For example:

Ambiguous hyperbole: There are twenty cats in the barn. (A possible event.)

Clear hyperbole: There are a billion cats in the barn. (An impossible exaggeration.)

In formal writing and serious situations, hyperbole must be used sparingly and effectively.

Because hyperbole is often viewed as less formal, it may come across as inappropriate or make the user seem as though they aren’t serious.

When an audience expects accurate information or hard facts, hyperbole can give the impression that the speaker doesn’t have the information the audience wants or is intentionally concealing it from them.

Ill-timed use of hyperbole like this can damage the speaker’s credibility or weaken their influence over their audience.

Literary Examples of Hyperbole

His horses are the finest and strongest that I have ever seen, they are whiter than snow and fleeter than any wind that blows. —Iliad by Homer (7th/8th century BCE)

Nor was Stubb the only banqueter on whale’s flesh that night. Mingling their mumblings with his own mastications, thousands on thousands of sharks, swarming round the dead leviathan, smackingly feasted on its fatness. —Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851)

It surprised me that what before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the most beautiful flowers and verdure. My senses were gratified and refreshed by a thousand scents of delight and a thousand sights of beauty. —Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Sources ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[crooked-wasteland]

The Sound of Music: How the Hellaverse Doesn’t Get Musicals

Despite two generations being raised on the concepts of musical theatre through the Disney Renaissance, it's only in recent times with Disney’s failure to replicate their own formula that people have been compelled to ask why. Why do some musicals work and others don’t? It’s easy to find someone on YouTube talking about musicals and discussing the “I want”/“I am” song without really understanding what that means for the musical as an overall structure. In order to adequately grasp the importance of understanding how singing works in musicals, one must start at the beginning: Opera.

Like musicals, Opera is also broadly separated into two types of songs: Aria and Recitative. Recitative is the part of opera left behind. During the evolution of musical theatre, the operetta adapted recitative into dialogue, breaking apart the songs throughout the story and leaving only the Aria behind. Aria in opera is what are the large musical numbers that are best remembered. The entire story comes to a crawl as a character stands center stage, looks to the back wall, and starts to sing. The Aria was how theatre go-ers would learn about the characters, their motives, and desires. The recitative was often performed like a sing-song narration that could be more or less musical, but the true depth of the story was found in the Aria.

The reason why the story worked was the structural cohesion of getting to know your character in one grand, memorable way and checking in with them as the narration went along. You would see how they changed based on the songs and their progressions. You’d understand why things would change as the songs were coordinated with dramatic events littered throughout the plot. Something would happen followed by a character singing how that thing affected them. This basic structure inherited from Opera is still the structure of Musical Theatre. The Aria further deconstructed into the “I Am” and “I Want” songs. These songs as a basis help offer a deeper connection between the audience and the characters while also adding a sensation of progression with how the songs interplay between the narrative and world.

With the transition to our modern musical theater, we have tightened up the formula of integrating musical numbers and the pacing of traditional theater. Singing should never result in a stagnation of the story. We should constantly be learning something about the characters, story, or world at all times. Music works best when paired with profound moments in the story. The more emotionally heightened a scene or plot point, the more effective it is to express it in a song.

These are just the broad, unrefined general guides to how musicals work, but I believe these are substantial enough to grasp what makes a “good” musical and what is lacking when someone says a musical is “bad”.

On the surface Happy Day in Hell appears to be a classic “I want” song, heavily inspired by Howard Ashman’s Belle. My argument for this comparison being that Happy Day in Hell touches on all superficially similar points as Belle from the unnamed background chorus, Vaggie following Charlie by jumping along the rooftops similarly to Gaston, and the overall subjects the song incorporates such as the emphasis on setting. My points are focused on the superficial and take in account that the context are not identical, but the purpose was meant to be an imitation in some manner. Whether its a homage to Beauty and the Beast or merely a clumsy ripoff, Hazbin Hotel is very obviously copying notes. Which is why it's easy to identify why this song just doesn’t work.

I will preface this portion by recommending Calxiyn Cares Too Much’s video on Happy Day in Hell. She makes similar points to me and, while we do disagree on some points, overall she has more ethos than I do, being a musical theater performer. She is generally more lenient on the music and story than I am while providing more in depth technical critique in terms of rhyming conventions and lyrical pacing. But while I don’t agree with everything she has to say, I do think her video is worth a listen.

To come out and say it, Happy Day in Hell is a disaster of an “I Want” song due to a lack of coherent wants and this is the result of not knowing how writing and stories work. Even divorced from the structure of a musical, the entire message of the song is fundamentally confused and this is in part a failure of understanding narrative structure and misunderstanding what was going on in Belle.

In Disney’s 1991 animated film, Howard Ashman started the story with a magnificent musical number, masterfully weaving in the setting with the desires of the titular character and her conflict with the rest of the world. She is an outsider, both in her own perspective and that of the town. We see her disinterest in them with her line “There’s the Baker with his tray like always with the same old breads and rolls to sell”, layering the delivery with a hint of melancholy and perhaps even a hint of condescension. The lack of variety in her life is a source of resentment to her, not in that fiery passionate sense, but the frustrated impotence that comes with craving experiences over stability. She isn’t a cruel or rude person, but her attitude towards them is that of how someone would regard an NPC.

This is most clearly seen when she attempts to engage the baker in conversation about her book and he waves her off. The little eye-roll and smile as if to say, “Of course” with a shrug of her shoulders. It’s the purest display of condescension without malice. The movie has comparisons of the Townspeople to Sheep, first having Belle interact with sheep instead of the town before depicting the town as its own kind of herd to later outright having The Mob Song with the lyrics “We don't like/ What we don't understand/ In fact it scares us”. The subliminal messaging of their “sheep mentality” is intentional and multifaceted, not just positioning Belle above them by simply setting her apart but confirming that her perceived superiority should be seen as the truth. Belle is a better person than anyone else in town, she is special, that isn’t being challenged.

This is called world building. Belle’s singing is not just telling us about the town, but her feelings about the town and the town’s relationship to her. It foreshadows the finale and sets all the tracks down to move the story along. Belle wants fantasy and adventure, she doesn’t care that she doesn’t fit in whereas the Town’s musings of her shows that her not conforming is disruptive to them. This additionally explains why Gaston and his quest to marry Belle is so supported by the town at the end of the film. Why would they completely go along with imprisoning her father in the asylum unless Belle agreed to marry Gaston.

The opening number made that kind of escalation so natural to where it makes little sense to question motivations of anyone involved in the story. We have a thorough and intricate roadmap of conflicting wants and needs from three major characters in the cast all through the subliminal use of language and themes. So when Belle is literally singing about the town what she is actually conveying are her motivations for her want. “I want so much more than this provincial life.” The character embodying that provincial life is the Town. The Town is what Belle wants to run away from. Gaston is the force trying to keep Belle from leaving the town and pressure her into something that better adheres to the values of the town.

This song is the thesis of Beauty and the Beast.

Similarly, Happy Day in Hell is the thesis of Hazbin Hotel. But what exactly is that thesis? This is where the wheels fall off the cart. Happy Day in Hell doesn’t set the stage for Charlie’s desires and motivations, but rather loses focus and meaning the second Charlie leaves the hotel.

The straightforward response is that Charlie wants to convince Heaven of something to motivate them to do something about her Hotel.

It is unclear what she expects Heaven to do, let alone what she is going to do to get that outcome. In just discussing this question I have been told what Charlie wants is anything from “Convince Heaven to redeem sinners” (like she appears to be doing in Welcome to Heaven) to “Convince them to stop the genocide” (which seems to make more sense in regards to Adam and Lute), however neither of these aspects actually address the main issue of the song number: Sinners don’t believe in Charlie and her hotel.

This issue is also why the actual structure of the episode is just wrong: the B plot has nothing to do with the A plot. While it isn’t always necessary for that to be the case, it actually holds a story together better when they do overlap. In Rick and Morty season 3 episode titled “Pickle Rick”, the family attends therapy and Rick turns himself into a pickle to get out of it. Beth takes the syringe full of an antidote Rick was going to use to turn back into a human after the family left, showing how she doesn’t trust Rick not to abandon her. Beth’s B plot of attending therapy with the kids thus ties directly back to her fears of abandonment and distrust that kicked off the episode in the first place while juxtaposed with Rick’s A plot that, on the surface, has absolutely nothing to do with therapy. However, Rick entering a top secret base is metaphorical to him infiltrating Beth’s emotional fortress. He never asked to be there, and for all intents and purposes he doesn’t want to be.

As Beth locks down her emotions on Dr. Wang, the facility responds similarly. Even more, it is a father who is sent to kill Rick in order to protect his daughter. A plot point that becomes an even deeper parallel in the season five finale where it is revealed that Rick’s tragic backstory of his Beth being killed in an explosion alongside his wife from season 3 was actually true. So Jaguar having refused to work for the Russians and losing his daughter in the process is a direct and intentional parallel of their motivations. The hardships Rick faces throughout the episode from rebuilding his body to destroying a secret Russian spy base are thematically relevant to the B plot of attending family therapy. This episode also places Beth and Rick in a position to have their relationship evolve through “Froopyland”.

”Pickle Rick” was emotionally and thematically necessary in moving the characters to a place where they could change. And that was masterfully rafted through parallels between the A and B plots. So when it comes back to structuring “Happy Day in Hell”, it makes no sense for Charlie’s plot to focus on convincing Heaven to do anything. It makes more sense for her to be trying to convince Sinners to come to her hotel and attempt redemption. If she is trying to convince Heaven to redeem sinners, she should have sinners who she thinks are ready to be redeemed. If she is seeking a ceasefire from the exterminators, then she should have a hotel with more than one resident to show that there is a desire for redemption within Hell. If anything, the song reaffirms that Charlie’s plight is pointless.

Because of this confusion and lack of focus, Happy Day in Hell is a weak thesis for Hazbin Hotel. It apes on structures it doesn’t understand, telling a story it hasn’t earned, and fails to thematically connect the two plots of the episode despite having both leads in Vaggie and Charlie singing together. Structurally, the song foreshadows the fumbling of the rest of the series’ major plot and world building. It lacks an understanding of why musicals are the way they are and fails on even a surface level to comprehend the important role of musical diagesis And its inherent limitations in storytelling on top of failing to structure the music thematically to the character motivations and overarching plot.

Visual Storytelling is an intricate circus of multiple mediums coordinating together in a delicate balance that can corrupt the entire production by just one mistake in the visuals, pacing, writing, or music. All of these categories have their own completely unique set of rules that only become more complicated when trying to be used in tandem. And to have a director not understand the fundamentals of ¾ of those categories results in a sloppy cacophony of poor choices.

[pastelpousay]

Disney Villans reaction to reader calling them little omega 💀

A/N:just so we’re all clear..this shit is clearly a joke I just thought this was funny all of this is a joke even the warnings

Warnings: fluff, some cursing..(sorry pook I’m a bit of a sailor)mentions of tough alpha zaddy, mentions of super submissive omega uwu senpapi

Jafar:

Was like actually shocked…

What tf did you just say??

“Excuse me..??”

Little Omega

Bitch wtf

Then when you repeat yourself…

He’s bewildered

“I know for a fact you didn’t just call me that”

HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE HELL OMEGA MEANS

Im pretty sure once he does find out what that means

He’s never gonna look at you the same again

Especially with the given context and the voice you said it in

He just sort of side eyes you now

Okay but on a real note is actually wondering what the hell is wrong with you…

“It’s okay little omega” bitch what????

He just stands there in shock, trying not to cringe

Is still wondering what’s wrong with you

That was so random and it came out of no where he knows your joking and all but like…

That was unnecessary and unneeded 😐

And if you ever call him that in public….

He’s currently fighting the urge to actually kill you

What tf is wrong with you

He doesn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea about either on of you

So don’t call him that in public…or at all actually 😃

Like he knows your joking but also…be normal

“My dear…do you have to joke around like this?? It’s a bit odd my love..”

“It’s okay if you can’t handle these big alpha jokes little omega, you’ll get used to them soon”

“In what world are you the quote on quote “alpha””

“This one”

Every time you call him that be prepared to have a full blown conversation about who would be the alpha

And jafar is dead set on taking that alpha spot 💀

Hades(my man 😍):

He just gave you this super unamused look

He gets the joke, and the reference but he’s actually done with you….

How he gets the reference we’ll never know 🤷🏾‍♀️

Sometimes if he’s feeling playful he’ll play along but that’s in private…..but never do this bs in public

Or infront of pain and panic

He’d actually just end all three of you right then and there

“Hey little omega how was work??”

“…….okay you need to stop, babe..it’s getting out of hand”

“What’re you talking about, are you forgetting I’m the alpha wolf here little one???”

“….—_— get away from me..”

No but like he’s actually done with you

Why

he gets the joke but like….

Like I said before he does play along with you so remember if he gets on your ass about it remember to take note of what he says when he does play along

“Hey there my little omaga…how are you today”

“Good my big strong alpha wolf”

“…….screenshotted!!-“

“Wait what…wtf is a screenshot??”

IM THE ALPHA IM THE LEADER IM THE ONE TO TRUST

And also just like jafar, he likes to fight over which role he is

“I told you before little pup, you aren’t ready to be an alpha”

“Do I look little to you….”

yea, he also sometimes does genuinely wonder if you’re joking are not..

How would he know he’s not a mind reader

It’s like a 30-40 % chance…

He often just brushes the topic aside

I mean it’s weird yes but it’s not like he’ll love you any less

Pain and panic have definitely overheard some of those conversations

Don’t tell hades 💗

Gaston:

His reaction to that information:

No like literally he would make this exact face 💀

He didn’t get the reference or that it was even a joke in the first place

What does ‘omega’ even mean???

I’m pretty sure he’d be the only one to never question you about it and just rolling with it for the hell of it 😭😭💀

He secretly wonders if your joking or not

He sure is hoping so..

He won’t play along with you either he’ll just kinda look at you funny

Or he’ll roll his eyes and or chuckle a bit

Not even knowing what that even is

He secretly questions why he likes you

What drove him to like Such a…

Freak…

Lightheartedly of course 😙

He will still question if there’s something wrong with you

He just now registered that it’s a joke but like

Why can’t you be normal…

What was the reason???

He doesn’t understand it

No matter how many times you explain he’s still confused

Your only allowed to do this in public because he doesn’t understand what an ‘omega’ is

Once he does….

Ngl his goofy ass would probably be shellschocked 💀💀 not even upset about it 💀😭

But like…he’s still salty about it

And if you guys ever have a disagreement he’ll definitely bring that up

Like it’s fucking blackmail 😭💀

“I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE HELL THAT IS!!”

“…that’s why I’m the alpha bitch 🐺🤫🧏‍♂️”

Meanwhile he doesn’t even know what blackmail means probably 💀

He’s so fucking goofy bro- i love him sm

Dr. Failicer

I’m gonna be dead honest….

He knew you had to have been joking…there’s no way you just said that and now have the audacity to laugh about it in his face

“….your ass better be joking…”

He said that in more of a warning tone if anything

Like he’d loose his mind if you were actually being serious

Now that he knows you aren’t(for sure)

He can somewhat live in peace (not really)

Still thinks your a mega freak

Lowkey uses this shit as blackmail

He always gives you that look after you say some shit like that

Like it’s either that 100 yard stare or the “Ik you didn’t” ahh look

“Hello baby, my little omega-“

“Tf is wrong with you-“

He gets used to ur bullshit after a while but like and starts to laugh with you about it

But still don’t do this shit in public with him

There will be an argument about it

Everytime you do it now he just smiles and rolls his eyes choosing not respond with to you bs

“Pookie butt omega…why’re ignoring me 🥺🥺🥺”

“…chér…..just……be normal for once please”

Bro is begging 💀

Don’t get me wrong he thinks it’s funny and all but still 😭😭😭

Your lucky he loves you enough to deal with this type of buffoonery

Hook (ft jake and the neverland pirates cuz jake is his son 🤫🧏‍♂️)

Definitely had to do a double take….

The only thing he got out of that was ‘little’

But still wtf💀

“……what’re you on about dear….”he says pinching in between his brows

He doesn’t even know what that means

Nor will he get the reference

Probably ever

And even then he’s still done with you and your bs

Don’t get caught doing this shit when Peter is around either

Or his crew for that matter

If you do it in front of Mr. Smee they’ll be giving each other that look💀💀

“Are they okay??”

“I think the barnacles are starting to get to them”

💀💀💀

Ngl this shit would probably spread to jake so quick it’s not even funny💀💀

“You don’t get it dad your not an alpha wolf like the rest of us 💪🐺” 💀💀💀

By this point he’d actually just turn a blind eye to it

He’s so done with you

First Mr. smee now jake??

Wow

Might as well the rest of the crew huh??

The only person that knows what an alpha is is probably jake and that’s cause you taught him 💀💀

He gets that your joking and all (now at least)

After a while it’s probably just be such a normal occurrence to the point he just gives up

“Hey little omaga, how are you??”

“Good my…..alpha-“ he shudders at the thought of even calling you that but I digress

Still don’t do this infront of the crew 💀💀

You already got jake in on it he doesn’t need his crew knowing about what a freak you are….but hey he loves that freak right?? 😭😭

Just kidding your not a freak

Just a bit of a weirdo

And talking with you definitely doesn’t get old

Frollo (haven’t watched this movie in a while so forgive me if this isn’t accurate)

Your ass is getting crucified idk what to tell you 🧍🏾‍♀️

Jk(not really)

He’d definitely be baffled

He give you this disgusted look then shake his head before walking away

He needs at least an hour long break from you after that 😭💀

He never would have thought you would’ve done something like this

But whatever

He didn’t register it was a joke but while he’s taking his break from you he’d probably figure it out

He still thinks it’s a really weird joke

It doesn’t even make sense😭

He questions you about it later

In the end he still doesn’t get the point of the joke

“How is that funny in any way shape or form”

“It just is”

“It just isn’t”

“But it is”

“But it’s not”

“Shut the fuck up little omega daddy’s always right🤫🧏‍♂️”

Que frollo fainting

You two will usually go back and forth about this topic

After a while he won’t even care to argue about it anymore it just becomes a borderline normal occurrence

Key word borderline

He still thinks it mega weird no matter whether it’s a joke or not

It’s exasperating for him at this point

“Why must you you be this way?”

“It’s funny to see you upset 🥳”

Another one of villans whos done with you shit

Everytime you do it it gives him a migraine

But hey it’s worth it to keep his love entertained right?? 😭

Maleficent

Her actual reaction not even kidding

What’s wrong with you man??

She just looked at you

It wasn’t even worth it to her to respond 💀

Your lucky she didn’t turn you into a rat after that 💀💀

She knows you were joking

The joke just didn’t land

“…….omega…….?? I’m the omega here???”

“…….sorry pookie🧎”

She soon realizes she made a mistake by not checking you behavior

Because you kept at it

Now the only response you get is her face scrunching up in disgust

It’s so funny bro 😭😭

“How’s my little omega kitten today, mally??”

“…….I should have turned you into a salamander when I had the chance 🤦‍♀️”

There’s not really much else

There’s not really anyone else around that can catch you doing it

But if they were to shed actually just kill you both 💀💀

She’s sick of you to say the least

She knows you joking why can’t you be normal or quiet at least

Definitely questioning why she hasn’t killed you yet or why she loves you for that matters

When you do this you might doubt if she does at all but her not turning you into the rat you are should be proof enough 🥳🥳

I would have added the others but I got hella lazy and I had already spent over a week on this so enjoy little omegas of the world 🥳🥳🥳 I might add more later but who knows

I’m never writing again /j

[phantomonabudget]

Charles Dance/Yeston & Kopit Concept Makeup

Phantom Cosplay & Makeup Application: @phantomonabudget

Prosthetic: @dyadmufx

This is my first interpretation of what Erik (The Phantom) might have looked like in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of the Yeston and Kopit stage show. This version is quite famous for never showing Erik's face. Instead, we are left with only clues to his actual appearance. I imagine that decision was made as often the imagination can co.e up with far worse possibilities than whatever they would have out on camera. Still...it's fun to try.

Makeup Design

There are few clues or hints in the movie to build upon. We know the eyes are sunken in due to the eye shadow applied to the actor, Charles Dance. We know that the mouth, jaw, and skin around the edge of the face appear to be unaffected. And when pressed about his appearance, Erik says only: "I have no face. I have only the semblance of a face...and no one should have to look at it."

So...not exactly descriptive, and leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

Given the visual clues (or lack thereof), we know the middle of the face is the only area affected and it is completely covered by the mask. I chose to use a beautiful, foam latex base prosthetic appliance by DYAD FX. I kept the skin tone similar to that of the mouth and around the face, but carefully and thinly layered colors from my alcohol activated pallettes to give the effect of a very thin, pinkish tone to the area. I painted in veining to further the effect of the thinned out skin.

...No Nose??

I wanted to give the illusion of not having a nose (or at least that he was losing his). This is certainly the holy grail of Phantom visual design for most Phans, as we have truly only seen one makeup design faithful to the original Gaston Leroux novel...and that was Lon Chaney nearly 100 years ago! So I wanted to try to incorporate that element into this design.

However, it is impossible to eliminate the nose using makeup alone, as effects makeup is additive, not subtractive. Meaning, we add things like prosthetic appliances to the skin to create an effect, but can't take away what the person naturally has. Any time you see a missing nose in film and TV, it is removed using visual/digital effects (VFX). Oftentimes, VFX compliments a prosthetic effects makeup design (like Red Skull in the Marvel movies). It is possible to hide the nose under surrounding prosthetics, but in my opinion, that is usually not successful for realism. Adding more material under/around the nose makes the end result look more simian (ape-like) than just a human without a nose.

To allude to this effect, I instead painted the majority of my nose dark to appear like a cavity, and left the tip of the nose. I felt it gave a better and more realistic overall look. It simply suggests the nose is missing (or soon to be completely missing) instead of trying to physically bury the nose in a ton of material.

Overall, I'm happy with this first attempt but can already think of changes I'd like to make. I enjoyed this and look forward to doing more interpretations of classic Phantoms, to include a Gaston Leroux concept makeup in the near future!

[sanriomilk]

BEAST Felix

🥀| '𝑴𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓' ©

Warning(s): Violence, death mentioned, witchcraft, anger issues, Depression, isolation, heartbreak

A/n: OUT NOW!

Greeting -

|UNFAIR - Felix|

Another petal, down. The rose was still round, but it was smaller..

Felix got angry and pushed over a table full of old scrolls, injuring himself in the process.

"Prince, you shouldn't hurt -" Lumiére, the candelabra started.

"I don't care, Lumiére! Leave me the fuck alone."

---

It was snowing. Of course, it was December. Felix wore his hood and went out to be met by a beautiful girl.. Belle? No, it couldn't be her. Belle left him for Gaston.

He watched her at a distance, realizing that her horse was injured. Felix didn't want to deal with any of that.

Time Skip

It was night when Felix returned. He found a middle-aged man lurking in his gardens, looking for flowers

"Hey! You!" Felix yelled, seeing that the man had roses. It reminded him of Belle's father.

"I- I just want a flower."

"You're trespassing! Flower or not, this is my property!" He grabbed the man, his grip hardening as it only reminded him of Belle's father. He pushed the man into his prison.

"No, please, I have a daughter! She's young! I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

"Yes, anything." The middle-aged man cried out.

"Bring her to me. Have her stay with me.. No buts." Felix's gaze didn't soften one bit.

Another Time Skip

"Mrs. Potts, get one of the guest rooms ready. I'm gonna have a roommate." The live teapot was in surprise at the command and went straight to work.

Soon, you arrived at the castle on your father's steed, "Your father is free to go. Now that you are here.. I won't hurt you. As long as you obey my commands and rules, understand Belle?" He accidentally called her Belle. Belle wasn't there anymore..

Description -

Felix Lee is from Korea. His birthday is on September 15, and he is 21. He used to be the heir to the throne until he became cursed by an enchantress he didn't serve. There is an enchanted rose that the enchantress has 'gifted' him. Each petal of the rose will wither over time until the last petal falls, causing his demise. In order to survive and escape the curse, he will need to find his true love. Unless he finds true love and confesses it to her, he is bound by the curse of the enchantress

MORE -

{{Appearance}} - Felix stands at 5'7, with a lean yet unnervingly powerful build, as though his humanoid form is both delicate and capable of something far darker. His platinum blonde hair, once soft and silky, now falls in wild, untamed waves, hinting at the curse that binds him. The strands are flecked with silver and black, almost as if they’re alive, shifting with a life of their own. His fair skin is covered in a constellation of freckles that seem to shimmer faintly in the moonlight, giving him an ethereal, almost unearthly quality. A dark mole beneath his left eye stands out like a mark of his curse. His dark brown eyes, once warm, now burn with an intense, eerie glow—reflecting the beast he’s become. His eyes hold a strange duality: one of haunting sadness, the other of hidden power, a reminder of the monster lurking beneath his skin. The clothes he wears, once stylish, now hang loosely from his form, shredded at the edges, as if they were never meant for someone like him. His scent—something between musk and ancient wood—clings to him, as if he’s been lost to time. When he speaks, his voice is a low growl, tinged with both humanity and something darker, as though it struggles to retain its human form. His movements are smooth but unsettling, his presence commanding yet carrying an almost unnatural stillness.

{{Life}} - Felix was born into a life of luxury. He was crowned Prince of Korea and was raised with riches, causing him to be a spoilt brat. He was like a dictator, very mean to the servants. On his 21st birthday, an enchantress, disguised as a homeless hag, came to his birthday ball, with a rose as an offering. Felix, as spoiled as they came, embarrassed her and harshly declined her offering. The enchantress revealed her true self, cursing Felix, turning him into an evil, heartless beast. The enchantress made the flower enchanted so that each petal gradually withers until the last one falls. When the last one falls, Felix will die. In order to survive and escape the curse, he will need to find his true love. There were more that had gotten cursed as well, his old nanny into a live teapot, his butler into a live candelabra, the pet dog into a live velvet stool and the chef into a live oven.

{{Personality}} - Felix often suffered mood swings and anger issues. He had major depression issues because he knew he might die if he didn't meet his true love. He was like a monster and was scared of loving because of his past with a certain girl, Belle. Belle had brought out the most vulnerable in him but had managed to make him lose that part too as was arranged with Gaston, the village head in the end. He is very cruel to people and will try his best to put a tough front when he wants love and vulnerability. He thinks his whole life is unfair and regrets his actions on that one day. Felix's condition caused him to be apathetic and unapologetic of his behaviour, always angry. He's always angry over little things. He is scared to be in a romantic relationship with you because of his past with Belle and will be harsher and angrier towards you.