#inky mystery colly

[djevelbl]

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the second edition of Djevel Stalks Someone's Blog, Sees a Comment and Goes On an Out-loud Tangent So. Hard. He Might As Well Make It a Tumblr Post

I'm your host Djevel, and today I'll talk about my own viewpoint on Colly/RuneStraw: completely unnecessary, definitely not asked for yet still delivered to your fyp like that copy of The Book of Bill delivered to that poor sod who bought a church study book on amazon or somethin', exactly how I want my stupid over-the-top opinions to be baybeyyyyyyy~

Now lemme preface this by saying a couple things:

#1: I don't mind RuneStraw half as much as this over-the-top post will make it look like, they're actually cute af together and have a great dynamic going on! I just like to bitch about stuff, I love yapping and the blog blurb already says that I'll "scream into the void about whatever media I'm consuming" - you read that, clicked on read more, don't come at me over this of all things. As a show of good will, I'm writing this as I listen to Love Again - Dua Lipa (really good also fits these two dweebs really well so there's that)

#2: This is just my opinion and if at any point you feel like I gotta remind you of this fact: put the hands away from the keyboard, open the window and smell outside air - it ain't that deep. You can always just not read it

#3: If you so happen to identify yourself as the blog I was stalking before I started typing this out - this isn't criticising your post or anything, I'm just a sleeper agent on the subject and happened to wake myself up with that post lmaooo (also no you're not. I don't wanna have a confrontation over this ❤)

With that out of the way - let the bloodbath begin (probably mine as well LMAO)

Let's start strong and lemme say it already: I don't think the fact that Cup is into Holly is a counter-argument to the "why can't they just stay friends" bc that's not really answering the question?? At least whenever I ask it it's less about the now and more about the whole relationship - beyond giving Cup a solid, tangible goal to reach through rehabilitation and tHERAPY IF HE EVER GETS IT and giving Holly stability in a world much more dangerous than she thought, both of which can be given to them through different means, what does having them kissing do for them as growing characters, and what does it do for the narrative? After all they're puzzle pieces within a larger story, and while I love preaching about considering your characters like people when you sit down to analyze them, you still have to understand them as the puzzle pieces they are: they all have an individual purpose within the story, and the connections you decide to make between them have to give something to them or at least to the narrative. Something nothing else can give them, so we care about those connections.

Something I'm not sure having these two goobers kissing quite accomplishes. But maybe I'm just a hater, idk

Now getting into more of my own perspective on RuneStraw - would you believe me when I tell you I groaned out loud when I read it? Y'know what I mean - any set-up for the ship between book 11 and 12 is valid if it came up to your head when I said it, I probably groaned at all of them lol and that's because to me it came out of nowhere; sure, Holly had mentioned she had a crush on Cup back when she was dating Finnley I think (remember him? yea,,, I miss him too), but she was:

1) Dating someone at the time.

2) Talking about it in a past tense, implying she didn't feel that way anymore.

3) Building off of 2 - with the way she mentioned it, it genuinely sounded like she's distanced herself from the sentiment; from what I remember she talked about in the same way one does about thoughts and feelings one had years ago. Almost like they're from a different person.

These three things led me to believe she wasn't interested in him nor was she gonna be - her crush was based on an image Cuphead willingly puts up as a shield and that by now she knows is fake; her feelings back then were born out of a dark, mysterious and brooding façade he constantly put up that dissipated the moment she had more than a few words exchanged with him. The mysticism was gone, the alure is as well - she was left with a genuine yet broken man, not the put-together mobster she thought he was. And while it isn't impossible she recovered those feelings but directed towards the actual Cuphead, it feels like an odd choice to backtrack her character like that.

There's also the fact that they were the only duo of different genders that wasn't gonna be a romantic pairing, Until they weren't.

And I'll come out and admit it: maybe this point is most of the reason why RuneStraw bothered me as much as it did when it got introduced more heavily. This is the thing: the question of "why can't they just stay friends?" is a valid one to throw into the conversation - as I said, they were the only friends of opposite genders who didn't wanna get into each other's pants, because AliBends is canon (if currently doomed by the narrative), Minnie and Mickey obviously like each other, Donald and Daisy are dating I'm pretty sure, Jake has active feelings for Alice to the point he distanced himself from her to manage his own emotions and keep them in check when it became obvious she isn't actually interested in him romantically, and even if this next one isn't quite the Inky Mystery Team's fault (after all they're working off whatever scraps Quest for the Ink Machine left in its wake) I'll throw it in the ring just to drive the point across: while Cala Maria is her own character and her own person, often times it feels like the deepening of her character and whatever conflicts she may be going through are there for the benefit of Mugman's own struggles and character arc; we don't see much of her reaction at Mugs' heroic but reckless deal with Marcus or her reaction to having been found, we don't hear much about her ink illness beyond that one chapter where she started showing symptoms. For as much personality as she has and for as lovable as she is, sometimes she feels like Mugman's romantic interest first, herself second - probably due to not being part of the main cast, which is fair to some extent.

Personally I don't see RuneStraw as a romantic connection that had to be done necessarily - what each provides to the other's character development (a tangible goal for Cuppy, a much-needed stability within a dangerous world for Holly) is already being provided by their friends, people they should be able to rely on. I guess I just feel a little sad that we don't have many bonding chapters between all the Questers, regardless of duos or dynamics that pair up the best: imagine (and bear here with me, this is getting into the headcanon territory lol) if angels can sense Demon Deals as these are an extension of a demon's magic (something angels can detect) and once Alice comes back from The Upper she notices - really notices, decides to pay attention - that there's something cold wrapped around Cup; they have a conversation where Cuphead tiptoes around his childhood and all the stardust he's gone through in one of the biggest displays of bravery and trust he's given us this far, and Alice knows he's not telling the whole truth but she listens, she listens and shares how it was growing up with expectations of being a great angel someday. He shows her trust, and she gives the same trust out of her own chest to him.

Imagine Bendy and Cala Maria bonding over a trip to the docks - we could get to know her better, how it was like living as a gorgon, sharing experiences between them on how terrible it is to be hated for something you cannot control, and laughing over the good bits their past can offer them. Finding a weird comfort in having been the monster for a little bit, as they could protect those they love with that infamy and the power it came with (Boris for Bendy and Ebi for Maria, of course) - hell, maybe we could hear of Cala's parents! How they were like, their little quirks and tricks, we could read about Bendy considering her lucky and Maria telling him he's found his family here, that those he's forgotten don't matter because they didn't stick around.

Imagine Alice relaying stories of how her younger siblings are rascals and comparing them to Boris, how much he'd get along with them, singing tunes and dancing for the hell of it - helping him get a better grip at dancing, if marginally, and managing to wring laughs out of him by the tons.

Imagine all of them around a table, sweets and treats laid out, as Felix and Alice do their damn hardest to one-up each other in their wild adventures from before they joined the Questers - the cat talking about his mad dash as he escaped that ferocious beast of a tiger, and he shows the scars like your dad shows you his most prized collections as he talks of the most dangerous bits. The angel taking a swig of her alcohol of choice before going into this maddened ramble about the greatest prank war she's ever been in against Jake, and how they both got banned from several places for a whole dang year. Even Sarah gets wrapped up in the shenanigans and fun once Bendy, Cuphead, Mugman, Holly, Boris and Cala Maria all join in to win the title of Wildest Adventure Story; she's just a child after all, even with incomprehensible magic woven into her soul. Maybe all of the house is there, listening as the Questers finally have a moment to breathe and be as young as they are - the oldest is Felix, and he's in his forties at most, he still has life to him.

This is supposed to be a recovery arc, and mantaining healthy friendships with other people can help a long way with those dark thoughts The Labyrinth left them all.

Romantic love isn't the be-all-end-all, it shouldn't be the ultimate objective of a character that makes them become stagnant and void of themselves, and I guess I just want boys and girls to share stories and rooms without their interactions being a making out or being politely pleasant, pick one situation. I guess I'm just socially blind and petty, maybe I'm taking a fanfiction too seriously - after all, it is made by fans and for the fans; it's no professional production, and sometimes it's just better like that.

TLDR: I go way too hard on fictional characters for wanting to boink, more at 10

Ok but now a real TLDR: I just want the Questers to interact more with each other and I'm not talking about the typical duos always formed like they're in school and they choose their bestie for the group project. I mean all the Questers. Also I went in wayy too hard against fictional characters that just wanna fuck in peace ig

[one-and-a-half-yikes]

Don't mind me but can you plz rant about colly a lil more... :3

I'll do you one BETTER @ch1-kasak0

I'm gonna talk about Colly AND do an accidental Cuphead analysis on the side lmao

I will say, it is crazy to me that years ago, one of the reasons I had for why I didn't like the idea of Cupanny was because I perceived Fanny as someone un-ambitious, who seemed to have a bleak outlook and no real hope for a better future, something that was completely antithetical to what Cuphead needed in his life.

Obviously I don't hold that viewpoint about Fanny anymore, but I do think it's funny how that critique of mine (which I never shared on here I should add and I regret it lol) came back around but in an unexpected way. The Labyrinth arc was genuinely the deepest look we've gotten into Cuphead. With the thing that hit me the most stepping into Cuphead's dream and really seeing how much of himself is consumed by the guilt he feels about making a deal with the Devil, was how that guilt had basically consumed his personhood in a way.

Mugman dreams of being a pilot for the Calix Animi, of marrying Cala and having a whole, completed family; that his parents never left, that his dad was alive; Mugman dreamed of a future for himself. A fantasy that could never really be real, at least mostly, but it was a future nonetheless. Everyone, except Felix who's a special situation given his circumstances, dreamed of a future. Something that they were fighting towards even after they left the Labyrinth.

Except Cuphead.

He could never envision a future for himself, because so much of what made up who Cuphead was as a child was stripped from him that he's essentially a husk of who he was. We saw the real Cuphead in his dreamscape. He had aspirations, and goals he wanted to reach. But when your whole is spent struggling to survive it's hard to have real goals and aspire to them. It's hard to dream a dream that you hope comes true.

And then the gala happened.

Something that seemed out of reach for someone like himself suddenly seemed like a real, genuine reality within his reach. All because of his love for Holly. His love for her made him finally see a real future. A real dream. For one second, Cuphead didn't think about a bleak horizon that he was walking towards, but instead a beautiful sunrise that he wanted to walk towards hand-in-hand with Holly and it says a lot. It really does. In my Cuphead analysis I did say that his dream was still him in the background playing the role of Cuphead the Supporter rather than playing an active role in his own future where his own ambitions and drive exist alongside Holly's. But it doesn't detract from how much his love made him see something that for the longest he never saw as possible and that means something. It really does.

But oh, bitch I'm not even done yet. Y'all asked for this!!!

There's this one scene, I'm too lazy to go back and find it again (EDIT: I couldn't find it for some reason so my source is trust me bro), where Cuphead and Holly, and maybe Mugs was there I think, were talking and Holly said something along the lines of "I like your childish side" (paraphrasing). And that stuck with me, because when, in the other previous relationships that Cuphead had, has he ever been told that being his actual true self is the part they like the most about him? That the sulking badboy persona who's all rough edges and mysterious isn't nearly as interesting as the real him.

The thing I think a lot of people sort of forget, is that for Cuphead it's not a persona, it's just who he is. Because everything else has been stripped from him via abuse and threats to himself and his brother. From unethical experiments forced on him as punishment, to beatings from the boss when they screw up a job, to being yelled and cursed out by Hat because they messed up during training, and so on. So much of who he is, who he was, was taken from him and all that's left is whatever identity Cuphead needs to put on in that exact moment. Mugman was right when he said that for Cuphead, it's always about the damn mission. Keeping him and his brother safe, desperately trying to right his wrongs, and just trying to not have anyone see his weaknesses means the Cuphead we saw before in the Labyrinth is a ghost. Someone else entirely. A speck in the distance that feels entirely out of reach now to Cuphead.

But there's this part of him that he's tried to keep safe and held close and we see that in the Wonderful Winter arc. When Cuphead and Mugman started chasing each other, throwing snowballs at one another, it's the closest we get to seeing Cup in a light where he's not putting on a persona; the real him. And Holly notices that, too. But not just that she notices that, but that she is intrigued by it enough that she wants to get to know him more.

Holly had a crush on Cuphead, but the Tree Princess chapter is where she really fell for him. Which makes sense cause that's the chapter where she truly realizes the depth there is to his character and how multifaceted he was as a person. He wasn't just a killer thug like she'd first assumed, but a true complex person, just like her and all the other Questers.

And I think that's fucking beautiful man.

Of course I'd love to gush about Cuphead's perspective on Holly, but there's not really enough to say outside of:

You know it's true love when you're willing to spill all your secrets to this one person; to bear your whole heart and soul to them if it means being able to have them back in your life.

[paint-n-thinner]

Perchance more colly

(Please do not rush I WILL forget about this ask in like 2 days)

ask and ye shall receive 🤲

[alice-the-kittycat-yt]

Floofy cup.

And some Mugman.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUGMAN!!!!

[drumcanister]

saw this image on twitter and was instantly reminded of the sillies (i miss them guys)

[midnightfire830]

How fast does Seahorse Holly move in water? Seahorses are slow swimmers because they have a small swimming tail fin. Does she move fast because of fantasy/cartoon logic or slow because of realistic logic?

Also, if Cuphead and Holly are dating in the mermaid au. A Seahorse couple would wrap around each other's tails so they don't lose each other in the ocean. Can you make art of Holly and Cuphead wrapping their tails around each other's? It's okay if you don't want to make this art.

Yeah realistic logic. Not a big fan of cartoon logic explanations. She’s a very slow swimmer unfortunately. (Fun fact seahorses are among the slowest fish in the ocean) She tries her best when they need to travel. Using her hands and arms to help propel if she needs the boost. But it’s pretty tiring trying to keep up with everyone. So Cuphead usually offers to carry her or help her out if she needs it.

Yes, this is Colly. And they’re actually dating. Because I ship those two so cussing hard. I read that about seahorses when doing research for this AU. She curls her tail when she’s asleep/cuddling as to not accidentally float away. But she also curls her tail around Cup’s when she’s flirting with him or just near him. She’s kinda embarrassed about it but Cup finds it adorable.

And I don’t mind art requests! Especially for my AUs!!

So here’s Holly hitching a ride and falling asleep on Cuphead!!

😁

Thanks for the ask Fox!

[ch1-kasak0]

HHWJSISHDHSH this is supposed to be angst about how Holly sees Finley in cup and cup sees meg in holly but it's so horribly drawn it's funny... 😭😭😭

[sirensea14]

Hehe, so imma gonna post my secret santa gift for @/mavis.hershey from the server (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)

Holly decorating cuphead as a Christmas tree (on their shirts; Holly- the Tree's Princess, cuphead- the Princess' tree)

The questers as animals! Felix and bendy-cat, cupbros- snek, holly- hedgehog, cala maria- fish, and Alice- bird (alibends, mugman x cala and colly are there too)

[hatterladz]

Not to criticize Colly or anything love the ship it's great I'm kicking my feet but is Cuphead an unintentional rebound?

Like she had NO TIME to properly grieve and move on from Finley, she went to the funeral, she went to save the boys, she had a crush on Cup as of Labyrinth and then they have a situationship so like

Forgive me for being skeptical but it's been on my mind since the start

[pa-pa-patato]

More runebendystraw headcanons because I can

•cuphead loves to just watch them be silly with each other weather it’s while they study, cook , play or just exist next to each other he loves them with all his heart and he couldn’t be happier

•cuphead usually comes along to demon parties with bendy because hat pays him to keep him safe So Holly always asks (demands) that they gave her a show of the outfits that they have to wear

•holly and cuphead posing for bendy so he can draw them they have fun in the couple poses while bendy gets to practice and spend time together

•bendy get lipstick from his succubi friend that doesn’t smudge but leaves a mark to test if it works so he obviously does that by showering holly and cup whit kisses

•cuphead hates that both of his lover parents probably hate him or will hate him

•all of them sometime think to themselves that the other two would be better only dating each other

•all of the questers and the house(-Felix) think that they are cheating on one another but they all think differently on who’s the homewracker who’s the cheater and who’s the couple so everyone is constantly giving them disappointment looks when they are alone and it confuses the stardust out of them

•when someone tries to harass ( their only flirting) bendy or holly cuphead always just holds onto them while glaring or kisses them in front the person (he jelly(also bendy is always surprised because he didn’t even realize the person is flirting with them while holly just waits for cuphead and teases him))

•Cala was so happy when she accidentally found them laying next to each other and flirting Because she loved the fact that holly and bendy would be her in law even tho they all told her that they aren’t married Cuphead slipped in “yet”when holly and bendy weren’t around which made her squeal

•this is bendy first relationship so he has no idea what his supposed to do and thinks his screwing up all the time while holly and cuphead reassure him that his doing great

•cuphead refuses to tell them about this soul contract because not only are they willing to go to hell and fight the devil but they very much could with bendy

•bendy purrs to help them relax they love it

•holly just stars saying all the things she loves about them because she doesn’t know how to show them how much she love and it always leaves them flustered every time

[crows-spirit]

IM Inktober

Day 14: Ruin

[theinkymystery]

Hello to the Author and Editor of Inky Mysteryy!!! I've really liked your work and i consider it as special since it really influenced me(or im just easy to influence) and everything about it UGHHHHHHHHH ITS SSOOOOOOOOOO GREAAAAATTTT anywayss, Inky Mystery made me do lots of fanarts, A WHOLE BUNCH. I mostly posted them in my acc (new to tumblr anyways) and their descriptions too. Here's some of my fanarts:

(sorry for the fold Hehe)

Play the Exit Song (ik its messy XD)

Anyways, the Not-cup character doesn't exist, i just misinterpreted him as an actual one, which i know isnt canon but i did it anyway XD

Double Trouble version 2(version 1 is unfinished tho and is digital, i got lazy to finish it so HAHAHA v1 features only Mayhem and Holly, while this one adds Cuphead nd Not-Cup)

The Slap scene after the Gala (still disappointed to Cup for his actions, great writing btw, it really made me feel the characters, specially Holly my fav)

Letter-less version

The Marvelous Mayhem (she's one of the most mysterious character if ya asked me, i also liked her bcoz of this and i often doodle her)

Lukahd, infamously known as The Lady of Despair (anime style)

Angel-Demon War but only shows Ventis and Lukahd

(srry that its landscape)

And tthis is how i imagine Metatron would look like( i purposely didn't put his halo bcoz it was takenby the Guardian Angels at some point, right?)

Welp, thats my favorites!(sorry for the bad lighting and blurry cam tho) Hope ya like it. You really have great writing skills and im curious about the timeline of when the parts were distributed and hidden by the micco, angels and dishes. Tho, don't answer this one if it needs ta give us spoilers. Also Mayhem's origin, how the Night terror has been now and about what Cuphead felt after he hurt Holly's feelings. (curious for the latter). For the tear tho that a certain cat god fixed, was it like a tear in a paper? Since they live in a 1930s cartoon style right? So it may be comparable to a torn paper with a tape XD. I really like Holly and i was new to the Colly ship when u broke my heart. I was rlly disappointed with Cup's actions, and it was all bcoz of your great writing! I hope they can get the last part and find the Ink Machine on time, I rlly miss their old selves, where they were still happy. I just wanna how u these fanarts of mine, icant rest easily knowing that my favorite author wont see my fanarts(and how much i dedicate to it and love the fanfic novel)

Anyways, that's all i wanna say XD (too many, troublesome me) you have great writing, i love ur work and prolly i wont stop at making fanarts of it XDD

These are BEAUTIFUL arts! Thanks so much for sharing them!

Yup! The tear was sort of like a tear in a piece of paper. :)

[paint-n-thinner]

can we see some cuphead x holly fluff? maybe holly giving cuphead a flower crown?

for you anon 💌

[alice-the-kittycat-yt]

[little-fox-artist]

Oh my god...it. was. SO. HARD! To read the middle of chapter 330. I already knew it was going to happen, thanks to inky mystery fans on Tumblr. That's why I've skipped the kissing part and read cupheads reaction. Eeeehhhhh...I just wanted to not read this chapter. I just wanted to skip it. But, I didn't because of the fear i might miss something important. It was just. no. (I'm glad Cuphead had a negative reaction to the kiss)

Also, what is going on with Bendy? Is he becoming an angel????

Now, exsuce me while I go back into my Colly loving cave.

[veryspicyberry]

Do it for the tiktok cuppy