#killer and dust probably love eachother

[loxleyo7]

killer and dust get caught hate flirting ( beating eachother . )

[elizakai]

i love the MTTRIO because they are all judgy hypocritical little shits living off of spite and appy juice

[triglycercule]

alright i finished this so i need to celebrate my accomplishment (???) by sharing it to the world

BETTER versions of my trio designs. because boo boo the other old ones were BORING and TOO SIMPLE and lowhighkey UGLY. i had no idea what i was thinking when i made this but i guess design notes before to see if i can figure out what the fuck these mean 💀

killer🔪:3

he got a GLOW UP!!! when i was figuring him out i was thinking like. this man needs to look combat ready he CANNOT look chill and relaxed he MUST look good to fight. killer can't catch a break 💀 anyways. it's ALSO not revealing (⁎˃ᴗ˂⁎) because i feel he would NOT wear that stuff cmon flirty =/= revealing. his charms are found through his words and actions (stabbing someone through the heart) (speaking of the heart i couldn't be bothered to draw his soul mb)

the gloves/shirt/leggings under his clothes may LOOK seperate. but its actually all one big piece!!! because i thought it would be silly and funny :3 but like on a serious note i like this because it provides an extra layer of protection (both in a fight and not) and like. a sense of anonymity i guess??? like you can't see killer's natural body you cant SEE who he was before because hes changed that much (or i guess HE cant see who he was b4 wtvr)

actually a lot of killer's outfit has meaning behind it. knee pads = unnatural body imitation killer is a whole new being now not monster (also adding 2 the combat look :3) belts = restraint killer needs to stay in line and do as he's ordered (i needed some visual interest 💀) zippers on shoes?? actually no meaning i just thought it would be cute. somehow i managed to find meanings 4 all of the trio's zippers. killer's is jammed in that spot. show like idk he is irreversibly changed to what he is now (a lot of this makes no sense)

horror 🪓 :3

if you remove all the rips in the clothes he'd be the most basic out of all of them. but theyre there so he's NOT the most basic! 4 horror i was thinking like "you can see he's fucked up but you can also see he's desperately trying to keep it together" type feel. i totally didnt steal those under socket lines (thank you mania and paranoia for donating to your og versions :3) to make horror look more 🌀🌀🌀 (cannot describe it)

the cloak was stolen from undyne trust. he wears it as a power move FUCK YOU!!! to her :3 also it looks royal and regal which could kinda show like horror's power and sway over snowdin. he's DEFINITELY not a king but he is a provider and a lot of what he says goes around those parts. a lot of ppl look to him as like world's shittiest leader(ish). also i just wanted him to have something unique!

underneath horror's jacket his shirt is reaaaally torn he should probably replace it. there are some holes from when he was pinned down with spears during the core incident and then the whole lower half is just totally torn off from that one comic 💀 but thats why the jacket is zipped up! however the zipper broke and now the jacket can't unzip! (because horror struggles with the fact that horrortale ISNT gonna be perpetually shitty (everyone say thanks aliza) and would rather nobody see him vulnerable)

dust🧣:3

i didn't change much about him lowkey he's pretty much wearing the same CLOTHES. just that the style and way he's wearing them changed. wanted him to give like,,,,, comfy (because bro did not change out of his sansish clothes) but also like FOCUSED o(≧口≦)o like horror he has the under socket line but thats just to make him look more stressed and tired

i moved around the scarf to NOT be around his neck bc it was sooo annoying drawing the hood and then having to account for the scarf. it kind gave him a baby face vibe which i did NOT like. also i think dust would wear the scarf however. very versatile as long as the scarf remains intact. so it COULD go around waist COULD be around neck COULD be around limbs

i didn't mean to do this but the black thingy around his shoulders (was originally there just to fill in the empty space without the scarf there 💀) could be seen as like mourning wear. again with the silly zipper symbolism but dust's zipper is fine its not broken like horror or killer's are because he chose to go down this path. dust CHOSE to zip it up and now its too late to go back now (so bro MUST power through ‼️‼️ he cant unzip the zipper now!!!!)

overall i like these. usually i like coming up with cool unique character designs its so fun but my trio was hard (im hard). probably bc i didnt wanna make then wear anything too weird Dx BUT NOW AT LEAST THEY ALL LOOK LESS BABY!!!! i think i depicted how i see them though like ughhh cannot explain but now they look like how i want them to sound

[howlsofbloodhounds]

"I need more animalistic skeleton headcanons" ask and thou shall receive i love hc-dumping

This is just gonna be random skeletons i'm thinking of so like...gonna be all over the place

Killer definitely rubs his face all over color to basically mark him with his scent (and like...also because his tears stain)

Whenever nightmare is annoyed and wants to intimidate someone so the fuck off he basically puffs up like a cat, with his tendrils..tentacles..?

Papyrus purrs a lot, but its almost not noticable because his purring is so low.

Killer purrs loudly. Extra loudly when he is with color. He is a motor.

Nightmare purrs when he is reading books, he cant control it, its why he reads them when he is alone.

Killer growls at delta whenever he gets close to color, then proceeds to nuzzle color and purr loudly

Dust can be heard purring softly when talking to seemingly 'no one'

Dust growls and snarls the most out of the gang

When epic and cross play fight they snarl and growl a lot at eachother, then headbonk after they're done

Okay i cant think of anymore

Aww all of these are so cute! 💞

Dust purring while talking to Phantom Paps? That’s so cute I love that he just really loves his brother yall.

Epic and Cross playfighting and headbonking they’re too cute I love that for them

Nm loving reading so much that he literally can’t control his purring seems so adorable. I’m imagining his tentacles waving like a cats’ tails.

And I like the idea that killer weaponizes affection specifically just to fuck with Delta. He’ll purposely purr loudly and be extra touchy simply because he likes how it makes delta uncomfortable or annoyed. he probably likes putting delta in positions where he has to choose between stewing in uncomfortable silence or speak up and look like an asshole or a drama queen.

but when they’re actually alone is probably when all the purring and affection takes on a more genuine and less calculated, terrorital thing meant to psychologically fuck with someone lmaooo. cuz now it’s something genuine for genuine’s sake and there’s no one but the two of them.

now im just thinking about how killer’s relationship with giving and receiving genuine affection for no other reason than to be close. id imagine that the constant uncontrollable purring likely unsettled stage 2 for awhile there.

[bonezlyy]

I DIED 🫶🏼

I said I would be insansley active on this account but I wasn’t and forgot about it immediately

Im trying I promise you I just didn’t know what to post

WE’RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE FRIEND GROUPS

WELL THEYRE ALL ONE BIG FRIEND GROUP AND LOVE EACHOTHER EQUALLY BUT THEY HAVE SPECIFIC THINGIES

OKAY SO

THIS IS GONNA BE A WEIRD BIG INFODUMP INSTEAD OF A NORMAL LIST

Starting with Error, Geno, Sci and Night. These fucking nerds 💕 Smart guys that talk about smart guy stuff (Idk what kind of smart things because Im not smart myself but still). They’re all calm and collected people that like to sit together and read books because they’re cute and silly guys. Geno and Night talk about Space stuff while Error and Sci talk about science and tech stuff.

NUMBER 2 IS THE STARS💕

I am so obsessed with Drinkberry you can not stop me. They’re all really silly and positive people and they all kiss like muah muah muah. And btw drinkberry, afterdeath and Scifell are the only canon ships you get. Idk what the other ones are I might just make them all kiss tbh. Well actually you might get Cherrberry too who knows. BUT ANYWAY BACK TO THE STARS. They just sit in on of their dorm’s and watch movies and kiss and cuddle I love them sm

NUMBER 3

I CANT TELL YOU HOW ODDLY OBSESSED I AM WITH REAPER, FELL AND PLUM BEING FRIENDS (cutely changes Lust from Hearts to Plum) THEY MET IN YEAR 7 WHEN NONE OF THEM WERE DOING SWIMMING AND IT BASICALLY WENT LIKE THIS

Teacher: Okay then so what’s your excuse today

All 3 of them at the same time by the power of gay friendship: I have tits

AND THEY JUST LOOKED AT EACHOTHER LIKE ???

And then they talked about being trans for the whole lesson, and then found out they were all bi and decided to be friends until one of them inevitably dies from alcohol poisoning 🫶🏼

I love them sm, they kiss in the best friend way that i long for

I need to get a grip girl they’re just skeletons pls

Obviously Cross, Dust, Horror, and Killer

These little heathens omg

They just create havoc wherever they go, accidental or not

This one is self explanatory tbh

AND THEN THE ART KIDS

Ink, Error, Plum, Reaper, Geno

Error and Plum are in textiles

Ink, Reaper and Geno do like regular art, idk what the word is for it but painting, drawing, charcoals and all that

Ink, Reaper and geno design and draw cool designs for Plum and Error to make as practice

ANYWAY THOSE ARE ALL I CAN THINK OF RN

I should probably start actually writing this soon

Ill post a link to the chapter when I do 💀

Help me I cant tell if my brother has a friend round or if he just randomly has a really good sound system and it sounds like theres someone in his room

Either way I cant leave my room because my social anxiety his horrendous and I will kms if I am seen 🙏🏼

[spotaus]

Okay, putting a New Age au thing under the cut (likely a ramble-)

So, this one might come from my own hcs a bit too much. However, smth @ancha-aus (hope u don't mind the tag-) said about a situation in which newly teen Night would reach out to *Cross* if he was sick or feeling unwell? I thought a lil more and I ended up deciding that Cross is the most reliable one of the four to keep Nightmare to his word for his own good.

By that, I mean the others can't say no to Night when they have even an inkling he's uncomfortable, and while Cross definitely also would rather Night be comfy, he's also someone Night picked out for his willingness to follow orders. So, say, Night says Ccino is in charge if he falls ill. But, Ccino also has to manage a lot, so Ccino sets the guys to care for Night directly. Night reaches out to Cross, because he's aware even if he's sniffly and miserable, Cross *will* make him eat his dinner and get healing done. Killer? Would honestly probably just curl up around Night and make things worse and/or get himself sick too (<- has never cared for a sick person). Dust? Would try, but the moment Night looks even a bit more distressed than normal, he'd give up on trying to make him do what he doesn't want to. Horror? 2nd best to care for him, but he's also been known to... not but heads, just have a sort of inherent rivalry with Ccino regarding healing and rest (tradition stuff). So Cross? Cross would be the perfect storm of making sure Night feels secure and safe and comfy, while also using his Older Brother skills to get Night to stop being fussy and just do the things that will make him feel better.

On that same note! Cute brotherly things these nerds do w/ Night:

Dust loves playing traditional table games, like chess or checkers, with Night. It's a calm activity they can do together pretty much anywhere, and I know that Dust would bring it out anytime Night seemed down or stressed.

Horror? Horror loves to take trips to the countryside, buy when Night becomes small, it only makes sense for them to visit the gardens more often instead. Horror has a ridiculous amount of knowledge on flora since he lived out on the outskirts and used to farm/forage for a living. Night loves sitting under a tree with Horror after a long day.

Killer has... a lot he likes to do with Night. He's been here the longest, so he knows Night's hobbies thoroughly (Nightmare him go everywhere with him during paranoia episodes) but Killer enjoys the most reading with Night. Whether that's Night reading to him or vice versa. (I like to think Night might have taught his boys to read, or at least Horror and Killer, because I doubt they knew before-) It's his first instinct if Night I'd upset to grab a book. It was what helped him escape his episodes, and now it helps him calm from night terrors and decompress after stressful meetings.

Cross (headcanon incoming) really enjoys music. I think whenever he has the chance, he and Night will go to the music room, and Cross will play. He learned Cello when he was younger, alongside his training as a soldier, and it was one of the few times he was able to be around his siblings normally. Night knows the piano and viola (Dream learned Violin) so Night and Cross will play together sometimes, to decompress and to help Cross shake off that wall he puts up while he's working.

And! When Night was still running on the Apple Magic, their favorite group activity was always Sparring. The fighting was how Night taught the four to be so trusting of eachother, because he would tell them to incapacitate him as a team. If the worked together, they always has more fun and got used to trust eachother like an extra limb (Like Brothers). Night was always too swift for them to catch, most of the time, but it posed a challenge. When Night lost the apple magic, he never really got back that combat prowess he had before, so they couldn't spar the way they used to... To make up for it, Night and his brothers will sometimes have game nights that involve sparring challenges. Like, passing Night between eachother in fun ways, or hide and seek with him, or tags things that don't require Night to have amazing reflexes like he used to, that still let the group have fun!

Bonus Round for the side characters!

Error! Sometimes when Nightmare is really liking a story, Error will weave him a little "tapestry" of a scene out of his strings. Conversely, Night loves to sit and listen to Error ramble about his latest craft project or his new magical device. They bond over info dumping and insane passion for stuff. (Night is also allowed into Error's 'extra floors' which he weaves into the rooms with high ceilings as a safe-haven for himself.)

Ccino! They have an odd relationship, babysitter, turned confidant, turned... both? But Ccino loves when Night offers to help him make food. Like, at first it was a way to make sure Night didn't starve hinself, but then he kept ordering new interesting ingredients and recipes, and they bonded over the craft. It's a time when they both feel extremely at ease.

Lastly... I'm thinking about slipping Crop and Straw in as an homage to RealAge again, but idk where I'd plop them just yet! Maybe Crop is where Night sources a lot of supplies from? Maybe he's a guy who hid Night and a few of the guys after the first escape from Dream? We'll see lmao.

[burning-sol]

anyways my early plural characters would be like. "ahah!! the character but they have the EVIL side" except not always?? its been a wacky history. i blame skulduggery pleasant first and foremost, and the mlp fandom, and undertale, and whatever else i must have watched. anyways i then proceeded to write this entire post and put in too much labour to not post it so i curse thee.

the first was my sona character who i made before anything. (based on stuff from my real life) they had an evil black snake. then i added a white cat that was meant to be good like it were the opposite of the snake before turning out to also be evil but just in a different way. and then there was a grey wolf i added which i think was meant to appear evil but was actually good unlike the other two bitches.

there was my mlp alicorn oc who was a result of an evil bad pony basically shoving dead souls inside of them that were from different times and places, for experimenting reasons. this included a serial killer and i think some others?? but the only ones i remember clearly are my ocs icicle blossom (child) and shining meadow (caretaker) who actually knew eachother when they were alive.

they came from a time where tldr an alicorn ruler was driven to 'madness' and so the pony citizens started a war against her. shining meadow didn't agree with the ruler, but for some reason there weren't enough resources for the resistance?? so shining meadow joined the queen's side but sent food and money back to icecicle blossom. but one day between a misunderstanding and a fucked up pony soldier, icicle blossom ended up being killed, but i don't thinking shining meadow found out until the ends days. shining meadow had ended up becoming a general at some point (because why not) so basically not only did she find out all her efforts were for nothing, to cap off her despair she got fucking GUILLOTINED not long after <- none of this is altered in retrospect, this was legit the story and like yeah i still wasnt in highschool yet. so anyways, neither of THEM were evil, meadow was just morally grey and blossom was just an innocent kid.

then i made original human characters where several of them made pacts with demons. if you summoned a demon and performed an act of great pain then you could make a wish in exchange for your soul. my main character was a child whose parents wanted a wish and didn't love their child enough to not be utterly cruel, so they performed the ritual wishing for eternal life but forcing the "act of great pain" part on their child. except they fucked up the contract with their wording so the demon just ended up killing them for fun (they didn't make themselves immune to murder). so yeah then that character has a demon attached to them. which is EVIL but they're a demon so you can't rlly blame em. i forgive the big bird demon they did nothing wrong other than everything they did wrong.

and ig in current day i DO have a system oc, but im not gonna talk abt em because they don't have any story yet. but they do have an alter that's just a big rat and so that means that they're clearly superior to all these other posers.

anyways, big fan of vyncent sol. big fan of lucy elfen lied. big fan of peter and exandroth. big fan of nightmare moon. big fan of frisk and chara. big fan of probably some other characters i forgot. if this post made you cringe you can press a big red button that vaporises me its on your lef-- **i am turned to dust**

[xullianspamnoham]

Yes

Alright that's all great

How does that all relate to sexual positions

You filthy Driller shipper

DRILLER MY BELOVED IM GONNA DO DRILLER JUST BECAUSE YOU SAID SOMETHING HHAHA

Okokokokokok this is a lot because i think about them A LOT.

Edit: i do NOT expect you to read all of this.

I like to think it first started with killer. Nightmare always told them that dream was the enemy. Dream was vermin- pest to be delt with and eradicated. Killer, loyal as he could be (barely), listened to his words. Absorbed them. Ate the information on dream he was given like a snake eats a rabbit. He wanted to- needed to impress nightmare. Needed to show he was good. He was loyal. He could be trustsed. Because he cant and he wasnt. He sought out dream. Needed to find him, wound him, capture him, give him to nightmare wrapped up in a pretty yellow box. Hed fight dream viciously, do his best, work his hardest- to wound that golden bastard. Hed zigzag across the field, manuver in ways dream couldnt keep up with in the darkness of nightmares aura. Evey battle he felt the desire to find him and kill him. He wanted to destroy dream so so badly. And at one point he ended up letting his mind wonder. He and dream were almost evenly matched, werent they? Oh sure he knew he could never get a fatal hit on him, that was all for nightmare, but they did wound eachother quite a lot (Killer, more than dream). He began to wonder if dream had the same desires. To find him, hunt him, deliver him to the steps of.. did the stars even have a castle? No, they probably lived in some dainty little house in inks doodle-shit or the omega timeline. However, did dream want to kill him as much as he want to dream? Did dream want to destroy him-... could he destroy him? And thats where his mind wondered. AND THATS WHERE KILLERS INTREST STARTED.

Dream is much much different. Dream was repulsed by killer, wanted nothing to do with the freak. Hated fighting him, hated how he found him everytime, tried to kill him, everytime, got a hit on him. Every. Time. He hated the bastard. He never noticed a shift in killers fighting sequence, but he sure as hell noticed when killer would lick his face. It made him recoil, made him disgusted beyond belief. The sick sadist bastard probably did get off on trying to kill him. Dream wanted nothing more than to dust him and finally knock nightmare down a peg. But he couldnt do that. As much of a pain and headache as he was, no one deserved that. Not even nightmare. So he'd keep fighting- keep yelling at killer to keep that filthy tongue in his mouth. Keep cringing at those digusting words killer'd respond with. Him and his filthy mind.

All up until killer, sporratic, LV-spiked, unhinged, and downright crazy, decided to just take his chance. Take it. Take it because hed never get it again and if nightmare found out hed be dusted and replaced and never ssee dream again andn ever have the chance to tttalk to him and tell him he wasnt lying and he needed to tell dream. he needed to. And they teleport. Dream, pissed and confused. Killer, terrified and erratic. Killer took his chance and he told dream and he told him everything. Told him how he loved him how he needed him how he desperately desperately needed to be his and begging to just give him a chance and he knows he looks pathetic and he knows dream will say no and he knows hell tell nightmare and have him killed and never see dream again but goddamnit FUCK he just needed dream to know. And dream has no idea how to take this. He just stares. Studying his face, he was lying. He was kying and this was a trap. In self defense and preservation he kicked killer down, pinned him to the snow and demanded the truth. Where was he? Why did killer bring him here? Why did-

And then killer had a boner and dream hate fucked him the end. Mwah

[raining-asteroids]

It's kinda a mix between shipping and the slendermansion thing (I'll creepypasta ♡) I enjoy their dynamics and since i joined the fandom they were always there. Seeing them fight, kiss, talk and all was always fun.

I like seeing the star sanses because Dream, ink, and Swap all have different ideals but in the end, want the best. Ink has knowledge of the creators' existence so he feels like he should play the game with other "characters" & is amazed by all creativity. He is fun and exciting, he sees things completely differently, and he knows the most about aus, he could help his team move around and he knows all the kinks of the multiverse! He can fight in many ways and jumps around alot, his blasters (they are so cute

>~(＾▽＾)~>) , I imagine he is long distance fighting most of the times but he can do hands on to some extent.

Dream is a heartbroken guy who has been shoved into a fight with the only thing he had left (besides neil) from his home turned into a demon, and he wants to be a good person, in fact he is, it's just so much + the world Relies on him being alive to feel happy. He is so much weaker and is traumatized, but despite all he still wants to help people. He seems to get close to people fighting (small swords) and moves very fast.

Swap Is a guy who wants to join the royal guard to help people and be popular, and Dream & ink offer him something amazing, helping so many more people in so many places. It may be jarring at first seeing 100s of 1,000s of you but you get used to it, depending on his hp (whether it's 1hp or more) he could help in a lot of different ways. + he's probably one of the only ones that can engage In a battle! (So far I don't know if Dream or Ink know/can engage in turn-based battles, I think it's cool if they don't and just fight hands-on) & he can be a great moral support for the team.

(And it's fun to add honorary members or people whi are just friends of blue to help out every now in then (classic, fell, lust, swapfell, fellswap yk) )

I love how they mesh together, in angst & fluff it's so fun, they all have their problems but at the end of the day they are good people, and they try their best. Dream is their leader (though I imagine Ink used to be the leader but let Dream take on the role) & he organizes. Ink draws out their plans & makes/gets things for them. Blue Is good muscles & a strategist, he Is very good with crosswords to be fair. & They all love/care for eachother!

For the bad sanses I like the unconventional crazy group.

Nightmare, who is just doing everything willy-nilly for fun because why the hell not & he loops people on for a nice constant source of Negativity, miserable, scared & angry monsters. He finds them funny, seeing himself as higher, sending them on frivolous missions of misery that he could've done himself. And he delves into more understanding of others in his way as time progresses.

Killer who thinks he deserves no autonomy most of the time hanging around, he gets to move about, collect research, and mostly do what he wants, though sometimes he's not even sure what that is. He's rough, & sarcastic, rude, and jokey (with jokes that aren't good), Jolly, & scared & only has himself & Nightmare really (not particularly good but cool nonetheless) & adding on more characters. Horror & dust having their own goals & them all being looped into proximity for so long where they seem melded together in a way. & Cross if he's on the bad guys side being noticeable different but idk how to explain it, I adore seeing their dynamics, fighting & having fun. From killing people for the shit of it, to doing unintentional therapy by living childlike or whismically, watching silly movies, doing random crafts & anything in Nightmare's enormous castle that holds centuries of NM testing and trying, living & bringing in cultures, trying foods from different aus and cities they never knew existed on the surface, & all sorts. Them being together, isn't the healthiest but I like to imagine it's comfortable at least!

Their relationships coming from torturous to learning how to be people/monsters with eachother, maybe through broken red lenses but at least they can see, and that's a start.

hey gang im gonna run a real quick test. why do you like the star/bad sanses?

in like 7 months you’ll know the answer for why im asking this

[loxleyo7]

me and my best friend ( @doodlespherezz ) did some collabs : 3 nyan .

[cormoranstruck]

The Ink Black Heart: Braindump

**many spoilers ahead**

Firstly I want to say apologies for the DREADFUL formatting. There’s huge spaces between sections and no line spaces within the sections. I’m fully aware. This was originally written in the notes app and the Tumblr app hates copy and paste apparently. I couldn’t bring myself to type it all in again from scratch.

But here it is! A lot of this is just me letting my brain run free and might make no sense to anyone but writing it out helps me make sense of everything for myself.

The Case

Up until about page 800, I was fully ready to come out and say I did *not* like this case. It was almost labyrinthine in the way it baffled me. So many characters, both real and virtual, and trying to figure out which real life character is which mod in the game and who could possibly be Anomie, left me with a headache a lot of the time. I had to force myself to read through the more case-heavy chapters at the beginning of the book and resist the urge to flip ahead to more main character-led/shippy content. What I will say with some pride though, is I guessed Gus was the killer very early on - which never happens for me! Real talk, and others may disagree, but I do genuinely feel like a lot of women online are mostly able to pick out that type of male character a mile off and I just sensed it from first meeting of Gus. Also the way Flavia spoke about him was very sus from the beginning. The crescendo of this case however, was probably the best of any of the books for me. My heart was genuinely beating so fast at that final scene. Gus telling Robin very matter of factly that he was going to rape Robin before he killed her made my spine shiver. And then Strike being stabbed!! Absolutely did not see any of that coming and audibly gasped a few times. Something else that wasn’t hard to notice was how much danger this case put everyone in; the letter bomb at the office, the dude being pushed into the path of a train and Robin jumping down to help, the entire end scene with Gus - this book seemed to place everyone, particularly Robin, in peril at some point. As an aside though, I like the sense of renewal and reborn that the office explosion seemed to give. It feels like a fresh start is about to happen and I really do think that’s intentionally symbolic and hopefully a hint to good things to come.

Character Development

I’ve loved the development of more “minor” characters in IBH. Particularly Ilsa and Robin’s close friendship and her love life advice. Ilsa is the OG strellacott shipper and it gives me LIFE. I love that she’s there to remind Robin all the things that us as readers want her to know about the way Strike sees and values her. I think the reader is able to see so much of themselves and their thoughts on Corm and Robin reflected by Ilsa, I know I do, and that’s why I genuinely shed a little happy tear at her pregnancy news. Again, a rebirth and a renewal - seems to be a fledgling theme of sorts!! Also definitely worthy of a mention is Strike and Barclay’s bantery friendship. Absolutely loved the way they bounce off eachother and hope there’s more to come. Pat really endeared herself to me in IBH, she seems to have a secret soft spot for Cormoran that makes me so happy. Her basically saving Cormoran’s life and then dusting herself off and worrying more about her e-cig was just iconic. I also love the introduction of Midge!!! I need more Midge content in my life and I hope she gets a bit more involved with the other characters next book.

Charlotte

I remember there was some debate after Troubled Blood as to whether we’d be seeing Charlotte again. Cormoran had deleted her phone number and all roads were leading to Robin at that point. However, Charlotte is Charlotte. Deleting her number isn’t going to deter her and my girl knows people who know people who know people. She was always going to creep back somehow.

Might be contentious, but part of me did think a little bit of Cormoran at the beginning of this book wasn’t fully over Charlotte, deep down. When Valentine told him about Madeline’s connection to Charlotte, he didn’t run a mile as I - and to be fair, most people - would if the guy I was chatting up turned out to be matey with a particularly batshit ex of mine. I found it really really interesting to see him date a girl that both looked like Robin physically, but knew Charlotte on a social level and had similar social climber tendencies. It’s almost as if it was his way of having a little bit of both, and ultimately realising that can’t work. What’s changed though, and what made my heart happy, was Cormoran’s reaction to Charlotte’s clear manipulation and advances. A part of me did really think we’d have a Charmoran (?) reprisal at one point, but he seems almost…pitiful toward her? He truly does seem to have moved on - and this was seen in that almost seismic revelation toward the end of the book that Charlotte doesn’t care a damn about her children, and there aren’t any hidden sensitive depths to her as he had once believed. This was big for me as a reader as if I’m honest, I’d thought he’d came to that conclusion a long time ago but clearly he hadn’t, so seeing it on paper gave a sense of finality that was so refreshing to read. Do I think we’ve seen the last of Charlotte now? Maybe not in terms of her being mentioned. I’m sure she’ll crop up at some point even if it’s just an update on where her life is at. But I do genuinely believe this is finally the last of Cormoran being in any way affected by her.

Corm & Robin

So the big one, of course, is that we got two admissions of love!!!! Or at very least Cormoran now concedes he can’t deny ‘its’ existence. That’s an admission to me! This is huge. I do truly hope that this is the last book of slow burn before we see actual romantic content. I know RG said in interview that they feel Robin and Cormoran both need to fix a lot about themselves before they can be ready for one another and I do believe we saw a lot of that in IBH. It felt a lot different than previous instalments in terms of emotional development from both; I noticed, for example, Robin taking Cormoran to task for any snarky offhand comments she found patronising or insulting, telling him specifically why she didn’t like them. In books gone by, she’d brood over those comments for days before either letting it go or waiting until Cormoran realised his errors and apologised. There’s the obvious changes too, of course. As much as I hated reading about Robin kissing Pez or agreeing to date Ryan, I get why she needed to do that. I feel like most of us have told a girlfriend that they should broaden their horizons and see different people after a breakup, so I’d likely give that advice to Robin. That said though, the end of the Coda chapter absolutely killed. Me. Off. I can’t pretend I’m not planning some kind of quickfic about two certain people going on the most disastrous date anyone’s ever been on…. A central theme of the book was Cormoran’s health finally catching up with him, and his complete bullish stubbornness in regard to doing anything about it. I think a lot of us know somebody like this. My own dad would rather chew his fingers off than admit he might be a little bit unwell, for example. So we all know how frustrating it is to see someone in total pain and letting the problem fester and worsen when they could just swallow their pride and sort it out early on. If we want to get all CliffNotes over here - and made no mistake, I always wanna get CliffNotey - this is mirrored with Corm’s refusal to face his feelings for Robin head on, choosing to let them simmer away and letting Robin think he’s uninterested, or his avoidance of his father and extended family. Cormoran is a really brave guy, but he’s also quite a daft one. His daftness, combined with that ever-present overprotectiveness, however, provided us with the most quotable and gif-able comment of the whole series - “I don’t want to lose you” - cue me, in the words of Ms Swift: screaming, crying. And ultimately, I think this is what pushes him to improve his health and lifestyle. Sure, being stabbed and almost losing even more of his leg helped, but he wants to be better for Robin. She doesn’t want to lose him so he won’t let himself be lost. If I think too much about it I’ll dissolve into a puddle of goo. I feel like book 7 will see a real kiss at least. I think Robin’s hesitation with Strike’s attempt came from not being quite there yet with her realisation of feelings. As much as I would have loved it to be then, it wouldn’t have been right. There would have been more questions raised than either were happy answering and a lot of doubts and discomfort. My genuine prediction is that when it does happen it’ll be in very dramatic circumstances or very much like chapter 58 from Troubled Blood. I’m picturing either a near death scenario on the one hand, or a whiskey-soaked lamplit late-night rendezvous on the other. Both equally delicious…. Either way, Robin’s name is etched on the door now so they’re as good as married in my eyes x

[triglycercule]

horror bragging about he's immortal and allat to killer and dust (because he genuinely thinks he is. like he literally came back from the DEAD that is a proud accomplishment!!!! bro probably brags all the time about it like "heh even if you hit me hard i'll just get back up. bitch")

and then killer's like alright bet! let's test that out! and then he starts going on an all out chase for horror's head. and dust just follows along because hey why the fuck not it sounds fun and it would be nice to knock horror down a peg or two :3 frantic running from horror ensues because as much as he'd like to stick by his claim he REALLY cannot be going around risking to see if him being immortal is actually true 💀

[lilac--sun]

I've done so many headcannons of nightmares gang now it's time for the Star sans' to get some love!

-----------

Dream is still scared to return to Dreamtale because he'll break down just seeing the tree

Ink gets artists block more frequently then most people think he does

Blues laugh always makes Dream feel better no matter what

Ink draws/paints on himself and the others when he gets bored it also calms him down if he gets worked up

Blue has been taking cooking lessons from Horror and his cooking has improved a lot

Dreams favorite song is Gristle Licker by Cattle decapitation

Inks favorite song is Its A Trip! by Joywave

Blues favorite song is Custer Pie by Led Zeppelin

They didn't originally call themselves the Star sans' But after Blue heard Horor, Dust and Killer call themselves the murder time trio he also wanted cool names with his friends

Dream doesn't need to eat to live but he LOVES trying out different foods and taste testing Blues food

While Error is an absolute heater Ink is like an AC he is ALWAYS cold to the touch and If you're holding his hand it feels like you're holding a bunch of ice cubes

Blue makes friendship bracelets for the Three of them and none of them ever take it off (its the colors brown,blue and gold all wrapped around eachother)

Inks room has paint hand prints on the ceiling and walls..and some feet prints, Dream and Blue decided not to ask

Blue usually doesn't sleep in the mansion incase Stretch needs him for something but hes at the mansion most of the time

The mansion is filled with sticky notes because Ink will write down an idea and put it on the wall and walk away from it, forget about it, have the idea again and make another sticky note and it snowballs from there

Dream has better eyesight then Blue and Ink but his reaction time is slower

Ink has the most stamina, he can do a lot for a long time without getting burned out his eye sight is the worst tho

Blue is definitely the fastest(in speed, attacks etc) but he can't keep up for long he gives it a bunch of power at the start then it dies out

Ink can crack ALL of his bones and it makes Dream extremely uncomfortable but his reaction makes ink laugh

Blue gets called mom a lot around the mansion

Dream feels his emotions tenfold what they actually are due to him being more sensitive to them

-

Dream gets extreme panic attacks if someone uses green magic on him or something that keeps him from moving due to the stone

Ink cannot be in a completely white room for longer then a few minutes before he starts to feel trapped and can't breathe

Blue probably has the worst coping mechanisms out of thr three of them, hes the one that turns to self harm and not eating when things go bad Dream usually catches this early on tho and helps the best he can

Ink makes fun of peoples Insecurities to gain the upper hand, many people have tried to tell him its not cool to do that but he really doesn't care..hes a main reason why Error doesn't like himself

Dream can't help but when he feels sadness around and he doesn't feel like dealing with it he'll increase his positive aura so the other forcibly stops feeling that way

Blue will be an absolute bitch to people when hes in a bad mood like he gets sarcastic and makes mean comments

-

Blue doesn't cuss at all, unless hes hurt or way to tired for his own good "uh, are you okay Blue?" "No i feel like shit" "wow okay time for bed"

Dream swears every now and then but its mostly when hes stressed or cant focus "you good?" "No I'm not good, this paperwork sucks ass" "seems like it"

Ink is a swear machine "HOLY SHIT BALLS THATS FUCKING INSANE!" "LANGUAGE."

---

And that's it for these boys! I will do more i just cant think of anything rn

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Oooh I just got a lovely little angst idea! (Just ignore me if this is too gory! I got into a little bit of a mood with Halloween!) Alright so, this ask is with the Underfell Bros and the Mafiatale + Mafiafell Bros. S/O has a horribly scarred up throat, like, their entire throat area is just a mesh of brutal scars weaving together into one big canvas of scars

The boys no nothing of how S/O got said scar(s), only that it’s a result of a magic attack and that S/O’s normally peaceful and open attitude quickly becomes apathetic and closed off if they ask about it. Then they get sent a video of a child S/O standing in a room packed full of people all viciously fighting eachother, until S/O says “stop”

Everything and everyone stops instantly.

The video then shows various videos of S/O being forced to control people by their mysterious kidnappers (or they get mpunished’) The final segment of the video shows S/O snapping, and in a fit of violent rage and unstable magic, ripping out their own vocal cords and escaping from wherever they were held captive

Underfell Sans - He's horrified. He can't stop watching the last video again and again. How desperate must you have been to do this? He understands why you don't want to talk about this, and he will not do either. If you want to talk about it, it will because you wanted it. Though he will be stangely clingy and cuddly for a few days, so if S/O knows him well, they know something is making him anxious.

Underfell Papyrus - He hates this. He hates every second of it. It reminds him too much of how he got conditionned to be a killer and a royal guard. His instructor had to break him before turning him into the fearless Captain he became. That's why he couldn't be angry Underground with Undyne trying to be mean to him. He knew that she went through too. Edge thought these memories deeply burried in his mind and now he is crying like a child, traumatised, realising that the Surface is not any better than his own government. When S/O steps in, it's the first (and probably last) time they saw him this broken. You are so disturbed you're calling his brother immediately. When he calmed down, he will reveal what he learned and let go of everything he'd been through too. He doesn't care if you don't want to talk about this. He needs to let go or he's going to have a violent breakdown. Red is so triggered by all these explanations, he knew Edge's training went bad, but he had no idea of HOW bad it was. Some hours later, Edge's old instructor is found dead, just as the last guys that hurted you. No one knew who did it except the two of you. Red won't ask for anything in return, he will just be a little softer for a few days.

Mafiatale Sans - He refuses to see the video without your consent. He doesn't know who send it. So the only way he saw it was with you. He is not happy about what he's seeing right now, more especially because he knows who these guys are since they are one of the rival mafias of the city and that the guys they made you kill were close friends from his own clan. He is extremely pissed off. He hesitates, but then explain you his work. He can understand if you want to leave knowing he is no better than these guys, but he can't keep this a secret. He has to tell Asgore and Toriel so they can work again on their case. He's even proposing you to join him. He'll understand if you say no. He doesn't want you to be even more triggered. He can do this on his own too.

Mafiatale Papyrus - Just like his brother, he is very shocked to see you manpulate and get killed some of his friends. He knows it's not your fault, but he just can't unseen it. Everytime he's looking at you, he sees himself screaming in a pool of clothes and dust. He's badly shaking and will take his distances for a while, he will also burn the video. You will never understand why he suddenly got so cold with you. He won't tell you. He's too hurt. However, he's telling his brother and Asgore to take care of the case immediately.

Mafiafell Sans - Once someone gets close from Fangs, there are immediately family. He doesn't care if you are his or his brother's S/O, he's treating everyone the same. And he is damn protective with family. When you're entering the house, all you find is a smashed TV, a CD broke in two parts and a note saying to not wait for him tonight nor the next few days. He's going to hunt every last bastards that hurt you, whether you want it or not. He's explaining mostly everything when he's coming back, and explains that you have nothing to fear of them again. He won't say he murder them all very slowly and painfully, but his face says all.

Mafiafell Papyrus - He's watching the video with you too, he won't if you don't want to. His face stays neutral, but his eyes said how angry he is. His hands are shaking too. Torpedo makes some research after that and knows that they are still alive. So, for once, he's doing something he always forbids himself to do and tells you all about his job. He knows he's taking a big risk, but he wants you to join him. The both of you can search for these guys and destroy their life. It's like a couple's hobby except you kill people in the end. He will respect your decisions. If you don't want them to get kill, he says he won't. Except he will do it anyway and never tells you instead. He respects you but he has too much proud and honor to let them live.

[incorrect-dishonored-quotes]

Do you have a favorite level within each game or even one out of all games / is there a specific level that stuck in your mind since you first played it?

Mine would be the second to last I think in DH1. The one, where you walk over a bridge and it's all orange light on one side and deep shadows on the other. In daud's dlcs it would be the boyle mansion, because I love the flooded building. I've loved the edge of the world in DH2 because Karnaca's atmosphere is such a breath of fresh air and the trail of whale blood through the bright and sunny district reveals very much about the game's world. For DOTO it would either be the bank job or the royal conservatory. It may sound pretty weird but the atmosphere within the bank job gives me vacation vibes lol. Also the moment you take the twin bladed knife feels amazing every time. I also really like the hidden features in the royal conservatory.

Thank you for running this blog, it really means a lot to me. Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

Honestly all the levels in the DH series has a lot of personality in them, and so much visual storytelling. Each one has a different feeling to it while all matching up to eachother perfectly. Never do I feel like one doesn't belong with the others, they all feel part of the same world, and they feel so lived in too.

Everyone has their favorites, and you picked some good ones. I think youre refering to Kaldwin's Bridge which is a very well done level and is certainly pretty to look at, but its rather big with a lot of loading points, and it's a bit choppy and tedious for me. I do like the area around Sokolov's house though. The test subjects imprisoned in the streets and the crumbling buildings around his perfect apartment is great environmental storytelling. Personally my favorite in Dh1 is The Flooded District. The reflection it paints for Corvo, that after everything, things can still get worse and there's still a light at the end and he can't give up. That even after hating Hiram Burrows and wishing death on him, Daud hides there, in the mass grave Burrows made, protected by the rats, flood waters, rivercrusts, and weepers. It's just *chef's kiss*.

I think the one in Daud's dlc's is actually Brigmore Manor, which is one hell of a level. We learn that Daud and Delilah have a lot in common just by the way they work. They both have large followings they share their power with, hidden under everyone's nose. Dispite this, the difference in atmosphere tells the player that Daud is trespassing here. He's met someone who can match him, maybe even best him, and he has to be careful not to lose what little he has left. Brigmore is probably my fave too, but The Surge comes very close. Being in Daud's base, cutting up Overseers, and freeing his Whaler kids is very satisfying.

Edge of the World is a great intro to Karnaca. You get a feel for the atmosphere, learn about smaller power struggles (Howlers vs Overseers), and get a feel for just how bad things are there. I love taking my time in this level, finding the runes and talking to Mindy Blanchard just because it is a very pretty level that's fun to explore. I also like how it ironically leads you to Addemire, which is dark and claustrophobic. My fave in DH2 though is Crack in the Slab. Going between timelines wasn't something I'd done in a videogame before, and it made learning about Aramis Stilton and the rest of Delilah's allies extremely interesting. I love the little details you can mess with in the past to convenience you in the present too. There's a lot to go though twice over in that level, and I always find something new each playthrough. Also, in the ambience music in the present, you can hear a rhythmic banging, and I theorize you can hear the miners being overworked from Aramis' home.

And then there's DOTO... DOTO, my beloved. This game really brought Billie Lurk's character to life and I enjoy every second of it. My fave here would be Follow the Ink, for reasons similar as to why I like Edge of the World. It's nice to explore and there's so much to do story-wise, and even more to just find or interact with. I do wish the story flowed from one point on the map to the other, like how Edge of the World slowly lead you to the black market, wall of light, overseer outpost, then to Addemire Station. I find I'm going back and forth a lot in Follow the Ink, but that's nit-picking. If anything, it gives me time to stumble across things more. I will say though, The Bank Job is probably the strongest level in the game, and the writing is the best there. Billie getting a hold of the knife, pointing a finger in The Outsider's face and telling him she's coiming, no matter what it takes, only for The Outsider to look her in the eyes and tell her that Daud, the closest Billie had ever come to family, is dead?... Heartbreaking. I'm racing back to the ship. I know he's lying, and he has to be, right? But nope, he wasn't. Billie burning her ship called Dreadful Wale, an anagram for Farewell Daud, as his pyre hurts so much. I love the very ending too and how Daud is low chaos option, and to be honest, I shouldn't have been surprised by that. Ironically, mercy and forgiveness were themes in the background of Daud's dlcs.

Some honorable mentions would be:

-Bottle Street/Holger Square: Learning about Overssers, Slackjaw, Granny Rags and you get to see my man Geoff Curnow! Please switch the poison btw.

-Lady Boyle's Last Party: You fuck around with guards and rich ppl bc they think you're one of them and that's quite the critique on the upperclass huh. Don't forget to sign the guestbook as The Empress' alleged assassin!

Return to The Tower: Hiram Burrows is finally his own undoing, and his worst nightmares have come true! What a satisfying downfall. How poetic. Bitch deserved everything he got.

-Light at the End: In high chaos, Martin shoots Pendleton after calling him inbred and that's hilarious to me. Also in low chaos. Emily will scold Havelock and tell him to "sit in the corner and think about what [he's] done!" In honesty, it's a good climax.

-Eminent Domain: Timpsh's downfall in low chaos is one of the most poetic and well written eliminations in the games. Seeing him faint in front of a General of the City Watch always makes me laugh.

-Coldridge Prison: Revisiting the place as Daud and seeing how it's changed since Corvo's escape was very interesting. There's a lot of details to interact with like other prisoners, executions, and doomed escape attempts.

-Addemire Institute: The Crown Killer was an interesting antagonist, and there's a lot of notes and clues to what Addemire was like before The Duke ruined it. The entire situation is very tragic, but not all is lost!

-The Dust District: It's just really fun to explore Karnaca ok? Also Corvo's old house is there.

-Hole in the World: I love how it hints that there's a low chaos option, but you don't realize it until you talk with Daud’s spirit and all the hints come together. I like wandering around the place too since we don't get to see The Void this much anywhere else.

Sorry this was so long, but I really love how well thought out these game are, and I really rambled! Happy pride to you too!

[spotaus]

Hah!

Yes! I can't wait to reply because I love that ask so dearly. I just. I need to formulate how giddy it makes me hehe!

Yeah, you phrased it perfectly, Ccino sees so vividly that Night never truly outgrew those childish habits. (BRO he so did take care of them too- Night was such a responsible "kid" Ccino couldn't really convince him out of anything cuz he overthought so so much. If he's going for it (post-Killer. That one was Impulsive) he probably believes he can handle the consequences-)

Oh yeah, for sure- Nightmare makes sure to get a really good Read on Dust's faint magic signature so he could chase him down if Dust ever runs, but.... Dust's been rotting in jail for a while, and w/o his full magic he wouldn't get very far- hehe. By the time he's free abd strong again, the gigs way better than his old job-

Ough, Horror and Ccino cooking together? Horror probably the first one to actually get Ccino's explicite praise? Omg... If Night likes you that's one thing, but *Ccino* specifically getting along w/ you? Wild. Unheard of among the Knights. If Horror were a lesser man he would brag about it-

I think I'm missing smth but I'm stealing what u said in the tags rq abd pulling it to the main portion cuz I'm obsessed!!!

Yes, Killer is trying to fix his screw-up so so badly. And, a man who is horrible with boundaries, he doesn't know that Dust was keen on staying mysterious and cool! He just wanted the two people he'd fallen for to see him at his best! Focused, cunning, chattering playfully, enjoying himself "off the job". (Side note: Dust has, at this point, gotten to hear Geno and Reaper talk casually between eachother too. Out of habit they don't think much of Dust's presence, so they're more comfy being themselves around their escort. They know NOTHING of Dust aside from praises sung by Nightmare, then all the talking Killer did about how cool and strong Dust was.) So tbh it'd be the perfect plan. For literally anyone aside from Dust.

Dust is flustered, and angry, and wants to skedaddle as fast as possible. And technically the wound does it, but that did NOT help his already wounded pride. He didn't want *anyone* seeing that, let alone the king and the wizard who he's crushing on.

And the fact that he just rushes out the moment he catches his breath? Like, I can just imagine Horror's eyelight filling with worry and hurrying over to help him up. (Shocked he even landed such a solid hit). And Dust using his free hand to tug his hood up further and hurry out. Not even hanging up his training armor or anything. Killer is probably horrified, and Cross is quick to hop in and insist they take a break for a bit. (He immediately wants to go check in on Dust, even though he's already sat himself in his room to die of shame for looking so weak.

(I almost like the idea that Dust, reacting poorly to the pain as well as being so frustrated with Killer, straight up requires *Night* to come to the door for him to unlock the door. And even then he tells Nightmare nit to worry about it, that he's just mad at Killer for a dumb prank. But he gives Killer the silent treatment unless it's smth for the job. It takes like. Several weeks for him to cut Killer some slack. Probably only after Night figures out what's going on when Geno and Reaper (who went home) keep asking after Dust's health in their letters and he connects them directly.)

Oh! Abd Night *definitely* keeps Dust close! Just like he did when Killer was hurt, Dust is either resting or right by his side, abd when he's Resting Night is probably still around. He doesn't want anything happening to his brother!

And just. Killer fearing he like. Screwed up so big-time? Trying to make it up to him? Waughhh. It's definitely a tender process because they're both big boys who know better, but they're also the most spiteful, petty people in the castle. It's hard for Killer to earn Dust's trust back. It happens, but it's slow-going.

(Later on, Dust credits Killer for helping him find his partners. Not to his face, ofc, but he could admit anyway that if Gen and Reaper hadn't seen Horror obliterate his shoulder he would've never actually talked to them. To Killer's face, he credits Horror for the fantastic punch 🙏 This drives Killer crazy-)

Okay 1 more sidetrack. The hit was HARD. Because, y'know, heavy-hitter trained by a God (basically) is so used to his opponent dodging that he goes full-force. That hit left some scars even after thorough healing. I think Dust probably gains some mobility issues in that arm, but on the bright side he doesn't really use that arm. And it's got a sick pattern in his bones now. (Also maybe. Just maybe. To be a tad indulgent. When he, Geno, abd Reaper are courting, Geno kisses the old scars w/ lil pecks out of affection. On a day where it was sore Geno made an 'I'll kiss it to make it feel better' joke and actually did and Dust blushed so hard they thought he had a fever, so now it's like a habit lmao-)

Okay I'm done now---

Hey i am back with another thought.

Remember how ccino was unamused with nightmare bringing a serial killer home as possible knight?

Inagine his annoyance when it HAPPENS AGAIN with dust!

And dust needs like 4 magic dampers.

Nightmare just standing there: i found another possible knight

Ccino staring at the criminal: ... i will go prepare a room *leaves*

And then.

Later!

Ccino walks out to meet nightmare and stops because he sees a giant skeleton behind nightmare with a hole in his skull!

Ccino: ...

Nightmare who can feel that ccino is THIS close to snapping: ... this one isnt a criminal.

Ccino takes a deep breath. Nods. And leaves. He does not like this pattern.

And then cross gets caught

Killer: lmao. Wonder why nightmare is leaving him in the jailcell instead of just punishment

Dust and horror shooting each other knowing looks.

ccink just leaves because APPARENTLY he needs to prepare ANOTHER room now >:(

Some kids bring back rocks or plants or insects or wounded animals..

Nightmare brings back criminals. (Which is even funnier because nightmare also hires wrongly judged people as his servants).

No wonder the cats swarm the castle. It is already full of strays.

Hi I *know* you have another ask in my inbox that I need to address (because I love it to death and need to make a coherent answer that isn't just me key-smashing-) but I saw this one fresh off the send and I need to respond because this one !!!!! Is so silly but so true!!!

Yeah, Ccino is a very kind and loving soul but like. In the way parents can still get annoyed w/ their kids, this is Ccino's peev. Every single time Nightmare comes back with a criminal Ccino has to take a deep breath abd count to 5 before he can respond in any proper way. And he *knows* Night knows how worried abd frustrated he his! Because!! Of all the people to bring in when you're paranoid of getting murdered? The serial killers???

Dude I also love the thought that Dust had a couple dampeners so he couldn't harm anyone or run off, and the longer he behaves the more Night takes off. (And Night *really* wants to see Dust at his full power, but he can't risk being hasty-)

Horror, who arguably looks the most like a criminal, actually got into a heated argument with a friend as a teenager and ended up with a huge skull wound. He's actually a sweetheart! (<- to his family at least-) Ccino is just happy it's not another criminal frfr.

And then Cross.

The visual that Killer has yet to pick up on the signs of Night preparing to collect another knight is SO silly but also SO him. He's blind-sided when he's put in charge of Dust to train him for knighthood. He's blindsided when Horror is adopted into the Knights. He's also blindsided when Nightmare firmly tells everyone that Cross will be helping them. 🙏 (and then he becomes a Knight)

Poor Ccino putting up with these guys... <3

Oh yeah, stray city! Nightmare (if he did have godlike powers) definitely gives off a domain of safety for misfits + survivors. Like, Reaper's kingdom has a great reputation but. Nightmare is very specifically keen on helping people and taking care of them (even as they take care of him). So the cats, the wrongly-accused criminals, and the *rightly*-accused criminals who he thinks can change are all his now :] He attracts them like a beacon lol!