#that he was changed. or anything. they tell you you are a sinner. they cast you away from your land. and then a man comes and tries to kill

[thal-ent]

Thinking about Renheng...... Men that found each other and want each other back even when one doesn't know the other is who he Dreams of......

[crooked-wasteland]

How do you feel about Charlie as a character?

When someone brings up Charlie to me, three scenes immediately come to mind:

Charlie whining that being direct and using her status and responsibility to influence change is "mean".

When she's frantically panicking over how the hotel is not "working", but instead of actually specifying the events in the series that brought the cast together, she only mentions the things she herself suggested, despite her own ideas having been useless at best and actively detrimental to the people in her care at worst.

When she vents to Alastor about Vaggie not telling Charlie about being an angel, she doesn't once look at the situation from Vaggie's perspective of being no different than any other sinner, she demands to know what about her is untrustworthy. Entirely self absorbed.

Medrano has stated that she sees both Vaggie and Charlie as self-insert characters. Putting aside the Freudian self-cest implications, I feel that Medrano's self righteousness and superficial idea of kindness are on full display in Charlie's character. As a person, Charlie is insufferable. She inserts herself in ways people ask her not to, she has a surface level form of empathy, and she exists in a world where her intention supercedes the consequences of her actions. She is nothing but kind and understanding to everyone around her, a perpetual victim of people snubbing her, but she perseveres nonetheless.

Charlie's line in particular about Vaggie encouraging her to take control of a situation being "mean" is clearly how Medrano hand waves her own responsibility to the overall culture of her fandom. To try and regulate anything would be her being "mean", when in reality it is a way of not taking responsibility for the consequences of her own behavior and encouraging the hostility within the fandom.

Furthermore, the fact that both Charlie and Vaggie are two qualities of a single person explains why neither of them have any nuance. It's why Charlie wants to "help" the Sinners in Hell despite them generally accepting and being content with their lives, revelling in their "sins". It's why Charlie's skit for Angel and Pentious has dogmatic language about the "right" way to live one's life. And it's why Vaggie is never explored as being an exterminator who once was so successful as an executioner that she was considered the best of the best, and yet when faced with a black and white ethical concept of killing a child, she immediately has a change of heart.

There is no internal conflict or nuance for either of these characters because, ultimately, both are self righteous caricatures of the director who is broadcasting how much of a "good" person she thinks she is. That she knows what is best for everyone because she just wants to help, regardless of anyone else's desires or situations.

Small edit to point out this is a theme in her works. It directly parallels Blitz in Truth Seekers telling Moxxie that he is "hard" on him because he knows that Moxxie can be "better". And instead of just talking to Moxxie or encouraging him to keep growing, he instead uses manipulation and abuse to "persuade" Moxxie to change. Just like how Charlie imposes her own desires on others and then just keeps "suggesting" that they change. Because, really, Charlie and Blitz know what's the best for everyone around them.

It's why I am vehemently opposed to the idea that anything about Hazbin Hotel is a criticism of Christianity. Because in the end, Charlie is an evangelist spreading her teachings and Good Word to the sinners to save their souls, whether they like it or not.

It's not hard to see how Medrano sees herself in these qualities, and the passive aggressive self righteousness is thinly veiled under a smile and "good intentions".

[dollmoth-productions]

Hii!! I really like your platonic, yandere Hazbin Hotel writing and was wondering it you could do one with the Hazbin hotel cast dealing with Anxious teen reader who has panic attacks often.❤❤❤

Platonic Yandere hazbin hotel with anxious S/O

⚠️ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR AND DRUGGING AND FORCED KISSING STOCKHOLM OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR STALKING POSSESSIVE BEHAVIOR STOCKHOLM SYNDROME MANIPULATION ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR AND DRUGGING AND FORCED ITS NOT HEALTHY ⚠️

…………………………………………………………………………

Charlie

🩷 she absolutely adores you and tries her best to make sure that you’re not as anxious as you could be stressed always weighted blankets calming music, lavender oil she has it all

🩷 she more an overprotective sister than anything. She just wants to make sure they don’t have a panic attack or anything like that. She even tried to convince some of the other rings to give you something to calm down.

🩷 if you are Hellborn she’s a little more overprotective mostly because unlike the sinners you are not immortal so she’s scared that you might die

🩷 but if you are a sinner, she’s a little more lenient however, you still have to do silly little exercises for the hotel 

Vaggie

🦋 she’s overprotective she straight up does not trust you around anyone else besides Charlie and herself

🦋 she’s very overprotective she’s an angel who lost everything so she sees you as an extension of herself

🦋 she doesn’t want you to experience the same thing that she did it would ruin her

🦋 She’s not as a protective or as possessive as the others she’s more like a overprotective sister she tries to give you exercises or stress toys like Charlie

Niffty

🐞 she’s a woman from the 50s. She probably doesn’t understand anxiety so she’s her normal chaotic self which is kind of funny and helps you in anyway.

🐞 she says the most don’t allow this crap so you pretty fast so if you’re having an anxiety attack, she helps you a lot

🐞 she put on roach puppet shows whenever you’re sad

🐞 all around she’s niffty nothing much has changed 

Husk

♠️ he’s a man with mental illness too. He understands the anxiety. He understands how it could feel to feel like everything is against you.

♠️ he makes you a drink not alcoholic but a kitty cocktail or soda tries to get you some decent food however it’s just bar food so it’s not as good as it should be

♠️ he’s a little bit more protective and possessive side so he’s always side no matter what

♠️ he has killed someone before for making you sad or caused you with severe anxiety attack. He didn’t care.

Angel

🕷️ he’s a little bit more modern, but I don’t think he fully understands mental illness the way that you do

🕷️ angel tries to calm me down by giving you fat nuggets or let you lie down next to him and has a casual talk with you

🕷️ he’s a brother he’s going to be a little bit more protective than the others. He kind of sees you as a fraternal sibling someone who cares and would kill for.

🕷️ he tries to spend as much time with you as possible, even if that means you know locking you and his room 

Alastor

🦌 the same thing as nifty he’s a man from the 1920s to 30s he does not understand mental illness. He thinks it’s fake.

🦌 however he does try to put on some light jazz to calm you down or tries to get you to dance with him

🦌 he’s kind of a funky dad if funky dad had a body count actually he has given you food with body parts in it just didn’t tell you because it was hidden

🦌 you’re his kid and you’re going to have the best food possible and it will make sure it’s delicious and homemade none of that produced crap 

…………………………………………………………………………

I had fun with this one a lot!!!

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

Sinner’s Demon Designs vs. Their Human Designs—

I’ll start off by saying I’m not trying to shame anyone or say these design choices are bad-it’s just something I’ve noticed about Helluva Boss’ character design choices that struck me as odd considering Hazbin Hotel’s character designs-specifically the designs of the “Sinners” or characters that were once human.

More than anything I just think it’s interesting, and am trying to examine the character designs from a world-building perspective.

So, since rewatching HB, I’ve realized that the Sinner Versions we see of Human characters are pretty close in design to their Human selves.

It’s very easy to tell these are the same characters. They’re all the same proportions with the same face shapes, and have similar silhouettes. (Critique continues below)

Now, this could change for Hazbin Hotel (and maybe there already are canon human designs for the HH sinners that I couldn’t find?) but in my opinion, most of the designs don’t translate well to what their human forms might have looked like. There’s of course exceptions to this, with the more humanoid demons, but with demons like Angel Dust, Husk, and Sir Pentious, I assume their human forms look almost nothing like their demon selves.

I think the main reason for this probably boils down to the Hazbin cast having established designs way before the series was created, but I feel this has created a problem where there are SOMETIMES rules for why Sinners look the way they do, and sometimes the designs seem completely random.

I’ve read that the way that sinners are designed is based partially on the way they die, and if that’s true, there doesn’t seem to be any rules or guidelines on WHEN to convey that—Mrs. Mayberry’s sinner form doesn’t particularly hint towards her death in any way in my opinion, but it’s VERY clear that the counselor died via drowning/water.

This wouldn’t be a huge issue on its own, but the creators have stated multiple times that Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel take place in the same universe. The rules for why characters are designed the way they are should be clear visually, but the designs of the Hazbin cast have always seemed random and confusing to me personally.

It looks like the majority of the Hazbin cast are designed after animals, but that’s not always clear either.

I didn’t realize that Angel was supposed to be a spider until I was explicitly told that was what he was, and I thought Alastor was an Owl based character due to his hair looking like a great horned owl’s feather tufts, and because his antlers were so small and dark that I didn’t notice them until I watched the pilot the first time. It’s possible the first drafts of these designs looked more like the animals they’re supposed to be based on, but if you don’t know all of the backstory or haven’t been following the creators, I’m not sure how you’re supposed to recognize these things.

Overall, I don’t think it’s a BAD thing to have a cast of characters that have very different designs, or don’t have very clear design rules for their universe. But in my opinion, having this big of a difference in the Sinner’s character designs when all of these characters are supposed to share the same universe really confuses things.

More than anything though I just found this sort of interesting. I’d be interested to hear more about the process of designing sinner characters, and to see what more sinners look like outside of the main cast that was initially designed several years ago.

Also please don’t send me hate—I like Helluva Boss, and I’ll probably like Hazbin Hotel. I just enjoy critiquing and examining the stuff I like and I’ve been on an HB kick since I rewatched the series recently and while watching this just occurred to me and I wanted to talk about it.

[dabletrablee]

Hear me out/theory time!

⚠️Slight Hazbin Hotel season one spoilers!⚠️

We all thought Angel Dust would be the first redeemed, until Sir Pentious was. So most believe it’s safe to assume Angel will be the next redeemed.

Now I have an idea for some things that could go down (it involves Huskerdust!).

Before Sir Pentious got redeemed in the way he did, most decided if a sinner got redeemed, it would be more like a heavenly light opening up above and pulling them from Hell. I like to believe that still COULD happen, and would in this scenario.

So Angel is ready to be redeemed, and as far as the main cast knows is the first one. Angel and Husk have grown quite close, and Angel’s hesitant to leave behind everyone—especially Husk and Cherri.

But then it get’s crazy, because, Husker could sing a parody of “Looser, Baby” called “Winner, Baby”, a double name since winner is the opposite of looser, and the souls in Heaven are called “winners”.

Like, he starts doing a small dance with Angel, and in a much less upbeat tone then before, more like a bittersweet one (especially the last line)—

“You’re a winner, baby. A winner, goddamn baby. You were a fucked up little whiny bitch. Now you’re a winner, not like me. You’re a freer and truer, higher and purer. You’re a thrivin’, came from rock bottom. Thanks for keeping me company.”

And it would be even better if Angel’s little comments during the verse changed too as he realized what Husk was doing, and how he was letting him go.

“You’re a winner, baby. A winner, goddamn baby. You were a fucked up little whiny bitch.”

“Husk-“

“Now you’re a winner, not like me.”

“Don’t to this to me—“

“You’re a freer and truer, higher and purer. You’re a thrivin’, came from rock bottom. Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Husker!”

And then as Husk says that last line, he lets go of Angel, wanting the best for him to be redeemed, leading to Angel’s calling out “Husker!”. And as Angel goes away, Husk makes sure to tell Angel how he feels in an “I love you” that came a little too late, Angel unable to respond in time.

But then, it gets better—

Husk has already revealed he doesn’t care about redemption and changing his ways, but now he’d have a reason, to see Angel again. So he would try his damndest and eventually get redeemed and see Angel again.

And the second he’s up there, Angel finds him. And instead of an instant hug or anything, I imagine Angel tackling Husk like “Why didn’t you say anything sooner, why didn’t you let me have the time to respond, I fucking missed you, ect.”

But then after that, Angel would admit he feels the same way towards Husk, and us Huskerdust enjoyers would finally be at peace.

[scekrex]

hello sinner!Adam request here, thank you for writing it, I love how you depict Adam’s personality (and Niffty’s cameo) so could we see more of his way of flirting please?? Maybe being able to get that date with a dragon winged male!reader? Maybe they have both wings and fly together or maybe Adam ones don’t work anymore after resuscitating in Hell and they just go walking somewhere? Idk I just love seeing this dumbass being all awkward and shit, especially if the reader is like sceptical about dating or doesn’t understand his weird way of flirting or smth. thank you

Okay this one's a lil less awkward and more straight forward - the date is mentioned but not properly written I hope ya don't mind though :3

Part 1

Would it kill you to show a little soft side?

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language

note: not beta read bc fuck you

“Y’know,” Adam mumbled as he was petting your soft hair, watching you with loving eyes as you laid on his chest, thinking about only you knew what. You lifted your head to look at the taller man with curious eyes, wordlessly telling him to go on as your wings twitched in interest what he had to say. “The fucking cinema that opened next door? Yeah that shitty place plays your fucking favorite movie tonight - if ya wanna go see it?”

And while his words sounded tempting, you were not feeling like going out tonight, not when you knew people would be there. You would rather stay inside the hotel, cuddling with Adam and doing nothing. But the first man seemed so eager to do something with you - anything at this point. Your head felt too heavy to hold it up any longer so you simply put it down on Adam’s chest again, humming in disagreement, “I don’t feel like anything.” And how were you supposed to feel like something when hell was so energy draining?

The colors were tiring, the people were ready to kill you for simply looking at them the wrong way, this hotel felt like a golden cage and Charlie and her exercises weren’ t helping. Well, not entirely correct. Her exercises were helping the other residents - including Adam - they just weren’t helping you. So you were the problem once again. You had always been the problem, it had always been that way so why did you expect things to change when you were casted down to hell? Why did you expect things to change with Adam by your side when you weren’t even able to tell the man how you were feeling?

His constant flirting wasn’t helping you to deal with that either. You knew Adam, had heard all the stories of who he was in heaven and with how many people he had flirted with just to get in their pants. You tried your very best to not end up like them, to not end up as ‘one of Adam’s hook-ups’. And so far it was going okay - though you wanted nothing more than to enjoy the loving words he offered you, you wanted to embrace the compliments and flirts, you wanted to flirt back and not act like you weren’t understanding what the first man was implying. You wanted to wrap yourself up in his blanket of love and equally wanted to wrap him in your blanket of love. But with Adam being Adam you doubted that that would ever happen.

You shrieked when Adam moved underneath you. Your thoughts had been consuming you so much that Adam’s words were not able to get through to you, but when the first man wrapped his arms around your body as he sat up straight, you looked at him in confusion. “You, me, night flight. Right fucking now, I’m not taking no for an fucking answer,” and while his words sounded harsh, the tone of his voice sounded quite soft, like he just wanted to make sure you leave the hotel regularly - and maybe that was his intention, you weren’t sure.

With a grunt you got up to not only stretch your body but also your wings. It had been a while since you used them and the leather stretching from bone to bone felt tense.

Before the brunette had arrived at the hotel you had used them regularly - mainly because it was faster than walking. But then the first man stumbled through the hotel’s front door and the two of you clicked immediately - maybe that was because almost everyone in that hotel wanted him dead, maybe it was because the two simply understood each other to a level the others didn’t. And with getting along there came getting carried around and therefore your wings became sorta useless. Not that Adam would’ve actually let that happen though, that’s why he took you out for night flights from time to time. That, and because he liked the quiet that came with just the two of you flying over Hell’s pride ring.

“Oh dear god it’s so hot when you do that,” you heard the first man mumble to which you simply rolled your eyes. The comment made your stomach feel all fuzzy and warm and a part of you embraced the flirt for what it was - an honestly seeming flirt. The other part of you - the one that spoke so much louder - told you that he didn’t mean it, that those words were nothing but empty, meaningless things he used as a way to get in your pants. Why? You didn’t know, maybe a bet with Husk? The brunette seemed to get along quite well with the bartender after all.

“The sooner we leave, the sooner I can go back to cuddling with you, so move your ass,” you grumbled, not commenting on Adam’s little flirt at all. “Sometimes I feel like you’d rather do whatever the fuck else than to actually fucking hang out with me,” and that comment made by Adam caused you to turn around so that you were able to face him, because what? There was nothing you were rather doing, not a single thing brought you as much joy and comfort as being around the bitchy first man you had grown to love so dearly - a little too dearly.

“What the fuck makes you-” you weren’t able to finish your sentence due to Adam interrupting you. “You never fucking respond to my flirting and when you do, it’s in a negative way. You never wanna fucking go out - like the amounts of dates I asked you-” “Those were dates?”

Adam blinked at you, visibly processing if the question you had just asked was a serious one. Because to him it was so obvious that those had been dates, had he not made that clear enough? You raised an eyebrow at the first man in confusion before you shook your head and summarized, “So all those times you asked me if I wanna do this or that with you, you were inviting me out on a date?” The brunette nodded, his hands were folded in his lap and he looked sort of uncomfortable talking about the topic so directly. He picked on his nails and his wings twitched in a way that visibly showed how nervous he was. It was kinda cute - that you had to give him. “And despite me telling you ‘no’ all over again, you never backed down?”

Adam simply shrugged because what was he supposed to say? ‘Yes because I love you with all of my heart’? Fucking cringe, he would rather cut off his own hand than to say those thoughts out loud. He never gave up because he hoped that one day you would stop showing him your cold shoulder and just agree. Now that he understood that you had never seen it as invitations to dates, it all made much more sense - not only to him but also to you.

“So,” you quietly hummed, looking down at the first man who was still sitting on the couch. “You still wanna go for a flight? As a date?” The brunette’s eyes widened in surprise at your words, he had not been expecting you to ask him out, he had been sure you would reject him yet again, that he had to try even harder, to show you how willing he was to commit himself to you and only you. “Yes- fuck I-” before he was able to fully agree to your question, you added, “But only if you promise me that this won’t end up in just one hook-up.”

The first man jumped up from the couch, his hands on your hips in an instant, as he mumbled, “It fucking won’t, there ain’t not fucking way I’m gonna fuck you just once.” You chuckled at his words, playfully poking his chest as you did. With a smirk on your lips you responded, “Who’s to say you’ll be the one fucking me?” Adam turned his head to face the wall to his right, trying his very best to hide the slight blush that your words had caused to appear on his cheeks - he hid it very poorly.

“Now c’mon, you can look all flustered when we’re back,” and with those words you wiggled yourself out of Adam’s soft grip, grabbed the first man’s wrist and dragged him through the front door. Before said door fell fully shut you heard Husk’s voice mumbling, “Fucking finally.”

[death-limes]

Say, which characters in HB and HH do you hate the most character wise and then design wise

OHHH MAN i could write an entire video essay about this topic lmao, let me try to be as brief as possible

~~~

Hazbin - Worst Character: This one's hard, there are a few characters who probably suck but I just don't know that much about them. But based on what I know now, honestly…? Charlie. Coinsidering that… I think Faustisse?… confirmed that she's over 200 years old, the sheer level of naivete on her part is just annoying and unbelievable. She's over twice as old as Alastor, she should not be swayed so easily by him. As far as I'm aware she's not in a Disney Princess situation where she was shut inside the castle walls her entire life (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong on that though) so there's no reason why she shouldn't be at least a little savvy to the ways of sinner demons. She should also have been able to see the VERY OBVIOUS SIGNS that Vaggie used to be an exorcist. Even Carmilla comments that it's super fuckin obvious; the Princess of Hell herself should be knowledgeable enough to pick up on hints that even the fandom picked up on when it was just the pilot. Overall, Charlie just comes across as kinda stupid imo. I don't find myself rooting for her at all.

Hazbin - Worst Design: Alastor. I know he may not necessarily look the worst, and I do in fact simp for him, but his design does absolutely NOTHING that a character design is supposed to do. Namely, it doesn't tell us anything about him & it doesn't help him stand out from the cast. Nothing about his design is uniquely 1930s (nobody wore their hair like that, pinstripe suits started in the 1800s and continue to be popular today, monocles were more of an 1800s thing and were considered old-fashioned by the 30s) or deer-esque (his ears really do not look like dear ears at all, and his "antlers" are just microscopic salad forks that don't even show up on his silhouette). The whole Voodoo thing, aside from being super disrespectful to a literal religion that is still actively practiced, is also so inconsequential to his character that it can be removed entirely and change NOTHING about him. Any of his traits that are in line with the Voodoo thing can still exist without it -- him being a trickster and a dealmaker, mostly. All the blacklight stuff doesn't match his aesthetic at all: in Princess and the Frog where everything was 1920s it gave a magic effect, but in Hazbin where all different time periods comingle it just gives a raver effect, which doesn't fit his anti-modern preferences at all. Also the living-shadow thing is yet another direct ripoff from Dr. Facilier (that might just be in the pilot though I'm not sure), I think the living microphone is a better route to take if you want him to have a spiritual companion type of thing; it's more relevant to his theming and more original. And of course none of this even touches on the "he's half-black" bullshit excuse that only came after V*v received backlash about the Voodoo thing. And it doesn't even solve the issue anyway. A mixed-race man from the 1930s would make for a very interesting character IF that unique experience/identity was actually integrated into his character in any noticeable way, but it's not. It was just slapped on at the last minute. Ugh. I could write an entire essay about Alastor alone tbh.

Helluva - Worst Character: Fizzarolli, but mostly when he was first introduced. Aesthetically he's the closest thing that I have to a "blorbo" in this show, but in the Ozzie's episode he just gave me the most rancid vibes ever. Definitely a "asexuality doesn't exist, you just haven't been with ME yet~" type of person. Admittedly that's more of a personal preference thing and less of a poor characterization; they're in the Lust ring, that type of attitude is kind of expected. What IS poor characterization, however, is his "development" later on when he and Ozzie basically get their own arc. His entire personality changes to be much softer and like…. idk, very obviously a trauma VICTIM and not so much of a potential trauma CAUSER? His character is not nearly as abrasive, but there's no corresponding event that would cause such a change. It just seems like now that he's supposed to be a sympathetic character, they changed his personality to be more appealing. He's not nearly as mean and rude as he used to be. Ozzie has a similar thing going on but it's not quiiiiite as severe, and he's saved from being the Worst by having a far more interesting and unique design. (If you had asked who I think has the BEST design in Helluva, I'd probably say Ozzie.)

Helluva - Worst Design: Beelzebub, no contest. A lot of people seemed to have a problem with her being bee-themed instead of fly-themed like the real Beelzebub in demonology, but that honestly doesn't bother me; I'm not expecting any Hellaverse stuff to be super accurate to The Real Lore so any tiny reference they can slip in (like with Ozzie's design) is just gravy. To me, bee and fly are close enough, I think it counts as a reference. Plus, the bee theme goes well with Gluttony ("nectar" is a common synonym for delicious food) and calling her Queen Bee is an easy way to make her name more appealing/sexy than, yknow. "Beelzebub." What DOES bother me is her canine aspect. Why is she a sparkledog? What is the logic behind that? Why isn't she huge-by-default like Ozzie and Mammon? (You'd think GLUTTONY of all sins would be a big character!) It really just feels like V*v wanted Ke$ha to have a cameo role as a major character and just arbitrarily picked one of the sins for her to be. So the character design has Ke$ha in mind faaaaar more than it has Beelzebub in mind. ***(Funny thing about Queen Bee: for a solid week after her episode came out, I was actually fooled by this page from an RP wiki: [https://hazbin-hotel-and-helluva-boss-rp.fandom.com/wiki/Beelzebub] The explanation that I'd gleaned for this version of her is that the picture shown is the REAL Beelzebub, and the one we see in the show is her daughter by the lord of Hellhounds, Cerberus, which explains her canine features. Queen Bee Jr. is the heiress to her mom's title in the same way Charlie is the heiress to Lucifer's title. The picture shown on that page is just SUCH a better design, and it looks like the show's style, and she seems to be a giant like Ozzie and Mammon…. can you blame me for being like "OH that makes sense!!" Cut to me a week later finding out this is just a fan RP wiki. Siiiigh.)

[iwozlegit]

|| 🍍• Could you imagine being all geared up to watch, laugh, and love on-screen Huskerdust only to get fucking La La Land-ed with a fucking unexpected plot twist that they’re seemingly made for each other but something changes and we then see them meeting each other years later?

Concept/image/mini-fic in more detail below ⬇️

Angel Dust is free of Val and visiting a bar which just so happens to have a certain cat, still chained to his master, tickling the ivories to a small bar crowd.

The sweet sombre melody of Loser, Baby floats around the bar, an unusual air in a Hell nightclub.

Angel, in his own little world, settles by the bar and orders his drink. A classic Sex on the Beach. A usual of his. Though, upon tasting it, it’s not massively to his tastes, and he opts to twirl it before his eyes wondering how and why they haven’t tasted like the dreamy ones of his memories.

Trapped in the midst of his recollections, Angel begins swaying along to the bar’s live music, feeling a welcoming warmth wash over him after a long day.

And slowly, very slowly, Angel begins to awaken to the warmth of the melody - it’s familiar. It’s personal. The feeling reminds him of coming home. And all at once, the cogs finally find their rhythm, and the reflections illuminated on his glass cast a vista he never thought he’d see again.

There he is. After all this time. After everything. There. He. Is. Tickling the ivories in a dingy dive bar to the notes of their song, and serenading sinners to the ode of them. Of everything they were. Of everything they almost became.

Eventually, Angel brings himself to turn around and behold the cat for himself; lower hands coming together to fidget as they always did as his upper hands endeavour to steady themself around the stem of the forgotten drink.

He should leave, he thinks. He hates how that is his first thought upon seeing Husk after so long. Pay up quietly, discreetly, and walking straight back up the stairs to the street. He knows in that moment at least that he’s changed from who he once was upon arrival to Hell, and, later to the hotel. He doesn’t have to pretend about anything, he tells himself. He’s not about the pretending lifestyle anymore, right?

Half settled on his decision, he downs the sugary beverage as he stands - striving to convince himself the building burn in his throat is just the drink and nothing more - and places the cash plus change to a little too harshly onto the bar.

The coinage rattles, spilling in all directions, and Angel fumbles and curses to catch the bits that clatter to the floor.

It takes him far longer to pick up that which has been spilled. He hates that. He hates how the music stills prematurely to a stop, and he hates how his eyes begin to burn in sync to the discomfort of his throat. He hates how he feels the bar looking even though they likely aren’t, and he hates how of all the eyes he’s convinced are staring, there’s only one that overpowers them all.

Swallowing around the unease, Angel stands, placing the change onto the bar with a silent “sorry,” and moves slowly towards the exit.

The eyes follow him. Their warmth blessedly familiar. A small part of Angel wishes they hadn’t. A much larger part relaxes against their power, mesmerising and strong, but not forceful. They never had been. Not so long ago, yet long enough potentially forget, those eyes had skilfully unravelled him with a care that help ignite a sense of urgency within him to change. The final straw on the camel’s back some would say. The catalyst.

His catalyst.

Angel stifled a sob as he paused at the stair’s handrail, or was it a laugh? He told himself it was a laugh and smiled around the spikiness of the unusual happy sadness.

After all this time. After everything. Angel was happy to say goodbye again. Because it wasn’t really a goodbye. It was also a hello.

And reassured, he turns, and he smiles, hoping it’s convincing even though he knows his cheeks are damp.

So many words.

So many memories.

So many what-could-have-been scenarios swirling amongst the thick air.

Husk merely blinks at him, finally acknowledged. And then, like heaven in hell, Husk smiles. His ‘Angel’ smile. That soft, gentle lidded sort of smile that enlarged the heart details above his brows and etched the motions of his crusty old heart for all to see. Ever the respectful Husker, man of honour and integrity that warmed Angel in ways no hands or bodies ever could, and likely never would.

How lucky he’d been. How happy he’d been.

They hold the look for longer than they should have, this they both know…

…And then Angel Dust leaves, smiling as their song picks up again to serenade wayward sinner couples, who were none the wiser that two passing ships reunited for one last time…

How beautiful life could be…even in death.

(Should I like actually write this in more detail and post it? Would anyone even read something like this??)

[quillandink333]

The Dove and the Swan Take Flight • pt. 2

Credit to @winterxisxcomingx for the beautiful banner ♡︎

SPOILERS FOR HAZBIN HOTEL ~ Read ahead at your own risk!

After centuries spent distancing himself from his people and letting affairs of state fall into neglect, Lucifer decides it’s high time to get reacquainted with his would-be fair kingdom and brings Emily along for a grand tour of the Pride Ring.

WARNINGS: Abrahamic imagery (obviously), corporatism, body dysphoria, I wouldn’t exactly condone telling shady strangers where you’ll be going in the near future

Part I • Part II • Part III

“I’ve been thinking…” Emily broke the silence. She and her host had been enjoying their breakfast so thoroughly that they hadn’t noticed when the conversation had dwindled to a halt.

Lucifer had a mouth full of sugary carbs and fresh fruit as he answered, “Hm?”

“We’re going to Sinsoplex today, right?”

“We are indeed!” he proclaimed. “I wanted to give you a taste of what mainstream city life is like down here. That, plus our excursion to Cannibal Town made me realise we stick out like a sore thumb in public.” He tilted his head with an awkward glance toward his hat and coat, which were draped over the unoccupied chair beside him, and she giggled. “That’s why we’re hitting the boutiques first and foremost, as clearly I don’t have the first clue about today’s trends and the like.”

“That’s perfect!” Her eyes lit up with excitement, making his heart flutter. “Because I’ve been thinking, I know I just got my hair cut at the barber’s, and I love it! But the thing is, now that’s made me wanna change it even more,” she confessed, as if simply wishing to alter her appearance was a sin.

“I see no reason why we couldn’t do that on the same trip,” he offered right off the bat without question. “There’s bound to be a few sinners in the beauty industry who could help us on both fronts.”

“Well, yeah, but do you really think we’ll find someone willing to do all that for us on such short notice?”

“Naturally. I’m Lucifer Goddamn Morningstar; who could possibly refuse?” he chuckled. Being the supreme ruler of Hell had all the perks one would expect, which he could surely stand to take advantage of more often, he pondered. Emily, however, was of the mind to disagree, but she didn’t dare correct him when he’d been showing her such endless generosity ever since her fall. As long as he paid their stylist what they demanded in return for their services—which he obviously had the means to—she supposed it didn’t matter.

Word Count: 2.7k

“Right, let me just get this straight.” The youngest of the so-called Vees was hardly giving them half of her attention as she played around giving herself different flashy manicures with a flick of her wrist. “So the pair of you just poof into my studio out of nowhere, then order me personally to give you each the full Transformakeover service right this fucking second with no appointment?”

Emily felt a stab of shame at the sarcastic accusation, causing her to shrink back into Lucifer’s side. Before she could say anything, though, he waved his cane and conjured a pile of cash taller than a fridge between them and the overlord. “I take it that should work for you.”

Velvette’s eyebrows shot up toward the top of the stack. “Yeah, no, tha-that’ll do.”

“That’s what I thought,” he smirked.

The first order of business, as apparently per their stylist’s standard practice, was hair. She took Emily aside and sat her down in front of an oversized mirror in a frame of uncomfortably bright LEDs, then had a stylist on standby sit the king in the chair next to hers. “I’ve gotta say, darling, you’re in desperate need of some layers,” she noted, running a comb through the lilac tresses. “A new colour wouldn’t hurt neither. Any requests?”

“Uhh…” Out of habit, she cast a lost glance over at Lucifer. It took him a couple of seconds to notice, but when he did, she whisper-yelled to him, “What colour should I get my hair dyed?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What are you asking me for? It’s your hair, sunshine,” he smiled tightly. “I shouldn’t need to tell you by now that I think any colour would look great on you.”

“Oh. Okay…” Her gaze meandered back to her reflection. She’d never had her hair dyed before, and she’d never had much of a say when it came to styles either. Velvette was getting restless as she waited for an answer, which had Emily chewing on the inside of her cheek.

“Here, how ’bout something like this?” Lucifer stood up to show her a picture on his phone. “That Angel Dust fellow sent it to me the other day saying he thought it would suit you. Now, why he didn’t just send it to you directly, I have no clue.” The image showed a sinner from behind. They had shoulder-length hair with feathery layers and a balayage going from dark roots to a warm vanilla blonde at the crown, then into a blinding platinum for the better part of the length. Emily’s brows rose and her lips formed a lowercase ‘o,’ telling him she at least wasn’t averse to the sight of it.

Velvette scoffed. “Are you joking? That’s, like—” Her words caught in her throat when she spotted Morningstar shooting a glowing red glare her way through the mirror. “I mean—y-yeah, if that’s what you want. Seems easy enough.”

She promptly got up, wasting no time walking Emily over to one of the sinks for a wash. The little angel floated along without a care in the world while the other two trailed behind. Having heard that it would be ‘easy enough,’ she was surprised to find out the dyeing process was a lot more complicated than she was imagining. Lucifer was already in the middle of getting his blow-dried by the time she got back from her rinse.

“Good god, where’d you get this cut, Cannibal Town?” cringed Velvette as she got started on the trimming process.

“Yeah, actually!” Emily was anything but oblivious to the disgust in her tone, but she’d already decided to ignore it. “Lucifer’s taking me on a tour around Pentagram City, and that was the first place we visited. Today it’s the commercial district!”

“You don’t say?”

“Mhm! I went to get my hair done at the barber shop, and they had a singing quartet in the shop! It was so cool!”

“So where you off to next, then?”

“Uhm…” The abrupt change of subject caught her a little off guard. “Well, I forget what her name was, but she’s an overlord like you, and I feel like her first and last initials were the same. We’re going to visit her. Either that or we’re visiting someone named…oh, fudge. Did it start with a ‘Z?’ I think it started with a ‘Z…’ Sorry, I can’t remember. It was one of the two—or both, maybe. I dunno.”

“Was it Zestial Morde and Carmilla Carmine, perhaps?”

“Yes, that’s it! Oh my gosh, thank you. That was driving me crazy!” she giggled at herself. “So does that mean you know them?”

Not much time had passed before they were interrupted by Lucifer’s hairdresser, spinning him around in his chair to show her work to her boss.

Lucifer himself was looking none too pleased. His forelocks messy and unkempt, the devil was now sporting something called an undercut. The roguish diva had tried to have it dyed—he’d vehemently put his foot down at the very first mention of the idea. But even though he didn’t care much for the end result himself, when he saw Emily clapping for him and flashing him a double thumbs-up with an open-mouthed smile, he couldn’t help but smile back.

“She’ll be done in a minute,” Velvette dismissed him after reluctantly approving the work of her tired-looking employee.

Once the trimming and styling steps had been wrapped up, she sprung up from her seat and made a beeline toward the waiting area where he was sat. “So? How do I look?”

“Lovely!” he grinned from ear to ear. “Wow, uh… This might sound a bit strange, but you look just like Charlie. It’s like you two could be sisters,” he chortled.

“Really?! Haha! I wonder if she’ll think the same when she sees it.”

With their hair done, it was onto the retail stage of the trademarked Transformakovers.

“So what kind of look are you thinking for me?” asked Emily as they were led into the overlord’s walk-in closet, which was really more of a gallery. “Woah…!”

Her eyes popped and her mouth hung open as she ogled her surroundings. There were garments of all different colours and materials and personalities she couldn’t even label, the racks on every wall going all the way up to the vaulted ceiling. She’d had no idea how vast the world of fashion really was until she’d stepped inside.

“Velvette, this is amazing!” she squealed, forgetting that she was supposed to be hiding her wings as she darted from rack to rack. Lucifer smiled quietly at her unabashed excitement. “Did you design all of these? Ahh, look at those shoes! And that top! Oh my gosh, how do you ever decide what to wear?!”

Velvette’s curt body language contradicted how flattered she actually was. “It’s not hard, really. I mean, I wouldn’t touch half the shit in here, but that’s just me.”

“What?! Really?” She fluttered back down to the floor, shocked and a little crestfallen. “You mean you don’t like this stuff?”

“No, it-it’s—well, yeah, most of it’s…fine, I guess.” This reaction had Emily crossing her arms at the emotions she was detecting now: mainly flattery, but also a hint of vulnerability and… Was that guilt? Before she could figure it out, it vanished, both from her senses and her memory. With a snap of her fingers, Velvette summoned a rack on wheels full of clothes and accessories ranging from ostentatious to understated beside her. “Here’s what I’m thinking for you two.”

Emily wasted no time getting a closer look, the hooks of the hangers screeching against the metal rod as she flipped through them. Upon observation, the rack seemed to be divided in half, each side containing the makings of a whole outfit plus a few alternate options for certain parts.

“I’m guessing that’s her side and this is mine?” Lucifer inferred as he side-eyed the white tennies on his end with reflective toes and ludicrously chunky tread.

“Ooh…” Emily grimaced as she took a strikingly short mini skirt off the rack and held it up to her hips. It was covered in a loud print of candies and desserts atop a sweet pastel pink. “Oh gosh, it’s even shorter than I thought,” she laughed crookedly.

“Absolutely not!” Her chaperone, livid, snatched it out of her hands practically in the middle of her sentence. He shot daggers at the diva, which seemed to bounce right off of her.

“Oy, calm your tits, Your Holiness,” she jeered, “I’ve got it covered.” Then she reached between them for Emily’s half of the rack and removed from it a pair of fuzzy, black, thigh-high leg warmers. To Lucifer’s dismay, the model looked pleased as punch when she saw them, leaving him no choice but to give her his begrudging approval.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Velvette positioning her fingers for a snap. He raised his cane and froze them with his own magic just in time.

“Nope! No, nuh-uh,” he chuckled despite the severe crease festering between his brows. “We can get changed by ourselves, thank you. If you’ll just point us in the direction of your changing stalls.”

Though she just had to give him attitude in the form of a bratty shrug, she complied. Lucifer was the first to emerge from his stall, and Emily appeared a short while later, the two of them decked from head to toe in their shiny new drip.

“Tada~!” She gave a dainty little twirl. “What do you think?”

He and Velvette looked her up and down as she greedily soaked up their attention. She had on the skirt and leg warmers from before, and under the latter were a pair of black platforms with reflective toes that matched those on Lucifer’s shoes. For the upper half, she wore a sunny yellow crop top under a white zip-up hoodie. Her hair was tied back in a mid-low ponytail, and her collarbone was adorned with a colourful pastel necklace with beads of all different shapes and sizes, which looked almost edible.

When she asked for his thoughts, Lucifer had all sorts of adjectives going through his head, but none which he dared say out loud while they weren’t alone. He cleared his throat. “Well…” Maybe her special empathicism would be enough to let her know he didn’t entirely dislike it.

Meanwhile there he was, his own outfit perfectly on theme with hers, and yet he felt like an absolute buffoon wearing it. From the top down, he had on a plain white tee with an alarmingly deep V-neck, which was tucked into a pair of bulky, high-waisted, greyish magenta cargo pants. Overtop of that was a black baseball jacket with glaring yellow trim and a meaningless monogram.

“You’ll want a mask, too,” Velvette added, making the accessory appear directly over his nose and mouth with a snap. “To cover up those little red spots on your cheeks.”

He caught Emily cracking an amused grin, causing his ears to fume with the heat of rushing blood. Pulling the mask down to his chin, he huffed, “Not sure I’d be super comfortable going out in public dressed like this.” He didn’t bother trying to hide his scowl, peering down his neckline at his pale self. “Don’t you have anything a bit more, erm…normal?”

“Nah.” Velvette stood firm in her selection. “You told me disguises—what’s the point of a disguise if it doesn’t make you look like someone you’re not?”

He grumbled, “Right you are.”

“Hey, at least we match!” Emily chirped and grabbed both his hands with a bounce in her posture. “That’s a pro, isn’t it?”

He couldn’t help letting out a nasal chuckle at her enthusiastic attempt to find a silver lining for him. “That’s true, I suppose.”

She checked her phone and noticed it was only a few minutes past midday. They still had a whole afternoon of fun ahead of them! “Oh, we should probably get going,” she said, to which Lucifer nodded in stoic agreement. “Thanks so much for everything, Velvette, this has been so much fun!” she beamed. “I’m so glad I got to meet you!” Velvette replied with a charismatic grin and nothing more. As she showed them the exit, one turned and waved goodbye while the other offered half a smile over his shoulder before the door closed behind them.

Velvette waited until both their backs were turned, then dropped her hand and pulled out her phone. The screen buzzed with static and the speaker crackled before the face of the one receiving her call appeared. “Yeah? What?”

She grinned. “Vox, you are never gonna believe who just showed up at the studio.”

The two fallen seraphim were making their way on foot to their next destination of the day: some sort of music festival supposedly happening on the roof of the massive skyscraper nextdoor. The younger of the two was bursting at the seams with excitement, but the older had only agreed to it because Charlie had vouched for its security.

“You know, it honestly does suit you,” blurted Emily.

Lucifer scoffed and gave her a raise of his brow. “Seriously?”

“Seriously! Believe me, I may be the angel of joy, but I’d never say something I didn’t mean just to make someone feel better.”

This earned her a hearty laugh as they strolled across the skybridge connecting the two halves of the sprawling complex. “Well, thanks, but even if you think it looks okay, I still can’t say I see the appeal.”

“Ah, well… That’s okay.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s just for today. When we get home, I can start sketching out some ideas for a new outfit you’ll definitely like.”

He almost stopped in his tracks when he heard that. “Wait, you’re gonna make me a brand new, Emily-original outfit?” he gawked. “From scratch?”

“Absolutely! Seeing that walk-in closet gave me an inspiration overload. I can’t wait to get started! In fact—I don’t think I will.” Concentrating all her attention, she held out her free hand and expertly manifested a fresh drawing pad along with a pencil wrapped in hot pink.

“Oh, nicely done!” applauded her doting guardian. “Looks like my lessons have been paying off, huh?” But when he looked over again, she was already deeply engrossed in her sketching, the pad of paper fixed in mid air a foot or so away from her while they walked. He tightened his hold on her hand and turned his gaze straight ahead, his fond smile hidden beneath the black face mask.

[ladyduellist]

Epistles of Saints & Sinners

Chapter Summary:

Reflections are made on Tav and Astarion's intimate night together before entering the Goblin Camp.

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

Story Summary:

When Astarion meets the humble bard, Tav, he soon finds out he's the only one between them that knows they are bound as soulmates through their marks. Deciding it's more trouble than its worth, he refuses to tell her along the course of their journey across Faerûn.

But, unbeknownst to him and their companions, Tav is harboring a gruesome secret that she only thought was nothing more than a traumatized period in her life.

As they both come to face to face with their pasts and presents, will they choose to move forward or let it consume them?

Healing isn’t linear—after all.

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

Chapter 7: Beholden

Ao3

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Main Page & Chapter List

Word Count: 3.8k

Pairing: Astarion x female bard Tav

CW: Blood, Violence, Language, Act 1 Spoilers

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

We must follow nature’s course. Whether it be cruel or kind. We cannot interrupt its plan for the world. Their tadpoles connected them in more ways, than a simple acknowledgement of their shared affliction. But, boundaries are toilsome when broken. And creeping upon their coasts, will cost a sacrifice yet to be demanded.

— Halsin, journal entry 1,200

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

There was a stir of a song being born. One from the buds of untilled soil thought dead. The words to accompany it were being haphazardly forged on parchment, like random notes written on coffee-stained napkins.

Tav hummed and wrote. Wrote and hummed. It was an all-consuming process that transfixed her until it was completed. And her lucky muse? A wreath of ghostly ringlets framing two eyes of garnet that haunted the pounding organ behind her cage of bones.

♫On your chariot of umbra, You rode up from the world below, And with a kiss of starlight you…um??? Youuuuuu….♫

“Hope I’m not pesterin’ you. Saw you over here by your lonesome,” Karlach interrupted as she approached the lounging minstrel with a lopsided smile and a ‘hair of the dog’ pint in her grasp.

“Mornin.’ Only struggling with this verse,” Tav beamed, tucking a wavy piece of hair behind her ear.

“Something’s different about you, eh?” the fiery tiefling observed, taking a sip from her drink.

Tav placed her quill back into its ink pot and straightened out her music sheets while readjusting her position on the tree stump. A cunning prickling of thorns flushed on her cheeks. “I—no. I don’t believe anything has changed about me.”

But, that wasn’t true. Within a man’s arms she came undone, finding empyrean respite. His fingers worked her like a charm spell until she lost herself in the casted shadows of candlelight. Yet, it wasn’t her moans for him in the night nor the donation of her ichor that she gave willingly that surprised her: it was a piece of her trust.

“Perhaps it is because she engaged in quite the exhaustive venture last evening! Blood loss does have quite the effect on people—or so I’m told,” Astarion cut in. “But, me? I feel wonderful!”

And he did look wonderful. His cheeks were less gaunt. The bags under his eyes were a calmer shade of powdery periwinkle. Eyes appeared sharper, a brighter red. Even the sky blue coloring veins in his arms was more prominently saturated.

All his beauty and dangerous splendor were the reasons sonnets are made along the roadways of mud and intoxicating jasmine blooms. There was thousands of intricately weaved words inserted into poems to describe his ilk, like morning mist drops settled upon the threads of arachnids.

Tav cannot contain the lightness she felt when she saw Astarion. Her wings spread out, each feather hiding fragility under their vanes. Will he catch her slim feet as she flies away?

“Hey-o, you dandy! Ready to go gut some gobs today?”

Tav hushed the acrobats in her stomach. “Good dawn to you, ‘Starion.”

“Karlach. Songbird,” he greeted them equally. “You know I wouldn’t miss out on such a gutting show, however, I did come to check on our leader before we head out.”

Before Tav was able to speak, he had already sailed over to her upon muted silver heeled footsteps. She sat up, suddenly aware that he was bent acutely at his waist—enough to reach out to kindly dust her fresh bite marks.

“How badly does it hurt?” his pale head tilted, curls slipping to the side.

The smell of his freshly applied perfumes addled Tav's mind. His eyes, a clever decadence, held the knowledge of her ecstasies that she snuck to him during an impulsive need.

“Sorer than the wrist. Like a dull muscle ache from a cramp,” the bard congenially answered.

“Nothing you cannot surely triumph over. And how about everything else?” he breathed out.

The vampire does not attempt to mask his meaning or shy from the euphoria he exorcized from her body. He was brazen to ask her in front of their acquaintance.

Heavily did she swallow to control the overflow of her marching chest. “Fine. Everything else is fine.”

“Hmm. You know…” Astarion whispered, a low distraction as she watched the tip of his tongue wet his lips. “I can still taste you on my fingers.”

This fancier of the bloodthirsty arts, has two sets of teeth. One with which to feed; the other with which to claim. For this elven bard, a bargain has been made.

Tav wanted to match him in his torturous tease. To pluck out his devil’s tongue and boil it in a spiritual cleanse.

But, there was fine print that sat on the curled edges of the pages from their pasts, smudged with fingerprints and laced with belladonna. Warnings of holes where their hearts lay; labyrinths of frozen gardens that have no end.

Tav had not forgotten the way their rousing decision ended the night prior—with his fingers covered in her fruit and her lips finding purchase upon his alabaster skin. The vague emptiness that enameled over his touch, apparent through the shadows of his eyes. She had left his tent, with her sex loosened and a continual masturbatory bomb of fears that she had crossed a broken boundary of his that he didn’t yet understand.

“Astarion, there’s something I wanted to ask you about last night.” She attempted to mouth in hushed tones.

“Oh my sweet, you’re not getting mawkish on me now, are you? The only serious thing we need to discuss is when you’ll invite me back for another snack,” Astarion winked suggestively.

The bard continued her well-nigh unresponsive discretion of her features, ignoring Karlach’s pacing behind the pale elf. She stood up, a few inches shy of his natural height, placing her hands on her hips. Her quietness showed her sincerity as she stared into his face.

Astarion looked surprised, as if she had just turned an entire ocean to desert. He avoided entertaining her with any further quips or illusions, instead, blinking several times before abruptly summoning his trained foxy slink back to his face.

“Did you hear that? I think it’s our ghastly duty calling upon us to finally help those Silvanus freaks before they start complaining about ‘the leaves of nature being preserved'," he dramatically retorted as he casually checked the cleanliness of his nails. "It may be wise to think of better songs to regale the goblins with then you did that foul ogre—lest we wind up on the skewer. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Astarion gave the women a mannerful bow before he strode away without paying another peek in Tav’s direction.

Tav remained calm as he left, breathing out a long sigh. They needed to prepare for the assault on the goblins. He was a distraction—not necessarily an unwelcome one—but one with knobby roots twisted along the cloister inside his dried innards. If she didn’t get her shit together, a lot of people would die and their blood would be on her hands.

“I’m sorry about the interruption Karlach, he—”

Karlach took a long gulp of her drink, the ale dripping down onto her chin. Her face lit up—almost literally—with an excited smile. Tav knew immediately that the barbarian was far too astute in situations of sexual vices to not read the interaction that just occurred.

“Oh. My. Gods. That’s why you look like you’re glowing today! You and Astarion?! You fucked him, didn’t you?!”

The songstress's vision widened and her face felt like it would burst into flames, much like the tiefling’s engine. “Hells, Kar. Could you keep your voice down? We just—we kissed. A lot. And he obviously bit my neck to feed afterwards.” She pulled down the collar of her doublet to show her the punctures.

A white lie. Tav wasn’t one to share the details of her romanticisms with others. It was a preference to keep the echoes of intimate reflections as special moments: treasures discovered along the shipwrecks of life.

“Hey, I’m not judging! Astarion is gorgeous! Bit of a sassy grouch sometimes, but if I had my chance with him, I would not hesitate to get all over that.” The red woman made thrusting motions with her hips. “That being said, you don’t look entirely happy about it.”

Tav pursed her mouth, staring off to the right side of Karlach as she collected her thoughts. Her throat tightened as she spoke, delicately attempting to avoid providing any details she knew of the spawn’s past. “You mentioned recently that you sensed Astarion has been through a lot of pain, but I’m unsure where that begins and ends for him. And that concerns me. Karlach, I don’t want to potentially hurt him further. I barely know him and it’s… look, I’m telling you this because I think out of everyone, you will understand.”

Karlach crossed her arms, a caring frown accompanied the orangish calm of her irises. “I won’t pry, but Astarion seems to be fixated on his freedom from that fucker Cazador. Can’t blame him. I am too with my own from Zariel. Fangs can be a real piece of work, but even rotten scoundrels need a gentle hand sometimes. Maybe he hasn’t had that in a long time—if ever.”

The bard blew out the air she’d been holding in. “A gentle hand,” she repeated. “You’re right. Thank you for listening. I want what’s best for Astarion—everyone really—but I’m not sure he even knows what that is just yet.”

“I’ve got your back, Tav. Everyone in camp does too. And shit will work out, alright? We’re truly in this together, as sappy as that sounds.” The tiefling knocked back the rest of her drink, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. “Now, can you at least tell me how it was to kiss him? Please let me live vicariously through you.”

A merry laugh passed through Tav. She curled her index finger near her chin in thought. “Okay. Close your eyes and I’ll describe it to you. Imagine lips: plush, supple, but chilled. Not frozen, but a pleasant degree, like sweetened cool milk soothing your warmed lips. As you press them against his, you can feel your heart quicken and slow at the same time. Your breath’s intertwine with warm and cold temperatures that elicit thoughts you’ve never had. And when your lips start to move? It feels like you’ve both committed the crime of lassoing the sun closer to you as you melt into one another.”

Karlach visibly shuddered, opening her eyes to Tav smiling gently at her. “It’s no wonder you’re a bard. I could almost feel that myself! I suppose we’ve wasted enough time talking about boys for the day—should we get things rumblin’?”

Tav politely nodded and turned around to round up her belongings. Rummaging aimlessly through her satchel, her brow furrowed in annoyance.

“Something the matter?” the tiefling questioned.

“Just something odd. I could have sworn I put it in here before I came to write.”

“Maybe I can help find it. What is it that we’re looking for?”

Lost in confusion, Tav held the purse upside down a final time to see if any items stumbled to the ground. “My cuticle oil.”

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

When he woke from his trance in the early morning hours with dried blood cracking in the corners of his mouth, his vampiric nose involuntarily breathed in an alien scent that had seemed to fill his tent overnight. A pink tongue darted out to clean off his mouth, swallowing the red flakes down.

Astarion’s clothes stunk of Tav’s fragrance—she was ever so fond of—having made homes for itself in the islands of stitches on his sleeves and ruffled v-neck. Bodily fluids, now dried on his ornamental pillows, a sexual honeyed musk. He wrapped his tongue around his finger, still tasting the glacé of her sensual defeat and the sour memory of their night together.

He reached for the rags he had used to wipe off her bloodied essence from her upper body, scrunching them up to place under his nostrils. Cock half-hardening, he inhaled without reserve and groaned at the reminder of the effect drinking from thinking creatures had on his hunger.

Under the light of a candle, its single flame licking wicked pathways to Tav's want, he had concealed his guise of disgust behind her shoulder. All he could remember was the act itself—that it happened. That his fingers entered her and he poetically spoke naughty phrases into her ear to anchor her wetness for him.

Trust. Trust. Trust. She gave it to him with the arch of her back into his chest. Just as he predicted. Just as he planned.

However, virtually all of the details of their intimacy—the night—were lost on him. Her face was another among the blur of thousands he seduced over two centuries. Up petticoats and down breeches he searched bodies to steal their pleasures. His cock only thickening out of trained habit or a rare wishful fancy of ravaging apart a neck from any creature without hisses and tails. It meant nothing to him.

Yet, a singular detail did remain. A place he entered beyond the second circle of hell in lust, a circle where it seemed like his death could be undone. A river of lyrics carrying him along a raft of flower-crowned skulls towards the banks of her merciful arms.

During the twilit minutes before he released her, he made the blunder of examining her eyes before their ravenous kiss. What he had seen was acceptance. And it scared the fuck out of him.

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

“I am enjoying our walks together, aren't you Gale?” Astarion teased while they walked through the inner sanctum of the temple overtaken by the goblins.

“Um yes, in silence.” Gale leaned in towards him, whiffing his scent, “By the way, I don’t mean to pry, but did you apply more of your aromatic oils than usual? ”

He searched for a quick remark to hand to the wizard. “Only because I knew I’d be in your presence today.”

Half of the vampire’s morning had been dedicated to scrubbing. Crouched over a bucket of soapy water, Astarion had soaked his clothing and rags, ridding them of scents unknown. Of the lingering remnants of her. His skin raw from how hard he attacked his flesh with suds and woven cloth. The final touch? Excessive dabs of his oils in unusual places to cloy any bits leftover of the bard's odor.

“The Priestess is up ahead; I’ll go speak with her. Wait here for a moment,” Tav’s melodious voice spoke reservedly to them.

No-nonsense. That was a part of her Astarion both equally appreciated and despised. Despite her penchant to offer her generosity to all of Faerûn, she pulled her punches. It was a waste of time to her otherwise and could be messy. Efficiency would deliver the most desired outcomes, but gods, he desperately wanted to create mischief at every turn.

Astarion, be nice. Astarion, we don’t need to lockpick EVERY chest. Astarion, leave that ogre and bugbear having intercourse in the barn to fulfill their needs alone. Astarion, don’t have fun. Astarion, let’s save all these idiots!

”Astarion? Please don’t hurt me." Tav's voice echoed in his head, throwing off his equilibrium.

He shook his thoughts away, reflecting back on their encounter with the dream visitor in the prism as they came upon the entrance of camp a short while ago. It wanted to protect them against The Chosen. The Absolute. All their enemies. To give them power. Yes. Power was the most important ability to hold in all aspects. With power, the possibilities were endless. With power, he would have protection. All it would take, would be to manipulate the pretty songbird into aligning with his goals. And judging by how he already managed to pleasure her so soon after they first met, it would be a piece of cake.

Thrum-dub…thrum-dub…thrum-dub.

Pulses? Astarion felt the constellation of his soul mark beating mildly. Tav’s back faced him, her features obscured. Her body was hunched over minimally at the waist, hand at the side of her temple. His eyes narrowed, jaw taunt. Something happened.

Thrum-dub.Thrum-DUB. THRUM-DUB. THRUM. THRUM. DUB.

Faster now. Harder pounds of a pumping bass through the bandwidth of their marks. She was nervous—frightened. The threshold betwixt them was closing in as an invisible rope pulled him closer.

He flinched. Really, he should stay out of her way; he shouldn’t get involved. It was perhaps wicked to not divulge to her the shared marks they possessed, but it would change everything. His plans would become a brittle cascade of a future he sought. He didn’t want to disrupt the plank he had been trying to balance upon since his unintentional escape from Cazador. But, Astarion was aware that he needed her and she needed him.

Besides, what better way to obtain one’s help to a cause—his cause—than a life owed?

“They’re connected. Quickly, we need to do something! If we start attacking, Tav could be in danger.” Gale stepped forward, sweat trickling down the sides of his face.

Light were Astarion’s steps as he snuck upon Tav and Priestess Gut. The creator of his misery appeared stifled, her mouth partly opened with persistent shallow breaths. The tadpoles of the goblin and elf had connected; Tav was fighting to push it out. A dull whimpering snuck out from her throat as if a deer was jerking around in pain.

Astarion seized her elbow, declining his head to press his lips to the opening of her ear canal, nose softly resting against its shell. He whispered in elvish, a language only the two of them would know, steadying his voice firmly. “She won’t see it. Nothing is going to hurt you. I’m here.”

The hex of the worms severed and she was free! Tav’s body slumped downwards, but faithful hands were catching her, grabbing at her arm to wrap around staunch shoulders—wrapping around the illusionary dripping silverlight he exuded.

“When did you…?” her voice broke up in a hoarse mutterings.

Giving her waist a confident squeeze, he smiled sweetly at her. “Hello beautiful. Think you can stand on your own?”

“Urgh...yes, I think so.”

“Splendid. As much as I detest putting you in that wizard’s care, do me a favor and go to him.”

The bard wobbled as she stood on her own, backing away towards Gale. “What do you plan on doing?”

Astarion removed one of his trusted blades from his back. Bringing it to his mouth, he licked the side of it, much like when he smothered his saliva over bitten wounds. “I plan on slicing open the Priestess’s neck. Now stand back, the smell of blood will be in the air soon.”

⸺⋘✤⋙⸺

Filets of goblin meat were a stark contrast against the erected statues of the temple dedicated to Selûne. Her lifeless face watched the companions as they carved through the vile threats. Ripped sashes of ruby life essence unwound in the drafty camp, splashing the group.

A witness Tav played, as she paid honor to Astarion’s image under the sparks of the wagon wheel chandelier inside the chambers of Dror Ragzlin. He stood soaked in ichor, peering off to his side with a final swoosh of his dagger through the atmosphere, flicking off excess blood. The dance macabre had been sated.

Flags of pure white raised, red fangs and swords embroidered in the middle. The belief of their crusade, a righteous seat upon golden scales. Raise thy sword in the name of murder. Let us pray.

All three leaders: Priestess Gut, the drow Minthara, and Dror Ragzlin—deceased.

“As you can see, ceremorphosis has been halted—as a surprise to all of us. I am not one to tempt fate, but if you cannot heal us, then any guided direction towards someone that could offer assistance would be most appreciated,” Gale explained hastily to the arch druid Halsin they released from the goblin prison.

Halsin casted a yellow glow that coated Gale’s entire body, sensing the mechanisms of the mind flayers. “Illithid tadpoles. Oak Father preserve you all. I’ve studied these for a long time now, without much results. It was the reason I came here, to seek out research. I may not be able to heal you, but I can at least tell you where a mass amount of true souls are going to be infected.”

The druid was large, easily towering over Tav. Almost the size of the bear wild shape they had found him in. Scars upon his wise face, a set of misty tea irises surrounded by reddish brown hair that wafted of autumn leaves and sandalwood.

The bard was stunned. “You mean they aren’t all being captured upon a ship and given the worm as we have?”

“I’m afraid not. Moonrise Towers is a stronghold ruled by a man named Kethric Thorm in the Shadowlands. Innocents go in and true souls—infected—come out. The lands are dangerous. Anyone that steps foot there is at risk for turning into demonic shades,” Halsin spoke in caution. “You have two options to enter: through the Mountain Pass or the Underdark. Both come with their own sets of tribulations. The Underdark specifically is home to a Sharran temple.”

Gale faced Tav, speaking in a muffled shallow. “Shadowheart may be quite interested in hearing about that bit of information.”

Focusing on the fine lines of Gale’s crow’s feet lifting upwards, she nodded. Her eyes swooped down to the strange circular marking in the middle of his chest, the way it seemed like tendrils of smoke sneaking up past his clavicle, to the side of his neck. A part of him, he frequently hesitated to speak on. But, being so close to the human man, she wondered what secrets lay under the surface of his skin.

“I know you’re curious about it—the marking, I mean. But, now isn’t the time to explain. Soon, I promise.” Gale gave her a reassuring compress on her shoulder.

Tav, now quietly embarrassed, turned around, finding two familiar crimson eyes following her. Coveting and dark.

Thousands of flowers sprouted behind her as she went to him. With her tears, she would bathe his feet; with her hair, she would dry them. His armor drenched in blood, dripping onto the new growths left behind, urging petals open.

Thankful for his earlier care with the priestess, her inspirited hand graced the tips of Astarion’s fingers with delicate plumy touches as she briskly clenched hers around them before turning to leave the chambers.

“I owe you my life ‘Starion,” Tav whispered, peering away from him.

He deceitfully smiled. ”I’m sure there will come a time when I will need your help in return.”

[flawlessfallen]

Welp, let's take a shot at this. Adamsapple essay, right.

So I'm not an essayist, so this'll probably be pretty scatterbrained but here goes.

There is SO much potential for Adam in terms of growth and for Lucifer to be the catalyst of that growth. Really consider that there are few people around that were there when Adam was created, few that know how he used to be. Because I cannot ever believe that he was that huge of a dickhorse as a human in Eden.

Because really consider: Adam being 'controlling' of Lilith and then Eve wasn't even his idea, it was God's. This is what God told him to do, as a freshly created human that did not know anything outside of what his literal MAKER is telling him. A maker whose power he sees first hand and who speaks to him directly. Why would Adam even consider questioning what God said? Much less go against it? Lilith going 'lol no' is an exception, not a rule. Adam likely could have either been content with what God told him because he literally knew nothing else OR he could have even been afraid of disobeying him.

If your Creator has the means to make you, then they have the means to UNmake you... likely in many painful ways.

And Lucifer is one of the people who would know how Adam was in the garden, because he was THERE. He was there, he would know how Adam used to be. He would know how far the First Man has fallen, figuratively, from someone that likely was a decent guy with some hang-ups into someone just so... contemptable. So unlike how he ever was when first made.

He would know just how much Adam has changed.

In turn, Adam's view on Lucifer is just as the man who stole his wives, yeah? Well that depends... if he and Lucifer actually spoke, spent time together in the garden, which is likely, then you could argue that not only does Adam suffer abandonment from both his wives but he could even see Lucifer's actions as a betrayal. It adds more fuel to his fire and gives further reason to why he would probably descend into being a trashfire of a human soul. What's the point of being kind or empathetic when all it's ever done is gotten you shit on?

Adam's whole awful attitude could just be a front to hide his insecurities but it could also be him reveling in the fact that he, even if indirectly, get to make Lucifer suffer further by periodically going out to slaughter the denizens of Hell. Even if Lucifer didn't care about the Sinners, there was no way Adam could have known that. He could be reveling in it because it's some way to let out all the anger he feels for all the wrongs he believes he's suffered.

Does this excuse his actions? Not in the least, they're awful and should be more than enough to have him cast down into Hell.

Which brings us to Sinner Adam

He would likely have trouble even existing in Hell. Everyone knows who he is, everyone would want him dead (again) for what he's done. I can't even imagine Charlie wanting him around, he's done so many terrible things. But imagine if he was given a chance. Imagine if he had to make a deal with Lucifer to make sure he didn't cause trouble and to give him some protection from the multiple people that want him gone. Once again, he and Lucifer are brought together and this time they HAVE to tolerate each other.

Imagine the possibilities.

Imagine them finally talking to one another, after many snapping arguments and jabs. Imagine Adam reconnecting with the angel he had met back in Eden, back when things were easier, when things didn't hurt so much. That Lucifer has felt just as alone for almost just as long, with his depression, struggling with his own mistakes and failures. Struggling with having to watch the evils Man creates because he urged them to eat the Apple.

Learning that Lilith left him much like she left Adam (as far as we know).

Imagine the healing that could happen on Lucifer's part. He feels massive regret for giving humans knowledge, that they abuse their Free Will so badly that they end up here in a place of chaos and carnage and exploitation. How soothing to his wounds it would be if the first human, period, were to actually change and grow. Were to develop from the piece of shit that he is back to something closer to how he used to be, how Lucifer remembers him being, before the apple.

Adam can never go back completely, too much time has passed and he's done too much. But Adam is still human and all humans are capable of change,

Lucifer being there as one of the only people who remembers, who can make Adam recall, how he used to be, can coax him back to something closer to creation. Adam being there as someone who has also known Lucifer likely the longest in this show, who knew how he was too; how hopeful, how driven and creative.

Killing Adam off and leaving him dead is a huge WASTE of potential. A waste of really running with the theme and idea of the Hotel: That any soul is capable of redemption, if they try.

Imagine if Adam wanted to try? Imagine if he actually grew, imagine if Lucifer was a big part of that? BOTH of them growing because of their shared history. It's a fucking BARREL of possibilities that's just sitting right there. Wouldn't that be like... the biggest achievement? There's just so much HERE, there's so much that can be done!

Both have fallen-- one literally and one figuratively. Both likely have abandonment issues from their wife/wives leaving them. Both are completely different (likely) from how they were in Eden. Both are so similar and yet so different and that's where all the good kind of potential can be found.

There's SO much that can be done with Adamsapple and it makes me FERAL.

[itsbubbleteataro]

If your requests are open, would you mind writing a fallen!reader (4 wings) x Chaggie (platonic, of course). Like maybe reader knew Vaggie in Heaven and after ep 6 and the finale, reader starts questioning and pushing Sera for answers (though they tell Emily to not follow what she does) and Sera casts them out as a result?? Then Vaggie or Charlie finds them beaten and broken in Hell, and they get brought to the hotel and just a lot of hurt/comfort and fluff please??

I left reader up to your interpretation for gender!

Hope you enjoy! Sorry it took so long!

What I know Now

The pearly gates, a staple in heaven. The pastel covered buildings, stretching higher than some folks can fly, the clouds beneath people’s feet, something you were proud to call home. You died many many years ago. Arriving in heaven thanks to using your limited medical knowledge to help those in need, often operating out of churches.  

The whole place was buzzing, having heard the news that Charlie Morningstar, the daughter of THE Lucifer Morningstar, notorious for being cast out of heaven, would be arriving for some sort of meeting. Naturally, being curious you decided to fly to the courtroom.

Being the same rank of angel as Sera and Emily made it easier for you to gain access, even if you were not needed that day. Your hair was covered by a nun-like veil, wearing a dress very similar to Emily, your halo matching the two of them. Court was already in session as you stayed on the ground level and peaked your head around the corner, white fluffy wings pressed to your back.  

Vaggie looked back at you, gasping softly. You gave a shy wave, one she returned. You had never thought Charlie Morningstar’s girlfriend would have been an angel, you thought it was cute. Keeping quiet you watched as the two parties started to sing to each other, something you were not unfamiliar with. Seems no argument is safe from the grapes of musical theater both in heaven and in hell. 

Your eyes widened, the multiple eyes you kept hidden opening wide as well when Adam revealed that Sera was in on the extermination, even allowing them out of nothing but fear. It was awful. You left the courtroom, mentally siding with Emily. You wanted to bring it up to her, you really did, but you heard the stories of Lucifer. You did not want to fall or be cast out like he was. So you stayed silent. 

An entire extermination took place as you sat having tea with Emily and Sera. You nearly spat out your tea as this blinding flash of light beamed up this snake looking former sinner. He looked around, before waving shyly at Emily, who squealed out of happiness while Sera looked horrified. This was it, this is the perfect time to bring up what you saw at the trial. You stood up abruptly, placing your teacup down on the saucer. 

“Sera! It works! Call off the exterminations. Sinners can be redeemed”

“(y/n) watch your tone with your elders”

“Sera, this is about innocent souls. We were wrong. It's time to make things right. Sinners can be changed, redeemed, so why bother killing any more innocent souls?!” 

You kept questioning why Sera even did the exterminations in the first place, resulting in her snapping, all of her eyes opening as she glared at you.

“It was to protect you and Emily!” she snapped.

“Sera! We don't need protection. We are in heaven! This is something to be shared! Not kept to ourselves” 

That seemed to be her last straw, as with a flick of her wrist, she opened a portal to hell. Emily and the snake-like sinner stood still, eyes wide and in shock. 

“If you think they are so safe, go live with them”

With that, Sera pushed you through the portal, all of your eyes open, four wings open in an attempt to catch your fall, hands trying to grasp to anything to keep you in heaven. You hit the pavement so hard you blacked out. 

You woke up an unknown time later, whimpering in pain as you sat up, looking around. You stood up and walked with a limp, you could tell you had hurt your wings in some manner, as it hurt to even move them. You hobbled over to a window to get a look at yourself and look for possible injuries. You gasped.

The crown all Seraphims have changed, becoming a shade of orange, the eye in the middle permanently open, the whites of the eye a red and the pupil yellow, reflecting the rest of your eyes. The fourth and final eye was on your chest, spanning from shoulder to shoulder, the lashes long. Your wings looked awful, turning black, feathers matted and no doubt about it, you had broken one of them. The veil over your hair was gone, your own hair shining through. The rest of your outfit changed as well, your dress turned gold in color with black accents, still held its modest shape. However instead of flaring out and being poofy, it hung straight down, huffing the curves of your hips before relaxing. Your thoughts whirled in your head, only being broken out when a certain gray skinned woman placed a hand on your shoulder. 

You turned around, all four of your eyes widening in fear, only relaxing after seeing it was only Charlie's girlfriend. The eye on your chest closed. 

“Um, hello? Seraphim angel, i-im Vaggie and I think I saw you at the trial? Um, you're hurt, let me give you a hand?”

“Yes! Thank you Vaggie! I honestly was hoping to run into you. Please, drop the formalities. Im (y/n)”

“Your welcome, come, I know a place, we just finished rebuilding as well”

You nodded and eagerly followed Vaggie to the Hazbin Hotel. The building is tall and wide, with many rooms. Two towers are on either side, one shaped like a radio tower, the other like a large apple. She led you inside, sitting you down as she went to go get Charlie. Your eyes scanned the lobby, settling on the large portrait of the same snake-like sinner in a neopliniatic era military uniform. The place underneath held the name, Sir Pentious. It clicked, that was the sinner who was redeemed! How exciting. You stood up before wincing. 

Vaggie returned with a whole crowd of people who seemed various degrees of excitement. 

“(Y/N), this is Charlie”

Charlie waved and took a seat next to you as Vaggie started to administer first aid. She looked at your wings, unsure how to properly treat as a man in a red pinstripe suit sat across from you all, watching. 

“Hi! You must be (Y/N)! Oh I have so many questions! Oh! Right, I should introduce everyone! This is Angel Dust, Nifty, Husk, that one just watching is Alastor pay him no mind, Oh! And that’s my dad!” 

Everyone she spoke of waved, albeit Lucifer seemed to be the most shy. The man was eyeing your wings, then at Vaggie. It clicked, the short man who looked like he was a ring master was Lucifer Morningstar. You wanted to move, to get up and bow but your injuries prevented you from doing so. 

“Lucifer Morningstar! P-pleasure to meet you sir! Oh Charlie! I have news! Oh right how I ended up here would be the best way to start things off. W-well” You started as you faced Vaggie, Lucifer and Charlie, “Sera kicked me out. Charlie, your hotel works! I saw him! I saw Sir Pentious up in heaven! He was sent to the room where Sera, Emily and I were having tea. I confronted Sera, told her the exterminations were wrong and we are just harming innocent souls. She cast me out for that” 

You rubbed your arm as Charlie placed her hands on your shoulders, eyes sparkling with joy. Lucifer rounded the back of where you were sitting, starting to care for your broken wing as if you were just some bird who had a bad fall. 

“Oh My God! It works! It really works! FUCK YEAH! Oh wait I mean not to your fall, no that's really bad we gotta get you back into heaven but Oh my god guys the hotel works!” Charlie squealed as Vaggie sighed. The residents of the hotel minus Alastor looked relieved. Alastor only cocked an eyebrow, more curious than anything. Lucifer just about dropped the roll of bandages in his hands as he heard the news. You  just smiled, finding her excitement charming at least. 

Charlie  pulled you to your feet, and enveloped you in a hug, one you returned. 

“Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel (Y/N)! Let's get you a room so you can have some proper rest and heal! You are going to love it here!”

FIN

[imbelfoxxyloxxy]

Thoughts on Husk and Niffty?

Short answer: GRAAAAAAAA I LIKE THEM I WANT MORE CONTENT OF THEM MORE M O R E RAAAGHH

I even drew them over spring break tehehe 🤭

Long answer:

I’m really interested in seeing more of them, be it with how short season 1 was, wanting MORE RAGH, and being a fan of hazbin since the creators speed drawing days I’m really interested in seeing what’s official now, what changed and stuff yah know? Like husk being an ex overlord??? Oooooo

And like the fact they’re mysterious without having to fully rely on the lore of Alastor, both have their own personalities, back stories, and specific traits that make them stand out on their own in the cast, and from their boss that owns their lives

Back on husk being an ex overlord, that means Niffty was one as well right? and if so I really wanna know what she was like before she sold her soul to alastor, and tbh with how she acts, did she even sell her soul to him? /j

She doesn’t seem as miserable as Husk like what was her trade with alastor, did she loose a bet or was this an honest deal? Why him and not the other overlords?

We got a look into their dynamic in season 1, with Husk seeming to know a lot more about Niffty, making her more mysterious than Alastor tbh, Husk is a okay with insulting his boss to other people but when Niffty signaled him to keep quiet??? And he did???? NIFFTY LORE NOW😩

I just wanna know their human lives as well, and what souls did they own before alastor claimed theirs? In order to be an overlord you gotta own souls yah know? And how did alastor win their souls? We see with Husk he lost a card game, so how did Niffty lose if she didn’t want to sell her soul? Both are younger than Alastor so like did they know his name at least or did they just think he was a random sinner? Since the only ones telling us his lore was Vaggie in the pilot, and Mimzy, someone that knew him personally when they were alive. Husk and Niffty don’t say anything about him from what I remember, just that husk is miserable and Niffty is… Niffty 🌝

And since Husk was an overlord, how did people react when he lost his soul to alastor?? does alastor own his casino now? I get he’s called a fraud and scammer now but like, since we haven’t seen it, is he called that by random sinners? People that lose to card games with him? Or current (but older) overlords? (Since I don’t think the Vs really keep track tbh) 🤷‍♀️

Alastor had a habit of just killing overlords, and since the souls he seems to own seem to be his little henchmen, what did Niffty and husk have specifically that makes him not only keep them around, but also bicker with? Like yes he still views them as benith them but like still they’re has to be more to that contract to prevent alastor form killing them the moment their souls were traded.

Overall I just wanna know more about them, but if the short season eps is a pattern, I’m satisfied with consuming official content and fan art, because tbh there is very little husk and Niffty content in this fandom

ANYWAYS Both fine af and I wont them shiiii leave alastor for me I can fight him off wanna be emo furry vs wanna be emo furry lets go 💥💥💥

[justmenoworries]

My unorganized thoughts about Hazbin finale because I am feeling all the feelings.

Positives

The songs? Absolute bangers. Both of them. The Chaggie "More Than Anything" reprise got spoiled for me but I still loved it. We stan a supportive couple ready to go to war together. The reprise for "Happy Day in Hell" at the end was a nice touch. Loved that it was Lucifer who picked up the slack to cheer up Charlie. Mans finally becoming the dad who stepped up.

The battle as a whole was awesome. Hot take, but if Adam didn't have the spawn infinite enemies cheat all bad guy armies seem to have in these situations, the Hotel definitely would've won.

I'll admit, I wasn't too jazzed about Sir Pentious replacing Mimzy in the main cast but he kind of redeemed (lol) himself for me this episode. Bro was both one of the funniest and most heartwarming characters in the finale get yourself a man who can do both. The unholy (lol) noises I made when he showed up as a redeemed soul in Heaven. Good for him! He deserves the best. Also I find Sera's and Emily's reactions to the reveal kind of interesting. Emily is overjoyed seeing that Charlie's idea works, but Sera looks... mortified? Disgusted? Kinda tells us which one of these two really deserves the title of Big Good. Side note, but it's kind of funny how the only physical change a redeemed sinner goes through is that their color scheme is now pastel instead of goth.

ADAM FUCKING DIED YESSIRRRRR! GOOD RIDDANCE BITCH NO ONE WILL MISS YOUUUU (Except for Lute, but no one gives a fuck about what Lute thinks, cry harder hoe)

Charlie's and Lucifer's true formssss! Razzle and Dazzle getting to be badassss! (R.I.P. Dazzle, hope you somehow end up in Heaven too)

Alastor Vs Adam. Cool fight, surprisingly not as one-sided as one might've thought. I mean, Alastor still lost but he lasted a lot longer than most of the others who fought against Adam (Poor Sir Pen)

Vaggie and Lute rematch, I fucking called ittttt!

Seeing everyone gear up and fight for the Hotel was cool, seeing so many Exorcists get axed off was cathartic as fuck.

Lute losing a part of her body because of Vaggie, just like she took a part of Vaggie's body was *chef's kiss*.

Lucifer Vs Adam and Lucifer just... not taking the fight seriously at all until Charlie almost gets hurt. He was really just toying with Adam for the entire first half and when he started getting serious Adam got trashed so fucking quick, I love it.

Charlie fucking shanking Adam and stopping his punch Just Like That. I lover her, she's such a badass. Sure wish we could've seen more of that (foreshadowinggg)

Vox acting as the greek chorus for the events of the episode works surprisingly well. Ngl I thought his constant commentary would get annoying really fast if they kept cutting away from the action just so he can say a funny. But no, they actually managed to time it pretty well. Props to Adam Stein (writer for this episode).

The Negatives (Yes, They Exist)

The other Vees did not need to be here. Seriously, we're starting off with Vox alone in his control room and we could've stayed there. Velvette and Valentino didn't even talk for the majority of the episode. And I'm not a fan of how Val continues to be played for comedy. Unfriendly reminder that this man is a r*pist and an abuser. If you needed a V for the funnies, Velvette and Vox are quite literally right there. (Can you believe Velvette had no lines this episode but fucking Val had both a speaking role and a not insignificant part of the ending song? Weak.) You can still have the ending scene of the Vees hanging out and planning after the aborted Extermination, literally nothing changes if you cut Val and Velvette from the cutaway gags.

Not a fan of how Lucifer stole the spotlight. "But you said you liked the Adam Vs Lucifer fight-" Yeah, I did. Doesn't change that this shouldn't have been Luci's fight, it should have been Charlie's. We've had hints this whole season that Charlie is actually way stronger and wrathful than anyone thinks and that she's actively working to keep up her cheerful and friendly persona. Her stabbing Adam with her trident was a nice start, but after Lute killed Dazzle and seriously endangered Vaggie, this should've been the moment Charlie decided "Alright that's it, no more Miss Nice Girl, I didn't want this to end in bloodshed but these assholes are going down." This should've been the moment where the gloves come off. How much more impactful would it be if Charlie was the one beating down Adam but stopping before killing him? If the show made it clear Charlie could murder this asshole, but she doesn't, because she's still better than he ever will be. What a way to show that Charlie truly does believe in the good in everyone or at least still believes in non-lethal solutions to the conflict between Heaven and Hell! But nope, Charlie gets two badass moments, then is banished to the side-lines and to the role of damsel Lucifer has to save and who has to be the metaphorical angel on Lucifer's shoulder who stops him from offing Adam (for some reason). If we needed to get Lucifer involved, maybe have him show up earlier to help the Hotel but get hurt somehow, forcing and motivating Charlie to step up as the future ruler of Hell. Speaking of-

Why the fuck was Lucifer so late to the fight??? Yeah yeah, I know, depressed shut-in, but in "More Than Anything" he literally calls Charlie "the only thing worth fighting for" in Hell. He knew the Extermination was coming. Yeah, maybe Charlie didn't tell him that the trial in Heaven went south and that Adam's Exorcists were going to target the Hazbin Hotel, but you'd think he'd have noticed something was up??? More importantly, if he really wanted to support Charlie's dream of saving the sinners in Hell, why didn't he take part in the battle from the start??? Why didn't Charlie ask him to fight alongside her??? Yeah, Charlie is reluctant to ask Lucifer for anything because they don't have the best relationship, but we've had an entire fucking episode of them growing closer and Lucifer assuring Charlie he'd help her. And this wasn't just a matter of pride, Charlie's friends and her girlfriend were in danger of getting killed, you're telling me she'd choose her own hang-up over all of them??? "But if Lucifer was there, the fight would've been over too quick-" refer to the previous point. Angels can be hurt and killed by angelic weaponry, there were like over a hundred Exorcists on that battlefield and don't tell me Adam would be above fighting dirty by attacking while Lucifer is distracted. There. Easy way to take Lucifer out of the fight and make way for Charlie.

Not a fan of how Cherri Bomb x Sir Pentious was bullrushed in this last episode. Yeah, we established Pentious likes her, but Cherri had like no interest in him until Angel commented he might have two dicks. Which, I guess her being after a purely physical relationship could work, but we all know that's not what Pentious wants. Their "romance" gives "He Was a Boy She Was a Girl" vibes. Like Velvette and Valentino, nothing in the episode would've been lost if that particular plot-line was dropped.

"The future of Hell belongs to the Vees" Yeah but does it though? Does it? Sorry, but I'm having a hard time taking these three seriously as a threat. Vox got effortlessly trounced by Alastor (and contrary to what the Vees believe he isn't missing, he came back), Velvette talked a big game about fighting the Exorcists but then did absolutely nothing and Val would eat dirt so fast against anyone who can actually fight back. Plus "Overlords hanging by a thread"? Which Overlords, exactly? Alastor? He's not dead and like previously stated, he's not 'missing'. Rosie, Carmilla, Zestial and the rest of the Overlords are just fine, the Extermination was centered around the Hazbin Hotel this time, no other turf even got scratched. "Nature abhors a power vacuum" What power vacuum? Again, no Overlords even died! No territory outside the hotel was destroyed! Are they just on a high from Alastor's supposed disappearance? I hope that's it, because otherwise damn, you three fucking suck at being Overlords.

[mako-neexu]

「めでたしめでたし」の以前に | A・A and Oberon

-

The crowd was noisy. The lights were far too bright. The curtain drawn around the stage barely hid the props and backdrop and the actors and staff ran frantically around to their places, settling last minute polishing on their makeup and dialogues.

He hums for a bit before eyeing at everyone coldly.

It was far too noisy as the spectators got into their seats with popcorn and camera on hand, ready to record their one time performance.

Eager audiences and their neverending appetite for entertainment that touches their hearts.

Merely enjoying scenes with the most action or the most emotion rather than reading in between the lines of their speech and clothes, preferring bright lights and tragedy the most.

"Are you excited to meet the Foreign Mage too, Oberon?" Beside him, the annoying tomboy asked with a smile and an elegant tilt of her head in question.

She was amused. And of course, far too happy to meet a certain someone again.

Closing the curtain and turning away from the audience, he began to head towards one of the boxes usually reserved for the distinguished and wealthy, with Artoria hovering behind him.

He smiled widely in return as he plopped down onto one of the chairs, "My, I don't know about that but we have yet to meet the guest actor themselves for this time's opening night. Perhaps make a stunning first impression for everyone before anything else?"

Oberon heard a sigh beside him as Artoria settled onto the seat right next to him. "This is the 'second' premiere though. At least be a little more lax towards them than the first time."

His eye twitched in annoyance. He couldn't help but sigh loudly and obnoxiously, "I seriously forgot how long this play is going to be."

But just as Artoria was about to respond, the both of them catch a familiar face from the entrance of the theater, smiling and waving at the faceless masses.

The Foreign Mage along with some of their companions was welcomed as well with a spotlight shining down at them, signifying their status as people who will co-star with tonight's main cast.

And as soon as they sat at the front row seat, the announcer began to speak with the theater darkening.

...Haaaah-

As golden sparkles drifted down to the red carpet, so too did his black insect coat dissolve and the rest of his Vortigern elements. With his clothes now being his white recon outfit, Blanca flew over to him as he held out his arm for her to perch on.

Seriously, why even bother doing this play all over again? A majority of the audience has already been spoiled with the first premiere. Some were most likely going to skip everything by sleeping it off and being awake when there's a fight going on.

It was just a waste of time.

The story has already ended. The page has already been turned. The curtain call would eventually close. The fate of the Autumn Forest and of Fairy Britain will not change.

And yet, he still has a role to play.

This is the worst.

Stuffing her face with popcorn, Artoria waved at him with her smile, "Good luck out there. Do try to spend more time with Caster and Ritsuka though. Last time was-"

"-was far too short. Of course I know that." Oberon couldn't help but roll his eyes. Did she seriously have to tell that to his face? She must be joking.

Again, he gave her his sarcastic smile, "Well then, I'm off. See you at the grand finale you bastard. Not that I'm looking forward to it."

With that, he rode on Blanca to head back onto the stage to welcome the Chaldeans in this picturebook with a twilight sky and sinners underneath.

[silvergolddraco28]

LMK x Hazbin Hotel- part 14- Cubsitter

Everything seemed to move in slow motion, how the snapping of one simple cord could invoke such an unbalanced rush of power would probably be an explanation they would have to wait to hear. Charlie braced herself shielding the passed out Lucifer whilst Vaggie tended to the celestial. The rest had taken cover at the thunder-like boom that rolled out once the thin string had snapped. Thankful as they were to come out unscathed the two royals unfortunately bore the most metaphorical damage. "Is everyone okay?”

"Is it over?" Sir Pentious called.

"Fuck that was heavy." Angel groaned, stumbling to his feet.

"Woah there, little help?!" Despite Vaggie's strength Wukong was a stone monkey after all. Husk was soon at her aide taking the celestial with ease. "Thanks." The militant demon murmured.

"The least I could do." Husk shrugged.

"Let's take them elsewhere so they can rest. I can't imagine the toll on them." Charlie murmured, holding her father close. Storytime would have to wait for another time. Keeping the two safe was the top priority.

Angel appeared from the bar, the whole fiasco leaving him needing several drinks. Whilst the others went to make the royals more comfortable Angel subjected himself to welcome duty. Not that anyone would be walking into the hotel at this time to check themselves in but hey! Closer to the bar meant more drinks for him! The sound of small hoofs hitting running was quickly accompanied by the little fawn Alastor being chased by Wukong’s clone before the clone manage to scoop up the young One. “Got ya! Sheesh your more skittish then a baby monkey!”

The drink in question he held shattered against the floor in surprise as the spider spinner gawped at the little fawn who ran into the lounge, followed by the celestial. "Didn't you just pass out?!"

“I'm a clone, i have my own reserve and was tasked to watch over the fawn.” the clone deadpanned to Angel. "My drink," the spider sinner whined staring longingly at the broken pieces before casting several eyes to the doppelganger in the room. Glancing down at the fawn squirming in his hands Angel smirked. Hell would have a field day hearing this. "Baby duty sounds fucking terrible. Good luck with that. But if ya need help I'm always available." He gleamed.

Deciding to make it easier to tell the difference the clone changed up their clothing and took a slightly more feminine form while clad in a sunset peach beach dress, a flower crown resting on their head with a large hibiscus flower over their ear while their mask became a far more purple color. “Better?”

Angel whistled, appreciatively upon the clone's newer appearance. "Anything you wear looks good to me." He shrugged. Admittedly it would save the hotel a ton of filler episodes knowing the clone was a fake from the start. The clone rolled it's eyes and properly entered the lounge seeing the utter chaos. "I love ya too." Angel grinned upon the clone's reaction following them in.

“Alright can someone tell me what in the ten levels of the Diyu happened?” the clone called out while Alastor just watched everything from the clone’s hip.

"Angel? You better not have gone to the bar you-" Vaggie entered casting a glance around the lounge, everything still in disarrary, eye momentarily setting on the clone before fixing the spider with a glare. "I thought you said you were going to clean the lounge?" Vaggie arched her brow.

"All this?! By myself? Honey. You've got the wrong spider." Angel shrugged. "Sides I told Char I was on welcome duty, as in I welcome any new guest." Angel rolled his eyes.

"And how do you expect to welcome anyone with the state the lounge is in?" The former soldier rebutted, her patience already wearing thin.

"Vaggie? Hun is everything..- The baby!" Charlie squealed, eyes glimmering upon seeing the child as she entered. "Isn't he just so cuuttee!- Oh! Hello there!" The princess beamed warmly at the newcomer. Taking in the little fawn and the slight resemblance to their new resident monkey it was only safe to assume this was one of Wukong's many clones.

"Welcome to the hotel! Excuse the mess! We uh..." The princess paused. "Were having a storytime with Mr. King but then the shadow thing he was maintaining with his really cool shadowy powers became harder to control and then he cut it! Then there was this explosion which knocked him and my dad out since they're sorta linked annnnd that's kinda why the lounge looks the way it does!" The princess rambled as she explained

“Charlie, I'm a clone of Wukong. I shapeshifted to make it easier to tell us apart.” the clone deadpanned. “You should be able to sense the fact that I don't have a soul.” the clone pointed out pinching his brow.

"I know that!" The princess scoffed though the nervous laugh she emitted was pretty telling she had clearly forgotten. "But you are still kinda like your own person, no? Maybe. But anyway! It'd be wrong not to welcome you as well!" Charlie reasoned with a laugh. Though the clone wasn't really Sun Wukong it still felt… wrong? To treat them as if they were an exact replica. Everyone deserves a warm welcome to the hotel.

“Princess please tell me you have had any basic magic training?” the clone asked while waving their tail in front of the fawn’s face to keep the little one occupied and happy.

"Not exactly? A-A little! Dad would try but.." Charlie faltered, remembering only fragments of her childhood and even then they were hazy moments of her mother once again taking her away. Whatever expression washed over the princess was completely replaced with a more hopeful one. "But Mr. King did mention we would start training though!"

Vaggie frowned at this, gently cupping Charlie's hand. It was a puzzling notion for such a notable figure in hell to not have received any sort of training let alone the daughter and princess of hell.

The clone sighed. “For now just call me Peach, I'm basically acting as Alastor’s Nanny and until then Original wakes up I can give you the basics in magic. Now everyone knows there are two forces, positive and negative?” The clone rhetorically asked, turning this into an impromptu lesson while handing the fawn to Charlie. Said princess’ smile couldn't be more wide as her eyes practically sparkled at being handed the little fawn.

"So adorable!!" The princess half whispered, half cooed. Even the stoic Vaggie had to admit… as bizarre as the situation they were in was, the little ex-murderer did have his charm. Almost. It would just take some time getting used to as the fallen angel watched Peach take Wukong from Husk placing the golden monkey laying down on his back on the now abandoned couch before going over to Lucifer shifting the King of Hell to properly lay down while the other’s reshuffled themselves. With that the princess gave her full attention to Peach and so too did the other residents curious to see exactly where this… 'magic training' would go, not that it would've been entirely wise to miss such a lesson. As well as growing stronger together it opened more doors and occasions to bond with one another! Naturally, Charlie was all for it!

Peach waited for a response from anyone who more or less all nodded. “Alright magic is divided into three parts. Divine or Light magic, an example of this would be Vaggie herself and her ability to retract and summon her wings and spear.” Peach started off. ‘Better for them to hear the basics as well just in case any of them developed their own abilities from being near two celestial energies, a fledgling celestial, and a celestial-demon hybrid.’ the clones thought. “The next part of magic is Demonic or Dark magic, many of you have likely seen such use when Alastor was an Adult and that was rather corrupted Dark Magic. Now do not confuse Light and Dark to mean exactly good and evil as it's more about the way it is used and the intention behind it.” Peach stressed this point. “Many tend to make this mistake and end up limiting their own magic when it comes to this fact. The final part is Neutral or Grey magic. Charlie actually falls perfectly in this type of magic seeing as she is the literal embodiment of Balance. Lucifer would fall under a Dark leaning Grey while Wukong falls under a Light leaning Grey.” Peach added. “At the very least can any of you guess the values those three would have to be at to support life?” Peach asked.

"Ooo...~" Charlie awed, listening intently to Peach as well as her fellow residents and roomies who took in the information given.

"Values. Like good 'n bad 'n stuff? Ugh I'll pass. No clue." Angel shrugged.

"He said not to solely think of them in those categories," Vaggie reminded.

"Hmmm, to support life..." Charlie murmured. "A neutral good? Possibly?? I've probably gotten that so wrong," the princess laughed half heartedly. "Wait, should we be writing this down? Can I take notes?!" The princess asked.

“45% Light 45% Dark and 10% Neutral it ideal to support Life.” Peach answered with an actual mathematical value of the ideal need for life to be perfectly supported.

"Ohhhhhhhh." Was the collective reaction of the group.

"That makes so much more sense!" Charlie nodded protruding a notebook and pen from her pocket as she frantically began writing this down. "I'm learning so much!" She murmured more to herself than anyone else.

"Who woulda guessed actual math?! It's hell. The majority don't do that here handsome.~" The spider sinner quipped.

“Considering Hell’s values currently are 97% Dark, 2.5% Grey and .5% Light?” Peach deadpanned.

"Just because you're a complete imbecile spider, doesn't mean we cannot comprehend such stati-"

"Can it, Pentious." Angel snapped at the snake before doing a one eighty while looking at Peach. "All I wanna hear from 100% sexy over there is to not tell me more useless numbers~."

"It's not useless Angel." Charlie, gently reprimanding. "It's...a lot though. Wow."

"What good does it do? Not like we can change it or somethin'." Angel shrugged.

Charlie turned to Peach with a slight frown, curiosity burning in her eyes. "Could we? Change it, I mean."

“It's already changing now that a World Tree has taken root into the realm. Might take a few months for the values to even out and for Wukong and Lucifer to both pump out and filter the energy. Thankfully being near Vaggie and Lucifer most of your life kept you from becoming grievously ill Charlie.” Peach answered letting wisps of formless golden energy distract Alastor from the conversation while preventing the little fawn from trying to eat Charlie’s hair.

"Woah really?" Charlie blinked, her expression a mixture of surprise and awe clasping her partner's hand with a gentle squeeze while settling Alastor on her lap. "Now do ya see what I mean when I say I can't live without you? I really couldn't Hun!"

Vaggie stared at her a little dumbfounded as her cheeks flushed. She surprised even herself as she laughed. "Oh my gosh Char that's not-"

"Nuh huh! See, see!? Physical proof I would have withered away if it wasn't for your loving presence blessing me!" The princess in all her dramatics swooned as Vaggie managed to laugh harder.

"Be serious!" Vaggie snorted with a flushed smile as she rolled her eyes.

"ANYWAY- Guess that info checks out with ol' Lucifer and Vag being angels and all- Wait are ya? Cause we never really got to finish storytime. For all we know you just have wings like dark and edgy ova there." Angel jabbed a thumb over in the brooding Husks direction.

"I think it's best to wait until our next storytime. For that whole- uh thing. But yes." Vaggie confirmed, sheepishly looking away from the growing gazes. Charlie continued to gently rub her partner's hand in comfort. There was a lot to unpack right now and it was best to take it all one step at a time.

“Wings aren't something we had in our pantheon. You either had them or you didn't. I don't know if that might change while we are here and adapt to the rules of this pantheon. It likely won't do anything unless we're exposed to a massive amount of skewed Light energy.” Peach stated mainly towards Angel.

"I'm… only part angel aren't I? Has that helped at all? How ill would I have gotten? Would I have died?!" Charlie asked the celestial, perhaps it was more complicated regarding her other… demonic genetics. It was truly fascinating as it was terrifying however!

“For you Charlie… had you been taken away from Lucifer’s presence before puberty…. I don't think you’d be free from a coma ward…” Peach stated softly with a grim yet sad look on his face.

"Geez... I-I see." The princess murmured as her eyes widened slightly. "I'm glad that didn't happen," the princess sighed. It was a scary thought to think- ‘the what could've been.’

"Hypothetically," Husk cleared his throat as he spoke. "If enough light energy, as the big boss put it, did come from the tree would there be a way to convert a good bit of hells energy or..?" The feline trailed.

"What, like turn the sinners down here into upstanding citizens? Now that's a laugh!" Angel snorted.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Charlie murmured, with a thoughtful look.

"Sir, what exactly is the purpose of such a plant? Just to convert energy like a filter system?" Sir Pentious asked curiously.

Peach smirked, answering the important question first. “Energy affects the soul and in turn affects the actions of the mind and body. It takes a lot of self-restraint to follow the actions of the energy you're steeped in. Being subjected to Charlie on a daily basis helps take off that edge along with Vaggie’s aura. The most likely being here to completely convert from Dark To Neutral would actually be Pentious.” Peach stated with fact.

Sir. Pentious seemed to glow from this new information bestowed upon him. Oh how lucky was he! "Ooooh! This means I'm special!" The snake sinner beamed. "I always knew I was meant to be chosen!"

"Ahh yes, of course." Angel smirked. "The weakest link. Go figure."

"Angel!" Charlie sniped, though not unkind. "That's very impressive, Sir Pentious! Who knows! Maybe it'll actually happen!" Charlie clapped with excitement. It was really starting to look up for the hotel! Who knew...perhaps day by day the energy would be of use to the other's too. She hoped it would do a lot of good rather than harm.

Curious eyes fell to Peach, walking over to Wukong and placing a palm over the original’s chest before gently pulling out fourteen glowing and floating gemstones that pulsed and orbited the largest golden diamond carved in the shape of a sun with a familiar swirl mark in its center. Various expressions of shock to pure awe crossed the faces of the group with Alastor making grabby hands at the shiny gems now free from the slumbering celestial.

"It's...so- Pretty!" Charlie gasped, eyes drawn to the sun at the center. "Is that all of Mr King's energy?"

"It's got a nice pulse. A beauty too.~" The spider sinner grinned.

“No… this is his very soul crystalized into solid form.” Peach replied, gently taking the golden sun separating it from the rest and walking over to Lucifer, pushing the golden sun into the archangel’s chest with little resistance.

"Is… that even legal?" Sir. Pentious asked, watching with both morbid fascination and absolute horror at the implication. The sentiments were very much shared as the onlookers gaped.

"Does it hurt? It looks uh- interesting." Charlie winced at the assertion of the stone into her father.

"I take it this will heal uh Lucifer faster?" Vaggie asked with an apprehensive look on her features.

"I kinda wanna touch it." Angel murmured.

"Same! Same!" Nifty giggled.

Peach chuckled. “With practice, you should be able to solidify your own souls into a form of crystal. Husk Vaggie and Charlie are halfway there.” Peach started making a motion causing the smaller star-shaped golden stones to float over to each resident for them to examine.

Alastor curiously poked at the golden stone before him, giggling as it chimed like a little bell and gave off bright sparkles at the fawn’s touch.

"This is amazing," Charlie breathed. There was so much she never even gave a thought to when it came to her energy and magic and here it was intertwined with her very being. Everyone's being, at that. She gently clasped at the gemstone bestowed before her with care. The others surprisingly followed suit, each admiring their little gems.

“Those contracts you do are of a similar nature but are simply energy coiled around another’s in an agreement. To make a soul solid one needs to be able to manipulate their energy and condense it into a given shape compressing it tighter and tighter until it becomes a crystal.” Peach explained before they had a look of pain crossing their face gazing at the many stones. “The formation of Ours… wasn't a willing choice…”

"Really?" The trio in question seemed to ask at once, Charlie with naturally the most enthusiasm. ‘Already halfway there…’ Oh she just couldn't wait until she had reached it all in full! The princess tore her eyes away from the little fawn playing a little melody with the gem stone, her eyes saddening with sorrow as she listened to Peach, mouth agape in slight shock. "I'm so sorry." Charlie murmured, her gaze flitting between the gem and the one who bore it. The thought it couldn't have been a willing choice was one that never once crossed her mind. Similar to the contracts placed though there were benefits in some, not all came out of an arrangement unscathed. She couldn't imagine the possible price their dear newcomer paid.

Peach grimaced. “What happens when stone is placed under extreme heat and pressure for an extended period of time?” Peach asked the seemingly random question.

"It changes forms and brakes, doesn't it? Or something like that anyway, right handsome?~" Angel's voice rang out before anyone could get an answer in. The room simply stared as the spider sinner scoffed. "What?! It's what they do, isn't it?!"

"Seems like Spidey isn't so ditzy after all." Sir. Pentious sniped with a ganged grin.

"Say that again you mother-" Angel growled only to get cut off both by Vaggie speaking up and Husk clapping his paw over his mouth before he could curse.

"--STONE can harden and crystallize in cases right?" Vaggie quipped over the noise.

Peach nodded. “Our Heaven didn’t like the fact we became immortal through an unrecognized teaching. They tried to kill us with every execution method there was. Didn’t stick.” Peach stated. “So they did the next best thing. They wanted to melt us down.”

"That..." Charlie's eyes widened with remorse at such a cruel act.

"They melted rock? That's obscene!" Sir. Pentious cried.

"The poor stone babies..." Nifty sniffed.

"It sounds like our two heavens aren't so different." Husk mused, tone grim.

"What are the odds there'd be another heaven and it's just as shitty? It's all kinds of fucked up." Angel recoiled in disgust.

Peach narrowed his eyes at Angel before snapping his fingers making familiar red and golden sparkles before a bar of peach-colored soap popped into existence before Angel and promptly shoved itself into his mouth. *”no cursing in front of the baby.”* Peach glared while Angel uselessly tried to get the bar out of his mouth.

"It's deplorable. How can a place like heaven inflict such a cruel treatment? You weren't doing anything wrong!" Charlie frowned while trying not to laugh at Angel’s predicament, Alastor had no problems letting out bleating-like laughter at the fumbling spider. "It doesn't make sense at all..." How could a place that held the name of sanctuary for all ultimately cast the downfall of others? Heaven's system was beyond broken, damaged and corrupt.

“My Heaven is a place where only those who have gained immortality or are born from the Celestial energies are allowed to enter. They are more or less very disconnected from the Mortal realm unless they are playing one of their games to ascend a mortal to join their ranks as a minor god or divine figure.” Peach stated the basic explanation of how his heaven worked.

"Seems very.... hmmm… I'll find the word but for now it sounds like horse poop they feed you to behave and stay in line." Husk frowned while Angel nodded along with Husk’s statement.

"It's very cutthroat, for sure." Vaggie murmured.

"They ascend a mortal? K-Kind of like giving them a chance? To do good? And help others?" Charlie seemed hopeful but given the impression they were just given on the other version of the heavenly realm even she was grasping at very slim straws.

"Charlie, honey no. Disconnect. So they most likely brainwash them into believing they're one of them. I can imagine it would seem like a privilege and honor to ascend without understanding the real meaning to." Vaggie explained.

"They really aren't so different are they?" The princess sighed mulling over the words of Peach and Vaggie.

"Those guys have all the power they could ever want. What's a couple of mortal monkeys turning immortal got them shaking in their boots for? Heaven doesn't seem all that clear to me." Husk thought with furrowed brows.

"It's all the same baby. A buncha fucking chickens in even shittier armour that's what!" Angel shrugged finally managing to get the soap out of his mouth.

Peach scowled before willing the soap back into the spider’s mouth and teleporting the spider to a chair that was promptly turned around and facing the wall. “Five-minute time out for you. Leave that chair and I'll reset the timer.” Peach started summoning a cute little apple-shaped timer and twisted it to the five-minute mark as the rest of the group snickered at Angel’s unfortunate fate. Peach then refocused on the group’s questions. “Because we changed the way the game was played.” Peach replied with a small smirk. “We entered the game, flipped the rules, and challenged Heaven’s Order… all with a heavy cost. Isolation, enslavement, emotional and mental abuse, and killing our own mate because of the Gods be damned clause to end any threat that would harm or kill the one we had been enslaved to.” Peach stated with both rage and sadness on his face, the frustrated golden tears dripping down his face from the emotions the original suppressed.

Uncertain but moving anyway Charlie closed the distance between her and Peach, placing a gentle reassured hand on his shoulder, sorrow in her eyes for her fellow king which hardened into a matched look of determination and hope. "I'm sure of it. And we'll be right there with you to watch it happen. They won't get away with this. It's time for a change and that change starts now."

“Your right… this time…” Peach stated with a determination growing in his eyes. “This time… Heaven’s Game over mortals is going to end,” Peach stated with conviction.

It was... truly heartbreaking as it was surreal to see the mighty king even if it was only a clone displaying such emotion. It made Charlie's heart tear into two at the sight. ‘How could heaven be so cruel? The word simply couldn't even begin to describe such actions they committed.’ Did she really want to rehabilitate sinners only to have them meet a worse fate elsewhere? As much as she didn't want to consume such thoughts of a place she held dear, afterall it was still a part of her too, their crimes couldn't be ignored. Hell even her first encounter with… Adam. The first man and also a total douchebag was more proof enough of the kind of people heaven surrounded themselves with and clearly allowed amidst their higher ranks. Deplorable didn't even begin to describe it.