#they actually get him interested in playing because they were showing him the different monsters and Steve kept going | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kiame-sama · 3 months ago

Note

Similar question to the one with Drider!Rook on kissing but with the other Monster Boys

How would they handle me giving them a kiss on the cheek (Or even their mouth) only to take something from them in victory?

But it’s mainly to prove a point that I don’t need physical strength to win, but my cunning and intelligence (Like I take their Dorm Staff or whatever’s in their hand in triumph because I proved my point)

Honestly, Malleus, Vil, Leona and Azul would be the most impressed but would probably scold me if I did that with others (But their eyes are dilated)

Warnings; Several different Yanderes, yandere behavior, suggestive themes, kissing, thievery, if you kiss any of the monster-men you need to be ready to handle the consequences, mainly Dormleaders (Minus Kalim, because all you have to do is point somewhere and you can easily steal from him. You don't even have to steal, he would willingly give you anything you wanted the moment you showed interest. You'd have a harder time stealing candy from a baby), less thievery and more escaping in Vil's ficlet, use of gamer-tags in place of names for Idia's ficlet,

~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Riddle!"

The Unicorn glanced over his shoulder when he heard your happy greeting, smiling in response to seeing you walking over to him with a slight bounce in your step. Though he would never admit it, the way his heart seized whenever he saw you was both a painful yet wonderful experience. How he longed for you to return his affections and take your rightful place as his King of Hearts.

"Good morning, (Y/N). Have you been well?"

"Of course, but there was something I wanted to talk with you about."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Come over here, so we can talk without shouting."

The red-maned Unicorn was bemused, yet complied with your request all the same. He would always do as you asked of him, even if it meant moving the very ocean by hand. You smiled in a way that was almost mischievous and Riddle vaguely wondered what it was you were playing at. When he approached, you looked up at him with a content smile that he returned in kind.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I had some questions for you about Unicorns, actually. Unicorns are a myth where I'm from, so I wanted to see if you could clear up some of the misconceptions I might have surrounding Unicorns."

"I would be happy to teach you about Unicorns, (Y/N)! You can have the utmost faith in me to provide accurate information to your questions. What did you want to know?"

"Are you able to lay down without being injured? The closest we had to Unicorns was regular horses, and they rarely would lie down unless extremely comfortable, young, or ill."

"Of course I can! Here, allow me to demonstrate for you."

He moved his weight back to his haunches, allowing them to meet the ground as he curled one leg after the other beneath him. Once his equine half was settled on the ground, he was about to roll to one side to fully lay down when your soft hand cupped his cheek. Riddle was confused as to your interruption but his confusion quickly turned to shock when your lips locked with his.

An almost whinnying squeal left him, but he was eager to return to affection in kind. Even as he felt the crown of his dorm-uniform being lifted from his head, he pursued the kiss eagerly and chased your lips as you tried to pull back. You were only able to escape the Unicorn's desperate kisses by stepping back, as he was unable to get up as easily as he was able to lie down.

There was a clear red decorating the cheeks of the lovely Unicorn even as you grinned triumphantly and placed the golden crown atop your own head. Little did you realize how much this would actually impact the Unicorn you tricked. A certain darkness seemed to take over the bright blue eyes of the monster man as he gained an almost drunken smile.

"Prefect..." he breathed, "absolutely perfect. My wonderful King of Hearts... of course I'll marry you!"

"Wait, what-?"

The Unicorn stood now, almost invigorated as he easily caught your shoulders in his hands, pulling you back into another deep kiss. When he finally broke it, he was affectionately rubbing the side of his horn against your head with soft nickering noises.

"Didn't you know? Kissing and exchanging an article of clothing is akin to a proposal for Unicorns like me. You'll make a wonderful King, (Y/n). My marvelous King of Hearts."

~•§•~

The Nemean Lion was laying in the vast gardens of the greenhouse, resting beneath the large leaves of a fern commonly found in his homelands of Sunset Savana. He was somewhere between sleep and awareness when a certain scent on the air caught his interest. Without bothering to open his eyes, his ears angled around before pinpointing the location where the scent originated. Leona almost smiled.

It was clear to him that you were trying to be quiet and sneak up on the Lion that continued to lazily lounge as you drew close. The only true indication that he was awake and not sleeping was the almost imperceptible flick of his tail. He was almost eager for what you intended to do after your approach as he continued to flick his tail excitedly.

The moment you were within reach, the Lion proceeded to grab you and pull you into his arms. You had been under the impression that he was asleep, so when he grabbed you, you couldn't help but cry out in surprise and fear. Of course, Leona couldn't help but laugh at your response as he rolled to his side, laying next to you and propping himself up on one arm.

"You'll have to try harder than that if you want to sneak up on me, Mousey."

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you."

"No? Then why were you trying to be as quiet as possible?"

"Because, I was going to do something else."

"Like?"

Your sudden kiss to his forehead made a loud purr erupt from the chest of the Lion. It was almost too easy to get Leona to let his guard down as your fingers began carding through his mane, scratching near his golden ears. That also gave you the opening you were looking for as you easily slid the dorm emblem off of the arm of the Lion.

However, when you tried to pull away to abscond with your winnings, the weight of Lion was too much to be able to wiggle away from him and from under his grasp.

"Nice try, Mousey. Now, you're going to lay there and be a good little pillow as payment for interrupting my nap."

"But you weren't even sleeping-!"

He was quick to place himself on top of your soft figure, grabbing both of your hands- making you drop the emblem- and putting them back in his hair. There was little else you could do but pet the Lion who began to doze while snuggling your much more fragile form. If you wish to play with Lions, you must be ready to face the consequences of your actions.

~•§•~

"Ne, Azul! The Human is here and says they want ta talk to ya!"

The Cecaelia glanced up from the contract he was working on as Floyd lazily called into the office Azul often occupied. Though he often didn't allow visitors on any schedule but his own, he would make an exception for the beautiful Human he adored.

"Send them in."

"Kay~!"

At least Floyd seemed to be in an affable mood for once, smiling and lazily walking off with the door left somewhat ajar. Azul would scold the Eel later for the blatant forgetful behavior, as it was rather important to close the door to Azul's office due to the many contracts stored within the room. Still, it was something he could bring up later.

Floyd returned to open the door fully, letting the Human into the room with a happy grin in their direction. He seemed to want to linger but instead closed the door and went back to whatever it was he did when he was not tormenting others. Perhaps he was just moving on to torment someone else or even his twin bother.

"(Y/n), welcome to my humble office. What can I help you with today?"

"Well, I was told that you were the one to go to if I ever needed anything others were unable to retrieve."

"You're... you're here for a deal? I would happily make any deal with you, dear (Y/n)! Name your desires and I will deliver as promised!"

He was thrilled to know you were seeking his assistance. He was the best bet most had, after all. Most would have to pay a rather steep price to be able to afford the aid of the Cecaelia on any given day, but he had already resolved to aid you for a much more generous and kind-hearted price than his usual rate.

What he wasn't expecting was for you to sit down on the edge of his desk with an almost coy grin, gazing affectionately into the eyes of the Octopus who now seemed nervous under your scrutiny. He would never admit it- excepting to Floyd and Jade who had already become wise to his affections- but Azul was madly in love with the soft Human of Night Raven College. The Octopus had been in love with the idea of Humans ever since he was a larvae, hardly hatched and struggling in the currents of the ocean.

The many depraved things he had written in his adoration of Humans would hopefully remain unviewed by the Human that now sat perched atop his desk. Of course, it did nothing for the suddenly dry mouth Azul now experienced as he tried to keep himself as composed as possible. Were he in his aquatic form, no doubt his tentacles would be all over the soft skin of the Human, tasting and kissing the flesh that seemed so ample and on display for his gaze.

"Wh-what- ahem- what was it you needed from me, (Y/n)-?"

A sudden warm and soft kiss to the small heart shape beneath Azul's right eye had the Octopus tensing up. He was completely flabbergasted and unable to say anything in response to the affectionate action, even as his hat was lifted from his head and placed atop the head of the grinning Human. The octopus was only able to blink one eye at a time from how scattered his brain had become as the Human hopped off of his desk and pranced to the door, hat still securely in place.

"That's all I needed. Thanks, Azul!"

~•§•~

"Would you stop moving, (Y/n)? Honestly, you are acting as if you have never modeled for us before."

You frowned somewhat at the gentle scolding of the handsome Harpy that was trying to finish stitching the hemming of the shirt you were wearing. Naturally, the Harpy would not be content with just a few outfits for your ensemble and called you back to tailor more clothing for you. Divus wasn't present at this fitting, but Rook was happily watching the Harpy circle you as he hand-sewed the clothes.

"Well, sure, but I wasn't thinking I was going to have to stand for so long. It's not exactly comfortable."

"Beauty is pain, my featherless darling. Pin feathers are annoying and sometime even painful, but they give way to the most beautiful feathers imaginable if left to grow. Patience is needed to truly appreciate the beauty of something."

"If you say so."

Vil smiled slightly at this, glad that you were somewhat compliant to his gentle attempts at giving you direction. He would certainly be far less patient and gentle were you anyone other than his beloved Human. He doubted he would even be so patient with Rook. To be fair, though, Rook hardly complained about much, even if the Drider wasn't particularly comfortable or at ease.

"What do you think of this top now it is cinched properly, Rook?"

"Travail merveilleux, roi du Poison. I was unsure about the draping of the garment, but as always you have a keen eye for such things. Mon Trickster does look divine."

You vaguely wondered, as the Harpy wrapped up his stitching, if you would be able to escape from the fashion inclined duo, and what it would take to achieve such a feat. It was while you were contemplating your daring stunt that an opportunity presented itself. Vil was holding up a new top that had yet to be fitted and was trying to see what color would look best on you when you caught the Harpy's hand and attention. He was clearly suspicious of your actions as he raised a single brow in question.

"You know, Vil, I think pink would look good on you."

"Pink? It depends on the shade of pink, but it would mostly clash with my feathers-"

A sudden gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth silenced the Harpy, a bright pink dusting across the Harpy's fair skin and highlighting the bright coloration around his eyes. Those violet orbs were wide with surprise and even Rook was taken aback at the bold action, unable to find words as you hopped down from the raised platform you had been on.

"Seems I'm right! Pink looks great on you. Thanks for the top, Vil!"

You were quick to abscond from the room as the Harpy held his cheek, still blushing a bright pink. Rook was enthused that you gifted the beautiful Vil with such a treasured sign of affection, trailing a finger down the ridge of his boon-companion's wings as he walked around the stunned Harpy.

"Rook, how do you think (Y/n) would look dressed in a wedding gown made from your silk and my feathers?"

"Absolutely divine, like you, Roi du poison."

~•§•~

"Why can't we just virtual visit class, HellKitty?"

"Because, Idia, you need to interact with the other students at some point. Push your comfort zone and be a student, for once."

Idia frowned as he hid behind his tablet, trying to avoid all of the curious looks he got from others in the halls. He was trailing behind you- more than a little unwilling on his part- to what was supposed to be his next class. If he had the choice, the both of you would be back in your dorm and just watching class through one of the cameras as you played videogames together.

Honestly, he was more than a little amused that you had adapted to the gamer-tag he gave you like your own name. Of course, it was no mistake that he chose the gamer-tag HellKitty for you. It was both a play on your ever faithful companion Grim the Hellcat, and the fact that Hellcats were ideal companions for Shinigami. As a Shinigami, why wouldn't he want you to be his Hellcat? Sure, you weren't actually a Hellcat, but you were raising one and that was good enough for him.

"-Idia? Idia!"

"What?"

"Were you even listening to me?"

"... would you believe me if I said yes?"

You sighed and stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning to face the tall student head-on. Naturally, the moment you stopped, Idia was quick to crouch and curl in on himself, wanting to seem as small as possible despite his already gargantuan stature. Only his own ancestor and the Kelpie Trey were taller than him, though not by much. This gave you the ideal opportunity to put your plan in motion.

While Idia was distractedly staring at his tablet, you reached up and cupped his cheek. The physical contact had the Shinigami looking at you with wide and confused eyes, his hair beginning to burn almost white in anxiety. Out of all the things Idia was expecting when you placed your hand upon his cheek, he was immediately error-screened when you pressed a warm kiss against his blue lips.

Could this possibly be happening? To someone like him? Was it even true, or was it a trick? If it was a trick, he never wanted to know because all he could think was how wonderful your lips felt against his somewhat chapped lips.

As you pulled away, Idia was finally able to get somewhat of a grasp on his own frantic mind only to realize he no longer has his tablet in hand. A quick glance around told him that you had his tablet held securely in your hands, grinning at him playfully.

"Alright, UnderworldBlues, if you can get through class without freaking out, I'll give you the tablet back, and maybe even another kiss if you behave. Think you can do that?"

"..."

"Idia?"

"..."

"Did you seriously just faint-?"

You sat on the arm of the thorn throne of Diasomnia, the common room occupied only by yourself, Lilia, and Malleus. Silver and Sebek had classes, so they were not present despite the unusual temper Malleus had as of late. Lilia suggested the two of you should spend some of your down time with Malleus to try and lift his dour emotions from where they seemed to be stuck for the past few days. As Lilia was a trusted friend of yours and Malleus was a strong ally, you figured there was no harm in spending time with the two Fae monsters.

Malleus had calmed considerably with you and Lilia by his side, holding his dark torch-like staff in his gloved claws. He now almost seemed to be dozing somewhat, even as you glanced at the staff resting against his leg. Somewhere, you wondered how easy it would be to distract the Dragon and escape with the clearly important item, if only to break up the monotony of the moment.

Idle hands were the devil's playthings and you were certainly more than a little bored perched next to the Dragon.

"Did you need something, my (Y/n)?"

"Hm?"

"You keep glancing in my direction as if you need to say something or would like some kind of assistance from me."

"Not really. I was just wondering why you have that staff? I thought you didn't have a magestone weapon since you're a Dragon?"

"It is true, I have very little use for a magestone myself, so you have likely never seen it before. This staff is my magestone, you are correct. You are also correct in assuming I have little use for weapons. My fire and my claws are my weapons, most times."

"So, it wouldn't be a big deal if someone took it away, like it was for Leona?"

"Of course not. Strong and versed in magic as Kingscholar may be, he still does not have the same adeptness in-"

The green eyes of the Dragon widened in surprise as you leaned over, catching his lips in a tender kiss that left him breathless. Despite all of his power and his abilities, he was rendered mute and dumb from the sudden show of affection. He didn't resist the pull of his staff from his hand even as you pulled back to grin triumphantly. In fact, he didn't seem to have much of a reaction other than a vaguely humored grin.

Though it was quite a small expression on the outside, Lilia could see how Malleus prepared to pounce from the tension in the Dragon's shoulders, wings, and tail. You were far too interested in the staff that now sat in your hands- examining the green gemstone affixed in the top- to realize that the Dragon was not about to let such a small show of affection satisfy his sudden cravings. A sudden tug at the front of your shirt had you locking lips with the Dragon yet again, being pulled into the lap of the beast who seemed all too eager to take what had been offered.

"T-Tsuno-!"

"Hush now, my dear mate. You should know better than to tease a Dragon. Didn't you know that even one little kiss is considered enough invitation to mate?"

"But I-"

"You," he interrupted, "will not be going anywhere for the next few days. I intend to christen this- our first day as official mates- with many sleepless nights spent entangled in the embrace of passion. Prepare yourself, my soft little Human mate, because you may regret teasing me so callously."

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gaylordscooter · 9 months ago

Text

One Year of This So-Called Hell

It's been awhile since they've started living at the castle. They've grown used to it. They wouldn't call it their home or call each other their housemates, but they certainly thought of it like that.

However, despite how long they’ve been here, they still have yet to get acquainted with Nightmare. They were all casual with each other except with him. For obvious reasons, including but not limited to the fact he kidnapped them all and puts them through grueling situations from time to time.

Though, that latter reason has diminished over time. They didn't know if he was running out of ideas or what, because recently these situations have become akin to game nights. Quite literally they would play some board game or card game. It was kinda fun. None of them were going to complain though, even if they found it odd.

But today something especially odd happened. Not only was there a breakfast setup for them when they arrived at the kitchen this morning, Nightmare himself was at the table.

At first none of them said anything to him. Then Killer decided he couldn't stand the silence and said a good morning that was directed at everyone.

“Good morning, Killer,” Nightmare responded in a formal tone. He took a bite out of his pancakes. The three were watching him in disbelief as he chewed and swallowed. He looked up, taking note that none of them were making a move to sit down. “I hope the food isn't that bad. It took me a few tries to make something decent.”

“you cooked this?” Horror asked in surprise. He shot a skeptical look at the food. He's never messed with their food before, but he wouldn't be surprised if he started now.

“I made an effort to. There are no eggs as I couldn't extract the edible part without getting the casing mixed up in it.” He continued to eat, trying to show the food wasn't tampered with.

Killer shrugged and pulled out a chair to sit down a few chairs away from Nightmare. He grabbed a plate and a few pancakes. He quickly inspected the food before dousing it in an ungodly amount of syrup and began to eat.

Nightmare couldn't help but stare at Killer's soul as they ate, as weird as that was. He was transfixed by the shape. It was different, much more reminiscent of a proper monster soul rather than the usual target.

“hey, bud, my eyes are up here,” Killer said.

Nightmare's eye snapped up as if he was a child that was caught holding a knife. He noticed that Killer’s eye sockets, which were usually empty, had ringed eyelights at the moment, but usually he’d only have them when he was experiencing intense emotions—often negative. He didn't sense any negativity from him at the moment.

“whatcha lookin’ at?” he questioned despite knowing the answer.

Nightmare felt the other two’s tension and wariness. “Your soul's different,” he noted.

Killer’s posture relaxed a little. “oh, yeah. it's been that way for a bit.” He glanced at the other two, silently pleading them to stop standing in place awkwardly and to actually join them at the table.

Fortunately, Horror read his mind and made a move to sit down, prompting Dust to as well.

“May I ask what it means for it to look that way?” Nightmare implored.

Killer seemed taken aback by the question. His smile went crooked, at least more than usual and he slouched as if to cover his soul with the table. “am i allowed to say ‘no’? you kinda already asked.”

“You need not answer,” he responded. He dropped the topic; the question made Killer uncomfortable and he would rather not drive him away.

Dust and Horror were finally beginning to eat. Nightmare was almost worried they’d never start.

“i’ll tell you if you answer two of my questions,” Killer eventually said, to his surprise.

Of course he’d turn this into a bargain. “Ask away.”

He noticed that piqued Dust and Horror's interest.

“what’s up with the breakfast? you've never done this before.” Killer said.

“I can be nice, once in a while.”

Killer scoffed, rolling his eyelights.

“And it's a special occasion. It's been a year since I first brought you all here,” he added. He debated doing something like this in the first place. His relationship with these three was unusual. He was their tormentor; their personalized hell. At the very same time, he was their provider, in a way. He’d bring them food, water and shelter, things normally a parental figure would do—even though he was everything but that.

Horror laughed dryly, “how nice, a breakfast to celebrate a whole year after you kidnapped us to treat us like your toys.”

However, as far as he knew, he was nothing but a demon and that was exactly how they saw him.

His brother was an angel, and he was a demon. That's just how things were.

“second question, why haven't you ever messed with our food?”

Horror’s expression soured as he glared at Killer like it was a warning.

“it'd be pretty effective torture, right?” He continued to eat despite the topic at hand.

“It’d be effective,” he agreed, “but only once. Afterwards, Horror would be too far gone to do anything with.”

Horror dropped the fork he was holding with a clatter. His smile was tense and nearly a straight line.

“you’d still have me and dust, though,” Killer said.

“you little shit—”

Killer turned his head to Horror revealing his serious expression to him to silently tell him, no, he's not giving him ideas. He's trying to get information.

“Killing or irreparably harming any of you would be a major inconvenience, that is why.”

Killer stood up and leaned towards Nightmare, putting his hands on the table. “you said we were easily replaceable,” he remarked.

“I said there were many like you, not that you were easily replaceable,” he corrected. He didn't like where this conversation was going. “I answered your questions, now answer mine.”

“fine,” Killer huffed, sitting back down and crossing his arms. “i don’t know,” he said.

“What?” Nightmare said in a low rumble. Was he tricked? He didn't take kindly to the notion that Killer was going back on their deal. His tentacles flicked irritably.

Horror, noticing the ends of them sharpening, decided to speak up, “he doesn't. at least, he doesn't know what causes it.”

His tentacles relaxed, no longer threatening to lash out at Killer. “Do you feel any different?”

Shouldn't he already know that?

“oh he sure feels different,” Horror said.

Killer shrunk in on himself, trying to look invisible. Embarrassment. Shame? Guilt.

Why was it suddenly harder to discern his emotions?

“I want to hear it from him.” His eye bore into Killer.

Killer groaned, bordering on a growl, “you’re telling me you haven't felt a difference? actually, i’m surprised you’ve kept me around before, considering i didn’t feel anything.”

Nightmare's eye widened.

He didn't feel anything before? That wasn't right. He could sense his emotions the whole time. That's how he found him in the first place. As far as he knew, he wasn't like Ink either. It was very clear he had a soul.

“You did feel before. That's how I found you,” he insisted.

Killer narrowed his sockets. Anger. “i was only acting, until recently. none of it was real.”

He could feel bitterness coming from Dust.

Killer frowned, risking a glance at Dust. “but it is now,” and it’s terrifying, “and it’s weird.”

“How long has it been like this?” He knew Killer was getting annoyed at all the questions but he couldn't just drop it now. He didn't care if he was getting annoyed.

Killer had the audacity to stand up.

“Sit back down,” he ordered.

“i don't need to answer you. i don't need to follow your orders. i'm not your pet,” he spat as he roughly pushed his chair in, making the table jolt.

“You aren’t,” he sighed as Killer stormed off. His eye darted to Dust and Horror. They hardly ate anything.

“it’s been fluctuating ever since we got here,” Horror said once Killer left. “but recently it's been staying that shape.”

Nightmare was surprised at Horror’s willingness to share that information. “I’ve been sensing fear from him recently.” It didn't take a genius to find out that it was connected. “But there's also been positive emotions—coming from all of you, actually.”

Horror scoffed in a way that sounded like a laugh, “call that stockholm syndrome.”

He did not know what “stockholm syndrome” was, but from his knowledge he knew that the word “syndrome” had negative connotations. Did he inflict a disease of some kind on them without knowing?

He stood up, picking up his plate with one of his tentacles that stretched over to the sink to place it down. “I will be taking my leave now. Thank you for humoring me.” His body melted into the shadows and he was gone.

Horror shook his head, “what a weirdo.” He put a few more pancakes on his plate and resumed eating.

Dust refrained from eating, merely picking bits from his pancake and dropping it back down on the plate.

“so…how are things between you and killer?” he dared to ask. It's been about a week since they had that fight. The two were avoiding each other. Well, Dust was obviously avoiding him. Killer just made no attempt to approach him—at least to his knowledge. This led to Killer spending more time with Horror, and honestly, he has no clue how Dust has tolerated this guy for so long.

Dust made a guttural noise that was basically a growl.

Though it was a clear show of his discontent, Horror couldn't stifle a chuckle.

That only exacerbated Dust’s sour mood. He stood up.

“hey, wait,” Horror said. “you hardly ate anything.”

“not hungry,” he signed.

Horror looked unconvinced. “that's bullshit and you know it.”

Dust sighed and picked up his plate.

“c’mon dude, don't go wallowing in your room.”

“don't play therapist,” Dust muttered.

“someone in this castle needs to stay level-headed. you didn't answer my question.”

“what do you think?”

“i think…that killer’s an asshole and you're right to be pissy, but you two should probably talk,” he suggested. He gave him a serious look, “he's driving me insane, dust.”

“it's all he’s good at,” he said bitterly.

“c’mon now, that's not true.”

Dust didn't even have to say anything.

“ehhh. we still care about him anyway,” Horror said.

Dust was mad that he couldn't refute that without lying.

Nightmare found Killer outside in the forest, he was nearby a make-shift shelter he made for the stray cats that lived here. It took him an embarrassingly long time to find him because he wasn't in the castle, but him being outside for once was a welcome change. Since he wasn't holed up in his room it meant Nightmare didn't have to worry about intruding on his private quarters.

Killer loudly groaned when he noticed Nightmare. He ignored him and continued to watch and pet the cats.

Nightmare remembered how terrified Killer was when he saw him hanging out with a bunch of cats. He thought he would harm them—he was so sure that he instigated a fight to protect them. Once that was resolved, he started going outside much more often just to see the cats. He was still tense whenever Nightmare was near them, however.

“Have you named them yet?” Nightmare asked.

“what’s it to ya? waiting for me to be more attached to them so you can rip them away from me when the time’s right?” Killer snapped. He didn't take his eye off the cats.

There were six of them, each of them having various colors and patterns. He was surprised Killer could take care of that many, considering he couldn't take care of himself.

Nightmare hummed thoughtfully, eye skimming over the group of cats. “I was merely curious, usually people name things they look after.”

Killer scoffed, “you named dust and horror.” The brown cat rubbed its head against his outstretched hand.

“Yes.”

“you don't ‘look after’ them.” He gently scratched the chin of the cat. It was purring.

“Depends on how you define ‘look after’. I definitely monitor them.”

“no shit,” he snarked.

“i also supply food, water and shelter.”

Killer frowned and stood up. The cats meowed in protest. He faced Nightmare. “what are you getting at?”

“You see me as needlessly cruel, as if I’m incapable of doing kind things,” he replied.

Killer laughed forcefully. It startled the cats, making them retreat to their shelter. “what? suddenly feeling like you deserve sympathy? i don't give a shit if you do kind things. that doesn't change the fact that you tortured us.”

Surely none of it was worse than their situations in their old universes.

“Right. Forgive me for digressing, but what, pray tell, is ‘stockholm syndrome’?”

It seemed like Killer found that question humorous. “you trying to do that to us? is that what your deal is?”

Frankly, Nightmare had no idea what Killer was talking about.

“you start being all nice and dandy to make us think ‘oh he's not all bad. i actually enjoy being here’.”

“You do,” Nightmare pointed out, “enjoy being here, I mean.” He could sense that clearly.

“fuck off. you don't know that for sure,” he said bitterly.

He couldn't deny the utter contempt Killer held for him.

He dipped his head. “I apologize.”

“you what?” Killer said incredulously.

Why was he apologizing? He was deceiving him. He had to be.

Nightmare didn't know what he was doing. He's hardly bothered to show remorse. There wasn't any reason to start now. Except, after seeing the companionship between the three, he couldn't help but feel jealous.

He wanted connection. It was pathetic to admit, but the only person he was close to was his brother. Was.

How cruel of the multiverse to allow him to yearn for something he wasn't allowed to have. He couldn't help but try to get what he wanted.

“For choosing you three to inflict pain upon, I apologize. You don't deserve it yet I do it anyway.”

“i don't deserve it?” Killer said. “hah! who the hell am i talking to right now? you really nightmare?” He strode closer to Nightmare and thrust a finger at him, poking him in the chest.

Nightmare was shocked by the sudden contact.

“y’know, you and me are pretty similar in some aspects. we don’t have the capacity to care and yet we're pretending we can anyway. you can't fool me. i know you're just trying to manipulate me with that apology.”

Nightmare took a minute to respond, scanning over Killer’s feelings and expression. Again, he was hard to read, like he was able to obscure it. He wasn't trying to manipulate him. He really wasn't. But he supposed he hasn't been upfront enough with him to believe that. “Do you recall when we encountered Fresh for the first time?”

Killer snarked, “what about it?”

“I could've left you, you said.”

“you didn't save us out of compassion, you just needed us for your stupid plans or whatever.”

“But you thought you were replaceable. Which one is it?” he countered.

“it's whatever's most beneficial to you,” he retorted. “you said it would’ve been a hassle.”

He did say that. Nightmare was stumped. He didn't even know where he was trying to go with this. It wasn't like he could make Killer’s hatred towards him disappear.

Maybe he could make Killer’s self hatred go away.

Why did he think that? Did he want that? That wouldn't benefit him.

Maybe he was sick of the feeling of hatred, like loneliness. Like being sick of having the same food over and over again.

He felt something down by his tentacles. He tried to hide his surprise but he hastily looked down to see one of the cats nudging against one of his tentacles. It was the brown one that cuddled Killer a moment ago. Nightmare froze.

“hey!” Killer barked and knelt down to shoo the cat away from Nightmare. “baked beans, i told you not to get near him,” he scolded the cat.

The cat meowed out a whine.

Killer frowned and stood back up as the cat walked away.

“‘Baked beans’?” Nightmare echoed. “Is that its name?”

“don’t hurt her.”

“You are awfully insistent that I’m going to hurt these cats. Has anyone told you about self fulfilling prophecies?”

Killer decided to take that as a threat and drew out his knife.

Nightmare made an attempt to seem less threatening, having all of his non-essential tentacles tucked away. “I’m not going to hurt them, Killer.”

“you're lying!” he shouted and pointed his knife at him. “i’ve seen it happen. you're going to do it, i know it! you're just trying to get my guard down.”

He’s seen it happen?

“Are you having nightmares, Killer?”

He didn't answer.

He couldn't reason with him now, he supposed. Nightmare decided the best course of action was to simply leave. He sunk into the ground.

Killer frantically scanned the area, taking a few minutes until he confirmed that Nightmare did indeed leave. He knelt down, curling in on himself as he sighed. The cats walked back over to him.

Nightmare reappeared in the kitchen, startling the two skeletons that were currently on the couch of the other half of the room.

Usually they wouldn't be startled at his appearance. At least, not anymore. He caught sight of the drinks in their hands, they seemed to be similar. He scrunched his eye in disgust. “What the hell is that?”

They were surprised at his language. Usually he didn't express surprise like that, or at all. Dust and Horror looked at each other as if neither had an answer.

Instead of verbally answering, Dust thrust the drink out. Was he offering it to him?

Nightmare got closer to inspect it. When he reached out to grab it, he saw the two’s sockets widen. He brought it up to his face, the goop covering his mouth melted away as he took a sip.

Oh god. That was awful.

He refrained from spitting it out and managed to brute-force his way into swallowing. A whole shiver rippled throughout his body, and it didn't help that it literally made the goo on his body ripple for a bit.

Horror and Dust remained painfully silent.

Nightmare calmly handed the glass back to Dust. “It's horrible,” he deadpanned.

“he was just trying to show you it, not…” Horror didn't even have to finish his sentence.

Oh great, he misunderstood. He didn't even have to drink that. It was painfully obvious he was embarrassed, even after he covered his mouth once more. “Why do you drink such awful concoctions?”

Dust shrugged, wiping the rim of the glass with his gloves before resuming the consumption of that horrific beverage.

Nightmare refrained from showing his disgust. He moved over to one of the chairs near the couch to sit down. All of his tentacles disappeared, revealing the rest of his cloak that covered most of his legs.

Dust spat his drink out while Horror gawked.

Nightmare flinched, “What?”

Dust gestured at the lower half of his body.

“you have legs!” Horror exclaimed.

“Of course I have legs!? I’m a skeleton like you two.”

“you’re a skeleton?”

Nightmare realized how little they knew about him. “What did you think I was?”

Horror scrunched his face, unsure how to answer. “not…a skeleton?? what's up with all the slime then?”

“I suppose you could call it melted parts of my own body fused with a surplus of magic. Would you care to see how I look without the ‘slime’?”

Horror was very confused at his willingness to be open about this. Which was fair. From their point of view, all of this was coming from nowhere.

Dust, however, immediately signed “yes.” It seemed like his curiosity trumped his confusion.

“Alright,” he said. He focused, shifting his energy into one concentrated point: his forehead. The usual glowing cyan crescent moon on his forehead grew into a full moon as the goop on his body disappeared, revealing white bones with a blue tint to them underneath.

The silence that came after was deafening. The way Horror and Dust looked at him felt different. It was like they saw him as a different person like this.

Sure he was less menacing in this form, but he didn't think he looked that different.

He did. He totally did. He was even smaller like this. He was probably shorter than the two if he were to stand.

“you look so young…” Horror said.

He didn't like the tone of his voice. Maybe this was a mistake.

He quickly changed back to his usual form. The dark goo flowed out from the moon like a waterfall until his whole body was coated in it once again. He immediately felt more comfortable. He decided he was never going to do that again. “As I said, I’m a skeleton like you two.”

“you’ve mentioned you had a brother, does that mean—”

“My brother is not a Papyrus, no. He looks just like me. I did not have a world like yours nor was I ever like you. In fact, I did not even have a world.”

Horror blinked at the onslaught of information. He just learned more about him than he ever has the entire year. “you're pretty chatty today.” About yourself, he meant.

“I suppose it's the torture for today.”

“torture for us or for you?”

At this point, what was the difference? Nightmare thought, but it went unsaid.

Once Dust finished his drink, he got up to put the glass in the sink. When he tried to go to the hallway, Nightmare opened a portal underneath him to get him back on the couch. He glared at Nightmare in protest.

“Dust, I know you and Killer are having some…complications right now,” he said, completely changing the subject. “Although it's provided plenty of energy for me, you two can't avoid each other forever.”

“but wouldn't that benefit you?” Horror questioned.

“I’m not going to risk Dust killing him out of anger.” That wasn't even an exaggeration considering their game of Monopoly the other day. He had to physically wrench them apart when Killer made him bankrupt. “Go make up with each other.” He summoned a portal underneath Dust, sending him to the forest where Killer was.

Dust managed to land on his feet, luckily. He didn't want to fall on his face right in front of Killer to give him something to laugh about.

Killer damn near screamed at his sudden appearance, but he played it off by coughing into his hand when he realized it was just him. Now all the cats around him were skittering about frantically. “miss me that much you had to drop by?”

Dust was completely unfazed by his pun, leaving Killer to awkwardly laugh at his own joke.

“‘m pretty proud of that one,” he mumbled as if to voice disappointment.

Of course he was proud, it was a miracle whenever he could think of a pun on the spot. It was something he was oddly insecure about, not being able to come up with jokes that well.

Dust supposed it was a reminder that he was hardly “Sans” anymore. It seemed like such a small thing until you thought about it. Dust knew he’d use humor to cope or to cheer people up. It was second nature, a skill polished throughout his life, even. To suddenly lose that ability…he wondered if Killer looks at his past self and sees a stranger.

“you just gonna stand there and stare at me like i stabbed your soul?”

While he wasn't skillful at punning, he sure was great at handcrafting every sentence he says to annoy him.

Killer’s cheerful facade dropped, “seriously, are you? i’m having a moment with the cats.”

Is that what he's been replaced with? Cats?

Even though Nightmare ordered him to make up with him, he really didn't feel like talking at the moment.

He wondered what Killer would do if he just continued to stand here in silence. Knowing Killer, he won’t be able to just ignore him.

Yet he turned around to face the cats. He knelt down to pick one up—the one with a pure brown coat—that one was his favorite. He named it something stupid but Dust couldn't remember it off the top of his head at the moment.

He just kinda held the cat for a little while, petting it in silence.

And then after a bit he stopped. The cat whined at this and hopped out of his arms.

He sighed. “i…i’m sorry, okay?” he finally said.

Pathetic, he couldn't even face him when he said it.

“i shouldn't have messed with you like that. i thought you were playing along. i forgot that…i refused to believe you really did care about me and it took you stabbing my soul to get me to realize.”

He had to pause as his breath shuddered, probably trying to keep himself composed. He still hasn't turned around or stood up for that matter.

“i don't know if i can care about you back. i care now, but,” his voice wavered, “you’ve seen how unstable my soul is. at any moment it’ll just snap back to the same old shape of a target and then boom, nothing! a pillow could care about you more than me.”

“i think all i’d do is hurt you,” Killer said. He turned his head to look at him, “you wouldn't want that, would y—woah,” only to see Dust right in front of him, crouched down to be at eye level.

Killer raised a brow bone, having zero clue where this was going.

Dust put a hand on his own chest and then gently brought out his soul.

Killer’s eyes blew wide open.

It was odd, seeing a normal monster soul for the first time in awhile. Well, it wasn't entirely normal. It was pale white, covered in cracks, and an unusual dim glow of red outlined the edges. He could guess where that came from and it wasn't LV.

Before he could ask what his deal was, Dust spoke, “get your knife.”

Oh, HELL no.

His own soul (metaphorically) jumped out of his body at the instruction. He immediately knew where this was going and he did not like it.

“no!” Killer objected. “the hell’s gotten into you? i’d kill you!”

Dust looked as calm as ever. “you're scared,” he noted.

“of course i…” Killer furrowed his brow bones. “you’re trying to prove a point aren't you?”

He saw Dust’s smile curl up. Bastard.

He held his soul out to him as if it wasn’t the culmination of his being. “hold it,” he said.

Killer stared at it, dumbfounded. “i’m not gonna—”

“forget the knife. hold it,” he repeated, apparently switching his approach to this.

Killer shakily held a hand out, allowing Dust to place his soul in it.

He dare not move, as if it was a motion sensor bomb. Nevertheless, he couldn't stop himself from trembling.

He shifted his gaze from the soul to Dust’s eyelights, unsure of which one to look at.

i could kill him. all i’d have to do is squeeze my hand shut. it’d be so easy. would it pop?

He didn't want that. God, he didn't want that at all.

“you're not going to kill me,” Dust stated like he was so sure of himself.

“i could.”

“do you want to?”

“god no.”

“and my soul’s still fine,” Dust remarked.

“what the fuck are we doing, dust?” Killer asked, looking at the soul in his hand in disbelief.

“i dunno, trust exercise?” he offered as an answer.

“pretty intense trust exercise,” he chuckled half-heartedly in an attempt to ease his tension.

“and stabbing your soul wasn't?”

“i wouldn't call a murder attempt a ‘trust exercise’.”

“you know i didn't want to kill you,” he reminded.

“right. you want your soul back now?”

Dust gave a nod.

Killer carefully handed his soul back to him. A moment later it was back in his rib cage.

He let out a sigh of relief, keeping his gaze on Dust to ensure that he hadn't become his namesake. “we chill?”

Dust smirked. “we chill.”

A portal to the kitchen opened near Killer and Dust immediately after.

They could see Nightmare and Horror sitting on the couch looking right at them. Nightmare was slowly clapping in a mocking manner.

“were you two watching the whole fucking time?!” Killer barked. He threw his hood over his head to cover his blushing face.

“Not the most conventional way I’ve seen two people make up,” Nightmare remarked. “It was certainly interesting to watch.”

“my life's not a goddamn sitcom, asshole!”

Nightmare guffawed. He was fucking with him and it was absolutely working.

Killer crossed his arms and pouted. He gave Dust a “can you believe this guy?” look.

Nightmare’s laughing ceased suddenly, “Hurry up and get inside. I have something to give you three.”

“oh, goody, is it a bomb?” Killer asked sarcastically. Despite his sass, he stepped through the portal alongside Dust.

“No, actually.”

A portal opened on the ceiling between Nightmare, Horror and them.

A shopping cart with a huge pile of clothes on it crashed down onto the floor.

It took Killer a second to realize those were the same clothes they left that time they went shopping, when they first encountered Fresh. He reached down to pick up one of the articles of clothing, they were still in fairly good shape. “how the fuck?”

“That is Killer’s gift, of course.” He looked at Dust. A wrapped present appeared in his hands. “As for you, I wasn't quite sure what would be appropriate for you.”

Dust cautiously took the present.

“how come he gets his gift all fancifully wrapped?” Killer complained. He was currently trying to get all the clothes back in the shopping cart. Alas, the pile he made the first time was a one-time feat.

“Because he's less annoying.”

Dust tore the wrapping paper and opened the box that was inside. He looked at the contents inside blankly.

“what is it?” Killer questioned.

Dust reached inside to take it out and show them.

Killer and Horror’s sockets widened as that familiar red-orange came into view.

It was Papyrus’s cape.

Nightmare was unsure what reaction this gift would get. He's seen other Sanses from Dusttale universes wearing it. It supposedly had sentimental value.

It seemed that Dust was also unsure how to react. There were conflicting emotions, Nightmare knew that much.

He carefully put the cape back in the box and signed a “thank you”.

“As for you, Horror,” He held out what appeared to be a rock at first.

Horror inspected it, realizing it was a phone—his phone. He was irked by the idea of Nightmare going to his home universe just to grab this. At least, he hoped he didn't do anything but grab this.

However, the phone might as well have been a rock. He doubted Nightmare knew the phone wouldn't even work. The thing hasn't been charged in years.

And then it caught him off guard by ringing. He flipped it open, seeing the words on the screen indicate that the call was coming from his brother.

He tried to stop his hopes from getting up. He reminded himself this could be a prank call and it wasn't his brother at all.

“Go on, answer it,” Nightmare urged.

This had to be a prank. Papyrus’s phone wouldn't be able to work there was no power—and even then he was in a completely different universe.

He answered the phone.

“SANS!” Papyrus’s voice immediately rang out. “FINALLY, I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ANSWER! YOU’RE ALIVE! OH MY GOD YOU’RE ACTUALLY ALIVE!” He sounded on the verge of tears.

“bro?”

“YES, SANS?”

“just checking that it's actually you and not a prerecorded message,” Horror managed to say. The smile on his face grew as it became genuine. He saw Dust and Killer watching him in his peripheral vision.

“I COULD SAY THE SAME THING. I WASN’T SURE THIS WOULD EVEN WORK!”

“how are you calling right now? was the core fixed?” he dared to ask.

“OH. UH, NO. ABOUT THAT…” Papyrus trailed off going quiet for a minute.

“what happened?” His grin faltered slightly.

“DO NOT FREAK OUT.”

“you're gonna make me freak out if you don't tell me what happened.”

“OUR WORLD WAS KINDA DESTROYED, BADLY.”

Horror’s eye socket went blank. “what?!” he shouted.

Papyrus was quick to clarify, “BUT I’M DOING FINE! ACTUALLY, WE RELOCATED TO A MUCH MORE HOSPITABLE PLACE! SURE OUR HOUSE AND THE ENTIRETY OF SNOWDIN IS COMPLETELY GONE FOREVER BUT THERE’S FOOD HERE AND MAGIC AND I CAN CALL YOU! SPEAKING OF WHICH—WHERE IN THE WORLD HAVE YOU BEEN!?”

Horror sighed in relief. He glanced at Nightmare, who looked eerily indifferent to all of this, before he answered his question. “i kinda got kidnapped by an otherworldly entity, sorry bro.”

“YOU AND YOUR WEIRD HOBBIES, WARN ME NEXT TIME. I THOUGHT YOU DIED. THE ENTIRETY OF SNOWDIN DESCENDED INTO ABSOLUTE CHAOS WITH YOU GONE—ALSO THE WORLD-DESTROYING THINGY PROBABLY PLAYED A ROLE IN THAT TOO.”

“aw geez, is everyone else okay?”

“YEA, EVEN UNDYNE.”

Horror’s expression soured at the mention of her. “well, that's great,” he said sarcastically. He vaguely heard someone else on the other side of the call. From what he heard it didn't sound like anyone he knew.

“OH, ALREADY?” Papyrus replied to the unidentified person. “I SEE,” he sounded disheartened. “BROTHER, I NEED TO END THE CALL NOW BEFORE IT TEARS A HOLE IN THE MULTIVERSE.”

“huh?”

“I’LL SEE YOU LATER, LOVE YOU!”

“love you too,” Horror managed to say before Papyrus hung up. The second the call ended he felt incredibly drained. He felt like he got a mental whiplash when he looked at the room he was in.

Killer seemed to tune out the last bit of their conversation as he managed to get all the clothes piled back on the shopping cart. It seemed like Dust helped him.

Nightmare was also looking at those two rather than at him. He wondered if he was eavesdropping on the phone call or not.

It's been an entire year since they've been here. He had no idea how much longer this would last. He didn't even know what would happen after.

“I will be out for the rest of the day,” Nightmare announced, opening a portal behind himself. “We are stocked up on supplies, correct?”

“you got it, chief,” Killer piped.

“Not my name…” Nightmare muttered before leaving.

Killer sighed the moment the portal closed, looking up at the pile of clothes. “i have no idea how i’m getting this to my room.”

“bet you can't get it to your room by the end of the day,” Horror said, still recovering from that call.

“hey. you're totally wrong.”

Horror shrugged, “time's ticking.”

Killer then decided that pushing the cart would be an effective way to get it to his room. To his credit, it wasn't until he was met with the obstacle that was the doorway to the hall that his plan became flawed. He turned his head to Horror. “so what are we betting exactly?”

#utmv fic #the bad sanses #nightmare sans #horror sans #killer sans #dust sans

331 notes · View notes

creativecupcake · 18 days ago

Text

Oh Goddess Beyond

Welcome to my new series. This is a yandere/self aware AU for Twisted Wonderland. Just wanted to give a heads up on the Yandere stuff since it is more of a slow reveal. All characters (minus Ortho) are 18+, and all students will be love interests. Debating if my Yuu will be a love interest or platonic, let me know what y’all think.

Chapter 1 - The Champion of Wonderland

Part 2

Yuuto didn’t know how to explain it, but Twisted Wonderland had felt oddly safe and comforting since he had arrived. He didn’t belong, his memory of home was oddly fuzzy, and he had faced monsters and overblots left and right since he arrived, but he’d always felt some kind of…presence that told him he would be ok. But there was also a deep longing, a sense that something, someone important from him was missing. He’d often play with the charm on his braid and feel a sense of comfort, just like he had when he asked his friends to call him Yuu instead of his full name.

He’d actually really enjoyed learning from all of his friends about their world and the different lands that they lived in. But there was one thing that seemed to tickle his brain, everyone had brushed over it as such a common thing. The Goddess. Not a goddess, not one of the goddesses, THE Goddess. Someone above even the Great Seven. He’d gotten hints about her as he’d explored the world. Riddle and Trey mentioning that one rule had been key because the Queen of Hearts got it word for word from the Goddess herself. Ruggie mumbling about how the Goddess wouldn’t stand for this when seeing a starving beastman in the market. Floyd had actually gotten rather violent when another student in the lounge said that the Goddess preferred their land to the cold damp oceans. He didn’t want to remember how pissed the Octotrio had been about that comment. After Jamil’s overblot, Kalim had mentioned how the Goddess had opened his eyes to the truth and he would do his best to understand Jamil. He heard Ortho wonder about how the Goddess would feel about him right before the overblot on the Isle of Woe. And after they had all been freed from Malleus’ magic, the defeated dragon had sobbed about how he had failed to see the Goddess’ love in his own family.

That led us to this moment. In the aftermath Yuu had finally asked someone to explain who this goddess was to him. Well, that sure opened a can of worms! All of his friends seemed to have forgotten, again, that Yuu wasn’t from Twisted Wonderland. They told him how the Goddess was taught to children before they even started school. She was such a part of their lives, that it felt like they didn’t even have to explain who she was. They agreed to meet in the library tomorrow to give Yuu the FULL story of her.

Yuu wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was surprised to see everyone gathered in one place. Some, like Leona and Ruggie, explained that they wanted to make sure that they were able to represent their country’s views on the Goddess. Turns out each region and kingdom had different views of the Goddess. And these portrayals were reinforced by her different interactions with each of the Great Seven, and a few other historical figures. He was able to get some consistent ideas though. She was kind, cared for the treatment and equality of her people, always strove for improvement, and did not discriminate in any form against her followers. The worship of her also varied pretty widely and it led to some rather heated arguments between the dorms.

Yuu finally asked why he hadn’t seen any pictures or statues of said goddess, only to be told that her image was so sacred that most did not try to depict her directly. Most art of her true depiction were in churches and other sacred places, but plenty of art was meant to depict how the people saw her. However, there was one picture of her true form that was mass produced, it showed her and her champion.

That word sent jolt down Yuu’s spine. Champion? They had never mentioned a Champion. Lilia was the one to say that the Champion came from an ancient prophecy. The Champion was the Goddess’ companion, who eased her great loneliness when she created the beginnings of Twisted Wonderland. She told the Great Seven that her Champion protected her from all, and that they would lead the Goddess back to their realm when it was deemed safe.

Malleus used magic to bring a book to the group as he took over the explanation. Centuries ago a great painter felt the presence of the Goddess and heard her whispers in his dreams. She called for him to paint a portrait of her and her champion, one that she would bless so that only they could see her true face. A painting to be spread around the world to help her champion be known to all. And with that he laid the open book on the table in front of Yuu.

Choked breathes seemed silent as the group began to argue again about who the Champion could be. Yuu felt himself disconnecting from the world around him. It all made sense, the safe presence that made him felt comforted and calm, the familiarity of this world, even when he knew he had never been here. He knew this face. He knew HER face.

“A-Amira,” he nearly sobbed, silencing the room. All eyes turned to the magicless prefect, many seething, no one spoke the Goddess’ given name! She was sacred!

“Child of man-�� Malleus started, trying to keep his tone from bristling, only to be cut off by a happily sobbing Yuu.

“That’s my friend Amira!” Yuu hiccuped, holding up the book to show the group. To all their surprise the painting seemed to change, like a fog lifting before them it shifted to reveal the face of two smiling children, one was the Goddess they had all known from birth, and the other… none other than the prefect who had befriended them over the year.

Many of the boys collapsed into chairs as they came to the realization that Yuu was the Champion. As they looked back at the time in Night Raven College certain things seemed to finally make sense.

“I’ve felt it before, the Goddess’ presence” Leona was the first to speak up, calculated eyes glancing around the room. “Since prefe-the Champion arrived I’ve felt the Goddess’ eyes on me. Encouraging words telling me to attend certain classes, cheering me on as I fly.”

“D-do you have dreams about fighting and practicing magic too?” Deuce cut in. “I… I’ve had dreams about us having duels against monsters, shadows, sometimes I even fought against you guys or with a clone of myself.” Murmurs of agreement went around the room, slowly coming to a realization.

“The twins and I have felt the same. The strong pull of the Goddess to lessons, encouraging us to…fly-” Azul and Jade made faces. “But Floyd mentioned feeling her and even hearing her during the Cooking Crucible.” Floyd’s face seemed to smug, looking at his brother and friend like they had to finally believe him.

“A-after the whole deal with the Isle of Woe,” Idia started off, refusing to look at anyone. “I dreamt of fighting with Ortho and Prefect, uh, Champion to defeat my Overblot. I heard her voice telling me how things. Like that I could beat the darkness. That I didn’t need to hold back, and let all the hurt weigh me done…talk about charisma 100, put all my power into that boss fight.”

Each of them added small stories, fighting the overblots, struggling in classes; dream battles. As they seemed to come to terms with the situation, they turned back to Yuu, who was staring at the book in his hands with longing. The missing piece, he had found it, but where was she?

“The Sorcerer of the Sand said that the Goddess gifted the Champion her icon,” Jamil mentioned, scanning Yuu for anything that could stand out. “That it linked them together even between worlds.”

Yuu was starting to feel his heart ache, anxiety slowly clawing at his chest and up his throat. He didn’t remember! He knew her face! He knew her name! He KNEW her! But he couldn’t remember. Why couldn’t he remember anything? Desperately, he began to fidget with the charm on his braid, feeling it the questioning eyes burn into his skin. As he opened his mouth, thinking of what he could say, he felt warmth slowly blanket his body. A gentle glow encompassed the charm between his fingers, dim pink light taking over the room. All the boys felt their anxious and negative thoughts wash away. They felt a calmness they only felt in the Goddess’ sacred places. It was safe, it was soothing, it felt like they were held in a friendly embrace.

As the glow faded, they had no doubts. Yuu was the Champion, and he led the Goddess’ presence around the world. The prophecy was real, so how would their goddess return? Why was she not here?

”We should bring this to Queen Maleficia,” Silver began, thinking of the next steps.

“And why should we do that?” Vil took over, standing up as Rook followed him. “It’s obvious Our Lady of Beauty sent her Champion to Night Raven for a reason.”

“As much as I dislike agreeing with the beauty queen, he’s right.” Leona stood, Ruggie smirking as he followed, and Jack standing between the two dorms. “The Goddess sent her Champion here, with no memory for a reason. He’s able to interact with students of all lands and backgrounds. We all know the prophecy states that HE will lead her back to us.”

“Child of- no, Champion, where do you stand?” Malleus asked, bringing Yuu out of a dazed state.

“I…I want to bring her to Twisted Wonderland.” He started, thinking about all the times he had sensed her warmth. “She would love this place,” he smiled, staring back at her painted smile.

“Then let us bring our Goddess home.”

They had discussed a plan for hours, long into the night and missing curfew. This drew the attention of the staff, as most of the Housewardens and Vice Housewardens were quite responsible. Breaking the news to their teachers and headmage felt surreal. Many had faked being the Champion over time, they brought up doubts and questions, only to be shown the revealed painting and the now enchanted charm in Yuu’s braid.

“To think I would live to see this day,” Trein shakily breathed, as he and Lucius collapsed into a chair.

“The Goddess’ eyes have been upon us this entire time,” Crewel nearly retched, thinking of all the things she could have seen.

“Does that mean we’ve been housing the Goddess’ Champion and her eyes in Ramshackle?” Vargas brought up, all eyes snapping to the flustered headmage.

“The Goddess… in Ramshackle, oh what have I done,” the bird began the rant like a madman.

“So, what do we do now? How do we prepare for her perfection?” Crewel asked, turning to his students.

“Yuu is her Champion, so we think he is the key to it,” Ace began, slinging his arm around Yuu’s neck.

“We have estimated that the magic mirror he has mentioned in his dorm is a 99.9998% match for the way to get back to the Goddess’ rest realm.” Ortho cut in, bringing up a hologram of all of their plans and observations. “But we need to do some research on the areas that we are lacking knowledge. Even with OP characters like Malleus Draconia and Leona Kingscholar we can not risk breaking the gateway back to the Goddess without proper preparations.”

“Not to mention that gives us time to prepare not only NRC and Ramshackle for her everlasting beauty,” Rook interjected, looking at Vil and Crewel. “But we can perfect a room dedicated to her rest and gift her a full wardrobe.” Oh how the fashionistas began to dream of designing the literal goddess of beauty and perfection their own creations.

“And since Yuu seems to be regaining his memories we think it best to give him some time,” Jade smiled, wider than anyone had ever seen. “That allows us to get the best for our Goddess and learn what we can from Yuu’s memories.”

Trein stood up, his hands on the table as he drew the room’s attention to himself. “If you are all right and the Champion has been sent to Night Raven for a specific reason then we must prepare. If her light has gifted us the chance to be the ones to greet her then we must take all our precautions to make sure that we meet her desires.” He met eyes with all in the room, an aura of determination swelling within them. “For tonight we keep this between us, she has given us this gift so we must keep it close to the chest. I will work with Mr Ashengrotto to work on a contract to get the assistance of the other students as this will be an arduous task and we will need all hands. The ghosts on the other hand-”

“Well now me and my friends from the other side have taken care of the end.” Sam’s voice cut through, entering the library with Grim at his side.

“Hench-human! I thought you were gonna be talking boring history and things. If I’d known you were going to get a cool title and talk about Momma Goddess I woulda schooled y’all.” Grim cheered, hopping on Yuu’s head.

With that, the group agreed to spilt up for the night and meet up tomorrow to delve into the plan and see what would need to come next.

Well there’s my intro chapter for this story. I would like to thank @kiame-sama and @writingforatwistedworld for inspiration on this story. I’m currently working on a sketch for my Yuu (Yuuto) and you’ll be seeing Amira (the Goddess) and the boys’ plan in the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions about the AU or the characters feel free to ask.

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battlemaiden13 · 3 months ago

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I have two new story ideas. You’d think I’d try to finish one of the ones I already have or hey start one of the many ideas I’ve already shared (like house of yandere) but no… just more story ideas… anyway here they are (the second one is definitely more thought out):

Story 1)

Victorian Au, Yandere Skeletons/ Reader (or Oc I don’t care)

Each of the skeletons are different ranks of the nobility system in the middle of a war of territory between the 8 (?) of them but it’s a cold war. Only occasionally do battles actually break out.

You, a poor beggar, who dresses like a small boy to avoid unwanted attention, stole from the wrong rich looking duke and ended up in the middle of all this chaos.

You get kidnapped, hunted, enslaved, escape and have to see multiple horrors as each of the twisted skeletons in this cold war. They each discover that you have a special magical talent that would help them win the war so they are all after you.

Along the way they slowly start to care for the small boy they think you are then bam, gender reveal and they are all fucked!

It would be a darker story. Lots of gore and horror and unhealthy relationships but sometimes you just want a story where the male love interest would burn the world for you.

Story 2)

Actor Au, Underswap Papyrus/Reader (or Oc)

The different monsters are idols and actors on screen, playing out the events of undertale and the different au’s as if they were a connected multiseries as well as branching out into different genres.

Orange was your favorite actor. Always type cast in different romantic shows and movies as the lead or second male love interest. The characters he portrayed were always similar. The aloof kind hearted monster who seemed lazy but would always go to the end of the world for the one he loved. You found the whole thing romantic and Orange’s screen characters were always your type! He seemed to be the exact same way in real life judging by the interviews so you were ecstatic when you were hired as his producer which came completely out of left field because you were new to the field.

It didn’t take long to figure out why Orange had to hire a new producer instead of someone well known. He had burnt through all the well known ones because in real life and in person Orange was a total dick!

He was lazy and apathetic and mean! Everything he did seemed to be done in an attempt to annoy you! But like hell you were going to quit. This is what you wanted, no matter what hell he was going to but you through you were going to show him you could do this!

The fun thing about this story is that after Orange’s love story is told you could do the other skeletons. Edge and the director, Sans and his ghost writer, Blue and his choreographer, Red and the stunt double, Money and his co-star, Mutt and the reporter! There is so many options ahhhh!

#undertale #undertale fic ideas #ideas #brain rot #ahhh #underswap #yandere #yandere skeletons #actor au #underswap papyrus

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rosinkreutz · 4 months ago

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PLEEAAASEEEE elaborate on ur thoughts abt RK and R# that’s so fascinating. if u feel up to it ofc

This made me go back and look at Asuka's arcade mode transcript, which made me notice something interesting with the writing but I'll get back to it later. Also, for the record, R# is in fact the only clone. All the people RK fights in the arcade mode are a simulations created by R#, including the final boss. So, in typical Asuka fashion, RK does not tell R# why he made him, and R# naturally wonders the meaning for his existence. He comes up with a few ideas. RK says it's because he wanted to see if he could make a perfect lifeform after seeing ABA and the Valentine sisters (what about Jackie...?). R# figures it's because RK was lonely after not seeing another living person for months. Both of these aren't wrong, but they don't get to the bottom of it. This leads R# to the following: His hypotheses. R# never says directly what they are, but does they involve the facts that R# likes himself and RK does not. These are both the true reasons for R#'s existence. RK wants to commit suicide, but feels like he can't because he has a duty to the world. So, he makes R#, a "better" version of himself to be his replacement. On the first point, if you're looking for any proof, see the following: 1.) Most obviously, this line from R#: "But at least tell me you'll keep walking. Even if you lose your way. As long as one person out there cares about you… It's worth it just to try to keep them happy." 2.) RK literally has to fight for his life against himself at the end of the arcade mode. 3.) R# is wearing the color scheme that has been synonymous with RK throughout the entirety of Guilty Gear, because RK intends for R# to be the "new" Asuka. But the point of Asuka's arcade mode isn't just R# trying to save RK, it's R# trying to show RK that he can't just rip out the parts of himself that he doesn't like. It harkons back to one of GG's big themes of self-actualization and one's sense of self. RK deliberately makes R# to be chatty, friendly, and to like himself, but goes on to be continuously surprised throughout the arcade mode that R# acts like a different person and not just "me but better". Because RK doesn't want to face himself, he doesn't want to self-reflect and comes to terms with who he is, he just wants to tear it apart and be done with everything. The point R# is trying to make is that there is no "me but better". It's just him. If he's going to keep living, RK needs to accept all parts of himself, no matter how horrible he thinks they are. Which isn't to say that RK can't change, it just means he can't deny that parts of himself exist. After all, RK has spent pretty much 90% of his entire 200 or so years of life playing the role of a monster. He says in story mode that he's pretty much never done anything for himself. There's things that he likes and dislikes, but beyond that, he has no idea who he actually is. (In regards to the interesting thing I noticed- It's R# that uses the words "ethically bankrupt monster". RK just says "pathetic ineffectual nerd" to describe himself. Which feels like it should be the opposite in terms of severity. It might just go back to RK's rejection of himself, but it's not like RK isn't acutely aware of the first thing, and he obviously knows very well that it's the reason he wants to die and not the nerd thing. My theory is that he just thinks that he still has the mindset of the ends justifying the means, no matter the cost. He still feels like he needs to take care of the world, but just doesn't see a way that can always be done with a moral lens. Hence R# not having morals. Yeah he's doing it from a distance now with his radio show, but if a large Universal Will-level threat were to show up again, I highly doubt he'd just sit there. So, he wanted R# to have an easier time making the necessary decisions and not being tormented with them later.)

#guilty gear #guilty gear strive #asuka r kreutz #suicide cw #rosinkreutz #asuka r

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lol-jackles · 1 year ago

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hey! so, I want your opinion on soulless!sam, because I think jared did a great job playing this other version of sam

Soulless!Sam was a great character. I loved that in the beginning of season 6, he wasn't just acting as a SoullessSam, he was acting as SoullessSam faking being the real Sam for Dean, and there were many times where he almost but not quite convincing pull it off. Speaking as someone with a theater background, I was impressed with how Jared pulled it off as I wouldn't know how to approach that role. Often actors play the fake character fully as if they are the real character until the ta!da reveal.

First, what is a soul? In the SPN-verse, the soul is the person’s self. We’ve seen the souls of Dean, Sam, and Bobby in Heaven and Hell and they appear to be no different from themselves on Earth. What makes up the self is the conscious, subconscious, and emotion, which I like to call the trinity.

When we see soulless people on the show, they give into their worse impulses because there were no trinity to hold them in check. Some feel free once unshackled of their soul, some shackle themselves to prevent hurting others, some make the cold calculation for the "greater good", and others rely on people they admire for guidance. When Sam, Donatello, and Jack lost their souls, they cycle through those four reactions.

SoullessSam felt he became a better hunter when unshackled by a soul, but he also let Dean get turned into a vampire and killed Robin to take way the monster's leverage. Skill and rationality does not necessarily make for a great hunter. It has to be a balance between knowledge and the heart in order to make the best possible decision under the circumstances. Sam is all about the heart and always listening because he wants to help. SoullessSam has no heart and only listens to figure out how to mathematically come to the best scenario, though without taking in the value of an individual life.

SoullessSam's worst impulse was to tell the truth without softening the blow because he no longer feels the love (or guilt or shame) towards Dean or others. But without emotion, Soulless Sam can't make decisions for himself because all arguments are equal; emotions are the tie breakers. Dean recognizes this when he saw how blindly SoullessSam followed their grandfather's order. Then Sam left their grandfather to follow Dean even when he knew that Dean's endgoal for him was not in his best interest.

I was sympathetic for SoullessSam because he lived and experienced life, he's a fully sentient being and none of us could really blame him for trying to protect himself from being resouled, as he knew it would mean his death. In the end, Soulless Sam wasn’t evil, he just didn’t care.

Though SoullessSam said he did not love Dean, he still fell right back to the codependency pattern due to a lifetime of being brothers. It was basic Sam actually guiding Soulless Sam, not Dean. Sam has always taken responsibility for his actions (as those of others). Soulless Sam had access to all of Sam's memories, including his "it doesn't matter what you are, it only matters what you do" creed. It would have made sense for SoullessSam to adopt the creed that seems to be the heart of Sam's motivation and used it as his guide. And it can be reasonably argued that Soulless Sam is proof of Sam's inherently goodness. With Sam's memories and skills, SoullessSam could have done whatever he wanted and leave a trail of destructions. Instead he returned to the family business of hunting things and saving lives, despite the flawed execution of it.

#Soulless Sam #Supernatural #Sam Winchester

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mariaace · 9 months ago

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Can you write dating headcanons for Bachira,plsssss bestieee🥺🥺😗😗😗

A/n:that little monster, he's so cute I can't-

Warnings:none Genre:fluff Type: headcanons

Anime:blue lock Pairing:Bachira

Mhhhh >< finally writing for a bllk boy again

Bachira is outgoing and loves to maks friend so for you to get close wouldn't be much of a surprise.

He realised his feelings fats enough and probably went to ask his mother about it, then confessed to you right away.

If you are crazy like him- then save the people around you, because you'll be crashing amd slaying. If you aren't you'll be the one to like yk calm him down

Showings off his football skills is a love language (i create new love languages every time i write). Like not in a bad way, just in a way that you can actually seem interested and impressed by what he is doing

Telling you about the monster in his head. Like so casual like it's nothing, but you would listen to him, wouldn't you?

Introduces you to his mother and Isagi right away, because he wants people to know you are dating and especially the more important people in his life like them

When you go to his matches he knows that he is already winning. He saw you in the crowds? Yup, the match is gonna go good, you are his lucky charm after all

Trying new things with him every day. To see if one you like you, why, why not? Every time after you two went out to try something new you go to one of eachother's house and start discussing it

Tying his hair in different hairstyles is sooo fin for him. Like you get to be closed to him, listening or talking and playing with his hair? Singh him up right away.

PDA? Absolutely. Clinging onto you, jumping, hugging you, kissing you all over your face. There are no boundaries if you are in public or not, he isn't embarrassed to show affection in public

Sharing food is a daily thing. You probably have some shared foods you like and sharing them is way more fun for Bachira than buying two for both of you. The pocky you bought while you were waiting him to finish practice? Now you are doing the pocky game. The shake he ordered while you were out and wanted to try? Now it has two straws.

Teaches you football if you are okay with it. Doesn't matter if you are good, bad or in between. If you are good at it you two will have little games one on one. If you are in between he'll teach you all the things he knows and if you are bad? Well that will be just so much fun for him amd you, you have no idea.

Putting make up on him, because he asked. Doing all the couple trends you saw on tik tok, because it's fun. Going around his house and looking at his mother's paintings. You will never feel bored with him, trust me.

Reblogs are highly appreciated!

@dazailoveschuuya

#mariaace 🪼#x reader #blue lock #blue lock fluff #blue lock x reader #blue lock x you #blue lock headcanons #blue lock bachira #bllk fluff #bllk x you #bllk x reader #bllk bachira #bllk #bachira x reader #bachira meguru #bachira headcanons #bachira fluff

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vickyvicarious · 26 days ago

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To anyone who is interested, here is my thoughts on Nosferatu (2024). In briefest sum: it's not my thing. I didn't really like it by large.

To be a little longer, but still remain mostly spoiler-free: There are several elements running throughout the movie. There's stuff taken directly from the original Nosferatu, there's stuff added in from Dracula, and there's also some elements that appear to me to be informed by other adaptations or reputation, as well as more modern tastes in the way horror movies operate. It is definitely still a horror, and for people who like this style of horror, I think a lot of them would enjoy it. Personally, I'm not super into gore or sexual horror scenes. There are definitely several of both. In general I like more subtle psychological horror, and in a lot of ways I think this movie is pretty in-your-face about what it does. That is a personal preference for me, though, and definitely not universal.

Also, while I find the combination of elements interesting, in several places I personally feel like it weakens characterization or at least my interest in the characters. That said, some character things that fans of Dracula like would probably include: Orlock is definitely still evil/hated by all. Thomas and Ellen (the Harker figures) are in love, and both protagonists we're meant to root for. There are also a lot of added scenes that call back to various events in the book. On the other hand, there is some degree of Ellen/Orlock that is likely a major turnoff for a lot of people, and also Friedrich (the Arthur figure) is definitely not our Art. Also, many of the callback scenes involve similar events, but almost inevitably twisted in some way, either to fit the changed place in the plot, the different characters, or to feed in to horror scenes that are more gory/sexual than you'd see in either original book or movie.

Finally, more specific spoilers under the cut:

Sorry in advance but this is more of a ramble than any specific progression throughout the plot.

I think that the story wanted to have its cake and eat it too a little bit in regards to the original book, the original film, and to pop-culture derived interpretations of Dracula themes and characters. I also think there was a degree of playing in to more typical modern horror expectations. Some of my thoughts on this are pretty suppositional because I don't actually like watching horror movies much and also haven't seen any film adaptations of Dracula (aside from the original Nosferatu and now this one). So feel free to disregard me if I'm wrong on any of those points. But I feel like there are several scenes that either alter events or add in gratuitous nudity or violence just because that's expected.

Like, for example, when Thomas arrives in the town near the castle. There's a whole odd scene where a bunch of people are dancing around and then kind of mocking him before he gets into the inn. Once there, we have a scene more like in the original movie (OM from here on out) where there's horrified reaction to him saying he's going to the castle, and also similar to the original book (OB) where he is given a crucifix. Then we have a scene that seems like a "queer dreams" reference (but when he wakes his shoes are muddy showing it really happened) where he follows a bunch of locals leading a naked virgin on a horse to a grace where they then stake a vampire. I think this is the same group who were outside the inn mocking him, though I'm not totally sure.

The staking scene irked me more in hindsight because it seemed to be suggesting a possible alternate ending, with the virgin potentially 'distracting' the monster's attention while its body was staked. I kind of wondered near the end if this was going to happen to some extent with Ellen taking out the shadow and Orlock's spirit while the men staked his physical body. Now, that too would be off from both originals and was entirely my own theory so it not being fulfilled isn't really a knock on the movie, but... While I guess we can see the connection here, the actual way the whole "pure woman offers herself to the vampire to kill it" plays out later has nothing really to do with this scene. So it still feels kind of like there was no point having her there, since all she did was ride naked on a horse, and so it felt more contrived to show a boob than really relevant to me. The people also are weird because of this. Are they in Orlock's employ and scornful of Thomas? Are they opposed to vampires and want to protect him? There's a weird mix, only increased when everyone is gone when he awakes (including the innkeepers) and have stolen his horse. I didn't feel like their behavior made sense.

OrlocI did like several of the trippy bits about Thomas' journey to the castle (though the empty carriage reminded me more of Curse of Strahd, haha), and some of the parts of him being there. The scenes where he is eating with Orlock and where he's being pressured into signing a contract he can't read are pretty good moments of him having to try and keep calm and polite while freaking out hugely internally, though it's all much more condensed and quick to become blatant attacks on him than the OB. But that itself is more similar to the OM. The scene when Orlock makes him say "my lord" instead of "sir" is pretty funny. I also quite liked the way Orlock turned his excuse to leave ("I've been having horrible dreams since getting here, I think I'm ill") against him into a reason he must stay ("It's not good to travel when you're sick, you must stay here until you get better"). From the book, we get scenes like Thomas asking about local traditions and being shut down, running frantically about after learning he's trapped, being threatened by wolves, and escaping out the window. But the way it happens is typically very different, with Orlock just having some wolves in his crypt apparently. Thomas going in there and opening up the coffin to see him isn't really led up to in any way, other than him running around searching for an exit. We do get an attempted shoveling, except it's not a shovel but a pickaxe, there's no apparent reason for it to be sitting there, and Orlock (who apparently sleeps totally naked) physically repels the blow and then chases after him/shadows him and then drinks him while also humping him. He wakes up in his bed afterwards, and escapes out the window while fleeing wolves that have been sent to attack him after Orlock (presumably) leaves. Then he falls into the river.

I think in general his character is closest to the equivalent OB character. He loves his wife intensely, and is determined to return to her and to protect her/kill the vampire who harmed her. There are still some really unfortunate moments where he tells her to ignore her creepy dreams and basically be normal (as well as disregarding her warnings not to leave, though that at least I seem to remember happening in the OM), and he's the one to say of course she'll be left behind when hunting vampires. But he never seems to think about leaving her, and definitely loves her a lot throughout. I also like him getting a limp after his escape from the castle, showing some lingering physical effect. Though he also apparently has bite marks since he shows them to people later on.

Von Franz is shown to be more lost in his 'crazy' theories than Van Helsing. He also is too willing to sacrifice others, and kind of has a crazy monologue while setting a bunch of stuff on fire which feels super out of character. But he plays a smaller part and I liked both him not being shown as a super vampire hunter (the one scene when Friedrich asks him how to kill the demon he's talking about and he's just like "I dunno, I've never actually seen one of these before" was funny) and him having respect for Ellen. He insists she not be tied up and empathizes with her psychic nature being preyed upon, being clear that the results are not her fault. Dr. Siever plays a really small role, and Knock (the Hawkins/Renfield medley) is just as comically evil as he is in the OM. He does get naked in a pentagram and gnaw on animals/people onscreen, but doesn't have a huge role. I had fun laughing at Orlock carrying his own coffin in the original but sadly no luck in that regard thanks to Knock escaping to help him.

Friedrich irks me the most because he's got a larger role and it's so different from Arthur. While Emma (Lucy) doesn't do too much, she's at least still a good friend to Ellen. He clearly doesn't like her from the start and just kind of puts up with her weirdness because of other people. He's a loving husband and father and that's where the most sympathy for him comes in, but also skeptic who hates the influence on his life that Ellen brings and has a hard time believing Von Franz about supernatural causes. While Siever apparently suggested it in the first place, he still is the one who approves tying Ellen up, and he's a jerk to her about her not being normal and not doing what he tells her. Not to mention kicking the Hutters out in the middle of a plague! As well as trying to flee when his wife is already suffering from the plague. He does traumatically lose his whole family, and he gets the shadow keeping him asleep while his children were killed, which originally happened to Jonathan while Mina was attacked. The scene of the nosferatu carelessly dropping a dead child reminded me of vampire!Lucy tossing aside a child in the graveyard. And in fact, having Emma be the only one awake rushing about to try and save her family and having to face the vampire alone is sort of similar to the night of Lucy's memorandum if you squint. I absolutely hated Friedrich's ending - he's visibly caught the plague and wanders off to the graveyard where he then has sex with his dead (not undead, just dead) wife and then dies doing so? Euch. If they just left out the necrophilia then it would feel much more coherent to his character, just kind of selfish and very intentionally 'normal' but still deeply loving his family and losing it after their loss. But that just seemed kind of thrown in there to add to the erotic horror to me, and since I don't like it, well. I didn't like it.

Ellen, now... it's hard to talk about her character in this without also talking about Orlock. But let me start with just her and then get to that after. They lean way in on the psychic Ellen from the OM, which I initially quite liked. She also seems to deeply love Thomas, though there are some later scenes that add a weird dynamic there. One being she only became 'normal' when she met him, and so he seems kind of like an escape from her psychic dreads. I initially really liked her connection to him when he was on his trip. She gave him a token of her hair in a locket, which she cut while staring psychically out into the night, and it seemed like it was linking her to him. Then, when Orlock took the locket, the connection seemed to contribute with her sometimes overlapping with Orlock in a way I initially thought was kind of cool. I really liked the way the actress did her own version of the clawed hands and the Orlock walk/silhouette, she embodied that really well.

The sexualized trances/dreams and seizures were definitely not to my taste thought, and the whole more Exorcist-style scenes where she seemed almost outright possessed didn't really make full sense to me most of the time. I really disliked what the story behind them and her connection to Orlock ended up being. Apparently she psychically reached out to something dark in her lonely youth and ended up waking him/making some sort of marriage pact with him? This is what aroused his interest in her all along and seemed to drive many of his actions. And while we do see that she hates him consciously, and outright rejects and insults him to his face in one scene, there's all this stuff where she seems very drawn to him despite that. I really hated the Hutton sex scene. It was bound up in an argument between them during which she seemed to at least partially believe Orlock's words about Thomas selling her (this was apparently the contract he couldn't read but signed because Orlock was menacing him) for a bag of gold. She also throws in his face that he's never satisfied her like her dream lover (the nosferatu). She seems to be getting partially possessed or something throughout this fight. She takes on the nosferatu posture and uses a different voice, but it's not made clear how much of this is some influence against her or her own inner darkness or her actual thoughts. Thomas looks scared of/for her and also freaked out by how crazy she seems, and then she crawls up to him begging for no doctor and then they have aggressive sex while she commands him to kiss her heart. That in particular makes it seem like she's trying to emulate her dream sex with the nosferatu, since he's always shown to bit the chest/over the heart. So that left a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth.

Again, we do see that she loves Thomas and wants to save him. But the eroticization of the vampire feeding (once again, they are clearly having sex while he drinks her blood. The only reason I wasn't a hundred percent sure this happened with Thomas is because he at least was wearing clothes thought Orlock was naked at the time) combined with the visual horror of making Orlock look so open-wound and corpsey combined to have a really weird feel of just wanting to show a woman having sex with a horrible monster. The sexual horror thing... but she agreed to it, yes as a plan to kill Orlock, but what with the dreams thing and her making sex noises and whatnot it kind of seems like she's enjoying it too. Then when they find her body there's this kind of weird detail where she has a hand holding Orlock to her chest (she drew him back down and asked him to drink more blood when he started to notice the onset of dawn) and Thomas takes her other hand, and it feels symbolic somehow. Her lover being death and her husband reaching out for her but her clinging death closer... I dunno. The whole sex and dream connection/prolonged haunting aspect made it seem a lot less resigned sacrifice than it did in the OM, and definitely way more of her being drawn to him in return than in the OB.

Orlock himself was a pretty nice mix of Dracula and OM Count for most of it I think. I liked when he called himself nothing but hunger, it feels like it leaned in more to his OM counterpart. Using Thomas's fate against her (and before that, the Hardings) was very much something OB Dracula would do too. But his whole past with Ellen and consequent fixation on her kind of took over everything he did. And since I didn't like that element... I did love the shadow stuff, and enjoyed when he did the classic nosferatu walk with the hands reaching out, though it wasn't as often. His design was definitely creepy as well.

I liked the plague elements. I also liked the shadow of the vampire, and kind of wish there had been more emphasis put on that. I feel like in the OM, more horror was shown in his movements and his physicality partially just due to the medium. But it was also really iconic, especially the shadow, and I liked the instances when it was used to reflect his influence.

Not a fan of all the thrashing about (sexually and also just seizing/shaking) and drooling/vomiting/blood spilling from mouths. But those are more personal preference and again feel like more modern horror staples to various degrees. My biggest grief is the Orlock/Ellen stuff and how that infects other things around it.

BUT... if you like this sort of story, as I imagine many do, and if you are able to see it as its own thing enough not to get upset with the divergences (for example Orlock/Ellen, or Friedrich vs. Arthur) then I think a lot of people would enjoy this movie.

#nosferatu 2024 #nosferatu critical #not totally negative but as i say not my thing and i give reasons why #so if you loved it probably you'd prefer to skip this post

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tev-the-random · 10 months ago

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So the thing that gets me about Starlo — the thing that really gets me — is how much this guy hates himself.

It's not something you notice the first time you're playing, because he's so confident and enthusiastic. He'd almost be cool if he wasn't such a dork. But after replaying the game with the context of where he came from, — and I'll admit, after reading some very interesting, in-depth fanfics and analysis about him, I'll try to link them if I find them again — his character becomes a bit... blurred. How much of this is Starlo, and how much of it is North Star?

Because- because the whole point of his sheriff persona is that he gets to be someone else, isn't it? When he's out there rootin' and tootin', acting out his hero fantasies and trying to imitate the characters from the westerns he admires, he becomes someone much cooler than himself. North Star is everything Starlo wishes he was: the fearless leader, the cunning cowboy, the confident sheriff who saves lives and wrangles bandits and hangs out with humans. Not just some nobody farmer who could disappear in the corn field without anyone noticing, not the son who wastes his time on daydreams.

He craves praise so deeply. That's the big difference between Star and Papyrus, I think, because Papyrus is just so unapologetically himself, while Star... he starts spending more and more time with this mask of greatness he made himself. Because people like North Star. Not Starlo.

North Star is a real sheriff. Not Starlo.

North Star is the one who brings help and hope and fun to monsters. Not Starlo.

North Star is the one worthy of being appreciated. Not Starlo.

And like... he wants to be liked so badly. So much effort is put into making sure North Star is good enough that Starlo tends to assume people hate him. He assumes his parents hate his life choices (they don't; they're proud of him and know he cares), he assumes Clover will laugh at him when he shows his face to them (they don't; despite everything, it's still him), he assumes the reason he fell out with his friends is because he wasn't a good enough sheriff (he knows damn well it wasn't actually Clover's fault, he's not THAT stupid. But he's still desperately grasping at the last pieces of his shattered persona, so if he just works harder, if he does what a real sheriff does and captures this human, then everything will be alright, won't it?)

I really wish we could have gotten more insight on Starlo's relationships and personality before the whole Wild East thing consumed him. Ceroba and the Feisty Five say they miss the old Starlo, but we never really get to know who the old Starlo was. And I don't think he knows either.

Wake the hell up, Star. People started liking you before you were North Star. Go eat some corn and calm down.

Point is, the impostor syndrome goes hard and that's such a mood. He was supposed to be the cool and silly cowboy guy, what the fuck–

#at first I thought Star was like my polar opposite #because he's clearly an extrovert and I'm so introverted I might as well live under a rock #but after staring at him for long enough i think it's more like...#two sides of the same coin #running away from yourself eh? wishing you were enough eh?#he's such a wet cat #I'm insane about this game don't mind me #rabid and feral #they need therapy your honour #of course this is just my interpretation of it though #i'm not projecting you're projecting #Undertale Yellow #UTY #Starlo uty #North Star #welcome to my TEV Talk

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artist-issues · 2 months ago

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I've seen you complain about Arcane being written for maximum emotional peaks and valleys without a focus on what makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Step into the metaphorical writers' room and tell me how you'd fix it.

Ack

The thing is I have zero knowledge of the video game it’s based on, so I would not be the right person for that.

I also have not seen the whole show in-depth, and after the first three episodes I was so fed up I was having a hard time even paying attention. So. Some of the stuff I think they should do? Maybe they wound up course-correcting and doing it, later on.

But with all those caveats in place:

The strongest parts I saw were the parallels between the two sisters, Powder and Vi, and Silco and Vander. And then obviously those parallels get paralleled with Jayce and Viktor.

The only interesting part of the show was the way it pointed out and made clumsy stabs at answering this question: “How do I continue loving someone when I fundamentally disagree with them about the most important things? And if I get that wrong, how can they ever trust me to love them again?”

I mean, that’s what’s going on with Vi and Powder.

Powder’s got some suddenly-at-the-climax-of-Vander’s-rescue-mission obsession with “not being left” and “saving Vi.” (did she feel super focused on keeping Vi safe or not getting abandoned in any other action-or-conversation scenes before that point, no, it was more about her “not feeling useless,”—but whatever, we’re not talking about all the aforementioned shock-jock flaws) But when she tries to act on those obsessions it blows up in everybody’s face and maybe Vander actually dies. (Prolly not, they played up like four different scenes of him probably-dying-and-Vi-reacting-to-it before he ever finally took a “last breath,” I’m sure they kept chewing that bone for all it was worth later on in the season)

So then Vi, for no reason, turns on Powder and appears to abandon her because she’s a “jinx” and all her friends are dead. Which makes no sense. We have not noticed a tendency in Vi to blame those closest to her when she loses something before. We just needed a dramatic moment, and for Powder to get the “cool” name “Jinx,” and for Powder to throw herself into Silco’s arms.

But the point seems to be, even later on when Jinx is deranged because of vague childhood-reasons-and-maybe-drugs, and Vi is trying to get through to her after a long separation—the point seems to be, “how do I love you, flaws and all, and how do I show it?”

The showing it part is important. Because love serves others. Actions taken in the name of “love” that do not serve the object of that love aren’t loving. So, it would be really helpful for Jinx to not only hear from Vi that she’s loved, but be able to believe it, too.

Just like Vander shouldn’t have tried to drown Silco after realizing he was a genocidal monster. He should’ve kept trying to reason with him, or cut ties without violence, because obviously you’re not responsible for slaying the monster your brother-figure has become, that’s lunacy.

Just like Jayce shouldn’t try to turn in or destroy Viktor, if where I left it continued (it looked like it did, from The Line music video) and had Viktor becoming a Dr. Victor Frankenstein man-was-not-meant-to-meddle scientist-who-goes-too-far villain later on. (I left it when he said he was willing to help the Mad Scientist experiment on the Slug-In-a-Torture-Jar. I mean, that looked like it was tending toward a Villainous Viktor Who Must Be Stopped, probably by Jayce for Drama, conclusion.)

But here’s the thing.

I don’t believe in the whole “Love Accepts You, Flaws and All” mantra. Not if by “accept” you mean “celebrates those flaws and encourages them as if they’re not flaws.”

(I’m talking about flaws of virtue, flaws of character, not Victor’s injured leg or like, Powder’s clumsiness, obviously those “flaws” are different.)

Jinx should not be helping the king of the underworld run a drug trade and kill people. She should not be making her psychosis everyone else’s maiming, exploding, problem. She should not be living her life in revenge and fear. Those things about her ARE ACTUAL FLAWS and are hurting her and hurting everyone around her.

Silco should not be hell-bent on restarting a war with the people above, and fine with poisoning kids to do it. Those things about him are ACTUAL FLAWS which are hurting him and everyone around him.

Viktor should not be sacrificing compassion and kindness for progress and circumstance-betterment. He should not be convinced that the scientific goals he has are the only ones that can work, or are worth sacrificing anything to achieve. That’s called pride. That thing about him as in ACTUAL FLAW. You get it.

It’s just like having an alcoholic loved one. Seriously, it’s no different. That person has a tendency toward, and a personality bent around, and even an identity shaped-by, a flaw that is hurting them. And hurting those around them. If their family said, “Yeah, haha, that’s Uncle Simon, loves the liquor. His flaws make him who he is; if we didn’t celebrate that part of him, we wouldn’t really be loving him at all!” that would be abominable.

So, the first thing I’d do in the writer’s room is kill the “Love Stays With You, Flaws and All” thing they seem committed to, or tweak it so that it’s actually good and lines up with truth.

The truth is, “Love Stays With You, and Helps You RIP AWAY and OUTGROW Your Flaws, No Matter How Much It Hurts.” That’s the harder truth, that’s the truth that heals. Not “I’m fine the way I am, everyone else get on the bus or get run over.”

I saw a clip where Ekko is fighting Jinx on the bridge and almost kills her but then hesitates and doesn’t, even after earlier arguing with Vi about how “she’s not who she used to be,” so I’d ride that idea. I’d make Ekko the first character to figure out (maybe by learning it from Vi, or they learn it gradually together) that Jinx just needs to see that she won’t be given-up-on. Even if she is explosively destructive, violent, selfish, and mentally damaged. I’d make the whole show about redeeming Jinx, as a break in the chain of “Family-Failing-And-Love-Turning-to-Powerful-Hate” that Silco and Vander started.

I’d make an adventure based around Vi needing to find something that cures the drug or bacteria or whatever Silco is giving all those addicts. I’d make Jinx trail her, trying to stop her or get in her way or something on Silco’s orders (but I would have rewritten Jinx so that her defection to Silco’s side actually had believable build-up and not just emotional-drama appeal.) So they keep encountering one another, and while Vi is trying to literally find a cure to the corruption of the drug, she’s also trying to restore her relationship with Jinx—by sacrificing herself to keep Jinx safe, without ever approving or helping Jinx be violent and vengeful.

That doesn’t solve all the same lazy problems made with other characters, like Jayce and Viktor, or Silco or Ekko, but it at least starts clearing up the two main characters.

Practically? I would seriously stop framing every decision in the show around “have as many explosive emotional, mental, and physical brawls as possible.” You can just feel them boarding the fight scenes first, the emotional-screaming-crying-throwing-up-scenes second, and then writing the story around making those scenes happen.

That’s awful.

The first example that pops into my mind is when Vi “abandons” Powder. Next to Vander’s maybe-corpse. In the middle of a burning street. But she just ducks around the corner for a second so they can cry separately. And then the Marcus police officer guy, who has demonstrated no tendency toward compassion or mercy when it comes to Vi, and appears to have no story-reason to do this, whisks Vi away before she can rejoin Powder. And for some reason, in that moment, after like three seconds of grief, Powder genuinely thinks that Vi has left her forever. And there’s no follow-up or explanation to why Marcus decided it would be a good idea to catch Vi and lock her up for years and years, and no demonstration of that same aspect of his merciful-compassionate-save-you-from-the-bad-guys personality later (that I know of.)

They wrote that whole scene so that Powder could cry and scream and throw herself into Silco’s arms and he could make a dramatic declaration about betrayal and a clumsy parallel-emotional-moment, and so that Vi and Jinx could alternately sob and punch each other later on in life.

Stupid.

I would stop doing stuff like that.

Anyway, without more info on the show and the game, I couldn’t tell you much more than that. I’m afraid this turned into another what’s-wrong-with-Arcane rant. But thanks for asking.

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