#this character is clearly doing this on purpose to be shitty

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

Some context: after narrowly avoiding being arrested, we've been told that we are on thin fucking ice and we are having an eye kept on us by the city guard. Implication is that if we're caught with even one toe out of line, we're going to be dragged to the "Reformation Center," which appears to be as bad as it sounds. The very next day, the rogue (who was the cause of our initial arrest and the cause of the town nearly being burnt down because he got greedy about stealing stuff, and who didn't get dragged in front of the town leader to explain himself and we had to cover for him) shows up again and immediately tries to steal the golden holy symbol we found while Wyn was trying to dig up information on the removal of curses. Note: this is not a useful holy symbol. It is not a +1, it's not magical, and it's not for Wyn's god. It just happens to be gold.

Wyn tells him to knock it off and that we're trying to keep our heads down after things went to shit because of what he did. My man decides to STEAL IT ANYWAY, and uses sleight of hand to do it. BUT, OF COURSE, HE ALREADY SAID HE WANTED TO STEAL IT. SO OF COURSE WYN KNOWS WHERE IT IS. So she walks over, grabs his arm, reads him the riot act about how his greed has almost killed us TWICE at this point, and tells him that he needs to put the holy symbol back. She tells him that she's not kidding this time. She tells him that this is his last warning. He tells her that he's not gonna put it back.

So she pumps a 3rd level Inflict Wounds on him and dropped his HP to 4.

Now he has disappeared from the sight of the party, and the last that we the players heard, he was hovering outside of the tavern window, trying to get dirt on the party so that he could turn Wyn into the city guard.

So, you know. Good times.

WELP. UH. WYN ATTACKED THE ROGUE TODAY BECAUSE HE KEPT TRYING TO STEAL SHIT. SO. DUNNO HOW THAT'S GONNA SHAKE OUT. 😬

[dykedvonte]

you make really good points, I think I used the term karmic wrong sorry. I think of it more as not how I personally think he deserved all that happened to him (which thinking back os exactly what karma means, I messed up sorry), but as his fate being directly tied/parallel to anyas. I handnt noticed the toxicity of jimmy and curlys relationship, from the first playthrough I watched and the first interactions I had w fandom I saw so many ppl just. dismiss the terror Anya went through and focus too much on him as the "ultimate victim" and that just didn't sit well w me. I really dislike seeing ppl go "oh well nothing could've been done" I think it's much more complex than that. also I forgot to mention in the last ask that I really appreciate you bringing the point that this game isn't just about the harm of patriarchy but also very very critical to capitalism, I haven't seen too many ppl touch on this. I hadn't thought too deeply about how it makes "he deserved to become disabled as punishment" come up and I agree that's really messed up. I'll try watching a playthrough again with all of this in mind. but either way thanks! I really appreciate your answer 🫶🏼

I guess this is just part of being in a fandom like this. I've noticed a lot of people don't actually see posts outside of their curated view. So some people only get like anya posting or jimmy or curly and it can make it seem like that is what is saturating the conversation.

I mainly just follow the general tags and look for anything new because I'm like obsessed but I know some are only looking for what they want or believe to be the case and can get weird about other ideas.

Sorry if I came off mean its just a last few of the asks have been like circular conversations like this and its not draining per say but seeing all the nuance and details get overlooked to fit a straightforward and basic narrative really sucks cause there's a lot to explore character and theme wise.

[blujayonthewing]

well I just spent an hour digging through my own dnd notes and social media and also almost cried because I mentioned, in passing, something justin had said about one of his NPCs and he, completely lightheartedly, was like '?? I don't remember that at all. [I mean I'm not making it up?] I think you might be making it up 😏'

[sidsinning]

#1 thing I am the most curious about/eager for the series to explore is 1000% the Morningstar family, especially Lilith

Bc who even is Lilith in reality besides what we have seen her as in the eyes of the other characters

Clearest image we get of her is in their family portraits

We usually see her as the menacing mystery figure working in the background, but in these photos she's clearly a normal happy mom who genuinely loves her family as any mother/wife would. She's not just a smirking dominant figure with a hidden agenda. All she's doing is having fun with her family and has no qualms about showing a range of emotion.

Charlie sees her as the role model she takes after and wants to make her proud. It turns out she sees Lucifer in pretty much the same light, but with the addition of having an awkward relationship bc of the distance they've had. With Lilith she never speaks about her with any lingering awkwardness, so we can assume she's been a good mom raising Charlie this whole time.

(For those who are saying "Lilith is a bad mom bc who leaves their kid alone for 7 years???"- she is literally thousands of years old while Charlie is well into adulthood before those 7 years. It's like a business trip to them. She wasn't an absentee parent for leaving for 7 years out of Charlie's 200+. The thing that's weird is that she's not communicating with Charlie. Our girl deadass owns property with a job and employees. Just bc she's not great at it and is having Lucifer step in to help recently, doesn't make Lucifer the superior parent suddenly. He's confirmed to be a kind of shitty dad despite how much he cares for her by the creators themselves. Kind of the point of his introduction ep guys. The 7 years are a mystery to unpack. Chill tf out.)

In this flashback people are blaming Lilith for separating Lucifer and Charlie on purpose, seemingly as the cause of their distant relationship. But it feels more complicated than that, based off Lucifer's reaction.

He's sad reaching out to Charlie by the end of the flashback, but when Lilith first appears he's smiling all the same and not deterred in giving Charlie to Lilith to carry away for what reason we don't know. A normal, standard occurrence he's used to. It seems both parents have agreed it's best for Lilith to take Charlie at this age now, for whatever reason.

Was his mental health affecting his parenting too much so they decided Lilith would shoulder the bulk of the task? Maybe Lilith really did separate the two somehow for her own reasons and convinced Lucifer with it? Another mystery reason each parent agree on?

When exactly did both of them separate? When Charlie was already an adult or around the time of the flashback when Lilith was her primary caretaker as a kid? (I'm assuming adulthood since Lucifer and Lilith seemed to still be getting along in the flashback despite her emotionless face.) Why did they separate when Lucifer seems to clearly love and yearn for her all the same, still wearing his wedding ring? 😭😭😭

And ofc what is this deal she made with Adam to stay chillin on a beach in heaven, and why did Adam, a reckless narcissist who likes yappin to whoever is gonna listen, not ever reveal this fact to her family to the very end?

There is just so much to unpack with their family and Lilith is the key ingredient rn to unlocking it

Like ofc I'm looking forward to Sir Pentious in heaven, Alastor's deal, the future of the rebuilt hotel, Lucifer now being a seemingly main character in season 2, etc.

But the Morningstars,,,different level

[crowfeather-ed]

Such a weird and absurb take from OP like huh? Do they not know what trauma is...

there's an alternate reality in my head where crowfeather is actually the sort of character the fandom wants him to be and then i re-read the books and go huh... tell me why leafpool literally had to beg for her life 3 times because he couldn't stop projecting his dead crush onto her

[youareatragedy]

As much as I hate Feyre, I genuinely sometimes feel bad for how SJM uses her. SJM never seems to take mental health issues seriously in her books, and I think she made Feyre’s character worse in ACOMAF by making her look even more foolish. I can’t believe someone who went to all that effort for Tamlin would just trust and believe Rhysand to that degree in such a short time. And yeah yeah people heal from trauma differently, but this is the same guy who literally degraded her in front of all of Prythian, humiliated her, and taunted the person she thought was the love of her life for months.

SJM made Feyre seem so easily manipulated and childish—not even naive, just childish. And then, the moment she becomes fake 'High Lady' she’s somehow both self righteous and constantly bragging about her "powerful family” at every opportunity like she’s above everyone and everyone should bow to her husband. After the war, she opens a painting studio but still doesn’t care about the lives of the females in her court outside of Velaris. This.. all of this while being mad at Tamlin for doing something basic like collecting taxes—something a functioning government has to do.

I honestly don’t get what SJM is trying to do with Feyre. Time and time again, she clearly makes Feyre her self-insert. Is she admitting that the only feminism that matters is white feminism? That the moment SJM married her husband (who she claims is Rhys), she lost her agency and he became her handler? Is this a cry for help? I just don’t get it.

So yeah, sometimes I feel bad for Feyre. She’s so SO young, and her husband is 500 years older than her—we should hold him waaayyy more accountable for every shitty thing Feysand does. But the mystery of Feyre’s bad character progression always makes me wonder: did SJM do it on purpose, or does she truly just not see the problem? (I’m leaning towards the latter because her fans—a lot of them—also can’t see what the problem is with Feysand and the IC.)

[butterflyslinky]

I keep seeing anti-Tommy people saying that his past as a bad person from the Begins episodes will be the hurdle he and Buck will face. That Buck will find out about what Tommy was like and be offended by it.

Except…Buck already knows about it? Tommy's pretty openly talked about not being a good person in the Gerrard era. Maybe he didn't tell Buck exactly what he said, but he probably doesn't remember because in-universe, that was fifteen to twenty years ago. He said the 118 was regressive, and that being under Gerrard did not make him a better person.

Hen and Chimney have also been pretty open about how shitty things were back then. Maybe they didn't name Tommy specifically, but Buck can make inferences based on them talking about how everyone was shitty and Tommy was part of everyone. This isn't some Deep Dark Secret Buck would be shocked by, it's information he had before meeting Tommy.

But okay, let's say somehow Buck had all three of the people who were there telling him Tommy was not a good person back then and somehow didn't realize what that meant. That doesn't change the fact that Tommy is clearly not that person anymore and that everyone's moved on from it. Chimney and Tommy are friends, and have been for close to two decades. Hen and Tommy don't seem to be super close, but they clearly have a level of professional respect for each other and she doesn't object to him hanging out with the group (Bobby Begins Again, the bachelor party.)

Like, if this is the big problem they face, what's supposed to happen? The story grinds to a halt while Tommy details every bad thing he's ever done and Buck processes it? Does Buck need to go see Hen and Chimney to get their blessing to date a guy they're both cool with and have been for years? Does Tommy need to do an apology tour to rehash everything and reopen all the old wounds for the benefit of the guy who wasn't involved in anything that happened back then? What purpose would that serve, either in the story or for the viewers? Honestly, if Buck made Tommy do that as a condition of continuing the relationship, I would not be rooting for Buck.

No, we didn't see Tommy give apologies in perfect therapy-speak or see the work he did on himself in the years between Begins episodes and the rest of the show. He's a minor supporting character who existed in Begins to show the growth and change of the LAFD as a whole, and who was bumped up to recurring minor character to be Buck's love interest. We're not going to spend entire episodes sitting in therapy with him, we're supposed to draw conclusions from the information given so the story can keep moving.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

The meta text of Vaggie hating when people don't use her name or try calling her by another one THEY think she should use, bc they think her name is too vulgar or demeaning or too silly not to joke about -> and then parts of the fandom doing the same thing, is honestly really hitting home in a queer way

here's a character who we know wants people to use her chosen name.

we know she does because she corrects Adam to his face "Actually, it's pronounced Vaggie" drawing a hard line of NO between the old name he gave her with that soft G and the one her girlfriend uses for her now

her exasperation even during the battle, answering Pentious's call out of Vaggatha but still also tiredly pointing out "Not my name", and

ironically. The second miss-naming hurts me more than the first

the Adam thing makes me hate the guy on a personal level, with his stupid smug little "Hmmmmmm- no. Anyway-" saying Vaggie isn't ALLOWED to name herself something new as if he has any claim over her, as if her name has anything to do with him after he abandoned her

But the Pentious thing almost hurts worse for how well meant and casual it is. How familiar that is.

Here it's coming from a friend and the misnaming is a sign of affection from him, a show of respect. He's not calling her the purple female anymore. This is Pentious and his tick of getting polite and formal when addressing people he likes, him snapping his earnest salutes, him as we saw earlier that episode with his shy "Miss Bomb" towards Cherri.

And the way Vaggie just kinda rolls her eye and takes it from him while still clearly not liking it...

She used to wear a uniform that made her almost identical to the other Exorcists around her, she was given her old name by the man in charge of her, a name based on how useful to him she was, she's still got all that soldier stuff marching through her head making her grab for her spear and leaving her with no idea how to get people to bond other than throwing them bodily into a warzone

It just makes sense that the woman she's in a long term happy relationship with be so normal about her chosen 'vulgar' and 'inappropriate' name

Being together that long means Charlie probably knows this specific frustration her girlfriend has and cares enough about her to just say "Vaggie" like its nothing. Or maybe she just thinks, duh, of course she'll use the name Vaggie tells her to use

Maybe Charlie being that kinda person is part of what Vaggie loves about her in the first place. The amount of trust Charlie places in people, just by default

Because there could be good and bad reasons Vaggie's using a version of her old name after leaving that life behind

She could be doing it to remind herself of the shit person she was and feels she has to still make up for being, it could be tied to her self imposed new life purpose of helping make Charlie's dreams come true, it could be Vaggie keeping part of something she hates (herself) so she can feel a bit of "deserved" pain over it even when she was too scared to admit her past to anyone else- a sneaky way to always be reminded of it by the new people in her new life anyway

but that's her choice. People are allowed to make bad decisions for themselves

there's that ethos of the whole hotel and redemption plan again, Charlie's dreams and ideals swinging back into action even when Charlie maybe doesn't know it

what's the idea of redemption or personal change other than accepting that people CAN make choices for themselves? They can even make shitty ones, and that's not a reason to drop them forever or take the choice away like they don't deserve it anymore

What's the permanent extermination of souls other than saying they forever lost the right to say what happens to themselves?

a gay woman is calling herself after vag while switching out her soldier gear to wear miniskirts and giant as fuck hair bow ribbons while kissing and cuddling her girlfriend. Maybe it's cringe. Maybe it's camp. Even if Vaggie obviously isn't meant to be literally trans, it's that deliberate choice thing again, a kinda switcheroo from Adam naming her Vagina just bc it's something that he likes for how it makes him feel good, to Vaggie saying no this is MY thing now.

The Vagina to Vaggie thing is the difference between putting a name on someone else verses taking it for your own.

and Charlie affirms that choice, that right of Vaggie to be called the name she choses, no matter WHAT it sounds like or how awkward it makes some people feel

like, if someone in real life told you their name was Vaggie, would you use their name for them?

Would you accept feeling a bit weird for their sake?

Or would you do what happens so much in real life, when people who care still think they know better or feel like someone being who they are infringes too much on their own sense of comfort or even on that person's own safety, and with all the good intentions and love in the world, someone hurts someone else without understanding that they're evening doing it.

Like Pentious

Who is really and truly Vaggie's friend. The guy she got off to a rough start with but ends up rooting for, shoving her gf out of the room so he can talk to his own crush in peace. He dies to try protecting his friends, including her, and she misses him when he's gone

and he still thought he was doing a nice thing by calling her the more 'normal' sounding "Vagatha". Either because he assumed Vaggie couldn't really be her full name, or thought she deserved better

Charlie doesn't think Vaggie needs a better name

Charlie says her name all the time like it's her favorite word ever, if only because it belongs to the woman she loves

i feel a lot of things about that.

[fight-nights-at-freddys]

@maknaasfalti

first of all, being this condescending and mean isn't gonna change anyone's minds. you're being an ass.

just because the content gets taken down, doesn't mean it violates copyright law. you know that as well as i do. that's why so many sites take down things that are falsely DMCA'd, and they get put back up later. they act first, ask questions later. that's how most sites operate.

that's not how boundaries work. you set boundaries FOR YOURSELF. once you start telling other people what to do and how to do it, you start making RULES.

this has nothing to do with being proship, really, but it has everything to do with keath falsely copyright striking people due to their personal distaste or disgust for what other people do.

also saying "kill yourself" over pinecest (re: fiction) isn't cute! nor is your blatant xenophobia of rural americans!

NOW let me outline why it would be a false copyright strike!

(i'll also @silly-lil-bimbo for this section)

once again, we go back to THE ACTUAL LAW (17 U.S. Code § 107) which clearly states it that the factors considered when referring to copyright and fair use are as follows:

the purpose and character of the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes,

the nature of the copyrighted work,

the amount of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and

the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

also note the fact the work is unpublished does not bar itself from a finding of fair use.

the fact is, it's entirely on a case-by-case basis, as a lot of this is subjective and completely depends on the judge presiding over the case. HOWEVER, fanfiction is very likely to count as "transformative", due to the nature OF fanfiction. there's a reason AO3 is still up and the entire site hasn't been removed for copyright infringement.

in the case of yaelokre, specifically the nsfw works, they're only taking the characters and some elements of the story, but they're not appropriating the entirety of the work, making profit off of it, detracting from the potential market value of the original work, or claiming it as their own, which is NECESSARY to prove it is an infringement of copyright.

regardless of all that, the fact remains it is shitty to try and strike down what fanfiction writers/fanartists do just because YOU PERSONALLY do not like what fans do with your characters. keath made their characters public, now they have to deal with the consequences of that, or remove their characters from public eye. very simple.

at this point, i hope people DON'T make fanfic/fanart for yaelokre lest they get a cease and desist, because who knows what keath/the people working with them will determine as "inappropriate, offensive, or misinfo".

[actuallyjustabiscuit]

Ok thoughts 👏thoughts👏Everyone gather around I have thoughts about this!

Episode 2 was clearly the Pomni episode. We got to see her character get a little more fleshed out and we also got a glimpse of what motivates her which is great.

With this tweet we have solid confirmation on who the upcoming episodes will center on (thanks for not making us guess, Goose) and this lineup is really interesting.

First fascinating thing is that Kinger and Zooble share a spotlight in ep 3. Why is that? Everyone else gets their own dedicated episodes so why are they unique in that regard? What connects them?

Well, I have one idea!

So we know since the pilot that Kinger has been the one to have lived in the Circus the longest out of all of them. We’re still not sure if he was in fact the 1st human to be trapped (maybe we’ll find out in the next episode) but he definitely has the most seniority, both in age and in length of entrapment.

We also know that Zooble was the most recent character to get stuck before Pomni (and considering their attitude, it may have even been quite a while beforehand) AND is the youngest character next to Jax (they even share the same age, which could be a coincidence but it feels too deliberate of a choice).

Which means ep 2 will simultaneously focus on the oldest and the youngest of the characters.

I’m actually curious as to what their dynamic will be because they haven’t really interacted much in the pilot (and like not at all in episode 2), if they end up interacting in ep 3 at all. But mostly I’m excited to see them more fleshed out with hopefully Pomni getting the chance to bond with them (either together or separately).

My guess is that the purpose for them to share focus on an episode is to get perspective from someone who’s been there the longest and has seen more people come and go than anyone else vs. someone who was just recently in Pomni’s shoes and had probably a much different first day experience (we know Zooble cared enough about Kaufmo to personally organize his funeral so they may have some…feelings about who’s essentially his replacement).

Ep3 is also supposedly Gooseworx’s most anticipated episode so I’m extra excited.

Next we have Gangle for episode 4. I honestly don’t have a lot to say about her or the significance in her episode placement outside of her being the closest in age to Pomni (being only a year older). The only hint we get about what her episode will possibly consist of will be on how reliant she is on her ComedyMask to feel happy, which will be very interesting and we might even get some confirmation on whether her avatar was programmed with that feature upon entering the Circus or if it was an add on of sorts by Caine to help keep her sane. A pretty shitty feature if it can’t last for very long but it does make for a nice metaphor about how fragile her facade is (girl is literally masking).

Actually I don’t think her and Pomni have actually exchanged words yet in the show. Wouldn’t it be funny if they don’t up until her episode. Like Pomni is so caught up in between whatever mess episode 3 has in store for Kinger and Zooble that the two of them never actually talk and it just keeps getting more awkward. Gangle wants to talk to her but is so self-conscious about her Tragedy self that she’ll only feel safe to have a conversation if she has her mask, but it just keeps breaking before she even gets the chance.

Again this is all just speculation, if they actually end up talking in episode 3 I’ll…make ship art of them.

Yeah

Anyway, episode 5. The one I’m personally waiting for because y’all should know what I’m about by now.

*Warning: Unhinged, borderline psychotic tangent incoming*

I swear to god if Pomni and Ragatha don’t have a fucking conversation before ep 5 I will launch myself into the sun. I’ll take anything, I just need them to get real for a second. I NEED to know the extent of this woman’s damage. It has to be explored, analyzed, and dissected and I will do so with gusto when the day comes. None of these characters will be safe from my scrutiny, but Ragatha oh ho ho, you have been living rent free in my head for too long, madame. You WILL pay your dues and I intend to collect in every episode until there is not corner of your unsound mind that I have not examined in great detail!

Ahem *Straightens tie* Ok back to business

So yeah, Ragatha.

It may be because we’ve only had 2 episodes but I can’t help but feel like we’re supposed to see Ragatha as a sort of deuteragonist since out of all of the supporting characters she’s so far been getting the most focus aside from Jax, and we’ll get to him in a minute (I promise that’s not just me being biased, or maybe it is, I don’t know, you tell me).

In just two episodes we’ve seen more of what makes her tick compared to anyone else. And of the main cast she’s been the ONLY one to make any kind of connection to the main character and have enough of a meaningful interaction with her to leave an impression.

But this is what really clinched her role as a deuteragonist for me, she’s so far been one of the few to have the narrative briefly shift to her perspective to give us significant character moments like these:

The show REALLY wants us to see just how NOT ok she is.

If she’s meant to be the heart of the group, her heart already can’t take much more damage. Her friendship (if you can call it that, it’s so painfully one sided right now) with Pomni clearly means a lot to her, so much so that her entire sense of self worth seems to be tied to it (and if you’ve been paying attention, she doesn’t have a lot of that as it is). It would be nice to see their connection gradually grow before her designated episode, where she might experience actual growth for herself.

And if episode 2 is any indication of how this show preserves friendships well…

Yeah, I don’t think she’s gonna make it.

In fact, I’m willing to bet actual money that she’s either gonna abstract in episode 5 or episode 6.

Which brings us to Jax’s episode! The other deuteragonist…tritagonist? He definitely shares some degree of significant narrative focus along with Pomni and Ragatha. He’s both an active antagonist force and one of the only characters to drive the plot forward every time he’s on screen (then there’s that weird thing where he keeps breaking the fourth wall).

He has so much significance in the story that Gooseworx gave him his own bullet point in her list of content warnings (this could also be a joke, but I mean it would be funny to see just how despicable they can make this character).

Gooseworx also described Jax and Pomni’s relationship in the show as “messy”. After episode 2, I don’t think she considers him as a candidate for any kind friendship like she did for the others, and who could blame her? In just two days the guy abandoned her to deal with an abstraction and chucked her out of a truck. He’s no one’s favorite person, and he relishes that. Bunnyboy definitely has some issues that Pomni would pick up on the more she’s forced to spend time with him. To the point where I can see her trying to eventually form some kind of bridge because, as her previously established character motivation implies, she’s not the kind of person to intentionally leave anyone high and dry. But unlike the rest of the crew, I don’t think Jax would be inclined to change for the better just because someone took pity on him. He seems like the kinda guy to dig his heels in and commit to his bad behavior out of spite.

And for his episode to come after Ragatha’s, why do I get the feeling the reason Gooseworx went so far as to preemptively apologize to bunnydoll shippers specifically is because he’s gonna cause something really really bad to happen to her (could be abstraction, could even be something much worse) that he would come to sorely regret.

And oh boy would that evoke some feelings in everyone!

I feel like if that is indeed the direction this show is going, the rest of the episodes will really be something.

I’m also certain Caine will get his own episode but right now he is very much an antagonist to these characters. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a villain, but he’s certainly not someone Pomni is keen on sympathizing with, at least not currently.

Thanks again @lilyclawthorne for helpfully providing me with the tweet so I can give some context for my ramblings of the week!

[purerae]

Hii! I love your work!! Could you do a halloween party imagine with any of your characters? or all of them meeting our poor y/n, it'd make a cool crossover

Free form however you like!!!

╭────༺♡༻────╮

YANDERE!HAREM X FEM READER

HALLOWEEN PARTY // AU IMAGINE.

warnings ;; mostly crack, yandere behaviour, male yandere(s), female yandere, mentions of drinking, demon summoning (silas), mentions of blackmail (none to Y/N), alternate universe, not canon to anyone's plot. 

a/n ;; Hi Anon! I know halloween is over but this is such a good idea i couldn’t miss out on it!! By the way, in each one of the yandere stories, Y/N has a slightly different personality. So I wasn't sure  whether you wanted me to do multiple Y/N’s or just one. So I decided to combine the personalities into one. Good luck<3 (please let me know if there are any mistakes.)

CLICK HERE FOR MY MASTERLIST (intro to all the yanderes)

╰────༺♡༻────╯

Hopeless. You felt hopeless as your left arm was dragged around like a piece of meat by the girl no one swore to mess with

“Come on babe~! Wear the angel wings, we have to be matching!” Reina grits her teeth as she attempts to place the wings onto your unwilling back. The fire headed girl gives up with a scoff in her throat before walking over to your mirror and reapplying her dark red lipstick, adjusting the horns that perfectly matched with her crimson wavy hair. 

How did she even get into Y/Ns house in the first place?

You remember pretty clearly. Today is the 31st of October. You were well aware that it was halloween and perfectly content with staying inside your humble abode. You’d buy a bunch of bulk cheap candy and scarf it down whilst watching some classic horror movies. Not enough to scare you, but to make you physically cringe.

That was the plan, Perfect right? There would be nothing to stop you from having a peaceful night of binge watching shitty films.

Apart from the three vastly different individuals who were all pining over you. Though they were complete opposites, they all had a way grinding your gears and irritating you to no end. 

Reina, the delinquent who made your life as the school president 10x worse. She’d constantly hang around you during lunch and break, surrounded by her delinquent friends who’d make jokes you wouldn’t get but would laugh in fear of getting made fun of. Not to mention the lessons you’d have to miss in order to supervise her during the detentions she had purposely got.  You think you spend more time with her then you spend eating the gross lunch your school provides.

Kieran, the playboy who suddenly switched up his entire role once he realised you weren’t interested in him like the others were. God, if only you pretended like you were. Maybe that would’ve stopped him from bothering you in all your science classes with his weird sexual jokes or flirty overbearing personality. Yeah he was a bit funny and maybe he sometimes made your day with his stupid jokes but that came crashing down once he would say his tenth pick up line to you all in one lesson. 

And then there’s Alex, the jock who’s the captain of the football team, a tad bit stupid  but still had the personality of the literal sun, which made him the most tolerable but still pretty overwhelming for your average dream life.  He was the last one to pop up in your weird harem, he stuck around you like a lost puppy once he realised you didn’t like his team. “I’ll make sure you like me, no matter what!” — were his exact words. 

These individuals had a very high reputation in school, most people liked them and often idolised them. So, why were they all vying for your attention? People would go to great lengths to be in your shoes, yet all you desired was to lead an ordinary student's life.

Your internal monologue was abruptly interrupted by the ringing of your phone, and you didn't even have a moment to guess who might be calling before the sound reached your ears (You would've had two guesses). -- In response, Reina let out an exasperated groan and struts over to you.

She confidently picks up your phone and shuts it off before snapping her fingers in your face.

“How have you still not put the wings on.. god what would you do without me!”  If you didn’t know any better, from the tone of her voice you’d think she was annoyed. But in reality you noticed the glint in her eyes. She was genuinely pleased that she had gotten to help you. Happy that you had to ‘rely’ on her.

“Probably live a peaceful life” You murmur under your breath, not realising the close proximity of you two until she snaps her sharp eyes to your tired gaze.

"Excuse me?" The green-eyed girl arched her eyebrows, her lips forming a grimace of annoyance. 

“I said I would probably live a very sad life.” You quickly defer, letting out a sigh of relief once she relaxes her eyebrows and shows you a soft smirk.

 Reina grabs her bag and sprays perfume onto her body, walking over to your bedroom door before abruptly stopping, throwing her arms up. “Come on then! We can't be too fashionably late~” You curse whoever invented halloween parties, and trail behind her. 

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Just ten minutes into the party, and you were already contemplating grabbing that cowboy-clad stranger’s prop gun and pretending to shoot yourself with it.  Music boomed against your ears, drawing out any coherent thought as the smoke from Reinas cigarette mingles in the air. It was as if your personal space ceased to exist, with the red haired girl's body pressing against yours, her presence enveloping you. The sensation became overwhelming, the close proximity sent shivers down your spine. You had no ability to escape, seeing as the delinquent had her friends form a tight circle around you both, acting as protective guards you didn't need or want. There was no room to escape for you, too intimidated to say a word. 

“Hey Y/N!! Is that you?!” A loud voice shouted amidst the music, crowd and smoke. Reinas whole friend group snaps towards the noise, seeing who dared to interrupt the leader with her ‘beloved’. Despite Alex being faced with gnarly stares, all he could see was his cutie dressed like an angel. He settles his drink down on a nearby table, exchanges hurried farewells with his football teammates, and rushes his way towards you.  

The tall friendly giant had no struggles breaking the circle you were trapped in. It was like the sun beaming past a bunch of angsty rain clouds, two things you usually dreaded. But in that moment, you found yourself silently praising the towering, 6 '6 human puppy as he enveloped you in a massive bear hug.

 As he released you, his strong arms remained on your shoulders, and he beamed at you with eyes that formed crescent moon shapes.

He stuttered an apology for the sudden physical contact before staring at you up and down with his doe like eyes and a massive grin. “Wow…you look stunning, like a true angel. You’re my angel!” He giggles proudly because of the cheesy line he made. The jock completely disregards his earlier apology as he wraps you in another tight hug. You murmur a ‘thanks’ and lightly tap his back in return, your lips thinning with a hint of awkwardness as you look around and notice Reina's friend group staring at the two of you as though you'd just committed a crime. Alex's firm grip gradually loosens as he comes to a realisation, and he reluctantly lets you go, you notice his boyish grin turned into a pout. “I invited you to this party, I bought a whole matching outfit and everything! You told me you couldn't come!” The brown eyed male whines , his brows furrowing as his beady eyes bore into your soul. During this moment, you couldn't help scrutinise his Halloween costume.

‘Did he seriously just throw on his jersey with some fake blood around his neck..’ you pondered silently, shooting him a disapproving stare due to the minimal effort he had put into his outfit

Your initial expression of curiosity transformed into one of slight disgust when you realised that the intended matching costume was going to be ‘the jock and his cheerleader’

‘How original’ You thought sarcastically.

For the second time this night, your thoughts were interrupted, but this time it wasn't a ringing phone. It was Alex’s voice, laced with sadness whining in your ear. He pouts as he gazes down at you, gently poking your halo headband, waiting for your response.

“Basically what happ-”

Before you could even begin to explain that you had no intention of attending the party, regardless of who insisted, not until the delinquent showed up at your doorstep and mildly threatened you, your words were cut short. The moment was disrupted as she forcibly pushed the sulky jock away from you.

Despite her noticeable lack of height compared to the towering jock, Reinas attitude  definitely made up for it. 

‘Speak of the devil..metaphorically and quite literally.’ You snort at your own joke, before quickly composing yourself and directing your attention to the scene unfolding in front of you. 

Alex and Reina, two people who couldn't be any more different but they were both madly in love with you. In school, you had always managed to avoid confrontations involving the both of them, but it appeared luck wasn't on your side tonight. 

“Who do you think you are, barging into this conversation where no one invited you? Don't you have dumb shit to attend to? Like shotgunning a dozen beers?”  the delinquent spoke with a withering glare, she grabbed your arm and forcefully pulled you away from him. The crowded party left little room to manoeuvre, so she practically made you turn your back on him to ensure you were separated.

Unfortunately for her, that allowed the charismatic loveable jock to shed his facade, and shoot her an  uncharacteristically intense gaze. His eyes grew dark and his typically cheerful face contorted into a look of hatred and envy  Though it only lasted for a second, anyone who would’ve seen it, the memory would linger in their thoughts for days. 

Reina, being unlike anyone else, didn't perceive his gaze as a threat, but rather as a golden retriever attempting to imitate a wolf. She scoffed and protectively grabbed your hand.

"I'm pretty sure forcing Y/N to be surrounded by your..." The jock paused, glancing at each of Reina's friends, carefully choosing not to insult them, not out of fear, but out of respect with his beloved watching. ".. interesting group of friends might not be comfortable for her. Anyways, don't you guys have more fun plans, like commit vandalism?" He delivered with a cheerful tone, tilting his head to the side in a display of ‘adorable’ confusion.

While the male may come across as unintelligent there are some quirks to his character that reveal a different perspective. He possesses a unique knack for framing his words and expressing himself in a manner that radiates positivity.

‘He’s so stupid and oblivious , he doesn’t mean what he says!! He's just asking a question, he means no harm!’ — is what most people think. 

 But Reina, being a delinquent who often deals with various groups of people, can read him like a book. She knows he’s showing less than what he truly is. What he can truly become. And although she doesn’t give a shit about how he acts around others, she knows he’s interested in her Y/N — and that’s why he needs to stay away from her girl at all costs. 

With Reinas anger level rising, she lets out an annoyed grunt before softly pushing you back, The delinquent puts one finger on the jocks chest.

You think for a second that you should probably step in, Not because you want to but because you have no idea who will win. Reina most definitely has a weapon in her bag somewhere and also her group of friends who would kill to protect her surround you three but Alex’s strength and height  can cover that. Though from what you know  the delinquent is a lot more aggressive than the ‘pacifist’ himbo so he may have a bit of a disadvantage.

Nonetheless, you decide not to intervene and just watch the two idiots fight it out. It's not your issue right? You didn't need any more attention than you already had coming to this party tonight. 

As they both stare at each other, Reina opens her mouth to speak but gets cut off by someone tapping her back. One of her friends grabs her arm and she turns a whole 180 degrees, ready to scream at whoever is trying to hold her back.  Her eyes are narrowed as she pushes the said friend away from her. “What the fuck is your issue, Thomas?!” You now learned who the guy's name was, Thomas. He was dressed as a pirate and barely flinched when Reina screamed at her. He must've been used to it. All he does is show her phone, and mutters “Look at who's calling you.” Reina’s angry expression turns into one of disbelief as she roughly grabs the phone away from his hands. She looks at Alex one last time with a scoff before she excused herself for a moment and engaged in a heated argument with the caller. You couldn't help but overhear snippets of their exchange — it was clear that Reina was being pressured to leave the party. She hung up, her face etched with reluctance, and then turned to you.

"Babe, I've got to go, I'll still be at the party. " she said, her tone uncharacteristically serious. "Just promise me you'll head home soon, okay?" Your face drops into a frown, though you didn't particularly like the aggressive delinquent, she was one of the only people you knew at this party.. Well except for the man who's staring at you with love struck eyes as of right now. Before you could say anything, Reina left your side, with the group of delinquents who followed. She didn't forget to barge into Alex as she was leaving, though it didn't really affect him — he was too focused on the fact that he was alone with you right now. 

 The overexcited jock happily grabs your arm and drags you around the whole house of the party, Although he was meant to be giving you a supposed ‘tour’; you noticed he was just staring deeply at your face whilst speaking. You came to the conclusion that he didn't really know what he was doing, he just wanted to impress you.

Amid the swirling costumes and pulsating music, You  felt as if you were caught in a whirlwind. Every step you took was accompanied by Alex, who remained steadfastly close. The bulky man stayed close, like an overprotective guard dog, as you both navigated the crowd. Y/N couldn't help but feel suffocated by his constant presence. You desperately needed a moment of peace, a brief escape from his watchful eyes. You decide to ask him for a favour, of course he’d help you. 

 You finally mustered the courage to speak up, tugging at the edge of Alex's costume and turning to him with a gentle but tired smile. "Hey, Alex, do you mind getting me a drink? I could really use a break."

The jock beamed at you, happy that you trusted him enough to do something for you. ‘That must mean you like him right?! That's how it works!!’

 "Of course, Y/N," he replied, his voice warm and reassuring. "I'll be right back with your drink. Just stay right here, okay?"

You nodded gratefully, allowing yourself a sigh of relief as Alex disappeared into the crowd, determined to fulfil your request. The distance that had separated them, albeit briefly, was a welcome change, and you could breathe a little easier. 

Although he told you to stay where you were, you began to wander around and observe the revelry around you. People in all manner of costumes danced, drank, and got a little too comfortable with each other. 

You let out a yelp as you open a door to a couple grinding on each other.  Murmuring a dozen apologies, you leave the room flustered. 

As you lose yourself in your thoughts and in the house, you notice a familiar white haired male approaching you, with a wide cheshire grin, Kieran; the host of the party. 

The playboy moved through the crowd with an air of confidence and intrigue. He was dressed up as… a prisoner with handcuffs. Or as he’d probably say ‘a sexy prisoner.’ ‘Please don't come here, please don't come here, please don't come here.’ Is the phrase that repeatedly pops up in your head as you try to look at anything but him. 

“Boo!” The playboy whispers in your ears as he wraps his arm around your shoulders. He then turns you around and ignores the pout on your face, Inspecting your outfit whilst biting his lips. 

“Are you done eye-fucking me?” you sneered, crossing your arms as you tried to move slightly away from the playful male. "Oh man, you would've looked prettier as a princess~" he purred, his voice carrying a flirtatious undertone, his words accompanied by a roguish grin. You were clearly no stranger to Kieran's personality and annoying nickname for you. You roll your eyes and retort  "Well I'd rather not deal with the whole 'damsel in distress' shit tonight," a hint of sarcasm laced in your response. 

Kieran laughed, unbothered by your resistance. "Ooh but I'd have so much fun saving you princess~!” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "But what made you change your mind coming to my party? I rang your phone like two hours ago and you didn't pick up.” He questions with a raised eyebrow,  his sly smirk still displayed on his face before he laughs.

“Missed my face that much huh?  Should’ just said! Would've came running to you.” 

You couldn't be bothered to talk about how you were forced to come to this stupid party, and also not wanting to mention Reina because for some reason they both had some weird dislikement towards each other. “Just had a change of heart.” You say before turning around and attempting to walk away from Kieran, but again luck wasn't on your side as he grabs your arm and tuts. The dimly lit room with the midst of the crowd, made you focus on the playful man's eyes and you noticed a shine in his eyes whilst staring at you. Before you could tell him to let you go,he whispers closely to you, so close that you could faintly smell the alcohol and mint laced in his breath. “Hey this is my party y’know? Let me show you a more secluded area, perfect for an introvert like you~” He teases as he drags your arm downstairs, and into one of the rooms which he had to twist to unlock. You silently cuss the playboy as you notice his entire group of so-called friends in the room. LED lights which displayed red, multiple couples in the room doing God knows what.

 As you both walk further into the room, Kieran, too busy dabbing up people who you never once saw in your life, You notice a pile of unlabeled drugs and drinks on the table that was in the centre of the room. Quickly looking away, you squint your eyes as you try to notice anyone that you’re familiar with. In the corner of the room, there's a girl wearing a red corset with red horns, matching yours. You notice her angry expression as she converses with the two people around her. It was Reina. She notices your gaze and her face slightly softens, As she approaches you, she notices your arm being held by Kieran. Her face returns to the expression of which you first saw in the room. The white haired male doesn't notice the vexed delinquent yet, and he stares at your face in confusion as he notices you watching something, following your line of view he finally sees the girl wearing the devil costume. “Oh hey! Didn't know I invited you to my party?” He says playfully, but you notice the snark in his voice.  Reina seems to notice it too as her face contorts into one of jealousy. “You guys know each other?” She questions, her question directed towards mostly you. Your hands begin to sweat as you attempt to stutter out an excuse, but for the second time this night, the living sun in human form interrupts your conversation by walking into the room, except this time he didn't have a happy expression, it was evident that he was sulking. 

Your eyes drift to his hands, noticing the drink in his hands that you had specifically asked for. ‘Shit..’ you think to yourself and for the first time you felt bad for the jock. You didn't mean to leave him for that long! It was more of Kierans fault for dragging you away. “I have your drink Y/N…” He says with wide eyes and pursed lips, clearly upset that you had just left him. With an apologetic gaze, you gently take the drink away from his grasp with a thank you, as you look away with a little guilt. “Oh my god, not this freak here again!” Reina scorns,disdain in her face as she stares at both Alex and Kieran, they stare back with disgust. The entire school year, these three constantly hung around you and you still managed to never make them interact whilst you were there, in fear of any of these bold characters causing a scene. But of course, the one day where you especially didn't want to see any of them, they all surround you possessively with jealousy tangled in their eyes. Could this night get any worse? -

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It most definitely can. You managed to calm them down and now you're all sat in a circle, with random people you don't know. Kieran sat down next to you on the right, while Alex occupied the seat on the left, and Reina sat across from you, clearly not happy with the seating arrangements.

Whilst the room was filled with chatter, one of Kieran's friends mentioned a board game that you've never heard about  that supposedly had the power to ‘summon demons.’

The suggestion hung in the air, Kieran laughed at the idea and laughed harder as he noticed the uncomfortable look in your face. 

“Don't worry babe, i'll protect you~” He whispers in your ear, Reina notices you two conversing but can't hear what he told you, Her already green eyes appear even greener as she looks away enviously. The idea was met with hesitance, but with Kieran's playful persuasion, everyone reluctantly agreed to try it.

As the game commenced, Alex clutched onto your arm, his protectiveness reaching new heights. The friendly giants sends you a look of comfort. Reina, on the other hand, grew increasingly annoyed and impatient, wanting to leave this messed up party. Still, she begrudgingly  stayed, unwilling to abandon her beloved in this situation.

The group followed the game's instructions, and to their shock, the room filled with an eerie energy. The lights began to flicker and in an instant it turned off, most of the room ran away screaming, not caring about the party anymore. Others began to laugh with interest  and waited for what was going to happen next. a sinister figure formed in the centre of their makeshift circle. You freeze as you notice the demon (?), he is fucking terrifying but inspecting him closer the extremely tall thing is quite.. handsome?  

A malevolent demon with smouldering eyes and a sinister grin, stood before everyone. Panic coursed through the room, and everyone, including yourself , scrambled to flee. As you attempted to escape, the demon swiftly locked the door, trapping you inside with Alex, Reina, and Kieran.

With a devilish chuckle, The demon introduced himself as Silas. The red faced man turned his attention to you. He took your chin in his hand, his touch chilling to the bone. His nails dug sharply into your skin. "You're prettier than the angels we have where I'm from" he hissed, his voice dripping with lust.

Your heart raced with fear and arousal as you looked into Silas's eyes, a shiver running down your spine. Alex and Reina attempted to interject, their voices laced with fear and anger, but Silas silenced them with a mere flick of his fingers, flooding their minds with endorphins that dulled their resistance. Kieran seemed to be less affected by whatever poison Silas had put out as he grabs Y/Ns arm towards his chest. “I don't know what the hell you are but she's mine, get in line” Kieran jokes, not scared of the situation at all. You send him the dirtiest look possible as Silas laughs mockingly at the playboys statement.

As the night wore on, and the party raged outside, Y/N, Alex, Reina, and Kieran were trapped with this demon who had an interest in you for some strange reason. Well, everyone in this room has some abnormal interest in you and it seems that you're quite literally trapped in a  room with people who would do anything for you. Even if that means fighting a demon.

Desperation welled up in your body as you realised the dire situation that you were stuck in. "How am I supposed to leave now?" you whisper to yourself, noticing 4 gazes staring at you with different expressions but they all contained one thing, Lust.

Did Silas forget to mention that he was a succubus?

purerae<3

COMMENTS AND REBLOGS HEAVILY APPRECIATED.

[cozymochi]

What is your secret/tips when it comes to analyzing the art style and anatomy of TWST? 👀

Studying the rest of Toboso’s work as it was presented over time and how it evolved, identifying it, noting the patterns, breaking down how she came to the visual conclusions she did on top of what process is probably being taken in regards to twst, and putting that into practice when going off the beaten path to do my own thing with it.

I don’t know if that makes any sense. It’s just master studies. I’ve done it with Takahashi, Toriyama and a myriad of other artists I’ve liked. It’s kind of why my junk can kinda shift around when I feel like it. I have some gripes with that links wording, but it’s basically just that and not some grand secret. I only really came to a better understanding of how twst is constructed extremely recently when I got my physical hands on the first artbook. Then I realized how much I was overthinking. [shitty scans are my own]

You can even see the ghost lines and more of the uncertainties on where elements should go, and how they were ultimately changed.

Something about seeing the original card art completely broken down with notes and without all the bells snd whistles (and definitively from Toboso herself) kind of put into perspective how twst isn’t as complicated it seems to be when it’s cleaned up. It might be just me, but looking at a solely finished work can potentially skew someone’s perspective, especially if the only thing being noted is coloring- a completely seperate step altogether. Which I see a lot of, tbh. I’m not exempt no matter how deep in the rabbit hole I get.

But—

But, I probably shouldn’t be the one talking since I have like… [redacted] years of having a trained eye for that sort of thing.

I’m not too concerned about coloring ( again, separate step, and not even done by her), it’s the drawing part. That’s the actual meat and potatoes. So, someone could see competent twst coloring mastered but the drawings themselves aren’t really following the general processes at play, and folk will still call it the “twst style.” So, whenever anyone says that, even here, I’m not sure what others mean by that. What is this alleged “twst style?” (Disclaimer: Rhetorical)

Yeah it’s a combination of every element at once (as every style is), but as far as my learning goes- I define the quote “twst style” is just Yana Toboso’s general artwork (notably from the 2020s, but the rest are helpful). Even if there are other artists in D-6th that are contributing. They’re all essentially trying to accomplish a unified look and that unified look is based off of hers. So, I don’t find looking at just twisted wonderland itself all that beneficial, low key. I’ll look over Black Butler, her miscellaneous fanart, her disney fanart, whatever happens to cross my path that I think would be informative for my purposes. Again, I’m not looking at every possible thing ever, obviously, just what I think would be informative.

I’m not sure how often anyone thinks about that. Especially since her visual process just carries over nearly 1:1, even if her point of reference and intent on designing something changed.

It’s like how Snake from Black Butler and Silver look pretty similar. No, it’s not from being “lazy” which- side note I hate those bad faith reads, total peeve.

Designing Snake and designing Silver came from two completely separate and unrelated intentions nearly a decade apart from each other. It just happens there are tropes that she clearly likes as an artist when designing characters. I’m more inclined to believe based on what I’ve read and practiced that it’s just a case of that, nothing more.

Which makes me reflect on a lot of my own repeated visual tropes. Such as how a lot of my female character designs always end up having some form of short curly hair, meanwhile the male characters keep having long hair 😩 God knows the wavy asymmetrical swoop bang rearing it’s head. It’s not intentional, but it keeps happening anyway.

That’s the kinda joint I’m talking about with master studies. Again, not just looking at something and trying to mimic it, it does go into trying to break down the process even at that level.

All this reminds me of this conversation I overheard in college while I was stuck doing printmaking work— some person said they, really wanted to draw like the guy who made Naruto since they liked his artstyle. Only for some other guy to cut in like “No, you shouldn’t do that! That’s not original :/ you should figure out your own original style first” or something to that end. I partially wish I butt in to that conversation. I didn’t much like how quick that guy shut that person down either.

Because… That’s… that’s not even remotely how that works? How can a person even find their own style/voice/whatever without studying the work of someone that came before them? If they wanna draw like that mangaka, then let them learn via that avenue. You can’t work backwards starting from nowhere. I even learned that in character design.

This person would have learned a lot more about how the process works and what works for them in their attempts to understand his style. They’d find their own organically after that. It’d also be more fun for them in the moment since they’re focusing on something they like. Then when it comes time to learn the boring (but important) stuff like fundamentals, they’d be able to articulate themselves more and identify what they’re doing. (Don’t knock art history and bring stuck breaking down meaning in seemingly “useless” stuff.)

But I’m starting to digress on the common “ugh im not original and unique enough if im not immediately doing my own thing from scratch” thing I saw/ overheard too much during my years at that campus. (It also led to me seeing zero progression from beginning to end from those peers)

As for the whole twst art thing, I can’t really tell you what conclusions to draw should any of this be put into practice. That’s not up to me to say.

I’m of the mindset that if you can sufficiently understand at least one art style, you can pretty much do anything else you want.

Take that with what you will.

[greeniegirl23]

Isn't It Lovely..? (Chapter 1#)

(Trigger Warning ⚠️ : Parental Abuse/ Alcoholism/ Cursing/ Injuries/ Shitty Dad. Minors DNI, go mow the lawn! >:( )

The sky was dark and gloomy when you woke up this morning and even now as you lay down on your back in a muddy puddle with your work books strewn about in said puddle, you couldn't help but think that this dark and gloomy sky was beautiful.

You couldn't hear the voice of the bully that purposely tripped you so that you'd fall in the giant mess that you were in. A part of you was sure she was cursing at you, probably calling you ‘lazy’ and what not as the clouds above you began to cry and grace your skin with cool raindrops. The things you've already heard before, things you had grown the mental strength to overcome on the outside.

Her anger stemmed from the fact that she was an idiot at her own game, not that you had an issue with that. She paid you to do her homework. Five bucks a page. And with college classes sending you home with at least 4 pages of homework every other day, it was safe to say that you had struck a goldmine. The Professor on the other hand had quite the issue with that. Calling her out during class and pointing out how she clearly copied your work for an essay that was due. He mentioned that this was a perfect example of plagiarism and that unless anyone else wanted to be embarrassed or dropped from the class, they would not follow in her foolish footsteps.

Of course, her tiny brain blamed you. Resulting in thick mud caking your clothes destroying your school work.

The sound of her stomping off gave you the signal you could get up without fear of her pushing you back down again. You shook off as much mud as you could from your clothes and salvaged as much if you work as possible, when your eyes spotted something bright red in your perfierals.

Reaching for the object, you pulled it out of the puddle and concluded that whatever it was, it was squishy like a teddy bear.

Wiping some of the dirt away with your hand, you discovered a pair of familiar red eyes looking back at you. A spike of excitement grew in your chest and you began to furiously clean off the plushie like object to reveal more and more features of the character you loved the most.

You held the plushie out in front of you with a sigh of happiness, it was a Hazbin Hotel Alastor plush. Oh, you've been dying to have one ever since you found the series in middle school!

Quickly you realized how beat up the poor thing was. Not only was it dirty from being in the mucky mud puddle, but there were a few rips and tears in the stitching. Buttons were missing, paint was chipped on the little microphone, and the monocle was cracked. For a moment, your nostrils flared in anger. How could someone allow such a high grade plushie to end up in this state? Not to mention the waste of money! Last you checked Hazbin Hotel merch wasn't cheap..

“You poor thing..” You muttered under your breath as you wiped off some excess mud from the tail coat on the doll.

“Don't worry, I’ll fix you right up and you'll be good as new.”

Double checking to see if you possibly left anything behind in the dirty death trap, you held the plushie close as you began the walk back home. Ignoring some of the looks you got from passersby on the street who saw you covered in sludge. Checking the driveway of your house, you took note of the missing blue car that belonged to your Dad.

Good. It meant that you had about five hours left to yourself before he came stumbling into the house..

Getting inside your warm home as quickly as possible, you immediately changed your clothes and placed them in the washer. Replacing your muddy green hoodie and jeans with a red sweater and some black leggings. Placing the plushie on a chair, just for the time being while you changed clothes, you were stuck with the strong urge to turn it around while you undressed. Which was a bit odd, considering all the other stuffed animals that you had fixed up and kept in your room, you undressed in front of them all the time but, something about this Alastor plush made you want to turn it away from you. There was no particular reason that you could place your finger on, but you listened to the feeling anyway.

As you shuffled around the house to get your chores together, you ran a warm bath to place the plush in. It was due for a good soaking and a bit of elbow grease would be needed to restore it back to its glory. You placed about two cups of clothes detergent in the tub, with the plush following afterwards. You had removed the microphone and the monical for now, but you did placed a heavy bucket full on top of the toy, just to keep it submerged under water for a while.

As your new project was getting ready, you took the time to go around your house doing your chores. Packing your father's lunch for the next day, taking out his clothes for tomorrow, pressing them with the iron, and making sure they were free of any debris or stains. You also cooked some spaghetti dinner for him and yourself, placed your clothes in the dryer and folded them, ready to be put in their proper place when it was time.

As you worked, you thought to yourself about your next coming assignments and you hoped that your dad would just go to his room and sleep off the alcohol you knew he consumed before he came home. While you vacuumed the living room floor, you bumped the table and accidentally knocked over one of the few pictures you had of her.

You picked up the photograph, checking the frame for cracks, which you thanked God there were none. It was the one where she was holding you as a baby on her graduation day. She had just passed medical school and would go on to be Dr. (L/N) for the next thirteen years before she was taken victim by cancer. The day she passed was the day everything in your life changed, your Dad changed, you changed, and the world was never the same.

Yet you stayed optimistic and promised yourself that you would follow in her footsteps. A tear welled up in your eye

as you remembered the day she brought you your first teddy bear and how you began your restoration hobby of stuffed animals whenever you would actually damage it.

Placing the picture back down on the table the way you found it, your finished up vacuuming and ran back upstairs to check on your new project. Upon entering the bathroom, you could see the dark brown water just from the doorway. The additional weight from the bucket did its job and now it was time to scrub.

Clearing out the dirty water down the drain, you ran the tap again with warm water and another cup of detergent, followed by some baking soda. For extra cleaning power.

Grabbing a nearby brush you keep for things like this, you set to work on scrubbing the doll like you've never scrubbed before. Careful of the rips and tears that it already had, you effectively worked through all the mud and sludge that the thing had retained. By the time you were done, the water was a lighter shade of brown and the plush was looking quite spiffy.

You weren't quite sure if it was dryer safe or not, but you did want to have him finished before your Dad returned. Ultimately you decided to place him in the dryer for fifteen minutes on the lowest settings and if he was still damp, you'd finish up the process with your hairdryer.

While Alastor was in the dryer, you went into your room to gather your materials at your vanity. It had everything from buttons to threads to fabrics, a final gift from your deceased mother.

Shaking off the bittersweet thought, you began it pick out what you needed. Black and red thread for the rips in Alastor's stitching, two bright red buttons for his tail coat, a shiny blood red rhinestone for the center of his bow tie, red paint, a hairbrush for animal like fur, and even a piece of hard stained plastic for the little monical that cracked.

The beep from the dryer alerted you and you happily went to retrieve your new little friend. Giving him a speedy squeeze test, you came to find that he had dried fairly well, but was still a little damp in some areas. Returning to your room, you turned on a nearby radio. It looked like it was from the 20’s but it still played modern day music. You changed to the station that played old songs from Alastor's time and before. Placing the happy looking doll neatly on your vanity you began to work.

‘Dooon’t save your kisses, just pass ‘em around.

You'll find my reason, is logically sound

Who's gonna knooow, you passed ���em around

A hundred years from today’

Humming along to one of your favorite songs as you worked, you couldn't help but take the time to meditate. Some people think that it's impossible to meditate and do something else at the same time, but you seem to have mastered it with no issues thus far.

It helped you to relax and deal with all the conflicting emotions in your life. Your mothers death, your Dad’s addiction and occasional abuse, the fact that you were twenty-one and still living with your father, so so many upsetting things about your father…

For every stitch you made, there was a thought. Feelings that you acknowledged, accepted, and then dismissed into the void. Despite your Dad's abuse and the only reason for sending you to college was for your stipend money, you would take a fair chunk out of it before you would give him the rest. So far, you had almost enough to successfully purchase an apartment stashed away. You had done your research thoroughly and found a decent place about two hours away from where you lived now. It had a community college there too, one where you could transfer your credits and even get an internship for your career.

Hours passed by peacefully as you stitched. Tearing off when needed, doing your best to be careful. Unfortunately you were still in a crunch for time and you were almost finished. The tailcoat, buttons, and bow tie had been completed. You even took the liberty of brushing and adjusting his hair, all that was left was the monocle and his microphone.

Quickly you painted the tiny microphone, which you thought was absolutely adorable. As you worked, you realized that you had never seen this version of a Hazbin plush before, this added to your confusion on why someone would throw something like this away. You decided to do a quick Google research as you fixed up the monocle and placed it right on his face where it belonged. The microphone would have to wait to be added. The paint was still wet and would take at least another thirty minutes.

Checking your watch, you realized that it was way later than you thought and that your father's drunkard of a father would come in any minute!

Placing the doll next to your prized radio, you ran downstairs to grab some food and water. Retreating to your room at top speed as you saw the headlights from his car through the kitchen window. You pulled out your homework and laid it out on your desk to give the illusion that you had been studying since you got home.

As much as you loved repairing stuffed toys, your father hated your hobby and forbade you from doing such a thing while you were in college and still under his roof. This rule brought you sorrow, but you were at least happy that he let you keep the old ones you had as a child.

Sound of the door opening and closing made you jump slightly, turning to your page chapter for school, you took deep breaths to calm down as heavy footsteps made it to your room.

The door swung open as your Dad stumbled in, drunk off of God knows what. “You couldn't even be bothered to say Hi to your Pop's after a long day of work?” He slurred.

You sighed and feigned an apologetic nature. “I'm sorry Dad, I got caught up in my work.”

“Whatever..” He hiccuped. “You better keep those grades good. That check you get from that stupid place helps out a lot..N’ you better not think about droppin out.”

“Yes sir.”

He looked at you hard, before snorting and making his way back downstairs. Probably for more booze. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. Once again you survived, and decided to actually spend some time studying until you heard the angry slamming of a pot in the kitchen.

Fear licked at your heart as your Dad came thundering back up the stairs. You barely had time to scream as he yanked you up by your hair, dragging you back into the kitchen as he lifted the lid of the pot and shoved your face very close to the food you made earlier. You were terrified and confused. What had you done wrong this time?!

“How many times have I told you..?” He yelled. “Don't put onions in my fucking food!!”

Tears weld in your eyes as you struggled in his grip. “I'm sorry! I forgot!”

He snorted. “Then maybe we should do something to jog that memory of yours next time..” You heard the sound of the stove top being turned on and you began to trash in fear. He grabbed your arm harshly, rolling up your sleeve to hold it over the gas flame.

“No! No! Stop it! Daddy please, you're drunk!!” You begged, feebly trying to yank your arm away as the fire began to burn your skin.

---------------------------------

Quiet sobs filled your bedroom as you slowly patched up your wound. A second-degree burn sat fresh on the forearm of your skin, already blistered and still stinging even after you applied the proper ointment on it.

You made sure to keep your sobs as silent as possible. Waking him up from his sleep would only turn into something much worse..

Hate wasn't even a strong enough word to encapsulate how you felt about this man. You lothed him. Despised him. But no matter how much you couldn't stand him you couldn't bring yourself to kill him. Thoughts about it had popped up in your head before, but you never fully acted on these thoughts. Except for maybe putting eye drops on his coffee that made him sick for a month.

Wiping your tears, you tried not to focus on the dark thoughts that graced your mind. The things you could do if only you were strong enough. Picking up your strewn about material, you noticed that the microphone for your Alastor plushie had dried. A small smile graced your face, at least you had that to be happy about.

Grabbing it off the area where you let it dry, you sat down at your desk. Careful with your forearm as you placed the microphone back in Tiny Alastor's little hand.

Your project was complete. A sense of happiness and pride overcame your features as you could see the object at its prime. It was adorable, definitely your new favorite among all your other stuffed projects.

Move over Mr.Buttercup, there's a new bed frame plushie to take your place and his name is Alastor!

Ultimately, you decided to climb into bed. There was no way you could study now, not in such a sad mood. Grabbing your new toy, you gave it a good squeeze and started to cry once again.

“Sometimes..” You whispered. “I wish you were real.. So that I wouldn't be alone. So that I could smile for real and live everyday without worrying about when that man might kill me before I can get away..”

A hiccup left your throat. Pulling the soft plush closer to your chest, you hugged it so tight that if it had bones they'd probably be broken by now.

“You're my only friend Alastor..” You sniffled, finally falling asleep to dream a better dream. But before you fell unconscious, you swore you felt something cradling your face. It was cold, yet comforting and along with it was the sweet sound of a song you couldn't say you've ever heard before.

‘When you see clouds upon the hills

You soon will see crowds of daffodils

So keep on looking for a bluebird, and listening for his song

Whenever April showers come along..’

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(The art belongs to @makirollart. I'm not sure what platform they are on but I did want to still give credit.

This story will be short and is based heavily on this picture and 'Lovely' by Billie Eilish. Stay Turned for the next chapter and don't be afraid to comment your opinions :D)

[shesnake]

I wanted to know your thoughts on this but do you think it's fair to say either Louis or Armand are abusive in their relationship? Idek if this is a valid angle to view the characters from because I guess they're all monsters or whatever but a part of me thinks that it's kinda lukewarm to refuse to engage with the complicated themes of the show, which abuse is featured heavily and pretty clearly imo. This isn't aimed at you btw. Something I noticed is people tend to use some of Louis's less favorable moments to justify the violence he experiences. Like that post about Armand just matching Louis energy in ep 5, most of the notes are taking the stance that Louis is a cold, unempathic pimp who doesn't care about sa victims, that Armand genuinely is completely right when he says he is always cleaning up after Louis that he was only worried and tenderhearted and Louis escalated in the worst way and that after Louis said that he deserved everything that happened after. And I may be biased but to me that is so fucking crazy. To me it seems like fans, specially nonblack fans, have zero empathy for black abuse victims, actively enacting abuse culture even. But idk if that is a too reactive view. I don't want to say Louis isn't flawed because he is. But I mean we are watching the season about Armand getting Claudia killed on purpose and somehow people are still like Maybe Armand didn't do it, maybe it was all Louis, maybe Louis really asked for it. All of it. I think there's a problem there but idk I kinda feel a little crazy too. Btw disclaimer I fuckin hate Lestat this is not about comparing Loumand/Loustat lol

hi! and wow there is so much to discuss here...

I think it is fair to describe the actions of both Louis and Armand towards each other as abusive by definition but it's always important to remember that it is Armand in the position of greater power over him. Armand is older, stronger, owns dominion. He can walk in the sun, manipulate memories, and live without constant debilitating hunger for blood - all of which are things that impede Louis from being his own person outside of Armand.

Louis also faced this same predicament when he was with Lestat, but unlike Armand who uses his own innate powers against Louis, Lestat mostly used his social advantages of whiteness, wealth etc in addition to withholding key knowledge about vampirism to keep himself in control and Louis dependent on him.

and sure Louis can lash out all he wants! He can mock Armand's sexual trauma (trauma which Armand himself already gets them both to fetishise... but that's a whole different conversation...) he can hit back when Lestat hits him but when he's with either of those guys he is always going to be the victim. Nothing shitty he does to his partners, or to Claudia, or to Daniel, justifies what is being done to him by these men.

There absolutely has to be anti-blackness involved in any argument that says Louis deserves any of this. (Of course Armand as a brown South Asian man is not immune from fandom racism but his treatment is racialised in a different way that is also a different conversation). Any negative behaviour from a Black man is going to be seen by racists as exponentially more aggressive than it is, especially the cross-section with those you mentioned who aren't engaging with the complicated themes of this show exploring abuse.

They can see that Louis yelling at Armand is bad, but don't notice that Armand is being manipulative. They can see that Louis stabbing Lestat that one time during sex is bad (and still sexualise it), but don't notice that Louis is disassociating in every sex scene he has with Lestat afterwards (because they're too busy sexualising it). They can see that Louis making Daniel upset is bad, but don't notice that Daniel has been leveling dozens of racist and homophobic micro-aggressions at him since episode 1.

Armand got a few minutes to tell his tragic backstory in Louvre, Lestat had 2 or 3 different scenes in season 1 to recall his own. It's just been words. Meanwhile racists erase Louis' experiences with trauma because they never had enough fucking empathy for him to begin with to even register it happening to him! on screen! in real time! right in front of us!

And yeah Louis and Armand and Loumand are incredibly complex and compelling, and I do enjoy seeing Louis' moments of cruelty towards Armand! But he's never going to win against him in the game Armand built for him.

And in terms of Claudia, I do think that Louis failed her, as he has always failed her. And is responsible for her death in that regard. But that failure involved letting those other two fucking sharks eat her!!! I personally haven't seen anyone pushing the blame completely off Armand and onto Louis but I wouldn't be surprised. This week I've more pissed off about people levelling it all on Armand and think of Lestat as an unwilling participant.... this is of course the blonde white vampire show....

anyways sorry this is so long! thanks for the message this was really interesting to think about.

[dippedinmelancholy]

I've been thinking about he weird Cassian/Mor/Azriel not-love-but-still-somehow-love triangle and like, the more I think about it, the shittier Morrigan looks. So, the initial Cassian fucking her? Not shitty, she's just trying to get out of her marriage, though Cassian is clearly down bad for Azriel and SJM doesn't have the balls to write it. But when you pin together Morrigan's conversations with Feyre. . . She's aware Azriel is in love with her, or at the very least, assumes so. Additionally, she wants nothing romantic with him, but absolutely refuses to tell him because she likes having him utterly wrapped around her finger and eager to protect her, to do anything for her. She specifically implies this when she tells Feyre "I like the way things are." This implies she knows Azriel is miserable. She knows he's pining. She knows she will never give him what he wants, nor will she tell him that she doesn't and won't ever return the feeling because she likes USING HIM. She likes using Cassian and an overly physical relationship to keep Azriel at bay, but doing just enough to keep him attached to her. She tells Feyre she is also aware of Azriel's self loathing. She knows she could strip naked for him and beg for his touch, but Azriel hates himself too much to dare. He thinks she is too pure and lovely for him, akin to an angel or goddess. So she doesn't need to use Cassian as a barrier, but it's an extra wall to guard her, and extra hurtful since she fucked Cassian. Then, you have the mess of the High Lord's meeting. Mor is uncomfortable, at least looks fearful, and Azriel attacks Eris. We know this is what Mor WANTS. She wants Azriel to defend her no matter the consequences. She wants to be safe from any reminder of her past, but especially her father and Eris. After getting the exact reaction she always wants from Azriel, knowing he never ever ever pushes her for more, but protects her because he loves her and never expects her to pay him back in any shape or form . . . Mor decides she needs to hurt him. She needs to reinforce how low he is, how he can protect her, can do everything she asks, and she will always choose someone else. So despite having no attraction to him, there being absolutely no need to do so, she sleeps with Helion. She fucks a High Lord with the only purpose to hurt Azriel, who is supposedly family, even as she hates every second of it. Who she is supposed to love. Yet she only does it to show him, in front of everyone, just how low he is. How filthy. How unworthy. Nothing he will ever do will be good enough, but she'll keep giving him just enough to give him hope, only to crush him every now and then. What a dream. SIDE NOTE How the fuck did Helion not pick up anything? You can literally smell arousal if you enter a room as a fae. If this man is half as a giving and talented lover as the text keeps telling us, how the fuck did he not know Morrigan wasn't into it? SJM please write your queer characters better or hire a ghost writer, I'm begging you.

[hyperfocuscentre]

i’m gonna make a statement and the sirius/severus fans might not like this one but…

sirius and severus are very much opposite sides of the same coin.

(before you continue, i would just like to suggest proceeding with caution as i will be mentioning topics such as abuse and bullying).

sirius grew up with wealth and privilege, severus did not. however, it’s heavily implied in canon that they both experienced some form of abuse whether it be mental or physical. gonna sight some sources because i’ve had people argue with me over that:

^ as shown above, we get a lot from sirius that suggests the way his mother’s portrait acts is similar to the way she acted in life (although presumably more extreme). furthermore, we get a direct comparison of harry’s childhood house to sirius’ from harry himself, implying there’s similarities in their treatment and the memories formed in these households.

it was actually much harder to find evidence for severus’ possible abuse, but there’s definitely signs of neglect. he was obviously poor, so his appearance might just be a reflection of that but the stuff about the arguing and his father’s distaste for everything does imply abuse.

^ as shown above, this is actually considered a form of emotional abuse.

ANYWAY, onto my original point! both sirius and severus do negative things, possibly as a result of this abuse:

- severus’ distaste for muggles, stemming from a young age, is arguably because of his father. he joins the death eaters and picks prejudice friends as a result. however, it’s also possible he joined the death eaters to feel powerful, considering it’s implied he’s felt anything but throughout his childhood (and also during hogwarts because of james and sirius). this, obviously, is an awful decision and cannot be justified but it’s always interesting to look deeply into the motives of morally grey characters.

- also, he rejects his surname and creates the title ‘half-blood prince’ which probably suggests bad relations with his father (or maybe he just wanted a cool name, although that’s not an argument that fits with my yapping).

- sirius similarly seeks power through his constant defiance: he becomes a gryffindor (there is some level of choice during the sorting, remember!), he completely opposes his parents beliefs and was probably only further motivated by their mistreatment considering he ends up disowned. additionally, he seeks out power through bullying in canon. it’s a well known fact that bullies maybe be acting this way due to bad situations in their home life.

arguably, these two guys are acting out in attempt to combat their shitty situations.

FINALLY, in adulthood these two guys seem to be heavily controlled by their past. sirius never got the chance to mature and grieve, stuck in a prison with creatures that literally sucked the happiness and positivity out of him. he was stunted, dealing with his grief and incapable of joining society. instead, he got trapped in his childhood home which was probably full of great memories!! (sarc) he remains impulsive and clearly still holds his childhood grudge against severus.

severus’ only purpose for living was avenging lily (i believe?). he joined dumbledore in attempt to save her, and then just continued to help him when he failed. he’s very clearly burdened by his mistakes and stuck grieving for his past friendship. adding onto that, he can’t let go of his anger at the marauders: he takes it out on harry, absolutely jumps at the chance to get sirius ‘kissed’ and blatantly despises remus.

i’m done! i’m not doing a conclusion because i hate those so… enjoy my badly worded ramble? please don’t be mean in the comments if you disagree!