#the plot was obvious though

[flib1-yibi]

just watched the first half of Kpop demon hunters and its amazing like gyatt dayum bro

[levemetal]

I got Procreate and gave it a test run with some silly AU sketches of course

So have Calamity SJ adopting Hong‘er! Ft. my silly calamity MNQ AU and it’s inevitable conclusion of atticwife Jun Wu in the second pic because I am no longer in control here.

SY tried to be the cool uncle, unfortunately YQY is the cooler uncle so he got the Feng Xin treatment. Binghe about to start beef with a child lmfao.

Ling Wen is new heavenly emperor and I ensure you she is as overworked as ever, but she does not care about heavenly officials marrying calamities anymore. First was YQY, and then Jun Wu. Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan are really not trendstarters here.

[parasolladyansy]

Random minor detail I noticed, but is there a specific reason that the character's eyes glow during moments of high emotion? Or is it just artistic details I'm putting too much thought in?

(Probably the best example of what the asker’s referring to in one image lol)

It’s just an artistic choice I made - it’s not so much as they glow as it is to express emotions like surprise, anger, fear, etc. I’ve found it works best for my current style.

Back in the day, I did something more like this (kind of like white pupils), though I do a variation of it to express milder surprise etc.

Hoping this makes sense!

TLDR: the latter 😅

[razzafrazzle]

another character from die as lovers may, my funney vampire story... had this design bouncing around in my brain for years honestly

[image description: a reference image for an original character named dr. pranali guin, a fat, older dark-skinned woman that has black hair with a white streak pulled into an updo. she is wearing a tight white dress with a cropped black jacket and an orange ribbon around her neck. next to her are blurbs stating that she is 55, that her pronouns are she/her, that she is an aroace woman, and the following: "acclaimed sexologist who is rather humorless. incredibly suspicious of rowan, but isn't quite sure why. not as stern as she looks. has really bad eyesight, but refuses to wear glasses out of spite. loves melodramatic soap operas and keeps a journal detailing every plot point in them. probably autistic." end id]

[aroaceleovaldez]

full on feel like pjo tv s2 is not gonna hold up so they need to drag as much attention to the series as they can by using nico as a sock puppet w tsats2

im fully expecting the show to go the way of the movies. it doesnt help Sea of Monsters is almost unanimously the least favorite book of the first series. People frequently forget it even exists or what happens in it, especially more casual fans.

Heck, just look at how little fanfare the second season has gotten so far as compared to the build up to s1. I wouldn't be surprised if s2 totally flops. It would be a little funny.

[stopbuggingm3]

told ya they'd be back

the more time passes, the less normal I get about them.

Loooooong rambles about their relationship under the cut, I said I would and i intend to deliver

So. Out of all the other pastas shes come into contact with, Arya easily ends up the closest with Brian/Hoodie (who i will refer to exclusively as Brian for the sake of my own sanity for this). They've got a "begrudgingly tolerating one another to faux-sibling dynamic" thing going on

How did that start?

Roughly a month or so after she went "missing", both Tim and Brian (they'll always come as a pair to me) find Arya out in the woods, bleeding out and barely conscious, after she managed to wander within close proximity of the cabin the two stay at. Surprised she even made it out so far, they go to investigate (and put her out of her misery) but stop when they find the operator symbol Arya has on her stomach.

Context: In my au, having the operator symbol on your body like that essentially marks you as being Slendermans property and is typically something only the proxies have, which also means that anyone under Slenders control aren't allowed to kill anyone possessing a symbol (don't break the bosses toys, he doesn't like that)

Arya is ironically lucky thats the case, or she absolutely would've been forced to find out what healing around a bullet feels like.

Initially Brian was against the idea of taking Arya with them at all, to the point he only agreed after Tim promised they would get rid of her if she proved to be too much of a hassle. It didn't take very long for them to find out she isn't a proxy herself after she was healed enough to talk, though they still couldn't do much about it, so they came up with a deal: She helps them in whatever way they need, and they'll help keep her safe

From that point on, Arya would regularly stick with Tim and Brian, only leaving whenever the other proxies were around or they had a particularly long job to do. Tim was civil enough, but Brian was considerably colder and untrusting towards her and would repeatedly make it clear that they'd only keep her around for as long as she was useful to them. He takes his job seriously and he's not about to let her become a burden just because they can't get rid of her for good.

Hence the art i made of them the other day. Arya was definitely made to tag along on a handful of Brians more graphic jobs. He still films the way he did when he was ToTheArk, more out of habit and comfort than anything, and I like to think he pushed it onto Arya at least once.

But, as frustrating as it was, and as much as she'd snap back at him for it, Arya didn't take any offence to the harsh treatment. If anything, she viewed his reluctance to trust her almost as a challenge and made it her personal mission to prove herself to him. She refused to let him think of her as a burden or dead-weight, she actually liked that he was a hardass on her. It was better than him immediately writing her off as incapable.

The petty arguments the two of them would constantly get into has single handedly supplied Tim with so much guilt over subjecting Brian to his and Tobys constant bickering, because now he knows exactly how it sounds to everyone else around them.

Speaking of Toby, he crashes on Tim and Brians couch from time to time and Arya is quick to clear off any time he does because, in Brians words, "Toby would gut her alive if he found her" and honestly Arya wouldn't be any more merciful.

It was a slow and painful process, but after a while of sticking around Arya did eventually manage to earn Brians trust and learned to give her own back in return. They warm up to each other. Theres still a good amount of petty bickering but it's much more light hearted and playful than before, petty in the way siblings are rather than enemies.

Brian appreciates how reliable and determined she can be and the way she trusts his judgement on plans and decisions rather than question his every other word like Tim and Toby can sometimes do (Tims a cautious man by nature and Toby...is Toby)

Similarly, Arya appreciates him trusting her capabilities and ability to handle the tasks he gives her. He doesn't assume her to be less capable because of her disabilities and it's a welcome change from the way others can automatically underestimate and look down on her for them

Brian reminds Arya of her older sister Kat (or Katherine for long) in a way, mostly in that they both tend to show care and affection through "tough love" and smaller gestures. Theres times when they argue (usually about Aryas recklessness) where Brian will near enough quote Kat word for word and Arya will just crumble to whatever it is he's saying. She knows her sister had her best interests in mind and the way they constantly argued is something she regrets more than anything, so she tries to avoid the same thing happening to her and Brian. Unlike Kat though, Brian is much more willing to hear her side out and meet her half way on things, which makes it easier to listen to him when he needs her too.

Usually when Arya has a POTS flair up, she'll either shut herself away in the cabins spare room or find somewhere in the woods to hide away until it passes, but sometimes (when it's particularly bad) she'll let Brian stay by her and keep her company because she knows he won't treat her like glass over it. He will be a pest though, if a well meaning one

"Y'know you still have to eat somethin', right?"

"...bring that near me and I will vomit."

"Yeah, but you'll be even more unbearable later if you don't so i'm willin' to risk it."

After weeks of listening to her pester Tim about it, Brian taught Arya how to shoot his gun. She doesn't have one of her own and Brian is usually in need of his, but she has free access to his bullets if she ever meeds them (which is definitely not a privilege she abuses I promise, she will absolutely replace any bullets she may or may not steal)

[fromtheseventhhell]

The way fandom keeps flip-flopping between Arya's age is so weird. One minute she's too old to experience trauma, the next minute she's too young for crushes and romance. Like jeez fandom, make up your own damn mind.

I've been saying that a lot of people don't consider Arya an actual character, and the inconsistent takes about her are one of the best examples. People just want her to exist as a prop to support their fanon so they don't bother doing any analysis (a lot of them don't even bother reading her chapters). They'll just say whatever depending on the conversation. They hate empathizing with her, so they adultify her; They hate the idea of her having a romance, so they infantilize her. No consistency or logic...just vibes and the desire to reduce her character. It's like them claiming she has masculine privilege but then insisting she has to leave Westeros to be "free" since she's non-conforming. Or that she's a feral wild child who can't control herself while also claiming she's a cold-hearted, calculating assassin.

They're so obsessive about it too. They can't just dislike her character and not talk about her, they need to erase basically everything about her story. It really boils down to them liking her story elements but not being able to project onto her, so they steal her traits for their fanon!fave. It's wild we have to see their nonsense takes because they can only "enjoy" the story after they've rewritten it. At this point it won't even stop if we get TWOW; I can already foresee the "George stole [x]'s story to give to Arya because he hates feminine women" takes lol

[thatoneastralghost]

DS&D Ink

Summery: The designated Navigator of the Justice Reigns, Ink is a stubborn but aloof individual. An assassination attempt gone wrong led him to joining and working alongside Dream, and eventually Finch to try and bring peace to the various lands. While he doesn't outwardly express it, he does care for those he now works with.

Asks are open!

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Name: Ink Crudel

Species: Half Wood-Elf

Class: Fighter - Scofflaw

Alignment: Neutral

Group: Justice Reigns

Role: Navigator

Age: 37

Gender: Nonbinary

Pronouns: They/Them

Sexuality: Aro/Ace

Height: 6'4

Main Weapon: Glaive

Secondary Weapon: Hand axe

Personality:

Flippants: Not showing a serious or respectful attitude.

Impulsive: Acts that happen on sudden urges or emotions without thinking about the consequences

Apathetic: A lack of goal-directed activity and motivation compared to previous behavior.

Impassive: someone who displays no emotion or reaction, appearing apathetic and unemotional. Not easily aroused or excited, and may seem indifferent or stoic.

Sarcastic: Mocks or ridicules, usually by saying the opposite of what is actually meant. Hostility disguised as humor.

Creative: The ability to think imaginatively, come up with original ideas, and find unique solutions to problems.

Adventurous: Someone who is willing to take risks and try new things.

Unpredictable: Not able to be predicted; unchangeable.

Fun Facts:

- Ink doesn't wear his armor very often as he finds it uncomfortable.

- He is banned from cooking

- Enjoy's drawing and wood carving

- Absolutely hates the cold, despises it with his entire being

- Attempted to kill Dream once, their chill now

- Was a mercenary prior to officially joining Dream's group

- Yes his hair is naturally those colors, no, we don't know why

Extra Images:

Close up of Ink's face

Close up of Ink's weapon

Ink's scarf

Side Note: I forgot to shade the scarf and the just procrastinated not to before posting this- 🥲

Ink's Armor Design

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I hope you all enjoyed this! Finch is next, so stay tuned! Hope you all have a wonderful morning or night and stay safe!

[daily-whistlebreeze]

i've posted about it a bit but I'm trying to save the WindClan family tree from collapsing under the weight of the erins' lack of foresight. Whistlebreeze's family is already fully ironed out and I don't think I'll play with the HeatherBreeze kids or who Heather and Breeze's parents are (I kinda want this tree to be semi canon adjacent, so no massive crossclan couples that would have repercussions on the further events (though I am never against a sneaky relationship like Gorsetail and Beechfur technically had)), but since the rest of the clan is a blank slate, I'm asking you if you have some things you usually imagine about the WindClan family tree that I could incorporate into this save I'm attempting.

I already know I'm shuffling all the ASC and CS kittens (so Larkwing's litter, the second FeatherOat one, Fluff and Silky and the AppleFlutter kids) because one family DOES NOT need this many kittens. I'm already set on Fluff and Silky being ex-kittypets, but all other three litters are fully fair game for any other WindClanner. That right now is either going to be a Single Dad, or a cat I save from dying unceremoniously somewhere in TNP-AVOS (and though my options are limited, I'll scrounge through these cats like my life depends on it).

So, my main question right now is if there are specific cats from WindClan you'd want to not be dead? I'm already saving Sunstrike and replacing Whiskernose with her, but there are absolutely other cats that should also be alive and I'm curious if you have suggestions.

[hurricanek8art]

Screw it, I posted the fic, she's my other main oc in the SWTOR-fic-verse in my head and drafts, SO part two of me clawing my way out of my anxiety bubble: character profiles part two! In which i still suck at summarizing events without sounding pretentious or overdoing it on the lore dumping. I have like. two good screenshots of Chrysali on my tablet and no access to the ones on my old laptop hard drive still (😭😭😭), but thanks to @jeswii coming in the clutch with a screenshot so I don't claw my hair out (THANK YOU AGAIN) I have finished one out of three parts of that art thing I've been going insane rambling about lately and it's my favorite part of it so have this bit of a thing that I will finish eventually!🥴 I'm probably going to come back to this and swap the art out for the full finished piece once it's done-done, but! in the meantime!:

Chrysali Vidoi: the Cipher

Homeworld: Druckenwell

Born: 3662BBY (age 22 at start, currently 40)

Species: Genetically- and cybernetically-enhanced Human

Occupation: co-operations manager and head of Alliance Intelligence; formerly agent of the Imperial Intelligence division

Affiliations: Eternal Alliance; formerly Imperial Intelligence

Romances: Theron Shan

Chrysali Vidoi is a woman of many names—Cipher Nine, Nashtah Twelve, Legate, and countless more she cannot even remember, but none of them matter more to her than the one she was born with and constantly denied. A survivor of the Battle of Druckenwell as a child, Chrysali found herself rounded up in the aftermath by agents of the Imperial Science Division and taken as test subjects for the Arkanian cyber-geneticist Atro Arkova's Project: Nashtah. Arkova wanted to create a perfect living weapon, and through a combination of cybernetic modification and genetic enhancement, he made the children under his thumb more—faster, stronger, more agile, more capable in a fight, immune to the effects of external stimulants like alcohol and drugs, and with a lowered sensitivity to internal hormones like adrenaline that could impair their reactions. Better than droids because they could think for themselves, Arlova molded them into becoming a potential replacement for even the vaunted Cipher program one day. They were deadly killing machines with only one flaw: they were not invincible. By the time Chrysali (now designated Nashtah Twelve) came of age, only a handful of her fellow Nashtahs had survived their grueling training, and the project was closed down as a failure with the survivors shuffled into Imperial Intelligence instead. Chrysali took to the work like she was made for it (and she had been) but all the while hated everything about it—the Empire, the work, herself, everything. A rollercoaster three years followed that ended with Imperial Intelligence disbanded, Ardun Kothe's offer to make her a double-agent for the SIS, and Chrysali aimless as she struggled to be more than just the weapon she was made to become. The Revanite crisis served to be the lifeline out of her confusion, and Chrysali latched onto the allies she found amongst it, in particular finding something of a kindred spirit in Theron Shan. The years under Zakuul, then fighting Zakuul, brought them together, and now they are an unbreakable partnership in every sense of the word, facing down whatever comes next the way they do best—together.

[poeticamethyst]

So I did a thing..

[vilevexedvixen]

AU Edward Nygma

@dariusblake and I are actually still on the fence about how to take his character.

Personally, I'd have him be the healthiest mentally and generally. Initially becoming a teacher, specifically to be the supportive figure he needed as a kid (being smart and combative, questioning everything no one wanted questioned, generally put down and held back). Although he was technically just a maths teacher, he managed to apply his subject in a way that meant he effectively taught his students the entire curriculum through a mathematical lens (art, architecture, biology, chemistry, physics, etc.). Encouraging his students to question everything, particularly everything taught in the standard curriculum.

I think this version of Ed would really not stand children, despite being a teacher (the same was true for all my best teachers). His initial attempt at going straight by trying to be that supportive figure and change things from the inside on a small scale would be somewhat self-indulgent (to fulfill his own personal need for a supportive figure retroactively and to show off his superior intellect in a way that is relatively socially acceptable) and something he would later consider foolish and naïve once he does start trying to disrupt the corporate and state powers that dictate the education system and society at large.

Unfortunately, eventually Ed gets fired a. For diverting wildly from the curriculum (even if it lead to students attaining a better understanding of each subject much earlier than expected) and b. For attempting to out the headmaster as a nonce. He was already very much aware that being the healthy supportive figure he needed to others wouldn't help the wider structural issues that lead to people being taught not to think and keep their head down. This Ed still has an ego of course, but is much more secure in his own intelligence and feels less of a need to prove it to others as it is clearly self-evident. No, his riddles are less to prove his intellect over others and rather to make people think. He wants them to be engaged with and becomes more brazen with his presentation to force them into the spotlight. Less to show off (though that too) and more to force everyone to face the questions they otherwise don't think about.

Around the time Ed appears in the story, he's investigating the very same corruption that Bruce is (new to being Batman and recently returned to any involvement in Wayne Enterprises, so has a lot of dirty laundry to sort) and they end up crossing paths (both as investigators and with Ed targeting Bruce himself regarding Wayne Enterprises corruption). Initially, his riddles are a way to keep his old students informed about what's actually going on in Gotham while remaining under the radar. I also feel like he'd plant some riddles unrelated to that info that instead lead to a prize or something to throw off anyone who might also figure them out.

[inspiteofganon]

I'm not really a "shipper" per se but I will admit that the utter lack of gansheik stuff anywhere is a real surprise to me. You can't hardly even find platonic stuff of them having a dynamic despite all the fuel that the manga gives for tension and potential interactions.

[sneezingfetishftw-fics]

Insufferable (7/7)

At long last, Vox's suffering is complete! (For this fic anyway lol, I'll probably torture him again later). Enjoy the final chapter.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Wavs: 1 3

———————————————————————

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright, Amorcito?” Val asked, stroking Vox’s arm. 

Vox shook his head. “You can’t come along, Val. It would make negotiations even more tense, and that’s the last thing we need.”

“Do you want me to…” Velvette started. 

Vox shook his head, then winced from the pain of moving it. “Someone needs to keep running the company while I’m gone.” He sighed. “You’ve done well so far, just… heh’tzzzzch! Just keep it up. I’ll be fi… hi… hih… hih’TZZZZZSCHT! I’ll survive.”

“Alright, but if you’re not back by tomorrow I’m coming after you!” Velvette said, her expression intimidating despite her stature. 

Vox chuckled. “Deal,” he said, walking out the door. 

The walk to the hotel was every bit as awful as Vox had expected. To make matters worse, it seemed the trees had chosen today to release all their fucking pollen. There were several times Vox had to hypnotize someone who witnessed his disheveled state, and having Alastor go through his body to do the hypnotizing was a thoroughly unpleasant feeling, like someone crawling under his skin and pushing all his organs out. He may have wanted Alastor inside him, but not like this.

By the time he finally arrived at the hotel, Vox was an absolute mess. His suit was wrinkled from doubling over with the more intense sneezes, his screen was dull, his movements were slow and weak, and he was pretty sure his voice was shot too, if he still had his voice at all. 

Charlie did a double take at the door, closing it in shock for a moment before she finally left it open long enough for Vox to speak. 

“Greetings, your Highness. I… Hhhhh’tzzzzzmp!” Charlie raised an eyebrow as the sparks flew. Velvette had finally managed to teach Vox how to use a handkerchief, but that didn’t stop the old television in the lobby from shorting out. “Excuse me,” he said, trying desperately to find his usual charm and professionalism. 

“Bless you, Mr. Vox. What are you doing here?” Charlie asked, staring at him with pure confusion. 

“Please, call me Vox.”

“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Vaggie repeated, staring with more hostility than confusion. 

Vox sighed. There was no point tiptoeing around it, especially since he didn’t know how long his voice would last. But he was a businessman, he knew the importance of selling to his audience, so taking the right angle was important here. Vaggie would see through any bullshit—the main thing that mattered to her was honesty. And Charlie? The bleeding heart was so big on her sleeve it’s a wonder her arm hadn’t fallen off. He died a little inside as he realized what he had to do. Loathe as he was to appear weak, there was no doubt that groveling and being pathetic was the best way to tug on those heartstrings. 

“As you may have noticed, I’m not exactly in the best state at the moment,” he began, breaking into a coughing fit that he let drag on for longer than it would have naturally. 

“I can see that, but uh… why come here?”

“Well, uh, it’s kind of a long story, but I am looking specifically for your heh… heh…heh…heh…heh’TZZZZZZSH! For your help, Princess.” As he dragged out the buildup a little longer, he wondered whether this was the right move. Would Charlie be grossed out by his illness? But the sympathetic look on her face told her all he needed. After a moment, her face shifted to one of realization. 

“Oh! Alastor said to expect a visitor. Someone who wanted to try redemption? Was that you?”

God fucking dammit. Of course Alastor would have said something like that. Now he had to pretend to be caught up in Charlie’s hippie nonsense… on second thought, maybe not. The doubtful glare from Vaggie reminded him that even the smoothest of lies wouldn’t work. And it’s not like Alastor would step in to help him with hypnosis here. Vox was saved from his musings by a wracking cough, one so awful on its own that there was no need for exaggeration. 

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! Here you are standing in the doorway, when you must feel terrible! Please, come in! Can I get you some water?” Vox nodded weakly as he stumbled in. Technically he probably could have walked better than that, but there was no point spending the effort when appearing weak gave him an advantage. Vaggie gave him the side-eye. It was clear she wasn’t 100% convinced. He took a long gulp of the water, disappointed that it did nothing to soothe his throat. Maybe Charlie would get him some tea later. He wouldn’t be the one to ask, though. He was already about to ask for a lot. Charlie opened her mouth to speak, but paused as Vox had an absolutely horrendous sneezing fit. He had thought it was bad on earth getting illness and allergies at the same time, but there was no doubt that it was far worse in hell. To add to his frustration, Charlie had a ridiculous determination to bless every single sneeze. Vox wanted to claw off his entire face, resisting the urge only because he lacked the energy. 

After he was finally done sneezing, Vaggie broke the silence. “Alright, Vox. We know you didn’t come here just to look all gross and pathetic. What do you actually want?”

Vox frowned as he realized his voice was gone. Why now? Ugh. He deliberated for a moment, then smacked the side of his head, hoping to Satan it would work this time or he would look like even more of a fool. Thankfully, that seemed to have done the trick. “As you might have guessed, I’m sick.” Vaggie rolled her eyes at the obvious statement. “What you might not know is, Alastor did this.” He grimaced with the restraint it took to not curse his rival. “It was a targeted virus,” he said bitterly. “Not contagious,” he added as an afterthought upon seeing their concern. 

The pair stared at him for a while. Charlie spoke up first. “You want me to… talk to Alastor?”

“Not quite. I already talked to Alastor. He agreed to… hi’tzzzch! He agreed to remove the virus if I do a favor for you. You decide the favor.” Charlie’s eyes opened wide in surprise and excitement, then she got a look of intense concentration as she tried to consider how to handle this power. Vaggie’s eyes narrowed, and it was clear to Vox that she saw through the power play here. Still, that wasn’t enough reason to refuse what could be a very advantageous deal. The hum of fans echoed through the room as Vox awaited his fate. 

“It starts with sorry,” Charlie said. 

Vox raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“She said it starts with sorry, not that it ends with sorry, dumbass,” Vaggie corrected. 

“Be nice, Vaggie, we have to assume he’s trying. But yes, you make a good point. You can’t just say sorry, you also have to not do those things in the future.” Vox opened his mouth and Charlie quickly added, “Before you go claiming that that’s not one favor, keep in mind that… bless you! Bless you again! Oh dear, bless you!” She realized Vox hadn’t been opening his mouth to protest after all. After a few minutes of sneezing and blessing (seriously, did this girl never get tired?), Charlie resumed her speech. “Uh, as I was saying, this can be defined as the following single favor: repent.” Vox thought he caught a glimpse of Charlie’s horns peeking out on that last word and he gave a shudder which he managed to pass off as a shiver. Pissing off the princess of hell definitely seemed like a bad idea. 

“Right, um, uh, of course, Princess. Repent. Yeah, that makes sense.” He found himself stammering awkwardly as he grappled with the idea that Charlie could tear down everything he’d built. Could he refuse the deal and accept being sick forever? At Alastor’s mercy forever? No, that had to be worse than whatever Charlie would ask of him.

“What, afraid of a little redemption?” Vaggie asked, finally cracking a smile as she saw the fear he no longer had the energy to hide. “It was good enough for Sir Pentious, the demon you sent here to spy on us and then told to kill himself.”

Vox winced. That one really stung. But he knew it was deserved.

Angel walked into the living room and froze. “What the fuck is Vox doing here?” He glared at the TV demon. “Please tell me you didn’t bring Val.”

Vox shook his head, then cradled it in his hands as he felt the ensuing dizziness. Before he could speak, he found himself in another long sneezing fit. Angel’s expression gradually changed to one of amusement. It was rare to see the CEO so vulnerable. A nice change of pace. 

“Vox here is trying his hand at redemption!” Charlie answered, beaming. 

“Only because he wants to get out of being sick.” Vaggie amended, frowning. 

“Redemption is redemption, even if the motive is less than perfect,” Charlie insisted. 

Vox groaned, dreading this whole negotiation already. “Just tell me what you need me to do,” he said, the resignation in his voice even thicker than the congestion. 

Angel strutted over, seeming to have gained a little more confidence from the whole situation. “How about you start with removing those cameras you put in my dressing room?”

“He WHAT?” Charlie asked, revealing her horns fully this time. 

Vox tried to smooth down his suit as he thought this through. He’d never really cared for the cameras anyway - as much as he loved having eyes on everyone and exerting his control, he knew Angel Dust was Valentino’s plaything, and Vox would be lying if he said he wasn’t sometimes jealous of the attention. At the same time, he knew Val wouldn’t give up that power so easily. Vox thought back to the events earlier today. Wait, hadn’t Velvette seemed especially mad at Val? Maybe she knew something Vox could use as leverage against him. He sighed. “Consider it done.”

Angel rolled his eyes. “You really think I’m going to just take your word for it?” he asked, holding out his hand. 

Vox groaned (more from the effort of moving than anything else) and took Angel’s hand. “I will remove the cameras from your dressing room as the favor for Charlie.”

“Nice try, asshole,” Angel said, refusing to shake. Val may have gotten one over on him years ago, but he knew better now.  “Don’t forget the part where you also prevent cameras from being added back there later.”

Vox nodded wearily, too focused on wanting to go home to have the energy to argue. He updated the terms of the deal and shook Angel’s hand. 

“Wait!” Charlie’s voice rang out, but she was too late. A crackle of electricity arced across Angel’s arm, and the porn star jumped back in shock. 

“Sorry,” Vox said with a sniffle. “Forgot to warn you about that side effect of making a deal.” Wait, a sniffle? Was he still sick? Was Alastor a fucking liar?

Alastor entered the room, the ever-present smile on his face looking quite smug. “Now, this is an interesting bit of contract lawyering, isn’t it?” All eyes were on him. 

“What do you mean?” Angel asked, shaking out his hand in an attempt to get it back to feeling normal. 

“Quite a few deals going around here. I made a deal with Vox that relies on Vox making a deal with Charlie. Then Charlie discussed potential terms of that deal with Vox. Vox then made a deal with Angel that claimed to fulfill the deal with Charlie. But does that really count if Charlie didn’t give her explicit approval? And if not, then should that deal be discarded?”

Vox groaned. “This is giving me a headache. Stop being a show off and just give us the fucking answer already.”

“Now now,” Alastor said, smile burning brighter, “is that any way to treat the person who’s in charge of your fate?” Vox frowned. “As for the deals at hand,” Alastor continued, “let us return to Charlie. Charlie, do you accept this deal?”

Charlie shook her head. “The favor was to repent. I’m sure Vox has quite a bit more he’s guilty of so I’m not ready to close this deal just yet.” Alastor nodded approvingly. The girl was learning. Probably not enough to be wise to Alastor’s tricks, but she was learning nonetheless.

The room was uncomfortably still as Charlie contemplated her next move, the silence punctuated only by Vox’s sneezes and coughs. Finally, she had an answer. “Apology letters. To everyone in this hotel.” Vox scratched his chin and absentmindedly mimed typing. “Handwritten.” Handwritten? With these claws? That was torture in and of itself! “They get to respond with any grievances they have against you. And then,” Vox sunk further and further into the couch as he realized just how deep repentance goes, “you have to take sufficient action to address those grievances.”

Vox’s eyes went wide and he coughed into his fist. “Princess Morningstar, I appreciate the uh… thoroughness of that proposition, but, um… if I may, thah… ahh… ahh’TZZZZSH! That will take me some time. And I do have a business to run. Forgive me for asking, your Highness, but is there anything that can be done to make this a little more manageable?”

Alastor stepped forward, extending his microphone like an olive branch. “I think we can work something out to lessen your symptoms a bit. After all, you’ve survived allergy season just fine!” Vox suppressed a growl at that. “Oh and don’t forget, I’m a resident of the hotel, so I expect to see your best handwriting in that apology letter!” Alastor said, grinning so wide there was barely any room left on his face.

A grim line set across Vox’s face. He had no leverage here, and everyone knew it. “To repentance, then,” he said with a resigned sigh. “I will write apology letters to every member of the hotel and then, in response to each member’s one letter of grievances, I will take action as determined sufficient by Princess Charlie Morningstar. And doing all of this will fulfill the requested favor and thus free me from this damned virus. Now then,” he said, extending his hand, “do we have a deal?” He felt a sneeze building up as Charlie and Alastor took his hand, then swirls of green, red, and blue energy coursed through them and the sensation was gone. The sneeze was lost. God fucking dammit!

[abirdie]

Gael García Bernal in Desierto (2015, dir. Jonás Cuarón)

(these gifs also feature Alondra Hidalgo)

Gifs are all 540px wide so you can click to see larger.

[other gael filmography gifsets]

[notonlymice]

"haha what if I jokingly shipped them" + anyem/anyelle