#And by heavens does he show it

[morgan-the-lonely-brick]

Blorbo from my brain. I'd so go for a drink with him. And I don't even drink

[hualianschild]

[hellaversity]

I swear to shit if I see one more person calling Charlie Morningstar a boring flat character i'm throwing hands

[girlbloggercrowley]

i am a believer in the s3 1941 kiss

[luck-of-the-drawings]

OOH YEAH BABY! PARTY TIME BABY! MUSIC! DRINKS! SOCIAL PRESSURE & A PSYCHEDELIC BREAK DOWN! WELCOME TO VAMPIRE SOCIETY MOTHERFUCKER! ARE YOU SCARED? DO YOU UNDERSTAND YET? ITS OKAY IF NOT. FIRE DISSOLVED IT! ITS ALL GONE NOW. HAVE FUN!

[lenglengflames]

just thinking about hua cheng who claims to be apathetic to everyone but xie lian.

he says that, but he secretly has a soft spot for orphaned children roughing it out on the streets, or children who've escaped abusive households by running away. if he comes across them, he disguises himself as hong-er, sometimes teaching them self-defence, or survival skills.

sometimes he hints at a place called puqi shrine, perhaps accidentally dropping a crude map with directions and mentioning how the daozhang there is very kind and might possibly be able to help.

also! head cannon that hua cheng gets along extremely well with these children. like, they love him, right down to his eyepatch. xie lian is well-loved by them too though it's in a more in a parental/ mentor-like manner. but hua cheng's the fun gege that gets in trouble and shoulders the subsequent consequences together with them.

hua cheng likes interacting with children, even if they do get annoying sometimes because he understands that it's just mostly just harmless curiosity. the children don't view him as hua chengzhu, or crimson rain sought flower, or one of the most powerful calamities.

he's just their hong-gege, xie daozhang's husband, and can play a mean game of hide and seek when he hides. (but he always sucks at seeking because "you jingle when you move, hong-gege! you're so easy to run from!")

hua cheng, who never thought that his source of happiness could come from no one but xie lian, is surprised to find his throat tightening and a tiny flicker of heat building his eyes when he sees the carefree smiles from these children finally blossom - in contrast to the bloody, muddied, faces who learnt too early how evil the world truly was just a couple weeks ago when he tipped them off about puqi shrine.

[quietwingsinthesky]

was writing this down for an ask but realized i was quickly getting off topic for that ask lmao. let’s talk about Dean’s handprint, the wild misinterpretations of it, and how those have affected how people read Anna covering it during her sex scene with Dean.

We have to establish the obvious first: the number one way the handprint is misinterpreted is to establish a romantic connection between Dean and Castiel from their very first meeting. Because of how popular the ship is, we’re now left with the unfortunate aftermath of people knowing the ship first and the show second, and therefore being more inclined to interpret the show through the lens of the ship. Needless to say, while looking at season 4 through that lens for hints of destiel is fun, it doesn’t lead to a thematically cohesive reading. The handprint is the best way we can demonstrate this. If we take the handprint to indicate that Castiel has been romantically interested in Dean since minute one, or even that he sees Dean as a person rather than an instrument of Heaven’s will at first (put a pin in that), then the rest of his character arc for the season is incoherent and meaningless. To assert that this is what the handprint is about takes the conclusion Castiel needs the entirety of season 4 to reach and transplants it onto him at the very beginning in order to make it easier to find evidence for the ship.

There’s a lot of media out there where interpreting it through the lens of a ship, even one unintended by the author, can enhance the original text. (Lest we all forget our Winter Soldier roots.) Supernatural does not have that relationship to interpreting it to be about destiel. A season 4 where the handprint means Castiel is in love with Dean is a weaker story and does a huge disservice to Castiel’s actual character arc.

So, now that we’ve established what the handprint isn’t, can we talk about what it is? Yes. It’s pretty simple, actually.

Think of it this way: To Heaven, Dean is livestock, and the handprint is the brand telling everyone (but especially Dean) what ranch he belongs to.

Let’s start with the obvious: it isn’t a metaphorical brand at all. It’s literal. It’s burned into his skin permanently (or at least, when the makeup department wants to put it there.) I’d argue that from the nature of it being notable as the only scar Dean has from being raised from Hell and later showing up during his sex scene with Anna that even if we don’t see the handprint, we’re meant to interpret it as continuing to be there for… well. The rest of his life, most likely. And that’s horrifying. The handprint is telling us two things when it shows up: one, letting us know that Dean’s resurrection was intentional and through a manner we as the audience don’t have the information to guess at yet. Anyone who watched the show airing, or watches it now without knowing about angels would have assumed demonic deal intervention as being the cause of Dean’s new lease on life, and this. handily. discards that theory. But secondly, it tells us that this resurrection was violating. All resurrections on Supernatural are.

We assume from Castiel’s line, you know the one, we all know the one, Mr. Gripped-You-Tight, that he’s the one who put it there. However, to then make a further leap that it was Castiel’s personal decision to do so is, I think, a misunderstanding of his role. Take that pin out now. Dean is not a person to Castiel at this point. They’re not friends. Dean is a tool for Heaven to use, a tool that should be honored and grateful to be picked up at all. Make no mistake: Castiel branded him for Heaven, not for himself. Castiel’s a ranchhand. They aren’t in the business of letting the cows run free if they look a little sad to be slaughtered later.

Castiel needs to start here for his arc to be as impactful as it is. He can’t begin rebellious. He has to learn how to doubt. He has to develop a personal friendship with Dean that threatens his allegiance to Heaven. He has to see Anna having chosen to fall rather than obey Heaven and to be betrayed by Uriel being so desperate that he’s turned to killing their brothers and sisters trying to find a way out from under Heaven’s control.

There’s another line I think gets misinterpreted a lot in this initial meeting. “You don’t think you deserve to be saved?” On its face, easy bait for someone looking for shipping fodder, but that misses the actual point of the line. It’s a powerplay. We don’t learn until later why Dean wouldn’t think he deserves to be saved (aside from his general Winchester levels of self-esteem, but knowing that trait about him actually serves as a pretty good red herring to mask real reason Dean is thinking about himself as irredeemable now until the reveal. It’s not that Dean had a low opinion about himself in general, but that he tortured people in Hell and can never forgive himself for that.) , but Castiel does know. All of Heaven knows what Dean’s sin in Hell was. Without saying it, Castiel can remind Dean of it here. This line isn’t about Dean being so inherently good that Castiel had to rescue him. It’s about making sure Dean knows that the only way he can be ‘redeemed’ is through obedience to the heavenly powers who own his ass now. This is how he deserves to be saved. Because God commanded it. Because they have work for him.

And if he doesn’t bow? Then, as Castiel puts it in the very next episode, “I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in.” This threat hanging over Dean’s head won’t go away for the rest of the season, not from Heaven. The only shift is that Castiel’s continued doubt and disobedience levels the playing field between them. They’ll both be punished, rather than Castiel taking on the role of disciplinarian. (It’s a really clever way of dealing with that power gap between them, actually. There’s always a bigger fish.)

The handprint and Castiel’s early conversations with Dean serve as a reminder of the precarious position he’s in. We shouldn’t take him ‘being saved’ at face value, no more than we should take Heaven being good just because they’re the angels in this equation as a given. Dean hasn’t been saved. He’s being used, just as much (if not arguably more) than Ruby is using Sam. (Because at least Ruby truly believes this is for Sam’s benefit, in the end.) And the worst part is how aware of it Dean is. How could he not be? His entire stint in Hell is defined by how Alistair used him. He’s just been handed off to a different owner, one that will still happily push him into the thing they ‘saved’ him from the minute it proves useful. Dean needing to torture Alistair reminds us just how little his circumstances have actually changed. He’s not allowed to say no to this.

So. The handprint is Heaven’s mark of ownership. It’s Dean’s status as their tool, their victim, burned into his flesh and inescapable. What does it mean when Anna places her hand over it?

I’ll lay my cards on the table. I’ve been thinking about this for so long because the aforementioned tendency to assume that the handprint is evidence for destiel means that the scene between Anna & Dean also gets lumped into being interpreted as more evidence for destiel. For over a decade, I have endured people joking about Anna being jealous of Cas for getting to leave a mark on their boytoy. And that’s one of the nicer things the Supernatural fandom will say about a woman who they perceive as a threat to their ship.

So, not to be rude or anything, but fuck Castiel. This ain’t about him.

This scene—It’s a lovely scene, a fantastic continuation of Dean and Anna’s previous conversation into the language of a sex scene—is about two people who have both been used and threatened by Heaven connecting over that shared trauma. Before, Anna gives space for Dean to open up about Hell, but he can’t, not yet, and though she knows what he’s gone through, she hasn’t been there herself. But when it comes to what Heaven has made of them, she does understand. It’s an incredibly vulnerable moment.

You make the handprint about Dean and Cas, and you erase what that scene is about entirely: the way Heaven’s abuse has tangled itself deep into Dean and Anna’s lives, into their bodies, and how they can resist it, if only for a few moments together.

The handprint was never about Castiel at all. It was about Heaven and its dehumanization of Dean.

[souporsaladnatural]

Jackles why did you put Walkin After Midnight, a song about searching for your lover, and Rebel, a song about a wanted man running while wishing his lover was with him, in the winchesters and have dean say he'll keep picking the music. Why did u do that

[lettherebemonsters]

“ 🔥 “

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

Since this is more vague, I'm gonna pull out a REAL unpopular opinion I have....

I have zero sympathy for most of the sinners. Here's what Hazbin Hotel really REALLY sucks at doing. Do the sinners want to be redeemed because they've always had regrets? Or do they want to get out of Hell ONLY because they fucked around and found out?

Like, take for example, Husk. Husk was proud to be an overlord. He has absolutely NO regrets in enslaving souls and being tyrannical as an overlord, given how horror-coded his backstory is seen as. Why should we feel bad that Husk is now Alastor's bitch if he has absolutely no regrets whatsoever over what he did and only became team dad after Alastor reminded him he's his slave and nothing else.

Angel.....Angel was a leg breaker for the mob and has no regrets in hurting Italians and shaking them for money. Yet because Hell sucks for him we're supposed to feel sorry?

Even Sir Pen isn't immune to this. He was committing war crimes for centuries in Hell, and in the pilot, was attacking Pentagram city and blowing up half the layout with his ship. He abused his egg bois. He loved being bad and evil.....

Yet 6 months in a hotel and suddenly centuries of killing millions just suddenly doesn't matter anymore.

Look, I'm saying all this as an Adam fan, i.e. a guy who's as bad as it gets. But if people say Adam doesn't deserve redemption....who does the main cast? Literally the only good person is Charlie! Everyone else is basically like a fucked-up version of the inmates from Arkham City.

Give me MORE of a reason to root for them that 'oh the ship is cute.' Like NO. Do more than that. I want Adam redeemed but I want him to STRUGGLE. I don't want him to suddenly overnight be a blorbo or something.

Yeah, I know everyone else immediately jumps on the 'immediate redemption' stuff but the characters are just nasty. They have to be 100 percent genuine before AND after rather than only caring just to get a free pass out of Hell.

[harukakitous]

distance and respect

+ bonus

[blue-rose-soul]

Have you heard of swap hazbin hotel? If you do, then here is an idea for an au of Devil's bastard. This is roleswap, the personality would stay the same or similar.

What if it was alastor that open the hotel. The hotel's design would resemble his and his mother's old home. He did it as an experiment or because he was bored, knowing that no one would support redemption, no one except Charlie. She fully support the hotel idea and Alastor is now along the ride. Then when Charlie's father came, Alastor may not do much antagonize because he was the one that started the hotel and he may need support, so unfortunately he may have to grit his teeth while Lucifer does his "hell greatest dad". Don't worry, he will hold a grudge. When the reveal of Alastor's father happen, Lucifer will feel like putting a foot in his mouth due to his comment on Alastor and during his song.

What would the relationship be between Alastor and the hotel residents when the reveal happen?

Got a few asks about this, so I figured I'd combine 'em. I'll prolly won't address each and every point in these asks since I'm answering several at once.

Okay, so, to be honest, my opinion on roleswap AUs is kind of mixed. I think they can be a lot of fun, but I don't really like them when it's just swapping the character's aesthetics and narrative roles for no apparent reason. For a roleswap to be interesting to me, it has to highlight some underexplored aspect of a character, or some similarity between the swapped characters that isn't normally apparent. And I prefer there to be some in-universe reason why the roles are swapped, rather than it being just random.

One example I particularly like is a swap between Angel Dust and Vaggie, where Valentino was the one who came across Vaggie half-dead in the alley. In this universe where Angel Dust never signed a contract with Valentino but Vaggie did, Angel Dust stayed in his family's web of crime until he eventually joined the hotel. Even though each character ended up in one another's role, they still acted like themselves. Angel Dust was still Angel Dust, just with his mob connections more apparent and with the freedom to do things he couldn't while on Valentino's leash. And Vaggie was still very much the tough-as-nails former exorcist who, like the original Angel Dust, is the type to try to shoulder her burdens alone and reject outside help out of a sense of self-loathing.

I'm not as fond of most swaps between Charlie and Alastor because they usually end up feeling like wholly different characters to me. But in the comic I reblogged, what really sold it for me was Charlie's line about Alastor being an addict. I think it's fascinating if you view Alastor's need to kill as being similar to Husk's predisposition towards gambling, or Angel Dust's addiction to drugs and sex. For a character who routinely goes out of his way to be something Other Than Human, this is weirdly humanizing. Additionally, swapped Alastor's expression when Charlie calls him an addict suggests that she's right, and that the violent murderer we know in canon isn't entirely gone from this character. And if that's the case, then it's fair to assume the reverse is also true and the sweet, idealistic Charlie is somewhere under swapped Charlie's manic smile. This makes me want to follow their story, see what brought them to this point and where they'll go from here.

My biggest roadblock in setting up a swap AU of the Devil's Bastard AU - besides getting a bit frantic with sub-AUs already - is figuring out under what circumstances Alastor would open the Hazbin Hotel and Charlie would not. I would probably start with circumstances similar to the Raised Together AU, in which Lucifer found out about Nicaise getting pregnant with his son right away. But when Nicaise was murdered, instead of getting Alastor first, Lucifer went straight to Nicaise's killer to confront him. Unfortunately for the man's health, he was a drunkard and after what he did to Nicaise he heavily indulged. So when Lucifer appeared in front of him in all of his hellish, angelic glory, the man broke down in nearly incomprehensible babbling, and as he was begging for forgiveness for what he did to the woman and the boy, he inadvertently confessed to killing Alastor as well. All while Alastor was sleeping in the shed.

Lucifer slaughtered the man right then and there. What was left of his corpse didn't even look human by the time Lucifer was done with him. Then, heartbroken, Lucifer returned to Hell for good. In the aftermath he became even more fiercely protective of Charlie, not even letting her leave their family home without him or Lilith present. And this added yet more friction to his and Lilith's strained relationship. Sadly, Charlie's dreams hit their first major roadblock before she'd even gotten them off the ground.

But obviously Alastor wasn't dead. He didn't have an easy time of things after his kidnapper's death, since he wasn't able to weasel his way into that man's grace, but he was very much inspired by the event. He would still go on to become a serial killer, seeing it as the only way to fix what was wrong with the fucked up world he lived in. Plus, it was really really fun.

When he died and went on his Overlord murdering spree, he drew the attention of Lilith who immediately clocked there was something different about this sinner. Between what Lucifer had told her - at her discretion - about his child and human friend, the unnatural amount of power, and Alastor's name, she put two and two together almost instantly. She decides to keep a close eye on this particular sinner. With Lucifer more withdrawn than ever and keeping Charlie in isolation with him, it wasn't hard for her to keep his presence in Hell a secret. It was just a matter of figuring out what to do with this information.

Arrogant as he is, the day eventually comes when Alastor gets in over his head. Maybe he fared worse in the fight against Vox and Valentino than even they realized, maybe he got caught in the middle of an extermination. Whatever the case, Lilith swooped in and offered a deal; his life for his soul. And Alastor was in no position to say no.

With Alastor on her leash, Lilith decides on what to do with him. She's going to make her daughter's dream come true. Although Charlie hasn't been allowed to go out and interact with sinners regularly in decades, she still harbors hopes of saving them from exterminations. Something which Lilith is aligned in, though their methods are slightly different. And with her growing frustration towards Lucifer, wouldn't it be just beautiful if one of his very own detested sinners were to prove him wrong? Hence why she doesn't tell Lucifer that his son made his way to Hell after all. Of course, Alastor doesn't believe in redemption and wouldn't go along with this willingly, so Lilith gives him some motivation. If he can get one - just a single soul - into Heaven, she will return his soul to him. All he needs to do is prove it's possible.

As far as Alastor's concerned, she just gave him an impossible task as a means of taunting him. In his mind, she's basically told him, "You're mine forever." But, this is the only path available to him right now, so he sets to it.

The first Charlie ever learns of Alastor's existence is the broadcasts of his victims' screams. So she instantly recognizes the voice on the radio advertising a project aimed at doing no less than exactly what she's always dreamed of! Is it possible? Did one of the most bloodthirsty, ruthless, and dangerous Overlords decide to walk the path of redemption himself?

...Maybe. Charlie isn't naive enough not to suspect some ulterior motives from the Radio Demon. But she hopes. And it's that hope that fuels her to once again approach Lucifer and beg him to let her go out and help their people. Lucifer refuses to listen. He shuts her down, not willing to entertain the notion of a sinner fighting for redemption for even a moment. There's no point in having faith in them. Charlie leaves dejected.

Later that night, as she's once again rereading the story of how her parents met, the Radio Demon's voice rattling in her head, she decides she's had enough. Why did she ever bother with asking? Her parents are the original rebels! She grabs her cell phone, a few wads of cash, and - when they notice her leaving and don't try to stop her - Razzle and Dazzle, and disappears into the night.

Needless to say, Alastor is very, very confused when this mysterious Hellborn shows up on his doorstep, not wanting to seek redemption or protection from the exterminations, but declaring her intent to help. He's instantly suspicious, and it hits Charlie that Alastor won't believe any genuine offers of help. So she does the first thing she can think of; she acts shady. Her acting is a little awkward and stilted, but Alastor more readily believes that she's there to watch him make a fool of himself. Besides, as powerful as he is, the funding she offers will go a long way towards fixing up the facility. So the hotel gains a mysterious new facility manager with a hidden agenda in the form of the Princess of Hell. Not that she's telling anyone who she really is.

Eventually Charlie's sure that Lucifer will come looking for her, so she has to work fast to make this thing work before he figures out where she is.

She just doesn't know the clusterfuck that's awaiting her when that day finally comes.

[whatawriterwields]

Do you think there's gonna be a scene in s3 when one of the angels asks Aziraphale to show them the trick of surviving hellfire without disintegrating. And Aziraphale will have to pull off some wacky hijink to keep Heaven convinced he is still in fact immune to hellfire

[hualianschild]

oh he's getting the kpop idol treatment

[thatskindarough]

Okay, here goes- for the GO ask game, 14, 23 and 39!

hello phoenixr0se!

14)-favorite background character:

I’ll give two answers, one being Muriel, although I’m not sure if they’re classified as a background character. I love them forever, truly, they’re the one character I beg to come back in s3

I also love any of the angel/demon background characters. Furfur specifically. Furfur and Mr. Brown from browns world of carpets. Best ship.

23) favorite quintisennsial Aziraphale moment:

Can I answer all of them? Probably the end of A Companion to Owls when he’s on the rock and asks “but what am I.” That scene actually almost made me cry, something the final 15 couldn’t even achieve. It’s just so powerful; and it’s a question that I think defines Aziraphale as a character. What am I. Just, wonderful. Also anything with newspaperman detective Aziraphale. him and his little hat, need I say more.

39) is there anything more to the final 15 than what we saw:

Oh dear this is a long one you really choose the yappiest question for me, so i’ll put a read more thing

To be honest, I don’t know. Can’t say. I think fans do a really good job speculating, it’s fun to read. I can say I would definitely prefer there not to be. I dislike the idea of waiting three years only to be told we didn’t see everything we needed to draw a conclusion.

Also, I’d prefer it if his motivations were more than “we’re in danger, I have to protect the demon!” You know? I mean I like it as a motivation, just not the only one. That it’s not just for himself in relation to Crowley and their future, but ALSO himself in relation to his own self worth and self image. The idea he still sees something in heaven worth saving, even though he knows it’s done awful things. What about his relationship and faith in God specifically? The fact he ultimately puts humanity above everything. His relationship with redemption and second chances and more importantly forgiveness. Forgiveness not from Crowley, but forgiveness to himself.

All great things I’d love to see explored in more depth that I feel like we’d miss out on if he was drugged, or he lied, or he was overtly threatened, because those theories rely on the fact that Aziraphale doesn’t have any sort of care for heaven and What It Should Be outside of the fact that it’s an abusive cult that controls literally everything so he can’t get away from it (which is true no matter what.) and although I would be fine with it if that’s what the show decided to do, I’d personally prefer there to be more. I like the idea that there’s truth to what Aziraphale told Crowley in the FF. And this isn’t based on any sort of analysis of evidence where I reach the best conclusion or whatever it’s just what i wanna watch. In depth character study of Aziraphale, please and thank you.

[orpheuslookingback]

Finally got around to watching Boom (was too busy to watch it on the day it came out). It wasn't what I'd call one of my all time favorite episodes but I thought it was overall pretty good and definitely reinforced my feeling that Steven Moffat, for all his flaws, is actually a pretty good writer, he's just a terrible showrunner. When he's writing stand alone episodes he's usually at bare minimum decent and often, with episodes like Blink, even great, and I think the impression I get is he's good at coming up with ideas and horrible at sustaining them. Every time he brings something back he seems to feel the need to muck it up and make it more confusing and more convoluted and detract from the thing that made it interesting and cool in the first place. Truly the epitome of less is more. You can see it with stuff he introduced in the episodes he wrote during the original RTD era and then brought back as showrunner. The Weeping Angels got less intimidating and more convoluted and dull every time he wrote a new story with them. River Song was never as good a character as she was in her debut episodes because her hot mess of a storyline and backstory completely overrode the things that made her stand out in the Library episodes. Anyway. I don't mind him writing further stand alone episodes but I hope that's all he gets to do. I don't want him having significant input on long-term plot arcs.

[vanderspeiglemd]

I will not respond to the bad take I will not respond to the bad take I will no-

But here's the thing, in no narrative sense does it work out how utterly stupid they make Harry. Disabled caricature rainman thing yeah believe me I get that but truly think about it, how the fuck do you get a scientist on his planet, entrusted to travel lightyears on an extremely important mission but also doesn't know a single thing? His people came here for thousands of years but he knows nothing about humans? He doesn't know their emotions could influence him? He doesn't know very basic things? This assumption is such lazy ass writing, I didn't want to create a solid backstory so I hand wave any question as uh he's stupid haha.

And I'll keep harping on it but creative choices don't exist in a vacuum, being culturally uneducated or emotionally stunted does not make you a fucking child. Narratively, even if you take away that it entirely retcons s1, Harry basically being 'born' the second he landed on earth is nonsense, he had a life, personality, expertise before he came here. His former life would be built on by his experiences and lend to his learning on earth not completely erased so he's just somehow a cruel, oblivious stereotype.