#Crowley's danger levels ^^^

[3lliesan]

"Yandere x reader twst characters!" "Yandere first years!"

No, I just want a twst au where the first years decide to test how far they can go with insanity with how many horrors they deal with in one school year. Yuu included.

Yuu should act like the leader they were meant to be instead of being just a background piece.

Ace may not have a UM of his own and constantly gets underestimated, but knows how to put his wits and misdirection to good use.

Deuce may be slow when it comes to learning new things and is trying his best to be an honor student to make his mom proud... But he now knows that an honor student doesn't have some other qualities of his and that it can help him in more ways than one.

Jack may be a person who follows his principles well, but maybe, a little bit of personal justice wouldn't hurt. Especially when it comes to his pack.

Epel isn't going back to his old days, he swears! Even if it is tempting sometimes. But ever since he finally started to understand what Vil meant after that conversation with Deuce from VDC, as well as some tips from Yuu... Playing the "poison apple" is quite satisfying once he got used to self-restraint.

Ortho might act optimistic and innocent most of the time because his personality was set to be that of a child, but he's also... very overprotective of those he considers family. He's constantly learning more about the world around him, which also extends to the people he surrounds himself with! So, he shouldn't have much of a problem with... terminating threats to those he cares about. The line between right and wrong is blurry in NRC, after all!

Of course, there's nothing like murder or anything like that!... But the psychological damage/reputation/injuries are enough to scar anyone who goes far enough to do anything funny is quite... unfortunate.

The best-case scenario is when you get spooked enough as a warning! But I don't recommend trying again though. :D

You don't want to be one of the people who are foolish enough to do the same despite having a clear mind, unlike those who Overblotted, do you?

I may or may have not randomly written this after remembering the english lyrics to this song exist.

[bubbleddisasters]

I’m bored so DORM SET UP HEADCANONS!

———-

Heartstabyl:

-With the stairs constantly moving, most second and third years have somewhat memorized the patterns, yet never tell the first years.

It’s like a right of passage to figure it out for yourself.

-Similarly to how each of the other dorms has their special little extra area (Ex: Pomfieores Hidden Lab, Savannaclaws Colosseum etc) Heartstabyl has a literal courtroom that goes often unused, but sometimes if Drama or Arguments gets too much, they will have a court session to debate it, or just joke debates.

-Due to it nearly breaching capacity, the third years do not have their own dorms, but share with one other student, of their choice if mutual or random otherwise. Trey and Cater share a room, which has been jokily dubbed the Leprechaun room. (Clover suit with green hair and goldenish eyes + Ginger with soul sucking bright green eyes)

-There is a confiscation room that only Trey and Riddle are SUPPOSED to have access to. Unfortunately for them, Che’nya does exist and can be bribed into robbery with (good) cheese, (good) cheesecake, or cool trinkets as long as the confiscated item isn’t overly dangerous or too illegal.

-Ace and Deuce’s room is known for being the loudest and has received an unorthodox amount of noise complaints.

-Some students make the hedgehogs outfits and little hats.

____________

Savannaclaw:

——

-As it’s literally made of ROCK, there are many incidents and injuries from running into walls or tripping.

-If food goes missing, their is actually war fare and it is taken personally, but Ruggie has managed to escape suspicion for his entire stay so far.

-Not a goddamn vegetable in sight, Jack has a stash of them and is so far one of three students to do so.

-Dumbest dorm in the club with the highest drop out (usually for pursing a sports scholarship at another school) , expulsion and injury rates.

-Due to fights, sports and literal brain damage from being hit in the head with a discus one too many times, the dorm members are often at the nurses office.

-Sometimes gets ABO jokes from (mostly) Ignihyde students, and has literally no clue what they’re talking about unless directly explained. Jack didn’t say anything to the majority of the school for about a week after Ortho explained it to him.

-From what we see in Leonas Room atleast, all the windows are glassless, so some students will straight up jump out the windows or fall through them on the regular.

-There actually IS a vice housewarden, atleast on paper, since it was required, but nobody knows who it is, not even the vice themselves.

Leona picked a student from his dorms name at random, and Crowley never checked in with the student, and has been under the assumption they’re constantly busy or just neglectful thanks to Leona gaslighting.

The only thing he has told Savannaclaw is that he can confirm it’s not Ruggie, since he didn’t know he existed at the time.

-Rook has crawled through Leonas window ATLEAST ONCE to bother him, and after that he put up drapes so he had a better chance of hearing him coming.

___________

Octavinelle:

_____

-ALL the drama and ALL the blackmail. Literally a dorm of Regina George level dramatics. Pomefiore has nothing on them.

-Gaslighting and Manipulation extraordinares

-As Ursula herself is based on a Drag Queen (Divine), I imagine they have Drag Nights at the lounge, and they’re extremely popular.

-Alot of the non-mer students make jokes about drowning if the barrier ever gets removing, and as most of the mers likely blush blue instead of pink/red, usually many first year humans think their literally choking/ can’t breath for a hot sec.

Also alot of strange incidents and firsts for them, like finding out your roommate is bioluminescent.

-24/7 Elevator music in the lounge, so it drives them absolutely INSANE if played around the dorms too.

-The music was never actually turned off during Azuls OB, as Jade, Floyd or Azul himself probably had the key to the audio room, or was already locked into the bluetooth, so everyone was losing their shit whilst spa music was playing in the background. Sort of like that one Markaplier quote:

“If purple guy is the creator, then what does it all mean- CAN WE CUT THE CASUAL BONGOS?!!”

-I KNOW we see the beds aren’t this way from the Octatrios beds but I hate the basic ass design of Octavinelles actual inner dorm, so y’know what? Clamshell and/or Oyster beds that can open and close like the ones Ariel and her sisters have in the movies.

I’m also changing the color scheme because where the fuck dId they get MAJORITY WHITE AHD LIGHT FUCKING LAVENDER FROM?? URSULAS COLORS ARE BLACK, SILVER/PEARL AND PLUM??

So yea fuck you, Plum, Pearl/Silver, Black, Blue and dark teal color schemes with alot of corals, underwater cove and ocean themed furniture.

-If the dorm were to ever run out of transformation potions, things would get wild real quick.

-They have a pool that is basically just an aquarium you can swim in. Floyd was banned for a month once for trying to drown someone. (Jade was infact not only an accomplice, but the one who gave Floyd the idea in the first place, and immediately threw Floyd under the bus when Azul caught them)

-Azul has a secret private pool hidden behind a door wall thing.

-Jade has a Room of Shrooms that is locked off to the general students.

-Many of the students learn serving tricks to get extra tips.

-Will spitefully bring someone who came laters order first if you’re being a pain. Repeatedly if you really earned it.

-A student once brought heelies, and Floyd immediately jumped on the idea. So yes, some students will heelie over to your table for the sake of “convenience”

______

Scarabia:

—-

-Introverts: Welcome to hell.

-As another dorm with open windows, there are some falling issues.

-Jamil does that mom thing where internally he’s like “Nobody helps me in this fucking house” or will passively aggressively say something like “Well if you want to do this more often, maybe you could start helping out.” but when the dorm students actually offer to help 9 times out of 10 he’s like “absolutely not you’ll mess it up.”

-Schemers canonically but both negatively and positively. Like would say the most sweet and positive plans like their planning a mutiny.

-Like that one “If Antinious was actually a sweet guy” remix of Hold Him Down from Epic :

“Haven’t you noticed who’s missing? Don’t you know the prince is not around?

I heard today is Telemachus birthday, and I heard today he comes back to town so-

I say we gather near the beaches, I say we wait til he arrives~

I’ll slip away while you all distract him so I can go PREPARE THE SURPRISES.

Hold him down…While I’m in the kitchen~

Hold Him down…While I start to bake~

Hold him down while we slowly bring his buddies his family and Favorite Cakeeee~

Cut it down….into tiny pieces

For the prince…Serve it Alamode…

When the prince wonders what his gift is…ONLY HIS MOTHER AND I WILL KNOWWWWW”

Yea thats Scarabia student planning core.

-Steal one thing from this dorm and you can probably feed a family of four for a month.

-You can get a medical pass to be exempt from being in the dorm during the day if you’re sensitive to heat.

-Not all the students actually like the parties, but participate in them for the free food regardless.

-Its concerningly easy to lockpick most of the treasuries, but nobody has done it sheerly because they would feel bad if Kalim still forgave them.

-Its common for first years unused to the heat to straight up pass out before even making it to the dorm since from the map, its a concerningly long walk, so they had to install a mini secondary teleporter sheerly to avoid constant heat stroke.

_______

Pomfieore

——

-Smells like a Sephora and Bath and Body Works with a side of Chanel Perfume

-Many of them are very invested in celebrity drama.

-There is what has been nicknamed “The Garden of Death”, which is a small garden in the back of Pomfieore containing many poisonous plants used to create, and this may come as a surprise, poisons.

-Second highest drop out rate, mostly due to struggles with pursuing a budding career in the entertainment and/or artisic industry and balancing school aswell.

Vil usually does try to dissuade them, but unfortunately it is a good point that he was, even if he did his career work on his own, still had the Schronheit name behind him, creating a high bias with many directors and companies, so he already had higher chances then the average budding actor since the start, and I can imagine alot of the students pointing that out if they didn’t have the same.

-Some students, when they think Vil is not looking, will sit on the throne as a joke.

-The amount of makeup and mirrors in this dorm is crazy.

-Epel has, on more than one occasion, jumped out of windows to escape Vil/Rook, so 80% of the common area windows are locked.

-The walls and carpets in the main areas actually have very thin sheets on them to prevent makeup stains.

-As one of the chonkiest dorms, both in length and width, walking around can be hell if you’re in a rush. So many stairs, so little time.

-The Secret Lab has a Emperor’s New Groove like lever system that only the dorm students know which is which, but sometimes mistakes are made.

_____________

Ignihyde:

——

-When I say you can HEAR the electricity moving through the wires EVERYWHERE.

-Actually blinding to walk into at night due to the amount of screens.

-The kitchen is actually souped up and super clean because it’s nearly never used.

-They have Streaming Parties whenever a new season of a well liked anime or show among the students comes out, and on very rare occasions, Vocaloid Raves when a new album comes out.

These are the ONLY parties Idia attends and actually assists in the setup of, so you know it’s absolutely wild. Its a unanimous agreement that nobody is allowed to tell any other dorms about it (Ramshackle excluded)

-Ortho is the world’s nicest hall monitor at night when he’s bored and Idias actually asleep for once, but it can give students whatever the equivalent of FNAF is flashbacks.

-It’s a dorm joke to say “I’m tired, i’m heading home to Hell” or “I’ve got to catch the Ferry to the Underworld, see ya later”

-The projects the students are cooking up in this dorm makes Elon Musk look like a toy maker.

-These motherfuckers are also nocturnal sometimes. The main room is more active at night then during the day.

-They have a constant cat visitor that they’ve yet to realize or find out is Che’nya in a cat form. Trey once noticed Idia walking to a vending machine with a purple and pink cat on his shoulder and simply aggressively sighed.

-The Cat is lowkey pampered, and it actually started when Che’nya was making a getaway and accidentally ran into Ignihyde in his secondary form.

-Least Magic using dorm. Literally that one meme where it’s a few characters using normal weapons and then it’s a character from the same series with a gun. Ignihyde is that character.

The Genya of the NRC dorms.

________

Diasomnia:

——

-Will practically go into nuclear reactor evacuation if Lilia manages to get into the kitchen.

-They have an entire armory of everything but firearms. However there is a bazooka that Lilia donated for comedical reasons.

-Nearly everyone in the dorm despises Sebek for a multitude of reasons. It’s unfortunate but by god is it true. He is mostly unaware of this and the fact they were near ready to throw a party when he started hanging around Ramshackle more.

However, The only thing keeping Sebek from being literally mass jumped is the fact they don’t want to risk pissing off Lilia or Malleus and thats about it.

-Very Pointy furniture. Everything is VERY POINTY. Poke at your own risk.

-When leaving their room at night, their constantly on guard because of Lilias jumpscaring streak.

-The bridge is the worst thing ever if you have a fear of heights as it’s extremely cracky and thin.

-Some students genuinely think Silver is dead when they find him in random spots asleep.

-Lilia can turn into a bat and you cannot convince me otherwise, therefore alot of the students will eye bats on the ceiling with suspicion trying to see if A: Lilias among them. Or B: If they’ll snitch to Lilia if they’re doing something they shouldn’t.

-Sometimes they’ll polish the gargoyles and grotesques for Malleus.

_____

Ramshackle:

_______

-Yuu/MC has a string of Polaroid photos taken with the Ghost Camera in their room.

-Creakiest couch known to man, and everything within the dorm has some scorch or scratch marks from Grim Zoomies.

-The ghosts become cool Great Uncles, and Knit like crazy during october, since they can’t really touch things afterwards, so MC ends up with a pile of blankets, sweaters, scarves, hats and more.

-They also tell MC the tea with the other school ghosts.

-Skully actually haunts Ramshackle, but the secret area below it, which used to be the main dorm, but nobody dares go into the basement, so nobody really knows about it anymore. If MC were to find it, he would be BEYOND thrilled.

-Everytime a new idiot is initiated into the first year squad, they usually end up with their own “room”, since Ramshackle has way too many empty ones anyway.

-Originally Ace and Deuce just shared one since most of the rooms were broken down and they weren’t taking chances, plus there was only one next to MC and it would feel weird if they were an entire dorm apart.

-This came in useful during Book 5 because alot of their stuff was already kinda just…there anyway.

-Jack just uses his room for Cacti. Thats really it, since the last time he tried to store weights in there, it didn’t end well.

-Epels is excess Apple Storage and a Vil-Free Safe zone, which is often raided by the rest but mostly Grim since Apples.

-Orthos is just a charging port and some movies and games. It does look very strange compared to the rest with all the near SCI-FI theme going on.

-Sebeks is just more of a reading and training room now then anything else, and there are swords in there that Yuu/MC is permitted to use for self defense.

But it used to be, for awhile, jokily named the Room of Shame, because Ace consistently managed to trick him into going in and would lock the door when he made one too many human discriminative comments and wasn’t allowed out until he apologized.

-Ramshackles outer doors and windows actually use a super old enchanted lock with only 5 keys in existence (Yuu’s and the 4 extra you can give in the guest room) , so its unable to lockpick, to Rooks dismay, he’s banished to only looking through the windows

-Unfortunately, Ace did get his grubby little hands on one of the key’s at some point, so he is a constant B&Er of Ramshackle (truly best friend core) and often drags Deuce with him.

-Ramshackle has a themed mess of items, as many are gifts from the other dorms, a Kettle from Ramshackle, Rug from Savannaclaw, “Accidentally over ordered extras” of chairs and a table from Octavinelle, Silks and Culinary equipment from Scarabia, etc etc.

-Sebek did fall through the floor once because he was stomping around like he was kinda used to in Diasomnia, and overestimated the durability of Ramshackles Floors.

-This happened multiple times to Floyd aswell during their occupation of Ramshackle in Book 3.

-A ton of random trinkets from Malleus exist within the dorm, some found, some not.

-Lilia will sometimes follow Malleus and MC on their midnight walks as a bat, and Grim once tried to fight him, telling MC a random bat he saw on the porch was being fishy.

_______

I’m tired so thats about it.

Enjoy

[kay-jaye]

bit on the side?

bit on the side?

crowley doesn’t know what the fuck that even means. ok, yes, he’s familiar with the deluge of terms humans have concocted to define the complexity of their relations to each other.

side piece. sneaky link. friends with benefits. fuck buddies. situationship.

crowley knows what it means. he does. but when nina speaks the phrase to him, crowley can’t seem to recognize a single language, alive or otherwise dead, in which the words she says make sense. he briefly wonders if this is his version of aziraphale’s french.

because she’s talking about aziraphale.

aziraphale, the angel. the angel who likes his tea without sugar, but his wine with company. the angel who claims to have a distaste for “bebop,” yet crowley has caught him mouthing the words to queen’s “good old-fashioned lover boy” more than once in the bentley. the angel (bastard) who enjoys subjecting crowley to his magic act antics that under no circumstances would crowley ever admit to finding amusing or, satan forbid, endearing. the angel who popped into paris during the reign of terror because he got peckish for crepes, and even the threat of guillotine in that damp bastille cell could not deter him from baked goods in the end. the angel who still insists on dragging crowley to see productions of shakespeare, despite both being present for the original opening nights of almost every play the man wrote. the angel who is what heaven is supposed to be incarnate—pure and kind and too good for his own good, really.

and crowley is a demon.

he doesn’t think any of the typical labels apply. they’re not human, after all; it couldn’t be that simple. crowley can’t pinpoint exactly when it started or when it changed. 6,000 years is a long history to comb through. it was more than the acquiescence of two immortal beings to the familiarity of each other in a world full of temporary creations. it was more than a bloody arrangement at this point. crowley doesn’t know how it can be more than whatever it means to inhabit the other’s body and walk right into fatal danger, but they are. he’s inclined to cut his losses and say he knew—because deep down, he did know—he’s been fucked since eden and the damn wall and the damn rain he can’t help but associate with revelation.

other people’s love lives, nina had said. love lives. she’s projecting, crowley knows that. whatever’s going on with her and…lydia? linda? they say love makes you blind, but crowley would argue you see plenty of things. every passing glance between sips of champagne; every smile at the crisp sarcasm rolling off a forked tongue; every brush of fingers over the exchange of a briefcase full of books, the shaky grip on a tartan thermos, the drunken grab for another glass of wine across the table. silly things. things that aren’t there. for all the times aziraphale has implored him to read more, crowley swallows the urge to say he already reads into things more than he should.

he’s imagined it before; what it would be like to have more. a fair share of people have made assumptions about them in the past, though he’s not sure whether aziraphale has picked up on it, but that’s not why crowley suddenly feels as though armageddon is upon them once again. never has someone alluded to anything as…intimate as “hooking up.” crowley can brush away the implication that they’re together, but something screeches to a burning halt the moment nina insinuates what crowley’s only ever allowed himself to think about when he’s laudanum-level drunk and lonely because he has a greater chance of not remembering in the morning.

he remembers though. that’s usually when the guilt kicks in, when he’s hungover because he forgot to miracle the alcohol out of his system before passing out, and the headache pulses with the constant reminder that aziraphale is pure, pure, PURE. nothing he imagines on those nights is pure.

what gave him away? and if nina can see it, can aziraphale?

[fuckyeahisawthat]

I think Crowley falls into two of the classic pitfalls of people who see that the problems are systemic long before anyone else around them does: impatience and despair.

(Yes yes I know, “Crowley was an optimist.” Book Crowley is an optimist. I don’t think that line is particularly useful for analyzing TV Crowley. Stay with me here.)

Let it be said that 95% of the time, Crowley has the patience of a fucking saint (ssh don’t tell him) around Aziraphale. He knows that Aziraphale needs to build his little plausible deniability rationales in order to do something that they both know he wants to do (because it’s right or simply because he would enjoy it) but Heaven wouldn’t approve of. And most of the time, Crowley is happy to help Aziraphale get there, asking the questions Aziraphale is afraid to ask, offering excuses and justifications until Aziraphale finds one he can accept. He does a lot of work of parsing out when “no” means “you haven’t convinced me yet, keep trying” and pushing through all the “I’m an angel, you’re a demon, we’re on opposite sides and mine is the good one” talk that Aziraphale gets up to all the way through s1. Because he knows that Aziraphale doesn’t really believe that stuff, right? He just needs some time to talk himself around his own cognitive dissonance, and most of the time Crowley is not only happy to facilitate that but sees it as part of his role in their relationship.

But then when the chips are down and Aziraphale is still dithering, that’s when he gets frustrated, because HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE what’s been blindingly obvious to Crowley for millennia, that Heaven is just as cruel as Hell and no one is going to step in and fix it because the system is working as intended. And that’s when he says things like “how can someone as clever as you be so stupid?” Which is a surefire way not to convince the person you’re arguing with of anything.

And then there’s the despair. I really think the running away thing is not about cowardice or selfishness or some kind of unhealthy level of avoidance of hard or scary things, but about hopelessness. They’ve spent their lives avoiding very very real danger, and of the two of them Crowley is much more constantly aware of the danger that they are in from both sides. Yes he’s hypervigilant but he is also almost always right about the amount of danger they are in. Trying to get as far away from danger as possible is not an irrational response, even if it’s not always the correct one for a given situation.

When you feel like you’re the only person who sees how rotten the system is, how it needs to be dismantled entirely, but you are also VERY aware of how strong the people in power are and how ruthless they are about crushing dissent because you experienced it personally…well that gets fucking depressing after a while. Because even if you think the whole system needs to go, that feels like a completely unattainable goal when it seems like no one else even sees the problem, or if they see it, they are too afraid to do anything about it. And can you blame them? You know exactly what happens to people who speak up.

So it’s very easy for your goals to shrink from systemic change to just taking yourself and the people you love and finding somewhere for them to be as safe as possible, for as long as the system will let you exist. Because reforming the system is a fool’s errand, and dismantling it entirely seems impossible. I think this is where Crowley is at. Even if on some level he knows it’s an imperfect solution, because both of them have enough compassion that they would feel guilty abandoning Earth and humans to save themselves, and because Heaven and Hell really can find them anywhere in the universe. He just doesn’t see another option.

And look, I think Aziraphale is 100% wrong that Heaven can be reformed. But he is not wrong to want to stay and fight to make things better, even if it means sacrificing the Earthly comforts he loves so much, and even if it means doing it without Crowley by his side.

Ultimately they both need each other. Aziraphale needs Crowley for his willingness to ask questions and to see the scale of the problem, even if it’s terrifying. But Crowley needs Aziraphale for his hope, his stubborn determination to believe things can and should be better, and to fight for that. In the right hands, hope is an enormously powerful weapon.

[drdemonprince]

Thank you for calling out how weird folks get about interacting with younger people. A year ago I was at a professional conference and I met this young man who—for a variety of reasons��had started working in our field early and was clearly the youngest person at the con. My bitch of a coworker—who constantly talks about how she dislikes kids—proceeded to tell everyone at the conference how old this kid was and actively sabotaged any attempts he made to network. I pulled her aside to yell at her and she just said “this is a professional conference, not ‘being your kid to work’ day.” This was doubly horrible because, as I later learned from the young man himself, he was trying to get work to get out of a dangerous home situation so my coworkers undermining hampered him from doing that. I’m happy to say I’m still in touch with the young man, who has since turned 18, but I’ve been grey rocking my coworker since the conference.

It's disgusting how othering and dehumanizing people are to young people. When I was in my late 20s, I had a friend who worked in the bar/entertainment industry who had started when they were underage (they got a fake ID which allowed them to start running sound at various music venues). They liked a performance I put on, asked for my info, and we started hanging out together. They invited me to see a really funky clowny jazz band one evening and over drinks told me that I was one of the only older people that they knew who actually spoke to them like they were a person, and believed they had ideas and expertise. I said I remembered what it was like being the youngest person in the room, and I'd just never seen people differently based age except insofar as any difference between us placed a responsibility onto me to not burden the younger person with too much. (Because, well, lots of older people had once done that to me). I considered it a massive compliment that they had told me that, as I'd always wanted to treat people younger than me in a normal, respectful way because I'd been on the other side of it, and I was relieved that for them, at least, I had nailed the right tone. And it came easily. They were cool, artistic, engaging, intelligent, why wouldn't I ask them their feelings on things and really listen?

Now that friend is 27 and just a friend, a homie, a person who has helped me assemble furniture, pick up cat litter, held me as I cried about a breakup, intervened when they needed to get real with me about something hard that I didn't realize was affecting other people, and I've seen them perform in their band a ton of times. Some of their paintings hang on my walls. I've seen them transform from a bright-eyed easily exploitable young artist to a jaded, worldly person who has taught me about all Allister Crowley and shit and who wears some of the battle scars of their own life mistakes. They were back then a full person, and they are now. And I have friends in their early 20s still who I see in the same way -- just a person, smarter and more mature than me already in some ways, but lesser in others, and all I can do is respect the hell out of them and level with them as an equal while also carrying the responsibility that I have toward them as someone older, more experienced, and more financially comfortable as best I can. I don't know why it's so hard to not just treat people with respect.

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) Monster AU pt 14

(For those that don't know, this ^ is Papa Hades. For the sake of the story, Papa Hades is platonic and not romantic. If y'all really want to hear about a romance with Papa Hades, it's gonna have to be a non-canon spin off ask about it.)

Warnings; Shinigami ancestor has entered the arena, yandere, multiple yanderes, platonic yanderes, romantic yanderes, varying degrees of yandere levels, monster men, various monsters mentioned, TWST AU, mention of injury, mention of blood, Rook is obsessed with the human's feet, sparing use of French, feisty reader, Shinigami, Crow, Hellcat, Vampire Bat, Dragon, Cervitaur, Drider, Harpy, Selkie, Gnoll

~~~~~~~~

"Hello, Little One."

Standing before you was a very tired and almost sad looking man. Despite how softly he spoke, his voice was a deep baritone that almost shook the walls around you. He reminded you a lot of Idia and Ortho, meaning this was likely the one they had all been taking about, Hades.

The Shinigami was taller than Idia and had to look down at you in order to fully take your appearance in. Streaking down his pale and almost gray cheeks seemed to be what looked like shining blue tears that stained the soft skin a dark color, yet sparkled like the night sky. His flaming blue hair was short compared to Idia and seemed more the length of Ortho's hair. Wrapped around his shoulders and body was a black mourning shawl that seemed to have light trapped within the fabric itself.

He was handsome.

"Um... Hi?"

He examined you, kneeling down in front of you to get a better look at you. His golden eyes held a kind of spark in them that spoke to his interest in you and you wondered just what that interest was. Crowley said he was kind to Humans and loved them, but did that mean he loved Humans as pets or as equals? Could any of these men say they saw Humans as equals when they were clearly much stronger and more adapted to survival in this world?

"I am Hades Shroud, the ancestor of the two you know as Idia and Ortho. It is a pleasure to meet you, Little One. Many an age has passed since I have last held conversation with a Human. Would you do me the honor of telling me your name?"

"It's (Y/n) (L/n)... Are you going to take me away from here?"

"I would rather not, but it doesn't seem particularly safe for you here either. It would be safer for you to live somewhere more secure."

You frowned at this, feeling your nails bite into the couch beneath you as you felt more than a little unnerved by the large man. Crowley said Hades took away the last Human that lived in Night Raven, but you didn't want to go anywhere especially if there was a chance you might be able to go back to your true home. There was also the fear that he wouldn't let Grim come with if he did wind up taking you away.

"I'll fight you to stay here."

"... What?"

"This is my home now. I don't care how dangerous it is, I want to stay here. I would rather go to my original home, but that doesn't seem to be an option for me right now. I don't want to go anywhere with anyone I don't know, and I really don't know you. Grim is here. Tsuno, Silver, Sebek, and Lilia are here. Rook is here. Divus and Trein are here. Ace and Deuce are here. Even Headmage Crowley. Everyone I know- and can trust- in this world lives right here, not wherever it is you want to take me. I'll fight you if you try to take me from here. It won't be a long or glorious fight, but a fight it will be."

Hades seemed almost taken off guard by your declaration before a soft noise escaped him, much like a soft chuckle before it evolved into a full laugh. The sound was unusual as if he had not laughed in a very long time and had almost forgotten how. Everyone seemed surprised by his mirth, none moreso than Idia and Ortho as they looked absolutely floored, but clearly the confusion of the others did not bother the old Shinigami.

"Stop laughing at me!"

"I'm not laughing at you, Little One. I'm laughing because only a handful of those I have interacted with in the past thousand years have deigned to try and pick a fight with me, let alone a verbal joust. Most scrape and bow- even my own descendants- but not you, clearly. I won't take you from here, if that is what you truly wish, but goodness knows I have no interest in fighting you. Something tells me you would win that battle."

He smiled gently at you and you almost relaxed in response. Grim frowned from where he was laying in your arms, not really trusting anyone who you didn't trust. As the cat-beast looked up at you, you pet his forehead to soothe him and he began to purr gently. The movement of your hand drew the Shinigami's attention to the blue eyed beast that watched him warily.

"Is this the young forest beast you have adopted? Crowley tells me you found him in the woods when you first fell into our world. I expected a weasel by his description, not a young Hellcat. I would never expect to see one of those outside of Tartarus."

"Wait," Idia interrupted, "did you say a Hellcat? Like a genuine 'out of the flames, a Shinigami's best friend' Hellcat?"

"So it seems. Hellcats aren't native to the land of the living like this. No wonder his wings are so torn up, most forest beasts would easily slaughter a kit like this."

Grim perked up almost instantly at the Shinigami's words, his little wings spread out wide in surprise. He stood up from your arms, his tail waving excitedly and eyes shining with emotion.

"Wait... You know what I am? Where- where I'm from?"

"Yes. You're a Hellcat kit, probably only a decade old judging from your lack of horns, hardly even old enough to be away from your mother. It is unusual for any creature native to Tartarus- even Shinigami- to be beyond the realm of the dead, especially when I myself did not let them through, but the fact that you're alone tells me quite a bit."

"A Hellcat..?"

You pet Grim's forehead, smiling at the now confirmed to be kitten. It was easy to tell he was young but you were glad to now know how young and maybe even get confirmation about what he was. He seemed excited to finally have answers for what may have caused him to be left in the forest however long ago.

"May I?"

Hades asked, holding his hands out to Grim who looked first to you for approval. You hesitated for just a moment, pulling him close before you nodded. Feeling conflicted, you lifted the kitten into the large hands of the Shinigami who smiled gently at him. He quickly looked over the many scars of the soft creature and at the ruined wings with a slight grimace. A certain softness had taken over his expression before he hummed out his assessment.

"Poor little kit. He's even younger than I thought. Truly, he shouldn't be away from his mother at this age. Hellcat kits often stay within their mother's territory well into their adult years, but this one isn't even near the age to leave his mother's protection. He will get much bigger than this when he enters his juvenile days."

"You do realize you're not allowed to take him either, right? Grim is my boy and I am not giving him up."

"I know. I have been told he is your companion and friend, a chosen child you've taken on. I won't be taking him either. It is unusual his mother is nowhere to be found, as they are fiercely protective of their young, but there's no need to remove him from the mother he has. We can talk later about what could be done to try and repair his wings."

You held your arms open and Grim happily jumped back into them, affectionately bumping his forehead into yours with a loud purr. It was great news to find out that Grim could possibly get his wings back. The topic of his wings have been a sensitive spot for the little Hellcat ever since you met him.

Idia's words rang in your ears as you remembered what he had called the old Shinigami. Despite your willingness to fight him for your right to choose your fate, he had been polite and kind to you. It sounded like he was only interested in what you wanted, which was a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the beast men you'd met so far. Why not show a bit of trust?

"That is amazing news! Did you hear that, Grim? Papa Hades said It might be possible to fix your wings!"

The world turned near silent for the Shinigami as two familiar words he had not heard for centuries from a Human voice rang in his ears. A certain warmth filled the ancient being's chest and more tears fell anew down the streaked and stained skin. How long he had wished to hear those words again from a Human, and now he finally got them once more.

"Now then, Little One, young Idia has informed me of the attempt made on you by a representative and his reasoning for why he believes it happened. Let us discuss this matter as it directly concerns your wellbeing."

You didn't seem to notice the profound impact of your words as you cuddled your Hellcat, but Idia and Ortho did. All of the monster men standing around you saw the gentlest smile and warmest look on the Shinigami's face as even his hair seemed to breathe a new life in how brightly it burned. The impact of just a few words was clear as it deeply soothed the ragged pain in the Shinigami's heart.

Thousands of faces looking up at him adoringly as they chirped out their greetings. A thousand faces that returned screaming. For just a moment, the old Shinigami could forget the wailing souls that came to him and simply remembered the joy they once held for the ancient death God.

"Right, those scrubs won't realize how rekt they are now that Papa Hades is zeroed in on them. Oh, right, (Y/n), I also have your new collars primed and ready for you and Grim... I only have the condition that I want to hold Grim to put on his collar."

Idia held out his hands expectantly with a wide grin and Grim sighed, his ears laying somewhat flat as if annoyed but he didn't argue against the suggestion. His response told you Idia likely held onto him when he was showing the Hellcat the new additions to your dorm. Not thinking, you stood up with your weight on your leg and let out a hiss of pain, feeling the stitches strain and the wound start to weep.

The sudden sound of your pain unsettled the men around you as Malleus and Lilia both rushed to your side. Lilia made you sit again and picked up Grim, handing the Hellcat to Idia. Grim didn't complain and instead looked worried as Malleus' hand began to glow with green magic. As his hand drew close, the pain numbed back down to a dull throb.

"There. You know better than to be standing on that injury, child of man."

Malleus gently scolded you as you sighed, looking away from the chastising Dragon to glare at nothing in particular. He was right, but that didn't mean you weren't annoyed by his nannying. Still, Malleus was the main contributor to your comfort as it was his magic that soothed your pain.

"I know. I just forgot in all this excitement."

"Well, I shall remain right here to ensure you do not forget again. Now what is this I hear about a representative?"

~•§•~

You sat in the Pomefiore ballroom with three of the many monster men buzzing around you. Divus was helping Vil sew in the hemming on your new top, the tall stool you were perched on helping the two meticulously work around you. Rook lay at your feet, having been measuring your ankles, leg length, and feet for what seemed like just a bit too long. After your rather quick introduction with the ancient Shinigami, you received a text on your phone requesting you come to Pomefiore for the 'design team'- as they have named themselves- to properly fit your new outfits.

Despite your desire to stay and talk more with the elder Shinigami, Crowley insisted you go with Grim and Silver to Pomefiore. Malleus wanted to come along as well, but decided to forego in favor of learning more about Idia's findings on the poachers. Instead, Ortho came with the three of you so that at least one of your official guards for the week was with you and could relay updates back to the group in Ramshackle.

A slow and almost appraising stroke up your leg had you frowning and looking down to the Drider at your feet. Rook has long since put down his tape measure and now just held your leg, his leather gloved hands cupping the heel of your foot and his other hand was somewhat stroking the arch. His eyes seemed darker than usual as if his pupils were slightly too big for his iris to contain them.

"Désolé, mon chérie. Your paws are so unusual they've somewhat captivated me."

"Rook," your voice almost startled the Drider whose fair cheeks blushed a fierce red at being caught, "are you still measuring for the socks and shoes, or were you doing something else?"

"Feet, Rook. Those are called feet. Paws are more like that of a cat or a dog. Do other species not have feet like mine?"

"Non, not even shadow folk or Genies have these feet. Most of Twisted Wonderland's species have paws, talons, hooves, or even flippers. Shadow folk and Genies are somewhat similar in shape, but even they have pads on their paws. These," he gestured to your foot, which was still resting in his hand, "are wholly unique. They would take an equally unique design to properly warm and protect them. Simply being thorough in my inspection."

"Right, so thorough you are petting them?"

"W-well," he looked much more flustered than you expected at your accusation, "I just wanted to know if your feet responded the same way talons would or if they were like the paws of driders."

"By... caressing them?"

It was then Vil interrupted, sparing the Drider your questions and taking your attention away from his boon companion.

"There. The hemming is finished. Sit up straight for me so I can make sure it's even. After that, we can move on to the next one."

You did as the Harpy asked, turning back to Rook whose legs had started moving. At first you thought he was just shuffling his spider legs back and forth, but you realized he was actually actively weaving what looked like a sock around your foot. The spindly spider limbs moved quickly, seeming to knit around your foot and up your leg.

"Wait, you can knit with your silk?"

"Oui. The clothing you wear now was all made from my silk. Drider silk is commonly used for clothing, as the silk strands are durable and don't often form holes. We had to craft these ensembles for you from scratch, most tailors make clothing better suited for the likes of Vil and I- with extra room for limbs and varying morphs. Due to your Human figure, it is better to make our own designs for you."

You hummed in response to his words, feeling a slight magic tingle cover your skin as your top changed from the fitted one to a new design that had yet to be fitted. It seemed Vil was content with the hem on the top prior and now moved on to another. Rook worked quickly as you found one sock already done, the Drider moving on to your other leg and being much more gentle to not move it too much as it was your injured leg.

"Careful, Pup, if you break her stitches I will not hesitate to give you detention."

"You wound me, Roi du Selkie! I take great pride in how gentle I can be, I would never harm her."

"Yes, well, take care to remember that before you drool over my pup's flippers again."

You almost laughed at how swiftly Vil and Divus scolded the handsome Drider for his clear interest in your feet. It was interesting to know that Human feet were unusual in Twisted Wonderland and you vaguely wondered if seeing your feet awoke something in Rook. Regardless, you allowed the three men to continue their endeavors.

"So... Let's say for arguments sake I wanted to take pictures of myself and post them, would that be a bad thing?"

"Don't be silly," Vil scolded, putting pins very carefully into your sleeve to hold the shape, "we would have even more poachers seeking your head."

"But if Cater already blew the whistle, how much worse would it be to post pictures myself? Everyone already knows I'm here."

"It-"

Vil cut himself off, pausing with several pins sticking out of his mouth as he considered your words. It was true, Cater already decided to post pictures of you and news outlets ran with that image. Activists have already posted that image anywhere they can as to why you should be taken away from Night Raven College because of how unsettled you seemed in the impromptu picture. You had a point.

"Something to think about, I guess."

You went back to focusing on Rook who was almost done with the long socks. Despite how you thought the webbing would be sticky or even stiff, the fabric behaved and sat like cotton yet looked and felt like silk. Part of you was thoroughly surprised to realize this fact as you examined the socks on your legs and the intricate designs on them. How the Drider managed to make them on your legs, you'll never know.

"I'll bring it up to Crowley later, after the representatives have left."

Divus spoke gently, giving you a reassuring smile that you returned. The Selkie man was kind to you and had been the one to patch up both of your major injuries. Clearly, if anyone could be trusted among the staff with your wellbeing, it was Divus.

"Now, we need to work on your pants, skirts, and dresses. I'm going to permit you to stand up so long as you hold onto Rook and keep weight off of that leg."

Rook stood from where he had been resting on the carpet at your feet, holding out both hands to you patiently. The darkness of his eyes only seemed more intense as you took his outstretched hands, leaning on him and letting him help you into a standing position. The Drider moved his hands under your elbows allowing you to lean into his hold and put more weight on him than your leg.

"Don't worry, Mademoiselle Trickster, I've got you."

~•§•~

You sat back in Ramshackle next to Idia, a controller in hand as you finally had the chance to play the promised videogames. It was later in the day now and you were finally allowed to leave Pomefiore after what felt like countless new outfits and fittings. When you returned to the building you hadn't been expecting Hades to assure you he could handle cooking, wanting you to just play games with Idia and Ortho. Lilia even joined in a few rounds despite how odd it felt to see the older Bat Fae absolutely dominate the game.

After a while, you started to forget the worries of the recent events and just focus on what was in front of you. A game that you could play and take your mind off of things. The room seemed to change to the general atmosphere as a kind of magenta light seemed to accent the regular lights. You were tempted to look around for the source when a familiar and almost stressed cackle split through the air.

"Ruggie! Shit, he doesn't know about-!"

A harsh yelping sound made you quickly stand and rush into the kitchen, the pain in your leg be damned as concern filled your mind. Even as Lilia attempted to stop you, you ignored the Bat Fae and hurried to where the yelping originated. What if Hades responded to Ruggie's usual food seeking behavior the way that Lilia did that first morning? You absolutely did not want anything happening to the Gnoll and knew you would feel responsible if he got injured somehow.

"Don't hurt him-!"

You started, almost sliding around the corner where you saw the elder Shinigami was regarding the yelping and flailing Hyena silently. Ruggie had fallen back and was scrambling back on the tiles until he was up against one of the lower cabinets, still yelping like he had been burned. Once he caught sight of you he scrambled over and behind you, another stressed and panicked cackle escaping his muzzle.

"(Y/n)! I thought you were cooking and boy, let me tell you, I was not expecting one of the freaking Seven to be here!"

"Are you okay, Ruggie?"

"No! I had the fright of a lifetime just now."

"But are you hurt?"

"The only thing I've wounded is my pride."

You breathed out a sigh of relief as the Gnoll confirmed he was alright, but as your heart rate fell back into normal range your leg resented your panicked actions. A faint red began to bleed through the wrap around your leg and the clothes you had over it. Judging from the almost tight strain of your skin and the sharp pain from your sprint, you likely pulled a stitch.

"Hey, you aren't bleeding... Are you? Because it smells like you're bleeding."

"... I am."

"Don't tell me you messed up your leg coming to check on me!"

"... I did."

"Leona's gonna be so mad at me for that. Why'd you go and do something like that anyway?"

"Because you were yelping like you were being killed!"

Ruggie seemed embarrassed now as he realized he had been making an awful lot of noise given not an awful lot happened to him to warrant the noise. Still, it was nice to know you cared so much about him.

"A friend of yours, Little One?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Papa Hades, I thought that- well, it doesn't matter now. Ruggie is a usual face here. He always shows up when I'm cooking and I've been feeding him since. Shoot, you're probably starving, aren't you Ruggie? I've been out of Ramshackle and in the infirmary, so you probably haven't eaten in a few days."

Ruggie whined, as if trying to make himself seem truly pathetic and pitiful. He even went as far as to sigh dramatically and rest a hand on his sunken stomach.

"I mean, I've eaten the dandelion and tree-bark diet a lot before, but it certainly isn't those nice meals you make."

"... Papa Hades, could you..?"

The elder Shinigami nodded, already seeming to know what you were going to ask of him and added what seemed to be an extra helping to what he was making. He had been told of the Gnoll by Crowley long before this meeting and he was interested to see you behave so protective of the Hyena man. Gnolls were known for their hunger of Human flesh before the extinction, so seeing a Gnoll not pounce even with the smell of blood in the air was impressive. He certainly didn't expect the Gnoll to scream the way he had- especially since the Shinigami didn't do anything other than look at him- but it was understandable the Gnoll would be surprised.

It wasn't everyday someone with the reputation and history of a literal God was standing making dinner.

"So... Papa Hades, huh?"

"So, Leona, huh?"

"... Point made."

"Hey, Ruggie... Could you... Bring me back to the lounge area? I have to go be scolded by Malleus, and Lilia, and everyone else for ripping a stitch."

"I guess I can, seeing as you ran to help me and feed me most days."

The Gnoll was quick to pick you up, almost awkwardly cradling you in his humanoid arms as he padded back to where an annoyed Malleus was waiting. Hades watched the two of you go, smiling ever so slightly to himself as he returned to his task. You already exceeded his expectations and proved that others cared quite deeply about you. Maybe he was wrong to assume Night Raven College was unsafe. Certainly not as secure as it could be, but given enough time and a helping hand, maybe you could be truly happy and safe here.

Really, that was all he could honestly ask.

[marvelfanfn2187a113]

Hate You (Kidding)

Crowley & daughter!reader, Sam and Dean & witch!reader, a little Rowena & granddaughter!reader

Requested by Anonymous

Synopsis: your dad abandoned you years ago, but what happens when he finds out you’re still alive?

A/N: just so no one gets confused about this, here’s the background—Crowley found out how powerful demon/human babies can be, so he tried to make one, only it didn’t go the way he planned—the baby (you) were born without powers, and so he abandoned you. (Just because I didn’t want to give this the exact same backstory as Crowley’s son)

The theft was not going well. Your grandmother had made it seem so easy—sneak into the bunker, grab the black spell book, and make it out fast.

She failed to mention the two professional hunters that lived there.

You hadn’t been dumb enough to assume it would be empty—there had to be a reason Rowena wasn’t going herself, after all; she was scared. But you weren’t ready for Sam and Dean Winchester.

They had you in their dungeon basement—which was super creepy—before you’d even managed to find the book, much less grab it.

“What were you looking for, kid? Who sent you here?” The shorter—but no less scary—one had his hands on the sides of your chair, and he was looming over you. You had no doubt that he was willing to hurt you—you did break into his very dangerous house, after all.

You kept quiet, still unsure what the best course of action was. If you told them about the book and Rowena, would they let you go and go after her?

Then again, you didn’t know anything about these guys—maybe once they got their information, they’d just kill you.

You decided to stay quiet.

“Hey!” Dean smacked his hand on the arm of your chair, and you flinched. “I said—“

The man stopped yelling when the lights went out. They flickered back on a moment later, only this time they were red.

“Someone’s here,” the tall one said.

“I’ll go check.” The man in front of you pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans and turned to leave, saying to the tall one “watch her.”

Then it was just you and the giant—who, surprisingly, seemed a little less scary. He was definitely intimidating, but he also had a sort of “I don’t hurt children” vibe about him.

“This will all be easier if you tell us what you were after,” he broke the silence.

“Right, because you’ll have a reason to keep me alive after I tell you everything,” you scoffed.

“We won’t have a reason to kill you, either,” Sam countered.

“And you need one?” You questioned.

“What makes you think we’d just kill you for no reason?” He asked.

“I mean I did break into your house, and you are hunters.” You shrugged as best you could with your hands cuffed behind you.

“I’m Sam,” the man said, crouching down so he was more on your level—he was trying to look less intimidating, which surprised you. “That other guy is my brother Dean. We are hunters, but we’re not gonna just kill you for no reason. We’re not like that.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but the door opening cut you off.

“Look who came for a visit.” Dean stepped into the room with a man trailing behind him. As soon as the man stepped into the light, every bit of air left your lungs.

“Didn’t know you had a visi—“ Crowley’s sentence froze halfway out of his mouth when he laid eyes on you.

Dean’s suspicious gaze picked up on the awkwardness instantly.

“You two know each other?”

Crowley gained his voice back first. “Used to. Not so much anymore.”

“Oh I don’t know about that.” You found the strength to speak after you heard Crowley’s words. “You still look just as pathetic to me, father.”

“Father?” Dean choked. “Wait, that’s not possible.”

“I thought you were dead.” Crowley was now completely ignoring the Winchesters. “After…after that incident I figured the demons would’ve—“

“Incident?!” You all but screamed. “Incident? Is that what you call you abandoning me? Leaving me for dead? An incident?”

“I had no choice,” Crowley argued. “When the other demons found out you were powerless—“

“The other demons? It wasn’t about the other demons, it was about you! You used my mother to make yourself a half demon, and when I didn’t turn out to have any powers you threw me away. You wanted your demon friends to kill me.”

“No.” Crowley was brushing past Sam and Dean now, coming to stand directly in front of you. You squirmed in your chair, but you couldn’t get further away from him. “No I didn’t. I thought if I got rid of you, they’d have no reason to kill you and—“

“Don’t lie to me!” You cried out. “I’m not stupid! You may not have wanted me dead, but you sure didn’t abandon me to try to save me. You did it because I was useless to you. Pretending otherwise is just…it’s just pathetic.”

Crowley opened his mouth to argue, but he had nothing to say—he knew you were right.

“So you’re half demon with no powers?” Dean cut in. “Because I’ve met a half demon who could do anything he wanted just by thinking it.”

“Why do you think he wanted to make me?” You forced your gaze away from your father to look at Dean. “He wanted an all powerful being that was also fully dependent on him. Too bad for him, not all half demons are the same, and he got stuck with the powerless one.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you’re here now,” Sam cut in.

You bit your lip. You should’ve known it would circle back to this.

“Look, we’re not gonna hurt you if you tell us,” Sam promised.

“Fine.” A sly smirk lifted onto your face as your eyes went back to your father. “I’m here to get a book. For my grandmother.”

Crowley was still choking on air while Sam and Dean shared a meaningful glance before turning back to you.

“Rowena? You’re working for the witch?” Dean’s reaction told you that he both knew Rowena and probably hated her.

“She’s the only reason I’m still alive,” you said. “When he—“ you were inclined your head towards Crowley “—left me behind to get killed by demons, she saved my life.”

“My mother knows you’re still alive and she never told me?” Crowley scoffed. “It’s just like her.”

“She didn’t tell you because I told her how much I hated you.” You glared at Crowley as you spoke. “She understood the feeling, and we had a mutual understanding. Anyway, she told me she would teach me to take out demons the way she can—“

“But let me guess—only if you steal a spell book from us and bring it to her,” Dean interrupted.

“She said it was the only way she’d be able to teach me,” you defended yourself.

“She lied,” Crowley butted in. “She always lies—she was using you to get that book.”

“Oh, right, because you’re so trustworthy,” you shot back. “Why should I trust you?”

“You don’t think it’s a little strange that the first thing she does with you is send you to a place where you could get hurt, just to get something for her?” Sam argued. “You don’t think that that’s using you?”

You were quiet for a moment, and when you spoke again it was more subdued.

“I didn’t have any other choice. There are still demons out there who want me dead, and I’m totally and completely helpless.”

“You don’t have to be,” Crowley said. “I can help you.”

“Rowena may not be a saint, but I already know I can’t trust you,” you snapped. “I’m not looking to get abandoned again.”

“She had to know you’d get caught.” Sam seemed to be talking more to himself than anyone else. “So why…”

The Winchesters seemed to come to a conclusion at the same time, sharing a moment of telepathic connection before they turned and ran out the door.

“Do they do that a lot?” You wondered.

“You have no idea,” Crowley huffed. “I suppose I should find out what’s wrong.”

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” The sudden smirk on your face made Crowley nervous. “Oh come on, don’t tell me you fell for that whole ‘totally and completely helpless” thing.” As you spoke, Crowley saw a faint glow coming from your hands, which were still handcuffed behind you. After a moment, he heard a snapping sound, and suddenly both of your hands were free and you were standing up. “Do you really think Rowena sent me here with no knowledge of magic?”

With a single wave of your hand, you sent Crowley flying against the wall. He landed with a thud, and you stepped over his frame on your way out the door.

“See you soon, father.”

…

Rowena had escaped with the book by the time Sam and Dean got to the library—she had waited until everyone was in the dungeon to make her move—and by the time the boys got back to the dungeon, Crowley was on the floor and you were gone.

“Great,” Dean growled. “She tricked us. I hate witches!”

“For once,” Crowley groaned as he slowly sat up. “I agree with you.”

…

“The Winchesters.” Your nervous gaze met your grandmother’s as you watched her flip through the spell book. “It’s them, they caught up. What now?”

“We need to distract them long enough for me to get through this spell,” Rowena insisted. “I won’t even need the book anymore as long as I can get this spell done.”

“I’ll distract them.” You were halfway to the door when Rowena stopped you.

“No, you’re not strong enough, not like this.” The way your grandmother was staring you down made you nervous.

“Like this?” You asked.

The door blasting open after a swift kick from Dean Winchester seemed to make up Rowena’s mind.

“I’m sorry, dear girl, but it’s the only way,” she said. “Impetus be—“

“Not so fast, mother.” You father appeared out of nowhere just behind Rowena, and he snatched up the spell book she was holding and swung it at her—she went down without another word. “I’m the only one that gets to hurt my brat.”

You didn’t say anything—you were still shaking. “Impetus beastiarum”—that’s what Rowena had been trying to say. Your own grandmother was going to turn you into a rabid monster—and ultimately kill you—just so that she could get away.

“The book.” You flinched out of your daze when Sam Winchester brushed past you and held his hand out to your father.

“Of course, moose,” he answered. “What would I need with a witches book?” He passed it over without argument.

“Why did you save me?” You demanded, sidestepping the taller Winchester to get a good look at your father, who merely shrugged.

“I’m the only one that gets to kill you.”

…

The Winchesters, of course, wanted to grab you after the little incident, but you flung them against the wall with your powers—one of the few tricks your grandmother had managed to teach you, and currently your favorite—and left before they got the chance.

You didn’t see them or your father for several more months. When you saw Crowley again, you were running for your life.

Somehow word had gotten around that a great witch had a granddaughter; or maybe it was that the king of hell had a daughter—you didn’t know, and you didn’t care. All you knew was that an archangel was after you because of it, and you had tried to cut a deal with him.

It hadn’t worked.

Lucifer had wanted you because he thought you’d be useful, and when he found out you weren’t, he of course decided that killing you was proper punishment for wasting his time.

You were in the midst of running for your life when you saw your father.

He was chained to the floor like a dog, watching your exchange with the archangel with peaked interest.

“Conteram hoc cincinno,” you yelled as you ran—it worked, and the chains at Crowley’s wrists snapped; they were warded against demons, not witches.

The freeing of his prisoner was enough of a distraction to get Lucifer off your tail. By the time he remembered you, you were out the door, and when he tried to turn his attention back to Crowley, the demon had already teleported.

…

“What was that?”

You jumped in surprise when your father appeared next to you.

“An escape,” you huffed out.

“You saved me back there.”

“Don’t get used to it,” you demanded. Crowley just grinned at you.

“Maybe witches aren’t so bad.”

Taglist:

@nyotamalfoy @mrvlxgrl @chocorade @aestheticdaisies @inlovewhithafairytale @that-wannabe-vangoghgurl @casmustdiee @987coley @deadlymistletoe @wayward-impala83 @whump-loverz

[robin-evry]

Hello! Just want to say thank you for doing the things you do, and I would like to request something, if that is alright.

I got done watching Venom, The Last Dance, last night, and I would love to ask if we could get an Eddie Brock/Venom or a Yuu that has Venom as their Symbiote in Twisted Wonderland.

Work at your own pace, drink some water, and eat as healthy as you want to, and thank you if you take this request!

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐔𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐓𝐄 🍫◼️

The Symbiotes are a species of inorganic, amorphous, symbiotic extraterrestrials created from the "living abyss" at the beginning of the universe by the primordial deity Knull, who manifested a sword of living darkness called All-Black from his shadow to slaughter the Celestials and other deities.

Art credit : TheDanielHD

Originally their symbiote was planning on eating grim on their first encounter. And when the coffin opens yuu thought they were under attack so immediately suit up and they started to attack believing they were kidnapped by an occult.

They were forbidden by Crowley to use venom or their symbiote in school but they don't listen to him because they still use venom in school areas.

The first year was afraid of them at first but after a few hang outs they started to enjoy each other present as well getting along with their symbiote bonding a Friendship with both of them.

Originally NRC thought that venom was an overblot ink a unique type of overblot but it's not the case, idia sent multiple cameras to monitor them to send towards S.T.Y.X and wanted to kidnap them to study their symbiote.

Their symbiote grants yuu enhance physical strength, agility, speed and others it considers to turn them on a superhuman level. They can also use these tentacles like things to move as their extra arms to grab things or just use it for combat like a whip

Their symbiote, is deeply connected to Yuu, recognizing them as its "host" and calling them by an affectionate yet possessive nickname, like Light or Heart. They are curious about the world and communicates with Yuu in a whispering voice only they can hear, adding an element of mystery as it constantly influences Yuu’s thoughts and actions.

They also enjoy food like sweets especially Chocolate, so imagine every time at lunch their symbiote will pop out it's head out of their shoulder and ask to be feed a spoonful of food and this is why yuu is always seen eating nothing but sweets because it's replenish their symbiote to grow stronger.

Sometimes their symbiote might leave some of their fragments and accidentally create a new symbiote. But that's never happened... Yet

If some miraculous happening, their symbiote will use other first years as their host to get back with yuu if there's a way, by using the first years as their contemporary host while their original host is out somewhere.

Having a symbiote, Yuu can be pulverized, jump and hang up side down similar to the movie and other things thanks to their symbiote, they are very flexible as well having some combat knowledge.

Their symbiote is possessive over yuu, they care deeply for them protecting from any danger creating shield for them as well protecting those who yuu care knowing if the first years got hurt, yuu will be sad or devastated

Their symbiote can extend from Yuu’s body in the form of dark tendrils that act like extra limbs. These tendrils can morph into blades, claws, or even spiked whips for combat, allowing Yuu to perform both offensive and defensive maneuvers. The tendrils can retract quickly, making their symbiote ideal for sudden strikes and agile movements.

Their symbiote can temporarily “consume” or nullify magical attacks by absorbing energy directly into its dark mass. This ability only works with energy-based magic, and it isn’t foolproof—powerful attacks or those from certain elements may still break through. Yuu must be cautious, as this ability drains them significantly, and overuse can render it temporarily dormant.

Their symbiote has the ability to form special tendrils called soul tendrils, which extend from Yuu’s body and can anchor onto people’s spiritual energy. These tendrils can be used to sap strength or read surface thoughts, though their symbiote respects Yuu’s boundaries and rarely uses this ability without consent. However, in desperate situations, it allows Yuu to draw power from others to heal or empower themselves briefly. If this ability is used during their full potential it has the ability to consume people's spiritual energy and receive their abilities

Their symbiote also has the capabilities of wielding magic similar to the other students causing yuu to have this ability as well,their symbiote amplify Yuu’s magic-based abilities, acting almost as a magical booster. This ability makes Yuu’s spells more powerful and longer-lasting. However, Nyx’s energy amplifies only certain types of spells, usually darker or shadow-based magic, making other spells unpredictable in strength.

Their magic works better at night or in an area with limited light due to them being excellent in shadow magic, creating figures, spying on people, teleportation and other things ( lead up to your imagination what they are capable of )

[bluebell-kitsune]

Forced agere with Lilia Vanrouge has a Cg

I did wrote that something similar with Lilia before, but here we go with full on forced agere.

🦇Baby Bat🦇

- Lilia is a caregiver through and through. He’s cared for and raised Silver and Malleus, even assisted in raising Sebek, and now that’s been turned onto you. You are a magicless human and in a completely different world and factor in the fact that Lilia is 700 years old, you might as well be a lost baby in need of someone to care for you.

- Lilia is manipulative and good at hiding it even to the extent of making you second guess yourself. Expect a lot of gaslighting from him. A lot of “Are you sure? I don’t remember it happening like that.” And “You’re just being fussy cause you’re tired. Perhaps you need a nap.”

- Lilia can and will enforce a routine on you complete with a set strict bedtime. After all, little ones need a healthy schedule to follow so they can grow big and strong. He is not about coming to Ramshackle at any time and making sure you are following that routine.

- Lilia is not afraid to treat you like a toddler in front of others. He’ll make sure you hold his hand in crowded places or while crossing roads and if he can’t for whatever reason, you are holding Silver, Malleus, or Sebek’s hand.

- Lilia will go as far as convincing Crowley that you need your work at a lower academic level. You didn’t ask to be here and you struggle to keep up with your peers due to your lack of magic. Crowley cannot expect you to do work you weren’t meant for. Thus your work will be more on level to a kindergarten or lower middle school student’s work and you’ll be barred from potion classes as they are too dangerous for a child.

- He will refer to Malleus, Silver, and Sebek as your big brothers. Infuriatingly enough, Lilia will get them to act the part too. Especially if babying you gives Lilia a reason to stick around NRC and not leave for retirement. So be good baby and listen to your big brothers, won’t you?

[love-me-love-my-weirdness]

Something really interesting about the final fifteen is how perfectly it portrays Aziraphale and Crowley’s trauma responses.

At first, you might think that Aziraphale had the fawn response and Crowley had the fight response but the final fifteen shows something very different.

Aziraphale has the fight response and Crowley has the flight response.

In every situation, when it gets tough, Crowley’s instinct is to run. His instinct is to gather what he cares about and leave to keep himself and Aziraphale safe. Their safety is always the priority. He would sacrifice everything for his loved ones.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, is a fighter. He was named a Guardian and he lives up to his title. His instinct is always to stand his ground and fight for his beliefs. He protects his loved ones like an animal would protect their young. He stands up and chases the danger away.

That’s what makes their communication so utterly shit. They want to protect each other so badly but they have such different ways of going about it. Aziraphale sees Crowley’s trauma response as giving up and Crowley sees Aziraphale’s trauma response as blind hope.

Their trauma responses make so much sense for what they’ve been through individually but they can’t understand the other’s approach.

Crowley is seeing how bad things can get and going “I’m not sticking around for it to get worse” and Aziraphale is seeing it and going “I’m not standing by and letting it get worse”.

There are flaws in both of their thinking and you can’t look at the final fifteen at a surface level because there are so many layers and complicating factors to both of their actions.

That’s what makes Neil Gaiman such a good writer and Aziraphale and Crowley such good 3D characters.

[books-and-omens]

God. I. I absolutely cannot sleep. And it’s nearly morning.

GOD.

Aziraphale, no.

Aziraphale. You are being manipulated. You are being showered with praise and acceptance that you have never received before, not like this. You are being told that you did extremely well, that you are the best of the best. This is *deliberate*. Metatron has never been on your side, he is telling you exactly what you want to hear. What you’ve been craving for the last four years, and for the six thousand years prior.

But they have plans for you, Aziraphale. They want you Upstairs so that you could do exactly what they need.

Aziraphale, stop.

(I’ll have to rewatch this. Have to collect the instances where Aziraphale is looking for approval. Fiercely hoping for approval. Throughout history, yes, and recently, too: those telephone calls after the Armageddon’t where he wanted Crowley to witness the good he’d s been doing. That burning need to tell someone that he did well and to hear it acknowledged.

Oh, Aziraphale is not at all taking his retirement from Heaven well.)

GOD.

You know what, I think Aziraphale is absolutely coming undone by the end. That process is certainly in full swing by the ball.

Because seriously.

The ball. The absolute fabulous madness of it. The drapery. The chandelier. Aziraphale going all-out with the miracles, retreating to the safety of Jane Austen where things go right and love prevails.

(Inviting Crowley to dance, too. Pulling him by the hand.)

Notice, too, Aziraphale’s desperate insistence that things cannot possibly be as bad as Crowley thinks they are. What a level of denial. Everything is fine, he is telling himself. Everything will be fine. I’m setting everything up perfectly to explain the big miracle, to avoid the existential threat we are both facing. We will be fine, nothing will really have to change, and I will still have Crowley.

(Oh, the vehemence. Close your eyes and pretend you are in another century. Don’t open them. Do not open them. Everything is fine.)

And—

Aziraphale is not handling retirement from Heaven well, but that’s only one of the things that are happening, isn’t it.

The danger to both of them is real. Crowley, too, is under existential threat (which Shax has helpfully reminds Aziraphale of, of course she does). They are not safe; they will never be safe while they are exiles, while Heaven and Hell can threaten both of them on a whim, while shining archangels can drop by at any point.

So what Metatron is offering at the very end is the power to do good and be appreciated, but also safety. You can be safe, he promises, your demon can be safe. You can even be with him, just as you are now—except you won’t be powerless against the rest of the world.

You won’t have to be fugitives, not any more. Not like you are now.

(It’s a lie. We know it’s a lie.

And Metatron must know full well that Crowley would never accept the terms as stated.)

They witness another thing, of course. Gabe and Beez. Their happily-ever-after.

There in the moment, Crowley is probably looking at them and thinking: we could do this. We could go off together. Yes?

Except this kind of a happy ending, Gabe and Beez being left alone but exiled, wouldn’t be a happy ending for Aziraphale and Crowley.

They’ve been in this exact place before. “We can go off together!”

And as before, this won’t work.

They have the Earth. They care about the Earth a lot, both of them. Aziraphale wants to win approval, yes, but he also very sincerely wants to make things better, to do what’s right, to be the change. And he wants, too, to win safety for him and Crowley. Wants them to be together, side by side; wants that to be allowed.

Wants them to do the right thing together. To have the power to do the right thing.

And everything they have built together falls apart.

(Angel.

Fucking Hell.

Stop the elevator between the floors. Get out. Get the fuck out. Get back.

Angel. You haven’t even seen what Crowley has seen in Heaven. What they were planning. What they need you for.

Angel.

NOT. LIKE. THAT.)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I have a little question, what happens if Rollo, Fellow and Skully Overblotted?

I don’t think anything would change other than the obvious (us getting new OB designs for the Halloweenies and maybe extended post-OB flashback sequences). If you’re looking for those, plenty of fan artists have made and shared their interpretations, including their own takes on what the Phantoms would be.

Honestly, I’m glad they don’t overblot because this way there’s more variety in how characters and their backstories are presented to us. There’s also in-universe lore reasoning (whether explicit or implied) as to why Rollo, Fellow, and Skully don’t OB, most notably Crowley stating that OB is "rare". (There is also something to be said that all the OBs we have observed so far are of NRC students, which then leads to theories that someone at NRC is purposefully inducing them; the usual culprits theorists point to are Yuu, Grim, or Crowley himself.) Additionally, I personally like to headcanon that Rollo has a lot of metal fortitude (+ he genuinely believes that ridding the world of magic would be beneficial), so he is able to slow his blot due to his self-discipline. As for Fellow, he lacks the magic pool to be considered a threat. This is mentioned in book 6; people with naturally low mana levels are less likely to OB, and therefore most of the Styx staff fit into this description to limit the danger they pose when they are in an environment that constantly exposes them to blot. As for Skully, he’s the only one that actually comes close to OB because 1) he has the magical pool for it (seeing as he has enough magic to get into NRC, unlike Fellow) and 2) the immaturity and emotionality to not control himself when he is upset, unlike Rollo). The only reason Skully doesn’t OB is because he gets the crud beaten out of him before he can fire off more spells.

[zionworkzs]

Alright, lets talk about Aziraphale protecting Gabriel. More specifically why and what it tells us about our favorite angel.

First off, I like musing about why Gabriel came to Aziraphale in the first place. He says he was looking for Beelzebub and "got lost." I think, and I'm sure someone has mentioned this before, but I think Gabriel on some level knew Aziraphale's infatuation with Crowley and thought, if anyone will understand my predicament (read: being in love with a demon), it's Aziraphale.

And that's really sweet, but for me, the interesting thing is WHY Aziraphale helps him, and why he seems so willing to help so soon, with virtually no information.

Why?

Is it some of that Heavenly loyalty? Maybe. I kind of doubt it since Gabriel tried to kill what he thought was Aziraphale at their last encounter. And Aziraphale knows this, even if Crowley never told him directly what went on in Heaven.

So why? He loves the mystery? Sure, later in the season he enters his Detective Era(tm) for all of one episode, but his initial thought isn't to solve what happened, it's to protect Gabriel.

Does he feel bad for Gabriel? Probably, a little. But again, Gabriel is technically an enemy at this point. And would Aziraphale really risk the life that he built for himself (and Crowley) for this amnesiac archangel because he felt bad for him? Honestly, probably, yeah. But there's more to it than that.

Even when faced with danger. Danger for himself, Crowley, and all their human guests, he still protects Gabriel.

WHY?

Because fundamentally, he believes that everyone can be redeemed. And not even in a Heaven-can-save-your-soul kind of way either. In a distinctly human way. He's seen 6,000 years of human history. He's seen humans be unbelievably cruel and also heart-warmingly kind. He's seen his own demon (supposedly unlovable, cruel, evil) be kinder than all of Heaven's angels combined. But the interesting thing about that is that Crowley is kind in the way humans are kind. And Aziraphale believes in human kind.

He sees the good in people, even if it's buried so far down they may not even recognize it. And there's something inside him that longs to bring that goodness out in others.

And I think this hits on a main facet of his personality which is Hope. Because if people can change, and people can be good, there is hope.

Makes me think of this post:

[colorlessjay]

favourite group of villai side characters? as in the MoL, the angels, the clown vampires from the finale😭

The demons, all the way

the first few seasons that built up their mystery and the deals? fucking amazing

I will forever stan whatever the fuck Ruby and Sam had going on because that shit was GOOD and Ruby was by far the best villain in the early seasons.

I did not care for the BMOL. Cannot believe we went from world-ending catastrophes and biblical disasters to British People as villains

Like yeah, I kinda liked that heaven is basically a corporate business in the sky. They did it better than the BMOL

but they powered them down so much that it was genuinely disappointing

So yes, my favorite villain group is the demons. Because they're just small gangs of misfits that cause chaos. I miss Meg, and Ruby, and Lilith. Absolutely floored by their performances and danger level. Crowley was fucking hilarious. And I'll say it: Azazel was a very compelling antagonist for me, especially in how much he shaped Dean. And Abadon? I thought she was AMAZING. She reminded me so much of Ruby, and I love how they used her to discover demon-paralyzing bullets.

The vamp clowns can go fuck themselves

[moon-mage]

LEOJAMI DETECTIVE AU

Oh whut I mustered up the strength to doodle for this oh my gooooosh. :O But yes, like I said earlier I have this whole twst magical detective/law type AU swimming in my brains and I need to let it out real quick. I'll go for bulletpoints since I think that would be the easiest to write out my thoughts without going on and on xD

Everyone would be like mid to late 20's adults here. I would say Jamil is 24, so following everyone's canonical age ranges Leona would be 27.

This would be a drama-comedy so the tone would fluctuate but when it's serious it's serious when it's not it's funny. uwu

I just totally imagine a scene where they're chasing a perpetrator through a fucking McDonalds and they climb into the kids play tubes to give chase and Jamil just flies in all nimbly and Leona tries it and gets his ass legit stuck while 3 year olds are fucking laughing at him.

On the opposite tone, in this world UM's are classified by how powerful and dangerous they are to the public...so it's mandatory for mages with high threat UM's to work in magical law enforcement. Punishment is basically they hand you over to STYX forever so uh...ruh-oh.

So Jamil is actually wearing glasses preventing him from using his UM. He has to take them off to use them. Leona is supposed to be wearing gloves but like come on it's Leona lmao he do what he want.

A lot of backstory elements will be somewhat the same, like Leona being a prince and Jamil being the property of the Al-Asim's but just like different. Night Raven College did not happen.

So basically Leona and Jamil were born and raised in their respective countries. Leona chose to leave home to come to Sage Island to work for their magical police force because he surely wasn't gonna stay with his brother and nephew. Jamil was transferred to Sage Island by his previous boss, Police Chief Al-Asim...because he had served his purpose in making his son a decent enough detective.

Sage Island's magical police force is...honestly the TRENCHES. All the weird and horrible things happen there magically and it's truly not for the faint of heart to work so close with high risk cases that occur there.

Basically you get sent to work there as a mage if someone is purposely trying to get rid of you...or you are really seeking them thrills.

Yes, Crowley is the guy in charge here so you know you're in the trenches. He still takes like 48 vacations a calendar year.

Jamil and Leona get partnered up and it's basically just Leona being grumpy old and jaded while Jamil is trying to prove himself to the max and thinks he knows it all. But they eventually come to an understanding and find a mutual respect for one another.

As soon as that happens Leona is basically like "you wanna sleep with me, Jamil. I know you dooo...i know you doooooooooo"

Jamil is in denial rewatches that "YOU BETTER NOT BANG YOUR COWORKERS" tiktok over and over and over...

He wakes up in Leona's bed anyway.

Jamil is thriving in the thrill and danger of the job that keeps his mind and body sharp and feeling some sense of freedom.

Leona finally feels a deep connection with someone again who he can be on the same level with and finds some purpose to wake up in the mornings.

Jamil and Leona are fucking happy with their second place lives because they have each other in it...in the good and the bad. The highs and the lows. They're there for each other.

They are both just as equally horrified about the fact they're falling in love and being all vulnerable and mushy with one another and actually enjoying life.

Seriously they are waiting for life to realize they're so happy and destroy their happiness as it always does.

Oh and the major bad guy is gonna be a TWST OF CLAYTON FROM TARZAN.

I have always wanted to twst him as an antag but it never felt right for him to be a student but an actual threat like Rollo or Fellow.

That's what I have so far uwu <3

[paperclipninja]

Middle of the night GO thoughts after reflecting on a couple of comments that the 'you're being silly' scene is actually not just the adorable soft exchange I have been caught up in. I mean it is, but it also isn't.

And it got me thinking that the whole of season 2 is like this, almost the entire time we have two truths in play. The whole season is one of duality.

A few examples (there are many more woven throughout but just to illustrate the point):

Right off the bat, the opening scene, it's both ominous and hopeful. Aziraphale is restrained while angel Crowley full of abandon; one angel is aware of the danger of questioning, the other is naïve. Both are experiencing the same moment in rather different ways. It sets the tone of the season immediately and puts in motion this layered truth within the story.

The minisode with wee Morag and Elspeth, the entire graverobbing premise presents us with the dual truth that digging up the dead is bad but the selling of the bodies to the surgeon, thus contributing to saving lives, is good.

Aziraphale grapples with the duality here, justifying the actions of Elspeth by convincing himself that one truth is greater than the other. We also see that Crowley is far more able to recognise the complexity of multiple truths being valid depending on circumstance. This whole minisode feels like Neil showing his hand a little bit, the duality is so explicitly addressed, meanwhile we, the audience, are engaged in a larger unfolding story in which we are observing similar layered truths playing out in different ways.

Now the scene that made this whole thought process unravel, still one of my favourite scenes and will remain so, is the "smitten, I believe...you're being silly" exchange. It is both tender and awful.

Here we have Crowley, expressing his very real fear of JimGabriel, opening up to Aziraphale that he doesn't feel safe in the bookshop because of the constant fear he will wake up, and Aziraphale just looks at him with heart eyes and tells him he's being silly. This flags so loudly that we're watching two characters who are experiencing very different versions of their current reality, due to past experience, yes, but also, Aziraphale and Crowley each have their own idea about the right way to react to the current situation.

It's been pointed out by many before me, but the ball is another example of incredible juxtaposition and an extraordinary display of two truths existing at once. It is both incredibly romantic and an actual nightmare.

It is reflected, once again, in the way Aziraphale and Crowley are experiencing it, we know one character is caught up in the romance, the other in the horror show, but as a viewer, we are being tasked with holding both truths in our mind simultaneously. And both are true.

Aziraphale the entire season is both giddy in love and completely dismissive of Crowley. It is adorable and infuriating at the same time.

And yes, it is a reflection of the very duality the entire premise of Good Omens presents us with - that something can be good and bad at the same time, pure and corrupt, that the entire binary of Heaven and Hell/good and evil is flawed because those concepts can and do co-exist.

But the way it is seen in the interactions on a personal level this season is what has leapt out at me. It's why I think we see people falling into different interpretations of a lot of the scenes and moments, because they are more than that, they are observations. We are often observing two sides of the same coin, and both are true. The sheer genius of it and the way it is a mirror to the characters and the entire concept of the show we are observing is, quite frankly, mind boggling.

And it all comes to a head in the final fifteen™. There is so much duality in play here that it is no wonder there are hundreds of posts untangling bits of it and trying to extract the meaning from within the many layers. It's because we are given two truths in this final scene that are both heartbreaking.

Crowley loves Aziraphale and wants them to be together, free at last. Aziraphale loves Crowley and wants them to be together, free at last.

BUT

Aziraphale wants to use the system to keep them both safe. Crowley wants to escape the system to keep them both safe.

And then all the moments of duality between them throughout the season reach a critical juncture: Aziraphale in love but dismissive, Crowley understanding that Heaven = good is too simplistic and trying to compel Aziraphale to remember the lesson from Edinburgh ("when Heaven ends life here on Earth, it'll be just as dead as if Hell ended it"), Crowley trying to use the notion of romance to counter the nightmare with a desperate kiss.

It's a complete inversion of those two truths in the opening scene of the season, the entire scene is at the same time ominous and hopeful, but it is Aziraphale who largely being naïve and Crowley who is aware of the danger.

I mean, it was all spelled out for us really, this duality and the fact that those multiple truths in play were always going to come to a head. It was all there, wrapped up in this quote:

"What does your exactly mean, exactly? I feel like your exactly and my exactly are different exactlies".