#shadow haunt

[thewickedmerman]

This was a redesign that I had a really hard time trying to figure out because his original design was already really perfect. I mean, he was a skeleton in a suit of armor all the color of old, dried blood. That's a really tough act to follow, especially when you consider that the character is basically this world's version of Satan. I tried to make parts of his armor sharper, give him glowing eyes, and a different face. I tried to do a combo of Hades from Disney's Hercules and concept art of The Horned King from The Black Cauldron.

For his Shadow Phoenix form, I kept it similar to its original look but gave him glowing eyes, made his head look similar to his helmet, and made his wings actually made of fire. I mean, the phoenix is known for having wings of fire, so why not do the same here?

A problem that Darkar has always had is that, while he's still a great villain, he's not really as interesting as The Trix, Valtor, and arguably even Selina. He's a demonic bad guy that wants power and that's pretty much it. He's theatrical, which definitely helps but that's not much. While he could be cringy in the 4Kids dub (I say this as someone who considers the 4Kids dub to be the BEST Winx Club dub), he was definitely more memorable with more personality and iconic lines. So in my version, I would like a mixture of both versions with him being a demonic deity but also have a memorable and enjoyable personality without being cringy. Basically, I'd have him be like Hades from Hercules, only without the James Woods style of humor because that wouldn't work for Darkar. Basically, being a great villain that is flamboyant and fun while also being a serious threat. I mean, he was the master of The Ancestral Witches for crying out loud. But I do like that he is a more distant threat and would keep that as part of the character because of how it led to more character focus stories, which is one of the reasons why season 2 was such an amazing season. My personal favorite episode from that season is the one about Musa and her dad.

Anyway, I hope you guys like it and think that I did justice to the character.

[liveandbreathemusicals]

Gay people will be like “this is my comfort show!” And then show you the most emotionally devastating, stress-inducing, tragic piece of media you have ever witnessed

[gilly-bean]

Laszlo using the power of his hand to protect his loved ones.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

[antirepurp]

You are a ghost and an echo from a place you cannot go back to

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

I've been asked multiple times, which Vincent Price films *I* personally recommend. Well... all of the above... Also, Theater of Blood...(Gif wouldn't load)

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: found footage

[davidpincher]

they’re best friends

[avotuli]

fucking guy

[fridaypls]

AUGH CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS?

He's talking about how he got his scars from a she-bear when she tried to claim him in his bear form during the mating season for bears.

Halsin: "Rejecting unwanted advances is no failure. Even if it earned me some scars."

He spent three years as a sex slave and object to a drow couple, three years being treated as a toy and a novelty. When he talks about it to us in another scene, he uses the phrasing "I did what was necessary to survive... and perhaps a few things that were- less than necessary." A lot of us only get that part of the cutscene - he explains his escape, and it goes no further. But there's a bunch more to that conversation.

Here's the whole thing written out;

"One positive I will conceded about city life is that you never know what lies around the corner."

"Takes me back to some youthful misadventures in the Underdark. It was a long time ago - I was a foolhardy young druid, intent on seeing the beauty of nature’s otherworldly fauna and subterranean glow for myself.

"Certain events transpired and I found myself the guest of a noble draw house for some time. Well, something between guest, prisoner and consort, perhaps. It was touch and go for awhile."

Some quick notes before we keep going;

"Certain events transpired" - I think we can all agree we're curious what those events were. Was he kidnapped? Tricked? Invited in and then kept? Also holy downplaying, Halsin.

"something between guest, prisoner and consort, perhaps" - sort of lends itself to the implication that he was invited in and then unable to leave, rather than a kidnapping.

"touch and go for a while" - he's so blasé about it, but we know he's serious about how much danger he was in, even if he's telling us the story through a mix of humor and gravitas

"The house matron took interest in me and the patron also. They saw me as a novelty, perhaps. I was chained in their bedchamber for nigh on three years. It was not ideal, but not without its positives, either. I did what was necessary to survive and perhaps a few things that were less necessary." 

"The house matron took interest in me and the patron also" - that brief nod to drow matriarchal society. The drow patron may have taken an interest in him, but it was the matron who held his life in her hands.

"a novelty, perhaps" - not a person. Not something they cared about or respected or cherished. A toy.

"I was chained in their bedchamber for nigh on three years" - he was kept very close to the drow couple, in a very personal and intimate space, away from the rest of the house and from other prisoners. He would have been alone, most of the time.

"I did what was necessary to survive and perhaps a few things that were less necessary" - Alone, starving for companionship and completely cut off from nature - from natural light, from wildlife, from green growing things - Halsin had only the drow matron and patron for companionship.

"Don’t misunderstand me, I feared for my life and wanted my freedom back, but I was willing to wait for my moment. And, eventually, it came."

I read this as him realizing he's blurring some lines in his story and correcting the trajectory a bit. He'll come back to this in a little bit and it's beautiful.

"Lolth’s noble houses are constantly at each other’s throats and eventually some rivals of my hosts sought to unseat them. It was chaos. Drop against draw, the clash of blades echoing throughtout the cavern. The feeling of warm blood that I could not see. I took my chance and fled while all were distracted. I never looked back until I breathed fresh air again and never learned what came of my hosts."

"Lolth’s noble houses are constantly at each other’s throats" - Yes, yes, they are. What's more, we know a few things from dnd lore about what happens when drow houses attack one another; when one house attacks another, the goal is the violent, unseen, complete erasure of the other house. No witnesses left alive.

"The feeling of warm blood that I could not see" - this has me asking about a thousand questions. I gift it to the werebear!Halsin apologists.

"I took my chance and fled while all were distracted" - at some point in his three years, he worked out how to escape and had to simply wait for a safe moment to do so. Imagine what he must have been feeling in that moment. I'm gonna write this at some point.

"I never looked back until I breathed fresh air again and never learned what came of my hosts." SUCH an important line.

"I never looked back" - Despite continuing to call them hosts, I think the fact that he fled without a second thought is important to his story.

"until I breathed fresh air again" - he'd been thinking about that breath of fresh air for THREE YEARS.

"and never learned what came of my hosts"

We do know what happens when drow houses attack one another. One house always falls; if the attacking house doesn't succeed, they fall and are wiped out. Whatever happened that day, an entire drow house fell.

The only way to get him to call them captors instead of hosts is to be so mean to him. You have to have your Tav be a Lolth-aligned drow and threaten to sell him back to them. After hearing this whole conversation up to this point, you'd have to say "So the mighty bear is an escaped pet... I wonder if there is a reward for your capture and return." and EVEN THEN, he doesn't lose his temper. With a hard face, he advises you not to try and suggests that his captors are likely long dead, implying he's thought about it. After he finishes, he sort of pauses and looks thoughtful, then says "interesting- I've always referred to them as my hosts, but I suppose captors is a more accurate term to what they were," which is just such a clear picture of how the situation sits in his mind.

Okay, back at it. Here's the rest of that conversation, which doesn't always trigger;

Halsin: "The passage of time has a strange way of polishing even the most arduous of memories into precious keepsakes. Had it been slightly different, I may have been put to work in the mines or or killed outright. 

"Perhaps I carry more resentment than I realize. Time can prove to be a trickster of one’s recollections. What will be multiple lifetimes for others now separate me from my captivity; perhaps I have lost perspective on what happened to me. I survived... and in years to come, I must have allowed hardships to become dwarfed by the shadow curse in my mind.  I lost friends… confidants… and had the weight of responsibility bear down on me unrelentingly. There was scant opportunity for self-reflection. 

"…I have not had true confidants for some time. The shadow curse robbed me of almost all my peers and replaced them with the weight of responsibility. Perhaps that caused me to gild undeserving memories of my youth. I am lucky to have your counsel - it was sorely needed."  

That was a LOT, but take all of it and put it together with this;

"Rejecting unwanted advances is no failure. Even if it earned me some scars."

In that moment, I don't think he's entirely thinking of the she-bear.

Maybe I'm just reading too deeply into how his story is marked by years of having his autonomy stripped away, but I think it's significant he chose scars over submission when presented with another situation that threatened to take his choice away again.

--

Credit to @ride-a-dromedary for the gifs!

Clip of dialogue; https://www.tiktok.com/@rndm.lys/video/7342170304837405984

[madcat-world]

Creeping Darkness - IrenHorrors

[beansprean]

Nandor: idk what I’m feeling but there’s a lot of it

Harvey said there was a scripted/deleted scene where Marwa tries to get Memo to dance so I'm declaring this canon as far as I'm concerned ty

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1. During the wedding reception, post Marwa covering Guillermo in kisses. She is pulling him up from the table by his hands with a big smile, enticing him to dance. Guillermo looks nervous and like he may protest, but allows himself to be pulled.

2. Marwa and Guillermo beginning to dance in a loose waltz position, Marwa’s hand on his shoulder, Guillermos hand on her waist, their other hands clasped together with Marwa’s on top. Guillermo’s back is to the viewer, stumbling through the steps, Marwa smiling easily.

3. They spin, Marwa now in profile and Guillermo facing the viewer. Guillermo is looking at their feet with a nervous smile. Marwa is staring at him fondly, eyes hooded.

4. They spin, Marwa in profile and Guillermo facing the viewer on the opposite side. Marwa’s eyes are closed, still smiling as she relaxes into the dance. Guillermo looks up at her with a small smile, gaining some confidence as he takes the lead.

4. They spin, Marwa in profile and Guillermo facing the viewer on the opposite side. Marwa’s eyes are closed, still smiling as she relaxes into the dance. Guillermo looks up at her with a small smile, gaining some confidence as he takes the lead.

5. They spin, both in profile now as Guillermo pulls Marwa closer by the waist with a determined grin. Marwa blinks up at him, smile frozen and cheeks flushing as their eyes meet.

6. Guillermo dips Marwa suddenly with a laugh, her skirt floating up around his legs as she gasps in surprise, reddening further. Her tiara dislodges slightly from her hair.

7. Guillermo pulls her back up; both looking flustered. He offers an apologetic smile as Marwa laughs, cheeks deeply flushed, and adjusts her tiara with the hand not clinging to Guillermo’s shoulder.

8. Their hands join and they begin to dance again, spinning slightly so Guillermo’s back is to the viewer again. Marwa has her eyes closed, face leaning down to hide a besotted smile as a heart drifts up by her face. Guillermo is distracted by something and does not see her expression, turning his head to face offscreen.

9. What distracted Guillermo. Full body of Nandor In his wedding best on a splotchy dark red background. His face is in shadow, red eyes peering out intensely as he forces on a fanged grin. He raises one hand to give Guillermo a thumbs up, staring with some dark, confusing emotion. A speech bubble pops up from below screen with Guillermo’s face in it, grinning back at Nandor rather confused but offering a thumbs up in return. /end ID

[justn0t]

(both are correct)

[ky-landfill]

"Dunno know why you're so worried, Bruce. Power cuts happen all the time down in the Narrows."

[devilous-ov-noir]

[soracities]

traveling to see a long distance lover in a few months and we're both about 5'4.. its symmetry of the heart! its completing a matching set after 20 years! its fitting over each other like milkcrates! its our shadows lining up! its picking same-sized clothes to exchange so we can still hold each other after i go! im in love and its my scariest secret! i am in love!!!!!

anon this is..........i am..............oh my godddd 😭

[subtle-as-an-earthquake]

Is This What You Wanted?