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dotster001 · 2 years

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How to Befriend a Demon king

Summary: yan!Malleus x reader. Based on the demon au by @jackplushie, because I got brain rot. When you befriend a stranger at a coffee shop, you don't know what you're in for.

Cw: brief mentions of blood, and yandere themes.

You had met him in a coffee shop. It was your favorite shop, and you always made sure to hit it on your days off. On one of these days you were mildly saddened to see how busy it was. There were no open seats except a man who seemed to be busy reading some old texts. Wanting to take your time with your drink you approached the man.

Upon glancing at him you couldn't help but find yourself flustered. He was the very essence of tall, dark and handsome, with an intense aura. When his striking emerald eyes had flicked up to meet yours, it felt as though he was searching your soul.

:readmore

"Is this seat taken?" You sputtered out.

He gave a small smile. "I was saving it for a client, but it appears he has," he hesitated. "Well it can't be helped, I shall have to send someone to search for him. You may have his seat if that is what you wish."

You gratefully took the seat and attempted to make conversation, "who is this client of yours?"

Without glancing up from his text he said "you could say he owes me a debt. It was meant to come due today. But no matter, he won't evade me for long." He gave a small smile, and you felt a shiver run down your spine.

You attempted to finish your drink in silence while scrolling through your phone, but soon that aura you had found intimidating began to pull at you. You found yourself staring at this man. The longer you stated, the more alluring he seemed.

Eventually you couldn't help but blurt out, "You're very beautiful." Now you'd done it. Your face felt warm with embarrassment as he gave you a bewildered stare. Until he let out a boisterous laugh.

"You're different from any one I've ever met," he said with a bright smile. He stood up from his chair, placing his book under his arm. "We shall see each other again." He left the shop and by the time you had the state of mind to look after him, it was like he had vanished, as though he was never there at all.

He was right though, you did see him again. Every day off you had from there on out you would find him at the same table, with some ancient text you couldn't read. As time passes you began to look forward to his presence on your days off. You learned things about him here and there, like he enjoyed vanilla ice cream, but would rather get a vanilla frappuccino here than go to the ice cream shop down the street. Or that he was very fond of statues and gargoyles, and could go on about them for hours. You didn't know his name though. You'd asked him the second time you'd met him.

"Mal…" he hesitated, then said " no I think it's best if you called me whatever you want."

"Mal Mal it is then," you giggled, and he gazed at you with a fond smile on his lips.

At first that had been off putting, but soon you couldn't help but think of Mal Mal as your best friend.

…

You were going to get new friends. Or at least you were if you survived whatever it was they were about to do.

When your college friends had come to town, you hadn't thought twice about inviting them to your house for girl's night. But now,as you found your wrists and ankles tied with a gag around your mouth, while four friends chanted and a fifth made a circle of salt around you, you decided to never do girl's night again. After the salt circle was finished, the friend who made it took a knife, and cut a line down one of your bound palms, ignoring your struggles and sounds of protest.

As the chanting ceased a drop of blood fell into the circle. Immediately you found yourself surrounded by an emerald green glow. A dark form materialized in front of you and solidified into….Mal Mal? No, it couldn't be him, he didn't have horns and his eyes didn't glow green. But as the glowing green eyes found your paralyzed form, they widened in shock and the glow faded.

"Y/N?" That was definitely Mal Mal's voice. Maybe you were dreaming? That would make this all make sense. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, then narrowed in barely concealed anger. His gaze flitted back to you and he knelt down in front of you.

You felt one of his hands gently wipe away a tear. That's funny, you couldn't help but think, I didn't know I was crying. He removed your gag, then gently untied your hands and feet. He then gently strokes your cheek with one hand while extending the other to you.

"I need you to take my hand, dear one," he gently whispered, as though he were soothing a small child. You nodded, and placed your hand in his. Still holding your hand, he scooped you up and crossed past the emerald salt circle.

He ducked his head to your ear and whispered, "I need you to rest while I handle them."

Your vision began to darken and you could no longer remember who "them" was. But as you drifted off, you thought you could faintly hear the sounds of screams, and see flashes of emerald electricity.

…

Darkness. That's all you could see if you tried to remember anything before living in this isolated cabin with your beloved Malleus. As far as you knew, there was no life outside of the two of you sharing in domestic bliss. If you ever asked him about your past he would place your head in his lap and gently stroke your hair, and tell you of a future where you would rule beside him in his demon kingdom.

A fog would settle over your mind, and you couldn't help but lazily agree that that sounded nice. He'd gently raise your wrapped up hand and press it to his lips, while telling you of all the things he could give you once he made you his immortal spouse. And as the darkness began to consume your brain again, all you could do was smile and nod.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #yandere malleus x reader #malleus draconia #yandere malleus draconia #yandere twisted wonderland

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stardustpinkart · 4 months

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I have yet to see "Wish". And I'm parlty waiting to do so. Lots of people have reimaginings and au's about it and some likit, other seems to hate it. It seems an okay film at best?

Anyway, its a bit easier to make up an alternate storyline, when you dunno what the canon is. Sometimes canon prevents you from imagining what could be, it can be a mental hookup? So if I can like to draw a few pics before seeing it. I do know SOME things and some stuff that couldve been.

The main is of course little star being a boy.

My personal AU is this and its probably like others. The design of Starboy here btw belongs to another, the-gateway-to-madness

SO.

I imagine the Kingdom, it all seems so perfect and wonderful, and of course these places are anything but. They hide the cracks. And the people tend to leave everything to there monarchs becuase its easier, or they cant fight back. Seems the King controls whether or not wishes get granted in this land and no doubt an obsession for power and complete control.

Star, he simply goes by star, kinda going "Gargoyles" route here they dont typically have names, falls in love with Asha at first sight. Stars are quite innocent and on a diffrent plane form humans, they dont deal with the same issues as they do not to mention I imagine, omnipotent powers?

All he wants is to make her happy and use his magic to do so. But Asha is an ordinary girl, and its all very overwhelming? If a magic being loved you, woudlent it be a lot to take on? Larger than life? So very slow burn on her part, if at all. He's very sweet, but, its a lot to deal with.

If Magnifico knew Star had fallen to earth I have no doubts he'd want to use him. Keep him locked away and use his power for his own. A tool, an ultimate weapon.

I imagine Star turns into his lil form thinking hes being incospicous, but of course its anything but(maybe pretend to be a stuffed toy now and then), but he also might turn into it when he's exhausted, his power draining.

This is what would I'm sure happen, Star locked away in the castle dungeon to be kept like a caged bird, just for Magnifico to use his magic. He'll NEVER let him go, he'll remain there forever. It would be up to Asha and her love to save him.

She could also be a fairy godmother, thats part of the movie right, starting it off? If she and Star were a couple Im sure.

If I was a writer Id love to do a story but, I'm not really. Not alone anyway I can come up with blurbs like this, thats the most of it. I can draw though so

#artwork #fanart #wish #wish 2023 #disney #wish disney #king magnifico #asha #star #starboy #wish au

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king-hsssy · 17 days

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Gargoyles: Here in Manhattan thots and opinions

⚠️Spoilers under the cut⚠️

Well the first volume of the new gargoyles run has concluded and I don’t know how I feel about it…..

Overall I enjoyed Goliath’s Perry Mason adventure, he was the best fit to be apart of the first court case regarding U.S. citizenship for gargoyles. But besides that I really don’t give a fuck about the Dracon shit!

I enjoy Antoine, she’s very slay but Dino…. Dino could have been someone else. Maybe I’m just too stuck on my idea for Xander Thailog venturing into organized crime. But Dino was a flop for me.

Coldstone turning against the clan again, goddamnit old man(men?). The new maguffins turned his ass right back to Demona and he better leave Coldfire outta this.

Speaking of the new maguffins, I am betting that we are going to go global again. Hopefully with King Arthur, Griff, and possibly Macbeth. We haven’t seen that old man yet so that’s where I’m betting he will be.

If not global maybe national? With the recognition of gargoyles as citizens this could lead to some Nat born U.S gargoyles coming out of the woodwork. Maybe even a migration by those gargs to New York City.

The time spent developing Gnash was great, wish that was equal with other characters bc I was missing Hudson a lot but there were two big ass plots here so Greg is just on thin ice for me.

But that’s sorta ones of the problems for me because I care more about the characters than the main story they are going with and they haven’t done much spending time wwith them like in the tv show. It’s a hinderance of the media form perhaps, I don’t remember if he did this with Young Justice I stopped watching when Wally died.

Overall I will continue on to the next issue but we need more consistent releases and more focus on characters for me.

#hsssy speaks #disney's gargoyles #gargoyle comics #here in Manhattan #gargoyles #gargoyles disney

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the-lord-of-malevolence · 5 months

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Greetings, prince of all dark and beautiful, cool dragon guy, super into gargoyles man

I come bringing offerings of very cool things. The very cool things in question being a plushie of a gargoyle. I am aware that technically as it is a plush and not an architectural highlight it is technically a grotesque now (especially considering it - blessedly - does not have a hole from the mouth back) but it is nonetheless marketed as a gargoyle and it would be quite difficult to make a plushie that could potentially drain water from a roof during a storm

If it is not pleasing to you, I have also brought some homemade bread. It isn't fancy, but it is edible as I have taken cooking classes and none of them were taught by Lilia. While I care for the man dearly...his food might be a war crime.

Best wishes to you, king of gargoyles

- anon (perhaps 🫀 anon, if that is not taken?)

Why thank you. Even if it is a grotesque, I shall accept it, because it comes from a place of goodwill(and you were not confused between the two terms, which means you listened to my ranting).

A piece of bread would be nice, but I'd rather we share it. Is that alright?

#ooc: I'm so sorry anon the only emoji my computer shows me is a black square so you're gonna have to choose something else 😭😭#ooc: i googled it and it's an anatomically accurate heart but i can't see it so...#ooc : sorry TvT #malleus draconia #twisted wonderland #twst roleplay #twst rp #malleus draconia rp #malleus's letters

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imsparky2002 · 1 year

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Class of Heroes - Lil’ Heroes (Part 1)

Screw it, here’s a weird lil thing where all the Heroes are toddlers. Yeah, it’s like a magical daycare.

Marilan: A little fighter who always carries around her toy sword. She’s a bit clumsy, but a true warrior. Loves playing with fireworks.

AdriPunzel: The prince of Corona, who was almost kidnapped by Gabriel Gothel. A cheery boy with hair that can heal booboos with a song he learned.

TiAlya: A kid who loves to cook and act like an adult. She likes making pretend food for her friends. Keep frogs out of the daycare, she’s been known to turn them into princes with her kiss.

Fairy GodBro: This tiny fairy is only a toddler, but he’s already learning how to make his friends happy with wishes. Poor guy keeps losing his wand. He always likes to help out CinderZoe and AdriPunzel with their struggles.

Maxiro: Though he’s only an infant, Max is a genius with a love for making toy robots. Has a stuffed animal called Markov. Loves to hang with his older cousin.

Alladix: This cute troublemaker is always one jump ahead of the teachers. Always nabbing toys and candy to share with her fellow toddlers.

Kimules: The demigod son of Zeus and Hera. Kim was stripped of most of his godliness by Hades, so he’s just a really strong toddler. A happy and sporty little boy who sometimes doesn’t know his own strength.

AriOndine: The youngest daughter of King Arturo. A curious and bright little ball of sunshine who’s excited to meet new friends on the surface. Still has trouble with walking, not just because used to have fins, but because she’s also a toddler. Her and Kim are in an adorable “puppy-love” relationship.

MarcElsa: A timid and smart little prince with the power of creating ice. He likes scribbling nonsense (which he thinks is writing) and playing with his best friend, Nath. (He’s the one who always helps put Nath to sleep with his cold hands.) He loves creating snowmen who can give him warm hugs.

Sleeping Nath: A quiet prince who’s always doodling and finger painting. Due to a curse, Nath gets very sleepy and will randomly nod off during daycare. For him, it’s always naptime. He’s really scared of spinning needles.

Sabrinnochio: A wooden toddler who’ll tell you she doesn’t like strings. Sticks very close to BluRore, the little fairy who gave her life. Loves putting on little shows for her friends.

Snow Mylene: The nicest kid in daycare, who’s songs always attract little animal friends. Always trying to let her friends know about the environment and nature.

QuasiIvan: A toddler with a hunched back, Ivan’s a shy kid who’s afraid of being seen as scary. Was taken in by the Church as a baby, and likes talking to his gargoyle friends. He protects his daycare pals from bullies.

JuleBeast: A little goth who’s family was cursed by a sorcerer. At random times in the day, Juleka becomes an adorable little beast. She loves being with Roselle, and tries to be scary, but everyone knows she’s an adorable sweetie.

MaestroLuka: A mellow and musical boy who’s Juleka’s twin brother. Sometimes he transforms into a toy piano, and lets Juleka play him. Has a lil crush on Marilan.

Roselle: A kind girl with a love for fairytales. She is incredibly helpful and loves to read stories to her classmates. Helps Juleka when she’s feeling upset.

Chloestasia: A bratty kid who brags about herself to other kids. She is learning how to not be so mean, starting by being nicer to Zoe.

And that’s part 1! Aren’t they just adorable? If you like it, make sure to check out Class of Heroes by @msweebyness. @artzychic27 and @msweebyness as usual.

#class of heroes #lil' heroes #daycare au #daycare #baby au #baby #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #disney #disneyau #akuma class

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eldritch-spouse · 2 years

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Misc OCs

Bregina

Garden Anomaly 1- Hellion

(What if Breg was a gorl?)

Agner

(Bobble amalgamation, actually sane, doing his best.)

(Local flower fiend that erupted from a giant moss ball in the garden.)

Garden Anomaly 2- Pebble

(Your local, surprisingly friendly gargoyle mutant spit out by TCE's garden.)

Colmei

(Monster beekeeper lost in The Clergy's garden, just wants a Queen.)

Magus and Glauk

(Inhabitants of TCE's aquarium floor.)

Ivani

(Goblin shark gal, hot dog enthusiast, also one of Vinnel's assistants.)

Brenti

(Blender baby of Breg and Santi. I pity his existence.)

Katia

(Demon mama, sloth demon, proud of her boys.)

Shags

(Morell's very creepy long-time friend, ""artist"", morbid.)

Jonesy

(Servant of Mother, a "humble" throne, weird about Belo.)

Lacai

(An impcubus, servant of Vesper, bug enthusiast.)

Nena

(A succubus imp, servant of Rinx, Lacai's timid sister.)

The Cleric

(A construct hidden deep in the bowels of The Clergy.)

Pinter

(Gallon's dad, business man, no nonsense)

Sever

("King of Purpurs", just wants to survive, worst dad ever)

Dorem

(Ruler of the Limbo annex, tired uncle energy, just give him a smoke.)

Catalina

(Grimbly's mom, never forgave herself, a ticking timebomb.)

Rei

(Stuntman celebrity from Wrath, supposedly unkillable, fuckboy proper.)

Adelo and Adrul

(Sons of Krulu's vessel and power, princes of Eden and Perdition, the pioneers of a new age.)

Vorago and Berle

(The firstborn and lastborn of Queen Vorticia, one wishes to be King, the other owns a massive ice cream parlor in Gluttony.)

The demon girlfriends

(Nick, Lucidia, Lemoana and Primin are your best friends! But maybe, just maybe, they're not cockblocking just to protect you anymore...)

Tetrils

(An alien lands on Earth, he's like 90% dicks.)

Xiko

(Celebrity, dead, his eyes are inside his mouth you know?)

#pinnie's masterlist #pinnie's art

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evilisk · 1 year

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Animated Things I Watched In 2022, Part 2

I (try to) describe the animated shows I watched in a sentence, but this time for stuff I watched in late 2022

= = =

Inside Job Season 2 (2022)

This season did not go in the direction I thought it was heading, I expected Reagan’s relationship to go in a completely different direction due to the obvious contrast between Reagan’s own parents. What we got was much more bittersweet...

Favorite Episode: “Brettwork”

Hilda Season 1 and 2 (2018 - 2020)

Dunno what else to say than “it’s good” and “watch if you haven’t already”

Favorite Episode: “The Deerfox”

Extra Note: I may have teared up (just a little) because of the above episode

Harley Quinn Season 3 (2022)

Same comment for this show, except I also have to say “thank god this series has survived the purge over at Warner-Discovery”

Favorite Episode: “There’s No Ivy In Team”

The Owl House Season 2 (2022)

Same comment for this show AGAIN, except I have to say “of course Disney execs are coming into ruin a good thing yet again”

Favorite Episode: “King’s Tide”

X-Men (1992-1997)

The artstyle has aged like milk and I wouldn’t call the show “good for its time” when Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series are from the same period... but I admit, the show has some high highs, even if it also has some very low lows, and generally isn’t consistent as the those other two shows

Favorite Episode: “Beauty & the Beast”

Extra Note: If voice actor for Fabian Cortez wasn’t so awful, I probably would have put the “Sanctuary” 2-parter as my favorite one in the series.

Niko and the Sword of Light Season 1 (2017)

This show is perfectly fine, it has a good voice cast and a classic setup, I just wasn’t the target audience for this show

Favorite Episode: “From the Sea of Suffering to the Faraway Shore”

Ultimate Spider-Man Season 1 (2012)

Maybe it gets better in the later seasons, but the first season is pretty rough.

The skits, which I didn’t mind, get annoying when they start undermining the serious episodes. You can also tell the writers didn’t want to give Spider-Man a team at all, because they barely explore Spider-Man’s teammates and it feels like they're always sidelined when the main plot is actually happening.

Favorite Episode: “Freaky” Least Favorite Episode: “Awesome”

Extra Note: Awesome is such a bad episode. Mr. “Great Responsibility” flunks on his science fair project and decides to steal technology from SHIELD to pass off as his project, EVEN THOUGH his principle is literally works for SHIELD and would probably notice stolen SHIELD tech if he saw it

Dead End: Paranormal Park Season 1 and 2 (2022)

It’s hard to call this show a “must watch” when I think all the legitimately good episodes are in the back-half of Season 2 and it’s not clear if there’ll even be a Season 3. I recommend checking out the first few episodes for yourself and seeing if the story and characters vibe with you

Favorite Episode: “My Super Sweet 1600″

Dogs in Space Season 1 and 2 (2021 - 2022)

It’s hard to describe what I don’t like about this show... it’s like this. The cast is very fun and funny in low stakes episodes. But when there are actual stakes, the cast (especially the main character, who is literally named “Garbage”) becomes very frustrating to watch. And the problem is that the writers keep trying to do story heavy episodes instead of sticking to their lane (sorry if this sounds mean but I really preferred the self-contained stuff over the main plot).

I don’t want to completely disregard this show: it’s mostly unknown and it’s not actively terrible. I actually had a lot of fun with Season 1 but I wouldn’t bother with Season 2 since it writes off the best character (Kira) and has a very unsatisfying conclusion.

Favorite Episode: “Paws & Rewind”

I really wish the writing for this show was as good as its animation

#dogs in space #dead end paranormal park #ultimate spider-man cartoon #the owl house #inside job cartoon #hilda cartoon #animated things i watched in x #x-men the animated series

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windowalker · 9 months

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Hi, it’s 4.00 am and I can’t sleep.

I’m new at tumblr, I saw people make posts were they basically just introduce themselves and stuff and I thought I could do that too

Ok so… I’m Laeira, I’m almost 21 (fuck)

she/her | infp …but I generally don’t like lables

what this blog will be about: I guess poetry, art, music, and the inner connections between them and everyday life, everything I can found in my desperate quest to make the world a bit more bearable

there will be the occasional joke too, don’t worry, I have a very random sense of humor

about me: I like writing ✨🐚 (mostly songs, poetry, I’m currently working on a “novel”, pff feels so weird to say it). I like reading📖, though I’m slower than shit, cinema 🎥 and photography📸. Nature🌲🌿, I have a totally not creepy obsession with human anatomy🫁 purely scientific/artistic, and a totally platonic relationship with science 🔭⚗️ I guess I also love anthropology 🗿and philosophy 🩻 (but I don’t philosophize, just make fun of plato)

music I love (maximum restraint to minimize the otherwise infinite list): Björk, Jeff Buckey, Nirvana, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, The Guess Who (not the Who), Radiohead, Cocteau Twins, Mecano, Heather Nova, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Donovan, Teresa Teng, the Beatles, Faye Wong, The Zombies, David Bowie, Mitski, Slowdive, King Crimson… fuk, and I’m not gonna get too much into classical, atonal, avant gard music… but you get the idea

fav movies: FUCK. I can’t do this. Let’s see… Mirror (Tarkovskij), Billy Elliot, Adaptation, the Incredibles, The Trial (Wells), Amadeus, Donnie Darko, Rear Window, Trainspotting, Polar Express (shut up), Coraline, Anastasia, the Shining, Whispers of the heart, the Graduate, Pollyanna, Naked Lunch, Ameliè, Black Swan, Lust for Life, Heathers, Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, Cry Baby…(just kidding, I almost imploded)

fav series: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Heidi (yes, I said it), Star Trek tos (so funny I exploded several times, best chairs, best fashion), Steven Universe, Phineas and Ferb, Arcane (of course), Adventure Time, The Owl House, Over the Garden Wall, Bewitched, The Nanny (best 90s show, fight me), Gilmore Girls (I still keep watching it but I HATE how they massacred most characters)

books I somehow managed to read: my favorite books are the ones I find the hardest to read. Metamorphosis, The Neverending Story, 1984, The Picture of Drodrian Gray, The Golden Compass, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, The sorrows of young Werther, Memories from the Underground…fuk I actually read so little books it’s embarrassing, I’m trying hard to improve, I swear!

things I wish wouldn’t exist in this world: arrogance, misogyny, racism, homophobia, and any other bad type “phobia”; inequality, any kind of abuse, especially the one inflicted by “parents”, mental illness, inefficient systems, condescendence and general unkindness

other things that I wish wouldn’t exist in this world: OLAF, I hate you OLAF, Cry Baby, because it destroyed my soul, Howard the duck, because it destroyed my sanity, the gargoyles from Hunchback of Notre Dame, movie remakes, vinegar, and Olaf again, because he’s an insult to life itself

Hope you enjoyed this unnecessarily long post, and if you wanna talk about something feel free to message me :)

It would be nice if I could manage to make some friends too! :D 🦑

#long post #introduction #self introduction #welcome #infp #blog #blog post #me when i absurd #movies #art

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iamthekarmapolice · 1 year

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that being said this season of riverdale is like they finally listened to all those people who said that riverdale was at its best in s1 when it was more “grounded” and a murder mystery being solved by slightly quirky teens. but i only liked that season because it contained the seeds for weirder directions the show could take. the whole weird vibe at thornhill, the weird anachronistic aesthetic, cheryl and veronica’s dialogue, the funny names. and then imagine my delight when from s2 onwards the show kept fulfilling that potential to new gloriously deranged heights

so to go from a season where riverdale is basically an autonomous state forgotten by the us government where everyone in the gang had superpowers and came together to defeat evil wizard percival pickens who drifted in from an alternate timeline that was created in the 1700s or whatever. cheryl lesbian witch leader pyrokinesis powers. to go from that glorious batshittery to a slightly campy 1950s school setting where everyone the biggest drama is that everyone is unhappily paired up and closeted gay and theres a milkman serial killer is such a step down. like this would still be pretty weird for most other shows dont get me wrong, but by riverdale standards this is so boring

in riverdale season 1 thered always be about one or two lines of dialogues or scenes that would make me wheeze or scream in delight. season 2-6 it felt like there were fewer lines that didnt make me laugh than did. and now we’ve gone back to just maybe 1-2 instances of wheezing. its a downgrade and i really hope its temporary. last season it felt like riverdales 100th ep was a huge love letter to fans of the shows insanness like me and i was so delighted. this season feels like a love letter to the s1 crows, people who actively wish the show was more boring and mediocre

i miss insane drag race with the ghoulies while the town is terrorized by black mask i miss dnd fizzle rocks ring gargoyle king fake charles chic hallucination bear fights hunted for sport by your schoolmates mother serial killer gene burying bodies tricking relatives into thinking theyre cannibals with the help of your brothers corpse that you keep around entire the secret history plot riff and thats all just from seasons 2-4.

#riverdale #yes i have thoughts yes i have opinions yes i have feelings #did i write 4 paragraphs about it? yes. and this is me summarizing i could go on

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thatsadorbsyo · 2 years

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Alexander - 1

FROM THE JOURNAL OF ALEXANDER CORDULA.

22 Thunsheer

Simon--

Do you remember the night this past autumn, in which I roused you from a dead sleep at three hours past midnight and told you I'd suffered fitful dreams of a towering castle holding dominion over a field of wretched pines? And you -- who posited that all I was suffering were the consequences of putting too much mustard on my lamb at dinner -- still sat with me through the night, until the blue light of the virgin sun lit our chambers just so, enough for us to see each other's faces from our beds across the room?

I fear I'm in the dream again. I fear that I am not. I fear that I cannot wake, and fear even more that there is nothing from which to wake, and that I am stuck in this place for certain, in both body and mind. Would that it were so simple as too spicy a repast -- something that could only be true for the people of the north, but I digress -- or an abundance of nerves about my exam defense in the morning. Which, I suppose, is today. It could be happening right now, and I am missing it, and I know not if the archmages will accept involuntary astral projection as an excuse for being absent, which only adds another dry pit to the gravel in my stomach, small though it may be.

I digress again.

The evidence that I am dreaming is bountiful. I will list it to the best of my ability.

First, I will begin with the strangeness of my companions. In the way of dreams, wherein each individual is an amalgam of people in the real world, friends, acquaintances, public figures, fantasies, so too are each of my fellow travelers all figments of my fears and desires.

The first to greet me at the edge of the mists was a man of corvid countenance and temperament. I mean that literally. He is a raven, but also a man named Carroweigh, and I need not explain to you the obvious connection to Theodore, despite how you dismiss him as childish fantasy. He also brings to mind the men whose company my mother used to keep, back when we were still living in the woods to the south. Those men who were possessed of a certain affliction, the lunar curse. Feral, fearful, a bit inherently criminal. I had thought them to be a pinnacle of brutish manhood, not one to which I might aspire but one that I held in a high but inexplicable regard. This man, though, is anxious and excitable, avian rather than lupine. A strange creature, yes, in the way of dreams.

There are also three women who likewise stumbled out of the fog and who travel with us. One of them bears a striking resemblance to the gargoyles that guard the king's hall. She's a choleric and bilious sort, always sporting the signature grimace for which her kind are known. Her name, Calix, is a clear reference to my mother's trade in herbalism, being the false petals that surround a floral bud, which you'd know if you ever paid attention to your alchemy. Another woman, Bronah [sic], is so pitifully soft-spoken, like that girl you brought back to our dormitory some few weeks ago when you thought I was sleeping. I apologize for not telling you I was awake; I wished not to ruin your fun, and her simpering was mostly inoffensive. But the most curious thing about her is the mask she wears, which is so similar to those of the pantomimists we saw in the silken terrace. An odd coupling, perhaps, but both were memorable experiences, and the psyche so rarely shares its reasoning.

Strangest of them all is the one who calls herself Echo, who also believes herself to be asleep. She is, in fact, the only one who shares my assertion that we are trapped in a dream, but her definition of what a dream can be is so alien to me as to be incomprehensible. Perhaps she is supposed to be a reflection of me, or a husk of potential, or an anthropomorphic manifestation of the mere concept of dreams themselves. She bears a superficial resemblance to one of my mother's last patients, a gnomish girl who lost her arm in a black powder explosion. My mother spent a month crafting her an enchanted prosthesis from a specific breed of wood, but in the case of Echo, it seems to be all of her limbs that are segmented and artificial. I know not what this means, if anything. Sometimes a doll is just a doll.

Now that I have outlined the dreamlike nature of my companions, I will list the improbable sequence of events that led me here.

The five of us found ourselves in a shroud of mist, pulled from our own worlds and deposited in a queer fog leading to a woods full of howling dogs and hanged men, and from there to a village full of people who are no less strange than those who travel with me. Certain houses are marked for avoidance, and within them stir restless husks that I dare not describe. We met a witch selling dream pies (of all things!) for 1 gold apiece, a grieving mother cradling yet another doll to her breast, a nun of the Dawnfather -- they call him the Morning Lord here, which is but another of the dream's idiosyncrasies -- and the herd of orphaned girls she struggles to shepherd. All of them speak in hushed tones about the Baron of the castle. They say he is a vampyr, an unholy monster, a domineering brute, or they simply refuse to speak of him at all. And this, Simon, is the part that proves unequivocally that I am dreaming. Pay attention.

The so-called vampyr's castle is the exact one from my dreams, down to every last window and sprawling tower, and how it leans over the cliffside with such dreadful weight, like the face of a god pressing against the divine gate while its subjects shrink away from the intolerable misery of its gaze, for to be seen is to become a target. To be interesting or attractive is a liability. Worry not for me.

I have yet to see the castle at night, for the window in my bedroom is reinforced by obscuring wooden planks, but I would know those spidery spires climbing into the clouds as well as I know the lines in the palm of my own hand. Such a place cannot exist both in the way of dreams and in the material world, where its cool stones could be touched by my tender palm if only I left this house and started walking through the woods and up the cliff to where it waits for me. In the way of dreams, I know my path will lead there, whether I mean to go or not.

I should speak of the house from which I write to you, and the people who reside here. Let this be the last thing I write to-night, for I'm growing tired. I wonder how this works, to sleep within a dream. Do the dreaming ones dream themselves, with visions growing ever-inscrutable as they nest within one another like those queer wooden dolls from the north? I suppose I shall find out soon. Once again, I digress.

The house belongs to the late Burgomaster, a man whose missive we intercepted at the gates of the realm. In his letter, which I pilfered off of a courier's corpse -- more on that another time, perhaps -- he outlined the despair which has befallen this place. The dominion of the vampyr Strahd von Zarovich is as total as it is personal, for the vampyr has not only been hounding the people of this burg for 400 years, but his attention has also caused the Burgomaster's daughter, the coldly beautiful Ireena, to fall ill. I fear that after the death of his wife, this development caused the Burgomaster to succumb to some madness or deficiency of the heart, for his corpse bore no wounds that I could see.

Ireena appears, to me, the way I imagine my mother must have looked in her youth, but I do not believe her to be some sort of maternal analogy, as my mother was a font of warmth and restorative energy, whereas Ireena carries a chill about her, and an anemic void of energy. I don't mean to sound harsh; she is clearly ill, though the mechanism of her illness eludes me. Perhaps it is, as I spoke in analogy, a simple anemia from the Baron's feeding. It would be nice if the simple answer were the correct one. I have to wonder, though, what such an ordeal might entail. How does the vampyr feed? At her window? In her chambers? On the street, like a common brute? Is it fearful? Painful? Is the mind even capable of holding the memory, or does it evaporate upon waking like the sickening peculiarities of an incubus? I've been too polite to ask her.

I must also speak of the Burgomaster's son, though part of me blanches at the prospect of putting my ideas to paper. They are too personal, too mercurial. What I will say about Ismark, then, is that he is the only person in this dream who seems to be a real person wholly of his own, someone I could meet by stepping down to the inner sprawl of our city and taking a seat in any tavern, ordering an ale, and consenting to listen to an agreeable man speak to me in loud and superfluous affections for hours on end. He looks a bit like you, but superficially so. He looks the way I imagine you wish you could present yourself, if you spent more time at the training yard and less time at the library. No, I cannot speak of this further. I will not.

We are to take Ismark and his sister Ireena to another village to-morrow, as she understandably wishes to escape the vampyr's amorous attention. Do you see what I am saying right now? Can you read these words and tell me, with a sincere heart, that they sound like the words of a man who isn't dreaming? You cannot.

I will test my theory, then, and see if a dreamer dreams within the dream. The bed in this room looks like it was a fine one once, about a hundred years ago. And the stew I ate for dinner was so bland, perhaps I will not dream at all. Wouldn't that be nice?

[Smudged, scuffed out.] I wish y

Your sincere friend,

Alexander Cordula

#alexander cordula #alexander insp #curse of strahd #IC post

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