Whatever you do, don't think about how the song "Remember Everything" by Five Finger Death Punch fits Halt and his childhood trauma to a T.
I'm not going to go into a full analysis. I'm not going to go into a full analysis. I'm not going to go into a full-
FULL ANALYSIS AHEAD (disclaimer: "Remember Everything" does not belong to me)
"Dear mother, I love you. I'm sorry I wasn't good enough. Dear father, forgive me. Cause in your eyes, I just never added up. In my heart I know I failed you, but you left me here alone."
Halt talks about how Ferris was the favorite child, and how his parents fought all the time. We all know by now about Halt's tendency to blame himself for things (as seen in "The Battle for Skandia" and "Erak's Ransom"). He probably blamed himself for his parents arguing all the time - hell, he literally said that he refused to tell his parents that Ferris was actively trying to kill him because he thought that Ferris was the only thing they cared about and he didn't want to take that away from them. Even though it was his choice, Halt was a kid. He probably felt at least a little bit abandoned and betrayed that his parents didn't seem to even notice anything amiss before Halt ran away.
"If I could hold back the rain, would you numb the pain? Cause I remember everything."
Something else that is touched on in the fourth book is Halt's tendency to deflect conversations that confront him on his fears and such. It's a fairly offhand note, but it has some pretty big implications. Halt has this need to make sure that everyone else is okay, while simultaneously ensuring that no one ever sees his suffering. He is constantly shielding other people, and feels guilty when he requires that same protection.
"Dear brother, just don't hate me for never standing by you, or being by your side."
I refuse to believe that Ferris was the murderous evil twin from the start. There was probably a very large portion of heir childhood where Halt and Ferris were close, before Ferris became obsessed with the crown. That would be a good reason why Halt only suspected Ferris later on. I feel like Halt would spend a lot of time telling himself that it was something he did that sent Ferris over the edge, and he would blame himself for the betrayal.
"Dear sister, please don't blame me. I only did what I thought was truly right."
I can't be the only one who thinks that Halt always regretted leaving Caitlyn behind, but he knew it was either that or kill Ferris, which is something I don't think he would ever be capable of doing. He loved his twin too much.
"It's a long and lonely road when you know you walk alone."
I know that Halt wasn't technically alone, and he became part of a massive found family, but not being able to tell anyone about the things he went though, and the people he left behind as well as his reasoning would have been isolating - if not crushing - for anyone. Hell, no one knew his real last name or anything about his past for just about 24 years. Not even mentioning the fact that when he finally admits it, he is 41 years old, so he has hidden this for well over half his life, not counting the 17 years he actually lived in Clonmel. That is a long time to carry around huge amounts of trauma without telling anyone who cares about you.
"I feel like running away, I'm still so far from home."
This one is fairly obvious. However, it is not talked about nearly enough that Halt is a runaway. Let that sink in for a second. What do you think of when you hear the term 'runaway' in reference to a child? For most, it's the thought of a kid escaping an abusive household and living on the streets with nothing but a backpack filled with belongings. That was what Halt did at 17. Except he had to go all the way to a foreign country to escape his situation. And the only person he ever saw from home again was the person who had made him leave in the first place.
"I'll burn it all to the ground before I let you in."
This is pretty much Halt's whole philosophy on showing any sort of emotion to people. He didn't smile around Will until months into his apprenticeship, and it took years until he was able to summon the courage to tell Will the truth about his mother. And again, the whole 24 years of absolute secrecy about his childhood doesn't exactly show someone that is willing to open themselves up to others.
"Please forgive me, I can't forgive you now."
Halt still blames himself for the rift between himself and Ferris, but he is also consumed by hurt and betrayal over the fact that Ferris cared more for the crown then he did his own brother, and I can't blame him even a little bit for feeling that way. Especially considering that when they do finally meet up again, Ferris shows no real sign of regret for his actions.
All-in-all, this just feels like a violently Halt-esque song. The pain and regret is something I think his character suffers a lot of, and this captures that really well.
If you made it to the end of that ungodly ramble, kudos to you because holy hell, I think I was temporarily possessed by the god of angst.
This little shit's been haunting my dash for days, so I figured I'd contribute to the cause
You know the drill, click the pictures for better quality, yadda yadda yadda
He's so terrible, I love him so much. I can't believe this little shit is the first fanart I'll ever post, wtf.
Amir is so unhinged, I love him😭
Radioapple twitter goin thru a thing rn
Hi! so I might do some fanart for your fic "hidden hurts" (it has literally become one of my favourites on Ao3 loll)
the thing is that I was wondering what you had in mind for the general area around the big cypress tree?
First off, I might actually cry, I love you so much right now, we should get married THANK YOU SO MUCH
Secondly, I was thinking that the majority of the bayou has water/mud everywhere (yk....like a bayou) BUT, that there are certain areas that have a little higher elevation meaning that they're completely dry. These areas would be filled with super tall grass (3+ feet) that is either dry and yellow or lush and green depending on the time of year on earth. Places like this exist in actual bayous and swamps too, which I thought was perfect lol. The tree itself has HUGE roots, like, think the trees from the first Avatar movie and you're pretty close, and that's how Alastor's little hollow space is formed/protected. The tree has a natural hollow as well, but the roots make the space larger.
The dry patch is almost like an island, completely surrounded by water. And I just thought of this, but I like to think that Alastor would have a charm in place that once you get on the dry patch or exit the bayou, any mud/water on you is magically removed in order to avoid dirtying his bedding/floor.
Please let me know when you finish, I'd love to see it!!!
This is like the 3rd or 4th time I've seen this crossover, and it is my FAVORITE fucking thing I stg
It's so in character for them I hate it /pos
I genuinely hope people keep doing this crossover, I'd do it myself if I could manage human-like anatomy, but for now I must rely on the good will of Actual Artists
Inspired by this video and I can't stop laughing for minutes straight. Which rarely happens despite my horrible sense of humor!!
If you want to can you please make a lee Alastor and ler Zestial fic?
Only if you want to! No pressure
Did someone say lee!Alastor and ler!Zestial? *I say, showing up the the party 6739327 years late with spiked eggnog while blasting Paris Paloma*
jokes aside, I'm so sorry this took so long lol - I worked on it, then it just kind of died in my drafts for a little bit. BUT it is here now, and I hope it's worth the wait
Alastor... isn't doing too great since the extermination, and an old friend takes notice. Zestial has known Alastor for a long time, and despite the Radio Demon's recent "sabbatical", Zestial still remembers an effective tactic for calming the deer sinner. Even if he doesn't know exactly what's wrong yet, Zestial's determined to lend a helping hand
This is a platonic sfw tickle fic - if that's not for you, no worries, just keep scrolling lol
HAVE YOU SEEN THE HAZBIN LEAKS😭I hope you didn't bc they make no sense whatsoever😭😭😭 Seriously hoping this is all just a silly fever dream😮💨
-IM IN YOUR WALLS🙃🙂
I have unfortunately seen some of them, but I refuse to spread them, and everything I write is still going to follow my original plans regardless of what happens in canon, so no one has to worry about spoilers from me lol
Will, looking at Halt, Pauline, and Crowley: Someone forgot to tell the third wheel that they're a tricycle
HA, you though that just because the last thing I posted was fluff, that I'd ease off the angst train??? Well April Fools bitches, I'm back with even more angst than before!!!!!
Here's the Ao3 link
TW for some serious acephobia (internalized and otherwise) and references to conversion therapy. Also a bit of self-harm at the end, because Alastor has trichotillomania in canon (as seen during his meltdown). If you want to avoid that, it starts at "Crimson claws" and ends at "tears". It's just one sentence, so you won't miss much. There is also a brief non-con kiss. I just wanted to vent the aroace pain from close friends confessing romantic feelings, and I almost made myself cry at work, so fun times
(PS: this does not mean I think ships with Alastor are not valid. I myself am in a happy long-term relationship. Asexuality and Aromanticism are part of a spectrum which means there are many ways for it to be interpreted by those who identify with the terms. There are a few ships with Alastor that I love, but the people writing them have to be careful to consider his identity while doing so)
ANYWAYS, I'll stop rambling now and let you read the fic
An evening spent with Vox was always guaranteed to be interesting. That was part of what had drawn Alastor to him in the first place after all, the Radio Demon forever seeking entertainment. However, after twenty years of friendship even Alastor could admit he was no longer in it for the entertainment factor. Even through his lifetime of severe emotional repression, Alastor was smart enough to see that he had grown to genuinely care about the TV demon - which had led to quite the emotional meltdown on his part, embarrassingly enough.
All of that was besides the point. The point was that even though they were just having dinner in Vox’s apartment as they did at least once a week, things still had yet to become dull, which was quite the accomplishment for someone whose attention was as flighty as Alastor’s.
As Vox rambled about this new guy he had met - Mateo? Stephano? No, that wasn’t it - Valentino! As Vox rambled about this Valentino character, Alastor mused on the relationship he had with the TV demon. The red-head had never had a positive relationship with another man before, besides Husker of course. That hardly counted though, considering he owned the former overlord’s soul. Vox was truly a novelty.
“Hey, Alastor?” The deer demon was pulled from his thoughts by his friend’s slightly hesitant tone. He focused back in on Vox’s face, and was a bit confused by the way Vox’s gaze was darting around the room. It looked like he wanted to look at Alastor but was too flustered to do so, a slight red glow lighting up the lower portion of his screen where his cheeks would be.
“What is it?” Alastor asked, slightly wary of the strange atmosphere that had filled the air around the couch they had chosen to share. His ears pinning back was the only outward sign of his unease.
Vox finally seemed to get over whatever was keeping him from making eye contact, but Alastor couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t. He didn’t know how to process the unbearably soft way the other was looking at him. His stomach lurched unpleasantly, as though he had missed a stair.
Vox reached over and gently took Alastor’s hands in his own, and Alastor suddenly found himself wishing he hadn’t set his plate on the coffee table - it would have given him an excuse to avoid this soft contact that felt far too intimate, even with their long-term friendship.
“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while, but it never felt like the right time.” Vox shifted one hand so that it gently cradled Alastor’s cheek, and as he continued, Alastor’s smile shrunk to the smallest it had been since he had been forced to maintain it - unable to turn downwards, but begging to reflect the dread blooming in his chest.
“But, I’m tired of waiting for ‘the right time’. So, I’m just gonna come out and say it.”
“Vox…please,” Alastor begged, voice refusing to rise above a whisper, and static mangling his words. Internally, he was screaming, begging on his knees for Vox to stop before he said something he couldn’t take back. Vox either didn’t hear him or didn’t understand what he meant, because the TV demon continued forward.
“I love you, Alastor. I have for a long time, and I want to spend the rest of my afterlife loving you. We’ve been friends for such a long time, and I want to move to the next step in our relationship.” Vox was positively beaming, warm love and sincere affection in his eyes as he peered deep into Alastor’s soul - unable to see the pain he had wrought with those three words.
Alastor was crushed. His throat closed up and it felt like a clawed fist had clenched around his chest, his heart aching and lungs unable to draw breath. He tried to choke words past his constricted throat, but couldn’t force anything out. His brows lowered as his scarlet eyes widened, burning with hurt and shock.
Vox’s own brows furrowed in concern at Alastor’s silence. “Alastor?”
Alastor could barely hear him over his rushing thoughts. He felt so…used. How long had their friendship been based around Vox’s desire to get into his pants? What parts of their relationship had been genuine friendship rather than a furthering of Vox’s goals for a romantic partner? Was this Alastor’s fault? Had he done something to encourage this?
The worst part was the guilt. Alastor couldn’t say it about very many people, either in the living world or in Hell, but he truly loved Vox. He loved him as he loved Rosie, and he saw the other demon as the brother he’d never had in life, but that was the problem. He could never give Vox what he wanted. Alastor knew he was broken - the doctors had confirmed as much while he was alive, and the medications and more aggressive treatments he had received for his dysfunction had never worked as intended.
Vox deserved so much better.
His eyes burned and his stomach clenched with nausea, and Alastor fought back tears that hadn’t fallen since his mother’s passing. Alastor wanted to love Vox that way, if only to spare his feelings, but he just couldn’t.
Vox leaned forward, taking Alastor’s silence as a positive answer, and as he guided Alastor’s face in for a gentle kiss, the deer demon panicked. He lurched back as their lips connected, accidentally throwing himself off the couch to lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.
Vox looked startled as he took in Alastor’s panicked expression, and made to stand as Alastor scrambled to his feet.
“Alastor, what - ?” he started, reaching for the shorter demon’s hand. Alastor jerked back as though he’d been burned.
“Don’t,” he hissed defensively, clutching his hands to his chest like he was afraid to be within touching distance of the other demon. “Don’t touch me!”
Vox looked crushed. Alastor felt as though a spear had stabbed through his heart: he caused that expression on Vox’s face.
“I won’t - I can’t - !” Alastor growled in pain and frustration, unable to articulate his thoughts. He tried to think of something, anything that could salvage their relationship before things got out of hand, but the rage growing in Vox’s expression burned that possibility into mere ashes. The anger masked the hurt that had been there previously.
“Are you kidding me?!” Vox didn’t quite shout, but to Alastor, he might as well have screamed through a megaphone. The deer demon took two steps back for every advance Vox made, feeling uncharacteristically like prey. He was used to having control over every interaction, but this had quickly spiraled into something monstrous.
“Twenty years of friendship all for you to get pissed when I say I want to progress things like a normal person would?! I waited, wanting you to be comfortable because I know you need time to adjust to people, but you still don’t care about me enough to even consider it?! If you never wanted me, why did you lead me on? Why did you pretend to enjoy my company if you knew you would reject me? Is my pain really that funny to you? Fuck, Alastor - can’t you see how hard I’m trying?” Vox had backed Alastor into a corner, and the deer demon was reminded violently of his youth - long hours spent cowering beneath someone who wanted nothing more than to make Alastor wish he was never born.
Alastor hadn’t felt this small since he had made his deal, and he had never assumed he would feel that way around Vox. The Radio Demon was so overwhelmed with emotion, that he did the one thing he had promised himself he would never do again.
He ran.
As Alastor fled into his shadows, he felt Vox’s arms try to wrap around him and prevent his escape, and heard the TV demon’s frustrated and agonized cry as he slipped under the door. He didn’t stop until he reached his radio tower, and reverted back to his more solid form once he was safely inside.
Alastor backed away from the door until his back hit the wall, and he slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor with his knees curled to his chest. A soft, staticky whimper forced its way past his lips before he could silence it, and the tears he’d been fighting finally burned fiery tracks down his cheeks. Alastor’s breath hitched, and he buried his face in his knees, wrapping his arms around his head and legs in a futile attempt to muffle the choked hiccups.
Sobs tore out of his throat from a place deep within his chest, wracking his whole body with the force of them. Stitches pulled at the corners of his mouth, forcing him to grin through his tears, and he had never wished so strongly for the ability to stop smiling. Crimson claws fisted in his hair, scratching at his scalp in his panic and sending small rivulets of blood down his face to merge with the tears.
Alastor had just destroyed one of his closest relationships because he was so broken that he couldn’t even reciprocate affection normally. It was all his fault, and the guilt tore at him in ways he hadn’t felt in decades.
Drowning in grief for the bridge he’d set ablaze, Alastor couldn’t stop thinking about how - outside of his treatment plans - Vox had stolen his first kiss.
This is actually a really cool concept.
So, you know how Rocket Raccon can pretty much Jerry rig a gun, bomb or other weapon out of anything? That's Bee. At first, people are super surprised because Bee showed little to no interest in the technological work that goes into space bridges. HOWEVER, what the team forgot was that a lack of interest does not equal a lack of competence - Bee understood the technological aspect of space bridges perfectly, he just found it boring as all hell. When you actually get him in his element, he is scarily competent.
He is also the go-to escape artist. Everyone would think it was Prowl, and while he is good, Bee spent so long tinkering with the intricacies of something that could blow him to pieces with one wrong move that he became a master of skilled involving extremely precise motor skills and dexterity. It's to the point where he has integrated several easy-to-access but difficult to find lockpicks in his own plating.
Anyways, we love a competent if slightly unhinged Bumblebee
Au where Bumblebee is the team's weapons and security specialist.
Alastor has grown sick and tired of his constant inability to control his emotions. He resorts to some...drastic measures to regain it
Chapter 1/6 is posted, make sure you mind the tags before reading, there is self harm in this one
This is part 5 to the Therapy Pig series (yes I told you guys I'd get it out lol)
She/her, 20, aroace and tentatively bi, and in waaaaay too many fandoms. I read, write, and attempt art. Requests are OPEN!!!
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