One must imagine Sisyphus in late stage capitalism.

at some point the blessed day will come where i can scroll through neil gaimans asks trying to find a particular ask that isn't coming up on google/tumblr search/in his masterpost and not feel my body tense up in visceral anticipation of seeing the babygirl incident™

I have a theory that someone else has probably already put out but I haven't seen it so here we go.

I don't think Alastor is actually all that powerful.

Propaganda under the cut.

There are a lot of things that make me think this but we'll start with the first and frankly most obvious to me.

His methodology. Alastor's main thing is making contracts and deals. When we're first introduced to him in the pilot, its with a warning to never make a deal with him. While plenty of other Overlords obviously wheel and deal, I think Alastor's are different. They're more binding and more dangerous because they're his modus operandi.

Another thing is his seeming lack of territory. Every Overlord has actual terf that we see them in, except for Alastor. This could be from lack of interest, or due to having been gone so long, or what have you but it seemed like a strange thing to have not mentioned. In addition, Carmilla, who was leading a meeting on the property and interests of all the represented Overlords and how to protect it, was utterly dismissive of his sudden return. Which to me implies that whatever he controls is likely minimal at best. Meaning him being there is pretty inconsequential to the larger picture. Dude was able to disappear for seven years and it was mostly fine? So what does he actually have?? (My only thought honestly is that maybe the air is his space since radio waves and all. That would honestly be broke as hell but there's no real evidence for this, is would just be really cool.) As much as Vox as making a dig at him, he did have a good point that the reach of radio has certainly died down over the years. While that alone doesn't mean Alastor's power has waned, its not really a *good* sign for him. He still has speakers all over but that and one really rundown store front with a single radio are really the only traces we see of him outside of the hotel.

This bit is conjecture, but when talking about his past, not only does no one ever mention HOW he killed so many powerful Overlords, they don't go into detail about much at all. There's every chance that he could have contracted them the same way he did with Husk and either forced or waited for them to break their end of their deals and THEN used them as fodder to terrorize the masses. Most of his power comes from fear and word of mouth. Most people don't even bother fucking with him because they've heard the stories, or the broadcast.

Which brings me to my next point: The Broadcasts. There are a LOT of ways that Alastor and Vox parallel each other and I can't help but wonder if using their medium to deceive people isn't one of them. So far a lot of the magic we see Alastor use is largely illusionary. Phantoms and shadows and temporary changes of environment. So what if his broadcasts are the same? What if he DOESN'T kill the Overlords he claims to have and instead used his broadcast to simulate it instead. Like War of the Worlds, but on purpose. Honestly it would be smart of him, especially if he's NOT as strong as he seems. This is also conjecture but if he made deals with those Overlords instead, he could still have them stashed away somewhere and just be calling on them and their power as needed. (Also: Husk. This man is a constant pain in the ass and usually disrespectful at best. The only time he pops off on him about it though is when Husk mentions his deal which is really just a big No-No. But he still only *threatens him* which to me implies that he actually does need him. If not for his services, even if only for the power granted by his contract. In the same way that Val doesn't actually kill Angel or anything because he can't REALLY afford to, so he controls him in other ways. If Al isn't this super strong demon, he can't really afford to just go wasting the contracts hes got due to momentary irritation when he can bring them back to heel with some light terror.)

The next thing that makes me think he's probably not super powerful is his fight with Adam. Not because he lost (I firmly believe he only actually lost because he was fucking around most of the time/ wasn't fighting for loved ones) but because of the form he took to do it. He was in a life or death fight with an ostensibly high ranking angel, and yet he didn't pull out anything more than he would have used to fight other sinners. Sure, that could be him being prideful, but I just don't think so. Home boy was being recorded and presumably knew that, if he was being prideful shouldn't he have gone balls to the wall??

In relation to that, he also made a deal himself. Not that we know what it was for or who its with, but would someone as control oriented as Alastor really make a deal if he didn't HAVE to? Overlords don't just DO that, there had to have been a compelling reason and honestly assuming Alastor isn't as strong as he makes himself out to be gives a very good opening for it.

Smaller detail, but it still matters, the smiling. He very clearly uses it as both a shield and a tool to help him maintain control of a situation. Thats not really the kind of thing you think of and commit to if you're the strongest person in the room. Covering up weaknesses obsessively is the sort of thing someone who's fronting does so their secret stays exactly that.

In the same vein, the way he reacted to Lucifer. He was threatened, which is understandable given that Luci is leagues above even the strongest Overlords, but I think it was slightly more than that. Having Lucifer around would make it drastically obvious very quickly that Al isn't as strong as he claims. So of course he tries to unbalance the situation and put focus somewhere else, the same as he always does. (Its actually the same thing he does in his duet with Vox. I'm almost certain Vox IS actually stronger than Alastor but hes so wrapped up in Al's head games he might never notice.)

It's honestly unclear if this has always been the case with him, or if its a result of his deal or his time away or something else entirely, but to me it seems incredibly likely. Alastor mostly keeps order and power through fear, not through enormous shows of power. And even those when he does them are strategic and mostly against opponents he knows are weaker than him. He's clever as all fuck, and still very dangerous for it but I don't think hes actually all that physically powerful.

I get it, people gotta pay the bills and all, but search engine optimized descriptions/tags/whatever make for such a vile internet browsing experience. It’s the difference between strolling through the forest and encountering a lovely flower in a sunny glade, and that godawful live-love-laugh type decor where the vase says FLOWERS and the coffee cup says COFFEE and the goddamn dinner plates say EAT in big block letters on a violently inoffensive off-white background as if you are incapable of making your own observations about the world around you probably because you’ve gone numb from having your senses assaulted by so much samey off-white and beige

It’s Inktober again, so you know what that means! More art will be posted than usual! Not by me, though. Maybe by somebody else, but not by me <3

nuengdiao had a plan™ all along

the flesh is such a nothing entity to me. like ok another statement about meat and body issues? great. that's not scary. i'm trans and i work in a deli, that's my 9 to 5

Truck’s opinions on Swift, Ram, Bombshell, and Meerkat. I just know he’s got something to say about recruits and newbies being sent his way by Bombshell.

Truck's Grumpy Old Man Opinion Time! *game show lights and noises*

For Swift: He's a fine medic, I guess. Asks a lot o' questions though when I've already told him the issue. Could do without the lecturing, as well. But, a fine medic. *translation: he will always have a soft spot for medics cause it's how he met the missus*

For Ram: Someone needs to teach her some fucking manners. And that my shop isn't a social gathering.

Bombshell: *glares* He knows what he's doing and I think he's a sick bastard. For bothering me or sending those recruits to their demise, I don't know. All I know is he's a sick bastard. I'd hate him more if he wasn't damn good at his job.

For Meerkat: If that little fucker doesn't stay the fuck away from my shop, all hell is gonna break loose.

[V3]

Cinder: is it so bad to want to kill everyone at all times

[V4]

Cinder: went on a walk smelled the pine trees. im fine now

[V7/8]

Cinder: crave blood again

love kakashi's timeline in naruto, kishimoto made sure that motherfucker made no sense

i forgot how chill the vibes on tumblr are compared to the hellscape that is now twitter. shoutout to my mutual who is still actively shipping johnlock in the year 2023 ur so real for that

vegas:

me:

vegas: its time for gays run away trope

me: o o k

i’ve mentioned it before,  briefly,  in a post about charlotte and different kinds of games/sports,  but charlotte,  surprisingly or not,  enjoys the playing and studying chess.  charlotte first learned about chess from various people and clubs who would meet and play in public parks.  at first,  it was simply an excuse for her mingle among strangers and have conversations with people,  all the while allowing the general dis-ease that radiates from her presence to unfurl.  incidentally she began to learn how to play the game and what pushed her to become invested in it was seeing how emotional and focused people would get about the game.  she noticed how people’s minds and emotions could go to strangely intense places during something as simply as a board game and realized that in the moment of play,  the person sitting across from her could become quite vulnerable right before her,  even if they were technically stronger on the chessboard.

playing in a leisurely setting like the park,  charlotte enjoyed playing a game that allowed for a little bit of chatting,  a little bit of banter,  a little bit of wandering around as she made her move and waited for her opponent to make theirs.  she realized that she could directly see the consequence of her influence on their mind in the way they played and she liked it.  she also realized that playing and studying chess helped her clear her own mind and build better thinking habits,  leading to her becoming less confused and losing less of her memories.

that being said,  a lot of what charlotte likes about chess comes from the face-to-face aspect of it.  she dislikes playing chess on the computer and even more so,  playing against bots.  she’s only ever played against herself if she was deliberately following a game sheet of an old game,  so it feels less like she’s playing herself and instead, playing and studying with an imaginary opponent.  seeing as she’s never played in a formal tournament or online,  she doesn’t know what her rating is,  although her gameplay betrays an approximately 1450 and 1650 elo rating.  the range is somewhat large because charlotte,  being the busy agent of chaos she is,  goes through lulls where she doesn’t touch the chessboard for a while.  she also likely won’t get much higher than the 1650 ( the cusp of the advanced level rating ) rating because she simply doesn’t put in enough time for training and practicing.

apart from being a somewhat tangential look into one of charlotte’s hobbies,  looking at char as a chess player does reveal somethings about how she plays her “games” and how she strategizes her criminal schemes:   according to CHESS PERSONALITY,

charlotte is a barbarian.    barbarians do not mess around. they hunt the opponent's king from the beginning to the end of the game. they are attacking players who are willing to accept lots of risk, calculating complications and dangers that make their opponents squirm. barbarians put their heart into the game - a typical barbarian might get upset if something goes wrong in a tournament and have a disaster, or, on the other hand, ride an unstoppable wave of success when things go right. barbarians aren't usually the type to offer draws, and their main goal is to create unusual and complicated situations on the board in which they can out-calculate their opponent.   (  she’s calculating,  focusing her play on attacks rather than positioning;  she plays aggressively and with emotion.  )

every now n then i’m like fuckk i should start a studyblr to keep myself motivated but i know i could never be a pastel calligraphy aesthetic girlie. i know i could never be revising perfectly written notes in a fancy cafe. i could never be 12.12.22 - whatever the fuck study challenge ❄️ Another day of finals ☺️✨ . why even try

It's so funny when I like come across x reader content of van Zieks, because even as someone whose favorite DGS character is him (and as someone who is very much attracted to him rip), I'm still just like "You want to marry him? The racist 30 year old? No <3 I'd rather hit him with a car"

the only part of C/M that i'm interested in is mako absolutely not processing cass' death and his regrets about them at all