Crane White 15, Bittersweet 2: Angel's Demons

[tanager]

Name: Tanya
Title: Angel's Demons
Colors: Crane White #15 (A wicked wind will blow your ribbons from your curls), Bittersweet #2 (memories)
Supplies and Styles: Pastels (desperate), Acrylic, Oils (mirrored), Chalk, Glitter, Glue ("old fears and desires"), Miniature
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Violence against a child, implied past child abuse
Notes: I appreciate all comments, including criticism. I'm trying to explore and figure out my larger story bit by bit, so Lily may or may not be in it.


When Lily gets angry, she gets angry.

Everyone knows that Lily is an angel; in her floating, light-colored dresses, she even looks like one. She always says 'please' and 'thank you', she happily gives away the bigger share, and her words brighten anyone as surely and sincerely as her smile.

No one knows that she was expelled twice, the first time for bruising a boy's face and shoving his favorite teddy in his mouth.

Lily represses her demon's stirrings, sick and terrified. But the demon has power—and though she can't remember why, she always feels like she needs it.

Comments

[finch]

Oh, very interesting. I really enjoy stories that play with angels and demons, so I'm going to look forward to more of these. I particularly appreciate authors who play with the conceits of 'angelic' and 'demonic'.

[tanager]

Thank you! I like mixing and pushing the boundaries of "demon" and "angel". Pure evil and pure good seems too predictable. (I also try to avoid clean-cut villains and heroes.)

[isana]

That first line really pulls you in--I like the contrast between Lily's default sweetheart self and then the darkness that's lurking beneath it.

[tanager]

Thank you! And her innate self if she hadn't been traumatized is mostly nice, so it's like a light-dark-light sandwich. xD I vaguely remember a psychological theory saying something similar... hm, now I want to find it again.

[shipwreck_light]

I look forwards to seeing more of this character. She sounds so fascinating, just from this short installment. Good job!

[tanager]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and find her interesting. :)

I used to focus more on plot and world-building, but now I think characters are really key.

[kay_brooke]

I really like this exploration of the two sides of Lily. It's interesting how much she feels like she needs her demon. It surely will not lead to good things.

[tanager]

Thank you! Lily feels the demon keeps her safe, but there have certainly been (relatively) innocent casualties.

[bookblather]

Brrrrr. I like the depiction of Lily's two sides and the way you show them.

[tanager]

Thank you! That's pretty much how I felt when I was writing it.

[clare_dragonfly]

Ooh, an angel and a demon. Intriguing.

[tanager]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.