u/ExpensiveKangaroo911

(Art isn't mine, they belong to @1908Rafly on Twitter)

TW: Trauma and isolation

Allister is one of the critter crew members lots of fans my not immediately think about when hearing about "The Nightmare Critters", due to his laziness and apathy being one of his only notable traits, causing others to probably not remember him very well. However, what I'm about to tell you might change your view on him as "The lazy, mean crocodilian" that many could see him as at first glance.

He represents sloth (Pretty obviously why)
Allister was born in the countryside of Florida where the Everglades are, being an alligator, it's often where his kind resided. Unfortunately, he never met his father, as his deadbeat father bailed out before the young gator was even born. If that wasn't bad enough, his mother was someone with her own personal struggles and issues, but she let it all eat away at her, and she ended up being neglectful and unhelpful.

Similar to Poe and their kind, Allister and his species were unfortunately looked down upon, being an animal with a bad reputation and one that many deemed as "Killers". Because of this, his mother, who mind you, was a heavy smoker and drinker and often traumatized her son with her unhealthy mindset and demeanor, had a method of trying to keep him away from the public and avoid interactions with others was to have him locked away in his own room as a child, which was borderline imprisonment. She cared about him, but what she was doing was hindering him of socializing or learning.

However, one day, when he did sneak out, he met Coral Crocodile (The Daydream Critters Crocodilan), who was an odd one out of her school, because many were fearful of her due to being a crocodile.
However, she and Allister became friends who turned out to be very similar, and they grew to be close. Allister would sneak out every so often to go hang with Coral and for their adventures and time together. However, it wouldn't last, because Allister became more disassociated due to his mother's influence and depression. Coral would try to reach out, but she would never get word from him and sh became lonely.

It unfortunately never got better for Allister, as his mom would also homeschool him and she did terrible at it. If she was deeply pushed, she outright ignored him like a deadbeat, and it reached a point where Allister stopped trying to talk to his mom, and was in tears, feeling like a monstrosity and problem.
His mother's apathy to help him fully or help him find friends was beginning to take a hold of him to the point he would feel too depressed to even get out of bed, and the depression made him lazy, as he felt he was too much of a burden to leave his den.
Despite being practically jailed in his household, he found one only one way to escape reality, which was sleeping. It felt calming, peaceful, and he got lost in his dreams. Being trapped in a house that was unkept and barely had any forms of entertainment, nor friends to play with because he was locked up in his own house, Allister had to improvise and find other ways to cope with the sadness, and lounging and resting was his only way to escape the stress of living in such a toxic environment.

It got so bad that it carried on into his teenage years, and one night, he couldn't take it anymore, and packed up the things he loved near and dear and ran away from home tearfully. He ran through the swamp, alone in the dark, and suffered from hallucinations and night terrors, due to the outside world feeling so unfamiliar and frightening. It led to him tripping on a rock, breaking his ankle, as he stumbled to the ground. As the broken gator crawled around in the musky swap, he found a toppled tree still sticking to the trunk, that he climbed under for shelter.

He constantly suffered from hallucinations of nightmares he used to have. It was frightening enough that he was all alone, and part of him began to regret leaving, thinking his mother really was right all along. However, he remembered that sleeping was what helped him get through anything, so he tried that to the best of his ability, and it worked. The next morning came quickly because of it, and a cop (Who was a German shepherd) found him who was patrolling the area. When the cop met the gaze of the teen gator, Allister began to become scared and backed away, remembering everything his mother said about other people and how their kind are hated by others, but the cop seemed empathetic and understanding.

He spoke calmly and gently, showing deep concern.
Allister felt safe in the policeman's presence and let him help, as Allister was brought to the hospital to have his broken ankle healed. His mother would end up losing custody of him when word got out, despite the fact that Allister didn't want to lose her since she was his only family member.

Unfortunately, his depression deepened when his mother lost custody of him, and when he was brought to a foster home, he unfortunately didn't do much better. He constantly lazed in his spare time, out of sadness and wanting to escape reality, due to his depression, as he failed to make friends with anyone else there, being before he met the friends he has now, being the Nightmare Critters. It was something that he began to live with when he became an adult, was accepting the fact that he felt useless and that sleeping was gonna solve his pain he still felt deep down, even if he tried to ignore it.

During the Nightmare Critters' redemption arcs, as they let the Smiling Crew in to help them and make amends with them, Allister learns how to find motivation to push forward and not let the darkness consume him. He learns how to turn his apathy to empathy and to find joy and happiness in hobbies, interests, friends and much more, and overall, he learns to not be afraid to let people in to help him.
He would eventually reach out to his mom and make amends with her, having lunch with her and catching up on everything. His mother, feeling remorseful for everything, made it her mission to support her son as an adult and make up for his mistakes as a former parent, as Allister now have a loving relationship with his mom. Coral returns, and she's the one who helps him find exercise and healthy lifestyle methods. She helps him gain energy and motivation like a true friend. He teaches the kids of Playtime Co. relaxing types of games or hobbies, such as yoga, reading and gardening. He also has a lazy river and pool area at his section of Playcare, that the kids can lounge in whenever they're tuckered out.

He would eventually reach out to his mom and make amends with her, having lunch with her and catching up on everything. His mother, feeling remorseful for everything, made it her mission to support her son as an adult and make up for his mistakes as a former parent, as Allister now have a loving relationship with his mom. Coral returns, and she's the one who helps him find exercise and healthy lifestyle methods. She helps him gain energy and motivation like a true friend. He teaches the kids of Playtime Co. relaxing types of games or hobbies, such as yoga, reading and gardening. He also has a lazy river and pool area at his section of Playcare, that the kids can lounge in whenever they're tuckered out.

Personality now: Laid-back, easygoing, chill, peaceful, relaxed, caring, reflective, empathetic, open-minded, placid, friendly, calm, lazy (sometimes), determined, gentle giant, funny, wise.

Likes: Relaxing, swimming in the swamp, Simon Smoke's stunts, Rabie Baby's makeovers, peace and serenity, his hammock, drinking water, doing tasks, tuna sandwiches, his philosophies, him and Maggie hugging, spending time with his and Maggie's kids, teaching the kids of Playtime Co. patience and spending time with them.

Dislikes: Slacking off, loud and abrupt commotion, bossiness, hard work going to waste, people being judgmental towards his friend group, loneliness, scabs, biting his tongue

So, I think it’s no doubt at this point that we all agree that the Nightmare Critters represent the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s become I think the their main trope as characters with what we specifically got from the games and what we currently know about them.

However, I have an opinion that I feel is an extremely hot take, mainly because I don’t know if anyone else has had this particular view when looking at the characters, but this is just my personal view on 3 of the members:

If you've seen my previous posts (As I've mentioned these characters already and the sins they embody), I've written each member as broken, trauma survivors who are still hurting and sad, hiding it behind greaser masks as a way to survive. They’re outcast whom the public looks at as “Bad Guys”, when in reality, they're a group of friends who just want to be accepted for who they are. (They're called the “Nightmare” critters, because they themselves were living in a literal nightmare at some point and needed help waking up, hence why the Smiling Critters accepted them and helped them find happiness and a place they belong)

Now, the ones I wanted to talk about were: Simon, Poe and Icky. Their sin placements aren’t what I see eye to eye with (The other 4, I agree with, and since I also represent the 9 circles, I include Badgy Bite, with her representing Violence and Baba representing Treachery), and I switched them around, with:

Simon - Wrath

Poe - Envy (Also representing Fraud)

And Icky - Pride (Also representing Hersey)

Now, the reason I've represented them as this is because Icky is known to be competitive, as Pride consists of competition, and many people portray him as him thinking he’s the best. While he pins the blame on others, that comes off more as an excuse to still look the best rather than being envious, as he doesn’t want to accept failure. Envy requires hatred and disdain, whereas Icky's not doing that, he’s simply believing nobody can compare to him, which definitely looks like pride to me.

Being that he lived in a toxic environment in my HC, where he wants to not be a failure to his mom, and now, to his friends. He doesn’t act prideful because he thinks he’s the best, it’s a facade because failure has led to problems, and he wants to just be good. He wants to prove he can be capable, he doesn’t want to fail those he loves and cares for. He wants to be good at something, and have confidence in himself, which is why he’s hides behind a pride mask, of looking like he’s the best in the room, when in reality, he has zero confidence and believes he’s a failure.

So it’s why he'd boast and flaunt, constantly insisting he’s “The best player”, not out of jealousy, but out of a need for validation from those he cares about that he’s worthy. So that’s why I've labeled him as Pride.

While Poe can get “Angry” at the littlest inconveniences, I've always seen it as quiet anger than raw explosive rage, and I personally don’t believe an emo fits the description of Wrath. They are a raven, which fits with the theme of darkness, and envy is a cold sin, which darkness aligns with coldness. But it’s also stated “They hate the sun”, which gives off envy more than anything.

See, Poe’s hatred of the sun and "cheery" things isn't just about being grumpy; I've tied it to xenophobia and being an outcast (Which is the tragedy of their backstory). Hating what others have (happiness, acceptance, "the light") because they were unfairly denied it is the definition of Envy. I deem them as the "calm" one who only feels irritation, which suggests a deep-seated, quiet resentment rather than explosive rage, which fits Envy perfectly. 

They “hated” (using that word, as they, like their fellow crew members, have changed) the sun, cheery things, and felt excluded from the light, overall preferring darkness, as I've written their character based on a tragic, envy story. Crashing out doesn't fit a bird who prefers the shadows. As I've stated, Envy is a cold sin, while Wrath is a hot sin. Poe’s calm, reactive grumpiness suggests they are "stewing" in their resentment of the sun. It’s a slow-burn sadness that fits them design-much better than explosive anger.

Poe is down and depressed, constantly looking down and sitting in the dark. They are mourning, wishing for them and their family to be brought from the darkness to the light, but the sunlight is barely touching them. Poe wants them and their family to be accepted.

See, I've specifically placed Simon in Wrath, as yes, while most see him as Pride and I can completely understand why, the canon mentions that he “Hides his true nature”, which to me, I've written as him being afraid to take the mask off and reveal his true self: A scared and hurt boy, who is suffering from rage that's still clinging to him. Despite from a royal family in my HC, he was abused and suffered physically (Having scars left on him) and mentally. He was the well-known and popular kid, and hid it under his “Colossal Jerk” persona, because he was afraid to show that he was going through pain everyday that no kid deserved.

See, wrath is associated with the color red, and is symbolized with fire. What animal is Simon? A fire-breathing dragon, who happens to be red. Others have also portrayed him as lashing out in anger and frustration when he’s challenged or pushed, and he’s rather explosive (Compared to what Poe is depicted as surprisingly calm in fan videos), and wrath easily fits a reactive person who fights. Being that Wrath is a hot sin, I feel it sits well with Simon, specifically since I've written him as someone who will fight to protect those he cares about.

Simon's true nature hidden is because: He's deeply holding back rage that is composed of sadness and pain from years of abuse. He tries to hide under a popularity mask and cool kid mask, when in truth, he doesn’t like being cruel. It’s the only way he's survived. So the arrogance and bravado aren’t the real sin — they’re armor.

It’s kinda why I write the Nightmare and Smiling Critters' arc together, as the Smiling Crew represent the light at the end of a dark tunnel, who lead the Nightmare Critters out, and help them fight the darkness and pain holding them down. It’s to show the Smiling Critters don’t judge, and that everyone to them deserves to be accepted.

But yeah, that’s just my take on the characters and their sin placements. Don’t know how everyone will react, but I just wanted to share my own take.

We're really putting a character who's just a bully most of the time?

How tf is he on the same level as Cackletta and Shadow Queen?

I refuse to believe he is somehow on the same moral scale of evil as Dr. Eggman and Conquest.

The wikis are becoming a hot mess, and at this rate, morality is just based on our opinions each. The wikis have been no help in dissecting the characters and I feel like they’re all over the place.

We're better off just having opinions on the characters than relying on the wikis, because they’re starting to become an unhelpful source.