#also moomin has many talents

[skruttet]

Jarmo's Facebook Post:

✨Greetings from the wonderland of Tove ✨ 💚 Eight years crop is now reaped and our album has been published! 💚 MOOMINVALLEY - Original Score Music Samuli Kosminen • Pekka Kuusisto • Jarmo Saari

Suomenlinna became to me like a second home during this long and dear job. I joined Samuli in Pekka's big boots to continue composing and playing the music for the TV series from the second season in 2019. A huge investment was made in the music of Moominvalley from the beginning, and the musical language, musical vision, and virtuoso playing that Pekka and Samuli created for the series in the first season had created a strong foundation and identity for the music.

We have a prolific musical history with Samuli, but this job required unprecedented intensity. Brainstorming, composing, arranging, playing, recording, editing, encouraging and mixing seemed to be done simultaneously by him, while still staying on schedule!

Tove's fascinating characters, the series' insightful scripts, and the creative team really inspired and challenged us. Everything was learned and a lot of new things were put to use. With the routines we create to respect and listen to each other, almost anything is bound to happen in the future, when one's resources often start where the other's end.

There were hours of exciting and beloved material to choose from for this album. It felt natural to divide the 107-minute, 44-track album we created into four parts and themes: The Moomin Family, Adventures, Moominvalley and Special Moments.

The album features our trio working on dozens of exciting side instruments in our pursuit of unique sound aesthetics. A big thank you also to the wonderful guest musicians: Jusu Berghäll, Johanna Iivanainen, Tuuli Lindeberg, Atte Kilpeläinen, Jouko Kyhälä, Saima Saari, Verneri Pohjola and Joonas Saartamo.

Composers: Samuli Kosminen, Pekka Kuusisto & Jarmo Saari Additional recordings: Miikka Huttunen, Johanna Iivanainen, Jouko Kyhälä ja Jarmo Saari Mastering: Jarno Alho Photography: Tommi Kinnunen Cover: Valtteri Heinonen Thanks: Marika Makaroff💚, Nigel Davies & everyone at Gutsy, Moominvalley, Moomin, Sami Rikala and all at Sony Music Finland, Virpi Immonen, Mikael Hakkarainen, Cafe Silo, Boosey & Hawkes, Lottaliina Pokkinen and many more!

Artistic producer Marika Makaroff: “Moominvalley has been produced by exceptionally talented artists from all over the world. It was especially important to me that the music for the series was created in Finland by top artists. I am incredibly happy that this wonderful music, which runs through the entire series, is finally getting the attention it deserves with the album release.”

Samuli: “It has been a great privilege to be able to make music for the series with such exceptional talents and experts as Pekka and Jarmo. I couldn’t find an instrument in my studio that I couldn’t shove into their hands without warning, turn on the recording and ask them to play. The end result was always just as amazing. Composing and arranging this album together with Jarmo has been an incredible journey through these Moominvalley memories and beloved music.”

Pekka: “The music for the Moominvalley series was composed to be played with instruments you would imagine you would find in the moominhouse. A harmonica, a soft-sounding old upright piano, a violin and a mandolin were included from the beginning, as was Samuli’s imaginative arsenal of percussion instruments from pots to a suitcase. When composing for animation, the responsibility of music as an illuminator of the characters’ emotions is great. The work was intense, at times hard, and sleepless nights were inevitable, but the opportunity to play in the world created by Tove Jansson outweighed the challenges.”

[raapija]

Moominmamma, a calm and comforting caregiver

Moominmamma is the gentle and nurturing heart of the Moomin family. She has a special skill for ensuring that people feel cared for and welcome to be themselves.

Moominmamma’s housekeeping might seem unusual to some – she’d rather leave the dishes out in the rain than wash them herself – and she has a rebellious streak and a great love of fun. Nature is very important to her, and she tends her garden with the same care as she tends to her family. Moominmamma is never seen without her handbag, which contains the solution to many problems – along with dry socks, string, bark, sweets and tummy powder!

Moominmamma takes particular care with other people’s emotions, knowing how important it is to feel respected and loved and free to be oneself. For example, when Moominpappa accidentally breaks a plate, she reassures him that she’s glad because it was ugly and she never liked it anyway.

She is very patient – she knows that sometimes it takes a terribly long time before things sort themselves out, but that they always do, eventually – and she is calm in a crisis. When a comet is headed for Moominvalley, Moominmamma ensures the family pack everything they need, from pudding and radishes to string and newspaper.

“Moominmamma has a rebellious side.”

Nothing that takes place at the Moominhouse escapes Moominmamma’s attention – as soon as she wakes up from her long winter sleep, she can tell that someone has been up to tricks with her silver tea tray! And she has a rebellious side herself – she loves a party and has a soft spot for Stinky, the most notorious criminal of Moominvalley, who she has even been known to hide from the police on occasion…

Moominmamma loves nature and the garden is her pride and joy. She can often be found tending vegetables or rearranging seashells around the flower beds. Occasionally she is taken for granted by her family, and she feels rather lost in Moominpappa at Sea (1965) when Moominpappa is determined to take care of everything all by himself. She begins to paint as a way of coping with the situation and discovers that she is very talented – she covers the walls with beautiful roses, marigolds, pansies, and peonies, which helps her to escape the temporary troubles the family is facing.

Does Moominmamma have any special skills?

Moominmamma has an excellent memory, especially for birthdays. If someone has a birthday whilst staying at the Moominhouse, she will always arrange for them to have their favourite pudding after dinner.

What does she keep in her handbag?

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Moominmamma’s handbag. It contains the solution to any and every problem that could possibly occur – along with dry socks, string, bark, sweets and tummy powder. It also acts as a symbol for the character herself. When her handbag goes missing, Moominmamma is quite distraught. A grand party is held for all the residents of Moominvalley on its safe return.

A little-known fact about Moominmamma:

Moominmamma is one of the characters inspired by people from Tove Jansson’s life. She is based on Tove’s own mother, the graphic artist Signe Hammarsten-Jansson, known to the family as ‘Ham’.

Moominmamma first appears in the very first Moomin story, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945). In this story, she and Moomintroll are searching for a lost Moominpappa, who they are happily reunited with in Moominvalley.

[pvffinsdaisies]

May I hear more about your Fem! Finland? She sounds interesting, and I also portray my Finland as a woman 👀

Sure you can! ✨ I’m sooo happy to hear you’re interested in my silly little OC portrayals. And also especially relieved to hear you also see finny as a woman, I always get nervous talking about it due to some sexist comments I received last year for preferring female fin.

I won’t get into that!

Anyway, since I wrote so little about them last time, I thought I’d give you a list of my headcanons for Aino. Free to steal if you’d like, and if you have any headcanons for fem! Fin I encourage you to send me them. 😌✨🇫🇮.

Aino is an animal lover through and through, she loves all animals and is pretty knowledgable on most animal species that live in her country. She has a huge admiration and respect for bears especially. However, her favourites are by far birds. She’s such a bird nerd, she owns many books on them, she loves bird watching, and she actually makes and puts up bird houses in her garden every spring time.

She has a Finnish lapphund as a pet. She’s white, and her name is “lumi”, which means snow in Finnish.

They’re a bit of an old soul, in a sense. They older “old” people hobbies, like fishing, knitting and long walks. Aikkuli finds she needs slower moments in life to wind down and appreciate some of the simpler things.

However, they need to have their fast paced hobbies too, the things that make them feel alive. They’re a huge fan of ice hockey, but they also love rally driving, and can actually ride a motorcycle.

Speaking of rally, Aino loves cars! They’re so fascinated by them, they’re the type to ask someone 10 million different questions about what type of car they drive, they find it interesting

She adores moomin! Has a whole collection of moomin mugs. The animated series from the 90s is her comfort show, and they’re constantly relating things happening in real life to something that happened in either the moomin books, or in the show.

Aikkuli really enjoys skiing, and due to their competitive nature, they get upset when left out of “who’s the best nordic at skiing” debates, even though objectively, they’re not as good at Sweden, and especially not as good as Norway.

Whilst they can’t see creatures, Aino is still quite interested in her old pagan beliefs, and owns a Kalevala, and other books about old Finnish mythology. In modern day, they’re not entirely sure what their religion is, but they also don’t often sit down and actually ponder it.

Their secret talent is that they know how to dance! They’re quite good at ballroom type stuff, but their skills don’t really translate to other forms. She’s a little embarrassed by this, and doesn’t like to tell or show people that often.

Whilst Aino is a very independent woman, who’s not super lenient on anyone, they can be really clingy with Estonia. Often choosing to hang around with Eesti as often and they possibly can. Sometimes it may feel like it’s a bit much, but truth be told? Estonia sometimes feels like their only genuinely close friend they can undoubtably trust.

Fin easily lets their competitive nature get the better of her, and it’s not uncommon for her to take it too far. Especially if Sweden is involved. Be cautious to play anything against both Sweden and Finland. If Aikkuli wins, they will not stop bragging and rubbing it in sve’s face for the rest of the week, and if they lose they can sometimes became extremely resentful. The atmosphere will be cold for a while afterwards.

Aikkuli lives for heavy metal music, they probably listen to some songs from other genres too, but is absolutely a metal head first and foremost. She goes to heavy metal gigs and concerts as often as they can. And they definitely blast their music as loud as they want when they’re in their car.

Ahh! There we go! Sorry this took a while to respond to, I don’t really touch Aino all that much so it can be hard for me to just list things about them on the spot. I have sooo many thoughts about them, but I always struggle to type them out. I partially blame the hiatus I took from her character, it feels like I’m tugging hard to get her off the shelf, but they don’t wanna move 😅😅

[tsubasasarchive]

i do not have a middle name lmao

i am twenty five!

my birthday is 20th of August

i guess that makes me a leo

my favourite colour is beige lol

my lucky number is twenty seven

i have a cat

i do not want to disclose my nationality

i am 160cm

24cm lol (EU size 38?)

i think eight???

i dreamt that my boss added my personal LINE account to work related group chats and i woke up in cold sweats. terrifying

i'd like to think i have a talent for writing, but i can never be sure

i was as a child. idk about now

my favourite song is dial tone by catch your breath

i don't have one i think. not really a movie person

how am i supposed to answer that???

i do not

not really no

i am not religious

i have, many times

not directly, no. my company yes.

i have! well idk if he counts as a celeb, but i met the ceo of nintento in a work setting lol

showers 100%

white

i had my brief moment on instagram years ago. i deleted the account lol

no. i don't think i have the mental capacity to be a celeb

i like rock/metal and an occasional kpop in the mix

i have not, and i will never

i have 2 and my partner has 2. then we have a huge moomin plushie as well that we use as a pillow

on my back or my right side

i do not have a house, i live in an apartment. it is a 2LDK

i do not eat breakfast

i have in a controlled environment

i tried archery in elementary school

eternal

fuck i guess???

4 days

i have so many i cannot count

i wouldn't know, that's why they are secret lol

i think so

yes, i love observing others

depends on the language, but yes in some!

no i don't think i do lol

english? australian. japanese? the osaka dialect

INTJ

i think it is my ugg shoes? i do not own a lot of expensive clothing

i can

innie

i can write with both hands

not the typical small house spider, but huntsman spiders can go to hell

cheese naan,,,

cheese naan, lol

clean i suppose

"jesus christ"

"はにゃ？" (hanya? basically means huh??)

30 minutes

i would hope not, but i think everyone has some

suck??

yes

no

no i am not. i used to be, but then puberty hit lol

surviving a large drop

in a sense

i cannot decide that omg. i don't even remember what it is called

both is fine

i am not american, so no

it used to be either history or language class

introvert

no

phone calls

no i am not

i do correct if it is important

no

no i have not

i am at work. i am the boss of my division, right under ceo

of course, who hasn't

i have

my first real crush was a vocalist of a band that i liked, and i used to talk to him a lot, but we lost contact in the end. still not over the fact,,,,

i have 1 lmaooo, saving up to get more

i can roll my rs

no idea man

not fast enough

right now it is dark brown

grey

nuts (not deadly), and citrus fruits. i also think i am sensitive to milk and gluten ):

i do keep a journal. but i don't write much

my dad is a limestone miner? idk what it is called. my mum is on disability support

my age is fine. don't want to get any older though

when my partner do not do his dishes, or clean up after himself generally

my name is ok, do not love not hate it

well, i do not want kids right now, but i do have a list i made with my partner actually

if i were to have a child, i would want a girl maybe

my strength is that i know many languages and can use it to my advantage in a lot of situations

weakness is that i have social anxiety so i have set myself back lmao

i never asked my mum how

no, not as far as i know at least

this is the second time this questions comes up, but yes

cobalt blue right now

white

Get To Know Me Uncomfortably Well

PLEASE DON’T LET THIS FLOP AHHHH

1. What is you middle name? 2. How old are you? 3. When is your birthday? 4. What is your zodiac sign? 5. What is your favorite color? 6. What’s your lucky number? 7. Do you have any pets? 8. Where are you from? 9. How tall are you? 10. What shoe size are you? 11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 12. What was your last dream about? 13. What talents do you have? 14. Are you psychic in any way? 15. Favorite song? 16. Favorite movie? 17. Who would be your ideal partner? 18. Do you want children? 19. Do you want a church wedding? 20. Are you religious? 21. Have you ever been to the hospital? 22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? 23. Have you ever met any celebrities? 24. Baths or showers? 25. What color socks are you wearing? 26. Have you ever been famous? 27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? 28. What type of music do you like? 29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? 30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 31. What position do you usually sleep in? 32. How big is your house? 33. What do you typically have for breakfast? 34. Have you ever fired a gun? 35. Have you ever tried archery? 36. Favorite clean word? 37. Favorite swear word? 38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 39. Do you have any scars? 40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? 41. Are you a good liar? 42. Are you a good judge of character? 43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? 44. Do you have a strong accent? 45. What is your favorite accent? 46. What is your personality type? 47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? 48. Can you curl your tongue? 49. Are you an innie or an outie? 50. Left or right handed? 51. Are you scared of spiders? 52. Favorite food? 53. Favorite foreign food? 54. Are you a clean or messy person? 55. Most used phrased? 56. Most used word? 57. How long does it take for you to get ready? 58. Do you have much of an ego? 59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? 60. Do you talk to yourself? 61. Do you sing to yourself? 62. Are you a good singer? 63. Biggest Fear? 64. Are you a gossip? 65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? 66. Do you like long or short hair? 67. Can you name all 50 states of America? 68. Favorite school subject? 69. Extrovert or Introvert? 70. Have you ever been scuba diving? 71. What makes you nervous? 72. Are you scared of the dark? 73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? 74. Are you ticklish? 75. Have you ever started a rumor? 76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? 77. Have you ever drank underage? 78. Have you ever done drugs? 79. Who was your first real crush? 80. How many piercings do you have? 81. Can you roll your Rs?“ 82. How fast can you type? 83. How fast can you run? 84. What color is your hair? 85. What color is your eyes? 86. What are you allergic to? 87. Do you keep a journal? 88. What do your parents do? 89. Do you like your age? 90. What makes you angry? 91. Do you like your own name? 92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? 93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? 94. What are you strengths? 95. What are your weaknesses? 96. How did you get your name? 97. Were your ancestors royalty? 98. Do you have any scars? 99. Color of your bedspread? 100. Color of your room?

[boorishbint]

Joxter stinky (I love him but he stinky) (for the prompts thing)

Moomin stops dead in his tracks, unsure.

Moomins are creatures of many talents. Explorers, storytellers. Handsome and Moomin thinks himself a touch braver than the average creature also, if he does say so himself. They are creatures of friendships and warm hearths. And they are always creatures of exceptionally large and sensitive noses.

Though perhaps on this occasion too sensitive.

He’s on the wood path, making his way back from a misadventure with Sniff and Littly My that has ended with her chasing the former back round the meadow. But something has stopped him and that something is right up his nose.

It’s a musky, damp smell. A touch heady, too. Like stuffy perfume but the kind that’s been sprayed on well-worn clothes that were then left out in the rain, and then not dried but instead crumpled in a corner to grow very damp and unpleasant. And also perhaps dipped in old cooking oil that lingers with meat long discoloured.

Not that Moomin is to be specific about it. But the long and the short of it is, it’s a very strong and very unpleasant smell and Moomin stops, quite confused as to where such a thing could ever come from.

He isn’t confused long, as Moomin takes one turn around a tree and finds the offending creature. Which only serves to stun Moomin more.

To say Moomin has never seen a creature of the like would be a lie. For he very much has but that like is Snufkin, and it must be quite impossible for these two someones to have anything in common.

Yet.

The creature is taller, like Snufkin had been tugged out in places like old elastic. He’s lying down in some long grass that sprouts by a tree, a strikingly similar hat over his face as he apparently sleeps. He’s got heeled boots crossed at the ankle and a long, rope-like tail that coils over his lap.

‘Ho there?’ Moomin asks, nervous but he comes close all the same. The creature moves to tilt his head back with dark paws, black like soot.

‘Ho here,’ he replies, accent familiar too. Moomin frowns. ‘Why look! A Moomin!’

‘Uh. Yes,’ Moomin says, thrown. ‘Who are you?’

‘The Joxter.’

‘What’s a Joxter?’

‘Not a Joxter,’ the Joxter corrects, sitting up and replacing his hat on his head. His face is sharp, with a pointed nose and unkempt fur that sticks out at odd angles from his cheeks. ‘The. Though if I’m an anyhting, it’s a Mumrik.’

Ah, so that’s it then, Moomin thinks. The same as Snufkin but most certainly not either. Snufkin can be a bit scruffy but Moomin has never thought him to smell outright unpleasant. The Joxter most definitely smells unpleasant. Moomin has never met another Mumrik before and wonders if they are all as different.

‘I see,’ Moomin says cautiously. ‘And what brings you to Moominvalley, Joxter?’

‘I’m looking for someone. And also possibly a house, if it happens to be the same direction as my someone. Perhaps you know it, being a Moomin yourself.’

‘Which house?’ Moomin asks, suspicious.

‘Moominhouse. Surely you must know it as you wouldn’t be as unlucky as to have family near and not know them,’ the Joxter says before a strange expression flickers over his angular face. ‘Terrible thing that, you know.’

‘I know it as it’s my house,’ Moomin says and the Joxter’s ears prick up, their points like arrowheads. ‘Well, my father built it…’

‘Did he now,’ the Joxter says, sounding interested. But instead of moving, he digs around in the pocket of his tattered smock and takes out a pipe. ‘That’ll do nicely, little Moomin.’

Moomin bristles. ‘I’m not little.’

The Joxter looks over his pipe as he bites on the end of it, fishing now for matches it seems. ‘No. I suppose one could you accuse you of much but not being little.’

The bristle grows. The Joxter lays back further on his grass as he lights his pipe. He blows out long streams of smoke from his large nose and it clouds up and right into Moomin’s face. The idea of that coming into the house makes Moomin grit his teeth.

‘That- er, tobacco you’re smoking there smells rather strong,’ Moomin says, hoping he’s not being rude in saying so but his eyes are watering. The Joxter blows smoke rings.

‘It’s not tobacco,’ the Joxter says and Moomin waves a paw as the smoke rings hit him on the snout.

‘All the same,’ Moomin says, holding his breath. ‘I think I saw some mint leaves a ways back, I can get you some before coming to the house if you like?’

The Joxter takes a deep puff of his pipe, eyes fixed onMoomin’s face. Moomin tries not to shrink away but really, this creature has the most unnerving eyes he’s ever seen. Blue like paint.

‘Are you saying you don’t like the way smell, troll?’

‘No, no! Not at all, I just thought- well, you know!’ Moomin is babbling and his fur sticks up straight all over as he flushes from ears to toes. ‘You might want to clear that pipe smoke from your breath before company.’

The Joxter seems to think on that for a moment.

‘It’s not just the pipeweed you’re taking offence to.’

That may be true but Moomin was raised better than to admit such. But at the very least, if this shabby vagabond is to be in his house then the pipeweed is the one he may be able to somewhat solve.

‘Well, you’ve clearly been travelling a long ways,’ Moomin says in what he feels is a diplomatic manner. The Joxter’s tail flicks. ‘I can show you to the stream if you’d like the chance to freshen up a bit better.’

‘Need the smell,’ the Joxter says bizarrely as Moomin can’t think as to why anyone would want this musky, cloying scent. The Joxter taps his nose. ‘Otherwise how will my son find me? Only polite to give him fair warning.’

‘Your son?’ Moomin asks, suddenly very curious. ‘Who’s your son?’

‘It’s the least of what noses are for, you know,’ the Joxter says sagely though he looks far from anything of the like. ‘Especially when he was blessed with mine.’

Moomin tries not to be offended at how he’s been ignored and decides that he doesn’t like this Joxter very much. Or indeed at all. Time to write off this whole thing, Moomin thinks and with any luck, the breeze will keep the scent behind him.

‘Well, then,’ Moomin says, brushing at his coat awkwardly and the Joxter looks like he might smile. ‘Good luck with that then. I hope you have a pleasant day and your son finds you.’

‘I hope that every day, little Moomin,’ the Joxter says and Moomin chews the inside of his cheek. The Joxter laughs full of smoke. ‘Sorry. Big Moomin.’

Moomin doesn’t think that’s better but he’s quite out of patience now. He bids goodbye and heads along, hoping that he not have the bad run of it to cross paths with the Joxter’s son, who Moomin doesn’t doubt to be just as unpleasant. For what else could the son of a Joxter be?

[writers-in-moominvalley]

💡Lightbulb Moment💡

Moominpappa's notable fear of aging might have to do with both his fragile masculinity and the fact that he lived in a very stifling and isolating environment for most of his childhood.

He didn't get the opportunity to grow up with friends or to feel understood or accepted nor did he get to do frivolous child things like collect bugs and the like. He only got that joy in life after a near-death experience and escaping that Foundling Home, and even still he had already coped with his grief by retreating inward and thinking that he's strange because he's above others and not below them, he had already coped with hoping that his family was special like royalty and he would have the opportunity to find out and brag about it, the one thing he ever wanted in his early like is to tell his peers and the Hemulen who raised him "I told you so! I told you I was worthy of love and respect!"

But he never got to. That was the point of the Hemulen Aunt's role in his story - it's to rip apart Moominpappa's one hope and leave him without that closure he begged for, then he could only move on to the next chapter of life.

And what he gained most from his previous life as a Lonely Child was a lifelong wanderlust, he wandered into danger twice without so much as a vague feeling, he left his wife and child in the events leading up to Moomins and the Great Flood likely because of that wanderlust (as I doubt the Hattifatteners "tricked him" into it as Moominmamma stubbornly told her children, being both deaf and mute creatures, there was a deep denial in her tone as she said so), and yet again did he wander aimlessly in the Secret of the Hattifatteners, a story which also tells us that this wandering for even days on end was a habit of his in which Moominmamma and folk could only believe in his promise to always return home afterwards.

He loves adventure! He's fascinated by the sea! His room is full of sea and sailor iconography in Moominvalley in November! It's even painted blue! And the marksman in his black tophat and domestic family life is yet to get enough of what that sea meant to him — adventure, freedom, and the vitality of youth.

Time and again in the comics he is lusting for trouble, he is looking to man an operation, even Moominmamma said herself that he refuses to grow up, but at the same time he can't stand being the Captain when opportunity or shame arises.

He always switches between satisfaction and dissatisfaction in his domesticity. Domesticity meant a lack of freedom to him growing up, and then once he escaped he vividly daydreamed of building his own Moominhouse, and then living in a house he helped build made him feel isolated and trapped again when he and his crew shared the same roof on the colony island, then he fell in love with Moominmamma, then he left her and Moomintroll, and despite this the first thing we see of him in the flesh was talk of building a house for himself and his family. In Secret of the Hattifatteners he comes to the conclusion that the monotony of domestic life is far, far better than aimless and emotionless wandering, and yet, in Moominpappa at Sea the inciting issue was his feeling of uselessness within the Moomin family dynamic. This back and forth relationship he has with domesticity is one of the key features of his character, it's one of the many, many oxymoronicisms in his characters.

He's both accepted his role as a Pappa, he defines himself as such, but at the same time he's very close to wanting to shed this identity for his adventures. He knows he is an adult with responsibilities but he refuses the idea of being old. He doesn't want his abilities to slip from his grasp, the "talent" he so prided himself with becoming stagnant and useless. He isn't nearly done with youth, he's only started his life at the midpoint of his existence, how dare time degrade him so?

How dare the hands of time march forward and drag him until his knees begin to crack? He's meant to be a famous adventurer, and yet he hasn't achieved it yet. He's been busy with other matters but... give him a few more chances at the very least.

[ssseob]

spring sunshine — zcl

↳ after chenle decided to embrace his soon-to-end childhood, he has decided to make friends with all of his classmates he finds himself stuck at the very last one; yn known for being quite blunt and lazy seems to be hard to make friends with! though, zhong chenle has never been one to back down from a little challenge…

PROFILES: group therapy 1.

mlist. | prev. | next.

mark lee (@/sp1derb0y): a music major in his 2nd year of university, first out of his friend group to graduate, had been the first to defend chenle when he was bullied back in middle school, many people say he is a lot like peter parker!! everytime someone mentions his his ego goes thru the roof!!

injeolmi (@/huangpaints): full name huang renjun; an art major in his 1st year of university. very motherly!! is claimed to be the parental figure of the friend group, loves moomin, chenle often seeks out renjun for advice, overall the best listener and very talented artist!!

jeno (@/leejen0s): very talented athlete! he is currently playing volleyball for his universities team! is in a sports university and is in his 1st year, out of all of his friends he is the most intimidating (though quite a softie when you get to know him). very popular amougst his peers!!

haechan (@/fullsunist): also a music major! he is currently in his 1st year of university. they believe haechan is the funniest out of the friend group, loves to tease and joke, he is obsessed with sunflowers and while his friends dont know why, they find it endearing!

taglist: @matchahyuck @prdshobi @glamourizz

[moominvalley-odyssey]

Astilbe (on the left) and Hosta (on the right), the disaster twins of the Riviera (not the same Riviera from the moomin comics which is probably located in France, they’re in Italy)

The siblings were professional entertainers and step dancers, their performances and shows luring in many guests from all over the lands. Even tho they are from a working-class species, they never gave up and worked hard to appear on stage with other talented artists, setting an example.

However, those times ended after the new Governor’s laws forbade working class folk to take on artistic professions, shutting down establishments and forcing the twins and their fellow musicians, actors, dancers, comedians, etc to look for jobs they’re “meant to do”. 

They (obviously) just couldn’t accept that, especially now, that the new, rich and snobbish visitors started to look down on the working layer and everyone who wasn’t “normal” (think about hybrids and creatures-of-magical-origins). In order to make a change and help the unfortunate, they joined a secret association, The Court of Wonders. 

Nowadays, they work as spies, drivers, scouts, body guards and recruiters. Due to their determination and ambition, they quickly became members of the core group (and oh boy they've discovered many secrets-).

Astilbe used to be a very optimistic and boisterous lad back then, enthusiastic about his job, passionate about dancing and entertainment. Carefree, silly even. However, losing his job and being denied of his dream, he became bitter, grumpy, uptight and impatient. No matter how many jobs he took, none of them made him feel the same way performing did. To ease his stress, he started smoking (which his sister disapproves but he promised he will stop “once things won’t give him a reason to”). Says he doesn’t have high hopes for the association, but deep down prays they’ll succeed. Even tho his playful side seemed to disappear a long time ago, you can still catch glimpses of it in the way he fights and kicks ass. Those times he gets cocky, competitive and brash real fast. As a professional dancer, he possesses fast reflexes, impressive agility, immense stamina and a great sense of environment, using his surroundings to his advantages. For these reasons, he gets most of the scouting and body guard missions. Almost never fights using weapons, if he must, bats or knives it is. Is super protective of the people he cares about. If you mange to be on his good side, you got yourself a very loyal and dutiful ally. 

Hosta is a really sassy, cunning and witty lady. Not being able to entertain anymore was a big disappointment and hurt her too, but had to put her sorrow aside in order to support her brother who was more affected by the turn of events. She didn’t let it break her, stood her ground, and unlike her twin, she looked ahead, searching for the next opportunities. In that regard, she didn’t change much, she’s still the independent, teasing but also reliable and cheerful person, who basically holds the core group together when the Boss isn’t around. She’s more cautious and rational tho, as a women (from a working-class species non the less) she can’t let her guard down. Loves pranks and pulling tricks on others (lighthearted ones on her friends, family and allies. not so lighthearted ones on her opponents, oop-). Socializing is pretty easy for her, that’s why she’s the one most of the time going on spying or recruiting missions (natural charm, ya know). Uses guns and long range weapons, tho for her violence is the last options and would rather compromise. Her aim and concentration are crazy, always cool and focused in a fight. Has a little not so little drinking problem. Would be besties with her. 

Their dynamic is the classic “we’re twins but also opposites” one, their opinions and ideals often clashing, but always ending on a common agreement. A lot of bantering, teasing and competing. Aren’t too worried about the other’s physical state, since they know what they are capable of. Mentally and emotionally tho? Oh budyyyy, don’t bad mouth them or they will mess you up good. Ever since they were kids they made an amazing team, it’s still true.

They are the same species as the hotel staff from the Moomins on the Riviera comic and movie

tall funky rat boi my beloveds

[looneyllama-archive]

Moomins: the Next Generation

I was hesitant about posting this, since I almost never make OCs (and to be honest, these are more like projections of my hopes and insecurities than actual characters), but so many people have made Snufmin fankids that I couldn’t resist joining in on the fun!  As a bit of a twist, I went with Shin Mumin’s Moomin and Snufkin, since I have a soft spot for this adaptation. 

Ramblings on the characters, plus a concept doodle with younger versions, under the cut. 

Lineup from the color picture, from left to right:

Len--actually not a Snufmin kid, but the significant other of their eldest daughter.  They’re a hemulen who is nervous about settling on a single field of study, as their own family expects.  Fortunately, they’ve found a safe place in Moominvalley. 

Juniper--kind of like a muddler but with antlers (’cause why not).  She’s the type who always asks questions; in this society where people just tend to be named after their species, she will always ask people what they want to be called, just in case.  She’s also just a tad nosy. 

Moomin--Moominpappa now, I suppose, though that gets a bit confusing.  I decided that his one accessory should be a work apron, with lots of pockets for anything he could possibly need.  He’s become a talented carpenter. 

Snufkin--now Snufkinpappa.  He still travels every winter and spends the rest of the year in Moominvalley.  Moomin (and later, the kids) makes him an amulet for safe travels every year before he leaves.  Even though omamori “expire” after one year, Snufkin could never bring himself to burn a gift from Moomin, so he just wears all of them.  At once.  It’s getting a little out of hand. 

Fillie--a fillyjonk who has too many sensory issues to fit into that neat and tidy fillyjonk mold, she was put up for adoption by her birth parents.  Once free to live as herself, she found that she much prefers comfy knitwear to starched collars.  She makes all her clothes herself, as well as lots of knitted presents for her friends and family. 

Nuisance--a mumrik who loves the sea.  They spend most of the year on a ship, serving dual purpose as a crewmember and a ship’s lucky cat, but always visit Moominvalley between voyages.  Their signature hat is actually a folded newspaper, which they make fresh every few weeks. 

Bylly--technically Snufkin’s nephew, but was primarily raised by him and Moomin.  He’s Mymble Jr’s only child.  Since she spent so much time taking care of her siblings, Mymble Jr. never really wanted kids herself, but Bylly was unplanned.  Snufkin and Moomin took him in and are his primary guardians, but he is still on friendly terms with Mymble Jr. 

The trees in the background are actually Woodies!  I’ve had the headcanon that they’re only mobile as children, and plant themselves upon reaching maturity.  From left to right, there’s Pine, Willow, Ash, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Birch, and Ginkgo. 

Concept doodle of younger versions of the characters:

[nc7dr3am]

IF LILY DATED...

HI this is a long post. the idea for this was inspired by my favorite @delicatejisung who also has an nct dream oc that you MUST follow. also i know the edit sucks. also also i write very light nsfw stuff in this. like mentions but no smut cuz i don’t do that. HOWEVER there are no nsfw mentions w jisung. ik teens do whatever and lily is only a year older than him but 1.) i will not do that because he is still a minor and 2.) they just aren’t like that together. they don’t need it

THIS IS ALL HYPOTHETICAL NONE OF IT IS OFFICIALLY CANON. lmk which ones sound cute cuz even tho it’s not gonna happen .. lilno and chenlil might have stolen my heart

mark:

you can bet they’d be so completely in love with each other

very sweet, very romantic

“baby” “babe”

in front of the camera they’re normal, the same amount of affection as usual, oftentimes less

lily, when mark is talking or being unintentionally attractive: *bites bottom lip, looks up a little, seems like she’s trying not to smile*

he does his rap in mfal to her randomly and it’s cringey and funny but he does it to make her smile because he knows it’s her fav title track

when she sings he smiles so wide because in his opinion. there is no sound more beautiful than her voice

they talk to each other so well. like. they can sit for HOURS just talking and it never gets old to them

writes genuine love letters to her but will cringe and hate himself if he gives them to her until she gets teary and smiles

her basically giving him book reports about the books she reads and he literally falls more in love with her when she’s screaming about the novels because she is so PASSIONATE

her falling asleep in the practice rooms or studio late at night because she INSISTS on staying with him

and when he kisses her he likes to tilt her chin up with his hand of holds both sides of her face

hyuck taking credit for the whole relationship

she has a collage of polaroids of them, of him (including some of the ones from qtah) that are separate from her other photos of friends (she has a lot)

mark has a few polaroids of her that he keeps by his bed and he always smiles when he sees them

HE 10000% WRITES SONGS FOR HER AND SHOWS HER BUT HES REALLY NONCHALANT ABOUT IT

she never calls him oppa (even a bit before they start dating tbh)

when she has to do sexy performances or just acts sexy you will 100% find mark at his most awkward

they will have fun doing ANYTHING they’ll be happy through anything if they’re together

they could go through five watermelons in a day

konglish all the time. and getting excited/thinking something is funny and jumping and screaming

“can i have your netflix password, lils?” “mark you’re literally richer than me and still use all of my accounts”

her getting embarrassed by him and giggling

she will continue her campaign to get mark to play spiderman

lazy days making music, him watching her cook, binge watching american reality shows she likes, and literally just days where theyfe in bed and make out and talk and make out

shopping trips all the time

they love to do activities together. like, they’ll go places and try new things

she’s desperate to visit his home and his family

and they have their ideal life planned. like. if they weren’t idols they’d get an apartment together. they wanna have some pets together. they have trips they’d like to go on together

they grew up together, they’ve loved each other for years, they’ve been pillars of support

but as much as they’ve loved each other they grew to be IN love with each other

but teased by every unit especially 127. wbk.

they’re more.. private than the others. they’re alone together a lot and don’t overdo it in front of the others

SLIGHT nsfw below. no smut but. and then some fluff near the end <3

ummm so like. vanilla for the most part even tho lily is a bit more ✨wild✨

oh um. ass grabs. when they’re alone but. constantly

when they get comfy with each other (read: when mark finds confidence and is comfy) he will always have his hands on her ass

even just resting there

mirror selfies with his hand on her ass

if he can’t touch her ass, it’s always a hand on her thigh

very affection when alone together, moderate when they’re with others

he likes to lay on her stomach and she loves when he lays on her shirtless

so many days where they just lay in bed together, tangled in lily’s blankets, music playing in the background, lazy makeout sessions... need i go on? CUTE SHIT

mark isn’t great at expressing his emotions publicly, and they hold so much of their relationship just between them. they both always know how much they love each other

renjun:

so they’re SOFT

song covers together

she tries to learn mandarin but. she ends up getting frustrated that she can’t get it and renjun kisses it better

he tells her the wrong words in mandarin a lot and it has fucked her over a lot, especially in lives

“oppa, how do you say ‘i bought that shirt for renjun?’”

*in mandarin* “i am in love with renjun”

they’d be a bit more obvious about their feelings, a bit more touchy

when they confess, they’re together right away, no questions asked. they literally need each other

sleepovers every night and they’re generally really cozy

lily reading, renjun drawing, a movie playing on her laptop that they aren’t paying too much attention to

renjun has specific articles of clothing he puts aside in his closet because he KNOWS she’s gonna take those specific ones

he is very into giving her flowers and little gifts

shes asked him to give her mf art lessons LMAO

ended with them covering each other in paint and making a MESS

they’re silly together, they’re the couple who knows how to cook but starts playing with the ingredients and makes a mess

they leave sticky notes for each other everywhere

lily jumping into his arms

constant pecks on the lips. the dreamies are sick of it. so sick of it.

deep talks late at night

lily being funny and having a box of his stuff in her room even though they live in the same place

nomin threatening renjun

but then lily fourth wheeling with them all

somehow they become even more of a savage duo

when they make eye contact while performing they’ll make faces at each other

he turns the koala joke into her pet name

so he calls her koala and she calls him a pain in her ass

SOFT KISSES he always cups one side of her face

he braids her hair a lot or does cute little styles

lots of cafe dates

will KILL any of the others if they wake her up when she’s sleeping

the type of romance that’s sappy but also they can most definitely roast each other

she likes to wrestle him LMAOO

the way they’re basically chenji’s babysitters is SO FUNNY it started to happen a lot right after they got together

they want to adopt a puppy and name him moomin

SLIGHT nsfw below. no smut but. and then some fluff near the end <3

okay so it’s kinda.. more hesitant and sometimes she takes the lead more than he does

their make out sessions are more heated but don’t always lead to something

like the way it’s going youd THINK it’d be something, but then they just decide to watch a movie and go to bed

he really likes her neck and collarbones but can’t do much to her neck because yknow they’re idols

there’s almost no insecurity in their relationship

it’s very relaxed and loving, and everyone around them can see and feel the love

jeno:

a bit unexpected

a ✨whirlwind romance✨

lilno? more like lilmino because jaemin is always there

a part of her was genuinely sad that she broke up nomin and everyone looks at her like she’s crazy

torn between her love for him and letting him go if jaemin confessed

they can be a bit more obvious in front of fans than the others, because for some reason there isn’t much suspicion there

in front of czennies he lowkey flexes and picks her up over his shoulder a lot, has his arm around her a lot, and they wink at each other from across the set

he holds her waist a lot, and he’s super protective

but also the !! softness !!

have literally been walked in on several times of them just peppering each other with kisses and laughing and its literally lowkey a movie romance

working out together

practicing dances together

the type of guy to literally ignore everything she’s saying because her beauty distracted him

she hits him on the arm for that

passionate kisses

there have been too many times where the others walk in the kitchen and lily is sitting on the kitchen counter with her arms around jeno’s neck as they’re just making out

they’re the couple that’s yelled at by the dreamies the most because sometimes they need to chill out

LMAO THEYRE LIKE THE HORMONAL HIGH SCHOOL COUPLE

and like they love each other deeply and fully, it’s not high school in that regard

but they giggle too much and are kinda all over each other sometimes

they use pet names just a BIT too much

the older guys are a bit more protective of her with him than they would be with any of her other options

cuz while they’re softies

they escalate their relationship super quick

and it’s RIGHT for them

but the hyungs are protective

jeno surprisingly isn’t that jealous because if he could actually get lily

he knows neither of them are going anywhere

him constantly telling her how beautiful she is

her encouraging him and telling him he’s so talented and more than he thinks he is

when they ride the tandem bikes (i think that’s what they’re called? the bikes with two people?) it’s just jeno pedaling

OH and when they make eye contact during stages it only enhances their stage presence because they both wanna look sexy for their boo

jeno is rooting for lily solo because he knows she deserves it

super sweet and wholesome and they make each other smile so WIDE

she pops his zits for him LMAO

cuddles for DAYS and jeno’s fav thing is when she falls asleep in his arms

touches his muscles all the time

SLIGHT nsfw below. no smut but. and then some fluff near the end <3

they make out so much OMG

a bit wilder than she would be with others

she loves to run her hand down his abs

when she does that or touches his biceps it lowkey turns him on

jeno is a bit more reserved than the others at times, but with lily he feels utterly HIMSELF

he doesn’t feel like the jeno who is just a hot rapper. he feels more than that with her

they bring the light out in each other

hyuck:

another unexpected pair but a lot more expected than jeno/lily would be

they’re both literal sunshine and they would be such a beautiful couple

lily aka the only human alive to fluster hyuck

and even THAT doesn’t happen very often

hyuck’s lap = lily’s seat

SO touchy and affectionate but not in the way lily/jeno would be

it’s like constant hand holding, hugging, sitting on each other, leaning on each other, stars in there mf EYES

while they still tease each other and mess around

i have a very specific image in mind of them waking up together, hyuck leaning over her, the biggest smiles on their faces, and then kissing each other

and lily’s just like “hi” with the cutest smile, and then he says it back with the same smile

it might surprise you but hyuck POSSESSIVE

will gatekeep her and not let anyone hug her

always calls her his girlfriend in front of the members

he stands behind her with an arm around the middle of her torso a lot and she’s just absentmindedly playing with his fingers

only a tiny, lil bit obvious in front of czennies because they’re both so affectionate?? and before they dated lily would call him the love of her life?? and keep her face close to his?? this is NORMAL for them

but one of the biggest clues is hyuck being physically unable to not stare at her lips sometimes

they read each other’s tarot nearly every day HAHAH

very romantic as well

she sings him “you are my sunshine” all the time, just stroking his face and staring at him with all of the love in the world

like i said, they still tease the fuck outta each other and roast each other and are at each other’s throats but then they can flip INSTANTLY

he kisses her knuckles and traces her face

he games and she’s falling asleep on his lap

127 squad doesn’t like when they’re being forward because haechannie is the maknae

she loves life cuz more hyuck = more taeil

he will move mountains to make her laugh or see her smile

he’s begging sm for a sexy dance break with the two of them

she’s obsessed with how gorgeous his skin is

the type of boyfriend that notices the tiny little things

he’ll do things/get things for her just because he thought of her or remembered something she said

SLIGHT nsfw below. no smut but. and then some fluff near the end <3

another one that’s a bit wilder

theyre not shy LMAO

steamy intense makeouts like

how is he so good? lily is very satisfied

overall they’re such a fun beautiful HAPPY couple

theyre both so loving and wonderful and there is not one single doubt in anyone’s mind that they love each other fully

jaemin:

literally impossible in any universe

chenle:

lily and chenle have always been two sides of the same coin and he had been waiting for so long

the SMILES

the most beautiful happy smiles at each other ALWAYS because how did they get so lucky?

they were each other’s first proper kiss (canonically, as well)

it’s perfect because they’re best friends and always have been

nothing much changes except the affection and little things because they’re both still best friends

jisung being on all of their dates

he always buys her expensive shit and she hates it so much

she puts on lipstick JUST to kiss his cheek

jisung has walked in on them vibing, on them making out, and yeah he’s sick of it and so happy he only saw them kissing

always sleeping in the same room (usually at his place 👀) but theyre a huge mess when they sleep at night and someone ends up hitting the other because chenle moves too much for her liking

they’re still competitive and of course they still have their alliance

because dating or not, they would fight to the death on that rooftop

chenle literally will kiss every inch of her face because he likes hearing her giggles and he can’t believe he finally got his lily

CUDDLING ALL THE TIME and they’ve fallen asleep on the couch in the dorms and when they’re sleeping HARD the others like to see how many things they can balance on their heads

he will HYPE HER UP ALWAYS

but then say summ like “her face is weird tho” after and unless they’re in front of fans he ends up kissing her after she hits him

when she has to be sexy on stage, he is HERE FOR IT even if the stage is with another person because!! YES his girlfriend is hot, he’s LUCKY

she loves going to his house!! mostly because his family but also

they get to have privacy and be a couple

they’ll hold hands on camera cuz they don’t give a single fuck

they’re definitely outed and have to go public

which just makes their competitive streak and constant roasts WORSE

she loves the sound of his laugh but will yell at him if it hurts her ears

threatens to get one of his predebut photos tattooed on her

a big part of them loving each other is annoying each other and being soft behind the scenes

always together

SLIGHT nsfw below. no smut but. and then some fluff near the end <3

the more intimate aspects of the relationship were really weird at first

but they’re very compatible so it was just fun to them

he WILL honk her boob. has done it in front of the others by accident and jaemin forbid her to see him for a few days

they kinda taught each other how to kiss way before they dated so it was funny when they did it as a couple

peak friends-to-lovers and even czennies can’t help but love then

jisung:

god their shyness is kinda annoying

really confident in private- they talk a lot, they’re very good at just chilling

but lily has to be the one to hold his hand because he’ll get nervous even when he’s so comfy in the relationship

i mean not that the dreamies have time to be in a relationship, but jisung was so SCARED to kiss her and have his first kiss

she thought it was funny

clumsy duo and they tease tf outta each other for it

chenle always being around

they can’t tell who the members are more protective over in the relationship

hugs!!! she loves to backhug him and he thinks it’s cute cuz she’s so tiny

they watch harry potter too much

she has almost convinced him to ride a rollercoaster but ended up failing

he makes fun of her height a lot and then she’ll trip him or something

he’s kinda protective and gets insecure that he’s younger than her sometimes but she just kisses his cheek and tells him to stop worrying

tbh they’re the most innocent, wholesome couple

they wanna go out on dates and they do but catch another member tagging along to babysit them

she gets wine drunk next to him and he can’t drink so he just has this drunk woman on his hands and doesn’t know what to do but honestly she just wants him to cuddle her to sleep

his voice is her favorite sound and she wants him to sing more

whenever anyone says something weird about jisung they both hold up the handcuffs cuz

they’re super weird they can be so confident and then one of them gets flustered and will be a shy baby

trading lines in concerts

lily making cute faces at him, staring at him blankly, winking at him, acting cute to him in front of fans

they share one braincell together and probably accidentally outed themselves by using pet names and like. holding hands on live

and then the OH SHIT face happens

they’ve given the older members heart attacks because he’ll give her a piggyback ride, they’ll hug really tight, or WORSE... they’ll give each other a lil kiss

they’re more innocent by nature but they love kissing and he loves holding her face because her skin is pretty and soft

he wears her perfume on his wrist so he can smell her and smile

the type of boyfriend who is CLUELESS about girl stuff

he wants her to try a different hair color. like a weird one

she refuses

taeyong actually loves them together so much

them dating and being IN LOVE and jisung still gives her cash for her birthday

the “i love you’s” are so. cute. and full. of. LOVE

she is merciless when theyre playing something against each other. she’ll TRY to get him out

usually lily is clingier but when she’s standing and jisung is sitting with his arms around her waist and his head squished to her side it’s so cute

he gets randomly really clingy at times and won’t let go of her

emotional bub will get teary because he loves her so much

[hunsa-jars]

HUNSAAA

Hihi

I was wondering

What's your favorite time of day?? I like Early mornings and Evenings because around then the sky is tinged purple/orange and it makes for great pictures

Also!! Who are some of your major artist inspirations? Your art is so cute💔

VILLAGE HOWDYYYY

My favorite time of the day is probably either dusk or twilight!! Just after sunset, when the oranges, the purples, the pinks and dark blues mix together, becoming darker yet there's still light, and the stars slowly start to appear along with the moon

Mostly Tove and Lars are the ones I think of when I draw. I just.. always loved the original moomin style, and I kinda wanted to try something similar

Another inspiration is other moomin artists!! There are just so many talented people in this fandom with their unique styles and designes, the need to create something just hits me sgdjdkdk

And I also get ideas from an old childhood cartoon I used to watch a lot, named Pom Pom Meséi, it just has the vibes I'm looking for

Also aaaaaaaaaaaa you're too kind ;w;

I never really thought about my drawings as art, but I'm glad you like them ^^

[shinymooncolor]

Hi!

Hope you’re all doing well this fine Friday. Here’s part 2 of the sweater weather chat #13!

As usual, we owe this entire fandom and world to the amazing @lumosinlove 💓

Thank you to @frombeauxbatons and @siriuslyqueer for being so cool!

Also - to avoid confusion. A Finn is a Finnish person and Finn is our love Finn o’hara 😜

Link to part one 💖

Sergei is still mad about his hair. He’s also got sweaty glitter in his eye. Ava is adorable. Nado and Kuny hosts an after party. Their cat is adorable and spoiled. Nado is being stalked by a drone. Blizzard is a lucky man. We discuss dick pics. Logan wants to be supportive. O’Knutzy jerseys!!!!! Olli has a team of protectors cause he’s a precious moomin.

—

“JACKIIEEEEEE”

“Oh, looks like we have a young lions prospect joining us as well. Nice to meet you, young lady, what’s your name? And here we have Kris LaVolie, Pascal Dumais and Henrik Sunnquist as well”

“Jackieeee wanna pwayyyyy”

“Sure kiddo - bye”

“Seems like LaVolie junior has more important things than press. Gentlemen, hi! How’re you enjoying this event today?”

“I think it’s great! Great to be able to support charities and show some support in general and it’s always fun to be able to bring my little girl to skate”

“She looks like a natural! And you two vets - what’s it like seeing this in the nhl?”

“It’s great! We’ve, or well me and sunny, have been in the game for a long time and it seems like the league is ready to move into the 21st century with the rest of us”

“I’ve been trying to figure out what happened to Ivanov’s hair. Do you know?”

“Well I don’t personally. I do like the color - mixed with his blonde it’s nearly the color of my home. Yellow and blue”

“Did you dye his hair then?”

“I would never! You’d have to ask him yourself. Hah”

“Well he’s been avoiding me so far”

“Oi Sergei!!”

“Well with that bellow it seems we’re finally joined by the final third in the trio of lions veterans today - sergei - we’ve had a lot of viewers ask us about your choice of hair color today? Is it a statement or?”

“Is stupid prank. I’m find out and make regret. Also I’m full with glitter and it sweats into my eye”

“That sounds uncomfortable but you all four look good - are your families here as well?”

“Yes, most kitted out as well. We had some trouble with my youngest who refused to wear anything but a paw patrol onesie but other than that Celeste managed to wrangle the other three into their jerseys”

“They think it’s fun and the glitter was a hit. Sergei’s daughter dumped an entire box of glitter on Logan and kuny. It was funny”

“Thanks guys, you look like you’re ready to get back out there”

“See ya”

“Wait, Logan, interview?”

“Hey”

“Logan! We’ve had multiple asks about your jersey and the name which seems to be on the back off Leo Newt and Finn O’Hara too?”

“Uhm, yeah, it’s an inside thing”

“Ohh okay, our viewers were wondering. Are you enjoying today’s event?”

“Yeah. Feels good to be out and supporting you know? Like there’s a lot of kids out there who’s scared and if I can help one I want to”

“Yes definitely. We’ve had so many positive comments come in. And here we have Olli Halla joining. Or... heh well. He’s got Logan in a headlock now”

“Olli! How’re you today?”

“I’m good thank you, how’re you?”

“Very well, just been asking some questions from viewers. Are you enjoying wearing the rainbow colors? We’ve had a lot of question regarding your relationship status?”

“Ohh Ollibear is a precious, single moomin and he’s got a team of protectors. Whoever wants to woo our precious baby Finn has to go through a series of tests to even be considered”

“Shut up timmy”

“Well here we have Timmy Jones as well, joining Logan Tremblay and Olli Halla”

“I think we all look good in rainbows and I’m happy to support this cause. Mental health is important and we have to use our platforms to make sure everyone is seen and heard and validated”

“Aww Olli you’re making me cry”

“Shut up lo, go play with Finn”

“Haha you’re all just jealous cause I look best in rainbows”

“That was Logan Tremblay. Now, timmy, how’re you feeling about today?”

“Get to wear awesome colors, get to skate for fun and it was fun to do glitter wars in the locker room”

“Well with that I’m gonna end the transmission for now. Do send in more questions. We’re back after a short break”

—-

Nadotheman: oiii glitter after party at our house!!! Bring your families and babies. Pets welcome too!!!

Blizzard: this is not another surprise party for your cat right?

RussianGod: it was anniversary for first month very important say so in lily baby book.

Prongstar: are you using our baby books to raise a cat?

KrisVolley: that explains a lot. They send me weekly updates. Do you have a baby book for her too?

Timmyforrealz: of course, I’ve seen it. You know they have a photographer every month. They do parties for her every anniversary and they went through an agency to get a cat sitter

Ollibear: it’s cute. Though I don’t need the daily updates on her mice eating skills

Nadotheman: she’s so talented! How’re you not impressed? She hunted and killed it herself... you don’t complain when we have some stupid kid party. You all breed like fucking rabbits... baby showers, christenings, birthdays ahhhh... so many babies... we get to celebrate our cat too...

Prongstar: did you steal my baby book? To raise a cat. That’s weird

Nadotheman: calm down she’s a kitty and we didn’t know how to raise her. At least my baby sleeps through the night.

Prongstar: don’t compare a kitten to my baby.

CarbO’Hara: hahahahaha poor James. His kid being upstaged by a spoilt kitten.

RussianGod: she’s not spoilt. She got good parents

Sergei_81: you are weird. Baby cat is not baby human.

Talkiewalkie: I did enjoy the circle of life themed cat name giving party. The snacks were really good!

DumoDad: celeste, Anya and linnea want to know if there’s going to be anything x-rated? Otherwise we’re all not going.

Nadotheman: that was one time and I had no idea she was a stripper

LeWilliam: how do you accidentally order a stripper?

Prongstar: it’s Nado. I wouldn’t put it past him. He did accidentally adopt a penguin in Pittsburgh and he’s joined like three pyramid schemes?

Ollibear: that’s why he’s got an accountant now 😂 that is one of the best memories of my life, when Nado’s mom came and yelled ����😂😂

Siriusly: I spent $150 on a stupid cat present and she spent the rest of the evening playing with the box it came in... she’s definitely your cat...

RussianGod: best cat best cat parents best after party stop whiny

Logantremblayzzz: we’re in!!! Is the jacuzzi on?

Nadotheman: you’re not doing sex stuff in our jacuzzi

Newt-leo: we’ve all seen the photos of you doing it though. Little hypocritical

Nadotheman: well stupid drone stalking me.

Sergei_81: we bring vodka. And babies. They want play street hockey? Is March. They crazy

Talkiewalkie: oh I’m in for street hockey!! Also does that explain the amount of dick pics we’ve received?

Nadotheman: what happens on Snapchat stays on Snapchat... you’re all dirty voyeurs...

Ollibear: thought you promised to keep this pg-13?

DumoDad: that’s the pArty not the chat. I don’t think we’ve exhausted the topic of nado’s general sluttiness

Nadotheman: oi. I’m not a slut I’m sexually expressive and ya lot is all just jealous.

Nadotheman: also no one is chasing kuny? He’s dating around as much as me and he’s also sent dick pics

Blizzard: the difference is that Kuny is always naked or semi naked and well we’ve all seen his. And most of his bragging is in Russian anyways

Sunnysideup: hah if you understood you’d be ashamed. And also want to lock up your daughters.😂😂😂

RussianGod: is the accent. They all think they fix me hehe

Prongstar: I’m not even missing being single at all 😳

Blizzard: me neither 😜

Nadotheman: you’ve got Nat. I think you’ve won. Hands down. Your wives are all cool but Nat.... damnnnn 🙏🏻

Blizzard: id say back off but. What can I do 😜💖💖

—-

[skruttet]

Hi Amber! Hope you're having a great day! I really like your blog, it's really informative even more to countries that don't have the Moomins like Brazil :/. I wanted to ask, do you think Moominvalley will introduce The Joxter? If so, when do you think? Also, would you like to see some specific actor voicing him? I personally would love it to be Robert Sheehan, he's incredibly talented and has a beautiful irish accent! Many kisses ♥️

Thank you!

Uhhh I have no idea but I do think it’s possible, especially after Sarah expressed a want to design sets for the Memoirs locations. I think if he & the other Memoirs people show up it’ll be in season 4 (either that or an entire film just for Memoirs would be awesome, too...)

I honestly can’t think of anyone I’d like to hear voice him, I’m not very knowledgeable on celebrities lol. I DO know who Robert is though of course, I had a huge crush on him when he was in Misfits and Me and Mrs Jones :’D I feel like he’d be too young for Joxter though but I guess Joxter WOULD be young during Moominpappa’s youth...

I do find it quite funny how all the fans have just jumped onto the idea of Irish accent Joxter xD I definitely wouldn’t be against that, though I also like the idea of him being Swedish like Snufkin or at least just... vaguely Scandinavian in some way. I think both of them having accents you can’t quite place suits their wanderer status well.

[vampiresuns]

Anatole’s Family Tree

this is Anatole’s family tree down to it’s basics, and you can have some info about everyone under the cut. I apologise for the intersecting lines, but family colours will help distinguish Florentino and Matilda from the Radošević they married.

hexagon is for he/him, circle for she/her, rounded edges for they/them

Vitale Cassano

Aquarius sun, Scorpio moon, Capricorn rising, Leo Mercury, Scorpio Mars, do NOT fuck with this man.

Former Consul of Vesuvia, responsible for the biggest (to date) expansions in the Vesuvian public space, the reason why Vesuvia was an attractive, rich location with solid public funding which ended up going to hell with Lucio’s administration, but that’s another story.

If he knew that his hard work would go to hell like it did, he would’ve made a coup to change the course of history.

Fuck around and find out in human form. His entire energy is condensed in this post. 

Had the art of delivering insults diplomatically down to an art, however. “You’re tacky and I hate you” would destroy a diplomatic relation; “I believe a less heterodox decision which might hold the weight of this agreement with less attached risk” doesn’t.

Friends with Dragoslav Radošević parents, as in those friends you call uncle when they’re not really related to you, but kind of are by default of closeness anyway. Befriended him because he was the most eccentric person in the room and he was bored.

Amparo Mediavilla

Is that even her actual family name? Who the hell are the Mediavilla? Where does her money come from? She says she’s from Karnassos but literally no one knows (she does, she just won’t tell). Has a brother named Seraphim Mediavilla, and that’s all you need to know.

Vitale was well aware she was probably a smuggler, but he likes her surprisingly present honour code anyway. Plus, she was fun, she was different, she was efficient. We stan.

She’s half the reason why the Cassano’s library in the Vesuvian Palazzo they inhabit in the Heart District is basically an open research centre for all of those travellers who seek knowledge. The Cassano have almost always have an open doors policy — the Consul acts in behalf of the people, and the people are allowed to go to the Consul. Amparo expanded and bettered that system, to the point it acted as Vesuvia’s public library and the biggest reason why the Palace didn’t quite have one — it was an understanding that it wasn’t needed. The only time the Consul’s Palazzo has been closed to the people of Vesuvia is during the plague. 

Longest lashes ever seen in a person.

Somehow already knew the Radošević, they liked her honest opinions and her distaste for explaining herself.

Luciano “Lucenzo” Cassano

Vitale’s baby brother, they had a significant age difference.

Known later as ‘Great Uncle Lucenzo’, literally no one called him Luciano but Vitale when he wanted him to stop doing something stupid. Not that Lucenzo thought his ideas were stupid, after all, this man was an architect and patron of the arts, and Goldgrave’s favourite loose canon ball.

He was not allowed to set a foot in Firent. When you asked him why, he kept changing the story.

Met his wife at an orgy. Yes, you read that right.

Octavia Cassano

Sweet lady, do no harm, take no shit, appreciates a good laugh in life.

Met Lucenzo at an orgy. She made a joke, and the person she was focusing on didn’t find it funny, but Lucenzo did.

Came from another prominent Vesuvian family. Worked with her BIL, Vitale, in developing social policy plans and judicial reforms in Veusuvia. Which also went to hell. If she was alive today, Portia would be her favourite and would literally fight to have her work with her.

Greenest eyes this side of the straight of seals.

Agrippina & Iovanus Cassano

Amparo’s and Vitale’s children, Agrippina is two years older than Iovanus.

Agrippina stepped down from becoming the Consul out of personal preference. They were a scholar and proficient historian, very talented in the art of mixing a good drink as well. Closest to the Prakran intellectual circles and is one of the notable alumni of the Prakran University. One of her later acquaintances, Rosario Aster, would eventually become Anatole’s tutor in History and Politics before he went to university himself.

Agrippina partly worked as a diplomat attaché, wasn’t a full on freedom fighter simply because there wasn’t an uprising to be one in. If Vitale is the MO of the Cassano, Lucenzo their spark, and Amparo their zest, Agrippina is, surprisingly, their political compass. Agrippina and Lucio weren’t on the best terms, they were in awful terms actually. The Cassano and him are simply like oil and water, it just doesn’t mix.

Iovanus took after Vitale and became the Consul. He was less of a surprise stew than the father, though, and inevitably, his best focus became damage control.

His entire vibe is moomin going on a murderous rage and then holding back. He’s folding the knife. For now. Iovanus was a pain in the ass to have as a predecessor in the position of Consul because this man constantly had his patience tested and his city funds used in things he didn’t want to do. Responsible, along with Agrippina, with the current functioning of the Council of Vesuvia and it’s final opening before Anatole’s times. What that composition and functioning is, is something I might, one day, decide to write down, but not today for the sake of staying on topic.

They’re the closest thing to the “spirit” of a tribune of the plebs I can think of, without like, either of them ending up dead like the Gracci brothers.

Cassandra Cassano

Finally some fucking scientist/mathematician. Mathematician wife of Agrippina. Did some political economy, but that hadn’t been invented yet, mostly liked numbers for the sake of numbers and finding out what she could do with them.

Having in mind that when I say ‘Vesuvian’ I mean solely location and original seat, not ethnicity, comes from a Vesuvian Family which settled in Venterre. Studied in Zadith and Prakra, but met Agrippina during some diplomatic function.

She was someone else’s date, and Agrippina was working with Iovanus is some diplomatic relations, and Agrippina literally said they were happy and willing to stay to seal the negotiations if Cassandra would go out with them. Cassandra was bored off her skin, and said yes.

They married by the end of the year.

Valerian Cassano

Iovanus’ husband. Renaissance man in the humanities department, very savant, a virtuoso, but his true passion was the performing arts. Darling of Vesuvian opera and theatre.

Met Iovanus through Lucenzo (patron of the arts, remember?). Iovanus went to every single of his plays for a year, made some very light advances as a “fan”, until Valerian asked him what his deal was. Iovanus was disarmed by gorgeous light amber eyes and witty snark, having no option but to admit his feelings.

Cemented the Cassano-Radošević relationship with Goldgrave. Most of the family thought it healthy for a dose of ‘get of your high-horse’ check.

Hated the Colosseum with a black tar vitriol.

He was Elysian Radošević’s (Anatole’s great grandmother on the Radošević side) best friend.

Matilda Cassano & Krešmir Radošević

Here’s where the story gets a bit sad. Inherited all of the snark of Valerian, but wanted nothing to do with her family’s ventures.

They just didn’t click. She always thought her fathers were very dedicated men, but needed to let loose a little. She was here for a fun time, not a long time. Which was sadly, literal.

For the longest time, it was an understanding that her cousin Cassiopeia would inherit the consulship from Iovanus, which Matilda didn’t love. She didn’t want the Consulship, but thought she was entitled to it. She could be the Consul and Cassiopeia do the job.

Cassiopeia did not like the idea, specially because within the Cassano it’s an open rule that the title falls on whomever willingly wants to take the mantel, number one. Number two, it came with an awareness of your social position and what good you could do with it, having in mind you weren’t really necessary for society. Someone else could be the Consul, the people, if given a chance, would govern themselves. It’s part of the Cassano mythos that surrounds them that they’re a protective line between misused political power and the people of Vesuvia. So, no, Matilda shouldn’t be the Consul.

Honestly, did Iovanus and Valerian spoil her too much? They have no clue. They just think she might be wired that way, because she always disliked it.

She married the fourth of the equivalent generation of the Radošević siblings, Krešmir Radošević.

Krešmir was a bit of a loose shot, doing “useful” things because he had to, not because he wanted to, so they took to each other like fish to water. They both wanted to have fun, the problem was they wanted to have fun with no respect of the world around them. Krešmir had middle child syndrome, which became worse after his youngest sibling, Ilnya, died at 27.

They had two children: Vladislav Radošević and Valeriy “Valerius” Radoševic.

Sadly, they passed away when Vlad was 14 and Val 4. They went on a holiday, leaving the kids with Mircea Radošević (Krešmir older brother) and Florentino Cassano (Matilda’s cousin and Mircea’s husband), as Iovanus and Valerian were in no place (out of grief) to take care of the children, and Mircea and Florentino were their de facto care takers already.

Now, onto the Radošević, so mind you, we’re going back a couple of generations.

Dragoslav Radošević

PRIME recipient of the Radošević tradition of breeding polymaths/”renaissance people”. This man spoke 6 languages, knew astronomy, economy, mathematics, accountancy, a bit of law and a whole lot of history. Excellent chess player.

No one’s exactly sure what the hell he did, he did too many things. Some sort of diplomacy was clearly his most usual job. Big friends with Agrippina, Cassandra and Iovanus. Everyone thought he’d marry Agrippina but both of them dry heaved at the possibility.

He was a bit of a character though. Very conspicuous man with particular rituals. Taciturn man, too, but overall amicable.

Had a very long, stable marriage with Elysian, his wife. Survived the death of two of their children. The death of Ilnya hit Dragoslav more than anyone would expect, but he had a very “let me grief in private” stance. The key to understand a Radošević is that their mentality is “whatever happens to you, whatever life throws at you, you find a way to survive it.”

His is a family of eccentrics, inventors, patron of the arts, humanists and scientists; when he says his family, he means the Cassano too.

No rumour ever mattered to any of them, and Dragoslav & Elysian were a prime example of it. Theirs is a family of academics full of anxieties about the world surrounding them, whose sorrows were scars they rarely showed. Private yet with an extensive, and international, circle of acquaintances who deemed them all charmingly strange on their best days; prideful, analytic, often with a drink in hand. 

Had a sister who had three partners, all of them women, too.

Elysian Radošević, nee Juriša

Wallachian by birth, first person in her family (aside from one aunt the Juriša did NOT speak about) to marry someone who wasn’t a Wallachian in a couple of generations. Not that she minded, everything I said about Drago, applies to Elysian.

She was a child of high society, bonded with Valerian, her best friend, out of their love for Operettas, though while Valerian went pro, she was an amateur — still, very good at it.

Excellent piano player, loved a well crafted, ingenious garden.

Beacon of the Radošević righteous rage. The Radošević are meant to be from a place called Balkovia, which is modelled after Yugoslavia, with many of the “bumps” in actual history colliding (A/N: Anatole is a latine-slav like me, for a reason). Elysian was the friend of artists and partisans, and had absolutely zero respect for certain kinds of leeches in political power. Zero national pride in this one, but at least, she came from a place were partisans stood (or used to) stand up to injustice.

In her dignified clothes with her amiable smile, she will bite ankles. Try her, you just try Elysian Radošević and she’ll remind you of all those people who ever said: They shall not pass.

Ambrozije Radošević

Diplomat, politician, eldest of Dragos and Ely’s children.

Inherited his father’s temperance but also had Elysian’s "Excuse Me, What The Fuck Is This Shit” attitude. Still, many times when he talked about his job, he had to stop his mother to go out and bite ankles.

Was the Radošević rage an answer against the grief of living and growing, against the cycle of dying and rebirth, and a cry of this is not enough, what I get is not enough? Maybe. Ambrozije liked to theorise about it.

Married Eloise Isaković and had two children: Kuzma and Lucija.

Best fencer of his generation.

Eloise Isaković

Didn’t take the Radošević surname solely to spite her family. She was disinherited for wanting to marry a Radošević. Her father said “if you want to marry then be a housewife for those freaks and I’ll take you out of University.”

The Radošević were like not in my fucking watch.

You bet Elysian and Dragoslav had words about that.

Percy Shelley, if Percy had been a woman, and also an anthropologist.

Will make femur jokes.

Kuzma & Lucija Radošević

Less in the centre of things than the rest of the family, out of virtue of “dear God, I get they’re my family but these people are fucking weird.”

The Addams energy was too much for them.

Kuzma is an alchemist and an inventor, moved to Zadith to study, never came back. He has two daughters and a wife, though.

Lucija became a diplomat for Balkovia, has a seat beyond the straight of seals. More traditional for diplomacy than Ambrozije by all means.

Very Dad please not now, but she does love the old man.

Married, never had children.

Neuma Radošević

Painter, a gay who can do maths, so that’ll have you knowing she’s stronger than you already. Perspective does not scare her.

Little does.

(Moths do, for some reason).

Claimed to have zero magical ability, but it was heavily disputed because how the hell did she paint like that.

Travelled a lot with her bohemian artist found family.

Never married.

Anatole loved watching her paint as a kid, she taught Valeriy to paint and about art as well. Big difference was Valeriy had a better hand for it than Anatole did, who literally can’t draw to save his skin.

Mircea’s favourite.

Mircea Radošević

Distinguished man, owns my heart.

“That was nOT POLITE”

Pretty level headed, has a big heart and a lot of will to help people. Just don’t be impolite, or he won’t like you.

Yes, he’s a libra.

An Architect, got to meet the other Architect in the family Lucenzo Cassano. That’s, in fact, how he met Florentino. Of course Lucenzo had an apprenticeship for Dragoslav son, but of course. The rest is history. Longest lasting marriage in both the Cassano and the Radošević tree by virtue of them gaving gotten together fairly young, and in the furture dying of a very, very old age.

He enjoyed travelling and the finer, beautiful things in life. If you want to equate his views to anyone in the real world, think about William Morris saying “I do not want art for a few; any more than education for a few; or freedom for a few.”

Aristically, somewhere between Gaudi and Morris.

Worked in several restoration projects both in Balkovia and Vesuvia.

Lived in Vesuvia on and off with Florentino and the children, which meant Vlad and Val were raised right between the vortex of everything that is the Cassano and the Radošević.

As polite and diplomatic that he is, he isn’t really a doormat, and if there’s anyone he would throw hands for it’s for his children (yes, he sees them as his children), and Anatole. Disrispect tha boy in front of him and he will throtle you and say you did it to yourself.

Florentino Cassano

Nicknamed Floren, Florence, Florens, Flolo, Tino, Tinino, Antonino.

Very responsible, big sense of family. Closest in personality to Vitale Cassano, his grandather.

Son of Agrippina and Cassandra, took after Cassandra’s love for numbers, but mixed it with Agrippina’s eye for politics and his Aunt Octavia’s knack for political economy (even if it had’t been invented yet).

 Financier and investor worked in the public sector, ran the coffer of the Council of Vesuvia for a while, but quitted out of management differences with certain people in Court and up. Still very willing to help people of all backgrounds manage their assets though.

A bit of a hardass, when Matilda and Krešmir died he said of course they would, as it was very in the likes of them to get so lost in the moment and their ideal world where they had no earhtly responsibilities to forget they had two young sons.

Still, when Vlad and Val first called him “Dad” or “Father”, respectively, he kinda cried big tears. Freaked Vlad out because he thought he had done something wrong. Florentino was quick to tell him he hadn’t.

Ilnya Radošević & Blasio Abadzić

Ilnya was another one of those Radošević that you weren’t exactly sure what the hell was it that they did, because they seemed to have a lot of eggs in different baskets. Was an astronomer, though.

Strongest intuition/six senth in the Radošević. Another of those cases where it was definitely magic (Ilnya was clairvoyant) but they all passed it off as having another explanation.

Was the most joyful, had the most contagious laughter and the quickest, most wicked sense of humour.

I’m not entire sure how Blasio and them met, they haven’t told me yet, but it was one of those meetings which changes your life forever.

Blasio is equally irreverent, if not more. This one post of a man playing the guitar and an old man dancing to it is the exact vibe Blasio had (he’s the old man dancing, the man playing the guitar would be his grandson Milenko — who’s Anatole’s cousin however many times removed).

They lived in Vesuvia. Ilnya was a court scientist. The Cassano library has a try globe map that was their work with a court cartographer. It has a map of the region, of the world, and of the stars for navigation purposes.

Ilnya died of sepsis at the age of 27, going on 28. To this day, no one knows exactly what took them out.

After Ilnya died, the Cassano offered to take Blasio and their twins Atanasie (pronounced Ah-ta-na-SY) and Violeta in with them to ease of the expences of raising two kids as a single father. He accepted.

Blasio was a composer and dramaturg. He took it as a personal goal not to let the joy escape from his life after becoming a widower. Said carrying on with joy and irreverence was his job, as if to preserve his spouse’s legacy.

Vladislav Radošević

Whatever name theme you sense with him and his wife, don’t @ me about it!!! I remade this entire family on a whim, I will take my headcanons about other things and build from them.

Eldest of the V² brothers, if people had soulmate marks, his soulmate would be his brother. Vlad has always felt responsible for him and, unlike him, remembers much of how they parents actually were or how carelessly negligent they could be. His defence against grief was becoming taciturn and “distancing” himself from things. It didn’t always really work for him, but he sure did try.

Grew up with the mistaken feeling that the rest of their families were taking care of him and his brother as a favour. He eventually wrapped his head around the idea that it wasn’t a favour.

Called Mircea and Florentino “Father”/”Dad” for the first time when he was 16, never went back. It wasn’t like he didn’t spent a lot of time being brought up by them due to his own parents absences.

Taciturn, remarkably inventive and intelligent, has a bit of trouble coming out of his shell. Prefers to observe, then pounce. Other than this, his main personality trait is “I love my wife, I love my son.”

An alchemist, works in what would be closest to biochemical engineering.

Mircea and Florens discovered he would be very suited for that field because when he was a kid he kept designing buildings to show Mircea. They clearly showed he had not a predisposition to become an architect, but whatever weird, inexplicable mazes he created always came with solutions attached and clever mechanisms.

He’s a problem solver, he’s just shaking years of bad mental health habits of his shoulders.

A scorpio and a cat person. Has two cats with Louisa, Kiki and Keke (their actual names are Cyrila and Cecilia).

Yes, his brother is also a scorpio, yes his son is also a scorpio. They get along, however.

Met Louisa in some sort of medical-alchemy conference/symposium (whatever that would be aplicable to the time, what matters to me is that you get the idea). Louisa didn’t like his attitude, called him out, and Vlad simply blinked, apologised, and did better.

A second apology and further conversations ended up with them falling in love.

If Vlad knows what allowing himself to love and live feels like, it is because of Louisa and Anatole.

He gets pegged.

Speaks five languages and won a regional fencing championship when he was in his early 20s. Still thinks his brother is better at fencing than he is.

Louisa De Silva

Latin American, eldest of three sisters (Paris and Alma being the other two De Silva sisters). She emmigrated from her native country to a. study medicine b. because there was a Dictatorship at the time, and her parents suspected Louisa would not keep quiet enough to guarantee her safety.

She personally swore never to go back until there were no active traces of said dictatorship left in her country. Nothing, not even the war that eventually rose up in Balkovia has made her change her mind, and probably nothing will. Once she is set on what is right, she is set.

Met Vlad as mentioned above. She didn’t appreciate his initial “careful” cynicism, but also didn’t believe he was as insufferable as most people thought he was. Someone with attention to detail, determination and who prefers to stand back from social situations, who hasn’t actually done anything nefarious, offensive or in bad taste isn’t a bad person.

Once she paid him a visit and he opened the door shirtless because he thought it was his brother, and Louisa almost wheezed in front of him.

“I’m going to sleep with Radošević” “But you don’t have to?” “No, no, I’m gonna.”

Speaks five languages.

Speaking of the war I mentioned: there was a war in Balkovia which began little before Anatole was born, and therefore around 29 years before the events of the game. At the time, Vlad and Louisa were already together, and planning to move to Vesuvia. However, the war began, Vlad felt torn about leaving and not helping, not that he wanted to admit it, and Louisa said “well, I did not leave a country ridden with injustice to passively see war crimes being committed.” As soon as she could after Anatole was born she volunteered as a field doctor.

And she is good. “Louisa De Silva” would absolutely resonate in Nazali’s or Julian’s fellow doctor knowledge level of notoriously good.

Aquarius sun, Saggitarius moon, she’s active, independent, unconventional, friendly, very understanding and highly humanitarian. Louisa loves people and cannot stand injustice. Loves and craves learning and is very sincere. She can be a bit impulsive, but she’s good at coming back from it.

Much of Anatole’s sense of social duty and sometimes even social fight is due to Louisa.

Vlad and Val call her Lulu. Anatole always calls her Mamá. Always. It doesn’t matter what language he’s speaking, she is his Mamá.

Louisa De Silva, santa patrona del pueblo que lucha.

Often dragged Vlad and Val into some of her schemes. Val loves to complain about it, but he actually adores his SIL.

Valeriy “Valerius” Radošević of the Cassano of Vesuvia, former Consul of Vesuvia and Court Advisor.

Here is where I would like to clarify and remind the (very patient) reader that this is my own interpretation of Canon, and I’ve triedto build with it from what little we were told of this specific character, Vesuvian lore, and the story I wanted to tell. I tried to do my best with the interpretation of the character, but know you’re in no obligation to adhere to my ideas.

Some people can call him Val, namely, his parents, his nephew, his SIL and his brother. Literally anyone else he will bite your head.

Inherited his mother’s and his namesakes witty snark, even if it’s not always witty.

I have the personal hc that Lucio cannot, for the life of him, pronounce slavic names, so Valeriy became Valerius, though his family already called him Valerius because it was the one nickname he accepted.

However, for the most part, his family calls him Valeriy, in contrast to Vesuvian citizens, who call him Valerius.

Doesn’t remeber his parents, and doesn’t like to think about them. It is very tragic that they died, but they left him, and he has no time for people like that. His brother, however, had always been there. So have been Mircea and Florentino.

I’ve always hc he had one big love in his youth, but couldn’t actually stand the idea of an empty marriage based on status and decided to never marry.

Wasn’t always this high and mighty. He has always been a complicated man, with complicated tastes and even a snob, but he was raised in two multicultural families, based in two multicultural cities. What I personally hc happening here is that he truly hates his job. He does like the sense of status and the power that comes with it, but the responsibility? The state of things when he took over from Iovanus? The paperwork? The staleness of it all? And to do it for a city that ate itself up?

He would’ve given his cousin Cassiopeia his left arm to take the position for him, but in the end, he was subject of what he thought everyone expectations were. He feared more not being enough in the eyes of his grandfather, who did not want to repeat the same mistakes he did with Matilda, than saying “Nono Iovanus I actually hate this job with all my soul.”

But then again, the power attached to it.

I fully believe that if you had given Valerius a position that was, say, a cultural authority of sorts? Where he could focus on the arts, theatre, food and those sort of things? He would’ve thrived. The city would’ve been leagues away from where it was if he would’ve been allowed to solely focus on art.

Instead, he has to fix people’s problems, and he doesn’t want to. It isn’t that he doesn’t care in the slightest — he does, in the distant sense of people should not be dying left and right, and cities should be ran by competent Statespeople. Of course he believes that! He’s a Radošević and a Cassano of Vesuvia, who do you take him for. It was his family that 500 years ago stepped up into the position due to their sheer excellence, of course he believes that.

Just for the love of everything you deem holy, do not fucking leave that fixing to him. He’s begging you, and he doesn’t actually beg

(At least that’s what he says in public)

 While he doesn’t quite like magic, or rather, doesn’t quite understand it and takes a lot of self proclaimed magicians as frauds (and an insult to good peope’s intelligence), he’s never had a judgamanetal attitude towards Anatole’s magical sensitivies. Most of what he sees about it is his inordinate aptitude for languages. He tends to take it as his nephew being simply Better, because if this man is something, that thing is proud.

He eases off after the events of the game where he can simply be a court advisor and give himself a chance. Not that it excuses or ammends any mistake that he committed, but it’s a place to start. He can do that, he thinks.

His was the decision to close during the Plague, and for the first time, the Palazzo the Cassano inhabit in the Heart District to the City.

His grandafther Valerian was (is) still alive while he’s the Consul, and tried to reach out to help him when he began to do deals with the Devil many times, but Valerius sucks at letting people help him. Officially worse than his brother at it.

He is, however, the best fencer in the family, and he is one of the best singers, he just doesn’t do any of both much in front of people. What he does when he’s at home is none of your business.

While I could feel pages of headcanons about this man, but I will try to stay on topic, and mostly address my previous post about the subject of Valerius’ and Anatole’s relationship, which, now that I’ve reworked the families into a story I do feel excited to tell most of it no longer applies.

The timeline is p much the same, both with Valerius, and with Anatole travelling with tutors to study and visiting whenever he could.

His feelings when Anatole dies stay the same. The difference is Anatole's family does know he dies when he stands as the Apprentice (normally, he doesn’t, he just stands as an Arcana OC). During the time of the plague, Vlad and Louisa travelled to Vesuvia to help, so they do know their son died.

What ends up breaking Val is not only losing his nephew (and again for what) but also seeing his brother and his SIL completely break. It was his job to protect him, and he didn't do it. He wasn’t enough.

I headcanon that when Anatole doesn’t die, one of his deals with the Devil is that no harm comes (from the Court) to Anatole. I also hc that for someone who has such pride in his intellect (which is there, he is pretty smart) he did rather unsuitable dealings with the Devil, by which I mean he dealt in really awful terms that he, himself, would’ve berated anyone else to have done out of their sheer idiocy of not fully using their leverage.

The main difference with the post is that Anatole and Valerius do not suffer their family anymore. The Radošević and the Cassano are opinionated and very "If something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us" but they're good, eccentric, people-leaning people, albeit wealthy. Hence, why I personally hc that what happens here is that he hates the job but loves the status, but the status carries the responsibility of people asking him for things, and he doesn’t want to be asked for things. He will be in his room if you need him, and please do not need him.

(In Anatole’s case, it's finding his place in the world. It’s a journey of diaspora and of becoming. To win, you must first know yourself)

Vlad and Louisa adore him to bits still, complicated as he is.

Anatole and Valerius do fight in some of the LI routes and during those three years before the game begins.

Everything else stands.

Atanasie and Violeta Radošević, and Aurora Radošević

Thank you with bearing with me so far, I love you.

Atanasie and Violeta are twins, cousins of Vlad and Valeriy, children of Ilnya and Blasio, the happy eccentric duo.

Grew up right amid the Radošević and the Cassano, and it really goddamn shows. They’re en aunt and uncle/counsins saying criptic things with a drink in hand, and you’re not entirely sure if they’re portetns of doom or not, but good for them!

Best violinists in the family though. Play the most instruments as well, as Blasio was a composer and multi-instrumentalist. Neither of them are professional musicians though.

Atanasie is a traveller and explorer, think of the eccentric explorer archetype without the Colonialism nor the grave robbing. Would, objectively, get along the best with Julian. He’s another of those people who knows a lot of things about different topics, but now like cursed/forbidden/borderline illegal things.

If Amparo Mediavilla had been alive to know him, she would’ve been really proud.

Violeta is a botanist and garden designer. The palace did ask her to work with them, but she went No ❤️. She, however, is responsible for the current design of the Palazzo’s winter garden, which in her biased yet correct opinion is the best room in it.

High femme eccentric queen, married Aurora who used to travel around with Atanasie. She’s an archeologist.

They have one son, Milenko, who is... an entire party.

Aelius Anatole Radoševic De Silva, of the Cassano of Vesuvia, former secretary of the Council of Vesuvia, and Consul of Vesuvia

Good ol’ Nana

Technically, that would be his entire ass title (which he correctly insists it’s a public office, not a nobiliary title, because a Consul is a public servant, and people just got mad with power for to long)

He hates it.

Please just call him Anatole, or Aelius if you’re not that daring.

I’m going to use this to talk a bit about Consul Anatole: along with Nadia, he introduced a series of social reforms, solidified them, and changed a lot of aspects of the way in which the City was run, in order to make corruption harder (Nana’s pride and joy are his Anti-Corruption directives) and to protect the reform on themsleves.

Adamantly against having a statue of him. Which was respected while he was alive, but a couple of generations down, they eventually built one, near the main square.

It points east, which is where the sun rises. It’s a metaphor for hope, and for Vesuvia to have the resilence to await for the dawn.

Milenko Radošević

His vibe is this picture of Javier Botet, meeting this meme, and the video of the old man and the younger man playing guitar, where he would be playing guitar. Oh, also, this picture of a guy floating in the Zadar floods of 2017, from this post. If this was a modern AU rest assured that WOULD be Milenko, and he doesn’t even live in Zadar.

When you see internet memes about how Slavs/people from the Adriatic are kind of weird, I want you to think of Milenko.

So yes, you would see him on a floatie down the canals of Vesuvia.

He’s a journalist and a writer, which has nothing to do with him being a character.

Tried to summon the Devil to show the Devil isn’t real. After the events of the game, if Anatole is involved in defeating the devil, he’s always offended he didn’t bring him along, he had points to prove.

Plays the guitar and the double bass.

Looks like an 80s goth, and we will not question how that’s mildly anachronistic. His favourite band would be The Cure. Also would have a soft spot for The Cranberries which he definitely took from Anatole.

When Belle and Sebastian wrote “colour my life with the chaos of trouble” in the Boy With The Arab Strap they were talking specifically about Milenko.

Chugs respect women juice harder than most people. If he chokes on it, then that’s how he dies.

Not allowed in several bars, has at least one sworn enemy in the Vesuvian nobility.

Him, Amparo Cassano (she’s down below) and Anatole are all in the same age range, and they’re a force to be reckon with.

Thank you for staying with me up to this point! We’re about to make another jump back. We’re following Lucenzo Cassano’s line now.

Atilia Cassano & Anzano Ventura

Atilia is the child of Lucenzo and Octavia. Closest thing to a community organiser. Need someone to organise a party? Atilia. A meeting? Atilia. To allocate human resources to enact some policy? Atilia.

Anzano is the son of two High Priests in Vesuvia from one of the temples in the Temple District, which is how they met Atilia.

Anzano doesn’t have a fixed profession, and takes things up according to their interests. Which are varied.

Cares more about their cat than they do about some people, both of them. Neither of them are the kind to wish ill on other people, but if ill falls on you as consequences of your actions, then that’s on you buddy.

Some of the things Anzano Ventura has said, without context: “My heart is green with hope.”

“Figure out what fortune has to hand you and spit twice in the face of the Gods.” It’s a saying from where they’re originally from. They’ve never properly explained what it means.

“These are not gentle waters we are sailing.” There is context for this one. They said this when the Plague began to surface in Vesuvia.

Atilia died a couple years before Anzano, who died of Plague.

This is how Anzano would’ve looked like in his early twenties.

Cassiopeia Cassano & Iris Ravella

If Valerius had not become the Consul, it would’ve fell on Cassiopeia. She was a Vesuvian diplomat and politician, member of the Council. Would’ve become the Consul anyway, but, respecting Iovanus’ wishes and trusting (correctly or not, it’s up to you) Valeriy’s potential, stepped aside.

Truly did not resent Matilda for harbouring peculiar feelings against her because Iovanus didn’t want to let her have the Consulship. Nor she did on Valeriy for his mistakes.

Iris comes from another prominent Vesuvian family. Theirs is a family of merchants, based in Centre City, who weren’t particularly thrilled about Iris marrying a Cassano.

Iris cared very little. They did it anyway.

Amparo Cassano

Last but not ever least.

Ballet dancer, fencer, deeply invested in politics. Amparo takes after the OG Amparo, her great aunt Amparo Mediavilla, in her daring, often without explanation ways, as she does in her honour code.

Sarcastic wit, a little bit petty. Would be one of those people who go “I licked it, so it’s mine.”

Takes up an interest in languages, as well as runes and tarot, though she’s not as good with languages as Anatole is. She says life gave him a magical advantage or otherwise she would’ve bested him. Anatole doesn’t doubt it.

Would climb to your window to impress you, with a sword to her hip. She’s that kind of bi.

Would definitely dance to Caramelldansen, and so would Milenko. Anatole would Not, but would look at Amparo dead in the eye and dance it when they’re alone, because he knows no one will believe her.

She calls him a ‘motherfucker’, to which he replies: “Do I LOOK like Oedipus to you.”

Loud mouthed, but with a good heart.

While her an Milenko are, technically, not actually related, they act like they are. They don’t care that’s not how it works.

Comrade Cassano? Comrade Cassano.

The world is her oyster and she’s about to slurp it.

Thank you so much for sticking with me to the end of this list. Means the world to me, as I’m happy to share the Radošević-Cassano with anyone who is willing to listen.

[letterboxd]

Best of the Fests 2020.

From 17th-century werewolves to WWII gremlins to present-day nomads, the stripped-back, mostly virtual 2020 fall festivals still managed to bring the goods. Our team rounds up the very best titles we saw at TIFF, NYFF, the BFI London Film Festival and beyond.

LISTEN: Gemma Gracewood and Ella Kemp chew over their festival favorites in the latest episode of The Letterboxd Show.

Kudos to the teams at the Toronto, New York and BFI London Film Festivals for pulling excellent hybrid festivals together in extremely weird, not-at-all-ideal circumstances. From the always-excellent conversations (and Cameron Bailey’s always-excellent suits) to the hybrid options for viewing, we left feeling hope for our favorite art form.

We have been keeping track, over on our Twitter account, of the many film festivals going online, and it’s safe to say that virtual film festivals—and the wider accessibility they offer—have been a silver lining to this mostly awful year. Indeed, the 58th NYFF was one of Film at Lincoln Center’s most-attended festivals, with 70,000+ attendees in all 50 states and beyond. (We participated in a NYFF Industry Talk, along with MUBI and Rotten Tomatoes, about the future of online film conversation, moderated by Indiewire’s David Ehrlich.)

Attempting to replicate the extreme fatigue of the real thing, our festival team (Ella Kemp, Aaron Yap, Kambole Campbell, Jack Moulton and Gemma Gracewood and—helping us bridge the geo-locked divide—Canadian TIFF regular Jonathan White) disregarded international date lines and dove right in. We saw many films to love, but by consensus (and a poke around your Letterboxd reactions) these are the ones we’re still thinking about.

Lovers Rock Directed by Steve McQueen, written by McQueen and Courttia Newland. The ‘Small Axe’ anthology will be released on a weekly rollout on Amazon Prime Video beginning November 20 with ‘Mangrove’, then ‘Lovers Rock’, ‘Red, White and Blue’, ‘Alex Wheatle’ and finally ‘Education’. Seen at: NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

Lovers Rock, the first part of Steve McQueen’s ambitious, multi-part film project Small Axe, feels like a massive stylistic departure for the filmmaker, in a manner that completely transfixes and astounds. It’s no wonder that this one turned heads at multiple festivals, as it’s immediately warmer, more freewheeling and sensual than any other McQueen work. It’s defined by a hypnotic focus on sound and touch, represented in its earliest scenes with a tactile close-up of a heated comb working its way through hair, and later with its focus on hands wrapped around shoulders, moving across shirts and dresses, people joining together and/or colliding through song and dance. Despite being made for television, it’s astounding how little Lover’s Rock feels that way. Often impressionistic and unbound to the kind of urgency or efficiency that naturally comes with having to adhere to a time-slot, it simply rests in the moment. With the seismic protests being undertaken by Black people this year, Lovers Rock feels like more than welcome respite from a hateful populace—visually rich, gorgeously soundtracked Black joy and love. Also, man, those shirts are incredible. —KC

Nomadland Written and directed by Chloé Zhao. In US theaters December 4. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

“I am already convinced that Chloé Zhao deserves the whole world,” writes Jaime of Nomadland, the TIFF People’s Choice winner. Personal security is something we don’t think about on a daily basis. We have shelter, we can buy food, anything else is bonus. But what if those two basic tenets vanish? While the global financial crisis affected all in 2008, it affected retirees more. Supposedly secure retirement investments vanished; security no more. What do you do? Survive. Zhao’s adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction masterpiece Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is a beacon of human spirit and survival. It may not be pretty, but it’s real. It’s not something to be embarrassed about, it’s something to be proud of. Those that let this happen to good, honest working people should be the ones embarrassed. —JW

Minari Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. No release date announced. Seen at: Middleburg Film Festival.

Minari is the medicine for these tough times. It’s a wonderful, wonderful, deeply personal, utterly serene and metaphysical portrait of America—freedom, faith, superstition, forces of nature, and ambition collide with the costs of intoxicating capitalist dreams, but not without a whole lot of heart. This is elegantly crafted, at once organic in its approach and always sweepingly cinematic. The film’s gentle sense of humor ensures that it never takes itself too seriously and allows the weight of its poetic images and juxtapositions to guide the narrative. The brilliant ensemble should grow to join Steven Yeun as household names (well, cinephile households). Youn Yuh-jung and Alan Kim are bright sparks as the latest classic duo of sassy grandma and precocious grandchild, but it’s Han Ye-ri—taking on the surrogate role of director Lee Isaac Chung’s mother—who provides an overlooked and tender sounding board for familial bonds in fraction. Minari is truly one of 2020’s most invaluable and essential pieces of art, living up to the hype built since Sundance. Korea came to the USA for the Oscars earlier this year, and if 2021 shows similar mercy, there’s a chance you’ll see this home-grown Asian-American picture mounting that stage in future. —JM

Wolfwalkers Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, written by Will Collins with Moore and Stewart. Recently released in UK theaters; coming to Apple TV+ December 11. Seen at: TIFF, BFI London Film Festival.

The much-anticipated Cartoon Saloon adventure Wolfwalkers was met with only joy around here. A fable about what happens when a colonizing force tries to tame a wild forest, set during Oliver Cromwell’s Siege of Kilkenny, Wolfwalkers builds to “one of the most sensational animated third acts I’ve seen in years,” according to Animatedantic. The film’s themes are embedded in every hand-drawn line and stroke. “It’s not sleek and seamless and modern,” writes Cow Shea. “This is transparently a true work of art where all the work of that art is part of the finished product.” Mebh and Robyn are animated action heroes for the ages, and you’ll hear a lot about ‘Wolfvision’ in the weeks to come—for very good reason. Werewolf films have, for years, tried different ways to put us inside the beast’s mind, but Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart followed their noses and it’s as thrilling as things get. —GG

David Byrne’s American Utopia Directed by Spike Lee. On HBO and HBO Max now. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

David Byrne’s American Utopia is well on track to join Jonathan Demme’s film of another Byrne stage outing, Stop Making Sense (1984), as one of the highest-rated anythings on Letterboxd. We’re still deciding whether this film is sublime because the stage show itself is sublime, or because Spike Lee has sublimely captured the whole joyous thing for us to inject into our eyeballs, time and again, for far less than the price of a Broadway ticket. Let’s be honest: it’s due to both, and more besides. It’s a blessing upon 2020, of that we are certain. As Clint writes, “The phrase ‘this is the film we need right now’ is such a creaky cliché, but there’s an ineffable feeling that, if David Byrne and Spike Lee can’t heal the world with grey suits, bare feet, and some of the most all-encompassing works of music ever written, no one can.” As my colleague says, “will rewatch to death”. —GG

Shiva Baby Written and directed by Emma Seligman. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF, LFF.

A girl walks into a shiva and bumps into her sugar daddy. What sounds like a joke sets up 77 minutes of note-perfect comedy horror in Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby, her feature debut adapted from her dissertation short of the same name. It’s funny, horrifying, excruciating and so painfully, accurately Jewish. Isaac Feldberg calls it “cruelly hilarious about everything smothering and inevitably miserable about Jewish family gatherings”, but Seligman’s sharp eye for comedy, her affection for her teen hero Danielle (Rachel Sennott, a bona fide star) just figuring her career out and owning her sexuality (Molly Gordon playing Danielle’s overachieving ex-girlfriend Maya is a highlight) cuts straight to the core, however you relate. Matt Neglia points out how Shiva Baby “captures the behaviors of its characters with the same level of dry wit and detail as the Coen Brothers would”. What a thrill for a young, smart, Jewish, bisexual woman to be setting the pace now. Keep an eye on Seligman’s bright, bright future. —EK

Tove Directed by Zaida Bergroth, written by Eeva Putro. Released in Finland; on the festival circuit elsewhere. Seen at: TIFF.

If there was a film swoony enough to fill the Portrait of a Lady on Fire-sized hole in your heart this year, it’s Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a bewitching biopic of Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, creator of the beloved Moomin cartoon characters. Set in Helsinki during and post-World War II, the film orbits around her boho world, flitting between her creative struggles as a painter and deep sexual awakening with married theater director Vivica Bandler (Krista Kosonen). As Lillian says, “Lesbians and Moomins is such a huge fucking mood I never wanted it to end.” Alma Pöysti shines effortlessly in the lead role. “The film happens on her fantastic face,” writes Hannu. Seth agrees: “a captivating first-class drama about a world-renowned talent in search of her own identity, love and freedom.” A cozy fall-season perfection. —AY

Shadow in the Cloud Co-written and directed by Roseanne Liang. Slated for a summer 2021 release. Seen at: TIFF, AFI Fest.

A proud addition to the “she did that!” canon, the single downside of Roseanne Liang’s genre-perfect, “deliciously fearless” Midnight Madness winner Shadow in the Cloud is that there was no Midnight Madness to experience it at—but thanks to a juicy sale out of TIFF, we can look forward to a premiere next summer. Chloë Grace Moretz is Maude Garrett, a WWII pilot assigned to transport a highly classified package over the Pacific. The all-male crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress banishes her to the lower ball turret, where they harass, gaslight and leer over her—and that is nowhere near the worst part of this bonkers, non-stop hell flight, which Moretz carries like the future action hero she must now become, if the movie goddesses are listening. —GG

Pieces of a Woman Directed by Kornél Mundruczó, written by Kata Wéber. Coming soon to Netflix. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF.

You will be hearing a lot about Vanessa Kirby in the months to come. Pieces of a Woman is an arresting, often taxing watch, but few actors have delivered a performance as utterly overwhelming as Kirby portraying Martha, a grieving mother processing the loss of her baby. The filmmaking team (Mundruczo and Weber share a “film by” credit) zoom in on deep, jagged pain, and tease out some of the most affecting moments put to screen this year. Jack calls the film “an intensely intimate depiction of mental and marital deterioration caused by tragedy” and nods to master Howard Shore’s “subtle yet potent” score. It’s poetry in motion, with stunning turns from Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn, Sarah Snook and Benny Safdie also. But proceed with caution: “this film will destroy you”, Alisha Tabilin warns. —EK

Underplayed Directed by Stacey Lee. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF. (Also recommended in our music movies round-up.)

Women-in-the-workplace movies aren’t usually this banging. Stacey Lee’s documentary Underplayed focuses on one corner of the still wildly sexist music industry—the dance-music scene—and lays out both the facts and feelings regarding why women still, always, deserve better. A number of key names guide the story—Rezz, Alison Wonderland, Nervo, TokiMonsta—giving the viewer a taste of what we’re missing out on while booking the same old men, over and over. And it’s not just because of the stats or the injustices that this is a must-watch: in times of limited social interaction and when the feeling of an adrenaline-fuelled crowd feels like a foggy memory, Lee captures some truly electric moments of these women thriving, captivating thousands of music lovers at once. “Buy yourself good speakers and turn them up because this movie is fun and it deserves it,” writes Matt Brown, and he’s absolutely correct. Underplayed is essential and exciting. The most entertaining education of the year. —EK

Another Round Directed by Thomas Vinterburg, written by Vinterburg and Tobias Lindholm. Awaiting new UK date due to lockdown. In US cinemas soon. Seen at: TIFF, LFF.

Another Round reunites filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg with his muse Mads Mikkelsen, in a lads-on-tour buddy movie, except the lads are four middle-aged high-school teachers, and the tour features a very casual, very constant level of intoxication each man commits to in the name of a social experiment. What could possibly go wrong, you ask? Plenty, naturally—but Vinterberg marries the slapstick moments of bumbling drunks falling over themselves with more mature, poignant scenes that question just how far you can or should go to feel that little bit more alive. There’s a lot to love here, but if we’re being very precise, it’s “rock-solid proof that Mads Mikkelsen is one of our greatest actors,” says Karen Han. Come for the wise, contemplative study of youth and spontaneity, stay for rock-solid proof that Mads Mikkelsen is also, somehow, one of our greatest contemporary dancers. —EK

One Night in Miami Directed by Regina King, adapted by Kemp Powers from his own stage play. In select US theaters December 25, coming to Amazon Prime Video January 15, 2021. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF.

Ladies and gentleman, Regina King has arrived. The actor wastes nothing in her feature directorial debut, bringing to the screen Kemp Powers’ vivid stage play of the same name with a heavyweight cast of greats. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr. are Malcolm X, Cassius Clay (before he took the name Muhammad Ali), Jim Brown and Sam Cooke respectively, as the four men celebrate Clay’s victory over Sonny Liston in February 1964, during One Night in Miami. Rachel Wagner notes how “they all feel like friends and have chemistry, but each with a unique perspective”. This chemistry comes from King’s perfect alchemy of mood, design and structure; she lets her men speak, but her voice is never lost. “Queen King never wavers on her vision until every bit of flesh is torn off each man,” Ben notes, admiring a film that shines for all its famous faces, but stands the test of time for its rich, piercing empathy for every other one waiting in the shadows. —EK

Supernova Written and directed by Harry Macqueen. Awaiting UK and Ireland release due to lockdown; in select US theaters January 29, 2021. Seen at: BFI London Film Festival.

Colin Firth at his very best, Stanley Tucci losing his grip on himself, the luscious Lake District and endless cozy, delicious, warm knitwear. Supernova is every bit as beautiful as it sounds, but also packs a major punch when it comes to mapping a lifelong love story, and the cost of loyalty and pride when you’re fighting against pain nobody can control. As Sam and Tusker, devoted to one another for decades, come to terms with Tusker’s diagnosis of early on-set dementia, there is as much care and sadness as is to be expected, but it still feels brand new and cuts deep. Every good love story is its own. Director Harry Macqueen and his two shining stars understand this better than anyone. —EK

French Exit Directed by Azazel Jacobs, written by Patrick DeWitt. Scheduled for US release January 21, 2021. Seen at NYFF.

Armed with acerbic wit and sharpened claws, Michelle Pfeiffer delivers a vulnerable close-to-career-best performance in French Exit as a mother free-falling from wealth and reconciling with her son, an expertly cold Lucas Hedges. What appears to be formal and dry (“rich white-people stuff”, blegh) is actually wonderfully weird and surprisingly spiritual. There’s a divisive scene at the half-way point that instantly unroots the movie from any grounding we assumed it had established. In any other film, it would open up an entire world of possibilities, but French Exit decidedly treats it as matter-of-fact in order to focus on the emotional journey. It’s the decisive moment—you’re on its wavelength, or you’re overboard—and the rewards for staying aboard are plentiful. Patrick DeWitt’s adaptation of his own novel is in good hands with director Azazel Jacobs. —JM

Still Processing Directed by Sophy Romvari. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF.

A final, honorable mention for Sophy Romvari’s Still Processing, the highest-rated short film out of TIFF, and an excavation of grief like no other. “You’ve got to watch this one twice,” writes Martyn. “First viewing to just weep every two to three minutes. Second viewing to really appreciate how great it is.”