#basically: I think it COULD be an absolute classic that endures so well

[itspileofgoodthings]

I really love one of the writers of while you were sleeping and I really hate the other one.

[orkbutch]

Your kink posting has got me questioning 🤔 do you have head canon kinks for all the companions? ( or at least the hot girlies )

To a point yes, but they are still being formed. I do think there are certain characters that are just Less Kinky, not because their personality means they CAN'T be kinky but, idk... for balance, and because it seems less Likely. My thoughts on the companions so far: Shadowheart: Very kinky, true sadist / masochist (both equally). I think she'd enjoy a LOT of things, but the classics: bondage, impact, knives, wax play, degradation, worship, roleplay (especially religious, training and corruption themes), edging/denial, CNC... I also think that she would really enjoy rigging, if she ever got the time and setting to practice that. Perhaps she would adapt it from Sharran torture methods similar to Japanese rope techniques used in the Edo period to extract confessions. I think that she would enjoy the slow ritual of it, I think she would enjoy its elegance, and I think she'd enjoy how excruciating but euphoric it can be. Again, she'd be into many things, and very adept at turning most kinks into something she can engage with via the right dynamic and context. Lae'zel: Also very kinky in a completely different way; much more about the power dynamics than the methods. Biggest thing would probably be Primal. Possessive. Defs messy; BO, sweat, blood, tears, spit, piss probably lmao. Would love contests of strength, causing controlled damage to bodies and enduring pain. I think with more trust and affection established with someone, she would be able to enjoy another layer of play; immobilization, sensory-focused play, degradation/humiliation, fear play, care giving/receiving, overstimulation... still very much into possessiveness in play, but with an emotional element that made it even more intense.

Karlach: I think Karlach would do plenty of kink without being deeply invested in it; she wants a good time and is up to try anything once. An element of Karlach's character that I think is very relevant to her relationship to kink and sex in general is that Karlach basically Never feels physically vulnerable; she knows that she's usually the biggest, toughest badass in the room. I think that would make her very sexually adventurous because she simply wouldn't fear much. What she struggles with is intimacy, and her building emotional trust would be the most significant element of her relationship to kink. All that said; I imagine her favourite kinky fun would be rough fucking, manhandling, wrestling, skin-contact sensory-focused play, temperature play, leather (because its badass and feels good), and honestly?? Oonga Boonga caveman brain misogyny-tinged degradation. Just feels right for her. The simple pleasure of a little lover under her saying how big she is and how hard she goes and begging to be knocked up would absolutely send her. I just FEEL it

Gale: I don't have many well formed thoughts on Gale's kinks. I suspect he'd be into like... Tantric Embodied Karma Sutra stuff, with a lot of wizardy bells and whistles. Creating an experience of non-duality as a kink. Basically, that guy at the Crystal Rainforest Festival that is suspected of being a cult leader and has VERY good drugs for sale. The kind of kink he does, Gale probably does

Astarion: Hmmmmm. I can see him, over time, coming to a place of comfort with non-sexual kink as a way to engage with power difference (Astarion forming a healthy identity as a dominant would be really good for him I think) and experience grounding, safe sensations within his body. I think kinky sex would take longer, but submission would be extremely difficult and vulnerable for him; forming a responsible dominant identity could be quite healing for him. On the other hand, choosing to submit to a dominant that he actually trusted and who took care of him could also be very very healing, just... I think that would be difficult for him to do safely. It would take a great deal of time to get there.

Wyll: Probably a less kinky person, but man, I think he'd be a great pampered sub. Worshipping, being treated like a bit of a boy toy. Would love mutual possessiveness. That'd be hot frankly. But I'm still figuring his kink vibe out! I gotta play his romance.

Minthara: Freak. Proper freak. Terrifying freak. Snuff kink freak.

Halsin: Wholesome freak into surprisingly intense shit. Exhibitionism, primal, breeding, rough, biting. Wants a lot of stimulation in every way.

[mischas]

Do you think The OC aged well?

I am probably the last person to pose this question to, lol. I guess it depends on the individual and what they want out of their media. I've never been able to ignore how this show hated its female lead character and it's been apparent to me this year more than ever that it stemmed from their mistreatment of their female lead actress. I am unable to ever separate the two now, and I reckon we still only know like 5% of the shit that went down on that set 20 years ago.

I think a show that consistently tortures its female lead without recompense is sick, especially one that purports itself to be about family and friendship and love. It's extremely obvious when writers have hate boners for specific female characters. So that does not age well to me and Marissa is 95% of what I care about when it comes to this show. I'm not impressed with hardly any female rep here either. That also comes from my preferences. I think arguments could be made about Julie/Summer/TT but I respectfully don't feel like sharing my opinions about the trajectory of all that. I think Kirsten is a great example of what ~can~ be done with a character and how that potential is squandered at every opportunity.

Julie/Luke ages horrendously. It being played off as a joke in 2023 and beyond is just... so gross. And considering JS only made Luke 18 because he had to is really gross on its own but even worse when you contextualize it with the irl relationship happening on set that very season.

The DJ storyline is terrible and the show clearly knows it from the jump but keeps it going for... some reason. And speaking of, they dropped the ball on race. There are quite a number of racist jokes/lines that absolutely make me cringe. Like anti-Asian jokes. We're supposed to believe Ryan is from Chino and dated a Latina and had friends in the neighborhood and they just... barely ever touch on cultural differences. And barely ever touch on class differences. It's more showing us that rich people are just as miserable as everyone else. And sure that's entertaining and JS/SS have made careers off of it but... sigh. I don't think the messaging of either show actually works for how we're supposed to think it's working, but whatever.

What ages best is probably the Ryan/Seth dynamic but that's mostly irl chemistry imo and the classic Odd Couple trope. Not exactly rocket science to figure out why it endures in viewers' minds. For a show that can be so melodramatic, the only thing that consistently grounds us is Ryan/Seth and that's what TPTB have latched onto since everything else turned to trash *sent with invisible ink*

Basically my long answer is no it did not. But I imagine it did for others who care about other things I don't care about. The Marissa/Mischa of it all will grate on me forever. And imo they can never really be separated thanks to contexts we've gotten in the past couple of years.

[home-from-hogwarts]

Book Recommendations for Gryffindor

I'm just making these for fun! I'm looking for adventure books, or stories with a high emphasis on courage/chivalry/honor.

Nonfiction/Memoir:

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The story of Louis Zamperini, who was an Olympic runner prior to WWII. He was later drafted and survived both being on a raft for over 40 days at sea, and then being held in horrible conditions by the Japanese as a prisoner of war. In light of Gryffindor specifically- his childhood antics and pranks are hilarious, and might remind you a bit of Fred and George. But more than that, he showed incredible bravery throughout the course of world war two.

Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford. I actually read this because JK Rowling said it was one of her favorite books! She's a socialite who rejected her (largely fascist) family in favor of communist politics, and ran away to marry her second cousin Esmond Romilly- who had himself left the family to join the Spanish Civil War. Basically everything about this book is hilarious, and I've read it multiple times. Bits of it will make you cringe, but it's absolutely worthwhile. After the book ends Jessica became a muckraker and worked in a civil rights organization. The story of a socialite running away and standing up against fascism (while at the same time being a bit young and immature) might remind you of Sirius Black, ngl.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Being real... it's his mother's story, almost more than his. But she's definitely a woman to admire in my book! The book follows Trevor's life growing up as a mixed-race child under apartheid, as well as living in the shadow of an abusive stepfather. It's written in a very episodic way, and things aren't necessarily recounted consecutively. As you'd expect from a comedian, it's written in a very humorous and exaggerated way.

Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals. She was one of the Little Rock Nine, and her endurance during her years at Central High is amazing. I think on a conceptual level I understood the facts of what had happened before reading this, but I never really imagined what it would be like to sacrifice your high school years (and what should have been a happy time of your life!) to a cause greater than yourself like this. Her classmates treated her horribly, and reading this book makes you admire the entire group's commitment.

Fiction- Classic Lit + Modern:

Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green. Ok, the book was targeted at kids... But the charm of it is really in how old-fashioned the writing and sentiments are. It has a lot of emphasis on chivalry and courage, and both Robin Hood and Marian are the types of "paragon" characters who give you warm fuzzies to read about. Maybe try the Howard Pyle version if you want something that feels a little more adult- I've only read the L. Green edition, so that's what I'm recommending. (I'll add on that if you like this to try reading a version of King Arthur- it's the same Gryffindor feeling with its emphasis on chivalry and honor. I didn't want to recommend it because I haven't read it all the way through since middle school!).

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. Full disclosure- this is the only book in this list that I haven't finished. I'm reading it rn and I'm only a few chapters in, but I love it! This introduced the idea of a "masked hero" to literature, and the vibe of it- rebelling to stand up for the lives of other people- is very Gryffindor.

The Martian by Andy Weir. Wonderful story about an astronaut who gets left alone on Mars, and uses his ingenuity to survive. It could be a Ravenclaw book for that reason, but I think that the adventurous feeling will probably appeal most to Gryffindor type personalities.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I read this a few years ago, but I read it in just one day (which is a high recommendation!). The main theme is basically the intense rivalry between the greasers and the socs, and the fallout as a result of it. If I remember correctly the boys in it were all very loyal to each other, and I think the drama in it will probably appeal to those in Gryffindor house. You'll also understand this reference: "stay gold!"

Bonus: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Included for three reasons- a) another of JKR's favorite authors is apparently Jane Austen, b) the romance kind of reminds me of Jily, and c) Elizabeth is definitely a Gryffindor. I think this manifests mainly in her clear self-respect, particularly her commitment to only marrying for love even in the face of potential poverty. She doesn't try to be something she's not. This is a "bonus" because Jane Austen's subtle wit means that it could very easily be a Ravenclaw book.

[seyaryminamoto]

Matching scars is a soulmate's mark and you demonstrated that on Sokka and Azula's hands, does that mean the soulmates concept exist in Gladiator universe?

Uuuuuh... well, that's not entirely the intent there, since in their case, they inflicted the scars upon themselves in a wedding ritual? XD The idea of the rite they did comes from my age-old research into wedding rites for a different writing project, and I learned about the handfasting-including-palm-cuts ritual, which I thought might be an interesting fit for the story (and I think the general fandom likes it too? I've seen a few people referencing handfasting as a wedding rite in their content here and there...). So, as far as the classic "soulmate AU" concepts are concerned... that wasn't really what I was going for when I wrote their wedding rite, but you're very much free to see it that way if you'd like to.

Worth noting that, if you want to interpret it as "they chose to be each other's soulmate", then I'd say that interpretation is absolutely correct xD

Removed from the idea of the marks, though, I just believe in love in a slightly different way than the classic soulmates/fated lovers sort of ideal that has become very popular in fanfiction. For me, love has to be built and nourished above all else. That's why the story I've written is about a love that doesn't come easily at first, but that becomes stronger as a result of the mutual growth of our main characters. Basically, if you say Sokka and Azula were simply eternally fated to be together in Gladiator... well, that's fine by me, but what I value the most is the journey they undergo in order to become the best partners they can be for each other. They make their own choices, they chose each other, and if in doing so, they've voluntarily become soulmates. That's how I'd put it, personally.

Now, then, if you're curious...

My skepticism about the soulmates trope in media is honestly to be blamed in the misuse of the subject in a certain TV show I'd rather not name, where two "soulmates" were actually a very soulless, uninteresting pairing with very little to offer to the story. The female character in particular had soooo much potential and so many other characters she actually had way more chemistry with... and she got forced into a boring relationship with this boring dude with whom all she ever got was drama, drama, more drama, and then he was dead and then the drama was about him being dead.

After enduring that... I'd much rather not fall into the pits of soulmate writing when it comes to basically assuming that a couple is "perfect" for each other just because someone slapped a "soulmates" label on it. Because without the proper work to build up the romance there, without exploring what makes it a strong relationship... it feels like there's no real purpose to the couple being soulmates. It ends up feeling like an arranged marriage, forced to happen by the writer, and not something based on chemistry or character dynamics being fun and important. Of course, there's a LOT of ways to do soulmate AUs and there have been very good ones... but when I think of the basic, common concepts for those, where there's a mark or a sign, and the characters just have no say upon the matter and just accept it as fact because that's how their world works? That's... not my thing. And after having watched the TV show I mentioned earlier and feeling utterly disappointed by the outcome of that storyline... I'd really rather not end up writing anything that feels like that :'D

Even back when I wrote The Reason, where I threaded in the concept of the red string of fate, it was never something overt and that they could confirm was truly happening: it was something they believed had been drawn between them, even a matter of faith and hope that they would be a good match for each other, I'd say. So even if I reiterated that theme every chapter, ultimately, they chose each other and the story is about how they learn to make that conscious choice rather than just about stating they're fated to be together.

So yeah, I guess this is one of my strange controversial opinions about fanfic tropes, I suppose X'D I don't think the trope in itself is bad and obviously it can be written well, brilliantly even... but while I objectively write Sokkla as soulmates in my stories because I always want them together, I only ship them with each other and I primarily focus on their relationship in the content I create, I think the notion of the classic "soulmate AU" isn't one I'll be likely to explore much, personally. If I ever do, the soulmate situation will likely be much more of a background thing than the primordial core of what I'm doing.

Hope that wasn't too convoluted or confusing to understand x'D

[isaacathom]

for. some reason? i started rewatching syttd lancashire (the yt ver, anyway) and now im like... just trying to imagine naielle's wedding. aaaa

its tough because on the one hand is the wedding naielle would have been imagining when she proposed - more classical, beautiful dresses, a lovely countryside locale, perhaps by a lake or river, that sort of thing. on the other hand is who she and her fiancee have been/become in the 20 years since that proposal - a navigator/shipmaster warlock and a notorious corsair, respectively. and, of course, all the shit currently going on, what with naielle being on another plane fighting mindflayers, and xistina being involved in a war back home (privateers, baby)

so in practice, any wedding would need to be very practical and quick, and i can picture that clear as day. i even know basically how it could occur, because naielle has the means of GETTING to her fiancee's ship (we love planar travel), and possibly even the inclination. she would teleport in, inevitably run afoul of the sailors aboard, Endure Hijinks, finally get time alone with Xistina, propose, and then bam. Xistina's the captain, Naielle's a shipmaster (assuming she hasn't lost her ship at that stage - that's still up in the air atm), its fine. We can wed each other. worst comes to it she gets the first officer to do it. i dont care if thats not actually how it works, thats how it WOULD work here. and bam. married in work clothes, as nice as you can make em.

and yet! i cannot help but think about the outfits. naielle is not strictly part of the navy and so isn't entitled to like, a fancy naval uniform, but man. that'd be so fun. dress uniform stuff. theres no way, she doesn't own a dress uniform, but GOD. having drawn her in a naval uniform before, she rocks it.

and dresses! even though she's been drawn primarily in shirt and trousers, she's worn dresses in the past, and i think she could really wear a stunner. i think she'd like smth with a lot of lacy detailing, and fitting her theme there'd be a lot of stars and glitter. maybe some pearls, not sure. would it be "modest"? probably, i think, not because she couldn't wear something more revealing but bc i dont think it suits the vague time period. but thats also the thing, right - the fuck did wedding dresses look like for this vague time period. this is ostensibly fantasy napoleonic. what are you bitches doing. colours? i mean. the thing about naielle is that, in the pre-Incident wedding, she absolutely had the money to afford a white dress. 100%. no doubt. Now??? uhhhhh. she'd probably go for something slightly more... reusable lmao.

but like. we're imagining ideals. gorgeous white number. lovely time. now XISTINA. the issue here is it depends on what sort of Xistina we're marrying. is she marrying Xistina, the well-off merchant? or is she marrying Xistina, the Dread Crow of the Sylvan Seas? pre-incident you get the former, and i think she'd have a lovely dress for that. i think less lacy though, more into lovely silks and then accessorising with stuff like belts and brooches, right. that fits to me. Pirate Xistina, well thats a whole other matter. no fucking clue there. if she's leaning into that vibe i think she could turn out in a nautical number, presumably pants? i dont know. id have to really fuck around.

this is very unproductive for me at the moment but, you must understand - women.

[columboscreens]

Been loving the Twitter account and realized I'd love the Tumblr too.

Anyway, I've always wondered something... my mom and I began to realize that maybe one of the reasons classic Columbo's formula made such a splash and continues to be unique is that he's basically presented as the story's "villain".

Not in a "he was the real killer" kind of way, I mean structure-wise for most episodes the killer is the main character with the majority of screen time. It occurred to us that all the best episodes really seem to present the murderer as the protagonist, with us seeing them plan and carry out their scheme, even sometimes be privy to their inner thoughts. Then after they've done their killing, this... monster starts stalking them. It seemed to us the best episodes were the ones where WE are put in the killer's shoes the most, and maybe the character and show formula has endured so well because its thrill feels so similar to watching your favorite movie monster pursue dumb teenagers in a haunted house.

We noticed it kinda felt like it had that same weirdly sadistic glee. Like sure the movie might be "about" the campers or family or whatever, but the monster creeping around "getting" everyone is who you really came to see.

I wondered if anyone else had felt this fun "relentless antagonist" vibe from Columbo? Maybe the formula continues to feel unique even today because it isn't set up quite like a detective show. It's a rich arrogant murderer show, we just can't wait for our favorite monster to show up and chase them (with insidious, relentless politeness).

thank you!

not to needlessly intellectualize my own favorite show (i say, maintaining this blog), but there's a real sophistication to columbo, a literary quality that i think appeals to people. though the production appears facile at first, those choices in formula and perspective you mention are indeed very deliberate and part of what made columbo so fresh and special both when it aired and today. it was a very novel approach to the mystery format to have us start off with the murderer and maybe even root for them sometimes against columbo. as i always say, the show evokes dostoyevsky and doyle, not bruckheimer; it's born from old-fashioned drawing room murder mysteries, not CSI.

the mysteries are usually sharp--between columbo and murder she wrote alone, levinson and link were two of the most prolific mysterysmiths of the 20th century. but ultimately, for both the viewer and for columbo, it's all about the chase, the game, the banter. it's about a mangy little guy tussling with someone with more dollars than he has hairs on his body, and winning to boot. the legwork is important, but it does ultimately come second.

steven moffat got torn to shreds for calling columbo a sadist, but he was absolutely right and needn't have apologized. if you get up in arms about that, do you really understand columbo?

the man is a benevolent sadist. that's why he appears borderline villainous. he is a sadist with a level head and good moral compass, but still a sadist. he goes well out of his way to fuck over people who deserve to get fucked over, and he clearly enjoys every minute of it. it's how he's able to remain so relentless without getting burned out. is that so wrong?

just look at the smirk on this man's face. you cannot deny that.

like a fine wine, his power grows with time...

peter falk himself often likened being chased by columbo to "getting nibbled to death by a duck". nobody can stand there and tell me ducks aren't the cutest and also pettiest most sadistic little bastards in the animal kingdom...

sir!!!! SIR!!!!! i don't mean to bother you, i've just got this one little thing on my mind, i thought maybe you could help me...

[mymarifae]

you know what i'm thinking about today............ i'm thinking about how one of akito and toya's motifs is stray cats despite their original group name being BAD DOGS.

like. cats can symbolize so many things. independence. balance. freedom. white cats in particular are supposed to symbolize happiness, hope... healing. also like, luck and good fortune - which we can tie back to the way toya and akito met. it was a chance meeting; they were both lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. meeting akito set toya on that path of learning how to stand up against his father's expectations and to choose solely for himself. if they hadn't been so lucky as to meet the way they did, who knows how trapped and miserable toya would still be. how miserable they would BOTH be, actually.

and i don't believeeeee there's specific symbolism assigned to orange and white cats, BUT falling back to just basic color symbolism? orange is the color of warmth, change, determination, freedom once again, encouragement, and it's just like... a bold, happy color. which is funny considering how much of an absolute grouch akito is, but he's like his big sister in that regard. the shinonome siblings both have big hearts, and they love so, so much, but their love is fierce. it's protective. it's unapologetic and yeah. sometimes it's tough to endure. akito's character is very much about encouraging the people around him to keep reaching for the stars, to express themselves in more of a bold way, to be better than they were before. he is very much the rock of his friend group; you can always lean on him, and he'll always be there to pick you back up if you fall. and sometimes that means he is grabbing you by the scruff of your neck and forcing you back onto your feet. he is undeniably a warm person - he just runs a little hotter than you might expect.

(and i mean like if you wanted to take the color symbolism in another direction: white is like the moon [pretty neat how toya's gray and purple jacket literally says der Mond on the back, which is german for "the moon"] - orange is like the sun. you can be too distant and cold. you can be too fiery and burn yourself and everyone you love; irreparable damage. but in basically every piece of literature ever, the sun and moon are equal halves of the same part. light and dark; one cannot exist without the other. the moon is quiet in the way it loves, and the sun may be loud and bright, but it is no less tender and caring. they balance each other out. or some sappy shit like that idk :/)

and we can take all that and combine it with the general symbolism of cats, as well as tying in the bits about white cats in particular since the cat on akito's card is orange and white, and we've got two kids whose lives revolve around striving for freedom. toya is obviously like, caught in a battle of wills between his father and is struggling to be accepted for who he is and what he wants while his family sees this as a rebellious phase and expects him to return to classical music. and akito seems like the "free" one between them... but his own expectations and harsh criticisms of himself have trapped him and hold him back in a big, BIG way.

i have a whole tangent i could launch into right now about the way vivid BAD SQUAD is approaching their music and their whole thing about surpassing RAD WEEKEND and how ultimately unhealthy it is - but i'll spare you for the time being and i'll just say that if all you focus on is your shortcomings, you can't... grow. you'll always find something wrong with what you're doing, and you'll always hate part of it. at least 3/4s of being "good" at anything is just like. having faith in yourself. if you can't rely on your own abilities, then you'll always feel like you're falling short, you'll always feel self-conscious, and you'll always be subconsciously limiting yourself. and besides, pursuing anything with the sole goal of "get good at this thing and succeed" (thanks mr. shinonome for never teaching your kids how to just have fun and enjoy something for its own sake👍🏾 i bet his art is cold and unfeeling and stiff and sucks shit btw.) is a very easy way to kill your passion for it. we've already seen akito do this to himself with soccer.

but - it will be okay. it always is, at the end. they will both find their freedom. and they'll find it in each other. together they are running down the path to healing, two little kitties in the night, running side by side, free and wild, with no one to tell them what to do or who to be except themselves.

[devildomdisaster]

Hi there👋 May I request brothers with a MC doing their culture’s dances (like belly dancing, tango, salsa, russian ballet, etc.) beautifully all alone?

Mc dancing their culture's dances alone

Lucifer:

Lucifer catches you dancing as he is headed to his room one night.

He can’t help but stop to watch you. Although he stays silent as to not disturb you.

He is struck by the beauty in your movements even while you’re dancing in silence and alone.

He won’t say a word until you finish the dance or notice him. Whichever happens first.

When you do notice him he’ll praise your dancing skills with rare compliments.

He does know a few human realm ballroom dances, such as the tango among others, so if you are dancing something he is familiar with he’ll offer to join you.

If he doesn’t know the dances, he’ll still enjoy watching if you’ll let him.

You just might find a few albums of music from/for your culture’s dances left outside your door later.

Mammon:

“Oi! Human, what are ya doing?”

Mammon came looking for your attention and found you dancing all alone.

His cheeks flush as he realizes he may have disturbed something important to you. He was just so greedy for your attention, he didn’t stop to think.

To try to distract you from his blunder he’ll ask what kind of dance you were doing.

I think most powerful demons know how to dance, but they don’t necessarily know human realm dances.

While Mammon is adequate to skillful at dances from the Devildom he doesn’t know or even recognize human dances.

But he does find your movements mesmerizing.

“Of course the Great Mammon’s human would be a beautiful dancer!”

Levi:

Levi spends far too much time in his room to have much knowledge of human cultures, let alone the dances from them.

He hardly knows the steps to any Devildom dances and endures those only when he absolutely must. Besides the awkward social situations dancing puts him in he’s also just not great at dancing in general.

But his lack of knowledge doesn’t make your dancing any less stunning.

He is embarrassed at being caught watching you dance, but somehow it makes sense to him that such a good dancer would practice regularly whether they had to dance alone or not.

He’d like to know more about your culture and dances if you’ll tell him.

There’s even a bit (a lot) of envy that you dance so beautifully. Which he tries to squash down before it makes him say something rude.

Most of his jealousy takes a back seat though when he sees how much you seem to enjoy dancing, and how free you look while doing it.

Satan:

When he sees you dancing alone he immediately knows what type of dance it is.

If it’s a ballet, Satan would love to take you to a Devildom ballet sometime. He knows it’s influenced by human ballet and he wonders how similar your particular style is to the Devildom variety.

If it’s another form of dance such as salsa, tango, or belly dancing, he knows of at least one dance hall or dance studio type situation for the dances of that human realm culture. If you’d ever like to dance with others.

A lot of demons are actually very interested in human culture and dances.

Surprisingly he’s not the best dancer. Human or Devildom varieties.

He is pretty good at a few of the slower Devildom dances but just can’t quite master any of the quicker ones.

So seeing you dance so beautifully, is as impressive as it is captivating.

Asmo:

“A dancer? Mc, why didn’t you tell me?”

Amso is so excited, can you teach him?

“Mc the dances from your culture are so beautiful! Could you teach me? It would be so good for my figure, besides it’s such an elegant skill!”

Once you explain to him that you’ve been dancing since childhood in order to be so graceful in your dances Asmo is less insistent on learning.

But he would like it if you were willing to teach him some basic moves and eventually maybe a simple dance?

Asmo would also love to hear about your culture while he’s learning some basic moves.

Expect to see some pictures of his practice with you on devilgram.

He wants to show off how amazing you are!

Beel:

Beel thinks of dance as exercise.

He knows that dance is generally a good workout, he knows it’s good for things like cardio, balance, and coordination.

When he doesn’t want the classic gym workout with weight lifting and things like that he’ll dance instead.

There are several dance studios he frequents.

He’s a good dancer, and he enjoys it. But he doesn’t know any human world dances.

But when he sees you dancing all those thoughts go out the window.

He always thought of dance as a workout but Mc, you make dance an art.

Belphie:

Belphie can only dance the bare minimum of Devildom dances he is required to know for Diavolo’s parties.

It’s not that he’s a bad dancer, it’s just he would rather be napping than be as active as learning to dance would require him to be.

He finds you dancing alone in the attic of all places.

He wanted a nap, but well, the natural lighting and honestly being one of the few places you are unlikely to be disturbed by the others makes it a perfect place for you to practice in.

On the verge of annoyance at his usual napping spot being invaded, Belphie is struck silent by the elegance and beauty of your movements.

He vaguely recognizes the dance as one from the human realm.

He won’t say much, but when you offer to leave so he can sleep he says he can always sleep later and you should finish dancing seeing as you’ve already cleared the space you need and his brothers are likely to interrupt you if you try to find somewhere else.

It’s his way of complementing your skills and also saying he’d like to watch a bit longer if that’s ok with you.

[illusionsofdreaming]

May I have some Beacrox and Rosalyn hcs? A mix of fluff and angst with their S/O being similarly weak to Cale? (Not their fault, not everyone can be as monstrously strong as the rest of the group)

Notes: I got.. a bit carried away with Beacrox's one, it's practically an imagine at this point hahahaha...

Ft: Rosalyn, Beacrox

Rosalyn

You’ll never quite wrap your head around how you managed to catch the attention of one of the smartest and prettiest person in the world when you’re honestly, just you

Rosalyn’s flattered but also chides you for putting yourself down. It matters not to her whether your strength lies in the sword, the wand or the pen because the person she loves is you not your skills

if you want she’ll gladly teach you magic and she’s an extremely good teacher

she also gifts you an amulet with her magic so that ‘she’ can always stay besides you wherever you go

because of the different natures of your roles, you sometimes travel separately

she doesn’t worry much as your job is not considered dangerous and the charm she gifted you had been inlaid with some basic protective spells

the day she felt the spark of her magic shatter and disappear, she was absolutely filled with horror and worry

she immediately abandoned whatever she’d been doing and teleported to the spot where she felt the magic die out

it was a classic case of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and oh gods there’s so much blood-

healing magic isn’t her forte -what should she do, the bleeding isn’t slowing- please please please hang on, don’t sleep, don’t leave her-

she doesn’t leave your side for weeks afterwards and studied healing earnestly

it’ll take a while before she’s convinced you won’t keel over the moment she takes her eyes off of you

she gifts you a new amulet and you don’t have to have any affinity with magic to feel from the intimidating aura it projected - this one’s packed full of the strongest defensive and offensive spells

Beacrox Molan

it’s strange because you’re so absolutely mundane and yet here he is thinking and caring for you

the moment he finally acknowledges that he has feelings for you, your fragility is a weakness he must fix

you’re joining the wolf kids’ training whether you like it or not

it’s torture and too tough on you as someone who’s never lifted a sword in your life, suddenly having to run laps and wield weapons like you’re about to go to war

not to mention, Beacrox is an extremely tough and demanding tutor

you know that all this is just how Beacrox projects his worry because he’s still terrible at expressing his feelings. So you endure as much as you can - because learning how to protect yourself is not entirely the worst thing that can happen to you

but at the end of the day you’re still human, you don’t have the stamina of beast people nor the natural instincts of a warrior

no matter how well you train or practice you’ll always fall short of the others who seem to take to these martial arts concepts like fish to water

and it hurts when Beacrox doesn’t understand and gets frustrated with your lack of progress

many times you’ve told him to slow down to accommodate your lack of experience, but he’s unyielding in this matter.

“The others have long since mastered this. Do you think your enemies will take it easy on you just because you say so?” it was the finally straw that broke the camel’s back

you threw down your weapon, angry tears bursting from the corners of your eyes. “Enough! I am not the same as the others Beacrox Molan! If you’re so dissatisfied with who I am then perhaps it would be best if we call it off.”

“________!” he snapped but you had already exited the training grounds, slamming the doors on the way out

for several days you avoided him and he’s spent these days stewing over your words over and over again

even the others could feel the tension between you two and eventually Ron had to step in and knock Beacrox upside in the head

a stern father-son talk (which may or may not have involved knives and threats) which made Beacrox realise how his harsh words could’ve been taken the wrong way, how patronising he’s been

he finally turns up late at night at your door with baked cookies and ointment cream

if you allow him in, he’ll sit before you and care for your calluses and bruises silently - with how fresh some of these blisters and calluses are it really nails home how hard you’ve been pushing yourself - and Beacrox feels even worse

“I’m sorry-“ “Beacrox I-“

you paused and let him go first and Beacrox takes this chance to apologise for everything. For pushing you so hard, for dismissing your concerns and your efforts, for neglecting your feelings, for… everything.

he looks so sad and angry at himself that you sighed. “I know what you’re worried about Bea and I agree that it's important to learn how to protect myself. But I have my limits too. Perhaps I’ll never be strong enough for you, I’ll always hesitate at stabbing another, I might not ever meet up to your perfectionist standards… Would you hate me because of it?”

he immediately grasps your arm, eyes meeting yours sharply as his voice cracked “No. Never.”

you smiled gently, “I don’t mind returning to training but I’d like to rest a few more days first.”

that you’d still want to train with him meant a lot to him, he knows he’ll still have to work hard to apologise for his behaviour but at least he knows he hasn’t ruined everything yet

from that day on, training was definitely tamer for you

from time to time you can see how Beacrox sometimes still struggles to understand whats wrong but you also see how he holds himself back from his remarks and tries to consider a different way to teach you

it’s been rocky, as it will be for all new relationships, but you’ll always come out stronger on the other side

oh yeah, you’re not a swordsmaster or anything but you definitely know how to kick some ass by the end of things

Bonus:

+ Ron just admiring the chaos from the sidelines, shaking his head with fondness “Ah.. young love.”

[misscrawfords]

For the bad Austen take game: Fanny Price is boring. (I hated even typing that)

 Aaaaahhhh, you went straight to the jugular!

Mansfield Park was published in 1814, a year after Pride and Prejudice. The latter contained a spirited, active, and witty heroine. The former, a heroine who was shy, physically weak, and very introverted.

Fanny Price is actually closer to what a lot of contemporary heroines were like. Elizabeth Bennet, bursting in on the scene with her “pert opinions” and physical vigor and her direct challenges to the hero is not ahistorical because clever and witty heroines do exist in literature of the time, but she takes that to the next level.

The “perfect heroine” of the early 18th century in many novels was sweet, virtuous, morally dutiful, and somewhat passive. She was prone to fainting, basically had no faults, and at the end of the novel was rewarded with the love of the hero. She is not always a particularly interesting figure and often such narratives have a foil in a lively, witty anti-heroine who brings the fun to the novel but cannot be rewarded with a happy ending because she does not display the appropriate morals. That way the author and reader can get the pleasure of a “bad girl” or at least a “fun girl” without disrupting the expected didactic morals required of (many) novelists at the time.

Fanny Price and Mary Crawford are interesting variations on that. Fanny, like all of Austen’s heroines, challenges contemporary notions of what being a heroine was about. Austen does this in all her novels though Emma is the most obvious example. Fanny has many of the qualities that you would expect from a contemporary heroine but she is also not particularly attractive (a heroine should always be the most beautiful woman in the room) and it is hard to read her excessive passivity and not feel irritated by it. She has a much deeper inner life than most of her contemporaries of this type. We see her jealousy of Mary Crawford, we see her misery, we see her unrequited love for Edmund, her complicated feelings regarding her home in Portsmouth in ways that make her fully rounded internally, only little of that is spoken out loud. These feelings are very human and understandable, but they are not always to her credit and knowing them, we wish she could act on them. Austen seems to be asking the reader to take the classic novel heroine and then ask, “How would she really respond to novel situations?”

Austen’s plot also challenges expected novelistic plots. Edmund Bertram is not a satisfactory romantic hero. He is as quiet and rigidly moral as Fanny... except he blows all his convictions by his blind infatuation on Mary and he spends 99.9% of the novel oblivious to Fanny’s feelings or even that she’s an eligible woman at all. I have sympathy for him as well as for Fanny because he’s very young (only 22/23) and making poor judgements over women at that age and being an oblivious numpty over your childhood best friend’s crush seems pretty normal to me. Nevertheless, following Mr. Darcy, he’s hardly the stuff of dreams.

The character and plot that does seem more novelistic is Henry Crawford and his pursuit of Fanny. He’s handsome and rich and a bit of a rake. Then he meets Fanny who he attempts to seduce, falls in love with her for real, proposes to her and is rejected, then changes his behaviour, tries again and is accepted now that he is reformed and worthy her love.... wait. Rewind. That’s not what happened! Think this plot looks familiar? It should. Henry Crawford is what a lot of people think Mr. Darcy is who don’t understand Mr. Darcy on any level. Henry Crawford genuinely is a handsome bad boy who is reformed by the love of a virtuous woman after being rejected by her. And Austen teases readers with a redemption arc and a real enemies-to-lovers plot. But Henry is as real and complicated and human as Fanny and Edmund - he fails at the last hurdle and cannot complete his redemption arc. He relapses at the last moment. Isn’t that true to life? And is reforming a rake really Fanny’s destiny in life? She doesn’t think so. She sees right through his charm and hates who he is underneath. She doesn’t reject him as Elizabeth does Darcy because she doesn’t understand him; she rejects him because she understands him perfectly. She is the only person in the novel who does. I feel it would be a poor ending for Fanny to make her marry a man she despises and become the mistress of a large estate which brings with it the kind of social duties she must have been unhappy executing.

Fanny gets what she wants. She quietly, patiently does not change. She is surrounded by the superficial, the brash, the badly behaved, the immoral, the weak and she remains strong and stoical and by doing this and remaining true to her values, she triumphs. She wins. She gets the man she wants. She is truly and fully adopted into the heart of Mansfield Park with all her enemies and rivals removed. She is acknowledged as the best of them all. Without even needed to do anything except endure and stick to her guns, she defeats every big boss in her path.

These are not attractive modern values. Our concept of a “strong woman” (*shudder*) is Elizabeth Bennet. But not all of us are Elizabeth Bennets. Most of us aren’t in fact. Most of us are quiet and insecure and filled with envies, jealousies, private sadnesses. Many of us have experienced at some point less than ideal family situations and reacted not by being spirited and clever but by curling up in a ball and just waiting it out. Shouldn’t Fanny be held up as an icon for winning in absolutely the worst of circumstances? But she is an Aeneas in a society that only wants to read about Odysseuses and Achilleses.

Finally, another way in which Austen was distinctly saying in MP, “Hey, so, if you thought I was going to write another P&P, JOKE’S ON YOU, MATEY!” is that the entire novel is an anti-romance. Of course you’re going to be frustrated with Fanny and Edmund if you’re looking for a pair of exciting characters who fall in love and get a swoonworthy romance. But if you read MP as an examination of bad love, inappropriate love, selfish love, inexperienced love, love that taints and goes wrong through the eyes of a quiet and insightful observer who herself suffers the crushing and all too familiar pangs of hopelessly unrequited love - then you find a character and a novel that are rich, satirical, and deeply intimate and clever.

[mostlymovieswithmax]

Movies I watched in May

Sadly, I kind of skipped writing a post for April. It was a mad month with so much going on: lots of emails sent and lots of stress. I started a new job so I’m getting to grips with that... and even then, I still watched a bunch of movies. But this is about what I watched in May and, yeah… still a bunch. So if you’re looking to get into some other movies - possibly some you’ve thought about watching but didn’t know what they were like, or maybe like the look of something you’ve never heard of - then this may help! So here’s every film I watched from the 1st to the 31st of May 2021 Tenet (2020) - 8/10 This was my third time watching Christopher Nolan’s most Christopher Nolan movie ever and it makes no sense but I still love it. The spectacle of it all is truly like nothing I’ve ever seen. I had also watched it four days prior to this watch also, only this time I had enabled audio description for the visually impaired, thinking it would make it funny… It didn’t.

Nomadland (2020) - 6/10 Chloé Zhao’s new movie got a lot of awards attention. Everyone was hyped for this and when it got put out on Disney+ I was eager to see what all the fuss was about. Seeing these real nomads certainly gave the film an authenticity, along with McDormand’s ever-praisable acting. But generally I found it quite underwhelming and lacking a lot in its pacing. Nomadland surely has its moments of captivating cinematography and enticing commentary on the culture of these people, but it felt like it went on forever without any kind of forward direction or goal. The Prince of Egypt (1998) - 6/10 I reviewed this on my podcast, The Sunday Movie Marathon. For what it is, it’s pretty fun but nowhere near as good as some of the best DreamWorks movies.

Chinatown (1974) - 8/10 What a fantastic and wonderfully unpredictable mystery crime film! I regret to say I’ve not seen many Jack Nicholson performances but he steals the show. Despite Polanski’s infamy, it’d be a lie to claim this wasn’t truly masterful. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) - 8/10 Admittedly I was half asleep as I curled up on the sofa to watch this again on a whim. I watched this with someone who demanded the dubbed version over the subtitled version and while I objected heavily, I knew I’d seen the movie before so it didn’t matter too much. That person also fell asleep about 20 minutes in, so how pointless an argument it was. Howl’s Moving Castle boasts superb animation, the likes of which I’ve only come to expect of Miyazaki. The story is so unique and the colours are absolutely gorgeous. This may not be my favourite from the legendary director but there’s no denying its splendour.

Bāhubali: The Beginning (2015) - 3/10 The next morning I watched some absolute trash. This crazy, over the top Indian movie is hilarious and I could perhaps recommend it if it weren’t so long. That being said, Bāhubali was not a dumpster fire; it has a lot of good-looking visual effects and it’s easy to see the ambition for this epic story, it just doesn’t come together. There’s fun to be had with how the main character is basically the strongest man in the world and yet still comes across as just a lucky dumbass, along with all the dancing that makes no sense but is still entertaining to watch. Seven Samurai (1954) - 10/10 If it wasn’t obvious already, Seven Samurai is a masterpiece. I reviewed this on The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast, so more thoughts can be found there. Red Road (2006) - 6/10 Another recommendation on episode 30 of the podcast. Red Road really captures the authentic British working class experience. Before Sunrise (1995) - 10/10 One of the best romances put to film. The first in Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy is undoubtedly my favourite, despite its counterparts being almost equally as good. It tells the story of a young couple travelling through Europe, who happen to meet on a train and spend the day together. It is gloriously shot on location in Vienna and features some of the most interesting dialogue I’ve ever seen put to film. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Tokyo Story (1953) - 9/10 This Japanese classic - along with being visually and sonically masterful - is a lot about appreciating the people in your life and taking the time to show them that you love them. It’s about knowing it’s never too late to rekindle old relationships if you truly want to, which is something I’ve been able to relate to in recent years. It broke my heart in two. Tokyo Story will make you want to call your mother. Before Sunset (2004) - 10/10 Almost a decade after Sunrise, Sunset carries a sombre yet relieving feeling. Again, the performances from Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke take me away, evoking nostalgic feelings as they stroll through the contemporary Parisian streets. There is no regret in me for buying the Criterion blu-ray boxset for this trilogy. Before Midnight (2013) - 10/10 Here, Linklater cements this trilogy as one of the best in film history. It’s certainly not the ending I expected, yet it’s an ending I appreciate endlessly. Because it doesn’t really end. Midnight shows the troubling times of a strained relationship; one that has endured so long and despite initially feeling almost dreamlike in how idealistically that first encounter was portrayed, the cracks appear as the film forces you to come to terms with the fact that fairy-tale romances just don’t exist. Relationships require effort and sacrifice and sometimes the ones that truly work are those that endure through all the rough patches to emerge stronger. The Holy Mountain (1973) - 10/10 Jodorowsky’s masterpiece is absolute insanity. I talked more about it on The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - 10/10 Another watch for Grand Budapest because I bought the Criterion blu-ray. As unalterably perfect as ever. Blue Jay (2016) - 6/10 Rather good up to a point. My co-hosts and I did not agree on how good this movie was, which is a discussion you can listen to on my podcast. Shadow and Bone: The Afterparty (2021) - 3/10 For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed the first season of Shadow and Bone, which is why I wanted to see what ‘The Afterparty’ was about. This could have been a lot better and much less annoying if all those terrible comedians weren’t hosting and telling bad jokes. I don’t want to see Fortune Feimster attempt to tell a joke about oiling her body as the cast of the show sit awkwardly in their homes over Zoom. If it had simply been a half hour, 45 minute chat with the cast and crew about how they made the show and their thoughts on it, a lot of embarrassment and time-wasting could have been spared. Wadjda (2012) - 6/10 Another recommendation discussed at length on The Sunday Movie Marathon. Wadjda was pretty interesting from a cultural perspective but largely familiar in terms of story structure.

Freddy Got Fingered (2001) - 2/10 A truly terrible movie with maybe one or two scenes that stop it from being a complete catastrophe. Tom Green tried to create something that almost holds a middle finger to everyone who watches it and to some that could be a fun experience, but to me it just came across as utterly irritating. It’s simply a bunch of scenes threaded together with an incredibly loose plot. He wears the skin of a dead deer, smacks a disabled woman over and over again on the legs to turn her on, and he swings a newborn baby around a hospital room by its umbilical cord (that part was actually pretty funny). I cannot believe I watched this again, although I think I repressed a lot of it since having seen it for the first time around five years ago. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 - (2011) I have to say, these movies seem to get better with each instalment. They’re still not very good though. That being said, I’m amazed at how many times I’ve watched each of the Twilight movies at this point. This time around, I watched Breaking Dawn - Part 1 with a YMS commentary track on YouTube and that made the experience a lot more entertaining. Otherwise, this film is super dumb but pretty entertaining. I would recommend watching these movies with friends. Solaris (1972) - 8/10 Andrei Tarkovsky’s grand sci-fi epic about the emotional crises of a crew on the space station orbiting the fictional planet Solaris is much as strange and creepy as you might expect from the master Russian auter. I had wanted to watch this for a while so I bought the Criterion blu-ray and it’s just stunning. It’s clear to see the 2001: A Space Odyssey inspiration but Solaris is quite a different beast entirely. Jaws (1975) - 4/10 I really tried to get into this classic movie, but Jaws exhibits basically everything I don’t like about Steven Spielberg’s directing. For sure, the effects are crazily good but the story itself is poorly handled and largely uninteresting. It was just a massive slog to get through.

Darkman (1990) - 6/10 Sam Raimi’s superhero movie is so much fun, albeit massively stupid. Further discussion on Darkman can be found on episode 32 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast. Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995) - 1/10 Abysmal. I forgot the movie as I watched it. This was part of a marathon my friends and I did for episode 32 of our podcast. Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996) - 1/10 Perhaps this trilogy is not so great after all. Only marginally better than Darkman II but still pretty terrible. More thoughts on episode 32 of my podcast. F For Fake (1973) - 8/10 Rewatching this proved to be a worthwhile decision. Albeit slightly boring, there’s no denying how crazy the story of this documentary about art forgers is. The standout however, is the director himself. Orson Welles makes a lot of this film about himself and how hot his girlfriend is and it is hilarious.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) - 4/10 More style over substance, Sony’s new animated adventure wants so much to be in trend with the current internet culture but it simply doesn’t understand what it’s emulating. There’s a nyan cat reference, for crying out loud. For every joke that works, there are about ten more that do not and were it not for the wonderful animation, it simply wouldn’t be getting so much praise. Taxi Driver (1976) - 10/10 The first movie I’ve seen in a cinema since 2020 and damn it was good to be back! I’ve already reviewed Taxi Driver in my March wrap-up but seeing it in the cinema was a real treat. Irreversible (2002) - 8/10 One of the most viscerally horrendous experiences I’ve ever had while watching a movie. I cannot believe a friend of mine gave me the DVD to watch. More thoughts on episode 32 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast. Don’t watch it with the family. The Golden Compass (2007) - 1/10 I had no recollection of this being as bad as it is. The Golden Compass is the definition of a factory mandated movie. Nothing it does on its own is worth any kind of merit. I would say, if you wanted an experience like what this tries to communicate, a better option by far is the BBC series, His Dark Materials. More of my thoughts can be found in the review I wrote on Letterboxd.

Antichrist (2009) - 8/10 Lars von Trier is nothing if not provocative and I can understand why someone would not like Antichrist, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. After watching it, I wrote a slightly disjointed summary of my interpretations of this highly metaphorical movie in the group chat, so fair warning for a bit of spoilers and graphic descriptions: It's like, the patriarchy, man! Oppression! Men are the rational thinkers with big brains and the women just cry and be emotional. So she's seen as crazy when she's smashing his cock and driving a drill through his leg to keep him weighted down. Like, how does he like it, ya know? So then she mutilates herself like she did with him and now they're both wounded, but the animals crowd around her (and the crow that he couldn't kill because it's Mother nature, not Father nature, duh). Then he kills her, even though she could've killed him loads of times but didn't. So it's like "haha big win for the man who was subjected to such horrific torture. Victory!" And then all the women with no faces come out of the woods because it's like a constant cycle. Manchester By The Sea (2016) - 6/10 Great performances in this super sad movie. I can’t say I got too much out of it though. Roar (1981) - 9/10 Watching Roar again was still as terrifying an experience as the first time. If you want to watch something that’s loose on plot with poor acting but with real big cats getting in the way of production and physically attacking people, look no further. This is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen because it’s all basically real. Cannot recommend it enough. Eyes Without A Face (1960) - 8/10 I’m glad I checked this old French movie out again. There’s a lot to marvel at in so many aspects, what with the premise itself - a mad surgeon taking the faces from unsuspecting women and transplanting them onto another - being incredibly unique for the time. Short, sweet and entertaining!

Se7en (1995) - 10/10 The first in a David Fincher marathon we did for The Sunday Movie Marathon, episode 33. Zodiac (2007) - 10/10 Second in the marathon, as it was getting late, we decided to watch half that evening and the last half on the following evening. Zodiac is a brilliant movie and you can hear more of my thoughts on the podcast (though I apologise; my audio is not the best in this episode). Gone Girl (2014) - 10/10 My favourite Fincher movie. More insights into this masterpiece in episode 33 of the podcast. Friends: The Reunion (2021) - 6/10 It was heartwarming to see the old actors for this great show together again. I talked about the Friends reunion film at length in episode 33 of my podcast.

Wolfwalkers (2020) - 10/10 I reviewed this in an earlier post but would like to reiterate just how wonderful Wolfwalkers is. If you get the chance, please see it in the cinema. I couldn’t stop crying from how beautiful it was. Raya and The Last Dragon (2021) - 6/10 After watching Wolfwalkers, I decided I didn’t want to go home. So I had lunch in town and booked a ticket for Disney’s Raya and The Last Dragon. A child was coughing directly behind me the entire time. Again, I reviewed this in an earlier post but generally it was decent but I have so many problems with the execution. The Princess Bride (1987) - 9/10 Clearly I underrated this the last time I watched it. The Princess Bride is warm and hilarious with some delightfully memorable characters. A real classic!

The Invisible Kid (1988) - 1/10 About as good as you’d expect a movie with that name to be, The Invisible Kid was a pick for The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast, the discussion for which you can listen to in episode 34. Babel (2006) - 9/10 The same night that I watched The Invisible Kid, I watched a masterful and dour drama from the director of Birdman and The Revenant. Babel calls back to an earlier movie of Iñárritu’s, called Amores Perros and as I was informed while we watched this for the podcast, it turns out Babel is part of a trilogy alongside the aforementioned film. More thoughts in episode 34 of the podcast. Snake Eyes (1998) - 1/10 After feeling thoroughly emotionally wiped out after Babel, we immediately watched another recommendation for the podcast: Snake Eyes, starring Nicolas Cage. This was a truly underwhelming experience and for more of a breakdown into what makes this movie so bad, you can listen to us talk about it on the podcast.

[ccaptain]

spring brings misery for diluc; though he's loath to draw any attention to his suffering, it's not exactly subtle: his nose is as red as his hair, and he can't seem to go more than five minutes without sniffling or sneezing. he swears every single flower around mondstadt must be mocking him, delighting in his misery, and he can't help but glower at them as he makes his way to the angel's share for his shift.

(because luck does not favor diluc. because of course he'd be miserable the day he has to work longer hours. absolutely classic.)

kaeya's already there, diluc notes as he wordlessly takes over from charles, and he breathes out on a stuffy little sigh as he comes to terms with the fact that if there's one person in the world who won't hesitate to comment on the absolute state of him, it's his little brother.

he tries so, so hard to sound normal when he talks. it's a doomed endeavor from the start. "what're you having tonight, kae ?"

   spring! what a lovely weather to set foot out of the house, basking into the sun and chasing butterflies! the grass is green and luscious, pollen fills the air even in town, and...

   kaeya sighs the second he steps out of the door, seeing the little particles of fur float in the air. he knows well what spring means for a certaint grumpy redhead. in preparation for a good afternoon at the tavern, after work hours are over, he brings some medicine with himself. just to be sure, just to be safe, and just in case the certaint redhead hasn't taken it due to the droopiness it causes.

   as he expected, the situation was quite dire even since diluc steps into the tavern, eye immediately looking for his brother. and there he is, tip of his nose red as a guiding light and eyes misted over with a layer of tears, surely for the sniffles he has been enduring all day. if only he had a liking for taking his damn antistaminic... sigh.

   when he's approached, eye lifts over him along with his brows. ' i think i'll take your allergy, if it could help you, ' he remarks, standing up and moving behind the counter with him and charles. ' come on, 'luc. you need to get home and rest before it gets worse and you basically give a free bio aereosol to the entire front row of the tavern. ' he doesn't want diluc to be mocked, just in case some poor suckers decide than mocking his brother is a good thing to do, and he delivers a good response in either poison or stronger alcohol to topple them off their high stools.

   ' let me be the bartender for a day, and you won't be disappointed. '

[mentallydatingahotcelebrity]

LOKI SHOW AU:

Sylvie is a 16/17 year old character called “Nokka” (which is Norse feminine for No One). Loki reluctantly takes her under his wing when he meets her. After some time running from the TVA, and dealing with issues where Nokka “wants revenge” but struggles with hurting people when it comes down to it (esp from the TVA because she knows they’re all mind-controlled variants) Loki sits her down and demands to know the truth “because for a Loki you’re a terrible liar”.

Nokka admits/reveals that she’s NOT a Loki at all, just an Asgardian orphan who messed with the time-stream by accident (overhearing Loki tell a guard to inform Odin Thor was going to Jotunheim and running ahead to tell the Allfather when the soldier sneered at Loki’s back or smth else trivial). Loki asks her why she never chose a name for herself aside from what others gave her, and she says she didn’t really have time while being on the run to think of anything but Loki.

Loki is semi touched by this (but says nothing). (Nokka wistfully mentions in passing that while hiding on Midgard she heard the name Sylvie and thought it was nice too). Loki comforts her with a bit of awkwardness, then announces he’s going to help her with her powers and how to fight “less like an alley cat and more like a warrior from Asgard”. He also tells her that if she truly wants vengeance, she’s going to have to kill people. Nokka rebuts this with the declaration that she’s already killed people—citing those she’s had to kill to survive. Loki acknowledges that, but states that those killings are different from what she’s going to have to do if they want to win and get out with their lives.

(Aside: Kang wants Loki captured because OG Loki is different from the rest of his variant selves because he ADAPTS and grows his personality and character—whereas other Lokis do not. Kang feels OG Loki and Nokka are a threat to his rule, and he wants to permanently erase them to keep his rule over the Timeline secure)

Loki and Nokka make their way through the worlds and pull off a heist and crash the TVA with Mobius’s help. Ravonna prunes Mobius and Nokka out of rage and bitterness for destroying the order/TVA she loves—Loki, though he could escape, prunes himself too (showing how he can change his character from the other variants of himself).

In The Void, Loki stumbles among other loki variants, and finds Nokka moping by herself in one corner of Kid Loki’s underground palace. At the same time, Mobius arrives and busts them out of “Loony Loki Jail”. Impressed and amused, once they’re safe Loki asks how Mobius found them. The TVA agent declares that he found a trail of “complete and utter chaos, and followed that”. The trio share a laugh over this before growing solemn and trying to figure out what to do. Loki discusses Alioth and the strange energy the monster gives off, as well as the malevolent eternal purple mist. Mobius makes the offhand remark about going into it, or Nokka using her “wacky mind-controlling powers” on Alioth to get passed the giant to explore the mist.

Nokka hedges, nervous because she’s never controlled anything that big before. She walks away to sit by herself, staring out at the undulating violet mist. Loki likes the plan and irons out some details with Mobius before wandering down to Nokka. He sits beside her silently. Nokka announces “you can’t manipulate me like Thor—no Jotunheim trip 2: This Time Alioth.” Loki agrees that he can’t. Nokka smiles but hugs her knees to her chest with a shiver, rocking slowly. Loki asks what’s wrong—if she’s scared. Nokka shakes her head “just cold”. Loki magicks a blanket and gives it to her kindly, petting her hair (in a dad way lmao). They sit in silence staring at the mist. Loki quietly messes around beside her, magicking knives and bracers and other small pieces of armor for himself (we’ll give him an Asgardian tunic somewhere along the line because BURN the fugly TVA clothes). Nokka glances at him as he does this. Loki catches her and they share Looks.

Nokka shrugs and turns away. Carefully, as he cleans a dagger with a cloth, Loki wonders about two people controlling Alioth. Nokka eyes him warily. Loki briefly demonstrates/elaborates on how he can reveal or illuminate thoughts and parts of the mind, but can’t control it like she can. He quietly declares that if she shows him how, perhaps they can do it together. Nokka hesitates, but agrees.

So Mobius goes to distract Alioth. Classic Loki sees this (and as the only one actually paying attention to Nokka and OG Loki, runs in to help, doing the same thing he did in the show, allowing Mobius to escape). Nokka falters with the mind control, but Loki takes her hand and encourages her (insert some witty line about “only learning that day himself, after all”) and Nokka presses on. They succeed, and stare at a pathway through the mist.

Loki glances at Nokka, and tells her to “lead the way”. Grinning, but quickly sobering, Nokka heads toward the path. Mobius catches up to Loki then, and informs Loki he’s going back to the TVA to “raise more hell”. Loki grins, and Mobius “thanks him for the spark” like in the show. They embrace (to Loki’s surprise) before Loki follows Nokka. Mobius watches them until they disappear into the mist and then summons an orange portal and vanishes himself.

Walking through the mist, Nokka declares something “off”, and Loki agrees “like being laid in ambush”. Unsettled, they continue—but draw blades. At last they reach a half-burned and dilapidated castle at the edge of a cosmos. They come up to the black doors but nothing happens. Nokka blasts the doors off their hinges, increasingly paranoid. Loki criticizes the action but they proceed anyway. (Everything basically happens as in the show, but Kang is Not Friendly—menacing and ominous (think horror movie character—something off but not obvious) due to him wanting to destroy both Loki and Nokka). Loki catches on before Nokka to Kang’s intentions, and stands, lashing out at Kang. Nokka is confused and feels lied to (let’s say there’s some truth twisted into lies Kang said about Loki “and his lust for power” so she feels uncertain). A fight ensues between Kang and Loki but Kang uses Loki’s Frost Giant heritage against him. Kang says he’d accept Nokka as a protégé “because I’ve watched you—you’re teachable” but wants her to kill Loki “to prove she’s not as worthless as he is”.

Loki looks at her as she walks up to him, and he tells her “you only grow as far as you allow people to cage you” (or some other philosophical elegant line). Making the realization that Nokka will truly be just an imitation of all the other Loki variants if she kills Loki for her own self-succession, she drops the knife and instead frees Loki from whatever magical/enchanted snare Kang got him into. Kang lashes out, but Loki jumps up in front of Nokka, and takes whatever blow it was (maybe permanent obliviation, maybe transport to another timeline idk yet). Looking triumphant at the empty room, Kang turns around and wanders back to his desk “another mess all cleared up” he hums to himself.

Nokka appears out of the shadows and grabs his arm as he moves to sit, whirling Kang around. Angrily, tears in her eyes, she stabs him twice in the chest with one of Loki’s daggers he’d dropped. Kang collapses back into his chair, and laughs at her. He says some things about his alternate selves being even more cruel than him, that he’s “a kitten” in comparison, and she’ll never defeat them—“just a little nobody. Doomed to fail because you don’t have a name to be remembered by. A No One.” Nokka stoops over him, wielding Loki’s knife.

“I’m not no one—I’m Sylvie. Lokidottir.” She stabs Kang. After he dies, she wanders to the window, staring out at the splintering multiverse. She collapses, crying, because she’s alone. “You promised we’d win together,” she whispers to herself, a little broken.

(Opening to Consider for a potential Part II: a large flash of green out in the multiverse. Sylvie jerks her head up and stares—before grinning.)

Some notes:

The whole “love yourself” angle in this AU of the show is Loki learns to care for Sylvie even when she lashes out—and treats her as he would have wanted to be treated when he lashed out.

Kang is Not Nice. He’s not as bad as other versions of himself, but he is absolutely the bad guy in this AU.

Loki isn’t an idiot. Full stop. And he uses magic A LOT.

Loki takes a mentor role in this. HE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER, and Sylvie is a secondary role that morphs into an MC. He doesn’t get run over by Sylvie’s girl!pain backstory.

Sylvie isn’t a shitty annoying asshole kween. She’s a scared teenager. She’s not capable of huge fights or dumb shit like the canon shitshow.

This is Very Much a sibling or father/daughter relationship between Loki and Sylvie. No romance. PLATONIC ONLY!!!!

The TVA is EVIL. Not “a necessary evil” but completely, absolutely, reprehensibly evil. Autocratic and fascist, if you will. The interrogation Loki endures in the first episode (and then with Sif in episode ???) will be framed as torture.

Can’t really think of a faceclaim to the Nokka/Sylvie character (cuz DiMartino would be WAAAY too old for this one). But I’m thinking like a young Maia Mitchell or Mackenzie Foy type teenager. Gotta be brunette—cuz the blonde is stupid as shit and makes no sense. We want a Lady Loki lookalike here, folks (even if she’s NOT Loki; Nokka made herself APPEAR like him after taking his name so she could to be called one of his variants).

This makes room for a Loki “replacement” so Hiddleston could bow out, AND makes it “feministy” for the ladies; but ALSO allows for GOOD WRITING and Loki to keep his dignity/agency as a main character/antihero.

This whole thing was fully and completely inspired by this song while I drove home from work:

@fast-and-the-curious what say u to this AU?

[nettlestonenell]

Enola Holmes in Review

Gentle Readers:

1.       I did not plan to watch Enola Holmes

2.       I do not/have not watched Stranger Things, and my entire concept of Millie Bobby Brown as a human is encapsulated in the occasional errant tumblr post, and a line of eyewear she apparently has created, posters for which hang at my glasses-provider.

3.       I had never heard of the YA novels about Enola Holmes

There she is!

Yes, I do tend to enjoy nearly any incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. And, yes, I am often surprised by this fact. For some reason, Holmes, unlike, say, Chris Evans as Cap or Chris Hemsworth as Thor [instances where I can’t really imagine enjoying anyone else in the role] I am always interested to see someone else’s [writer and actor and director]’s take on him. *Subtle shout-out to James D’Arcy’s 2002 turn in A Case of Evil.

Mr. Jarvis! [and there was Vincent D’Onofrio and opium!!]

And yet, watching the Enola Holmes trailer [no doubt b/c of tumblr], and yes, admittedly not unmoved [we are not made of stone] by Cavill’s Curls™ the delight I felt in watching that advert led me to start informing my family that on September 23rd what I was going to be doing was enjoying Enola Holmes on Netflix [and anyone else was free to join me].

Someone important is missing from this picture

And what a delight it was. In the run-up to its debut I read more than a few reviews of the film [and, I think, every one of them written by men], some of which struck me as simply coming from a place of mean-spiritedness, yet none—even the positive reviews—preparing me for how ENJOYABLE this film is.

I’m not going to provide a full review point-by-point here, b/c the film involves cases to be solved (no, none of them are overwhelmingly complex—YA novel--, so all the more reason not to spoil any pay-offs). But I do have some things to talk about.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – And what a nice, nice elephant it is! Henry Cavill as Holmes is, in my opinion an absolute delight of a performance. From the moment he first says Enola’s name (a perfectly-rendered reaction to the moment playing out) this Holmes fits into this Greatest Showman-like version of Victorian England, where no one’s too dirty no matter how poor, and where despite a flaming red dress, cut too low for daytime wear, young Enola is never once mistaken for a working girl. [Again, YA novel] As other reviewers have noted, HC is, well, Cut and Bulked Out, and in his highly tailored frock coats well, strapping is too light a description word. *not a complaint. Cavill’s Curls are out and proud and here to tell us that we are meant to be Having Fun, and Gentle Readers—THEY DO NOT LIE.

No, not a priest’s collar where he is undercover (though I had thought so)

In fact, you could absolutely write your thesis statement on this film, that it’s really a fraternal, familial love story between Sherlock and Enola. Sherlock is the character during the two hours that actually changes. [Yes, Enola comes to an understanding about herself, and her circumstances change repeatedly—but it is Sherlock who experiences a Change of Heart/Reversal]. 

Raise your hand if you’re totally here for significantly older brother/significantly youngest sister family love!

HOW I WOULD DESCRIBE IT – This might in no way be helpful, but, Enola Holmes is basically The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles...

Where have you gone, Sean Patrick Flanery?

a YA historical storyline that’s written adjacent to [there, famous people] here, enduring fictional characters. It’s adventurous and pleasantly immersive, historical morays are given a slap-dash portrayal, rather than a fully-accurate representation, there’s adventures to be had, and side-characters to be converted into caring about the title character as much as we, the audience, do.

LUCY HONEYCHURCH – Yes, that gorgeous girl from Windy Corner. The timeline doesn’t jibe, but I daresay Helena Bonham Carter (back in a corset—though she may have worn those for Bellatrix) as Eudoria Holmes *IS* what Lucy Honeychurch might well have become beyond A Room with a View’s end. Bonham Carter looks absolutely at home here (period films have sorely missed her! –she had a part in 2015’s Suffragette), and still wears the trappings of Victorian England like a second skin. 

Not to mention that she now join my personal comfort-list of on-screen mothers with the likes of 1997’s Little Women Susan Sarandon and Cinderella’s Hayley Atwell.

FAMILY ISSUES OR PLOT HOLES? 

It’s a fair question. There’s a lot going on in this plot, some of which...seem solvable. Why has it been so very long since the Holmes brothers have seen their own mother? And sister? How could the woman we come to know as Eudoria raise a Mycroft? [see also, Molly Weasley?] Why aren’t people who seem to care about Enola more engaged with saving her from all the dangers London throws in her way? Why does Enola accept several acts of violence aimed at her, why does she in certain instances Do What She Is Told? Rather than chalk these up to plot holes or convenient devices, I’m siding with the Holmes family being dysfunctional [who knows what dad was like? We’re certainly not told here]. 

[clears throat]

The conversations between Mycroft and Sherlock barely skim the surface of any subject they interact on. Classic dysfunction: distancing one’s true self from human interaction b/c keeping the peace supersedes all else.

Enola accepts certain treatments b/c if we really do watch her relationship with her mother, there is an element of something amiss—as I will declare the later abandonment shows. Enola is a child used to being elevated and celebrated on one hand, and shut out and isolated on the other. Her parent has informed her about so much, but essentially locked her away in a false reality, where Enola is not taken to see the world, nor taught how to interact in it (which is explicitly stated). Perhaps it is not so surprising that the Holmes’ brothers have not cared overly much for visiting their remaining family. And when repeatedly confronted with a minor child (and yet a child likely though old enough or about so, to be married off) being forced to endure things diametrically opposed to her will—the brothers’ reactions are stoic, the system they accept as to how life must be lived immoveable and morally right simply by its very existence.

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN – THE STAR – In what has to be an Emmy-nomination-deserving turn, MBB is nothing short of wholly in charge of the screen. She never overpowers the story. She’s as loveable as Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping, and as ready for her closeup as Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. As another review mentioned, she handles the 4th wall breaks in such as way as we look forward to the next time she’s going to talk to us. We ache with her sorrow for her lost mom, and rage with her at the adults in her life choosing wrongly for her future—or simply not choosing at all.

A random observation, but one that feels important to me: her HAIR. Yes! They’ve managed to make a late Victorian-era film where the heroine’s hair looks like real hair that someone really styled (or in some scenes, didn’t). And yet, where the hair looks proper for the time. [wild applause]

COMPLAINTS: Well, in honesty there aren’t any. If you want to complain that there isn’t any dirt, that the evil of the world (I mean, c’mon, this is narrowly post-Dickensian London, here) is neutered, that the adults in question seem neither alarmed enough or emboldened enough at either their mother or sister being missing and possibly out of their depths in a dangerous society without protection, and in Enola’s case real-world skills--? Well, I’m certainly not going to disagree with you. This is YA Victorian London, after all, not Ripper Street. There is also neither a hint of or actual threat of sexual violence at any point in the film. But the lack of that has preserved us from having to sit through that, as well as no doubt lectures about how Enola’s virtue might be spoilt and she might become useful to no man.

The relationships are appropriate, too. Despite strides between Enola and certain adults in the film, by the time the credits roll they’re not showing physical affection toward each other (a move that would have seemed over-the-top), and teen relationships are shown progressing at a reasonable and mutedly awkward pace.

Now, Netflix, green-light me five more films (or more). There’s still a new version of John Watson to meet, after all!

[the-river-person]

Mistral Sans is now Community Shared

To echo the words of @undertaleauoc, Mistral is "open for use" without the need to request permission from the creator (me) though I’d like to be tagged and credited still. Mistral Formerly named: Sans Age: 10 to the power of 100 years (technically a little more than that by now, but the number is so huge that it's no longer relevant.) Gender: Male Appearance: Appears much like Classic Sans, except for the silvery-white crystalline formations growing all over his body. These can get quite large if he hasn’t removed them in a while, and are often quite sharp to anyone with flesh instead of bone. He makes an effort to keep the Kenón from growing up over his head and face, or from completely encasing his body, but it's difficult to keep up with since it grows faster whenever he happens to be in the Void itself. He wears a long brown overcoat, gloves, and long black trousers, mostly in effort to hide the Kenón as much as possible or keep the sharp points from cutting people by accident. He also keeps a red bandana around his neck, something given to him by Papyrus. His eyes never went back to their original state after the Void-Sickness. Instead of dark hollows with a white iris, they seem to be a pale grey, like a well of deep nothingness. Backstory: Mistral’s Universe is based upon the question “What would happen if the Human just never stopped the Resets, but went on forever?” And the resulting Tale that followed was one of mindless repetitions for time out of mind as the Human would Reset in order to prevent the Underground from being destroyed. Eventually the human, who was no longer human, stopped when Sans suggested a different means to preserve their Universe without killing. This Underground has a deep history of worship and lore that surrounds their Angel, and Sans played the role of Judge, a historical job where someone representing the Angel’s Justice would be called upon to make an absolute Judgement upon anyone or anything. The King called upon him to bring his judgement upon the entire Underground for their part in everything. Formerly a scientist under his Uncle Gaster, he helped come up with the “Solution” which the entire Underground was inoculated with to help them remember beyond Resets. He himself was a victim of the Void poisoning like that which affected Gaster’s Followers and was only saved from being wiped to a blank slate by Gaster’s efforts. A fragment of Kenón (Void-stone) and determination was placed in his soul, causing the crystals to spread from it. In later years as the Underground thrived despite the Resets, he pushed himself to get another degree, this time in psychology, and eventually became a practicing therapist/psychologist (as well as the Underground’s willing delivery boy. He liked being able to see and talk to people all the time, and get to know things.) Upon the destruction of his Universe he was thrown into the Void with his Uncle Gaster, where they were rescued by the mysterious River Person. They met with Ink!Sans who explained the Multiverse and gave them the means to travel it. Now they travel from Universe to Universe, or sometimes wander the Void itself, or the Anti-Void. Gaster (now named Majuscule) is searching for his children, and Sans (now named Mistral) is helping while searching for the Ship his brother escaped with and whatever survivors of his people there might still be. Personality: Mistral is old. Though he was in a mindless forgetful repetitive state for much of the Resets, and has few memories of his own childhood beyond what Papyrus reminded him of, he is significantly mentally older than most of the other Monsters from his Universe. The determination in his soul (along with the Kenón) makes him very strong willed and much more powerful than he was before. It also gives him a minor energy boost. His years as a scientist specializing in studies of the Soul and Physics, as well as his later degree in psychology and practice as a therapist, make him a fairly discerning person who is easily approachable and can talk about a number of different subjects with ease. Despite his actions during the Genocide Routes, he is a much more mentally stable person (possibly one of the most stable Sanses out there from what I see) and is very much a pacifist, refusing violence altogether and choosing to let his words and mind guide him out of trouble, or his teleportation to let him escape danger. Because of his refusal to consider physical violence, even in his own defense, his skill in using fighting magic has atrophied. He can no longer summon the blasters at all, and his bone attacks are weaker. His teleportation on the other hand is much stronger and he can do it more often without tiring too much. The other effects of his refusal to fight means that he must proactively avoid confrontation whenever possible. Mistral uses his knowledge of how people think and act to guide his interactions with others, putting even Monsters from the Fell Universes at ease with well timed and thought out humorous comments, as well as just generally being willing to listen and try to see from the point of view of other people. He can tell puns, but they usually sound a bit forced, like he memorized them somewhere and was just waiting for a point to use them. Very rarely he’ll come up with the perfect one on the spot and be absolutely thrilled with himself. More often he uses dry humor, throwaway lines, or Hyperbole.

His willingness to try and defuse the tension caused by aggressive Monsters he’s dealing with can sometimes backfire on him and serves to make the Monster even angrier and more violent. Mistral will then flee, not wanting to fight them, but often marking himself as guilty or suspicious in the process when this happens with an authority figure who has confronted him for his presence.

The Kenón crystal growing all over his body tends to freak people out as well, which is why he hides it as much as he can beneath the overcoat, gloves, and bandana.

Like all skeletons of his Universe, Mistral has a great knowledge of fonts and writing systems, punctuation marks, ciphers, and typography. It is a very important subject to them as it very closely ties with how they see themselves, their identity as a person. This may be rather strange to skeletons from other Universes who do not share this background. A similar problem comes when skeletons from other Universes find out how strongly he and the Monsters of his world believe in the mythical Angel of Mount Ebbot and often pray to them or swear by them (or use “Angel” as a swear).

He’s also very interested in the concept of Identity and how it can change over time or be altered by events in your life, and how names connect to the concept of identity.

Can I use Mistral in my comic/story/animation/etc?: Sure. He’s a wandering type character, so it's likely he’ll show up in countless Universes and places all over while searching for his brother and his missing cousins. Sometimes he’ll be with Gaster and sometimes not.

One thing to note is that his story will have a continuation, so if in your story you detail events that involve him beyond just a brief meeting, chat, or background character… Just be aware that it's probably not going to be canon to the story I’m planning for him (though if we take other Multiverses into account it could be canon elsewhere).

I would like to insist that you tag and credit me on his use (Credit is good. Tagging me makes it so I can come see your wonderful creations).

Can I ship Mistral with this other character/characters?: Yeah, why not?. Canonically he’s aesexual and only very passingly interested in the idea of romantic relationships. But sure, ship him with whoever you like. Just know that it's not canon to this Multiverse.

While I would still like to be tagged in stuff that involves him. I know I can’t stop nsfw art/writing and other things of that nature from happening, much as I might like to. But be warned, If I see it or am tagged with that, or am sent asks of that... I will block you. Fontcest, Incest ships, child ships, or smut in general will all get you blocked instantly.

Canon height and weight: 4-5 feet high (same as Classic Sans). Weight was trickier. He’s a skeleton. A human skeleton is only about 15% of your body weight. So classic is probably somewhere around 16 or so pounds. But Mistral is covered by continually growing crystalline structures of Kenón. Since the crystal is heavy but spread out and somewhat kept under control, it probably only doubles his weight, making him 32 pounds.

Canon strength: Mistral isn’t a fighter. His attacks are weak because his desire to actually fight is nonexistent, even if he has to defend himself or others. But his actual physical strength, as opposed to his magical attacks, sees a significant increase to that of your normal Sans. The Kenón crystals actually increase his defense by making his bones stronger and more crack resistant, and his self healing is well equipped to deal with most breaks, though they’re still quite painful.

He also has increased endurance for longer physical or magical activities so long as combat or confrontation isn’t part of it.

Since he weighs more, he can’t jump as high as a Sans who weighs less (not that it's a huge difference. He’s only 32 pounds. Plus his strength can mostly make up for it by pushing himself off harder when jumping.)

Is it okay if I draw him with another gender, age, height, or sexuality?: Go for it. Have fun. Tag and credit me. But remember that it’s not canon to THIS Multiverse that I’m working in.

Canon Birthday?: September 16th (though he hasn’t celebrated in a LONG time. He probably doesn’t remember his last actual birthday party. Papyrus might though…)

Font?: Used to be Comic Sans. But now it's Mistral (upper and lowercase).

Original AU: Aeontale by

a_river_is_a_liminal_space

(or the-river-person. basically… me)

Can I send Asks for more details if I need or want them?: Yes. My askbox is open. I’ll answer what I can. I’ve put everything I can think of on here, but inevitably there’s always something missed in things like this. So ask away.