#felix's aunt is so cool and so fierce

[angelkissedface]

a sample from felix’s backstory since ive been working on it recently, featuring aunt abigail!! :D i referenced satan’s sigil from pon-ee.

[bae-leth]

Here are some notes regarding that Fraldarddyd Parents AU! I thought it would be easiest for everyone to put it like this. And feel free to add your own notes and HCs to this!

Crown Princess Natalia Adeline Blaiddyd. Born from Dimitri and a surrogate. Has the minor crest of Blaiddyd. She gets her looks from her father with straight blond hair and bright blue eyes. She also inherited her dad’s absurd strength, though to be fair that’s mostly thanks to her crest. She’s always been a wild child who loves to go exploring places she shouldn’t go to and getting in TONS of trouble all day, every day. Hear the distant sound of expensive stuff breaking? See tracks of muddy footprints in the halls? Are there some angry nobles looking to complain as their kids, covered in bumps, are crying behind them? Blame dear Natalia. She’s very rough and loud, “most unladylike” as many a noble will whisper. She’s also super affectionate, quick to give out hugs and kisses to those she loves. And she’s super duper protective too, always ready to fight.

Prince Artemis Edmond Blaiddyd. Born three years after Natalia and was born from Felix and another surrogate. Has the minor crest of Fraldarius. Artemis resembles his surrogate far more, with fluffy brown hair and freckles dotting him all over. But he also has Felix’s orange-brown eyes. As all the childhood friends like to joke, Artemis’ personality resembles Felix’s from when Felix was little, being super timid and quick to tears and very clingy. He’s pretty shy and constantly hides behind his dads or big sister when strangers are around. Whenever Natalia goes off on one of her little adventures, he really doesn’t wanna go but he also doesn’t like being left behind, so if his dads aren’t around he’ll try his best to trail after her. He’s most at home reading history books in the library or tending flowers in the garden. He’s an absolute sweetheart who is quick to win hearts.

When Natalia was born Dimitri refused to hold her for such a long time. Not because he didn’t want to but because he was scared to. He knew how strong he was and how he constantly broke fragile stuff even when he tried his best to stay gentle. He’d never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt his own child. At some point Felix got fed up with arguing with Dimitri over it and just plopped baby Natalia into Dimitri’s hands unexpectedly. Dimitri went still like a statue for a while before he eventually relaxed, following Felix’s directions carefully as he instructed Dimitri on how to hold Natalia. After that it was pretty common to see Dimitri looking for any excuse to hold his daughter. By the time Artemis was born he had more faith in his ability to safely hold his children.

Much to many people’s surprise Dimitri is often the stern parent while Felix is the one who easily gives in to the kids’ whims. “Felix why do I have to be the no-fun father all the time?” “Hey we all have our roles to play and yours is being a killjoy.” “Felix, I swear to the goddess-”

Everyone always thought Felix’s sweetest smiles were reserved for private moments with Dimitri. As it turns out Felix has even sweeter smiles, all of which are directed at Natalia and Artemis. He keeps denying making such sappy expressions when people (*cough*SylvainandIngrid*cough*) tease him about it.

The kids love to sit in Dimitri’s lap as he works, Dimitri enjoying nuzzling and kissing their heads while he reads treaties or annoying letters from nobles and whoever. The kids also love to trail behind Felix as he goes around delivering news or searching for updates on important stuff, Felix carrying them whenever he notices them starting to get tired and fall behind.

Despite how wild and seemingly unserious Natalia is, she’s very dedicated to growing up to be a strong and capable queen who will protect her people. She’s heard and read enough about the war her dads fought in to be determined to never allow such a war to curse Fodlan ever again, not as long as she lives.

Artemis often gets teased because, unlike his sister, he doesn’t resemble his family much. Of course anyone who bothers him about it quickly shuts up when they see the crown princess sprinting towards them, ready to throw hands.

Natalia and Artemis are close with all of the other Blue Lions and call them Uncle or Aunt (except at formal events where they have to be all proper and junk). Dedue dotes on them all the time, to the point where people joke that the royal children have three dads. They help him cook (even though they both suck at it). Dedue has a drawer in his room filled with all the drawings Natalia has gifted him over the years. And whenever Dedue goes to battle he always carries a crudely made protective charm, shyly given to him by a five-year-old Artemis who wanted him to always come home safe. Sylvain always plays with the kids (hell he’s practically a giant kid himself when he’s around them) and makes them laugh with embarrassing stories about their dads. Ingrid likes to sneak them sweets and go check out the nearby towns with them. Ashe reads stories to them and holds the record among the Lions for being able to get the kids down for their nap the fastest. Annette likes to sing with them and has taught them all of her special little songs. Mercedes is the one to mend their clothes after misadventures and heal all their little injuries with a gentle smile.

I’m adding Byleth in here because of course Byleth’s getting in on this. Specifically Bylad cause he’s my guy. Byleth grows fond of the royal kids too (“Is this what it feels like to be a grandfather?” “Byleth, what the fuck are you talking about?”). Sometimes when the Byleth visits Fhirdiad people whisper when they see the stoic and elegant Archbishop walking around, Prince Artemis sitting on his shoulders and fiddling with the flower crown on Byleth’s head while Princess Natalia has Byleth by the hand, begging him to teach her some cool fighting moves.

When the royal family visits Almyra on a mission to help forge ties between their lands, Claude gifts Natalia with a gorgeous sword, which Natalia is instantly enamored by (“Claude she’s eight.” “C’mon if she’s anything like you she’ll grow into it just fine.”). He then gifts Artemis with…an egg (“Claude, what is that?” “Don’t worry about it.” “CLAUDE.”). A few weeks after they get back to Faerghus that egg turns out to be a baby wyvern that instantly steals Artemis’ heart.

If Natalia was a unit, I can see the following for her: Strengths – Sword, Lance, Riding; Weaknesses – Axe, Reason, Faith; Budding Talent – Brawl. I see her becoming a Paladin who specializes in her both of her dads’ signature weapon styles.

If Artemis was a unit, I can see the following for him: Strengths – Reason, Faith, Flying; Weaknesses – Axe, Brawl, Heavy Armor; Budding Talent – Bow. I see him becoming a magic wielding Wyvern Lord with the same wyvern that Claude gifted him.

When they get older Natalia mellows out a bunch since she’s the Crown Princess and has her position to think of. But she’s still just as strong and stubborn as always, fierce and protective of those who she loves. A warrior princess who is the hero of many across the land. Artemis is still very gentle and prefers books and flowers to the battlefield. But he’s grown much more outgoing and is rather popular for how sweet and adorable he is.

Here's a little bonus info about Natalia and Artemis I forgot to add to my submission. When they're older I love picturing Natalia riding into battle wielding Areadbhar (does she inherit Dimitri's love of spins? she does). As for Artemis he of course constantly keeps the Aegis Shield on hand. If an enemy tries to start close combat with him thinking he only knows about magic and bows SURPRISE he pulls out the Sword of Moralta ("no fair how come you get TWO Hero's Relics?" "cause I'm worth it").

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2018: Day 2

Films: 4 Best Film of the Day: Shoplifters (pictured)

Shoplifters: Japanese director par excellence Hirokazu Koreeda’s film, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, works in quiet subtle ways, that affect you without you quite knowing why, like watching a strewn pile of dead leaves skitter across an otherwise empty field. It opens with what appears to be a father, Hatsue (Kirin Kiki), and his adolescent son, Shota (Jyo Kairi), as they smoothly stake out and steal from a large grocery in Hokkaido. They work in such harmonic tandem, he blocking the clerk from view at key moments, his son slipping items into his backpack without hesitation, it’s almost like a military exercise. Bringing the booty home to the rest of their family, Shota’s mother, young aunt, and grandmother, Hatsue spies a forlorn young girl (Miyu Sasaki) stuck alone, cold and hungry while her parents are MIA. As if snatching a package of noodles off the shelf, he picks her up and takes her into their ramshackle but loving crew. In Koreeda’s world though, very little is directly as it seems at first. As we get to know these characters in more depth over time, their apparent relationships turn out to be something considerably different, and they become less easy to understand if no less endearing. The film works in small, carefully arranged scenes, which are artfully staged, fitting together like bits of an interlocking puzzle. Every member of this oddly concocted family are one kind of con person or another, whether they utilize hoary magic tricks, shoplifting strategies, or burying bodies under their small apartment.

Kursk: Submarine movies generally have only one direction to go, and that is straight down to the bottom. If the sub isn’t outright sinking, it’s threatening to, which, like your standard romcoms or slasher flick, puts into motion a whole bunch of predictable outcomes, depending on whether the director’s vision calls for dramatic pathos (the crew drowns) or joyful deus ex machina (the crew miraculously escapes). But here, director Thomas Vinterberg is working from a notorious chapter in Soviet naval history: During the latter years of the Cold War, one of their most sophisticated nuclear subs had an accident en route to a training exercise, leaving the majority of souls on board blown apart or drowned, and the survivors in a tight race for survival, only to have the military decide the crew’s fate based on international appearances. Given the nature of the form and the reputation of the incident, Vinterberg had no choice but to dig deeply into the crew members lives in order to connect the audience with these poor, doomed seamen. He gives us enough snippets of the homelife of the men — using the tried and true start-with-a-wedding maneuver — and one in particular, Mikhail (Matthias Schoenaerts), with his pregnant wife (Léa Seydoux), and young son, to invest us. He also utilizes other devices: In a moment of supreme irony, many of the ranking crew were forced to hock their naval watches in order to properly fund the wedding of their good comrade the night before their ill-fated launch, a deal that comes back to haunt them fiercely when things go to hell. The Soviets are shown to be blitheringly incompetent, with a much weakened and neglected military (early in the film, the sailors are denied their monthly wage again, hence the need to hock their timepieces), and the kind of insufferable pride that would allow such a thing to happen, bitterly resentful of any offerings of international aid, but in truth, they react no differently from any other would-be superpower. As much as we may want to be able to dump down on Soviet buffoonery, we have to accept we’d likely meet equal fate under similar circumstances. We’ll have to take cold comfort that the Russians, in drowning far below the surface, make for remarkably similar corpses to our own.

What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire? The way Italian director Roberto Minervini works is mysterious unto itself. Deeply embedding into a community – and he’s latched onto the deep rural south in recent films – he creates sort of docu-narratives, setting up scenes with real participants, and to some degree choreographing the action. The effect is like watching a drama of almost pure verité, with just enough elements of staging to meld the two forms together. This film, shot in southern Mississippi and Louisiana loosely connects several different character threads and situations: In one pairing, a couple of brothers, the youngest one healthily scared of a lot of things, try to steer clear of the trouble and violence that plague their streets; in another a regrouped “New Black Panther Party” takes to the streets and tries to effect radical change one protest at a time; a middle-aged woman loses her bar, and tries to go out on a high note; and a Big Chief goes through the laborious effort to put his elegant costume together in time for Mardi Gras. The connection is tenuous – beyond its attention to race and class, and the struggle it is for people to just get by under these murderous conditions – but Minervini’s cinematography (by Diego Romero) is so gorgeous, with its black and white compositions, that it hangs together stylistically in a way that makes the whole thing work. It’s hardly coherent, but as a sizable slice of life document, he captures something of notable significance.  

Beautiful Boy: Timothée Chalamet, the young actor who was so beguiling in Call Me By Your Name, seems to have it all: Staggeringly good looks, fantastic acting chops, and a genial likability that translates perfectly to the big screen. In Felix Van Groeningen’s adaptation of the twin memoirs by Dave and Nic Sheff concerning Nic’s struggle with addiction, those qualities are perfectly turned on their head. Nic, too, seems to have everything going for him – loving, though divorced, parents (Steve Carell and Amy Ryan), a beautiful house up in the mountains above San Francisco, and a bevy of talent as both a writer and an artist. But the draw of “chaos” is too strong with him, and he turns to drugs to prop up his sagging self-worth nonetheless. Van Groeningen is hardly a moralist, nor is he any kind of romantic (as those who have watched the powerful but difficult The Broken Circle Breakdown can attest), so the film, which could easily have played like a standard redemption arc, becomes something a good deal more harsh and unfulfilling. If we cling to those narratives for fear of our own children plunging over those particular waterfalls, it’s just as important to understand the true extent of horror such a situation can produce. By the time Dave turns away his son, and gives up any sense of control of being able to keep him alive, we’ve come pretty much to the opposite pole from where he started. The most shocking element of the film isn’t any of the deprivation Nic forces upon himself, it’s the numbing effect he eventually has over his father. The performances are strong across the board, but Chalamet again proves up to the task of taking on remarkably nuanced and difficult characters and bringing them to full life. Because of Van Groeningen’s inherent coolness – the soundtrack, featuring everything from vintage Nirvana, to Sigur Ros, to acid jazz – and emotional distance, it’s nothing cathartic, just realistic – if highly privileged – people suffering continuous trauma.

Tomorrow: After an early interview, I plan to rush over in time to see the Welsh mystery movie Gwen; pop by Donnybrook to see my man Jamie Bell get his head dented in; go to a public screening of David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun in what may be Robert Redford’s last role before retirement; and close out the day by (shhhh!) watching a midnight screening of David Gordon Green’s updated Halloween re-conception.