#like obviously I love all the characters and the cast and the writing is brilliant

[trophywifemac]

binged through mythic quest in 2 days and while I have some thoughts, it made me cry like 6 times and I need season 4 like yesterday

[wisteria-lodge]

I LOVE the version of Lucius in your fic Prison of the Phoenix. He's different from a lot of portrayals I've seen. Why did you decide to write him how you did?

A lot of the fun of writing a book-accurate fix-it fic comes from taking the events of the book, and removing JKRs (simplistic, misleading, sometimes just weird) narrative framing. Slytherins = baddies, Gryffindors = goodies, you know. 

This is especially fun with Lucius Malfoy, who just like… isn’t very evil? Chamber of Secrets is his most villainous book, and I’ll get to that, but otherwise? He tries (unsuccessfully) to get the animal that attacked his kid killed. He donates to hospitals (but in like, an evil way.) He is a hilariously incompetent Death Eater, and then he's Voldemort’s punching bag. 

That’s kind of the point of Lucius. He looks the part. He commits to the aesthetics of the thing, with the hair and the peacocks and the snake-wand-cane. He likes the mystique of walking into a room and knowing that you know (but can’t prove) he’s a dark wizard. It allows him to be… kinda lazy. He can coast on his family name, money, reputation, privilege. I really think that if you sat Lucius Malfoy down and asked him to walk you through all the wizard-supremacy talking points he wouldn’t be able to do it. He’ll toss around words like “mudblood” and “mudblood-lover” no problem, but in the end he doesn’t really care. Lucius is not a true believer. The way the world is set up benefits him tremendously and he doesn’t want Voldemort back. That’s just text:

“Use your brains, Ron,” said Bill. “If they really were Death Eaters… I bet they’d be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they’d ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives… I don’t reckon he’d be over-pleased with them, do you?”

Lucius and friends had too much to drink at a sporting event, put on the old outfits (again with the aesthetics) and started levitating muggles. Which obviously isn’t GOOD, but they’re not killing or torturing, or furthering any kind of agenda. It’s important that Barty is so insulted and pissed off by the way they’re basically playing Dark Wizard that he casts the Dark Mark to “show [them] what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it.” Which kicks off most of the events of the book. 

Prison of the Phoenix is going to have a companion, parallel fic told from Harry’s POV (tentatively titled Harry Potter and Malfoy’s Suspicious Interest in Werewolves.) Lucius does show up in that one, and I was honestly surprised by how much more frightening and intimidating he is when filtered through Harry’s perspective. Because with a Severus POV… when Severus is used to spending time around Voldemort, Greyback, Bellatrix, honestly Dumbledore and Sirius Black…. Lucius is not scary. Lucius wants to buy presents for his son, go to high-profile events with his beautiful wife, and wear a variety of snake-themed accessories and extravagant hats. 

I wanted a kind of college-roommates-who-stayed-friends feel for the Severus + Lucius relationship, because they are friends. Sirius calls Severus Lucius’ “lapdog,” and Narcissa calls him Lucius’ “oldest friend.” Lucius is also part of the welcoming committee when Severus is first sorted into Slytherin. He’s five years older (I think Jason Isaacs is the only Harry Potter adult the same age as the character he plays), which would have affected the dynamic between him and Severus a lot in school. Personally, I think it makes sense for Lucius to be a little protective of this brilliant half-blood kid with no money. And as an adult, there’s some guilt mixed in there as well. Severus probably would not have been sucked into the Voldemort thing nearly as deep or nearly as fast if it hadn’t been for Lucius, and the war kind of destroyed him. Lucius remembers a younger Severus who was modding potions, inventing spells, coming up with cheeky nicknames for himself, and that person is gone. That’s a big part of the reason he’s so invested in the Severus/Remus relationship in Prison of the Phoenix. Something about Remus has managed to wake up parts of that younger Severus, and Lucius thinks that’s fantastic.

I also think Lucius might be the character who knows Voldemort the best. He’s one of the only Death Eaters who Voldemort calls by their first name (Bellatrix, Severus, and Draco are the others) and he’s weirdly familiar with his “slippery friend” Lucius, addressing the whole speech about how/why he returned to him, for some reason? Anything that helps Voldemort make sense as a person I’ll take, and to me it makes sense that young Tom Riddle charmed Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius’ father, first. The dates are right, and he’s exactly Tom’s type - rich, pureblood, probably easily flattered (let’s be honest) and sitting on a pile of magical artifacts. It’s very Hepzibah Smith vibes, is what I’m saying. And rich, posh, popular seventeen year olds don’t join cults. But if Lucius’ father was already in a cult… 

It also makes sense to me that Tom Riddle got sort of stuck when he killed Marvolo Gaunt, and made his first horcrux at sixteen. He has this fascination with sixteen year old pureblood wizards (so Barty, Draco, and Lucius would have fit this profile.) He sort of wants to be them, but also sort of wants to break them? It’s messy, and complicated. It’s creepy and compelling, that Lucius is aging but this spectre that’s dominated his life isn’t. 

And so when Lucius gives Ginny the diary in Book 2… it makes sense that he’s just trying to get rid of it. He was just at Borgin and Burkes selling dark artifacts, but knows that the diary is worse. He needs to make sure it can’t possibly be traced back to him. So he gives it to the daughter of the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. (It is an enchanted muggle artifact, after all.) If Arthur Weasley finds it and deals with it, fine. If Ginny is discovered with it in a way that blows up in Arthur’s face, also fine. If it does get to Hogwarts and does open the Chamber of Secrets - well Draco is going to be fine, and it might undermine Dumbledore. If it was really important to Lucius that the diary rid the school of muggleborns… he would have given it to Draco and had him use it. Or given it to Draco, and told him to leave it somewhere for an enemy to find. But Lucius doesn’t do that, because he doesn’t want Voldemort back and his politics just aren’t that important to him. 

The one trait I did give Lucius is being an unrepentant wife guy. (And I mean… it doesn’t contradict anything. There isn’t anything in the books to suggest that he isn’t a wife guy.)  EDIT: I cannot believe I forgot the little "it's going to be okay" wrist squeeze she gives him right before he passes Voldemort his wand. This meta does a fantastic job getting into who Narcissa is, and I am officially justified in writing them just as googly-eyes about each other as I want. Also going full Gomez and Mortica makes them a better foil for the Weasleys, and the (not typically on the same page) Arthur and Molly.

[sufferu]

Your fantastic writing skills gave me angst I demand compensation. Lol. You gave me a lot to think about and I have to say, in my nearly 9 years of being an avid fanfic reader. A writer never made me THIS invested.

After being abandoned by everyone, do you think subaru will go to Priscilla? She was the only one who saw his side.

I have to say tho I get Subaru's side more. He can't control RBD. If anyone had the power to bring back loved ones they would. I'm sure Ferris wouldn't hesitate to save crush. I think everybody is so upset that they tunnel visioned and didn't do right by him. Everything is outside of his control. He doesn't choose to come back. But he is, so he tries to save more people everytime.

Subaru obviously has issues. And I don't like the way the re zero narrative punishes him for using RBD. Meanwhile, Al is over here spaming reset with no consequences.

The world hates Subaru and the rest of the cast blame him. He is trying harder then ANYONE to LIVE, but they call him a suicidal monster.

I’m so glad that you’re enjoying my fic! That is some high praise right there, lol: I do hope to meet those expectations going forward ;)

Though I will say…I am approaching this from a slightly different angle. For starters — this will be a lot clearer in the actual chapter than it was in this ficlet, but Arc 5 does not go the same way it does in canon, hence how Subaru managed to save EVERYONE and capture/kill literally every attacking Archbishop in Priestella. This is the main reason why everyone is so angry and devastated. If it were canon Arc 5, things might have gone differently. …Then again, Arc 8 DOES exist. So maybe we would have ended up in this situation someday regardless.

But also…well.

Return By Death isn’t JUST a powerful ability that Subaru has access to: it is the epitome of weaponized self-destruction, in which he can literally sacrifice himself over and over again for the sake of those around him whether they like it or not. He is fully capable of taking all their pain on himself, of placing himself in unimaginably horrible situations on other people’s behalf, and doing it for…maybe even all of eternity, depending on how things go. If you’ve ever read The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K Le Guin — Subaru has the potential to basically become That for the entirety of Lugunica. And even worse: if he’s employed as a knight, it is arguably his sworn duty to do exactly that, because a knight is a profession in which one lays down their life for the people they want to protect. What does that turn into when the knight can do that again and again, indefinitely?

The cast of Re:Zero shows every sign that they would absolutely fucking hate the idea of being reliant on something that disgusting. Julius sacrifices his reputation to try and keep Subaru alive, Tivey and Hetaro declare that throwing away one’s life for a cause is a fucking joke, Ferris has this whole thing about valuing life to the point where just a hint of Subaru being suicidal sends him into an actual nervous breakdown, Vincent is raked through the coals for his attempt to sacrifice himself for his country just that one time by both the narrative and the people around him, Arc 4 exists — there’s A Lot that points to most of these characters finding the idea of this cycle of repeated sacrifice bring just AWFUL, and even to the idea that they’d actively take offense to someone attempting to do such a thing on their behalf.

There is one exception to this rule, however, and that is Priscilla Barielle — who actively praises subjects that sacrifice themselves for her, who forces Aldebaran to reset whenever he does something she doesn’t like, who praised Subaru as a brilliant knight when he was (narratively speaking) at his very worst, who symbolizes the mechanisms of fate itself, who’s final moment involved her sacrificing herself for her homeland, and who is in every way the pinnacle of the Sword Wolf that Vollachia praises as the ideal subject (VOLLACHIA, mind you, which is a nation that has the whole Muspel contract going on). Priscilla is an actual monster, an awful personality, and the antithesis of the themes of Re:Zero. So her siding with Subaru in this instance is — completely in character, but it’s one of the most damning things I feel I could have done.

(I am glad that someone was able to actually connect with her though — was afraid that I made her too cartoonishly evil lmao)

As for what’s happening to Subaru now…well, you’re right about the end of that duel being the rock bottom of his character’s state in this fic. But — just because he was fired from his post doesn’t mean he’s being ABANDONED. They can’t afford to abandon a time traveler to be left to his own devices, first of all. But also, even in they’re all Very Angry with him right now…all these people still love him an awful lot. There’s a reason Wilhelm decided to duel him for the position and take the blame for his removal all upon himself, instead of doing something that would leave Subaru more at the mercy of public opinion. And there’s a reason Crusch’s idea of “suicide watch” was basically, “Hey, Wilhelm, do you want a new grandchild?” instead of something like “Let’s imprison him in the catacombs of the Kingdom.” They DO care about him. That’s the problem.

[demonslayedher]

Shall we talk ☆Pillar Filler???☆

(As well as the rest of the episode?)

Keeping it behind a cut because it's not yet available for everybody and a lot of people will appreciate being surprised (I know I did)!

First, how about that new OP??

I love how it sets this arc up for being a pause in the constant life or death struggle (for the Pillars anyway, hahaha), and pricks at how the Pillars always feel they are struggling to compensate for their weaknesses, and the inky hatred that fills their hearts which Oyakata-sama knows they've channeled into defeating Kibutsuji Muzan at all costs. I also had a passing thought the other day about how so many Japanese legends of demon slaying require the hero to call upon a non-human higher power, or use something like a poison or alcohol to weaken a demon before they stand a chance of defeating it. In the end, the medicine that Tamayo and Shinobu develop does serve this crucial role (and the sun fulfills the role of a higher non-human power), but it's otherwise ironic that instead of temporarily weakening a demon to their own level, the usual course of action is to use Breath to temporarily increase their power to that of a demon.

Attaining a mark sure increases the role that "temporary" already played in their lives, and it's really no question that they would choose to pursue that option, even knowing the result.

(Also, CHUNTAROOOOO)

So anyway, onto that filler!!

I loved it.

First, the nitpicking just to get it out of the way: why did a demon need to bother tying up a victim???? Whhhhy? Like, at least they didn't pull a Speedy with some contrived "this demon just toys with victims and leaves them injured instead of killing them" routine that makes for a happy low-stakes Piller Filler episode while showing utter disregard for what demons are and why the Corp risks themselves to stop them. (That said, I always love seeing other Corp members fulfill their own Corp duties with no relation whatsoever to Tanjiro, who is just one piece of a much, much larger whole.)

But rather than write what would ultimately be stupid dialogue with an insignificant filler demon, it's nice that Ufotable did not bother developing the Castle Demon. The totally undeveloped baddies are easy to cast off as Blood Technique (but maybe they could have looked a little cooler if, like, they were vaguely wearing samurai armor or something instead of just being in skin suits? Whatever, not important.) I appreciate that Ufotable did not bother to answer these questions of "why is the victim tied up" because the point of this scene was very obviously not about her or the demon. (I like to think Iguro cut the ropes and then told her to get to safety but just, like, left her there on the top roof).

So as for what this scene WAS for... hot dang, did it accomplish that!!!

The purpose was to make Sanemi and Iguro look cool, and it sure as hell did that. WHAT GOOD CHANBARA, those show-offy sword-play moves against a mob of nameless villains were just so deliciously well choreographed, and the people who can appreciate that were also likely to really appreciate the use of a castle as a purely fun battle setting. Ufotable was probably like, "Our biggest fans are nerds for KnY's touches of traditional Japanese folklore and culture, and for swords and swordplay, so you know what else will probably get them riled up? Yeah, let's give them a castle fortress."

And then everyone cheered, like, "Yes, yes, the fangirls like demonslayedher on Tumblr will never know what hit them."

But then some brilliant person spoke up and said, "You guys, I have the perfect finishing blow."

And everyone said, "What? How could we possibly top this scene that not only purely makes Sanemi & Iguro look cool, but also serves their characters and the plot nicely by showing how the Pillers don't feel they can rely on the other Corp members, and that even though they speak sharply to them they show concern for them by their actions? You know, especially slyly since anime-only fans will get to appreciate a new side of characters whom they haven't gotten to bond with much yet for only having seen their mean sides mostly and none of their battle coolness, and also slyly because the hardcore manga fans know that these two are buddies?"

And then the brilliant person says, "Let's give them that fortress."

The brilliant person was then crowned Ruler of Ufotableland and the fans lived happily ever after.

Speaking of Pillar Filler, I also want to point out how nice that opening exposition between Shinobu and Kanao was. First, what a nice way of incorporating Kanao into a nice episode that gives us a nice little dose of everyone in the Corp cast, even by adding that little scene of Amane and Ubuyashiki too. I loved the little touches that develop the Butterfly Mansion, like the fact that on the path there, they have a stone sign that says "Butterfly Mansion" and a line of carved Jizo statues (to protect travelers and (deceased) children) with little butterflies. And that moment of Nezuko frowning as the sunlight goes behind a cloud? Wonderful. And Shinobu essential saying to Kanao, "I trust you with defending everyone here in the now VERY LIKELY EVENT OF KIBUTSUJI MUZAN ATTACKING while I have to go off to a Pillar Meeting now that you're back"? I looooove iiiiiiiiit. That also says a lot about the trust other Pillars have in Shinobu to entrust her with Nezuko instead of putting any pressure on her to take part in Pillar Training, as clearly they don’t know about Tamayo, and it's really anyone's guess if they know about the poison or not (though the light novel implies Himejima might have an inkling but doesn't know). Being Pillars, though, I doubt any of them would tell her she's wrong for being prepared to take down a demon in any possible way.

I love, love, love, love the treatment of all the straight-from-the-manga scenes, like "Welcome home, Inosuke" (except for the added 'did you miss me, Aoi-chan' because canonically Aoi is the one kind of girl who is not his type), Tamayo speaking with Oyakata-sama's bird, Mitsuri's "explanation" of the mark, and every single Pillar interaction. I love the amount of respect they show to Himejima (and how Ufotable slightly expanded on this), and I am so excited for the extra Himejima content this season. In the new marketing materials released on the same day as the episode/movie, they make stark use of one of the kanji characters in his name ("cry out"), which is a very nice touch. And the use of BGM!!! Especially the touches of Giyuu's and Mitsuri's themes during the meeting!

*happy sigh*

It is nice to be a fandom citizen of Ufotableland.

[greenerteacups]

Hello! Firstly I want to thank you for sharing the brilliance that is Lionheart, it is truly a masterpiece and is canon now to me. All of your characterizations are incredible, Draco is of course amazing. I also adore how you write strong women. Hermione obviously but also Ginny, Fleur, and tonks are brilliant. I have to ask who is your fan cast for your characters? Does it change as they get older? Curious about Draco and Hermione but would love any info on all of them.

First, thank you for a really wonderful compliment. Second: this is a really fun question! I hope my answers aren't interpreted as definitive versions of how the characters appear in Lionheart; in fact, some of my fancasts actually look quite different from how I picture the characters in my head, because... well, nobody looks just like I picture them in my head! So I'm going to just rattle off a few people who I think would be good casts in terms of stage presence and knack for the role, in addition to looks!

I've written somewhere before about my Draco not being Hollywood Handsome, but a specific kind of inbred aristocrat WeirdHot, like a younger Skarsgård energy. A young Jamie Campbell Bower, maybe? He has the cheekbones for it. Hermione I'm much more picky about, because she canonically (for both!) is sort of plain — not necessarily because of her features, she just doesn't put effort into her appearance — and pretty much every recognizable actress I could name is going to be some order of knockout. Dixie Egerickx, maybe? With a good wig.

Ginny is a really hard role to play (and bless Bonnie Wright, she really tried, it's not her fault the script gave her peanuts). She's a jock, and she has that kind of jockish "I'm a dick but also somehow the kindest person you'll ever meet" energy that's hard to play. I could see Sadie Sink doing a great job here — her work on Stranger Things shows off that combined toughness with vulnerability really well. Fleur has an ethereal, dainty, almost unnerving beauty, very birdlike, which reminds me of Tamzin Merchant (Georgiana Darcy in Pride and Prejudice 2005, for ref.) Tonks gets to change all the time, but when Draco sees her, she's giving Bellatrix, so like — Alexandria Daddario, probably? But take down the eyes, like, 15%.

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

weird question, but- if you were to do a series of unfortunate events au with sanders sides, how would you place characters into different roles? i was just curious since you mentioned in the jantigone annotations that you read lemony snicket (LOVED lemony snicket, childhood memories right there lol) and i was suddenly struck with a stark vision of snicket!janus narrating the ordeals of his dead ex-lover thomas's children and i wanted to know what ideas you might have ^^

What a brilliant question. If I ever wrote an ASOUE crossover, it would mostly likely be canonverse, because that’s the way my brain likes to go with these sort of things! I think c!Thomas would be quite awful at looking after a trio of orphaned children, and possibly even worse at seeing through a Count Olaf disguise, and I think even more fun would be had with setting the whole thing partly at a local theatre. Obviously playing a bit fast and loose with the way the Sides can interact with real people, but don’t I always?

Most things I write, and especially crossovers/fusions, are challenges to myself; i.e., me asking myself, can I write this certain strange thing and make it make sense? And in the case of a lot of the crossovers, the challenge and the fun is taking two different canons, often with different styles and sense of humor, and fusing them together smoothly. And in this case, the most fun bit about a ASOUE/TSS crossover for me would be performing that reconciliation of tone and style smoothly - and I think I could manage that best with canonverse. (If you've ever wondered why I write so many canon fusions, here's your answer.)

BUT if I were to take a route closer to the one you’re probably suggesting here, Janus as the Lemony narrator would indeed be very fun… but I think I’d probably actually lean more to LOGAN as the narrator character, and have Janus be an active VFD member (with the disguises and such). Not sure who is cast as the kids, I swore I’d never write another kidfic after the Matilda AU but I’m bad at keeping promises. I think maybe Remus and Roman as a twin duo would be funky, and if I’m doing that I might genuinely leave it as just the two of them, with the other Sides coming in and out of the narrative as required.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t find straight-up role-replacement AUs terribly interesting to write for the most part; it’s much more fun to try to work out where the canon characters would fit into the universe as they are without trying to fit them into preordained boxes. In this case, I figure Virgil, Patton, Janus, and Thomas (maybe Emile too, why not?) would be Potential Guardians for the twins in this case, all with their own specific problems and Snicketesque Situations to deal with. No idea who the Olaf character would be. The Dragon Witch is always a good standby, I guess? Or maybe Remy? If I wrote this properly I'd put tons of thought into it, this is just me throwing things at the wall.

...That being said, fuckin LOVE Thomas as Janus's Beatrice. If anyone less inclined to weird esoteric crossover stuff than I am ever writes that, please let me know, I'd eat it all the way up.

[scullymurphy]

Hiyaaa, just dropping in out of nowhere to gush about your BL + FD universe, which I've just finished reading.

I'm in a weird phase and have read A LOT of dramione in the last 6 months and a lot of it really good dramione but your cast of characters simply jump off the page (screen?) like few others, I'm absolutely *bereft* at having to leave them to their own lives!

Special gushy mentions to the following elements of the story: how true your writing rings to being a teenage girl in the late 90s (only slightly before my time, showing my age here), the many different types of love we feel for the people around us, LAVENDER (all of her, she's literally perfect), a delightfully accurate portrayal of a ceilidh (utter chaos, and someone's granny out-dancing all the young folk), and that one snippet at the end of FD when Hermione's drunk, at a fucking party, STILL TALKING ABOUT PROOF NUMBER THREE - such a hilarious bit of characterisation, I love her weird little brain.

Anyway, I'm off to dive into your other fics because your writing style is just brilliant, and obviously if you ever write a third part to Light and Dark, I'm THERE, WITH BELLS ON.

Hiiii I am behind on BL/FD asks, I'm so sorry! But I loved this one and it's stayed on my mind. Mostly because you called out things that are so near and dear to my heart in the story. The types of love we can experience, the 90s vibe, Hermione's dedication to proof #3, and because you CLEARLY know your way around a ceilidh--down to the grannies putting everyone to shame. In fact, full confession, all the dashing grannies and aunties in FD were based on my own SMIL (Scottish Mummy in Law), who can absolutely cut a rug.

ANYway, thank you so much for this ask and for coming to tell me how you felt about the story. I hope you enjoyed anything else of mine that you ended up reading! xoxo ~Scully

[loverlylight]

Trying to write down all my Cinderella's Castle thoughts before I... well, I was going to try and say fall asleep but I'm too energized to sleep so we'll see. Spoilered, obviously!

It was SO AMAZING. Got to sit center in the front row and it was... god, it was so brilliant and also so COOL. Bryce was just amazing, like, I knew she would be, but she was such a brilliant leading lady! And all her dresses were stunning, like, all of the outfits were great, but hers were just incredible!

I also love Tadius (big surprise), so happy he had his Curlts for the role. Also, Kim as the Fairy Queen <3 Honestly, they were all cast perfectly, and they were all amazing and just... augh! Cannot wait for the digital ticket so I can figure out how many times I can rewatch a three-hour show in a three day window.

It's kinda funny thinking of the relationships between the characters Curt, Mariah and James play compared to in Pulp, I am so sorry I am too deep in the brainrot at the moment that when I saw Tadius and Putrice interact I was like "this isn't the Paper Stars I remembered"

...was close enough to the stage that I got spat on by Jeff Blim, which is an odd thing to say but it's also an odd thing to have happened, so. Also he kept up the tradition of playing a character full of chaotic, manic energy, which was great.

Honestly, while it was not at all about shipping and I appreciate that, Ella had so many good shipping options based on canon interactions-- the Fairy Queen, Tadius, these two girls who you know from the start are gonna die but they're so cute with Ella.

Anyway, I am starting to get a bit sleepy, so I should probably act on that while I can, but I'll try and write any more thoughts when I can and just... yeah, it was spectacular.

[lauren-no-why]

how about dale redmayne for the character ask?? :]

YEAH DALE MY BOY DALE

I have so many thoughts and I am going to try not to spend all night writing this even though it's sorely tempting. It's surprising to me just how much we can pull from the little we've been given and like some idiot dog I've taken that and run off with it while shaking it in my mouth

First impression: Pretty sure the first I became aware of his existence is Fool for Love, which is tricky because Buck is the world's least reliable narrator so it's really hard to know how much of that video to trust (and also confusing that they cast Stevin here as Dale, I... have to assume because it was just convenient but in retrospect after watching Vide Noir this could also represent some real confusion on Buck's part I guess). I guess the best I can say is that he was intriguing and I was a quick fan but also like, there wasn't much more to say. Some point afterward I became aware that he's the writer for all of the Phantom Riders' music and boy that is where the fun starts.

Impression now: Dale my beloved mess, Dale I feel so bad, Dale!! You keep losing people!!! god

Basically, here we have a guy who is clearly pretty brilliant at songwriting, both in terms of instrumentation and lyrics. He has to have a ton of creativity, intelligence, and passion to pull this off, I mean, consider all of the Phantom Riders' tracks and work out how those lyrics could have come from the mind of a Latino kid growing up in East LA in the 50s-60s, where the state was not exactly prioritizing their education. It would have taken an enormous amount of drive to shrug that off and start a band and write songs like these and make that work somehow (and certainly people did - Ritchie Valens might be one of the most well known today but there were many others).

Somehow he's able to balance that with evidently some kind of leadership status in the World Enders (both he and Alex have been named leaders, and since they're brothers, possibly co-leaders? that's how I interpret it but there are other options, like Dale left most of the leadership to Alex so he could pursue music, perhaps). Whether he's top dog or not, if we can trust Fool for Love at all he has some kind of higher status and a close circle of trusted folks who will fight by his side. Between these two facts, gang leader and rock musician, he probably has a pretty charismatic personality that lends itself well to leadership and stage performance, on top of the clear intelligence and creativity the music shows us.

And then! Somewhere in here, his brother is murdered, and Rigo (the band's drummer so presumably also a good friend) goes missing. A lot of the song lyrics seem to be a response to Johnnie's death in some way. My heart goes out to this poor dude so much because he lost a lot but the World Enders do truck on with their nihilism and he'll cope in whatever way he's able while accepting that death is just another fact of life even if it fucking sucks when it's your little brother and who knows if Rigo is dead or alive now too.

What? Oh that was supposed to be my impression now. I have so much impression.

Favorite moment: We are shown very little of him in action but I'm pleased that Miguel gets to briefly and temporarily depict him having a hell of a good time on stage in the underground club in the movie. I would love a whole fictional recorded live performance because the guy must absolutely have so much stage presence. Alternatively please give me more of his non-music side as delightfully violent gang leader alongside his brother. This is now a wishlist of moments.

Idea for a story: I'm interested in the balance between public and private life when you have someone who is a rock musician known well enough to have been on TV for a live performance in the 60s, and also absolutely a notorious criminal. I know obviously that this is a real scenario for a lot of folks these days but most current gang members that I am aware of who are releasing music are mostly doing a lot of self-promotion on, say, youtube. The social media and music industry environments today are very different from how they were in the 60s - there would have been a lot less opportunity for everyone to try to make it big back then, I feel like, meaning that somehow Dale is getting on using his real name and face and everything on television performing and like, there were fewer TV channels then, he has an opportunity to be a household name for his music, and then somehow he is able to step off stage and slip his black jacket and knife back on and get to business carjacking or whatever. Aside from "why has he not been arrested after a gig yet", what is that shift like, from street to stage and back? I don't know if I'll write that but it's an interesting thought to explore.

Unpopular opinion: Man if anyone has popular opinions about him to begin with I don't know them.

Favorite relationship: Well, like I said with Alex, his brothers. This trio is just so much trouble and I need to know more. Unlike with Alex, Johnnie doesn't mention Dale by name in the film (which is weird but hey I didn't write the script) - but it's obvious he still has a lot of affection for his brother's band, and vice versa Johnnie is on the cover of the Phantom Riders' album Black Brained in between two unnamed members, which may well be in honor of him after his death, so, there's a lot of love there, once again.

Favorite headcanon: Oh you want even more headcanon do you? Cool. I write Dale as the smug, cocky, very self-assured middle brother. The one who, unlike the other two, actually tries to keep up with the news, who has probably already burned his draft card while laughing hilariously about the audacity of the government to ask that of him while they give nothing in return, and who is very visibly a womanizer while quietly treating himself to pretty boys on the side. It's sex, drugs, and rock and roll all the time and you can't and won't stop him, and if you don't notice that he's smarter than he lets on, all the better, he doesn't give a single shit what you think. The World Enders are his family and he will fight fiercely for all of them, and meanwhile he'll play guitar while working on music at any hours he pleases and fuck you if you think you get to complain about that, take it or move out.

I love Dale. A lot. Oh and he also has great tattoos. Those will get posted soon.

[fangirl-saya]

The Reddit Q&A

Because I'm a normal person with normal amount of appreciation for Renfield and Hoult, I went through this thread and pulled out all the replies that had to do with Hoult. Enjoy. Reddit thread

Putting it under "Keep reading" because long post is long.

Hoult: I watched all of them but Dwight Frye is obviously such an iconic wonderful performance and one that I did try to take a lot of inspiration from.

Hoult: They’re all difficult for different reasons. I don’t have as great an answer as that… but playing Beast was quite challenging simply because of the makeup. [To Cage] Which reminds me, I really felt for you in this. You took it in stride.

Hoult: Something that I love is when you’re on a set and you open a drawer and someone has taken the time to write a letter. It may never end up on screen, but it’s so incredible that they took the extra step to make each aspect of the film feel more real and to make that moment special.

Hoult: We were all (the cast) growing up together. So, whilst we were pretending to do all those things on the show and be those characters, outside of it, we were becoming great friends and experiencing all those things in real life. We were 16 and 17, so to share that time with those people and still be friends with them now is very special. I feel lucky to be a part of it.

Hoult: Hmmm. I liked the first John Wick. Speed as well.

Cage: I’m just going to go on record now, Nick is a hell of a dancer, and he worked his ass off to do this incredible dance sequence which didn’t make it into the movie, but it was brilliant. That was a lot of work.

Hoult: That was, yeah, that was a lot of work and rehearsals. Choreography came up with this wonderful fantasy sequence of Renfield dancing with bugs, just over the moon with love. But yeah, sadly it didn’t make it into the film but maybe it will end up as a deleted scene?

Cage: No reason in terms of method, but the fangs were genuine fangs, they were ceramic and quite pointy. So I did bite my lip a few times which made me drink my own blood.

Hoult: I quite like the taste of my own blood.

Cage: There is something warm and fuzzy about it.

Hoult: We were inside a church at one point, during a hurricane. It wasn’t paranormal, but it was eerie. We had to stop filming and all gather together towards the center of this church and wait out this hurricane.

Cage: One of the recent ones, THE MENU, I just thought it was so delicious. That movie is about cooking so that is the right word. It was one of my favorite movies of the year. Darkest comedy in the most delicious way.

Hoult: Face Off, Con Air, Pig, Adaptation, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Hoult: There’s a line that she added (in a scene in the apartment and I was making her cookies) and she said “I don’t want your murder cookies." That was a very funny line that she made up. That gets me every time.

Hoult: I like the idea of Frankenstein's monster, but Dracula would be up there as one of my favorites as well. 

Hoult: I mean he’s horrendous on some levels, but he’s also quite caring and nurturing on others. So it’s always a matter of perspective, isn’t it? If you saw a vignette of the nicest moments of their lives together it would seem picturesque and wonderful. And then at its worst it probably is horrific and as bad as it can get. So it’s both things at the same time.

Cage: I’m fairly certain that Dracula and Renfield had a few wonderful laughs together over the years. Big laughs? That’s probably the better word to use.

Hoult: Thank you so much. In some ways, tonally, these are similar films and I love making those horror comedy/twisted genres. If you like those, hopefully you’ll like Renfield.

Hoult: I learned today that Nick edited Shadow of The Vampire, which I didn’t know and I was surprised by it.

Cage: I don’t think anything surprises me about Nick Hoult. He’s making all the right moves and I knew he would.

Hoult: For me? Hot and sour soup.

Cage & Hoult: Both did all the time.

Hoult: Oh I wouldn’t want to say a least favorite. I like them all.

Cage: Thank you. You're great too.

Hoult: To quote a great actor, '"Thank you. You're great too" -- Cage'

...

Thanks for the questions! We gotta go see the children of the night about a bite to eat - but make sure to watch RENFIELD, only in theaters on April 14th.

[zoobus]

I Shall Master this Family! is a rare princess story where the art is like, outrageously skilled, unique in its consistent level of detail, unreal historical fashion dedication, so much so that it successfully carries what's an overall mid story. You might notice that it's a mid story (I certainly have) but they throw you another sumptuous princess Guinevere sleeves and you're goaded into another chapter.

Normally this isn't enough. If anything I've found too good art highlights bad writing, thoughts wandering to how the artist(s) deserves better than the slog they're supporting.

But I'm stuck with this annoying isekai girl ignoring all the more emotionally intriguing subplots in favor of chapter upon chapter of isekai-based ego-stroking (can you believe this little kid came up with this brilliant business plan? Can you believe a 9yo identified the genius of a commoner? It's like she knows everything before it happens! Lay it on thicker!) because a) artist team that can conceptualize adults over 30??? b) artist team that draws old women??? Real ones???

b2) men too though it's more impressive that they drew a beard like they've actually seen a beard before. Old guys are common but distinguished and healthy looking ones less so

c) you can tell this is based on a historical fashion because nobody invents cultural male-garb unless they're meant to be eroticized. I can't think of another story where any real attention was put into what the guys are wearing unless cleavage was involved

I don't know if I even care for the fashion itself - that there's conspicuous effort into its portrayal puts it in a class of its own. Everyone else is satisfied with the certified male love interest paizuri shirts, cravats with medievallish suits, and generic npc peasantwear.

d) I don't know how many times I've given up on a comic because the artist had a fetish for blondes, making it nigh impossible to tell anyone apart. This story takes place in a Scots-inspired land, so a sizable chunk of the cast are redheads and the endless shades of red and curl textures never gets old. I like that blondes are still sort of gingery and shout out to the colorist for not being weak, blue-eyed apologist.

It came far too late but I finally understood why Shananet fell for this loser's act when he whipped out the brown/blonde puppy combo. Wish the writers were capable of juggling plots so we could have seen more of it.

I'll have to get into it in another post but the writing flaws are grating in a skill issue way, maybe too much ambition that should have been scaled back. For example writing men as being generally less substantial, more hysterical, while making women intelligent, well-rounded, characters with depth of various alliances only works if your story focuses on the latter. If you give me cold, calculating ice queen, I won't be satisfied with the plot spending more time on the dumbass loser 30-something eldest son throwing tantrums when his stupid plans fail. Likewise, how do you think it feels learning that the cool-headed, clever woman who gave up on potentially taking over the clan for a worldwind romance was played for a simp by her (quite obviously) less intelligent husband who doesn't even hide his seething hate for her family well? It makes everyone look like a clown. Writing structure crit imminent

It's a shame but unfortunately I like the way it looks too much to drop it😔

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Hello 👋

https://www.tumblr.com/seeingteacupsindragons/740964726808395776/williams-ridiculous-plan-went-badly-because-he?source=share

Could you please elaborate on this ? ( it's been wayy too long since I read MTP ik )

Honestly, I should have known making a joke with that meme was going to result in people asking me to actually write it.

So the joke is as follows:

William James Moriarty's ridiculous plan went badly because he cast all of his characters via nepotism. In this essay, I will—

Which was based on a thought here that mostly concluded in "William's such a neurodivergent babygirl freak I love him."

Let's start with some facts that I think are not really controversial:

William's plan is deeply important to him. It's his life's work, and the one thing he has poured his heart and soul into above all else (even his math, which contains just about the rest of it)

William cares deeply and personally for everyone involved in the plan

A thing to note here is that while William's plan, and everyone involved in the plan, are deeply important to him, the chicken-egg situation for each character varies.

Obviously Louis was important to and cared for by him in a way that predates the plan: Louis is his younger brother, but only by a year or so, so even brilliant William wouldn't remember life without Louis and being attached at the hip to him. And the same can be said for Louis

Meanwhile, his other brother Albert, became important to him because of the plan, and the same can be said for Albert > William. Albert is very explicit about the fact that he was drawn to William like an Evil Jesus after seeing him Preach his Plan.

Moran — seems to care for William first and the plan because he cares for William, judging by the tiny hints we get at their meeting, but could be either.

Fred — seems to care for the plan first and William after, judging by how little he knew of William in Baskervilles despite being part of The Plan by then.

Patterson — not sure he'd have even met William without The Plan

Bond — plan first, William second. Probably?

Jack — certainly he knew the boys for other reasons, but their emotional bond seems to establish around the training. Could be either.

Sherlock — distinctly caring about each other first before either of them thinks about the plan, despite the plan existing at the time

Etc.

So now to correlate this to their actions regarding The Plan vs. William's own well-being in The Final Problem.

Moran, despite caring far more for William than the Plan, chooses the Plan, because William chose the Plan, and he is choosing to respect William's choice. Moran's an oddball, and we can't say for sure why William chose this random sad boy veteran to involve in the plan, but we'll come back to Moran anyway. Albert, who came to William via the Plan, intends to leave via the Plan.

But, Louis and Sherlock, who both came into the Plan because of William's attachment to them, and Fred, who came to William because of the plan, all choose William and damn the plan to hell.

That said: Bond and Moran are both, how shall we say....enabling, of Louis and Fred's "treachery." They knew what they were planning, and signed off on it if they could get a win for both. But if all of them switched sides, well, only William would have one. They needed to try to tackle both battles for the Plan and William together.

And as such, William, choosing people for his plan because he cared for them, ended with his plan in shambles...because they cared for him, too, and the key orchestrators of it—Louis and Sherlock—are the two characters who he definitively involved after emotional attachment came first. Some of them cared for him and his plan equally—but those people respected his choice and made sure his plan actually worked out in the end.

And that's why nepotism is bad, kids!

[siavahdainthemoon]

For the 2024 Reads in Review- #22 :)

22: Best book you found in the wild!

I think in the wild means, one I wasn't anticipating - a book that snuck up on me. An ambush predator, if you will.

And that would have to be the Streets of Flame series by Matt Weber!

This is a fantasy series about illegal dragon-racing - with FEATHERED dragons! - in a setting inspired by Central/South America, and my friend, it is SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD! The worldbuilding is just BRILLIANT, there's so much detail and all of it is strangely easy to believe in even when it sounds bonkers - like, the city the story is set in has districts that are defined by WHAT DRAGON BROODSPIRES ARE IN THAT DISTRICT, and when that species of dragon decides it's time to breed, everyone in that district has to UP AND MOVE until the breeding cycle is over, and it's just baked into how the city works!

Or there's the whole thing of, the dragons adapt physiologically to stress, IN REAL TIME NOT EVOLUTIONARY TIME! So a dragon that is flying hundreds of miles every day adapts - its shape and wingspan and whatever change - whereas a dragon that is not flying so much might be more adapted to flying in trees or something. And that's PLOT-RELEVANT because one of the ways the dragon racers work is by triggering desired adaptations in their dragons!

HOW COOL IS THAT?

And the CAST, the cast is so wonderful, I love them all! Zaya is our MC, she's a psychic empath from a culture inspired by Māori, and she USED to race dragons but she has Gone Respectable…until her adopted daughter gets in trouble with a drug lord, and then dragon racing is the only way to MAYBE get the money they need to pay him back. She lives with her found-family who are her LEGAL family because in this setting you can just. Establish a new legal family!

(They TALK to each other! LIKE ADULTS. It's amazing! People apologise when they fuck up or when they misunderstand, I love it so much.)

I genuinely adore the whole family, and there are a whole slew of secondary characters that ALSO rock.

The books are INTENSELY anti-cop, very queer, there's a lot about institutional oppression and fantasy-racism (Zaya's people mostly can't even vote) and accessibility (there's a very important medication that's illegal, but you can get it if you're rich enough) and, obviously, DRAGON RACING!

Brimstone Slipstream is an intro-novella, you don't technically HAVE to read it but it's great! It's written like a news article, from the POV of a journalist interviewing Zaya and her wife on dragon racing. You can read my full review here!

Then Windburn Whiplash is the first novel, and that's the one where Zaya's daughter fucks up with the drug lord. My review!

The second full novel, Heatstroke Heartbeat, pivots and is mostly about local politics, but in a way that follows VERY naturally from the jaw-dropping reveals at the end of the previous book. My review!

There are quite a few typos - the series is self-published - but I don't even care. (ME. Who highlights every typo in every book so I can go and fix them in the ebook edition because I can't NOT.) The writing is stunning, these books made me FEEL so much - ALL THE THINGS - I love the world, and I am genuinely RABID to get my hands on the next book!

So yeah. THIS IS AN AMAZING SERIES AND EVERYONE SHOULD READ IT!!!

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I’d like to echo the thoughts of the person who praised “My Immortal Lily.” I read it recently—in one sitting!—and it’s genuinely one of my all-time favourite fics. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who follows this blog. It deserves so much love!

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Tara Gillespie and Albert Camus teamed-up to write some fabulous Harry Potter fanfiction—obviously you have, being a person of culture—this is your answer. It truly has everything.

It captures “My Immortal” in all its glory (lovingly, and without downplaying its wilder aspects, as many adaptations do), has a very fun cast of characters, who capture the “kids react to strange happenings at Hogwarts” vibe of the early Harry Potter books (but with far more common sense, and far more knowledge twentieth century history, literature, and philosophy), and—somehow, seamlessly—manages to turn the beautiful monstrosity that is “My Immortal” into existentialist literature. Mixing “My Immortal” with absurdism is a brilliant move, and the execution is equally brilliant.

Also: I had not read “Lily and The Art of Being Sisyphus” at the time of reading, but found it fully legible, so if anyone is uncertain on that account—don’t be! Same goes for “My Immortal.” It’s a very well-crafted story, and easily stands on its own; existing knowledge of either universe is an enhancement, not a requirement.

Serious kudos to you, Muffin. Thank you for creating and sharing this incredible fic with the universe! And to everyone else—go read it!

My Immortal Lily and the Art of Bringing Me to Life

Oh my god, consider me very flattered and very shocked. (I really don't expect people to like this one and at the time of writing got a few quite hilarious "Don't do it, Muffin!" style reviews) Thank you so much!

(For the record, it's also one of my favorites that I've written for what that's worth).

[petrichor-idyllic]

Listen, I know that y'all are here for my TMR content, but at least one of you has asked me for an OBX piece and I'm going through a phase, so I thought I'd say my piece on this.

A think a main point of tension in the fan base atm the moment is Jiara (Kiara x JJ).

Now- I would like to clarify that I love the show, and I really like Kie as a character, and even though JJ is my favourite character, I'm not a delusional fangirl who dislikes their relationship because of that.

I, at the end of season 2, actually really liked them and thought they would make a cute couple.

But, as of season 3, I do not like them together.

Hear me out.

I, personally (as in this is my opinion pls dont shout at me), do not like them in season 3.

My main problem with the show and the relationships in the group is that it is incredibly heteronormative - which also increased with Cleo joining the group (I absolutely love Cleo she is an icon I have no problems with her). But like, a friend group with the same amount of boys and girls does not mean that everyone has to pair up. People can just be mates. And while the cast is obviously very diverse, which is brilliant we love to see it, there is not one slightly queer character in the show.

And, Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara, literally has a girlfriend in real life. Idk maybe I will just die on the headcanon hill that Kie is a lesbian because she is an interesting character and I do not care about the whole relationship drama between her and the boys.

Another point people keep arguing over is that Kie and JJ was forced.

And like, no, it wasn't- we've been seeing them subtly flirt for 2 seasons. It's been made obvious that JJ obviously has feelings for Kie; literally in the first episode. And, after season 2, it's clear Kie likes him too.

But, it does feel forced.

Like, it's established they like each other, but they've always liked each other and have gotten into the most horrendous situations without saying anything. So why now?

JJ feels normal - but Kie feels kinda out of character. Like, maybe she just had enough and couldn't hold back anymore, like, girl, I get you. But they used to have good, flirty but friendly energy, and it feels like the writers were forcing tension between them. Which is extra annoying cause it's at the expense of my boy Pope.

Also, just throwing it out there, the whole "I love you, dude" scene didn't even process as a love confession to me - it was only JJ's reaction that made me realise. I think it's because me and my mates say we love each other all the time and the "dude" made it feel like her just trying to convince him she cares over having genuinely strong feelings for him.

Though the Kitty Hawk rescue was peak from JJ and absolutely that I expected their romantic relationship to be- it's just everything before that.

And don't get me started on the time skip.

It's some really bizarre writing. Like, they make sense, but the way it all went down just doesn't make sense to me for some strange reason.

Idk how to explain it. It feels rushed, like whilst they've been friends for years, we didn't really see any progress or realisation from Kiara's side. Like, maybe a scene where she talks to Sarah about it and says she doesn't know what to do and she thinks she's starting to fall for JJ could've made it feel less... off. Something as simple of that could've really added to it in my opinion. Like, we didn't see Kie's feelings for JJ outside of their interactions with each other.

If that makes sense, I'm struggling to explain here.

I hope yall get me here lmao.

[femme-from-hell]

don't mind me going through your blog to consume all the lupin content 👀👀 but, on a side note, i was wondering if i could ask your preferences in the many verses of lupin! as in, in which verses do you like to see the main cast the most? which ones do you feel are the most "authentic" to the character? keep up the good work, and happy writings! ❤️

I’m kinda dumb so I’m assuming when you say ‘verses’ you mean like all the different versions of Lupin and the gang! For me, It would have to be a tie between Miyazaki’s Lupin (castle of Cagliostro), Takeshi Koike’s movie iterations of Lupin, Lupin in part 2 (red jacket), and part 5. 

When it comes to what is authentic within Lupin and the character group to me, there are so many specific attributes to consider that are key focal points that make him, well, him! In Castle of Cagliostro, I adore the romantic nature where he leans more into the “gentleman” of the gentleman thief title. Miyazaki had stated that in his film, he wanted to depict a Lupin in his twilight years, a more mature version of himself. I feel like that more kind and caring nature is to die for, and it does really well in showing how the accumulation of all that he has gone through would understandably result in that type of personal development later in his life, assuming you were to put that movie on a timeline with all the other content. Along with Lupin, I love how the relationships between him and those he cares about are obviously close without having to directly say it, such as how he and Jigen wrestle about with one another, how Fujiko and him have a “I loved you once, and I still love you, just not in that way” vibe going on, etc.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have Koike’s depictions of Lupin and the others which heavily lean more into the “thief” portion of his title. The gritty nature, the unshaken attitude in the face of violence or death, all of it is a beautiful reminder of his origins (the manga)! It never fails to nail in the fact that in reality, he is a criminal, he isn’t really a good guy. Sure, once in a while he’ll save someone or do something kind, but most of it is as a result of an alterative motive. For example, in Fujiko Mine’s lie, he helps the kid out not because of morals or anything, but because the kid offered cash. That darker aspect of Lupin and his friends are rare in the later productions in the series, but whenever it does come about (with exceptions for stuff like Island of Assassins bcs its just a bad movie), it is beautifully done. It mixes a sense of manic sporadicity into Lupin which makes things all the more thrilling and interesting because it turns from just being this silly goofy guy to one of many layers of an internationally wanted criminal. 

Part 5 manages to mix that mature nature earlier displayed by Miyazaki’s Lupin but reistablishes the fact that Lupin isn’t just some guy you see in the paper, but he is in fact, a dangerous wanted criminal. A scene I love deeply is when in part 5, then Ami (amy? Idk she was a little annoying I won’t lie), had run off into an alley and these goons started picking on he and Lupin swoops in as usual. Unlike the usual goofy beating he would give them, he puts his gun into one of the dude’s mouths and was like, “I’m not some celebrity. I’m a criminal, I’ve killed before and I’ll do it again.”! It is one of my all time fav scenes across the board for the series. In terms of the maturity, it can be seen in his relationship with Fujiko which I adore. There scenes are so palpable with unspoken tension, his love for her exceeding words and how what they have will never be as simple as ‘I love you’. It takes all these good parts and mashes them together to make something amazing

As for my thoughts on part 2? He’s a gigantic asshole! He’s selfish, childish, whiney, but he’s also brilliant, inventive, and hilarious. All of these together make part 2 a great depiction of Lupin in his youth. 

Sorry this got kind of long, i got pretty carried away but I had fun writing a little summary on my thoughts! I hope you enjoyed it and I’m sorry if I misunderstood  (￣▽￣*)ゞ