#a creature????? that just likes me from the getgo?????

[melonblood]

OZZY!!!!!! doodles

[nikethestatue]

Eris and Mor Theory

The dynamic between Eris and Mor has always been somewhat inexplicable and confusing. He clearly feels SOMETHING for her, and she seems to detest him to this day.

We know that he left her in the woods when she was gravely injured.

The going theory was that he either knew that she preferred women and didn't want to bind her to him and to a life of pretending to be straight. The other theory is that he didn't want to bring her into Beron's household and subject her abuse, in a way LOA was abused.

What if there is a different reason for him leaving her?

I think both Eris and Mor were too young for Eris to have all these lofty thoughts about protecting her. Beron might not have been a walk in the park, but Eris might have been too young to decide to go against him, or didn't necessarily see a reason to do so for Mor's sake. Beron might not have been abusive to LOA at that point, or at least, not as abusive as he is now. Eris was only 16-17 (some speculate he was as young as 9!) and it just doesn't seem like he'd break an alliance with CON and go against everything that was planned for him, over a girl he barely knew.

Perhaps Eris didn't want to be married to someone he didn't know and didn't feel anything for, and that was his act of rebellion. Maybe.

But what if there was a different reason?

But what of Eris smelled her.

Hear me out.

We know that prior to Rhys and Feyre's mating, the only person who automatically knew that they were mates was Amren. She--by whatever odd powers she possessed--could scent them. She smelled the bond on them.

The theme of smelling the bond continued once Feyre asked whether Tamlin or others would be able to know that she and RHys were mates. During the fiasco in Hybern, others could indeed scent the Feysand bond.

Moving on to Azriel, Elain and Lucien. We find out in the bonus chapter and even in ACOSF itself that he is able to scent the Elucien bond and that it basically makes him physically ill. We are not aware of anyone else in the vicinity of Lucien and Elain being able to smell their bond. Yet Azriel had an incredibly strong reaction to it. To the smell.

What do we know about Azriel? Like Amren, he is also kind of...strange. And possesses unusual powers.

Which brings us to Eris. There's been a lot of theorising that Eris might be a helhound. Helhounds have been introduced in Crescent City, Baxian Argos being one of them. We know that Eris raises hounds and Baxian, when transformed into his hound form, had keener senses, just like all dogs.

If Eris is an Heir to Autumn, even before the Power selected him, we can assume that he has a beastly form, like all High Lords. (We've seen Tamlin's, Rhysand's and Helion's so far.) What if his form is that of a helhound--a great big dog-like creature?

What of Eris was able to scent Mor's future mate bond? What if he knew that she would be mated to someone else later in life.

Now, if, as some speculated, LOA and Helion are in fact mates as well, then it's quite possible that Eris could smell the bond on his mother as well. The bond that wasn't to his father. The bond that ate at her, her psyche, and tormented her. Something like that COULD influence a son--especially because we know he loves and cares for his mother. And what if he did not want to put Mor through the same torture for the rest of her life? Didn't want to put HIMSELF through it?

What if all the hints that he's been dropping about her refusing to see things, refusing to acknowledge them, aren't so much about him--though he seems to be upset that she is still shunning him after all these years--but that she doesn't acknowledge that he did her a favour. Furthermore, we know that some Fae have an inkling that they have a bond before it ever snaps into place, and before they even meet their mate--Rhys knew/felt Feyre before he even met her, Aelin felt the bond before Rowan even had an inkling, Cassian and Nesta seemed to feel it too from the getgo. Lorcan and Elide's bond was never confirmed in the books, but Lorcan told Elide 'I think you might be my mate'.

What if Mor also knows that she is mated, but she is mated to a female, and she refuses to acknowledge it or accept it? And what if Eris was able to scent the mate bond on her when he'd met her and refused to be wed to her not because she slept with Cassian, but because he knew that she was destined for someone else?

[turbobyakuren]

seeing some of the new designs you made for yuzuki and co im curious as to what your design process is? especially in terms of how you approach it in terms of folklore, i know it can be tricky to put that into words but seeing them made me wonder!

AAA I'm so glad I get to talk about my designs... I don't always know what I'm doing with those but I know enough to answer your questions!

All in all, I would define my approach in designing them in terms of folklore and mythology as similar as to how Touhou does it. I like to say I aim to integrate sufficient references to the Monster/Youkai/Legendary Creature's lore but also sprinkle in my own interpretations when I feel like it's possible AND also put the character's personality on the foreground when designing. It's all about balance and what makes sense for the character. For example, Naoko's design is more "urban" in its approach because of her personality, but I still snuck in some "that's-a-stretch" type references with her scarf being loosely based on the bakeneko's towel. Meanwhile, Akira's design has little to no proper references to Kitsune to underline how she wants little to nothing to do with Kitsunes themselves.

There was a time where I could just churn out written designs on the get go, but nowadays I think this is no longer something I think I can do because, you see, I learned how to draw and to think like a character designer. An amateur one, sure, but I feel like this process is the direction I want to go.

So I think my design process nowadays is as follow:

Define character concept. In my process, the character's personality and story is the very first step of the process. There are cases where the design comes first and then the story, but all in all, the story is what dictates the character.

Research about the elements that are part of the character's design. Not only the folklore surrounding the monster I am basing the MagiMon on, but also the pop-culture perception of that monster. It's always useful to know how it is perceived. In general, I know that whatever type of take i want to have on a certain myth, I know I want to go in a direction that I like, so it's good for me to know what I like and what I hate (This is especially the case for Greek Mythology characters, especially the Olympians)

BRAINSTORM! The most/least fun part and the one where it varies from character to character. Some characters have their designs outlined from the getgo, others take a big while for my brain to figure out something. But in general, I go on google image, pinterest or just browse books I have to build a visual library. Build a moodboard and whatnot!

Recently, I found that the best way for me to properly envision a new character is to mentally faceclaim the character with the closest character there is. For example, Vera, the Pegasus MagiMon (that I have yet to design), I picture her as just Platinum. That gives me a mold that i can just reshape in the future.

I also think that I want to find one thing that makes the character stands out from the rest. The most easy part is with the head: a good tip I have received is to have a very specific head silhouette for the character so that they can be recognized from a glance in a crowd. Akira's spiky hair, Gashadokuro's hood, Naoko's pulled hair, Hikaru's one side front bangs. Yuzuki's simple shape also distinguishes her from the rest since she's the protagonist.

This step also depends on how solidified my character's design is, but I sometimes doodle the character or parts of the character either with a loose brush or on kraft paper. To test the grounds.

And next... Well if i have the courage... I draw them! And then I color them. I usually decide on colors on the go, so I don't know if I have any tips to give related to that. I try to follow my gut feeling and go on a "if it fits, it's fine by me" philosophy.

I hope I answered your question! If not you can still ask me for precisions and I'll gladly answer them. Character designs are my passion and discussing that is such a pleasure no matter what!

As a last note, my favourite character designs, and what i usually turn to when i'm in a pinch: Arknights, Touhou Project, Guilty Gear (Strive especially) and Dungeon Meshi. Akihiko Yoshida's art is also a good source of inspiration of mine. Theree's many more but i don't want to make it any longer.

[asteralien]

i’ve been so excited to watch s2 of the witcher but then i saw the doesthedogdie page for midnight mass, i heard that stuff happens to cats in mindhunter AND the haunting of hill house, i also saw the doesthedogdie page for the wheel of time..... im literally so sick of animal violence in shows for no good fucking reason. and then i saw something about roach and im just. im completely burnt out. i don’t want to watch any of this. im so unfathomably tired of having to risk wading through animal cruelty just to watch anything speculative.

[darling-i-read-it]

💐💐💐Hi Maya! (This has to be said!) I have and will always cherish your stories (request or any of your amazing pieces)...which were first around Ewan which I had gone hunting for and it ....led me to you & your immense talent! It only continued to grow and expand when you went on to you wrote for Benoit Blanc...JD or Will Graham...and everything that was before and after! 💐💐💐

May I please have a head cannon where Reader is a writer...she will scribble on napkins..scraps of paper..wherever and whenever she is struck with an idea. Her only other love equal to writing is these five guys!

Roman Sionis, Dan Torrance, Michael Corleone, Jareth & Will Graham

(you writing Jerry from Fright Night...I sent you PM about the character!)

Hey! Glad you were able to send the request! I don’t write for Roman, Dan or Michael anymore but I had to make an exception for you cause I wasn’t sure when I’d be back regularly. But for everyone else lol, don’t request for Roman, Dan or Michael bhahaha. Enjoy and thank you for supporting me for so long!

- writing isn’t really his thing and he doesn’t see the love in it at first

- he doesn’t read books lmao

- but when he sees how happy it makes you he’ll try to understand it better

- he likes the little ideas you leave around because sometimes they really are gorgeous pieces

- and the ideas you have, the imagination

- he really is in awe of it

- childlike wonder sometimes, crazy out of the world excitement when you’re excited

- he may very well be a dick sometimes but you know he loves you

- he probably won’t read a lot of your stuff but he will be happy for you and sometimes that’s enough

- Dan loves it from the getgo

- he even wants to help you with ideas

- he’s had a wacky life and that helps fuel the inspiration sometimes

- he’ll let you use his life for ideas and thats something he would only do if he loved you a lot

- he reads and proofreads for you

- you can leave things you want him to see on his nightstand and he’ll bring it to read at a slow day at work

- he’ll leave notes of encouragement in the margins

- is honest about his reviews but kind about it (never wants to hurt you. ever.)

- if you want to pursue it he will 100% be behind you

- in his line of work, anything you wanna pursue you are welcome to

- he has the money and the means

- so if you wanna be a writer, you will be a writer

- he’s so busy, it’s hard to catch him to get him to read anything you’ve written but he tries to make time

- if you publish anything, any bad reviewers are...well let’s say they miss their kneecaps

- he is always going to be behind you and your endeavors

- just don’t write bout the family, k?

- also, sidenote, everyone in the family has copies of your books, signed

- and they make people buy them

- it’s a great system

- Jareth has done some writing in the past

- I mean, there’s a whole fantasy book about him!

- headcanon that you wrote that book perhaps? anyway

- he loves it

- he also loves when you write about the creatures in the labyrinth because you both spend so much time with random creatures

- he lovessss when you add him in

- literally cannot get enough of your heart in it

- he adores that you put yourself down on the paper and he thinks that’s so raw and beautiful and perfect

- literally will make every creature hear your stories

- yes, even the creepy head tossing pink ones that I don’t remember the name of

- if you can love him and love writing, it’s his dream

- he loves the little ideas that you leave everywhere

- sometimes he’ll find discarded ones and read what you wrote and just be amazed

- he truly thinks your talent in words is amazing

- he’ll read anything and everything you write

- he’s in your corner about it all

- even if you wanna write a book about Hannibal, he thinks it would be good

- better you than Chilton anyway, at least your account will be accurate

- oh man if you wrote him a poem or something about him and read it to him he would just melt

- he’ll sit with you while you write and do random stuff and just watch as you churn out ideas

- he’s truly just always watching and being amazed at you

[ellavaday]

A promise is a promise so here's my Sunday DRES2 related screaming

From the getgo I was already excited for Venedita Jota and Diamante. Still am but I'm not living for all this talk about this stupid twitter fight between Diamante and Jota that I thought we were all over with (fingers crossed they abort that narrative arc bc it was dumb living it irl it's even dumber now)

I knew of Onyx before but she used to performs in clubs that aren't my scene so i didn't know anything about her but ma'am? That runway?? I know my toxic trait being from Madrid is already living for the girls from Madrid but she ATE

I was curious about Sharonne because just like Pupi, she comes w a big trajectory and is v well liked, she has a lot to lose if people don't like her but I adore her already and one of her runways gave me what I needed which was a nod to La Sagrera which I've wanted since I knew that they didn't let Sagi do a look inspired by that last season

Marina is my artsy knowledgeable creature for this season and as such I have to stan

I am still hypnotized by Juriji and her beauty

Ariel please break the reviewers curse.

Samantha is an institution and I adore her, we all do out of the show but that lipsync... No. It makes me sad bc she clearly won't do well on the show even if we all like her lots.

Sethlas too I hope she does well. I hope all of them do, honestly.

[chibi-pix]

Wild Magic has come to an end. And it’s been a wild ride with this fic. After nearly a year of writing and just over a year of uploading, I reached this point. And now it’s time to go over some things with it. 

As a warning, some things may be spoiler territory. I will do my best to talk about the last few chapters, but for those who haven’t started reading but wish to or gotten far, please be warned.

I had originally started writing it April 18, 2020. At that point, a title I was considering was The Princess, the Mage, and the Wolf. All of which pertained to Pidge, the main character. The fic even originally started with Pidge, as Katie, saying goodbye to her parents before they depart for the kingdom of Altea, it even showed Colleen giving Katie the dagger. However, something about the intro didn’t sit well with me. So, a month later on May 18, I started again and we got the intro we saw in the official update. And I continued writing the chapters off and on until April 28, 2021 when I got to the final chapter. It was pretty much a year long journey with this. 

We know Wild Magic wasn’t the first choice of a title, but it wasn’t the second. At one point, I had actually considered calling it Wolf Mage, but I wasn’t liking that very much. I believe it was @rueitae​ who suggested the title Wild Magic and I liked it. Though in a way, Wolf Mage stuck around, as we see with the logo used with the fic as banners. 

If there is one thing I love, it’s size difference. I love giant creatures. Now, while Pidge as a wolf isn’t nearly as massive as my mermaid Pidge fic, she is still pretty big, at least big enough to ride. And the other guardian wolf was even bigger. It was fun. I think the giant creatures thing is what drew me to the movie, Princess Mononoke. 

Speaking of Princess Mononoke, some would probably suspect that that was part of my inspiration. The thought of riding wolves did come from that, but what initially sparked this was an unlikely title. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  Yeah, you read that right. Twilight Princess inspired this fic.  I was watching a playthrough of that game, wanting to since it’s been so long since I saw my sister play it and I didn’t have the game or a means to play it. And while watching, my brain went “What if something happened in a fantasy AU and Pidge transformed into a wolf.” At one point I had considered Pidge being cursed, but cursed was just so... common. Learning on her own through magic? Now that seemed interesting to me. And it was fun to work with.  That’s about it for how Twilight Princess inspired me. But, I’m glad it jumpstarted the idea. 

From early on in the fic, I had known I wanted Pidge to have negative interactions with Sendak. I wanted, in a sense, for them to be rivals, even if he’s a grown ass commander and she’s just a kid. It seemed night. And fairly early on, I wanted her separated from her family and raised by someone else, Krolia being the one chosen for the task. It’s one of my favourite things to have Pidge raised by someone who isn’t her family by birth; I love that about families and it means a lot to me. 

I’m going to talk about Sendak’s final fight against Pidge. If you’ve not read that far, feel free to skip this section. I knew Pidge and Sendak were going to meet again when she would finally take the commander down. Even when she falls, that was initially planned from the getgo. But their fight had changed from my original idea.  Originally I planned to have them duke it out on a bridge as a sort callback to their first interaction. At some point, with explosives already on the bridge, something would spark it and destroy it, separating the two from the rest of Pidge’s company, leaving her to fight Sendak alone.  In a sense, I struggled to figure out how to make it work out. Thus we got the fight alongside the gorge, the two still going over and Pidge taking Sendak down. 

Moving on. Let’s talk plance. I typically like my fics being general initially, letting ships figure themselves out if at all. But early on, my brain, out of nowhere, decided it needed to be Plance, have Lance crushing on Pidge from the get go pretty much. Even when he thought she was a boy and when he found out she was a girl, nothing changed.  I couldn’t shake it from my mind and we ended up with Plance. And we even got to see Pidge discover her own feelings for him. Oh how fun is that?

Anyway, this has been a fun fic to write. At times I wondered if I really could write it and even finish it and I did. I really did. It’s a grand victory to me. Well, that’s about it for some of the trivia and thoughts on things. For those who have read it, I hope you enjoyed the fic. For those continuing to read it, I hope it will continue to entertain you. For those who haven’t read it but wish to, I hope you find satisfaction in this adventure of shape shifting, magic, and ending a war to restore balance to the kingdoms. Until next time.

[mewtwo24]

Lucifer Meta

I‌ feel like I‌ keep seeing so much talk about this, and maybe its been said before, but given I‌ have too much time on my hands and I‌ can’t stop thinking about it, I felt the need to put it into words.

A lot of people have mentioned that, if you take a look at Lucifer’s dialogue in several scenes within both the MS‌ and several ES’s, he keeps harping on this insistent desire to be considered special by the MC. He doesn’t want to be another demon a dozen (I’m sorry I‌ know I’m cringing too), he doesn’t want to be just another hottie that got away or the story of ‘that crazy hot guy I‌ fucked and never saw again.’

Today I‌ want to get into the reason for that. (Also a note, I‌ will be using feminine pronouns for the MC but I‌ fully understand that the creators allude to non-binary identification, and don’t want to discourage anyone from that—I‌’m just working from how I‌ personally play.)

Now, I‌ think it can be pretty easy to just write it off as a product of pride. After all, pride does come hand in hand with the idea that you assume you are unique beyond measure, somebody that is without peer in the best meaning of that notion. And while I‌ do think Lucifer does have a great deal of confidence in some regards, I‌ don’t personally believe that’s the whole truth. I‌ feel like it’s more complicated than that. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I‌ enjoy Obey Me so much; we all know the basic premise. Seven deadly sins yada yada yada, absolute dumpsterfire demon family of brothers yada yada yada. But I‌ feel like beyond that surface level there are some pretty alarming–if not downright profound–moments of humanity (for lack of a better term) that emerge in each of them.

With Lucifer, I‌ feel like this constant desperation for recognition is actually an acute reflection of both his reputation, and his lifelong history. And to explain why I‌ think this is true, I‌ need to reference a major spoiler from the MS. I’m going to assume everyone’s read the MS‌ to that point, but if not I’ve added a cut and added proper tags just in case. Please don’t read below if you haven’t gotten to Chapter (14-10)!

Okay y’all, you remember the scene where it’s revealed that Lucifer gave up his entire future as a demon to give Lilith a chance to be reborn and properly be with a person she loved as a human someday? I‌ want to start here, because I‌ feel like this is crucial to our understanding of Lucifer’s attraction to MC. One of the harder things about getting close to Lucifer is how tightly sealed he is. Call this demon Fort Knox, he’s never going to betray his true intentions or his true feelings unless he has a gun to his head. And the reasons for that are obvious (vulnerability?????‌ in m y me???? it’s less like than you think one more step and I‌ kill you–)‌ You can’t be the perfect caretaker or the perfect right hand to the most powerful being in your realm by betraying constant fluctuation in feeling. (Too bad he’s the most brittle motherfucker I’ve ever seen. But, I‌ digress.) Besides which, I imagine one of the many ways he kept himself from cracking and spilling his secret was to bury it in the sure silence of secrecy. He could significantly lower the threat of revealing the truth if he never, ever talked about it at length. He manifests capability and strength in the most classical/conservative forms of those words (and coincidentally, the ones most acceptable to the old school ‘canonic’ representations of christianity):‌ with stoicism, by refusing to show a single chink in the armor or an iota of oscillating warmth. True devotion to God means no signs of wavering; you are either with Him or against Him. You either follow the rules, or you don’t. (While I‌ understand this is not the case in many branches of the church, trust me when ‌I say the Orthodox community has not changed LMFAO)

The reason I‌ feel the need to create this basis is that it makes his looking to MC‌ for understanding makes so much more sense within that context. Think about it. MC‌ was, first and foremost, the only one to see the memory of him begging Diavolo to save Lilith. MC‌ saw him at the absolute lowest moment of his entire life. Having lost everything in the rebellion, with nothing and nowhere to call home, the very person he was devoted to protecting a casualty. The archangel of heaven, the most glorious and famous immortal in veritable history up to that point–without peer, without equal–lost. Imagine. A‌ being that never even entertained and could not fathom anything less than perfection and capability, was now faced with irrefutable evidence that he not only lost, but failed in the most devastating meaning of that word. Not only could he not prove his newfound conviction, he failed the very person that showed him what he needed to prove–the very person that deserved the fruits of his successful endeavor.

(And not only that, he gets zero time to grieve or process. He immediately has to bargain himself to essentially eternal servitude in order to give his sister just one chance at something she’s always dreamed of, and to protect the siblings most faithful to his cause–the ones to whom he feels most indebted. Let’s not forget growing accustomed to an entirely new way of life, learning how to exist as a demon and having to come to terms with so many changes–whether good or bad. Though knowing Lucifer, I‌ get the feeling change is an incredibly stressful thing for someone who was so accustomed to clear rules, order, and determinism. I’d wager it’s why he hinges so oddly on this notion that ‘demons are extreme creatures that cannot change, MC.’ While in some ways this does feel like scapegoating–and it is, the repressed fuck–I‌ think he does partially believe it to be true. He’s a demon now. Demon = a very powerful inclination to certain vices, and after having people like Diavolo confirm that information he truly believes it cannot be reduced. He just accepts that this is part of his new fate, no matter how frustrating. Me and MC’s modernist ass beg to differ, but given the lore suggests real differences between demons and humans I‌ can’t really speak confidently to which of us is most right. I‌ feel like the game does suggest at least a little potential to change or lessen those vices, but this is a bit of a digression from my main point.)

Second of all, think about her reaction. MC‌ hugs Lucifer immediately, so moved she embraces him even as he’s seconds from starting on a frustrated tirade. (This is how I interpreted that event, and that’s the choice I made--but even if you hit him, you’re showing a very real emotional reaction to Lucifer’s plight. I took both of those reactions to be a heated, heartbroken acknowledgement of what he’d been forced to sacrifice. Either a great deal of compassion, or angry grief that he would take on the weight of everything they’d lost alone--a reminder to think about himself first, too.) Her reaction to his sacrifice isn’t jaded mockery ‘LOL can’t believe you took the biggest L‌ imaginable for your baby sis who’s 6 feet under anyway.’ Her reaction isn’t a hardened heart, so angry with all of his lying and violent outbursts that she doesn’t give a damn (which honestly I‌ wouldn’t even blame her for being indifferent given some of the shit he’s pulled). Her reaction is a sincere appreciation that his heart could be so tender, that he could care so deeply for just one sweet angel that he would risk everything to defend her. (Even if he had other reasons, he expressly says that Lilith was the catalyst.)

I want to take a moment to link back to earlier. That’s what’s so key about Lucifer. He was supposed to be the perfect angel. Unsullied, untainted. Completely devoted to the rules of heaven, so well-versed and immovable in those ideals that even Diavolo had no shortage of admiration for him–was equally desperate to have him in his service after the fall. But Lucifer proves to be, by some perceptions, broken. He is not the perfect angel that everyone lauded without end, that was Daddy dearest’s pride and joy.

He cared. He cared about Lilith and his fellow angels and even humanity, no matter how foolish or ridiculous or foolhardy it seemed–to the point of waging war against everything and everyone he’s ever known. While I‌ can’t speak to what it was that changed him so greatly, I‌ have to wonder if it was, in fact, love. Lilith risked everything to protect the human man she had fallen in love with, wanted nothing more than to have a little family and protect that which was so dear to her. Was Lucifer moved by that…?‌ Did Lucifer find himself wanting something similar?‌ Or at the very least, wanted angels and humans to have the right to choose?

In truth, I‌ really can’t be sure. But I‌ still think it’s crucial that Lilith’s choice was the motivating factor of his change; he saw that someone could earn a love so deep it would inspire a sacrifice beyond reason. And that MC‌ saw him at his most vulnerable–at his most personal–reflecting the very behavior he’d learned from Lilith and saw the same exact thing that he did:‌ beauty. MC understood that moment as something to be cherished, something that proved a staggering capacity for compassion. And not only that, she felt a great deal of sympathy. Sure she’s probably never made a sacrifice that big before, but so much of being mortal is sacrifice. So much of being human is seeing that which is bigger than yourself, is seeing a loved one who needs you, and giving what you can. As such, it was a moment of resonance–it was a moment that proved his capacity for good in human and grounded terms, no matter how cranky or closed off or repressed.

(Also y’all because I‌ have to say it. THE ELLIPSIS. THE FACT THAT HE JUST REVELS IN THE HUG FOR A SOLID FEW MINUTES, JUST SOAKING UP THE AFFECTION. I DIE SOMEBODY PLEASE HUG THIS OVERWORKED, TOUCH-STARVED, MISERABLE FOOL I LOVE HIM.)

Granted, Lucifer did show signs of intrigue towards the MC‌ from the getgo, but most of them were wooden. Curious on a very surface level, more like ‘this human really is deranged huh what a weirdo’ than necessarily BANGS POTS AND PANS ‘I L O V E THIS H U M A N’. And that, for me, is key. I‌ have to wonder if he doesn’t feel comfortable showing skin or getting too close to people in any kind of way because they don’t really know him.

This is what I’m getting at.

The hard thing about pride is that most pride worth any salt comes from a firm center of confident knowledge about one’s own ability. And if there is anything this game tries to get us to understand, it’s that Lucifer is in many regards a workaholic wiz. He never stops going, never stops trying to be the best older brother and second hand to Diavolo the realm has ever seen. (For those of you that argue he’s a shit older brother, I‌ 100% agree he’s a dingus about expressing it properly but I‌ don’t think he’s a bad brother. His home screen lines are 90% him expressing his worries about being unable to connect to and help his brothers. That is not an apathetic guardian. That’s a tender idiot doing his best.) But his greatest strength is also his greatest weakness, the very thing that keeps him up at night literally and figuratively.

What if the people in his life only want him there because he’s so amazing and so capable–makes their lives so much easier–that it doesn’t really matter who’s getting the work done? What if he’s ultimately just a tool again? Just another thing to throw away when he’s no longer useful enough to be kept close? What if nobody loves him for just…him?

This is where it really starts to hurt. Thanks, God.

And that’s why he’s so enamored of the MC. It’s not just that she takes his feelings seriously, it’s not just that she’s equally stubborn and willful and cheeky. I think, more than anything, it’s because she saw who he was at his core–an angel that lost everything and sold what little he had left to make the most precious person in his life happy–and loved him all the more for it. She didn’t see it as a weakness to take advantage of, she didn’t see it as a weakness period.

She saw it as a place to build. She shows him that vulnerability doesn’t have to mean danger and endless anguish. She shows him that in this new world he’s inhabiting–where everyone is flawed, where everyone is limited–it’s only natural to have points that are less than logical or conventionally/perfectly defensible. She stands firm that–while he may have been a bit of a dickwad–that act was still noble, and that he would have to share this with his brothers if they were ever to mend the relationships that were smashed to smithereens in the aftermath of the war. Lilith could be a place of commonality from which they could all bond, and evidence of his compassion–rather than God’s judgement that it was a contemptible flaw.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what his repression of feeling is. It’s not just fear of being mocked by his brothers (though that’s definitely part of it). It’s the literal, staggering PTSD‌ of that moment where everything changed, where he made the ‘wrong’ decision in choosing love and freedom. Not only proof of his being less than perfect, it was the moment his creator abandoned him completely–the moment his creator sought his unilateral and uncompromising destruction over a disagreement. Lucifer is afraid of opening his heart because he’s afraid that, in the end? He’ll devote himself down to the marrow only to find out he was being used the whole time. He isn’t being loved because they see both his shortcomings and his impressive qualities and develop affection anyway, he’s being ‘loved’ because he’s useful to them–and so long as that continues, he’ll continue receiving empty praise meant to motivate him into complacence. This is why Diavolo’s moe pining and compliments mean jack shit to him. Because Lucifer can never be sure it’s not just another selfish power play, because Lucifer can’t trust that Diavolo’s affection comes from a place beyond motivating an unquestioning, relentless work ethic/loyalty. (I fully admit I‌ don’t think Diavolo necessarily means that much harm, but I also don’t think Lucifer is wrong to be wary given how evidently capricious Diavolo is…)

But yeah. MAJOR‌ Daddy and vulnerability issues.

Which is what makes his line “Who knew a human like you would stir this kind of feeling in me?” so fucking ironic to me. Really, Lucifer?‌ The calls are coming from i n s i d e. The defining moment of your life was the most altruistic, humanlike act a celestial creature could ever commit. Why are you so surprised, then, that a human could unlock the depths of your heart?‌ To the contrary, perhaps it is only a human-–that doesn’t have any desire for power or illusions of perfection—that could quiet the anxiety lodged deep inside his heart. She helps him come to terms with and nurture these feelings of love not just because she’s understanding and patient, but because her motivations are not mercenary or interested in prestige. MC’s just here to have a good time and wants to see them all get along together, and who could be more compatible for the demon that has little to no notion of freedom or how to mend the family he gave up everything for?

(Also an interesting side note, it may also explain why Lucifer can relax around the MC so thoroughly as time goes on. Because she herself tends to be more relaxed, he too begins to fully embody an existence where the stakes aren’t always in the stratosphere; he can be silly and tired and needy without fear of a cold reprisal or invasive curiosity. He can just be himself in peace, and that’s all he really wants more than anything.)

[ambcrheart-a]

[[ • Things that keep me up at night:

Amber (and by extension, a good chunk of Andy’s toys) essentially being the victim(s) of one big screwed up social experiment via forced social isolation from human contact

The likelihood that toys’ bonds between themselves and humans were “tested” to their limits because, like with Xion, Young Xeha and the true Organization saw the toys as nothing more than vessels whose existence went beyond any purposeful means

Knowing that Amber spent maybe a day around people at most before the store associates and shoppers disappeared, and literally has no idea how long she spent in that room alone because there’s no windows or calendars to keep track of time

The fact that she had an extremely difficult time adjusting from isolation-induced disorientation in a place where magic is external and creatures of darkness can consume your very being by exploiting your weaknesses to just—

Suddenly everyone’s back and Galaxy Toys’ denizens are here and sentient but god forbid if the ex-MIA Angelic Amber doll starts to levitate and send accidental Dark Fire shockwaves by stomping her feet when it’s not part of the assembly package

And just. Her knowing that things were off from the getgo now that Toy Box is restored but no one believes her when she says she spent weeks/months without a living soul to talk to, let alone that she got her body hijacked. And a part of her misses that because even though she was lonely during the split, at least she wasn’t the odd one out. At least no one made her feel lonely in a crowded room full of toys who barely understand her

[jess-the-vampire]

So I'm not the only one that feels that way about the comic. I'll admit that the concept is okay, but like you said, when you remember the events of the finale (the poorly written starco, magic being gone, Star committing genocide) it just kinda ruins the mood to read it more. No offence to the artist, I'm sure it's good but I'm not interested in a continuation if the finale was awful...

i mean, the concept itself is fine, and trying to talk about seth is a good way of making up for the show’s mistakes

but i feel like ignoring all the bad stuff that happened in the finale and how it made star and marco look as people is a mistake

it’s one thing if the end to a series is mostly satisfying and this is a continuation of a new story that happened after or tackles a missing plot point.

but the ending was not satisfying and badly affected star and marco as people, so right from the getgo i’m already not happy with either of these characters and the fact they both seem still blissfully unaware of their mistakes or what they did.

and with the killing of creatures star pulled, it’s pretty hard for me to be happy because that thought just continues to linger, the thought of how many people’s lives she ruined, will continue.

you have to keep in mind, she killed characters, separated families and friends forever, and took away the main source that helped most civilizations survive. Playing it off like she hurt no one or did nothing wrong will sour her character pretty quickly, especially since we all know better then to think magic being gone means there’s no more problems in the world.

and i know he’s not the only one trying to do this kind of continuation comic so i’m going to say this again:

ignoring these noticeable problems only makes them worse, you have to tackle them and fix them yourself.

Because if you continue to play it straight, as though star and marco did nothing wrong and this giant change had no consequences, then you further hinder them as people and make them come off more unlikable.

you do not have to follow through with the fake-happy end the show tried to pull, you can talk about the consequences and the mistakes, and i think more people will give you credit for trying to help star and marco learn and evolve, and understand the weight of what doing this can do….then pretending nothing that happened was bad and star and marco have not learned anything.

because right now, i got no reason to believe marco wouldn’t abandon his sister again or star wouldn’t kill a species of creatures for the benefit of others and that’s gonna make it hard in the future if you try and make me sympathize with them.

[tiafoe]

Welp, the shows over! The finale was ok... I guess? Pretty disappointing actually, but at least we have fanwork! Waiting for the comic!

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!.....I agree: The finale was okay. Like, I loved the low-key bonding of Eclipsa and Solaria (and Solaria silently giving Mina the middle finger), and that Tom was okay (even though we don’t get any form of conclusion for him. :(  ).With that said though, I knew from the getgo that this wouldn’t end on a somber note (this is Disney we’re talking about), and I’m satisfied yet horrified that Mewni and Earth are now one superdimension (which brings me back to how Legend of Korra ended with the spirit world merging with the living world... and a much better ship being endgame. ;U ), but the Starco stuff kinda dragged it down.Marco running towards the closing portal is contradictory to him saying he had a new sister to look after/starting college/etc. I can *kinda* understand Star wanting to run to the portal, mainly because she doesn’t have anything else better to do anymore, but thankfully, the portal just gave us a Chris-Chan-esque Dimensional Merge instead, and everyone lived happily ever after, I guess (except Kelly; she’s stuck in her homeworld. XD).I mean, sure, a TON of humans/former-Mewmans are probably gonna get crushed to death by a bunch of giant monsters/flying creatures, and I guess East LA has been wiped from existence, BUT we gotta look at the bigger picture: This leaves us with Tomco/Stomco still being a possibility after the show ended. ;DI’ve kept saying “I guess” because the show ended in the same fashion the past 2 seasons have had their stories told: with stuff coming out of left-field with little to no explanation, all because it’s not shipping drama, which was the show’s downfall, in my opinion.It could’ve ended a lot worse, but it wasn’t the goodbye I was hoping for, either. Part of me hopes we’ll get some form of epilogue comic in a similar fashion to how we got epilogue comics for The Last Aibender/Legend of Korra, but who knows if/when we’ll get that. Frankly, I’d much rather have Wander Over Yonder get a Season 3+ instead,Anyways, Page 39 has been finished, and 38 is finally being colored as we speak! :D

[fundinmental]

I Have Been Waiting For Dragon Clan by Kristie Clark #KristieClark

I am excited to be sharing Dragon Clan by Kristie Clark. I want to thank Kristie Clark, Delphi Imprint and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review a copy.

Don’t ya just love that cover?

Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It is fantastic to be back in Roatan with Eva and the gang to find out what happens next in this creature feature. No slow start. Action from the getgo. Now, they are being moved from Roatan, Honduras to Hawaii, courtesy of DARPA and the US Navy. Kaili is the guardian spirit of the Dragon Clan. She is a Komodo Dragon like no other.Eva is worried about her dolphins. They have dealt with a mutant Tylosaurus, drug lords, mutant CobiX fish ad Julian Gulliver. It’s hard to tell which is the most dangerous. As if that isn’t enough, now we have to deal with tsunamis.Kristie Clark does insert ecological, climate change as it applies to the events in the story. She doesn’t get preachy, just includes the pertinent data, just like any other part of the story. I find, when an author does that, it adds that real element and makes the story richer.You may wonder how someone can write a series with dolphins as the stars. Ask Kristie Clark. She has managed to keep me eager for more and surprises me with how quickly I become involved. She blends fact and fiction seamlessly.I caught the hint, but was still surprised when she hurt her arm.I am soooo loving this series. Kristie Clark does her due diligence when it comes to research, sharing the rich history, myths and legends of Hawaii. I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dragon Clan by Kristie Clark.

MY KRISTIE CLARK REVIEWS

Killing Dragons

Dragon Gold

You can see my Giveaways HERE.

You can see my Reviews HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.

Thanks for visiting!

[blessuswithblogs]

Rich People Ruin Everything: The Old Gods of Lordran Are Garbage

(SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING AS USUAL)

While I am rather down on Dark Souls 3 and Ringed City in particular, it does bring to light some very interesting facts about the Old Gods of Lordran: namely, they're a bunch of rat bastards. This is a conclusion that has taken a while to make. Dark Souls 1 plays the character of Gwyn and his cohorts rather close to the chest, and it's rather easy to find yourself intrinsically aligned towards the Old Order. You're exploring their world, their architecture, you've got their Strange Snake Man telling you what to do, and your only real dissenting opinion is available from another Strange Snake Man who chills out in a bottomless void and wants you to go and steal humanity from other undead and spread the Abyss. He's not exactly a trustworthy source, even if what he says may in that be instance be technically true.

Of course, that's not to say that even back then we're expected to make the final conclusion that Gwyn Is Good. The Lord of Darkness ending is certainly a thing, and there are clues and answers available to those who dig deep enough. What we don't learn until later installments is the depths of Gwyn's perfidity, which is breathtaking. Let's take it from the top and see what the Lord of Sunlight got up to in his time as King Shit of Everything.

In the beginning, age of ancients, dragons, fog, etcetera. I'm sort of assuming that my readers have a working understanding of how things went down or at very least have watched that iconic Dark Souls 1 opening. Gwyn, Nito, and the Witch find 3 lord souls in the First Flame and Become As Gods, and challenge the Dragons. Honestly things are murky from the getgo: why kill the dragons? Dragons are shown time and time again to be at very least very Neutral creatures who won't actually cause trouble until you do something beyond the pale. Sinh lived in harmony with the people of Shulva City until Yorgh shoved a stalagmite into his chest. The Ancient Dragon in Ash Lake will patiently deal with you even after you cut his dang tail off. The Dragon God (who is admittedly a fake dragon) just gives you a mist heart and sends you on your way. The kingdom of Lothric even managed to forge a working relationship with the lesser drakes who normally spend their time breathing fire on important bridges.

There are dragons who are aggressive and mean, but they all have significant qualifiers. The gaping dragon was a mutated descendant of the survivors trapped in a sewer and warped by hunger. Kalameet was one of the few survivors of Gwyn's initial purge, known to be powerful enough that even Anor Londo was hesitant to Start Shit with him. He had every reason to be angry. Drakes are lesser descendents with less well developed cognitive functions and are more like wild animals than dragons. The dragons living on Archdragon Peak are holdouts from the old war, and also maybe a dream, or fake, or in the past. Time is convoluted. It's convoluted!!!! The final dragon malefactor is, ironically, Seath the Scaleless, who betrayed his own kind out of a heady mix of petty jealousy and existential terror. There's no real concrete evidence about how the war with the dragons started, but it probably started with Seath's betrayal. Gwyn, before anything else, was a terrible coward, and probably would not have started a conflict he didn't have a strong advantage in. A pocket dragon would have fit the bill nicely.

So Gwyn had his little war and killed most of the dragons and started his pretty little age of fire. But wasn't there another Lord Soul in there? What about the titular Dark Soul? The Ringed City finally gives us an answer to this six year old question about the easily forgotten Furtive Pygmy. There were four lord souls: A soul of Life for the witch, a soul of Death for Nito, a soul of Light for Gwyn, and, of course, a soul of Dark for the pygmy. This isn't new, Kaathe told us as much way back when. What the Ringed City elucidates on is what made the Dark Soul different: it is essentially the soul that gave rise to the Abyss, and the creatures thereof, mankind chief among them. It also tells us a little bit about what early man got up to. As it turns out, primordial man actually helped out Gwyn against the dragons, though I can't say for certain if they did so willingly or not. They forged their weapons in the abyss and marched off to battle.

This is where we start to see Gwyn's true colors: the Lord of Sunlight was -terrified- of the darkness. Aldia and Gravewarden Agdayne alluded to this mortal fear in Souls 2, but the Ringed City puts forth plainly that upon seeing mankind and its abyssal weapons, Gwyn immediately freaked the fuck out and put a seal of fire on them. A seal of fire known better by another name: the darksign. The ringed knights and their armor all bear the black circle highlighted by flame. This act branded humanity with the undead curse and inextricably linked them to the age of fire, relegating them to, as Aldia put it, a "fleeting form." It seems that this, more than the Witch's transgressions, is what he considers to be the first sin. A mistaken interpretation from me, I suppose. At any rate, not only did Gwyn do this, he also decided to repay the humans who helped his bloody conquest by wiping all record of humanity's contribution to his efforts and walling off the pygmy lords in the Ringed City to contain the darkness.

When we consider that Gwyn is downright generous to all of his other friends and colleagues, giving them fragments of his Lord Soul and dukedoms and cities, we get the impression that Gwyn doesn't just fear the darkness, he hates everyone and everything associated with it. A hypocrisy, of course, because he came from it just the same, but every monarchy needs an underclass to rule. The Old Gods of Lordran draw from a polytheistic tradition found in Greek and Roman mythology where there might be gods in charge of everything, but that doesn't mean they care about you or are even very good at their jobs. There are, of course, many polytheistic religions and mythologies in the world, but the comparison here is salient because Gwyn is an extremely Zeus-like figure. Ruler of gods, fomenter of rebellion against the old order, hurler of thunderbolts, begetter of many children, and secretly kind of sucks actually oops. In the age of ancient greek mythology, the way to live a happy life was actually to do your best to stay beneath the notice of the gods and for heaven's sake, try not to make them angry. Much like the allegory of Samsara in Dark Souls 2, the pantheon of Lordran is not a one to one transplantation of the Gods of Mount Olympus, but understanding some of the mythological and religious inspirations for the lore is useful and edifying.

In ancient Greece, the gods existed to be surrogates for the random whims of nature. If your boat sunk, you must have ticked off Posiedon. If your harvest was bad, you didn't devote enough of a sacrifice to Demeter. In Lordran, however, the gods existed as a surrogate for an oppressive and destructive ruling class. The Old Gods are also referred to as the Old Aristocracy or Old Monarchy fairly interchangeably, and Gwyn dealt in lordly titles like King, Princess, and Duke for scaleless friends of the family. The actions taken by the Lord of Sunlight and his progeny to artificially extend their beloved age of fire, regardless of how harmful to the world and its people that age of fire was, mirrors the behavior of ruling classes from all times and places. Fire, after all, is disparity: heat and cold, life and death, light and dark... and haves and not have-nots. Gwyn rewrote (or at least, aggressively curated) history to exclude the achievements of mankind, devoted everything he had to their oppression, and spent every waking moment in fear of the darkness they represented. Gwyn embraced utter self-destruction over relinquishing his

power to the rightful successors of the age of fire by linking the flame at the cost of his own life. Sweet Shalquoir's description of Gwyn as a vainglorious liar is one of my favorite bits of dialogue in, well, anything ever. It's such an apt description of the character. Much like his counterparts in our reality, Gwyn's plan for the future was to leave it to his children to clean up his messes. His children either did the best with

what they had, with a sad, slavish devotion to How Things Used To Be (Gwyndolin, Filianore) or simply bounced to find something better (Gwynivere). He even has his devoted class traitor lackeys like Shira and Midir. Shira is so desperate for a piece of the pie and Filianore's ass she gladly sells out the entirety of her people and her own well being to be a fanatically loyal spear of the church. She's so deeply invested in the whole affair that she hunts the Champion of Ash down to the literal ends of the earth to try and exact vengeance for shattering Filianore's illusion. It's incredibly sad. I'll be less harsh on Midir because he was literally raised by the gods as basically a hostage slash trophy from the Dragon War and probably didn't know any better, and certainly didn't have much choice. He didn't really have anybody left to sell out. Somewhere along the line he really pissed off the Milwood Knights. Maybe. He seems like the best candidate for Abyss Dragon. Who knows!!! Lore!!!!!

I'm sure a lot of people would find it eye-rolling that I'm reading leftist, class-conscious rhetoric into the world of Dark Souls but fuck those people honestly this is a pretty straightforward reading of the text. The slighted pygmy lords still stew in the ringed city, angry that their promised dominion never came and cursing the name of the gods that betrayed them. They're forced to live in a beautiful lie, filled with monuments to the service and sacrifice of the gods and their own branding with the seal of fire, which is itself, a lie within a lie: the city has, in reality, sloughed away to dust, its resplendent nature maintained only by another illusion. The only real break from our reality is that Gwyn and his ilk were punished and deposed by the very order they created. It'd be nice if we at least got that sort of karmic justice dispensed, but, well. The Ringed City ends by using the blood of the Dark Soul to paint a new world that we will nonetheless never see, which, again, seems to be a fairly straightforward allegory for revolution. Where Bad Santa Gael fits into this I'm not really sure but that character is just kind of half baked. He's got a red hood. Red is the color of communism. Eh? Ehhhhh? I'll work on it.

The first Dark Souls was thematically open ended enough for a lot of different readings, but the direction the sequels took retroactively narrow down the number of viable interpretations. My original read on Dark Souls 1 was that of a classical tragedy, of the downfall of great people who tried to do good but were ultimately undone by fatal flaws to their characters. The tale is still tragic, of course, but information revealed after the fact makes that a ship I'm not willing to go down with. Gwyn wasn't a tragic hero he was just a typical capitalistic dickheaded oligarch who happened to commission some really nice and breathtaking architecture before lighting himself on fire on the pretense of simple vanity, to the incalculable detriment of the rest of the world. For as much as I can harsh on Dark Souls 3, I think that there is definitely value in taking such a stand and saying "no really this entire mess is the the old lord's fault seriously". It is maybe not the most satisfying conclusion to it all, and the whole usurpation of fire angle remains vague to the point of meaninglessness, but The Gods Are Bougie Bastards is a narrative conceit that I can get behind.

[bmclassahan]

Late Winter 2020 Movie Roundup (Quarantine Edition)

“Sometimes when I’m going somewhere and I wait, somewhere comes to me.”

-Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin

There was a weird Charlie Sheen story from a few years back- scratch that- a normal Charlie Sheen story from a few years back, that was about how he was out on a boat in the ocean at night and watched Jaws, calling it a 5-d of sorts experience (maybe it was 4-D, who knows) due to how he was watching this movie about something in the real environment that could theoretically impact him (odds of a giant shark eating his boat notwithstanding). For whatever reason it’s one of those anecdotes that sticks in my head and the fact that I can’t really find much evidence of it on a rudimentary Google search only somehow further validates its strangeness to me. I think I think of it partly because I love Jaws, and try to watch it sometime in the summer every year, and because the idea kind of fascinates me, as if we are already part of the constructed reality of the movies we think are often apart and beyond us. With reports of a lot of people watching the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film Contagion in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, I suspect I’m not the only person who feels this way. However I can’t say I’m exactly giddy to see this movie at the current moment, for reasons that don’t have much to do with what’s going on (I think I fell asleep when I tried to watch this before) and for reasons that do, with this whole outbreak still seeming so new and jarring I’d rather approach my engagement with it more cautiously. Anyways, I’ve watched a few good movies since this whole thing started, and while they may not offer the Sheen 5-d experience, you may find them enjoyable for different reasons. Here are my notes on them:

The Farewell: I really dig Awkwafina- she brings a lot of warmth and kind-hearted humor to her characters (a first-ballot quirky best friend in a romcom hall of famer for her turn in Crazy Rich Asians), and I’m looking forward to seeing what else she does with her career. Here she plays a character who has to mask a considerable amount of sadness, carrying a secret along with the rest of her family about the fate of her grandmother, with whom she has a strong relationship. She has come of age in America yet still has roots in the China of her youth, and feels as if of both worlds, represented by the strong relationship she has with her grandmother who sees her for both the girl she was and the woman she has become. As the film wore on I started thinking of my own grandmothers and the positive impact they had on me, and it was a nice feeling to have.

Aquaman: Having initially seen this on New Year's Day 2019, I hadn’t given James Wan’s superhero flick a rewatch since then, but was glad I did. It’s surprisingly, or maybe not really so, fertile ground for rewatching, as there are multiple villain and heroic journey elements packed in amidst the dazzling backdrop of underwater domains and James Bond-esque scenic vistas. I also completely missed this the last time, but there’s a neat King Arthur parallel, with Aquaman’s human name and his eventual title, the trident he pulls, the Willem Dafoe/Merlin type mentor, and other things (like maybe when they view the telescope on the statue of the Roman emperor on Sicily?). Jason Momoa is great in the role- with a brusque nonchalance that makes him easy to root for from the getgo.

Christopher Robin: I was a big Pooh fan growing up, so it was fun seeing a movie about how the lovable honey fanatic comes back to the real world to teach his old friend (Ewan McGregor, who might be one of the more underrated actors around- last I saw him he was slimed up to the Nth degree in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn)) one more lesson. All told, Christopher Robin reminded me a little bit of Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, and the Paddington flicks, and was a nice reminder of cultivating lightness in life, how “nothing leads to something.”

Arctic: For a good survivor movie, look to Joe Penna’s recent film about a man mysteriously stranded in the far north. Besides a strong Twitter presence, lead actor Mads Mikkelsen has also done some good work in Star Wars: Rogue One, as the father of would-be hero Jyn Erso. In terms of its minimalist story and man against nature theme, Arctic reminded me of All is Lost, which featured Robert Redford holding his own against a treacherous sea. Speaking of...

The Old Man and the Gun: Good lord see this movie. As one of Redford’s final performances, The Old Man and the Gun is as charming, smooth, and mesmerizing as the character and actor at its center, a gentleman bank robber able to seemingly waltz along from one robbery to another. I don’t know what it is, but I think bank heists are one of those slices of life that are made to be shown in a movie- like forlorn lovers for the blues or marbled meat in still-life paintings- just a thing of beauty when pulled off: I offer The Dark Knight, Hell or High Water, Point Blank, Bonnie and Clyde, Heat, Dog Day Afternoon for starters. Directed by David Lowery and also starring Casey Affleck (a pairing also featured, along with the great Rooney Mara, in the also exquisite Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), The Old Man and the Gun is missed at your own risk (Lowery and Redford also team up for Pete’s Dragon if you’re in the mood for some lighter fare (think E.T. and King Kong, if Kong was a gentler creature, which I guess he kind of was all along, but probably not someone you’d trust for babysitting).

That’s it for now. Let me know if you end up seeing any of these or have any recommendations my way, lest I fall into the appetizing depths of the entire Disney backlog...