alastor is such an insidious dealmaker because he's so reasonable. he doesn't ask for anything outlandish, especially not right out of the gate—he agrees to make a commercial so long as he's never asked to engage with anything tv-related again. he turns down charlie's soul and readily concedes to the stipulation that her favor doesn't have to hurt anyone. from the way husk describes their deal ("when you're down on your luck, you turn to anything to keep you afloat"), it heavily implies to me that husk went to alastor, not the other way around. alastor gets his foot in the door by making himself freely available, and by making it easy to tell him no the first dozen times he nonchalantly offers a deal, so by the time he starts angling for a deal he actually does want, you're less likely to notice immediately how predatory he's being, or how he's backed you into an inescapable corner. he makes himself an inevitability. you know he's a monster, you know that he's manipulating you—but he's also become your only choice, and so you don't even get the consolation of being able to say he tricked you, because you chose it
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For all the talk about bad Christian fiction, I've seen several different ways that Christianity can be well-integrated into the story.
The story is about something unrelated to Christianity, but the characters are Christian and their faith affects their outlook and daily life. I recently stumbled across Wormwood Abbey by Christina Baehr, which is a light, fairly forgettable cozy fantasy that happens to do this really well. The story is about a woman who learns that dragons exist around her family's estate, but as the daughter of a rector, she often mentions prayer, sings religious songs, or thinks of Bible verses that relate to things she experiences. The Christianity feels organic to the character, and thus enhances the story rather than distracting from it.
The world is a Christian world where Christian beliefs are shown to be the correct framework through which to view the world. This happens in good Christian fantasy, like Lewis and Tolkien, but there are plenty of real-world stories where the themes line up with Christian truths, and this can make a story Christian whether or not religion is explicitly practiced by characters within the story.
The characters wrestle with how to apply their faith in their daily lives. Regina Doman's Fairy Tale Novels often feature this, as the characters struggle to deal with plot problems while living out their faith. Amy Lynn Green's work often features this as well--characters hold certain values (like, for instance, a Quaker pacifist) and have to figure out how they apply or don't apply to specific situations, especially when they conflict with other values, or they have to figure out how to live out their values (such as forgiveness) in moments where it seems impossible or even ill-advised. Charlotte Yonge's best works (specifically, what I've read of The Three Brides) do this as well--instead of preaching the one right answer, you have characters trying to figure out what the best answer is as they figure out what's right or wrong in this specific situation.
Characters face the revelation that there's a spiritual world that exists beyond our ordinary world, which can cause terror, but also provide comfort and hope. Elizabeth Goudge's novels often exist in this space, with very internal stories of characters coming to embrace the truths that come with living in a spiritual world. To a lesser extent, I'd say Amanda Dykes' work often fits here, with characters ultimately find comfort and hope from philosophies that line up with Christian truth. In less-cozy works, there's also the possibility of stories where an entirely secular person encounters God and has to figure out what that means for their life.
So our options are Christianity as character, Christianity as setting, Christianity as theme, or Christianity as plot. The ways this is integrated most seamlessly is when Christianity (or the ways they struggle with it) is a vital part of the character, so the plot that arises from it lines up with a Christian worldview. It also works well for the characters to just exist within a world where Christian truths are the way the world works. It doesn't even necessarily require the characters to be explicitly religious. Truth is something that everyone is searching for, and stories that honestly showcase truth or the search for it are going to resonate with a wide audience, even if they aren't Christian themselves.
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assorted morena dekarios headcanons:
she possesses a sharp wit and is very perceptive, but is also incredibly kind and gentle
strong presence & really eclectic taste. she loves bright colors, extravagant patterns, collecting paintings, and all kinds of knick-knacks. her house is a reflection of her personality: warm, welcoming, and cluttered with ✨precision✨
has a penchant for big jewelry (especially necklaces)
gale deems her “unavoidable” because she has a way of seeing right through him, sometimes even going beyond motherly intuition (and because you’d spot her everywhere)
she always strongly supported gale’s individuality and wanted to give him every opportunity to grow into the person he wants to be
this often clashes cause she does worry about his safety constantly
on that note: would do absolutely everything for her son
her ex-husband had little interest in raising gale and deemed him too exhausting/high maintenance. morena eventually encouraged his decision to split, knowing his presence would do more harm than good
loves books but doesn’t bother to keep them in good condition (much to gale’s horror)
as he got older their dynamic grew to resemble a friendship, which is also why he refers to her by her first name
they banter a lot and it is very entertaining to watch/makes their similarities even more obvious
surprisingly strict whenever the situation calls for it. it’s a sudden 180. don’t mess with morena dekarios
claims she’s not interested in gossip, but is very curious nonetheless
possesses extensive mixology knowledge, but hates being drunk. life needs to be experienced to the fullest with all senses at all times
she’s a natural dancer despite not having a whole lot of practice
very welcoming to a romanced!tav and the rest of gale’s new friends. she has already been filled in by tara and withers. naturally, as long as her prince is happy she is as well
almost rivals gale in the duration of his crying during his own wedding. once he begins to read his vows she’s immediately brought to tears
actively tries to get to know a romanced!tav and makes sure they feel included in their family whenever possible, but will also respect if there’s no interest/some apprehension
she is very respectful of gale’s privacy and knows when to step back, albeit no less worried
she has dark, long, curly and thick hair that is hard to tame. (the envy of all her neighbors her age) she usually puts it up in a claw
tara has her own corner in morena’s sitting room, including her very own cozy armchair. no one else is allowed to use it.
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UTY: PLATINUM - LUCILE KETSUKANE
UTY: Platinum is an ‘Integrity Lives’ AU, and this is the first reference sheet of said AU, featuring Integrity (or Lucile) :D
LUCILE KETSUKANE
• they’re 17 years old, but fell into the underground at age 12. they are the fifth fallen human with kindness taking their former spot as the third fallen human.
• they had gotten aggressive in snowdin after hearing about how much monsters wanted to destroy humanity. kanako (much to chujin and dalv’s horror) managed to talk them down from it before they killed anyone due to the fact that they were both children. not many were around to see it due to a lot of the monsters hiding. they were allowed to stay with the ketsukanes due to kanako’s persistent asking and in return for assistance with research and helping around the house. eventually, they had practically become part of the family.
• kanako made them a mask similar to ceroba’s in order to help them feel more welcome as well as hide their identity as a human. it’s nice.
additional info
• lucile ditched the ballet skirt and shoes to rid themselves of their ties to humanity, though they may still secretly keep them somewhere…
• they share their soul with axis sometimes! it helps give him a little more personality beyond his code, though he still doesn’t really break away from it. typically, when they are sharing their soul, they and axis don’t leave each others side just for convenience— though they don’t really mind that.
• them and kanako are like siblings, but couldn’t have more opposite personalities. kanako is warm and energetic, while lucile is cold and lethargic. while lucile is typically stand-offish and not the friendliest, that doesn’t mean very much. they enjoy doing acts of service for those they care about, because it’s what they believe is right. they’re very strong in their morals! i’m sure this will have no problems later on :)
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assorted bodies doodles (transcript of that messy relationship square under the cut due to my handwriting/incoherency)
TAKE THESE W A GRAIN OF SALT i am like 90% joking:
hillinghead -> hasan, and vice versa: immediate mutual respect
hillinghead -> whiteman: he's incredibly smart, deceptively cunning but very kind. but he is also so annoying oh my god--
hillinghead -> maplewood: "please someone explain science fiction to me"
whiteman -> iris, and vice versa: two friends secretly think of the other as the sidekick
whiteman -> hillinghead: annoying him is quickly becoming a favorite pasttime
whiteman -> hasan: will not admit it but he wants parenting tips from her
hasan -> whiteman: has slipped a parenting book to him
hasan -> maplewood: deja vu about their future weirds her out a little, but she trusts her
iris -> hillinghead: fond of him from the time they spoke in the prison. enjoys fucking with him
iris -> hasan: SHE'S THE GOAT
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