#asexualreptile

[hopscorched]

Only saw you respond to one before me, so here goes: Top five favourite English words (would love an elaboration)

And If you want to throw the ball back, Id be happy to answer <3

heya! ty for asking :)

i won’t provide much in a way of explanation/elaboration, because these are mostly vibes-based: 5) defenestration; 4) emasculate; 3) harrow; 2) transgression; 1) acumen :P

[shadowy-dumbo-octopus]

Struggling to choose for the ask meme but...Hmmm... The Evil Nat AU has got to be really cool and can't look past the frogposting. Have a great day!! :)

Hi!

Okay so Frogposting (which is also my tag for anything relating to the Froakie evolution line) is just a loose idea for the novelisation of my Pokémon Y solo run, because back when I was DEEP in the throes of the hyperfixation and glued to my 3DS 24/7, my zoomies-infested brain began building a whole story around the frameworks set by the game and the XYZ anime (bond phenomenon my beloved, how I miss you.) I haven't touched it in ages and might not anytime soon, but it's a fun little self indulgent project - although I did wind up adding a bit of angst and trauma, oopsie daisy. No actual snippets because it hasn't gotten anywhere further so far than a list of bullet points and a bunch of paragraphs copied from the pokémon wiki for lore & mythology reference.

The cursed evil Nat AU is something I came up with a few years back, then learned that word of god says Natty could prolly pull off summoning a marid on his own, and promptly grinned like that one Grinch gif.

Long story short, Nat winds up with Ammet instead of Bartimaeus. Both of them are grieving. Both of them want revenge. Nathaniel wants to bring down everyone who ever did him harm, and Ammet sees in him traces of the master he had thousands of years ago. Natty speedruns his corruption arc and becomes a monster while being subtly manipulated into thinking that he's doing the right thing (and wonders why he doesn't feel good about any of it), the Resistance get vibe checked and Kitty barely makes it out alive (she ends up summoning Bartimaeus later out of desperation like "help me take this fucker down.") ABSOLUTELY NOBODY HERE IS HAPPY, NOBODY IS HAVING A GOOD TIME, EVERYONE IS DOING TERRIBLE THINGS INSTEAD OF GOING TO GRIEF COUNSELLING, AND THIS STORY ABSOLUTELY DOESN'T HAVE A HAPPY ENDING.

Although, well, it ends kind of like PG did: Nat realises at the last minute that what he's doing is wrong (Bartimaeus, who hasn't seen him since he was 12 and just after the Underwoods' house burned down, helps a little - something which Ammet violently disapproves of), the Staff breaks, Kitty and Bartimaeus survive, and the reader is left with something like a ragged bleeding hole in their chest where the heart used to be. Ah well, at least Makepeace is eliminated before the whole 'invasion of body snatchers' scheme becomes a problem - Natty doesn't allow any competition for the trust of Rupert Devereaux.

Once again, I have no actual snippets because it's a really goddamn depressing AU so it hasn't really progressed past a list of bullet points and some amvs I sometimes replay in my head.

[shadowy-dumbo-octopus]

Hey there, just saw your response to the ask game and I'd actually really like to hear at least some of these rants if you feel like it.

I know I've seen a really long post of yours somewhere about monsters in fiction in general but would you care to share your thoughts about del Toro's movies specifically?

I recently watched The Shape of Water (avoided it for pretty long bc romance just isn't the kind of story I'm super interested in), surprising no one I did really enjoy IT but I imagine some of the symbolism flew over my head. The light/colour choices for example (I remember the whole movie being really green?) or the green cake that they keep eating. Something that I really liked was that they adressed different kinds of minorities and how they don't always immediatly jump to help each other just because they are also minorities.

My favourite del toro movie is Pan's Labyrinth though. I can't watch it all the time but it's just so!!! good!!! I know everyone and their Mom has already talked about the Pale Man but he really is that great. Do you have thoughts about the other creatures? The Faun is literally so cool and a much more layered character then he first appears. The little fairies, the huge frog, the mandrake...

And have you seen del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities? To be honest, i kinda have mixed feelings about it.

Oh!! And Pinocchio of course. Loved the art style and the political message. The character design for Death was so beautiful as well. Somehow I didn't see it being talked about as much as I thought it deserved though? Like, everyone agreed that it was much better than the Disney version but somehow I just didn't really see any kind of in-depth insanity about it, or was that just me?

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I feel you about talking about mythologies, there is so much to learn about different cultures and what they value, story telling as a medium, the way stories shift and grow with their cultures and how they mix with the stories of other cultures over centuries and even longer. How we can trace specific fundamental story elements and archetypes across the world all the way back to the first humans. It's just so cool!!!

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So, feel free to rant :))

Hello, friend! Yesss, welcome to camp TSOW, it's a brilliant movie with a simialrly brilliant novel adaptation which so deliciously expands on what happens on the screen - examining Strickland's psyche was particularly an interesting if unsettling experience.

Del Toro is, as we all know, a massive lover of monsters, and it shows in how he writes them. I must confess that I'm not very good with most horror, so the only media touched by him I'm gonna mention will be "Pan's Labyrinth," "Pacific Rim" (co-writer & director of the first movie), "Megamind" (creative consultant), "Crimson Peak," "Pinnochio," both of his "Hellboy" movies, and "The Shape of Water."

All of this has prolly been said better elsewhere already, but hey, you asked me.

Pan's Lab: the Faun isn't antagonistic, despite looking odd. The real antagonist and "monster" is the human man, Capt. Vidal. As for the iconic Pale Man, there is numerous symbolism surrounding hi mwhich points at themes of capitalism, white supremacy, greed, etc. (seeing with his hands = what he can grasp, sitting at a table laden with food and not wanting anyone to touch it, paintings of him devouring children, etc. In fact, he is parallelled by Vidal in another scene, where he sits at the head of a banquet table and speaks of rationing food. Incidental Mythology has a neat article about it. In short: GDT uses his more fantastical looking monsters as sympathetic figures (giant monster frog excluded) but the real monsters, and monsters representing what's really evil in the world, are distinctly humanlike. I love this movie, LOVE the monster designs and the plot and symbolism and blurring the line between what's real and what is a fairy tale... but like you said, it's not a movie I can watch all the time because uh, it's a lot.

PacRim: here, the kaiju are, if I recall correctly, a metaphor for climate change given the fact that it's explicitly our fault they showed up: due to the changing climate, a planet which initially was hostile and uncomfortable to them became a perfect place to come back to, leading to extensive damage and misery for humankind and - more importantly - the necessity to come together in the face of the apocalypse and fight it as one... with giant robots if necessary.

Megamind: I could write up a whole 'nother post about Megamind, from examining two alien infants crashing on Earth and the cuter, more human looking, pale skinned baby finding a loving home and the "alien" looking baby landing in prison and being brutally picked on and made believe that he's inherently evil and broken no matter how hard he tries to blend in, to Hal - the everyday man, totally regular dude - turning out to be the real villain because of his entitlement and lack of respect towards others, greed and selfishness (mostly towards Roxanne but also, obviously, all the other people he hurt as Titan/Tighten), to Megsy's whole Bernard arc which made him realise that, actually, being evil isn't all there is, and that not being evil feels good - because he was finally being treated just as a regular guy. I've seen someone point out a possible inspiration by GDT's own experiences as a Mexican in America, which I'd need to read a little more into, but y'know, being treated as lesser because you came from elsewhere and look a little different...

Crimson Peak: just like in Pan's Lab, the real monsters are wolves in sheep's clothing (humans, initially nice but later showing their true colours) and the ghosts, interestingly, are victims trying to lead the protagonist towards the truth. The problem is that, uh, they look... freaky. Scary. Bad. Which of course scares the shit out of Edith and sends her running in the opposite direction and deeper into the antagonists' clutches. It is only when she looks past the gruesome looks and stops to listen to the victims & what they have to say that the puzzle comes together. Just because something looks weird and gross and scary, doesn't mean it's evil. The ghosts are hurting. They are trying to stop Edith from joining their ranks. They are trying to get justice.

Pinnochio: admittedly, I haven't dissected this movie as much as the others, but it's another example of Del Toro masterfully using fairy tales to comment on real world issues such as war and fascism (Pan's Lab does it brilliantly, as I'm sure you know.) I'm obsessed with this movie's visuals - Death, especially, like you said, and her entire realm were marvellous. I will say, however, that the ending bummed me the hell out even though I appreciated the message and what GDT did with it. It worked, it was great, but it's just not something I feel I can interact with for long due to personal reasons, so maybe that's why you don't see a lot of people discussing it. Memento mori hitting you over the head with a brick lmao. I have seen analysis posts, definitely, but in this particular case I was comfortable to just watch it once, appreciate it, and move on because haha, ow. That said, this movie does deserve to be talked about and analysed and praised to the heavens above because it's a WORK OF ART on so many levels.

Hellboy: I love these movies to death - part 1 once again whacks you over the head with "just because weird looking doesn't mean evil, Nazis bad, don't summon Lovecraftian horrors, and misfits find monsters lovable because they're both shunned for the same reasons and find comfort and recognition in each other." Part 2, meanwhile, highlights the harmful impact of humans on the environment (listen, I'm not saying Nuada was right, but humans DID break the treaty by chopping down forests and driving a fuckton of beings to extinction) as well as goes into Red's issues with being more similar to the beings he fights than the ones he protects - and who in return for that protection call him a freak. The magical world is fading, making room for the human world. And it sucks, but what can you do.

TSOW: oh bruh, what hasn't been said about this MASTERPIECE of monster/human romance? It's peak. It's EVERYTHING to me. It so perfectly encapsulates everything about the trope and pulls from Toro's past works (Vidal & Strickland parallels, Liz and Elisa parallels as outcasts due to something beyond their control finding solace in a nonhuman with similar traits, environmental themes, the backdrop of international conflict) and ELEVATES everything it puts in there. I implore you, read the novelisation. It has got to be one of the best books I've read in my LIFE.

Re: TSOW's colour symbolism, off the top of my head green (cars, the ads Giles paints, the PIE) represent modernity & the future encroaching on the present and not terribly welcome to do so, red represents. Blue symbolises water and the fish fella - afaik Elisa's apartment is always lit blue like it's meant to be underwater (but isn't, perhaps symbolising her subconscious longing for it and foreshadowing that this is where she belongs.) Red, meanwhile, was I think passion (Elisa's red shoes) and her shedding that red shoe in the final frames as she and her fishlad are floating in the water represents her letting go of the things tying her to the land - her love for shoes, maybe.

Also, this one is commonly talked about but I still love it: the entire protag cast is voiceless.

Elisa is mute, the fishlad can't speak the way humans can, Dmitri has to hide himself for his own safety, and Giles and Zelda - a gay man and a married black woman, respectively - were as voiceless and shunned back in the day as Elisa and her scaly beau. Really loved that touch.

Re: The Cabinet of Curiosities, it's on my list but I just KEEP GETTING DISTRACTED BY OTHER SHIT.

[shadowy-dumbo-octopus]

You want an ask? You get an ask.

Feel free to skip anything you don't want to answer

Favourite colour and I'm asking for specific shade. Give me a colour you absolutely love.

A quote from a book/movie w/e that rewrote your brain chemistry and do *not* give me one of the franchises you scream about usually (Just to make it a little challenging; If you absolutely cannot think of anything, it's fine to hit me with your blorbo).

A cool historical fact

The cutest picture you can find of an animal not usually thought of as cute

Go outside and take a photo of something that catches your interest

Hope that's the kind of interesting ask you we're looking for. If you feel like it, you can turn it into an ask game and tag a couple of people. I really feel like the people are yearning for ask culture but to shy to take initative (it's me, I'm people; but also I've really seen these kinda posts go around lately)

Have a fantastic day!!!

Hello there! Well, isn't this a treat to find in my askbox. I'd send you one back but it seems like your inbox is closed.

Lemme see~

Favourite colour? The short answer is black, because it's sleek, classy, makes you look awesome no matter what you're wearing, and goes along with any other colour you toss at it. The long answer is that I like all colours since every colour brings something good to the table, be it the cerulean shade of blue, teal, bright dandelion yellow, vermillion, tha neon green which shows up around halloween time, royal purple, wine red, pumpkin orange, that specific shade of dark green you see in thick dark forests... They all slap, what can I say?

A quote which fucked me up but NOT from one of my favourite franchises? Damn, usually if I find a quote this good, I end up obsessed with the source material, too. Okay, listen, you said not a franchise I scream about USUALLY.

When he looks at me, the way he looks at me... He does not know, what I lack... Or - how - I am incomplete. He sees me, for what I - am, as I am. He's happy - to see me. Every time. Every day.

Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

You KNOW that I'm severely unwell about human/monster romance and monsters as a whole, and I've been this way for a damn long time, but I think that it wasn't until I read this quote that I could begin coherently formulating why. Sure, I don't blog about the love story between a mute woman and a fishy river god as often as I could, but it's still a damn good story I could dissect all day everyday. The novelisation of the movie is brilliant, too, and I'd absolutely recommend giving it a read sometime.

A cool historical fact: the ideas of wedding bands, putting them on one's left ring finger, and the idea of the vena amoris (a vein in the left ring finger running directly to the heart) all, as far as we know, came from Ancient Egyptians.

Cute pic of an animal not usually thought as cute: TW FOR CLOSE-UP OF A SPIDER FOR PEOPLE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT. I love them personally and always found them cute because I was, am and forever will be a fucking weirdo but I acknowledge and respect that this doesn't apply to everyone.

Cool pic from outside: It's windy as fuck atm so I can't go outside without risking an airborne trip without a plane, but here's a pretty flowering tree from my camera roll.

Thank you for the ask, my friend! It's always fun to ramble about the most random and mundane of things.

[doorstoplord]

romi and darryl are good and pure and i love them both so much

ovo thank u

[birdnormal]

asexualreptile replied to your post:i was trying to think of characters that are...

mario

mario is aroace and has a wonderful friendship with peach

[ihatejonarbuckle]

jon arbuckle is the "few neighbors" that fueled the zoning people to kick out OFSDS with such a horrible crunch on time d:[

yes! that's totally his style :(

[vvitchella]

i love vegetables so much and broccoli is my fav but i cant pick one way to eat it? the only way i dont like it is cooked crispy. its gross. (i say as i've admitted i'd eat broccoli out of the trash)

We’d all eat something out of the trash you know it happens to everyone at one time in their life they’re just looking at something and suddenly the URGE hits and it’s just sitting on a piece of paper right? and then your roomate comes in and just laughs and you try to explain but god you have a weakness for chocolate okay is that a sin is it a sin to love chocolate is it?