#we also made the child soldiers humanity relies on so

[oddberryshortcake]

Twst analysis & theory- General Lilia and the Seeker of Cradles

In chapter 7 part 3, MC dreams about when Maleficent’s goons tell her that they can’t find Aurora, they also dream about Aurora being told she’s a princess by the three good fairies, but the most important connection I’ve made is what General Lilia Vanrouge and the other dark fae soldiers were doing in the woods during Lilia’s dream. 

I think the dream is of a memory of when Lilia first found baby Silver, or rather, searched for. 

Maleficent’s goons (two of whom Lilia is based on design-wise and also is emulated on his helmet) are tasked with finding baby Aurora so Maleficent can make sure her curse comes to fruition. 

It’s very obvious now that Silver is twisted from Aurora. We know he was “found” abandoned in the woods, that he was found with a beautiful ring in the shape of Aurora’s crown, and has been associated with Aurora’s aesthetic and woodland friends since the beginning of the game. 

He’s most likely a lost prince, either deliberately left for his safety or because something awful has already happened to his parents.

The fae and humans of Briar Valley do not get along. It’s understandable that there are tensions between the two, and there’s a history of conflict. 

It’s possible Malleus’s grandmother knew Silver was a human prince and, whether in war or an act of revenge, wanted Silver killed or cursed and sent soldiers and the Nightmare General Vanrouge to go find him. 

There’s a chance Lilia could hate humans during the time that the dream takes place, or he could be saying such to save face around the other guards/to please Maleficia. 

Either way, Lilia’s newest title names him the “Seeker of Cradles,” and I believe he and the other guards are doing just that. (X)

That brings me more towards theorizing and taking elements from Sleeping Beauty and connecting it to the unfolding plot. 

Lilia is out here on a search to find and possibly harm Silver…But obviously he doesn’t do that. 

He has a change of heart, or maybe he had always planned on saving Silver from harm’s way. 

He raises Silver alone in a cottage located in the middle of nowhere. Silver grows up isolated, only ever interacting with Sebek and Malleus. He recently confirms in his Broomquet vignette that he literally has no idea what goes on in the city of his own country because he’s always lived deep in the woods…Just like Aurora. (X) (notice Aurora overlooking the castle town, the same view Silver describes from his home)

Lilia seems to purposefully keep Silver in one place, with the exception of bringing him to NRC (something I’m sure he or Malleus had to arrange.) Lilia wanted Silver to enjoy Halloween as humans do, but instead of letting him interact with other humans, he trick or treated alone with Lilia, walking around their cottage. 

This is similar to how Aurora grew up isolated and alone in her own cottage with the three good fairies. They also discouraged her from interacting with other people and just like Silver, she relied on animals to be her companion. 

Lilia himself has greatly changed his appearance, from his hairstyle, hair color, and also his voice. He claims that he’s leaving the Valley to go into retirement and to avoid orders from Maleficia; we know his magic is draining- but how much of that could’ve been attributed to protecting Silver?

The good fairies made themselves humans in order to best protect Aurora, could that Lilia’s goal as well?

Silver is already theorized to be cursed, so how much of Lilia’s magic went to keeping that curse at bay? 

How much of Lilia’s magic went to keeping Silver safe? Keeping him away from the prying eyes of fae who hate humans? Who wants this innocent little prince dead?

How much of Lilia’s magic went into changing his appearance? To make a distinct difference between the general and loyal servant of the Draconia family and a loving fae father to a human child. 

I could be super wrong about all of this, but when I see the similarities, I can’t help but just think further and try to discover all the secrets. 

Genuinely hoping that I’m right about Lilia’s dream being about finding Silver. I hope we get to see Lilia become a father, and I hope Lilia has been doing everything he can to protect Silver and not because he wants to do something nefarious with him. As if he hasn’t and isn’t going to suffer enough. 

tldr- Lilia is searching for Silver under Maleficia’s orders, likely to harm him, but gets a change of heart and raises Silver in secrecy to protect him in his dream.

#twst #Twisted Wonderland #twst silver #Lilia Vanrouge #Twst theory #I feel like this one could be real I feel it in my soul #hopefully I'm not super off base

[majorbaby]

The minute I cut that rope they made me a soldier. MASH Season 11, Episode 6 — Bombshells

I used to post practically every week about s11e06 Bombshells because it's my favourite BJ episode and the one I find most fascinating, because BJ seems to frequently think that it's BJ against the world, and Bombshells is a rare example where I think this is narratively true. At last, here are my lengthy but decently articulated thoughts about this Very Special Episode (to me!).

BJ has this "lone wolf" view of himself because he either imagines he has nothing in common with the people around him and therefore it's hard for him to relate to them, or he actually has a hard time relating.

Aside from Potter, who is hardly his peer, and Frank who is The Worst and also leaves two seasons into BJ's run, BJ is the only main cast member who has a wife and/or child waiting for him at home. He's in a different stage of his life than anyone else, and he lashes out at Hawkeye and Margaret at different points claiming specifically that they can't possibly understand what he's going through by being in Korea, away from his family. But for a few differences in their personalities, their world views, and I suspect their class backgrounds (though the latter two are open to interpretation), Trapper might be the character whose civilian life and role on the home front most closely resembled BJ's, and they should kiss about that tbh.

Relatability is important to BJ. We see that through the tension created when he feels his friends 'can't relate' to what he's going through to the point that he gets upset if they try to tell him they understand how he feels. We also see this through how he bonds to people from similar walks of life, for example, the patient in Death Takes a Holiday. Some of this is just normal human behaviour. It makes sense that BJ would relate better to people who share the same values as him, and a wife and children are symbols of those values. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't connect with people who have different lifestyles with us. BJ obviously does do that, although he doesn't stop wanting relatability and that can make things rocky for everyone involved. What I'm trying to say is, BJ isn't as alone as he seems to feel he is. In fact, it's kind of funny how not-alone he is, sharing a tiny tent with Charles and Hawkeye, which naturally causes tension between the three of them. And the fact that he relies very heavily on Hawkeye's support throughout the show.

But in Bombshells, he's really, properly alone. Early in the episode, he'd been giddy to get away from the camp and everyone in it to spend a day by himself, fishing peacefully. Then the most harrowing thing to ever happen to him onscreen happens, and Hawkeye isn't there, as he so often is, to shoulder it with him. All BJ has is a total stranger who gives him an impossible task that goes against pretty well everything BJ believes in, to a fault. A doctor forced to cause someone's death - imo, I think this moment is equally as traumatizing for BJ as Hawkeye's moment on the bus in Goodbye, Farewell and Amen. BJ, who couldn't get on board with Hawkeye's plan to do a medically unnecessarily surgery in Preventative Medicine — even if it meant they had a chance to prevent the further injury or deaths of dozens of patients — is forced to cut a man's life line. It's a devastating moment and I have a lot of sympathy for him.

I know BJ well enough at this point that I don't expect him to voluntarily reach out to anyone for help, but interestingly, his isolation is even mirrored by the B-plot. We get an unusual Hawkeye-Charles team-up, where they run a scam reminiscent of the ones Hawkeye and Trapper used to pull, duping the whole camp for funsies. It's not just that normally HawkBeej are the unit to Charles' lone-wolf, it's that Charles and BJ's roles are reversed here even in the tone the plots take: CharlesHawk are doing something frivolous together, while BJ pursues a serious plot - now it's possible my memory may be failing me, but I can't think of another episode that replicates this formula. One specific example of these plots playing off one another as the A/B plots regularly do on MASH: BJ makes a phone call to try to figure out if the man whose line he cut might've survived, while Hawkeye and Charles make a phone call to see if they can contact Marilyn Monroe, the star of their scam.

In typical BJ fashion, when Potter tries to ask if everything's okay, BJ pulls away and acts like everything is fine, but this time it's because he has a plan and he wants to see it through on his own, rather than just sit by himself feeling powerless. He even tells Potter he'd like to try another fishing trip — trying to catch the one he'd cut loose the day before. He does all of this on his own checking beds, asks around, flings open the doors of the ambulance trying to see who's inside — but the fact that these scenes are interspersed with the B-plot, this would make an interesting montage, which is the thought that inspired the gifset I made. It matters less to me why he's doing it and more that it's a rare instance of him doing it on his own.

If he thinks that's because no one can help him, the episode doesn't really argue with his assumption. Hawkeye can tell that something is off, but despite his efforts, BJ keeps himself out of reach. I do not like the position the narrative takes at the end, when BJ tells Hawkeye that they, as surgeons think they're "self-righteous" and better for thumbing their noses at the estabilshment - I think that's a pretty dishonest way to characterize everyone at the 4077th including BJ and an straight example of MASH's unfortunately centrist leanings in the later years.

But despite my problems with that messaging, I still like this episode for it being about BJ and his resolve, detached from those around him and detached from the other big part of the BJ character - his family. All the other big BJ episodes - Period of Adjustment, War Correspondent, Death Takes a Holiday - feature his personal relationships in a big way that drives the plot. Bombshells is an episode that promotes BJ to protagonist, demoting other characters who might otherwise play a role in the drama.

This is most striking to me when even Hawkeye is unable to reach BJ and plays no role in the resolution of the A-plot. He sympathizes with BJ and tries to comfort him with "Well you didn't have a lot of options" - that may be compassion from Hawkeye, but I think it probably sounds dismissive to BJ, and that puts them in an odd role-reversal: BJ in crisis, and everything Hawkeye says is cold comfort to him. Finally, Hawkeye resigns himself to the feeling that he can't help BJ with this and so he leaves when Margaret comes to get him.

I'm not especially fond of the way BJ resolves the plot by giving away his medal and is then shown to be somewhat at peace with that, not because I fault BJ for it, but because I take issue with the broader practice and so does the show on many an occasion. What's important to me is that BJ also does that completely on his own — tie-up the plot.

I could probably go on about how much I disagree with the messaging of this episode, how much I detest the show taking a shot at it's own formerly anti-establishment beat and how that actually does the BJ character a disservice, but I'm not going to here because it's not as important to me as the unique format of this episode.

Bomshells is no s04e19 Hawkeye, but I really appreciate having so much textual stuff to chew on for BJ, rather than having me sit here and try to interpret the inconsistent writing that the writers admitted to for BJ, or Mike Farrell's acting directions. You could say this about a lot of characters, but BJ really deserved to be given the opportunity to stand on his own two feet more often.

#bj hunnicutt #mash #m*a*s*h #re: mash #beej meta #s11e06 bombshells #maybe now i can finally chill tf out about this damn episode #probably not tho <3 #majorbaby.gif #had to get my nod to MY beejtrap leanings in there 8D

[autumnmobile12]

D. Gray Man: Morality vs Victory (and Survival)

D. Gray Man has a unique situation as far as conflict goes. The enemy is an army of millions of demon machines that are commanded by a race of humans that are virtually immortal from the perspective of ordinary people...and they can only be harmed/killed by a weapon that is so selective that only a handful of people in the world can use it. This isn’t a situation where anyone can just enlist and train to become an exorcist nor can the Black Order simply conscript new soldiers; this is a world where the chosen few and only the chosen few are physically capable of fighting the enemy.

This is the reality. This is the shit hand humanity in this world was dealt. So from from the perspective of ordinary folk who have no power against this fate other that to rely on the exorcists, many of whom are children, it's easy to see how and why they got desperate.

The other thing to consider is this isn't a normal war. The Black Order isn't the aggressor and the Earl and Noah Clan's ultimate aim is complete and total annihilation of humanity. So there is no hope of a ceasefire. There is no treaty the Order can sign, no way to negotiate, no way to appease the enemy. The only outcome that can happen is the destruction of one or the other.

In the grand scheme of things, the Order has nothing to lose. Lo Fwa recognizes the barbarity of the Third Exorcist Program and says what a ‘good person’ would say,  “This is not how I want to win.” That is a noble thing to say, but for the above reasons, the unspoken (and even spoken) outlook of the Order's leaders seems to be, “Do we win or do we die?” 

In spite of his photography 'hobby' and unhealthy obsession with Lenalee (cause that part of this character is really fucking creepy when you look past the fact it's supposed to be a joke,) Bak is actually one of the better leaders as far as morality goes.

When the Third Exorcist Program was unveiled, Bak was the only one verbally against it. He's the only one to called out Epstain for her part in the project.

Taking his background into account, this is understandable. His parents both martyred themselves in order to shut down the Second Exorcist Program and to hopefully prevent any similar experiments from taking place in the future. On top of that, when the scandal of what Lab 6 was doing got out, he probably took the brunt of the backlash in his parents' place.

Adding to this, when the Level 3 attacked the Asian Branch, his primary goal was keeping Allen safe. He acknowledged he couldn't fight and refused to throw him into the ring with a 'figure it out' mentality. So Fou took Allen's place. Even at the cost of her life, neither she nor Bak were willing to sacrifice a child. (He was even willing to risk blackmail with the aforementioned photos.)

We've already seen that Komui's the one who put an end to the human experimentation and he actively advocates on behalf of his sister and the other exorcists. He's also the odd one out as far as the other leaders of the Order go as he's the only one who doesn't have a generational obligation to be there, as both Lenalee and himself came from outside the Order and are the only surviving members of their family. Which in an organization where nepotism seems to be the commonality, that makes his position in the Order pretty impressive. He's the Alexander Hamilton of the Order.

During the attack on headquarters, Komui mobilizes the remaining exorcists to repel the akuma and made the practical decision to destroy the Egg in order to prevent the Earl from reclaiming it. But with the Level 4's appearance and the unknown status of their fighters, he chose to retreat. Like Bak during the Asian Branch crisis, he chooses not to endanger the lives of the exorcists who couldn't fight.

However, during the Third Exorcists arc, this standpoint of his starts to waver. Like Bak, it is to Komui's credit he didn't know about the Third Exorcist Program, but there is still the undeniable fact that he did not oppose the project when it came to light. He's uncomfortable about it, for sure. You can see he is not at all okay with any of this.

But he still says nothing.

The likely consolation in his mind is the Thirds were willing volunteers for the project and are honored to sacrifice themselves if need be, but this is still undeniably a slippery slope that can blow up in their faces. Which it does, resulting in the loss of the Thirds and four exorcists.

A silence of Komui's that speaks louder, though, is the treatment of Allen during his last days at the Order. Komui was in a bad spot here. On the one hand, he still views himself as an advocate for the exorcists. On the other, one wrong word and he might be the next one they lock up. So rather than speak out, he stays quiet in order to protect the others, which effectively means abandoning Allen. He doesn't even seem to be advocating for the Science Division's efforts to help.

There's already conflict between him and Lenalee over this. She's shown arguing with him in Night 204. We don't know what about, but given the context of the chapter, this probably isn't a petty sibling disagreement. Furthermore, where the current chapters stand, she and Marie are refusing to give him any information about Kanda and Johnny's whereabouts. This goes to show that while he does have good intentions, he no longer claims the same level of trust he used to, and that is likely killing everyone on the inside.

There is a distinct divide between 'Komui is Lenalee's brother' and 'Komui is Lenalee's commanding officer.' All the way back in the Fallen One arc, he is rather withdrawn in his instructions for her to recover Suman's Innocence and telling her point blank that he is beyond saving. There is also the post-Barcelona funeral where he strictly adheres to the Order's policy of cremating their dead and refusing to allow the finders to contact the families. Later on, he is even telling himself he can't afford to be sentimental even though we can clearly see how much the losses have affected him.

After the disaster of the Second Exorcist Program, Bak and Epstain both swore they would never be a part of any experiment like that again.  They lost their parents, Epstain owes her life to the Changs for shielding her from Alma's rampage, and they were left picking up the pieces of the disaster. It was her testimony to Central that put an end to the program.

So why does she go and dredge up all that bad blood to create the Thirds?

Bak, Komui, and Epstain all definitely went through a period of recovering mentally from the attack on headquarters, the appearance of a heretofore unheard of Level 4 akuma, and had to contemplate what this would mean for their organization going forward. It's not entire clear exactly when Komui became the branch chief, but he was 23 when he and Lenalee reunited, so it was around that time. (Lenalee would have been eight when word of the Second Program got out, so he definitely would have heard about it.)

So these three made their promises when they were in their early 20s at the most. In Bak and Epstain's case, they were handed responsibilities that should have remained with their parents for a few more years. Komui was still a teenager when his parents died.

They weren't children, but they were barely adults. In the face of tragedy, they all said, "No. We can be better than this," and they upheld those ideals admirably.

However, after nine years, hundreds of casualties, and catastrophic loss of life later, the Level 4's attack called back everything into question. It's the brutal reminder of their situation and of the three, Epstain is left questioning the stance she took a decade earlier. In short, the appearance of the Level 4 and the prospect of near annihilation scared her.

It definitely scared Komui and Bak, too, but as stated above, only one of them verbally opposed the Third Program. And even Bak gave in eventually.

Fear fueled desperation and desperation blurs where the line should not be crossed, and all three of them are now grappling with the idea of surviving and hanging on to their morality.

And unfortunately, there are the members of the cast that say,  “Victory no matter the cost.”

Which brings us to this guy.

Leverrier is definitely in the category of 'Characters you hated more than the villain' and his character design definitely didn't help things. From his first appearance in the series, he's callous and cold-hearted towards the exorcists, regarding them as less than people and more weapons and property of the Church. During the Level 4's attack, when Komui gave the order to retreat, Leverrier disagreed and said they should stand their ground in spite of the fact they had a one in a million chance of winning the battle.

However appalling as this decision was, though...it still worked. Sheer, dumb luck that it was, but we still have to acknowledge that Leverrier's decision and Lenalee's resolve were the main catalysts that, for better or worse, led to the discovery of the Crystal Innocence.

Unlike Komui, Bak, and Epstain, we don't have much in the way of backstory for Leverrier's character. There is definitely an element of family pride behind his motives. That is apparent by the vague storyline of the 'daughter that was offered up as a saint' as well as his rant to Link in Night 213 about using Allen and the 14th to win the war and that it's his victory, not Central's.

But there are two moments for this character that I think are telling. One is Link's statement in Night 247. "I have someone whom I wish to save...someone who lives his life restrained and filled with nothing but hatred." Link is pretty biased, so it's hard to gauge exactly what is genuine loyalty vs blind brainwashing, but the point is Link still has some reason to stand in his employer's corner. However, the other key moment is the very brief flashback we get in Night 150 where Leverrier, as a child, is calling out Hevlaska for her part in the human sacrifices, telling her she is murdering her own people.

This is a really odd stance for an otherwise harsh character, which does maybe indicate there was a time where even Leverrier thought the extreme actions of the Order were wrong? If this is true, what happened? If he used to be like the others and did once regard the exorcists as people instead of weapons, why the change?

There's a bittersweetness to the events of Lab 6 and the perpetrators of the Second Exorcist Program.

What's important to keep in mind is that even though Alma and Yuu were lab experiments, the scientists didn't treat them that way at all. They didn't keep them locked up in cages, the pair had free range of the lab as we can see them wandering all over the place unsupervised. The scientists gave them gifts. Alma knew what winter was despite having never been outside, so that means someone had to have told him about snow. When they had to 'dispose of' Yu, Tui and Epstain are openly weeping, and even Sahlins looks affected.

It's not a stretch to say the scientists loved those two, and so the entire lab did not hesitate to say, "No more." They put an end to the project and martyred themselves.

I think there also was an element of fear in this decision. Tui and Edgar Chang also probably had a line they thought they would never cross, and then they did. Once you commit something you previously thought was unthinkable, the question then becomes, "Where is the line now? How far are we going to go?"

Were they afraid of what they could become?

Finally, we come to the last character we're going to examine:

On his deathbed, Zhu Mei Chang confesses he is the one who began the human experimentation, that he was 'proud and cruel' and sought only the glory of his clan as he trampled on the lives of hundreds. This was an unexpected point of development for a character who's first appearance was a joke. When he first shows up, he's humbly chopping cabbage in the kitchens completely oblivious to Fou yelling directly at him through a megaphone. This introduction is hardly indicative of a heartless man who possibly tortured and killed many innocent people to have the 'honor of winning the war.' So the humor of him working as a lowly cook in the kitchens takes on a quality of possibly him trying to repent for everything he'd done.

So I'd like to acknowledge the age gap again:

Komui, Bak, and Epstain are still young adults. In their early twenties, they drew a line and stayed firmly behind it. Now they are 29-30 years old and they are toeing the line they themselves drew. That's a nine year difference. Nine years of hardship and a hopeless war that's been going on for a century already. As the audience, we have the benefit of assuming this war is going to end within their lifetime; they don't have that luxury. If nine years, and the prospect of carrying on through this the rest of their lives, did that to them, what did twenty or more years do to Zhu Mei Chang and Leverrier. Tui and Edgar were 39 and 43 years old respectively when they were killed, so their sacrifice may also have been viewed as an escape from a lifetime of warfare.

Allen and company have lost Suman, Daisya, the other Barcelona casualties, Tapp, countless members of the Science Division, General Yeegar, and many others through the course of one year.

With that kind of odds, it's tragically understandable how characters like Zhu Mei Chang and Leverrier may have ended up where they did. I don't like the idea that a character is inherently evil. D. Gray Man is a series full of many characters who are complex and nuanced, so writing off some of them as 'just cruel for no reason' is kinda out of place. Especially when the main villains are just as detailed. With the way things are going for Komui, Bak, and Epstain, I do genuinely wonder if Zhu Mei Chang and Leverrier once drew their own line of morality (as the Night 150 flashback may imply) and then decades of losses led them both to ask, "Survive as sinners or die as saints?"

Personally, I think every last one of the characters listed above who are still alive are headed for a Thanos-esque, "What did it cost? Everything..." tragedy.

Further tragedy has the potential to push even Komui, Bak, and Epstain, further down an ever darkening path. D. Gray Man is not a normal war. Whether they fight for vengeance or pride or to protect those who are left or they feel winning the war no matter the cost is owed to the countless people who have already died, it's still victory or death in the most literal sense for the Order.

That said, for the characters who have already gone too far and crossed the line, there's no redemption nor should there be redemption.

Castlevania Dracula says it best:

There comes a point where even the most determined of soldiers have to ask, "Does the victory justify the atrocities?" and "If this is what it takes to win the war, then maybe we deserve extinction."

Honestly, I really hope Leverrier's character arc ends with him getting yeeted out a window like it's a Prague regime change.

So where's it all going for the younger generation of the Order?

While they don't have the audience's benefit of knowing the war could end within their lifetime and there is in fact a light at the end of the tunnel, they do have the hindsight of knowing what the Order has done, all the mistakes that have led them to this point. Similar to Komui and the other branch heads, they doubly have the stance, "Our predecessors fucked up. In spite of the odds, we can be better. We can break this chain of generational trauma and win the war without the abhorrent methods."

Wanting to be destroyers that save people.

Hanging on to hope.

#d gray man #komui lee #allen walker #lenalee lee #yu kanda #howard link #lavi #bak chang #renny epstain #zhu mei chang #tui chang #edgar chang #d gray man analysis #character analysis #character development #speculation #victory vs morality #akuma #millenium earl

[monkeydluffy19920]

Quick thoughts about chapter 1031

A little late for the party but been slowly trying to catch up with One Piece. Wano has been quite eventful arc but so far this here became one of my favorite Wano chapters so far.  

Sanji’s part of the Reasons to love Mugiwaras-series  was written 6 years ago and it focused heavily on WCI arc’s revelations (his past, reasons for his certain ways of behavior i.e sacrifical nature etc.) and we got plenty of answers during the arc and he even received major character developments there. 

There is another thing that was well explained in WCI: why Sanji is competitive around other guys (for example why the bounties always were a big deal for him). I think @movedbento​​​ summed it up in their post: It’s in his childhood, he was always put in comparison against his siblings and was ignored by his biological father. Since he was the only who didn’t have the monstrous superpowers and always ended up being the last one, displeased Judge wiped out Sanji’s existence basically. So, because of the neglection he went through as a child, he has the inner need to be needed and therefore puts his own needs aside and this is what explains the tendency for self-sacrifice. 

While leaving the Whole Cake island, Sanji got the raid suit capsule and he also fulfilled one his dreams in Wano, being invisible and sneaking around the women’s bathhouse.  First he thought the suit was great but when arriving to this chapter, the problems are stacking up. 

Sanji starts to see the downside of the Germa raid suit and although his durability and fighting skills are increasing inhumanly, he notices that he is turning into his brothers. On top of that there was a beaten woman and obviously he started to hesitate whether he did it under the influence of the suit or not. So, all this leads him struggling with a huge decision, whether to trust on his own skills or becoming a Germa soldier. 

Well, he had very conflicting thoughts about the capsule already the first time he saw it and whereas Luffy and Chopper were super excited about it, the cook even stated that he prefers to get stronger by natural ways, not relying on Germa science

So far, Sanji acknowledges the good sides such as how easy it would be to win Queen or fight against ladies (which has been one of his weak points because it’s against his foster father’s teachings). However, he is also truly afraid of losing  the human side of his (the one that makes him who he is). So. again this dilemma is highlighting his strong traits: self sacrifice and kindness. 

Although he learned in WCI arc that he is valuable and important person, at this moment of hesitation in Wano, Sanji still keeps putting people first by thinking what would his captain want instead of what he himself wants.

What makes Sanji’s final decision even more meaningful storywise is the fact that it’s reflecting towards one of the main themes of this series, freedom. He got away from his birth family and tried to forget them but eventually bumped into them again and got trapped. Later he got the chance to tell Judge that Zeff is more father to him than the Germa leader ever was  which was a great moment itself but now that he has erased the final piece that links him to their family, I think this was what Sanji really needed when it comes down to character development. 

So, this chapter is basically him finally breaking free for good. Of course this or WCI didn’t magically heal all the trauma he carried inside years that’ll need years of therapy like all Strawhats need but at least now he is on the right track when it comes down on recovering and becoming stronger for his crew’s sake. 

This alone made this chapter great but also the ending was another chefs kiss-emoji.  Would be cool to see how the original dialogue goes but at least now his request (made because he is afraid things will still still end up with worst case scenario) sounds harsh but on the other hand is completely understandable. 

Most interesting thing is that Oda chose him to ask this from Zoro but somehow he’d be very logical reason compared to other crewmates. Anyway, asking for this kind of huge “favor” tells that no matter how much they bicker in the end, their nakamaship is more than just competing and annoying each other. They have utter trust for each other. 

What tells about their bond as well is that Zoro doesn’t even question Sanji’s request. It’s probably because he knows so well Sanji’s sacrificial nature and that he hates his brothers so much he’d rather die than turn into them. Zoro’s reply is great: basically he accepts the request replying the way he’d be expecting to say but at the same time he  also “ignores” it by telling Sanji he better stay alive no matter what and therefore pushes and motivates Sanji to move forward (because he knows that Sanji will kick Queens ass and just like the others, the cook also has a dream to reach). 

Anyway, all I can say is, amazing work again from Oda! *thumbs up*

#one piece #sanji #sanji vinsmoke #kuroashi no sanji #black leg sanji #one piece chapter 1031 #sanji vs queen #wano arc #opthoughts

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman Showdown Round 2 Part 2

Lightning Farron (Final Fantasy XIII) vs Fa Mulan (Mulan)

Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Lightning

She uses a Gunblade. A sword thats also a gun. Said to be very rare because it takes so much skill to use. Does lots of slashing and backflips. Later becomes Champion of A God and sword fights a guy for eternity. Later becomes champion of a Different god and uses lots of different swords; She is dramatic and has lots of character growth and is awesome.

#She fights sephiroth#she has a fire sword for Drama#She gets armor too#how can you say no to that face#you want it she can do it

#there’s 10 hours left Lightning did not suffer to lose#ALL SHES BEEN THROUGH AND FOR WHAT#HER CHARACTER GROWTH IN THE GAME IS SO GOOD#SHES BEEN THRU SO MUCH#I JUST WANT WHATS BEST FIR HER#FOR HER#SHE DESERVES IT APL#ALL#RISE LIGHTNING STANS RISE#WHERES UR ANGER#WHERES UR RAGE

#back to rep my girl because I am NOT done talking about her#like she deserves everything okay#having to grow up quick and throw away her childhood to become her sisters new guardian after losing their mom#having to continuously grow stronger not for herself#but to keep Serah safe#and then eventually the need to want to protect others#her new found family#the fact that she would do so much for them by the time we get the third game#how kuch she had to fight all she had to do for the#the sake of humanity#the things she’s been through#it makes you want all the best for her

#i love them both but come on I gotta rep Lightning 😭😭😭#come on she uses her gunblade like a pro#but I love how she’s not afraid to throw hands either or how agile she is#so she doesn’t have to rely on her weapons at all times#she’s strong too like even before becoming a l’cie she can knock down men -snow- twice her size#she has the skills to back herself up#lets not forget she stabbed a god in the face with a survival knife#she’s just constantly getting stronger and she’s pretty#did I mention she’s pretty because#she’s very pretty

#she comes with 2x Big Sister baggage!#you know how much you love Grizzled Cynical Old Man Acquires Child?#get ready for Grizzled But On The Inside Woman Acquires Child Who Is Somehow Even More Cynical and Grizzled than Her#Idolizes Her and Becomes a Mirror Turned Back Upon Her So She Has To Examine Her Shit#also she’s just so cool#unpopular opinion but I love the feel of combat in XIII#I’m not a fan of super granular systems I love the vibes-based play#watching her flip and slash her way around the field kicks ass#like yes bitch u barely need me here#SHE HAS A GAY LITTLE CAPE HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO A GAY LITTLE CAPR#they couldve made her a little grizzled tho. for Me.

#Did I mention she can grill up a good steak#but that's all she can cook#She stabs a god in the face with a pocketknife#she punches dudes in the face#she meets a hot australian chick and slaps her and then shows her her tits#She has a suit of armor and a horse cause she a knight#yes i'll propagandize for her in her every poll cause she's perf

#Ok but you forgot to mention how Lightning is literally one woman army#She freaking uses magic and summons her stead guardian and even users those giant ass double edge blades and they fight in unison#She is also very acrobatic and elegant with her moves#Even more so in XIII-2 where she is literally fighting a war on her own and now has access to divine abilities making her more of a Paladin

Fa Mulan

stole her father's sword to take his place in the imperial army. defeated the invading leader and stole HIS sword too.

Soldier who saved all of china; She’s one of the ogs, man, her movie is a banger

i know she's a problematic fave but i still love her :(

#lightning farron #final fantasy #final fantasy xiii #fa mulan #disney mulan #poll #official #round 2 #swordswoman showdown

[agentnico]

Sympathy for the Devil (2023) Review

It's Collateral in the desert, with the Cruise out and in with the Cage.

Plot: After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

I do hold a special place in my heart for the acting enigma that is Nicolas Cage. He's truly like no one else, with his over-acting techniques and outrageous performances consistently being enjoyable and interesting to watch, even if he is stuck in a dumpster fire of a movie, and boy there are many turkeys on his filmography! Lately, however, Nicolas Cage has been actually allowed to appear in some solid films, with the wonderfully weird psychological hallucinogenic trip in 2018's Mandy where Cage loses more shit than he usually does; to the hilarious 2022 flick The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent where Cage played himself and gave us the best friend duo we never thought we needed in himself and Pedro Pascal; and this year appearing as Dracula in Renfield. Yep, there was also that Western dud earlier this year called The Old Way which was the most boring interpretation of the Wild West possible where even Cage was on low form, but the less we mention that the better. Be sure to look out for my Top 10 Worst Movies of 2023 list end of the year - The Old Way will surely be making an appearance. Anyway, enough with the shameless self-marketing of my own blog - let's discuss the new Nicolas Cage movie that's gracing our screens!

Sympathy for the Devil is a very by-the-numbers kidnapping movie, that is definitely inspired by the Michael Mann 2004 thriller Collateral, which involves cab driver Jamie Foxx driving around Tom Cruise's assassin as he completes his dirty work. Thrilling movie by the way - can recommend it! As for Sympathy for the Devil, there is nothing new here or original. There's some fun camerawork taking advantage of the neo-noir lighting of Las Vegas at night, and most of the events that transpire are in this one car with these two characters was simplistic yet director Yuval Adler managed to keep this limited setting engaging. Reminded me a bit of that Tom Hardy 2013 drama Locke where he spends the entire movie driving his car and talking to folks on the phone. The script however is very weak, and the twist at the end of the film is extremely predictable, so the movie sorely relies upon its two central performances.

Luckily the two lead actors do solid work. Nicolas Cage is given yet another shot to give an unhinged crazy performance as the maniacal stranger, and he's given a physical makeover too with red dyed hair and a flashy red suit jacket. A lot of the film is spent on him giving out goofy line readings and monologues while rolling his googly eyes and being general Rage Cage. Joel Kinnaman brings vulnerability and humanity as the innocent driver who simply wants to get to the hospital to his wife who is giving birth to his third child. Kinnaman especially can be a very intimidating and strong presence as he's done before in The Suicide Squad as soldier Rick Flag, so seeing him here stripped down was definitely an interesting casting choice.

Overall Sympathy for the Devil is not particularly memorable, with there being no devil in the details of the script. However if you want another excuse to watch Nicolas Cage do his maddenic lunatic thing, then it will be an enjoyable 90 minutes to pass the time. Can't say I'm not a little disappointed - the trailer made the movie seem like much more of a deranged experience than what the final product turned out to be. Ah well, no sympathies for the devil this time around.

Overall score: 5/10

#nicolas cage #joel kinnaman #sympathy for the devil #movie #film #movie reviews #film reviews #drama #thriller #cinema #2023 #2023 in film #2023 films #sympathy for the devil review #yuval adler #psychological horror #crime #las vegas #neo noir #action #mystery

[ditzdreamweaver]

Me obsessing and rambling a red burnt chicken from MHA?? Naaaah naaah... ok, maybe.

Ngl, I feel like we never knew the kind of person Keigo Takami is. You know how he never got a childhood ever since he was taken in by the HCPS? How he was given a private education instead of sending him off to school?

As sucks as it is to be in school, it's the very first starting point everyone goes to. Every child has a right to education for individual purposes (e.g. development of individual as a human being, self actualization), social purposes, etc. In other words, school is a place where we learn how to socialize and connect with other children, it's also what shapes us as a person.

Keigo, on the other hand, had a private hero education instead. I'm assuming he was homeschooled under the eyes of HCPS, so I doubt he'd get as much social interaction with kids at his age. But then again... how did Hawks manage to pull his charisma off? Well, two ways: 1.) HCPS gave him detailed interpersonal training; and 2.) Keigo had to rely on philosphy and psychology books. All of these weren't natural, ofc. He was raised to be a child soldier, the perfect Hawks everyone can look up to.

And I think that was the start of losing Keigo's self-identity.

We all know Hawks is a snarky bastard who's hip with everyone, but what about outside hero work? How about Keigo? The show never revealed much what kind of person he is. It feels like everything he says is scripted, made by the HCPS to soothe citizens from worrying about their safety.

And despite the fact that his identity was carefully crafted by someone else (to me, it felt like it), Keigo doesn't mind one bit. He's aware the organisation was using him as a pawn, yet he gracefully accepted it because "the end justifies the means." It is for the greater good of society, right?

That's why I was thinking... now that HCPS has been decommissioned, I feel as if Hawks is gone... and the only person left is Keigo Takami. Does he consider himself a free bird, something he had always dreamed of? Or is he still in that pawn mindset the comission put him in?

Is he Hawks or Keigo?

#keigo takami #hawks mha #unprocessed thoughts thought out of a whim #help #mha season 6 #ditzdreamweaver

[magical-xirl-4]

This essay will expand upon why Cloud Strife is an important focal point of Final Fantasy VII. It will highlight how he contributes to the story's themes of protecting the environment through his identity and character relationships, and emphasise the importance of those relationships on the development of his character.

(originally posted on Twitter).

Cloud Strife is central to the plot of Final Fantasy VII as he is the main player character, and by design represents a very relatable figure to the player.

Cloud lives in his world as someone who was rejected by the people around him, and discarded by the people he worked for. At his core, he is a deeply wounded person; he had a childhood that was filled with stigmatisation by his peers and some adults. He wasn’t always left out by other children by choice, but began to avoid them because of this, and it led to Cloud developing self-esteem issues that impacted his interpersonal skills as an adult.

Cloud viewed himself as weak and inferior throughout his life, and went through many experiences that led to him trying to prove himself to others, but failed despite trying his best. Although he was similar to how he was as a child, he grew into an adult that shuts off his emotions and rejects other people in order to protect himself.

During the start of the game, Cloud is subconsciously at a very low point and is lying to himself and others about who he is. He believes that he is so weak to the point that he tried to convince himself he made it into SOLDIER, a childhood dream that he wasn’t able to fulfill. This aspect is aided by the fact that an alien parasite was embedded into his genes, and has jumbled his memories on what happened on the day that led to this very moment of identity confusion. To add to that, parasite also fed on Tifa’s memories of him, a girl who he had admired from afar and promised he would become a SOLDIER for her. All of this ultimately fed on his insecurities, and made him believe he is someone he's not.

So here, we have a person that has sunken so low into their self-doubt and despair that they are stuck in a hole that they can't climb out of. Cloud lost everything that he knew prior to his adult life due to a homicidal man that he used to look up to, and now he has no idea who he truly is. Under the surface, Cloud is in a deep state of turmoil. On the surface however, he appears cold and uncaring. He has no regard for human life. He tells his eco-terrorist coworkers that he's only working there for the paycheck; he doesn't care about the planet he lives on. He's in a state where he's only fending for himself because he's so hurt and confused.

His situation is relatable to many because we have all felt helpless like Cloud at some point. Like the things outside of ourselves don't even matter, because it's all hopeless in the end anyway.

However, as Cloud's story continues, he is met with friendship. There are those who are wary of him, but there are others who are kind and charitable to him, and he feels accepted like he never has before in his life. He gains friendship through every main character, but the character who stands out the most in their kindness is Aerith Gainsborough. She stays with him for a few reasons, one of them being because she genuinely enjoys his company, as she can see past his tough guy act for his earnest self.

Fast forward to the rest of the game where you're able to explore the world outside of Midgar, and Cloud is forging bonds with characters outside of Tifa, Barret, Aerith and Red XIII. He becomes a leader and a friend, despite his current identity crisis and self-esteem issues.

Tifa gets closer and also sticks by him to pry into his mind as she feels that something about him is off, and Barret becomes someone he can truly rely on despite their rocky start. He gets closer to Red XIII after he visits to his hometown, and he offers companionship to Cid after witnessing the hardship he's has gone through with trying to fulfill his dream. Cloud does the same with Yuffie, who struggles with trying to restore her nation to what it once was, and Vincent, who is battling extreme regret and guilt. Last but not least is Aerith, who he can feel drifting away from him the further she gets to uncovering her true mission as a Cetra.

Now, Cloud begins to care for others outside of himself. He has crafted bonds with his teammates and friends. He begins to care for the world he lives in.

The game's message becomes clearer the deeper you delve into it, but it's most obvious by the end. It's a message of self-acceptance and appreciation of life. His self-acceptance includes acknowledging his flaws and self-esteem issues and not trying to hide them, but it also involves him caring for people and the planet. Caring for the world and for other people isn't something weak, it's an indicator of being a strong and compassionate person. All of his friends, and especially Aerith, show him this.

Aerith was most attuned to the lifeblood of the planet out of anyone he knew, and ended up connecting with Cloud the most. She confessed to Cloud that she wanted to meet the real him, but is then murdered by Sephiroth before they could further their bond. Cloud lost someone who he regarded closely, and her death ends up becoming his main motivation for protecting the planet. After her death, Cloud truly begins to understand why life is so precious. Cloud knew how much life meant to Aerith, and he realises how much the protecting the planet meant to her. She didn't want to die, but died trying anyway, so Cloud tries to honour her memory at the end to complete her dying wish- release Holy to stop the planet's destruction.

Before that though, Cloud has a moment of reconciliation with himself. After he emerges from the Lifestream with Tifa and his restored memories, he truly accepts who he is. No if's and but's, he apologises to everyone and strives forward despite all that happened.

He sees his flaws and accepts his feelings of inferiority, and goes out to be the hero anyway. He works together with his friends that he forged strong connections with to save the day. Cloud's character evolves to the strongest point it's been in the entire game. And it's a very inspiring message to convey to the player, who may feel similarly to Cloud. Even though he recognises his short-comings, he remains close with everyone and fights his hardest.

Square Enix specifically wanted a character to go from having no care for life, to a character that deeply respects and appreciates it. They want you, the player, who maybe started off like Cloud, to care for the world and the people in it.

It’s scary to care and put yourself out there. There’s always rejection involved. It’s why Cloud hid himself from the world, but just because he hid, it doesn’t mean he never cared or never loved anyone. He always did, but because of his trauma, it was hard to break out of feeling like he had to be uncaring to survive. His memories and personality were muddled, but he chose to build relationships with people, to be close with them, because he wanted to and because he could.

Cloud is a wonderful character for this reason, and it’s for this reason that he is the main character of Final Fantasy VII.

#final fantasy vii #cloud strife #ffvii #final fantasy #cloud #happy birthday month ya bitch boy i owe ya one

[legendofzacian]

If you can, can you talk about old Galarian art? I think the style and stories they use for it are very interesting

I think my abilities to talk about style, methods and specific influences are limited but I'll gladly analyze it from a historical perspective! I'll just pull up some of the pictures I have on my phone rn and ramble for a bit.

So this is a reconstruction of a carpet from about 1600 years ago, meaning it was actually not made by the people that would eventually found Galar as we know it. Before the Galarians came to this territorry several nordic tribes lived in the area. This carpet was made by the Scutu-Saxons but we actually don't know a lot about it for sure but it is remarkable for being the earliest depiction of Pokémon without humans.

One theory I read about is that this was part of an ensemble of carpets, all depicting different seasons, this one depicting spring, symbolised by the tree in the middle, a rookidee on top and herds of Mudsdale and Dubwool with their young travelling through the wild area. Now on to actual Galarian artists.

This was on a canvas in a shrine dedicated to Calyvax. It's around 1000 years old and meant to retell the story on how Calyvax first saved a human farm town from a fierce dragon pokémon.

In most iterations the story goes, that a dragon threatened to destroy the town if they didn't sacrifice three humans every year to it to devour. The townsfolk would follow this grim tradition for 333 years until one child decided to pray to Calyrex. But because only one child prayed Calyrex was too weak to finish the dragon off. In the end the entire town prayed and with that power Calyrex freed the town and banished the dragon forever.

Why is this Impdimp here? I don't actually know, it's probably just symbolic. It looks really off putting too because at this point the people who were working in scriptoriums and drawing for chapels are most likely spending their entire lives inside of the city walls and therefore might never see a pokémon up close and have to rely on second or third hand accounts and thus… human nose Impdimp.

This is also why it's hard to classify the dragon type as anything more specific. The language old Galarian stories use is not really one to one translateable to modern languages. They'd also call most dragon types "dragon", "wyvern", or "wyrm". So the dragon type might be an early form of Duraludon, this might be an ancestor of Duraludon or this might be a completely different dragon altogether, could be Charizard for all we know.

The next one is from a ~700 year old scripture cataloguing 100 species of pokemon, including the here depicted Rapidash. So kind of like a very old Pokédex (though more based on legend and hearsay than actual scientific findings).

This one's interesting to me because the actual text tells the supposedly real account of King Alfred IV forming a bond with a Rapidash. It was then tragically killed by his own soldiers who thought he was being ambushed. This one is interesting because of two things:

1) Even though worship of pokémon was already widespread, taking on pokémon as companions wasn't. Only certain pokémon were considered trustworthy and then only under certain circumstances. 2) Rulers would often depict themselves with or even as Rapidash because they were said to only show themselves to the most righteous and true of heart. So this story is probably completely fictional.

You'll probably see a print or replica of this one in any pub in Ballonlea, this is Johann Henry's 'Grimsnarl' (~550 years old). My friends at uni have told me that this painting is kind of notorious for spawning countless rumors at school. (Á la 'if you stare at this picture for 5 minutes straight a Grimsnarl will kill you in three days').

It's actually based on a story that paints the Grimsnarl as the good guy. A woman's home being haunted by ghost types, supposedly the ghosts of people who she lost or wronged. But then she decides to be kind to a little Impdimp, who grows to be a Grimsnarl who then could defend her when she was asleep.

This might be kind of a true story. The first recorded person with a true pokémon companion (meaning not just a pokémon to help with labor) in Ballonlea was actually a woman with a Grimsnarl. Her real name is sadly lost to time but I have heard her being called Adelaide, Adriana and Arianna. The rest of the tale of course, not really verifyable.

#Pokémon actually living with humans as their partners and equals has been a relatively recent thing in Galar if you couldn't tell haha #hope you like my ramblings! #Pokéhistory #art #pokeblogging #rotumblr #pokemon irl #((I'll link the actual artworks eventually too tired rn))

[reelvibes91]

War Zone: Into the Heart of the Land of Bad

With War movies, sometimes it is hard to pull off emotional depth and a hard-hitting war story at the same time. Land of Bad sure did not have any issues making this both a character drive drama and a high stakes war film.

The style of the film was very well done. In this movie, we have a team of 4 men sent on a rescue mission. When something goes wrong, the lone remaining member (Hemsworth) must rely on a drone Captain (Crowe) to help him navigate his way to safety.

Hemsworth is great as the young, inexperienced soldier who is relying on the veteran Captain Eddie, aka Reaper. Crowe is top form as he talks about College Basketball , cracks jokes about Vegans, and tries to talk the lone soldier through a harrowing ordeal.

What really helps elevate this film is that during the high stakes war drama, Reaper is dealing with the impending arrival of his child. It adds a human element to the film as it reminds us that while war takes a toll, everyone not on the front lines has personal things going on.

Action is always a big part of how a movie like this comes together, and for the most part, here it looked great. One small gripe is that they used too much slow motion to convey the scope of each missile dropped. It worked for the first one as it really showed the impact the eyes in the sky have on war. It also highlighted a conversation two of the characters had about technological warfare vs hand to hand combat. After that first use, though, it did slow down all the major action sequences and created somewhat of a pacing issue. That is my only issue with this near 2 hour film, though, so that is by no means a deterrent from recommending this film.

The reasons to see this movie far outweigh the small issues created by the decisions made in post-production. It has an easy to follow storyline with intense scenes of violence that war movies should have. Hemsworth and Crowe do a tremendous job adding to that tension with brilliant acting performances. This is one of the better war movies that has come out in recent memory. If this is the kind of movie you enjoy, give it a chance.

#land of bad #liam hemsworth #War Movie #Reaper #drone pilot #russell crowe

[pupperofdarkness]

Top 5 Ladies of Berserk ?

yoooo i’m here for questions like this. Gotta warn you though, I’m not the very good at going into depth about these things, but I’mma try

5. Slan 

Honestly she’s terrible, but we stan lol. But seriously, I find her absolutely fascinating and I really wish we could have learned who she was before she ascended, what actually made her activate her Crimson Behelit, and who did she sacrifice. Really I think I’m just fascinated by the mystery surrounding her.

4. Schierke

Such a wonderful lil bean :’). I’ve always adored child characters who are wise beyond their years and Schierke is definitely one of my favorites. I mean, we’re talking about a 12-13 year old girl who ADULTS look to for assistance when it comes to learning magic or staying sane, here. That to me speaks volumes of her strength. What I love most about her, though, is her dynamic with Guts. It’s so sweet how, aside from Casca, she’s the only other person he’s ever been completely open with and the fact that he trusts and believes in her so much is just so amazing to me. Plus her and Isidro’s antics never cease to make me laugh.

3. Luca 

She’s just a ray of sunshine in such a dark setting ☺️. I admire that despite living in such a bleak world and being in a hellish situation, she still remains, kind, selfless, and brave. And the unconditional, motherly love she has for her girls is just so heartwarming. I’ll be honest, I was pretty bummed when she didn’t join Guts’ party, but she had to look out for her girls so I get it.

2. Farnese

Ngl she got on my nerves at first, but I also found myself intrigued by her and the more I read, the more I ended up empathizing with her and liking her. 

For all intents and purposes, she should have become a terrible person, hell she almost did. Though I will say that’s pretty understandable, given how she was raised. Growing up neglected, sheltered and lonely can be really damaging to a person’s psyche. And the fact that she only got positive attention by hurting others did NOT help her mental instability. But when she joined Guts’ party, became Casca’s caretaker, and became Schierke’s student, I saw a side of her that I never would have expected to see in a character like her. It turns out her sadism hid kindness and compassion and selflessness. She just needed an opportunity to let that side of her shine through. I especially love her relationship with Casca and how she went from being a protector to a close female friend for Casca to rely on (which is something Casca really needs atm).

Also, I thought it was cool how Miura wrote Farnese using her penchant for bondage and sadomasochism to do good after her characterization (i.e. the thorn snakes). She’s actually the first instance I’ve seen of BDSM being portrayed in a positive way with a story like this, so that was pretty refreshing.

1. Casca

Words just cannot express how much I love this woman. But I’ll do my best.

Everything about her is just so amazing and she’s probably one of the STRONGEST female characters I know. I mean, this girl kept the Band of the Hawk together and lead them for a whole ass YEAR in Griffith’s place and when the Eclipse went down, she maintained a level head and managed to calm everyone down before everything went to shit. That honestly says a lot about her strength and leadership prowess.

That’s not to say that she always has it together. She can be hot-tempered at times but even then, she still has good judgement. She’s also emotional, and tends to cry a lot, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Actually, the fact that she wears her heart on her sleeve is just another thing that I admire about her. Her vulnerability only ADDS to her strength and imo makes her that much more relatable, because it underlines that while she is a gifted sword fighter, soldier, and commander, she’s still a human not a machine or weapon. And Casca realizing this, learning to find value within herself and learning to consider what SHE wants out of life rather than letting her value be dictated by her usefulness to someone else is something I love so much about her. And you probably have seen this a lot across tumblr, but I love, love, LOVE that she’s a WOC. I mean, how many instances are there of a leading lady in a dark medieval fantasy being POC, especially during the ‘90s?

My only complaint about her was that it took so long for her to come back to us. I don’t mind that Miura decided to have her dissociate after the Eclipse (in a few ways it makes sense given all that she witnessed and what she had to endure at the hands of Griffith and the apostles), but I wish it didn’t take 20 irl years for her to regain her sanity. Tbh, I think it would have been better if she began to gradually come back to herself or learned to cope with her trauma over the course of her and Guts’ journey, but it is what it is, and I’m just glad she’s back.

I just love her sooo much, holy shit 😩.

(btw, sorry it took so long for me to answer, I’m not used to people asking me stuff like this and I wanted to answer it the best that I could)

#casca #farnese #schierke #luca #slan #berserk #loooong post #asks #sorry if I got anything wrong about the characters I’m still pretty new at this sort of thing 😅

[goodneighborxfallout]

Companions react to sole asking them to cum inside for the first time please!

There are some things I have to say about how I handled this request:

1. I wasn't originally going to write this request as it made me uncomfortable, but then I realized you can go one or two ways with this one: either focus on the smut, or the possible pregnancy that can follow. I decided to focus on the latter. Apologies to the person who requested this if that is not what you wanted, but I'm afraid that if you wanted it to be focused on the smut I wouldn't have been comfortable writing it anyway.

2. The request didn't specify whether Sole asked this in the middle of having sex, or whether they sat the companion down to talk about it. I decided to cover both.

3. I did not include Nick because it felt weird and I just couldn't get it right.

4. In the "talk before sex" parts, I made it so that Sole and companion use protection, and Sole is asking to stop using it. In the "during sex" parts, Sole and companion do not use protection and just rely on the companion pulling out in time (because it was more convenient to write it this way). Please, do not use that last 'method' irl, guys! It is NOT safe!! Use protection!!

5. I - in general - had a really hard time with this request and I'm not exactly satisfied with how it turned out, so please don't be too hard on me.

Danse

Before Blind Betrayal

During sex: When he heard you beg to please cum inside you, a huge wave of both shock and arousal went through him, so much so he almost didn’t consider the possible consequences. But Danse is incredibly disciplined, so he did not fulfill your wish and instead pulled out there and then. And then he’d lecture you, because how could you - as a soldier - get so caught up in the moment that you’d request something that could have such dire consequences for both your careers? Not once did it cross his mind that maybe you actually wanted him to impregnate you, but bringing that up would only make things worse as he’d be pissed because you didn’t even discuss that with him before making your decision.

Talk before sex: Absolutely not! You were both soldiers and it hadn’t even been that long since you started your career in the Brotherhood of Steel. Potentially getting pregnant this early on would not be good for your career. The Institute threat was also still at large, so as long as that hadn’t been dealt with, Danse wouldn’t risk getting sidelined on a mission this important to take care of his newborn child. It’s not that Danse didn’t want to start a family with you, it’s just that he had never thought about it before, so his initial response was quite harsh. He’d realize it a few hours - maybe days - after the talk, and he’d approach you to have the same talk again, only this time he’d fully hear you out and tell you why it wasn’t a good idea at that moment in a calm and collected way.

After Blind Betrayal

During sex: Danse thought he was human for his entire life, so even now when he knows he is not, there are moments when he - briefly - forgets the differences between a human body and his synthetic body. This was one of those moments. You saw how shocked he was and when he started to pull out, you pulled him closer to you and reassured him. Of course, how could he be so stupid? He was a machine, he couldn’t possibly get you pregnant. And although the realization hit hard, he pushed it away for now, kissed you and fulfilled your wish.

Talk before sex: “Can’t we just get rid of any and all protection? You can’t get me pregnant.” Though your words weren’t meant to hurt, they hit Danse pretty hard. You noticed that as well and quickly moved closer to comfort the man. In the end he agreed to your suggestion, because there really wasn’t any reason why he shouldn’t.

Deacon

During sex: He was so close to his climax and just about to pull out when the words spilled from your lips, only once interrupted by your moaning. Apparently that was all he needed to get pushed over the edge and before he could even process it, he had cum - as per your request - inside of you. Oh no. After the initial bliss subsided, he immediately pulled out and looked down at you, but the damage was done. “What the hell, Sole?!” Deacon would be proper panicked and demand that you visit Carrington every day to get a check up even though both the doctor, you and even Deacon himself knew that it’d take weeks before any sign of pregnancy would show. But it didn’t matter. Deacon was in full panic mode and he would be until he knew for sure that you weren’t pregnant. Deacon would refuse to talk about what happened though. He wanted to believe it was a ‘heat of the moment’ sort of thing, and he did not want to risk you telling him otherwise. He knew that you knew how difficult it had been for him to build a relationship with you, there was no way you’d push even more, want even more from him. It simply could not be true.

(If he was not close to his climax when you made your sudden request, he would immediately pull out, but his reaction would be much the same: “What the hell?” Why did you ask that? What were you trying to achieve with it? If you apologized and said it was just a heat of the moment thing, he’d quickly forgive you. But if you did it on purpose, he’d be disappointed and angry, and he’d lose trust in you. You knew him better than anyone, so you knew he wouldn’t be okay with this, and you didn’t even discuss it with him.)

Talk before sex: Unsurprisingly, Deacon would pretend not to hear you, brush you off and quickly make his way over to Des to beg request a new mission. He’d avoid you like the plague and if you did accidentally end up running into each other, he’d make a light hearted joke followed by a quick u-turn. Saying that he was freaking out was an understatement. Even staying committed to you got hard at times, but a baby? His baby?? If you got pregnant, he’d have to stay, for you and for the child, and that made it so much harder. You’d have to be together with Deacon for a long time before asking that would not immediately cause him to run off but instead sit down with you to talk about it. But even then Deacon would deny your request, not willing to take the risk. He moved on from his dream of having a child, now he was focused on his work and raising a child in a crypt with enemies lurking around every corner was just too dangerous. He promised to get you back Shaun, but that’s where any child related topic ended.

Hancock

During sex: Hancock has a past with substance abuse, so he knows all too well what it’s like to lose control. But he’s grown a lot from those experiences and turned into a man who generally only loses control when he knows he’s fully prepared to deal with the consequences of his actions. So when he heard you begging for him to cum inside of you, he did not lose control like MacCready, nor did he pull out like Danse. Instead, he kept lazily thrusting into you, loving how you were begging for him, and in the meantime he’d question you. “You sure about that?” “You better not blame me if this somehow turns you into a ghoul.” If he saw you were completely lost in the moment however, he would pull out, not fulfill your wish and talk about it with you sometime later, because he wouldn’t want you to actually regret the decision.

Talk before sex: Completely, utterly ecstatic! Hancock couldn’t get you pregnant so that was not why you two used protection. It’s because no one really knew how safe (concerning diseases) sex between ghouls and humans was. That you now asked him to stop using protection made clear to him just how much you trusted him. But he’d still make sure you were doing it for the right reasons. “You’re sure, right? You’re not just doing this to make me happy?”

MacCready

During sex: Mac would definitely lose control. He’s young and had not at all expected you to all of a sudden make such a bold request. Whether he was close to his climax or not didn’t really matter. He was so caught up in the moment that he forgot about any and all consequences. However, after coming down from his high he - much like Deacon - would start panicking like crazy. He’d probably immediately get up, get dressed and for the rest of the night he’d be searching through any pharmacies and hospitals within reach, looking for a morning-after pill. He barely could take care of one child, no way could he handle another (and then there was your son as well). He’d probably stop by any doctor he sees as well and ask them if they have anything or can do anything to help.

Talk before sex: Mac might not take you serious at first and instead make a joke about how you two would never be able to handle another child. When he realized you were serious however, he’d be pretty shocked. He knew you missed Shaun, but the two of you were gonna find him, then get Duncan to join you, and live together as a family. However, nowhere in that plan was there mention of a third child. Mac knew another child would be too much to handle, and though he had never discussed that with you, he thought you were of the same opinion. To hear now that you were not was pretty baffling to him and he was afraid you wanted it for the wrong reasons. So he’d have a long talk with you to convince you that it was way too soon for the two of you to have a baby together, but did promise you to have this talk again after both getting Shaun back, healing Duncan, and spending a few years together raising the boys.

Preston

During sex: Preston would freeze. He wouldn’t pull out, he’d just stop moving all together and look at you in shock. “Wh-Did… did you just… Wait… You do know that you can get pregnant if I do that�� right?” Part of him wanted you to say that you actually did not know that - even though he knew you did - because at least then you two could pretend like this never happened. But of course you knew the risks! If you confirmed that you were indeed aware of it, he’d pull out. He wouldn’t be angry, or scared, or anything. He’d just be so confused, and he needed to discuss this with you immediately.

Talk before sex: Again, really shocked. Preston would awkwardly bring up that while you were still full on rebuilding the Minutemen, it wasn’t such a good idea to start a family. He really hoped you’d just agree with him because to him that was the most important thing in his life. Nothing you’d say would be able to change his mind, so if you didn’t agree with him, it’d most likely result in a fight.

X6-88

During sex: X6 won’t give any reaction to your request. It was like he hadn’t heard you, but he clearly had because he did exactly what you asked of him. It’s just that it didn’t shock or unsettle him because he couldn’t get you pregnant. He actually had a harder time understanding why he wasn’t allowed to do it sooner.

Talk before sex: “You know that’s fine by me.” It’s true. The first time you two had sex he had asked you why you wanted him to use protection. He had assured you that no matter how human he looks, he wasn’t human and couldn’t get you pregnant, but you had insisted and he had never really understood why.

#fallout 4 #fallout 4 reactions #fallout 4 companion react #fallout companion react #fo4 #danse #deacon #hancock #maccready #preston garvey #preston #x6 88

[nenithil]

About Hans and Shadis, and their insight on humanity(1)

Hans is often regarded as too pure and naive, or doesn't that understand human nature(comparing to Erwin or Armin), has unrealistic illusions about human beings and over-idealized.She even rejects selfish desires, this impression particularly comes from C71, when she scolded Shadis: To give up the individual and dedicate the heart to the public, it's like that,isn't it?

It's a very powerful scene. At first glance, I also feel a kind of frightening moral cleanliness from their words, but combined with other plots, I don't think so.

On the contrary, I began to think that her eyesight and response to people's mind are very sharp. She has usually appeared very joyful, it's not because she is naive or only looked at the good aspects of the world, or really had a very happy life,but because she focused on objective work and generally would not be distracted from those kinds of nonsense.

There are many descriptions of this kind of things in smartpass. For example: In  "crimes inside the wall", Levi mentioned that the Survey Corps often cooperates with some members from aristocracy in gray areas for financial needs: "There are not a few rich men who make use of criminals... For example, smuggling or assassinating opponents in trade. They are too professional to be tracked. Even if they are unluckily caught, they could just deny that they knew it. Before, there are some just  soldiers who tracked them down. Finally, they found that the behind the scenes was actually the sponsor of the corps. Similar events emerge one after another." Eren was very angry when he heard this, which made Levi even wonder if he said too much to youngsters. He went back to discuss it with Hans. Hans replied: "If it's something you will know sooner or later, it doesn't matter whenever you say it." "Teaching new people what's reality is an important task for senior superiors! I don't think you did anything wrong, Levi."

And in smartpass about Eren: When she first met ERen, she performed  psychological investigations on Eren, asked him about his dreams and made some comments, which showed that she at least knew psychology well. She even said to Eren: "Apart from the fact that you can shift into a titan, you seem to be an ordinary kid,  Eren." "I mean, at least, I don't feel some violent nature from you, like what they discussed in the court." It doesn't really matter whether Eren is an ordinary child, but Hans's words could greatly comfort Eren, who was regarded as a monster, anxious and self doubted at that time. What she said would make him feel closer to the Corps.  She made her comments on him on practical purposes, not to show her judgment.

This reminds me of her comfort to Mikasa in the Manga during "midnight sun". In order to prevent Mikasa from snatching injection,  she expressed her understanding and closeness to Mikasa's pain and told her, "but we have to move forward".

she accurately saw that Mikasa was not really that kind of people who only cared about the life of her own friends, totally disregarding for the lives of others,but was just unwilling to let it go for the moment. So she chose comfort rather than admonishment.

She don't need much cover up with her words, but always enter the truest part of the heart.

We can imagine  what will happen,if she criticized Mikasa for "only caring for personal desires and ignoring the interest of public"and asked Mikasa to" give up her personal feelings and devote yourself to mankind ",as any critics did in some forum. She can stop Mikasa  not only because of her kindness but also her wisdom.

In smartpass:Shelter from the Rain ：Hange&Jean，she also showed her interest and understand of 104: "At present, people who can make calm judgments are very valuable." Hange said this because she had come into contact with the "power" of Jean's contemporaries,and she knew that they could not be controlled merely by giving orders as a superior. "Armin is smart, and he's always been self-abase about his lack of strength... I think we have to get him on our side..."

There are a lot of details like this in smartpass. Even for Erwin, who is generally considered the most enigmatic, Hange offered a rather unique perspective in his  personal interview:

Hange： Charismatic, unshakeable faith, he would not mind sacrificing himself or others for the goal…well, he tries to maintain that kind of outer appearance. Hange: He might not be too happy if I say too much out loud. What I told you just now, it might be something that he shows to the public…however, even if you were to peel off that appearance, you still wouldn’t be able to see his true personality. That’s my personal opinion about it. H: Even so, he is someone that we can trust. If we leave the situation to Erwin he will evaluate it, and we therefore rely on the commander. If he wasn’t trustworthy, he would have been stabbed in the back. This is not something that is only limited to a commander though.

She haven't idealized Erwin so much, but regarded his appearance as  "shows to the public,"  she confessed her doubts about his true personality and haven't even overestimated his morality,or selflessness, as Levi did. She just said pragmatically that if he would make the right decisions, I would trust him

In her own interview, she said: Erwin’s active support of my research has been very helpful. And I’ve heard that he also has doubts about how this world was formed?

She thanked Erwin for his support and then without further comment, but she clearly caught the core desire of Erwin: doubts about how this world was formed

If regardless of smartpass, she also showed her sharpness towards humanity many times in the manga: C52 her threat to Sannes:

She accurately summarized the reasons that ordinary people would use to make excuses for doing evil.

This is also why she can quickly come up with a ferocious plan to deceive Sannes into confession. She knows their kind well

Similarly, in C60, when facing journalists who wrote false news and slandered their dead subordinates, she also showed tolerance for weakness of human, and performed her skill of getting closer to others.

She may have succeeded in persuading Fregel,who would rather live a miserable life, in similar way (the manga doesn't describe it in detail, and I doubt even Isayama doesn't know how to write.

She is regarded as an "over idealistic" commander, but she still said such words:

Her words have described Hizuru's intention to monopolize resources, which can only be inferred by herself. At the same time, she also speculated that countries regard eldia as a scapegoat to maintain their domestic unity. It shows that she has basic insight and understanding of politics. Particularly, if compared with Armin:

... well, I don't know why Isym wrote like this. Armin is  not like a naive kid to ask suchquestions. I regard it as a simple emotional vent. Here I can even understand why Eren showed such a disdainful face,Lmao

Hans obviously won't believe Mikasa's words, which are indeed too simple, but their kindness did give Hans some strength, or positive feelings, making her focus on what she can do - surveying and understanding the world, striving for friendship with others, rather than what can't be changed- all countries are selfish, they deceive citizens and don't mind doing harm to others in order to maintain their "rule".

PS: the plots that I like most about Mikasa in manga almost are with Hans. I'm happy to guess that Hans gets along well with individual having this kind of character (like Levi)

These are my views on this side of Hans. She can see and master the complex and dark side of people skillfully, although she still tends to look at the good side of them. She treats other as human-being with their own weakness and  uniqueness. She would not judge others without considering the specific situation

So about C71, I think what she said to Shadis was not because she is too naive, or being so strict with others to ask them to give up their personal desire, but because of the special relationship between them.

TBC..

#hanji zoe #hans zoe #hange zoe #commander hanji #snk analysis

[sepublic]

Is the Golden Guard a Homunculus?

           Once more bringing up the idea of the Golden Guard having a connection to Eda, while also taking several cues from Belos and being trusted by him, being a teen prodigy with magic similar to Belos’…

           I’m gonna go out on a crazy limb here, and suggest this; What if the Golden Guard is a Homunculus?

           Alchemy is a common element in fantasy, of which The Owl House is an example of. With its use of magic, glyphs, and potions, I’d be surprised if alchemy didn’t exist in the Boiling Isles, or at the very least, if it didn’t have its own equivalent; Which, the entirety of Potions magic is probably this show’s take on alchemy!  

           A homunculus is an artificial human created by alchemy, although for the purposes of this theory, the Golden Guard is an artificial witch. The fandom has talked and half-joked, half-speculated on the idea of magic being used to bypass the issue of people of the same sex being unable to produce children; Some ideas have suggested same-sex witches being able to create a child by using pieces of themselves, combined with a magical ritual or two. That is of course pure speculation; However…

           We already know Belos as someone who can create living things from magic; He’s manifested fleshy constructs, and even the Intro Worm at a whim! The Golden Guard himself can even conjure flesh from magic to transmute into a metal sword! So the idea of creating living things from magic is hardly out of the question in this show, and definitely not for Belos and the Golden Guard…

           With how the Golden Guard seems to be set up as a dark parallel to Eda, a look into the kind of person she could’ve become had she joined the Emperor’s Coven as a kid; What if the Golden Guard is a Homunculus made from pieces of various witches, among them Eda herself? We’ve all considered Eda’s lost potential, and wondered just how powerful she could’ve been, had she never been cursed and given the opportunity to fully learn and explore as she’d wished; Eda herself has wondered about it, no less…

           And Belos? He definitely seems like the type of mad scientist, low-key eugenicist who’d do this sort of thing, out of some morbid fascination, a desire to unlock true power, explore the full extent of magic; And in a way, weaponized Eda’s potential without having to deal with Eda herself, by having a Homunculus with her DNA that’s totally loyal to Belos!

          Given how the Golden Guard obviously isn’t a clone of Eda –what glimpses of his face we’ve seen, plus his gender indicate otherwise- then it’s possible that Belos has taken DNA samples from multiple subjects, the strongest witches throughout history (such as the Coven Heads and even Kikimora), with the goal of creating the most powerful witch by combining DNA from all of them! Hence, the Golden Guard as a fledgling experiment, who already proves to be rather promising, with the help of Belos’ tutelage since the very beginning.

           With this show’s dives into body horror, and the ability of Belos to conjure living things to serve him, I wouldn’t be shocked. I could totally see Belos experimenting with his magic, moving on from making animals like the Intro Worm, to a full-blown Witch! For all we know, he may have even put in a bit of his DNA as well… 

          Of course, whether or not this sample was from before, or after he became so physically messed-up, I can’t say. With the connections to both Eda and Belos, the Golden Guard being a homunculus brewed in a lab would be a way to explain those potential ties, without having to resort to a VERY gross age-gap fling that isn’t in-character for either party.

           Alternatively, the DNA sample came from Gwendolyn, who IS a member of the Beastkeeping Coven, and did give birth to Eda herself! As for the potential issues of a sample coming from Eda, who is cursed, well…

           There is that one shot from the trailer showing an owl beast with a face similar to the Golden Guard’s mask;

           Could this be him? Did taking a piece of Eda, perhaps a strand of hair or something, result in the Golden Guard inheriting her curse? It’s also possible that the Golden Guard isn’t cursed, because Belos is able to cure such things, and unlike Eda, the Golden Guard would be loyal to him and have thus ‘earned’ that, especially since Belos wants to explore his creation’s potential. Alternatively, Belos got the Eda sample from before she was cursed; Possibly by visiting Gwen and asking if she had anything, such as a baby tooth, from Eda prior to the curse.

           Likewise, if the Golden Guard DOES contain a bit of Belos, this sample could’ve come from before Belos became so messed up… And/or, due to being young and less experimented upon, with DNA from other witches, the Golden Guard manages to still be healthy despite the presence of Belos inside of him! It is worth nothing that the Golden Guard wields magic similar to Belos, so for all we know, this fragment of the emperor is what allows him to do that, having been distorted in the same way.

          That, or Belos trusts the Golden Guard, enough to keep him privy on a bunch of secrets that the emperor normally reserved for a ‘chosen one’ such as himself; Only those selected by the Titan are worthy of this form of magic, and because Belos himself is decayed, the Golden Guard is the only viable candidate left to truly explore the full potential of this magic. Also, being a construct made of Belos’ unique magic, with his own bile sac and everything; That could explain why the Golden Guard is able to wield that same magic, because he’s made of it!

           And being made from Belos, who isn’t too physically well-off, that could be why the Golden Guard is established as tired in our first glimpse of his personality… That, and/or he’s exhausted because he’s a teen prodigy who has to do the work of an adult, and not just any adult but the right-hand man to Belos! Maybe the Golden Guard was created as a means for Belos to create a new physical body for himself, before he repurposed his homunculus as an apprentice of sorts, while possibly still keeping him as back-up host.

          Perhaps the Golden Guard was Belos’ attempt at creating witch super soldiers, of creating generations of witches by his own hand, who would be totally loyal to him; Thus keeping Belos from having to rely on families for children he doesn’t trust… And potentially freeing Belos to get rid of ALL other witches, because now he can make his own loyal ones from scratch! Belos would be the kind of person who’d want to make an army, while killing whatever he can’t control, hence the hunt for the Selkidomus.

           Plus, being made for the sole purpose of surpassing all other witches, even Belos- It could definitely add a lot more to the Golden Guard’s arrogance, but also a huge amount of pressure as well. And it’d make him feel indebted to Belos, for giving him life, for granting him such great talent and ability from the get-go, for basically writing his destiny out for him, a fate of grandeur and glory.

          As a lab creation controlled and indoctrinated since birth, influenced before birth even, with Belos’ influence ingrained into his very body- It could add to why Belos seems to trust the Golden Guard on matters even Kikimora isn’t privy about! Creating a whole kid to raise into an adult, an entire life for a single purpose, and making sure that life KNOWS that purpose and fully devotes their existence to it, because it’s literally why they exist to begin with- Not exactly something I’d put past Belos!

           Plus, for Eda; The Golden Guard could act as a disturbing mirror for her. Not just in the kind of person she could’ve been, but as a harsh reminder of the magical potential and power she could’ve had, had she never been cursed; And again of the magic she completely lost, when the curse reached its worst limits. It’d be a way to haunt Eda at a point when she’s lost her magic, by dangling what could’ve and should’ve been; It’s like a ghost and a specter for those who have mourned or wondered Eda’s lost potential.

#the owl house #the owl house golden guard #the golden guard #the owl house belos #emperor belos #the owl house eda #edalyn clawthorne #homunculus #homunculi #speculation #theory #the owl house hunter

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

hey so I’m not trying to be gross but this genuinely something that I wonder about like how does mc survive on her period in a mansion full of vampires? Especially with a pure blood like Comte or Leonardo like can’t they sense it? sorry if this is weird I’m just genuinely interested In like pure blood and vampire lore and like what they pick up on especially comte as he’s a fave. I’d love to hear your thoughts as always I love your posts and I hope you’re doing well and staying safe and healthy 💛☺️

Haha, please don’t worry! 😂😂😂 I’ve often wondered about the very same thing, and while I don’t have any canon answers, I can offer the most likely scenario from my understanding of the game. Hope you’re doing well too, lovely, thank you! Stay safe out there~💛💛💛

Given what I know, and the fact that blood is only a small component of the discharge that comes with one’s period, I’d wager it poses a low risk generally speaking. I think the plan would be to make sure everyone’s on guard and has been keeping up with their usual doses of Blanc/Rouge (no waiting until you starve, Jeanne, yes that is a threat) but otherwise everyone proceeds as they normally would. I think it would be hardest on the vamps who are most sensitive to the presence of blood/have a harder time controlling their thirst, like Isaac and Arthur. 

Purebloods have been canonically established as having a much lower tendency to bloodlust by comparison to lesser/turned vampires, so I very much doubt Comte or Leonardo would react much. A blip on the screen for them, nothing more. (I often categorize Jeanne as the closest to pureblood level reactivity because his ability to control the thirst is exceptional; the only time he has ever come close to attacking MC was when he was at a point of intense starvation.) I think the only time her period could potentially become risky is if one of them was starving (and therefore reacting on the level of base instinct) or grievously injured. If they have feelings for her or she’s in a relationship with one of them, it may make them want to bite her more, but I don’t think they’d necessarily act on it. I’d assume most of them would be reluctant because MC is already losing blood as it is? Better to be safe than sorry, and all that.

As for whether or not they can anticipate it, I’m really not sure? It’s possible they might sense hormonal changes, but given I haven’t seen them react to anything so slight I can’t be sure. Purebloods I’d say it’s a coin toss; it’s very possible they can sense it before it comes--but I just have no way of knowing for sure. Lesser vampires, I very much doubt it. 

That being said, you bring up a very timely contention (for me) as of late. Which is to say: what are purebloods capable of sensing? I’ll be elaborating on a recent JPN collection story event that included Comte, as it had a very interesting tidbit that I’d like to share with y’all. It isn’t a huge spoiler as I’ll be focusing on the pureblood lore that was included, but for those who don’t want to see it I’ll be placing it under a cut. (Also some slight spoilers for Comte and Leo’s main story rt).

Mandatory spoiler warning:

So this last event featured MC and her suitor taking care of a child for a few days, in which they act like a pair of surrogate parents. Naturally, being a feral Comte stan, I got his story. In it, both he and MC are taking care of a young girl named Emma--the daughter of a fellow aristocrat (a friend of his). At some point during the story, MC accidentally loses sight of Emma while hanging up the laundry. MC searches the entire mansion but can’t find her anywhere, and she begins to panic when Comte encounters her. Alarmed, he gently asks her what’s wrong and she explains what happened. There’s a brief pause [”...”] and then he says “It’s okay, MC. Emma is–”. Comte then leads her to the gazebo where the little tyke is fast asleep, taking a midday nap in the shade. Naturally MC is relieved to see her safe, but also a little baffled as Comte led her directly to Emma. 

MC: “I’m so glad she’s okay. But…how did you know she’d be here?”

Comte: “Purebloods are good at sensing/detecting nearby human beings.”

And I ????? Granted it’s possible it got translated incorrectly but...I really don’t understand how else he would have known exactly where she was? If MC asked around and searched the entire place and still couldn’t find any trace of her, how would Comte have just known in an instant? Additionally, if he spotted her before he found MC panicking, then I doubt he would have just left her there without an adult/guardian nearby--he would have either stayed there or taken her with him. 

So this makes it plenty plausible that he really did just sense her presence in the vicinity. But........like..........howmst in the fuck. Is that even possible. I have no idea, but I find it a little shocking that I’ve only discovered this now? I mean maybe I missed it somewhere else where this tidbit of lore came up, but as far as I know they don’t discuss it much? The most I remember is Comte giving very clear indications that purebloods were able to sense each other, but I assumed that was restricted to purebloods only...

That being said I’ve been thinking about it and, well, there are at least three pretty strong instances in the game that could affirm his claim in this story. Namely: the beginning of the story itself (Comte’s POV of the prologue), the kidnapping incident in Comte’s main story, and the beginning of Leonardo’s main story.

I remember @a-maidens-dream asking about something very interesting in Comte’s POV story, and at the time I was a little unsure what to do with the information--it wasn’t aligning in a way that made sense. But I think this might help that tidbit fall into place? I think that Comte really hadn’t realized she followed him into the door until she was already in the mansion, and as such this ability to sense humans would explain why he knew she was there before Napoleon even told him anything. If purebloods can sense human people, then he would know a human being entered the house because of the species signature; the only human person living there otherwise was Sebastian. I’m not sure if the sixth sense is acute enough for him to be able to differentiate between human people. (My guess is that it’s not that specific, or if it is, the pureblood has to know the person very well to be sure.)

Building on that, this is a subtle distinction, but it still stood out for me. In his main story route, both MC and a fellow aristocrat (a woman she was friends with) are taken to these small cabin things in the middle of the woods. All Comte, Napoleon, and Jeanne have to go on is the general location of these hideouts. They decide to split up; Comte goes one way, Napoleon and Jeanne go another. I find this instance particularly interesting because Comte’s POV indicates a kind of loss of rational thought--he is 100% in a panic state, just moving to satisfy one objective: save MC before time runs out. This suggests that Comte very much could have been relying on that sense to pinpoint her and her assailants. We have no evidence to believe he was ever a soldier or somebody with extensive experience in tracking--or that knew the landscape well. But he only trusts she’s alive and unharmed for sure when he has her in his arms again, suggesting either that this sixth sense has its limits (in regards to specificity of the person being detected) or that his judgement in that moment was too compromised for it to be clear.

The last one, and perhaps the funniest possibility of the three, lies in the beginning of Leonardo’s main story route. Iirc, Leonardo spends much of that time hauling MC around the mansion to interact and properly situate herself in the mansion’s social dynamic. While this may just be a coincidence, MC notes that she actively tried to hide from him and make herself scarce, but whenever she tried no amount of stealth worked. One can certainly argue he just paid attention or asked other residents about where she was, but I do think it’s worth considering? I need to re-look at the chapters, but I seem to recall her trying to hide in a garden shed and he still found her immediately and just picked her up and walked right back out. 

Tl;dr: So does this mean Comte/Leo can sense when MC is on her period? I have no idea, but at this point I really can’t be sure what abilities they do and don’t have!

#asks #ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp meta #ikevamp comte #ikevamp saint germain #ikevamp leonardo #ikevamp leo #ikevamp jpn spoilers #i dont need sleep i need a n s w e r s yall holy shit #i'm torn bc i feel like i sound like a conspiracy theorist but i also #can't shake this feeling that there are hints of it in the storyline #oh well i will at the very least be paying closer attention moving forward #its interesting to me because like #its such an expansion of comte's character construction to know this? #in that like #he has every capacity to sense whether or not she's alive to some extent it seems #and yet he literally can't calm down/trust it as a result of the trauma #i love this little character detail--it feels v apt considering his contradictory nature #but i digress! #hopefully this was interesting and/or informative #happy to answer though the topic is a bit odd HAHA #thank you for the ask lovely! <3 #rambles #not incorrect quotes #tw: period talk

[swtki]

Dear Edward

Chapter 1

Pairing: Edward Cullen x Fem! Reader

Summary: Edward looks over his life, and what could have been.

A/N: I have been holding onto this baby for months, and I’m not sure how it will fair. Please reblog, send me an ask, or simply like if you enjoy this. I will also be making a tag list form here

WARNINGS: Cursing 

I skimmed my finger over the rough sheet of paper in my hand. A part of me begged myself to burn the envelope, containing another heart-felt letter from my beloved (Y/n). How many years had it been since I left Chicago with Carlisle, effectively ending the life I came to know, and starting an eternity of monstrosity? I couldn’t tell one day from another, without the human necessities the days bled together.

I had left (Y/n) when I left that hospital. Before Carlisle changed me, before I was so ill that I was unconscious nearly half the time, I enjoyed her letters. She grew up with me, a mere two months younger than I. Despite my eventual silence, the absence of a letter written back to her while I was in the Influenza ward, she wrote a letter every week. Sometimes she slipped it on the nurses desk, sometimes she waited until she could give it to Carlisle personally, but she always wrote. When we left Chicago, Carlisle had given the nurses a forwarding address of the hospital in our new town. Back in those days, you relied on letters to inform you of personal happenings across the state, in our case country but never the less, Carlisle always kept in touch with his old friends. Some days I wished her letters hadn’t made the forwarding stack, some days I was glad to have at least the scent of her in my head.

I put the envelope back in my cardboard box, pulling out a yellowed piece of parchment and smiling when I grazed my eyes over it.

June 12th, 1918

Dear Edward,

My apologies that I haven’t seen you in all this time that you’ve been in the clinic. I tried to bring you a scarf my mother knitted, but the nurses informed me that you were to be in the most isolated unit. I’m trying to convince myself that you’re young, you’re strong. You’re the boy who ran four blocks to grab my hat that I had left at a restaurant, you are strong.

I miss the way you would show up at the right time, somehow you always say the thing I need to hear. Edward, can you believe me if I say that you are the most amazing boy in the world? I need you to believe me because I’ve never been so sure about anything. I would love to tell you the small happenings of my week, but I think I’ll save that for another letter.

Edward, you are so special to me. You have to stay strong, for me.

Love,

(Y/N) (L/N)

I wish, even now, that I could remember reading her letters, but instead I settle for Carlisle telling me about how I looked as I read them. I have little memory of life before Carlisle. I have no memory of her, yet I’ve fallen in love with her through the letters. Carlisle had told me about the letters I wrote back in my first week or two in the ward. Soon, I became too weak to scribe, so I had whoever I could do it for me. Although, I don’t remember what I wrote back. Telling by the letters, in order by date, I had the right things to say to her, even when I was barely breathing.

I folded the yellowed-sheet up, placing it back in its rightful spot. My eye caught a small photo I treasured, her photo. She was sixteen in this photo, taken in nineteen-seventeen judging by the camera quality. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, letting her beautiful eyes stand out against her lovely skin. In those days, getting your portrait done was a days events. It was uncommon to see anyone smiling in their photo, she was no exception of course. But even her resting face looked joyful, a talent for that time.

I sighed, wondering if I might have had a chance at a normal life l with her. A life in a small house, dinner on the table when I came home from my day job. Maybe I would have joined the military, fought alongside her brother in France. I would have come home after my friends died, after I had almost died. I would have brought my watch to show her, it lit up with this new thing called radium. That’s not all I would show her though, I would whisper “I love you” in French, something a fellow soldier taught me. Our first child would be born in nineteen-twenty-four, two years after our marriage. Maybe we would have had three children, maybe five, I’ll never know.

Instead, I had to leave everything behind, watch people I knew die. I gave up on looking in the mirror in nineteen-nineteen, nothing would ever change for me. She would become a woman, eventually becoming a grandmother I’m sure. I would stay seventeen, lanky and thin. Maybe I was always meant to live this life. Maybe some deity realized that if they didn’t kill me – or try to kill me – I would marry her and fuck up both of our lives. I’ll never truly be sure, and there was no way in Hell I was sure back then.

I fought the urge to put down her photo, close the box, and walk away. I knew that if I were to live with the fact I wasn’t living with her, I would have to close it within the first hundred years of my existence. At that time I was only sixty years past being human, I still had much to figure out. I knew I couldn’t leave my bed, leave my room, until all of her letters had been read in order.

#edward cullen #edward cullen x reader #edward cullen x reader smut #twilight x reader #twilight fanfic #edward cullen smut #edward cullen fanfiction #twilight headcanon #headcannons twilight #carslile cullen #esme cullen #fanfiction #twilight renaissance