#((go follow my antagonistic female warrior <3))

[darkspellmaster]

Castlevania Season 3 Trailer and Poster Theories Part 1: Characters and Posters

So if you’re just joining us, hi and welcome. 

With the release of the Season 3 trailer for Castlevania, I figured I might as well break this down to see what’s in store for the characters and how this may connect to the future of the series. (Spoilers abound for a number of Castlevania games, so you have been warned.)

Realized this was really long so you have a warning that if you are reading this on mobile it may be better to read on the computer. 

So this is probably during the fight between Alucard and the Japanese warrior we see in the trailer. Two things about this moment: One I’m a bit worried that Alucard is going to push himself too much. He absolutely needs to rest as if he’s still awake for years to come then the whole situation with Symphony of the Night has less weight to it. Two is the fact that he’s enjoying himself, meaning that this is a positive for him and what’s going to happen in the future in regard to people becoming friends with him and him having a life. 

I’m assuming this is where Alucard is talking to the Japanese warrior that we meet in the forest. He’s explaining to them what happened to Dracula and what is up with the castle. However, this whole “Dracula is dead by my hand,” and Sypha and Trevor’s...is important. They are missing a key factor in ending him for good, that being the stone that Dracula has on him. As long as the Crimson Stone exists, he can keep coming back, again and again, and that means Death will have to be coming into play soon enough. 

Again, he’s activating his powers, which, if he overuses them this could be a bad thing. I’m wondering if they’re going to put him to sleep after this one, or if he’s going to be around with Simon...Please don’t be awake with Simon. Please. It’s sort of cool seeing them in motion though, more so than with Season 2. 

Okay, so a lot of speculation right now is that this is Zead, aka the man that teaches Hector about the Innocent Devil’s in Curse of Darkness that you use in-game. Zead is actually another important character in Curse of Darkness as he’s Death in disguise. His goal was to use Hector to beat Isaac, and then have Hector consumed by the curse to bring back Dracula. 

However, another option may be a possible flashback to Leon’s story and this is just a priest that is traveling with the Crusaders. Though the outfits make me think that this is a later time period. If it’s not Zead, then he could be a character that comes into play as an introduction to the issues with Carmilla or ties into the village that was attacked by Legion minions. 

So we officially have a title for him. The Judge, it seems, and he’s voiced by Jason Isaacs. Important to note that the name Judge is used as part of Judgement, which is another term for Death. Though I do have to wonder if he and Morana are one and the same. Or if he’s a red herring to her being actually Death. It wouldn’t be the first time that that happened. 

Right, so I’m going to focus more on the two other Vampires on the left and the right rather than the center two at this moment. 

So the Lady on the left is giving me a few options to work with here based on her looks. 

Her name is apparently Morana and she’s voiced by Yasmine Al Massri.  Morana is the Slavic goddess of Death and Rebirth. She is a winter goddess as well and can be depicted as an older crone character. What’s odd here is that they’re not going based on that idea.  Her name means death so clearly, we have a case here of a character that may be more powerful than we first think. 

So as for whom she may be based on the three following women are my best bets. 

Actrise is personally one of my best guesses given the design of the character. 

Actrise is a witch that turned people into Vampires. While not in-game technically a vampire herself, she is a vile piece of work, killing 100 children to get Dracula to make her immortal. In the game Legacy of Darkness, she plays one of the major antagonists for the lead Cornell and later for Carrie Fernandez, who is trying to get back her sister Camilla who was turned into a vampire by Actrise. I can easily see them not adapting Legacy of Darkness, so turning Actrise into a helper for Camilla would make sense. 

Of course, there is the option of the second-best well known female vampire...

Elizabeth Bathory

I would have picked her as my main pick, however, Elizabeth is just as well known as Carmilla is in regard to being a solo female Villian that I can’t see them putting her as a lower-ranked assistant to Carmilla. So while this could be a possibility for our lovely lady vampire in blue and yellow, I just don’t see it as an option. But you never know. And Bathory’s name is just as well known, so that’s an added bonus. 

The Countess was going to be a baddie in a Castlevania game that got canceled so she would be the easiest to adapt, and our lady Vampire has a lot of her looks. (High cheekbones, narrow nose, even the curved ears as an option and the high arched eyebrows.)

A character that was designed to be a main bad in a N64 Castlevania game. Not much is known about this woman, other than she was called the Female Dracula and that she was Dracula’s lover for a while. She can create a portal to resurrect him. 

Next, we have Striga, who I thought was a guy, but is apparently a woman. She is voiced by Ivana Milicevic. 

Now a Striga is a different sort of vampire and more a demon. But I do find it odd that we have two characters here named on two Slavic myths connected to death. What’s interesting about Striga is that I thought she may have been a guy that was connected to Alucard, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. 

Striga’s are born with two hearts and two souls and have two sets of teeth. They are bird-like and change into bird-like creatures that hunt humans for their blood. 

My main guess is that Striga probably is based more on the Lady Bats, Lillith or more likely Draculina from Order of Ecclesia. 

They are female vampires that are loyal to Dracula, although in this case, Striga may be more connected to Lilith as she seems to be seen and shown with Lenore more than with Morana. This makes me think that Striga is the lesser of the two in power and that Carmilla and Morana may be more the heads of this operation. 

So the last character and the one that everyone wants to know about is this redhead. Her name is Lenore and she’s voiced by Jessica Brown Findlay.

The name Lenore is taken from the name Elenore and was commonly used in the middle ages due to several queens having that name (Elenore of Aquitaine, Elenore of Provance, and Elenore of Castile) and comes from the name Aenor, which is a Latinized form of a Germanic name we don’t know the meaning of. 

Lenore is most well known for being the lead character in the Raven that Poe’s poet pines for. His Lost Lenore and I have a feeling that she is going to be a bit like that and a bit like Lucy from the Coppola version of Dracula. 

Some have speculated that this is a version Rosaly, Hector’s future wife from Curse of Darkness. However she doesn’t match at all, not personality, nor looks. I have a feeling they purposely made her too seem like Rosaly since there are some similarities, but very generic. 

As you can see, long hair, very cheery-looking and innocent. Yet the hair and eyes don’t match at all. And even with the drastic changes they have done to the characters, see Isaac, Rosaly would need to have a certain look because of Julia later on. 

As you can see there’s an innocence to her, and while the woman’s dress is similar to nun wear, it’s clearly not the woman that later saves Hector. So who is she? 

Well, there's the option of the Succubus character from a number of games. 

the attitude and the look on the face, along with the hair and fangs would at least connect to that overall innocent look that the character is going for. 

However I think this may be Laura, Carmilla’s lover Laura, or she may be going by the name Lenore. 

So in the lore of Castlevania, Laura is Carmilla’s servant, and in the book, Laura was her food source. In the games, Carmilla attaches herself to the player and drains them of their hearts to help her mistress. She acts like an innocent victim but in truth, she’s just trying to lure the player into a false sense of security. Defeating Carmilla leads to her transforming into a fighter (in the first game she had cat ears as a nod to the Konami lady and a nod to the book where Carmilla fed off her in the form of a large cat),

Who then proceeds to attack the player for defeating her mistress. 

Given what she’s doing to Hector in the poster and what we see her doing in the trailer I don’t doubt that she’s playing with Hector to make him easier to feed on for Carmilla and screwing with him for her mistress as a plaything. They stand close together and it’s clear by the fact that she’s on the same side as Carmilla that she’s there to be a creature that is going to cause issues going forward. 

More than likely, given her outfit, she was probably once a nun in the same church as Rosely and may feature in getting backstory for what happened to the church that Rosely was a part of. 

Alright, this is gonna be a doozy. So there’s a lot of speculation on who this woman is. Everything from Baba Yaga to a whole new character. So I have three major options here for who she could be. 

Voiced by Barbra Steele, this is Miranda, a strange woman that Isaac meets. The thing is I think he’s in possibly the city near the Baljihet Mountains where the Garibaldi Temple is, that leads to the Tower of Evermore, where they may have put Legion. So why am I bringing this up? Well, there are various locations in Castlevania that get re-explored in other games, and one of those places is Aljiba, a coastal city that houses two characters that could play parts in this series. The Crystal Trader, who could be Sala, (more on that down lower) and the Old Crone, who is right below. 

Option One is the Old Crone from Vampire Killer the sequel game in Japan to Castlevania. 

Old Crone is a merchant in the castle where Dracula is. By whipping them you get items and discounts and the like. (Yes it’s weird.) She also will give you hints of where Simon in the game can get a piece of Dracula, in this case, his eyes. It wouldn’t be too odd if Miranda could be used as this hint giver to Isaac going forward on his journey to resurrect Dracula. Physically the character appears to be this sort of person. However, the marking on the neck and the robes have me speculating otherwise. 

Option two is the more likely character and one that has direct ties to Dracula himself and could explain the marking on the neck. 

Drolta Tzuentes is a character from Castlevania Bloodlines and is an assistant of Elizabeth Bathory. 

There’s a lot of speculation around this character as she is very mysterious and was the one that revived Dracula’s niece Elizabeth in the game. She’s said to be very powerful and her looks seem to mirror that of the woman we see talking to Isaac. However, another big clue that this could be the character is that she may have been an alternative form to Death. (In the game she’s from it’s hinted heavily that she is.)

We know now that a character named “Judge” will be appearing, as played by Jason Isaacs. Why this is important is that this could be an allusion name to Death, and having both actors play different forms of the character makes sense. 

IF this is the case this is a big deal due to what’s on the woman’s neck. 

So if you don’t know Death is one of the main characters in Castlevania and he’s there to usually help revive Dracula as the two have a very interesting deal. When Mathias became Dracula he partnered with Death to take down the Vampire Walter whom Death was no longer interested in working with. Now Walter Bernhard, who was the Dracula before Dracula, and the man who took away Sara from Leon Belmont. 

So why am I mentioning this? Well, Walter had on him one of two stones that are very important to the Lore of Castlevania. The Crimson Stone, which is the most important stone in the games history and what makes a person into Dracula (we will be getting back to that., and the Ebony stone which is a stone that allows the user to envelop its surroundings in eternal night and it was believed to control Death (it can’t). 

It’s really hard to see but in the center of the old woman’s neck, there’s a star with a round circular object. At the end of the game Lament of Innocence either Dracula or Death had the Ebony stone.

If this is the stone, it would make sense then that this old woman would be Death in disguise, and explain her desires for killing them all, since the use of the dead would allow for Death to bring back Dracula using Isaac or Hector’s or even Trevor’s body to do so. 

The other important thing to note is that the Belmonts have had a situation where Dracula has possessed them. So this is not beyond the scope for them to try this with Trevor. 

On top of this, the image of Miranda that is used for the cast revel shows Miranda powering up, or using some sort of energy. This energy is a pinkish purple. 

Why is this important? Well, that color has connections directly to two characters in Castlevania Lore. 

The first is Walter Bernhard, the Vampire that came before Dracula and lead directly to the reason why the Belmonts hunt vampires, and why Dracula exists. During the game Lament of Innocence Walter dies and that color engulfs him as he’s dying (and probably being sucked into the Crimson stone). 

Same colors, making me think this maybe some form of activation of her using the stone or giving something to Isaac. 

The other option is Death again, where we see him using his powers, which again match the colors that we see Miranda using at this moment. 

In both cases, this is when Death is activating his power, and as I said Death can show up in any form. Including an old woman. 

Ignoring the water, I want to point out the glass shards. It seems like they’re trying to harm Hector or punish him in some way. The glass shards make me think they shattered glass on the bars, and the water might be from a pitcher or something like that over a bucket. It’s clear that they’re treating Hector as nothing but an abused pet for them to play with, and I hope we get to see a stronger Hector break free of that. What has me concerned though is the fact that he’s naked, namely because I wonder if there are some implications of assault going on. 

So I’m not sure if Hector has a collar on when he’s getting hit by the water. However, we can see that he’s dressed when interacting with Lenore (I’m using the name because it makes sense that this would be her). His hand is out to her probably as she’s tempting him or offering him something and then she pulls him to her and does the “Good Boy” moment. 

It has me thinking that she’s going to add to the issues of distrust that Hector has and that Rosely is going to have to work through during the next season if she’s not in this one. I strongly suspect that this character is going to try to push Hector into helping her out stopping the others or promising to help him only to betray him in the end. 

So we know this is part of Isaac watching something, and probably has a connection to the green tower that we’re seeing. The reason this is significant is that Isaac ended up using some very strong powers to fight against Hector, and if he’s able to hold back Legion with his army, even subject it to his will, well then this could be an interesting fight if they go deeper into the lore of the Curse of Darkness game. 

Isaac’s army. So it seems that they’re having Isaac and his army of monsters coming after Legion who is cooped up with that tower. This is known as the Tower of Evermore it’s a sort of Battle arena in the game. So this is probably where Isaac ends up doing a lot of his dirty work in forging devils for his army that he intends to use on the trio and possibly Hector. 

The moon has always played an important part in Castlevania as a symbol of the mysteries of the night. The fact that we have Isaac on a black horse, cloaked in white (very much all things that could be associated with Death and the supernatural), gives rise to me suspecting that his journey into darkness is going to be happening a lot more significantly going forward. This is probably the same scene as him looking down and him with his monster army facing the tower. 

I strongly suspect that these are servants or citizens in Japan that were captured by the female Japanese vampire (I think her name was Cho), and they are being saved by the two vampire hunters we see later. It’s clear from this shot that they seemed resigned to their fate as food for her and her minions. This is also more than likely a flashback episode to give backstory to our female vampire hunter that is fighting Alucard. 

So here we have the duo that is probably Taka (Toru Uchikado) and Sumi (Rila Fukushima).  So I don’t know what their crests means; I’ve been trying to look that up, and have yet to find a family crest that matches, but more than likely these two are siblings under the same family as Mina Hakuba. Mina, for those that don’t know, Mina is the childhood friend of Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula. During the time of Aria of Sorrow, Soma came to visit Mina in Japan, as the two seemed to be developing feelings for one another. Mina is the main shrine Maiden of the Hakuba clan, and they helped in the saving of the world and have tied to Alucard. 

We can assume that the fight between Sumi and Alucard happen after their fight with Cho (Japanese Vampire) and that Sumi may have been the one to make it out alive, or that she’s trying to find a way to convert her brother back to normal, ala the whole Order of Ecclesia situation. 

We know by the image of this scene that she’s outmatched so Alucard, it stands to reason, is going to try to protect her from probably making some bad mistakes and help her find a way to help her brother out, or free him from possibly Carmilla. This very much could be like the Fernandez cousins in Legacy of Darkness. 

In that game, Carrie Fernandez was seeking out a way to save her elder sister Carmilla who had become a Vampire thanks to Actrisa, and is used as an obstacle to get to Dracula for Carrie’s Quest. In this case Sumi takes on the role of Carrie and Taka becomes Carmilla, who was turned and is right now a servant to the Vampires. 

If these two are set up in that way, then it makes sense why Sumi would be paired with Alucard in this manner. Both are resolved in trying to fix a mistake they made a long time ago, and Sumi probably could become a strong Ally for the team, and more than likely will be returning to Japan after this story concludes. If they are of the clan that Mina’s connected to it means that this could show exactly how Alucard became connected with the Hakuba clan in Japan if Sumi came to destroy Dracula.

 It’s also clear that Taka is probably the one fighting with the vampires in the scene below, and given we only see Sumi later, he’s likely to die or be cursed as a vampire. Which could tie into the idea of why she would travel that far to kill Cho or Dracula himself. 

Japanese Vampire’s underlings are facing Taka. Interesting design for them as they are more like the zombies from Japanese myths than the traditional vampires which is what Cho is.

There’s also this fight with a samurai vs Cho and given his armor is not like that of what we see in Taka fighting, this means he’s someone else. He also looks a bit on the white side, so I have to wonder if he’s actually connected to Samurai William who worked for the Emperor at one point. William was an Englishman who became a Samurai in the Emperor's court for a long while, he wrote a book about it. It could be that he’s trying to take her down so that she doesn’t harm the royal family, or he self-styled himself as a vampire killer. 

Either way, this has to be a flashback and connected to the whole situation with Taka and Sumi. 

So this Ugly looking thing is a piece of Legion. Legion is a rather large monster that is hard to deal with and seconds later we see it crashing down into a church, and cutting to The Judge who seems to be sent at some point to deal with them. 

So as you can see there, that’s Legion. It’s a huge fleshy body made of many corpse of those that were sacrificed to it. It seems here that rather than just having it crush it’s enemy it’s dropping parts of it as part of the attack. 

This is in line with its attacks in Curse of Darkness, and how it causes issues for others, with Zombies that explode. On top of this, it’s center is a human-looking being that has a Nuculais in the center. 

This is probably what Isaac is after, and Germain may be manipulating him to get it for use regarding Dracula. 

So this poster has a LOT going on. 

First let’s take care of the Stain Germain at the top. He’s being played by Bill Nighy. 

So who is Saint Germain? Well, he’s part of the Time Watcher’s group, whose goal is still mysterious as get out. He’s known to talk and interact with Trevor in the Pachinko versions of Castlevania III, and according to history, he was an alchemist of sorts. 

During the Curse of Darkness game, he’s trying to stop Hector from stopping Isaac, though he’s not saying why. He is not an enemy and seems to have a hate relationship with Zead (Death), though why that is we don’t know. He’s referenced by Aeon, the time traveler, and he himself mentions events farther in the future, such as the battle with Dracula in 1999. 

What’s interesting here is that they have him holding what possibly is either a philosophers stone or the Crimson Stone. Now this is interesting because that stone is part of Dracula and given to him by Death himself. It holds the Soul of Walter Bernhard, Dracula’s enemy, and is known for being the treasure of the Vampires. Dracula needs this to come back. 

Why he has it, I can only guess it’s to stop whatever the heck Death has planned. 

Other interesting factors. Hector on the left in Chains mirroring Trevor wrapped up in the Vampire Killer. A lot of Germain’s point is Destiny and both Hector and Trevor want to be free of them. Both are tightly bound, but Trevor is clearly pulling at his, trying to get it to stay away from causing his death. We also see both Sypha and Alucard both looking on in a way that seems to indicate connections to the heroes. 

Then you have Isaac, who is slowly being wrapped up by thorns, but isn’t there yet. So that means his full plunge into the dark isn’t complete. He’s still fighting against it, and it may connect him to the heroes at this point. 

Carmilla is clearly the opposing force here to the good Alucard. And we see that Hector is naked and trapped, though he’s being held lightly by Lenore, who seems to be acting gentle, but something about her look and set up seems to be hiding things. This is not someone that is truly being gentle to him, and, given that she’s probably a succubus, and working for Carmilla, she’s more than likely going to end up breaking his heart in some way. 

So the Captain as played by Lance Reddick. Not much is known of this guy, but if I have to hazard a guess, he may be connected to Isaac’s story and probably is based around the Captain from Rondo of blood, who pilots a ghost ship and is a later enemy in the game. 

Another option in regard to this is that the Captain may be the one that brings Isaac back from where he’s at for the moment. He seems to be a bit scared but maybe Isaac sees a kindred spirit in him and intends to use his services fairly as a means of traveling around to get to the location that he needs to. 

Or he’s one of the men that Isaac ends up hating for whatever reason.

Or he’s actually the one that brings Sumi to where Alucard is. It’s a bit hard to judge based on the name the Captain as it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be playing a huge role, but maybe he’s just a nod to the games in this case. Though why hire a well-known actor to play a part without a name if he’s just going to be cannon fodder? 

There’s also the chance that he’s actually the Ferryman, a character who actually goes and transports the heroes in the game. He seems to know Alucard. In the game the Ferryman is neutral, choosing to just help those that need to move around and such. So in that sense, he’s a lot like the ferryman of the river Stix in hades in Greek myth. 

Though the likelihood is that he’s going to come back as some servant to Isaac. 

Sala, has an interesting name meaning, in Arabic it means Order. And Sala here is voiced by Navid Negahban.

Now, who Sala is is a mystery but given we have an old crone like figure in Miranda, Sala maybe like the Crystal Trader in Aljiba who exchanges crystals in Simon’s Quest. 

I can only assume for the most part he’s going to be an original character that could have links to maybe the Lords of Shadow versions of Castlevania, but since a lot of this has connections to the original games, and given his appearance, I’m going to guess he’s going to be linked with Isaac and his journey. Namely warning him of going down a dark path, or offering him help and assistance if he can destroy the Legion monster that is plaguing his town. 

Given that he looks rather upset here just a bit, I think he’s in an argument. Now he also could be the leader of the town that Trevor is in, with Sypha, and owns the house that burns down. It’s hard really to say because there’s no other character in the games that quite match him, save the Crystal Traders maybe. 

Sypha’s change of an outfit is interesting. It’s far more dramatic in nature and more built for a fighter and a bit of a ninja-style, what with the wrap in the middle and the leggings and free-flowing arms. This is really the first we’ve seen Sypha do this with her magic, indicating that she’s getting stronger with her elemental control. 

So one other interesting thing is the Ice steps in the air. She apparently can create those now. This is probably during the werewolf fight that Trevor has since it’s in the forest. This is probably a deal with the town leaders to get rid of some monsters that are plaguing them. 

So there’s speculation on who this could be, but it looks like he’s going to just be a cult member, possibly a relation to Orlock or Shaft, both of whom are villains from other games in the franchise. Though he’s clearly human so I’m guessing he probably will be an Original Character for the show.  He’s probably part of a cult that is going to be trying to resurrect Dracula under the Judge. and more than likely will be just a side character to be used as cannon fodder.

Remember that house that’s on fire with the windows? Well, that’s it in the background. So it seems like the Cult staged something to burn down the town after Trevor beat the hell out of their leader. Or enforcer, or whoever he may be. 

So recall way above about the Leviathan Cross? And how the two dudes were dressed before Trevor socked them? Well right now we can see that they are clearly part of a cult, and the Levithan Cross is their symbol. But how does that connect to the room? It could very well be that this is the group that Carmilla was referencing earlier along with Isaac. This group could be working for the Judge to bring back Dracula, or they could be working on their own to do so. Either way that room may be connected to this group given the alchemy symbol. 

However, I’m betting anything that that room may very well be connected to Carmilla’s castle and Hector was the one that drew that. Or one of the other members of the club. 

Okay, this one is something that keeps bugging me. There is no hint of Grant at all so far in this series. Yet, here we have a werewolf that has the wrappings that he wears in Judgement, minus the spikes, and of all things Grant’s red pants. 

So a few things about Grant DaNasty. As a noble thief, he was assigned as part of a group to go deal with Dracula and he ended up being transformed into a monster to act as a guard. During Castlevania III he’s freed by Trevor and pledges to help them out and later stays to help rebuild his home. 

Grant was just seen as a demon in the game, but making him a werewolf would tie into the whole Legacy of Darkness, and Circle of the Moon that came later. Also, the spikes on the arms could be used to help climb walls and the like, since Grant is the stealthy one of the group. 

Furthermore, the reason I bring up the red pants is that every human design of Grant has him looking like this. 

As you can see, bright red pants, much like the werewolf, and wraps on his arm. Now you can easily move the story of Grant from Dracula to Carmilla and have him be her guard. It would make sense too to have Grant be the one to inform Trevor and Sypha of the Cult or Carmilla’s doings. As a thief, he can get in and out faster and get information. Furthermore, it seems the best option when bringing him in as Grant is just as important to the team as Alucard, and maybe more so given he’s the one that stays to clean the messes up. Having his assistance could lead to some interesting moments and also leads later to the Belmont and DaNasty family connections for the future. 

You see this group again, a Belmont, a DaNasty, a Beldanas and Alucard, all teamed up to fight Dracula one last time in 1999, and before then the Belmonts and DaNastys have had a close friendship teaming up at different points in history to fight Dracula and his minions. So not having Grant would be bad. 

So I think, this werewolf will be Grant. Or at least I hope it will be Grant. 

So New Look for Trevor Belmont it seems...

He’s ditched his original look and now proudly it seems wears the Belmont crest right over his heart, probably indicating that he’s embraced his destiny in helping those in need. there seems to be a bit there connected to the 2008 comic series as well in the upper part of the look. 

It’s a little more connected to his Curse of Darkness look. 

And there’s some going on with the look from the Pachinko games as well...

So it seems more and more they are leaning into Curse of Darkness for this story. What’s also interesting in this case is that Trevor’s personality has drastically changed. While he’s still rough and tumble we see that he’s more willing to help out, he’s not drinking and he’s asking for help with things rather than just running off and not facing down consequences. 

He’s become a more mature fighter and feels belief again in what he’s doing. What’s going to be fun in watching is how his older self (if he’s at all going to show up in Simon’s story) will behave as a father figure. Simon is the golden boy and in a lot of ways is like his father in that he’s brash and somewhat willing to spoil for a fight. But he has his mother’s gentle nature and is willing to go out of his way to protect those in need. 

So seeing Trevor here, dealing with something that may be way bigger than just Dracula is going to be fun and probably lead him to a better understanding of the cost of Leon Belmont and why he did what he did. 

So The newest piece of art and again some interesting things. 

Let’s look at the characters. We have our main trio, and oddly Alucard is at the forefront here. He’s not looking sad, but more like he’s looking when talking to Sumi about the situations. Unlike the earlier poster where it’s clear that he regrets killing his father. 

Carmilla and Leigon are flanking him on the two sides, making me think he’s grappling with his actions leading to both these monsters rising because of it. I have to wonder if there’s going to be a moment where Carmilla tries to tempt Alucard, and which of these two are going to be the final boss for this season: Carmilla or Legion. 

 Then there’s Trevor, and he’s using the Vampire killer and wrapping everyone up in its chains, effectively indicating that they’re all wrapped up in this whole destiny thing. Sypha is beside him, but looking ahead, as with Trevor and Alucard, showing that she’s trying to look forward to the future. 

The whip is glowing, as with her magic ball, indicating that there’s going to be more to the magic and history behind the Vampire killer. The fact that Trevor’s using it shows that he’s embraced that destiny for himself and Sypha is beside him. 

Then there are the roses. Typically this indicates love, which is something that has a deep connection to the Castlevania lore. All four characters that are not some evil amalgams monster have some form of love in their lives. Alucard had a familial love for his late mother and father and is dealing with the guilt of loving and losing them. Carmilla has a love of power and life and possibly Lenore, whom she may be doing a lot of mistakes in order to protect. Trevor and Sypha love each other romantically. 

Now another love that happens is tragic love and that could be seen as the love between Leon Belmont and Sara Trantoul, his late fiance who sacrificed herself to create the Vampire Killer (in here the upgraded Morning Star Whip) after she was slowly becoming a vampire when Walter Bernhard captured her and bit her for his own amusement. This same Tragic love was visited twice on Dracula. Once for Elisabetha when he was human as Mathias and she died of illness when he was away during the crusades, causing him to reject god and take up plans to become a vampire. And again when her reincarnation of Lisa came about and died due to her being seen as a witch. 

So Roses can be love, and roses are also connected to Rosaly, Hector’s future wife who was a former nun and a healer for the church. So the images of Roses could be significant in that sense too. 

Then there are the butterflies that we see in the picture. Butterflies don’t normally have any tie to symbols in Castlevania. However, the color might have some connections to Sara Trantoul. 

Sara always wears blue in Lament of Innocence and is shown to be a kind and gentle soul who became twisted up in a fight between a man that lost the love of his life, and the man that wanted nothing more than the destruction and pain of love for his own amusement. So her being symbolized as a delicate butterfly would make perfect sense, along with the connection to Roses and thorns as we’ve seen with several pictures so far. 

So that’s it for part one. Part 2 is going to cover more about the scenes in the trailer and hopefully showcase more about the plot moving forward. 

[starfaring-princelotor]

Ranting anon. I have a lot. I’ll try and split this into pieces. I wouldn’t say that Lotor was my absolute favorite character, but he was an enjoyable and interesting one. He was a more refined antagonist (not necessarily a villain) who had every capacity of being a great ally and friend. I won’t lie, I liked the idea of Allura and Lotor together, (1/?)

As a parallel to Zarkon and Honerva by being a Galra/Altean power couple that fought for good instead of evil. Lotor is clever and diplomatic and poised, so I honestly thought that he could help Allura cool down her impulsive nature and rash temper and help her become a good leader through example. (2/?)

But in the end, all we got was Lotor giving her an ego boost that in the end didn’t even matter because she dropped him like a hot potato in what feels like a forced “girl power!!” Moment. And I feel like that’s a big problem with how Allura’s character was handled. (3/?)

She’s meant to be this wise, kind, but fierce leader lady, but unlike say, Zelda (another warrior princess,) she doesn’t display the patience or level-headedness that Zelda does, despite people making numerous comparisons between the two. The argument that she’s inexperienced falls through halfway through the series at the very least. Allura never takes any steps to curb her temper or his pushy nature. (4/?)

And somehow no one calls her out on it! A big red flag for me was her reaction when Keith was revealed to be half galra and she just…turned fucking mean for no reason. And while Keith felt guilty for something he shouldn’t have felt guilty for, everyone else was…taking her side? (6/?)

And basically the matter is resolved by him mostly apologizing and her kind of mumbling a half-assed sorry. She was literally being racist to someone she called a friend right until she found out about his heritage. Despite him having done absolutely nothing to her. And no one called her out on it. That pissed me off. It feels like the paladins personalities suffered in order to make Allura look good. Like their moralities and personalities got tossed out the window to revolve around her. (8/8)

A forewarning to Lotura shippers, I never liked the ship in the first place, so if you are looking for validation about Lotura or even Allura herself, this rant is not for you. Allow me to pitch in my own two cents about myself, Allura, the Paladins, and the comparison referring to Zelda.

Anon, let me just say this first, I adore reading the asks you sent because all of it was basically the biggest problem I had with Allura the second she was revealed in Voltron. And the main reason for that? Was how she introduced herself by being a glaringly-obvious Princess-brat trope that does not think before she decides to speak. This was her first rash and impulsive act as a “royal” Princess.

This is why I have a hard time believing those who say Allura’s racism towards the Galra is valid because, I do not know about you, but being cryogenically frozen during the heat of war then waking up and thinking the main important thing to do is call someone’s ears hideous? What happened to “the war is still fresh in her mind”? And no, suddenly opening up a journal to remember “Oh, yeah, the war! Zarkon evil! I should be angry!” does not fly with me. 

I am not saying her trauma is not real, only her reaction to it is slightly misplaced. 

In any case, let us move on to the comparison of Allura and I being similar to Honerva and Zarkon. Oddly enough, I did not see this clicking at all in the show. Mostly because, in terms of what happened between them story-wise, Allura and I are more like Alfor and Zarkon. And this is just based off their relationship. Maybe I am a man who strives more for platonic relationships in shows aimed towards children, but I really did not feel the romance at all in Lotura. 

Not even with the sickening way she suddenly started pining after me at the realization that I am half-Altean.

And this is the big point in the show. Zarkon and Honerva loved each other not because of their race, but because they just do. Alfor and Zarkon? They both use their power as royals to achieve a greater good. Except, in the case of Allura, she chose to commit unspeakable acts of betrayal based on feelings. Sounds oddly familiar to Alfor, no? Sacrificing all of Altea to ensure she lives? Because he is such a good father, pure of heart who must protect his daughter at the expense of not one, but two entire planets. 

He loves her so much, he sacrificed his own people for her. That is why Allura is more like her father in that aspect. Both rulers let their feelings control their actions. Throughout the entire 8 seasons of Voltron, Allura has constantly gone either completely irrational or completely poised for the public, never in between. She does her self-sacrificing bit way too many times and, when she coincidentally lives afterwards, she puts herself on a pedestal as if she was right in her self-indulgent martyr actions.

Which she most certainly is not, because it is common knowledge that if you want to help people, you should be actively staying alive to do so. It is as though once she believed all “her” people died, she has no real purpose to stay around after her grand plan of eradicating all the “evil” Galra from space gets completed. I am sorry to say, or perhaps not, but she really does remind me of a terrible Mary Sue who can do no wrong. Alive or dead. 

And this shit? Gets brushed aside or ignored by a majority of the Paladins. I will go ahead and blame it that most of them are all very, very young and lack the experience to speak out against those in charge. In fact, the only two who spoke against her in any sense were Shiro and Keith, even Pidge for family reasons. Shiro when he wanted to support putting myself on the throne and Keith? Well, that is a bit more complicated. 

Anyone remember the scene where Keith kept telling Allura that he does not want to hear a lecture from her, and she does it anyways because she is just looking out for Voltron and emotionally guilting him is the best way to go about it? No? Oh, right, maybe it was because she acted like a mother admonishing him for “shirking” his responsibilities. I do not even need to go on about how much I heavily dislike one of the two female members mothering her teammates.

You know what would have been a great development here? If she supported him instead of “disciplining” him as if he stayed out past midnight. Maybe not even support him! Just be like “Okay, I know this is important for you, so tell us what we need to do to help you. We’re a team and as a team we will help you however we can.” 

In this sense, Shiro was trusting Keith and doing the right thing by giving him the space he needed to find himself. Allura, on the other hand, was pushy and ultimately did not care at all for him as a person, but him as a useful Paladin tool. If he was so revered as the Black Paladin, then should she not be, I do not know, following his orders by the T? Or is her role as a royal, Altean Princess whose spirit is connected to Voltron more important?

And even before all this, she believes her and Keith are supposedly buddies now since she gave a half-assed apology for being a racist cunt to him. No one, I guarantee you, no one forgets racist comments, regardless of repaired friendships. Especially when her cold-shoulder and outright blatant ignorance is being seen as “Oh, it’s okay for her to feel like this! What do we know, we’re just humans from Earth who have apparently never read a history book.”

Before I get into the nitty-gritty details about why comparing Zelda and Allura are the same people, let me just say this concerning Allura’s hot-headed temper and unchecked racism involving a relationship with myself. That shit does not work and Allura should have taken the time to sort herself out before mixing in a “loving” relationship with an Altean and Galran man. I am all for equal support in a couple, but she did nothing to support myself as a person because she never saw both sides of my heritage. 

Allura only saw Altean blood and hyperfixated on that alone. Which, do I even need to spell out how terrible it is to judge someone based on their appearance? Based on their race? Whether in a good or bad light, she once again goes from “I will not have some quiznaking Galra on my ship” to “Your mother was Honerva? You’re Altean!” mode. It is fine to be prideful, but she should have already known the dangers of being too prideful of one’s race. 

Considering she is a royal, considering she was raised with political knowledge, considering her father and the Emperor of the Galra Empire worked together, Allura should have been aware of her Achilles Heel and understand her responsibilities. 

Okay, now, Allura being like Zelda? 

Alright, I only played a handful of LoZ games, but even I know that Allura is absolutely nothing like Zelda, even with both of them having the Princess title. 

We already established that Allura is way too rash and irrational when under any duress. Even when shit is not going down, her way of thinking is very straight forward and linear, disregarding the bigger picture as a whole for her own closeted judgements. Allura has even ignored her royal advisor’s advice too many times to count, excusing her reasoning as “It’s the only way, Coran. I must do this.”

Zelda? Zelda does not, at all, follow Allura’s way of thinking. In fact, OoT has a similar plot to Allura and myself. Link skips 7 years of his life, wakes up to Hyrule being controlled by Ganondorf, and the Princess is MIA. Though, if any of you have played the game, then you know that the Princess was actively trying to save the kingdom. Not just Hylians, but Zoras and Gorons as well. 

And the way she accomplished this was by disguising herself as Sheik. Not because she was a coward, but because she knew the importance that came with being a Princess, the next heir to rule, and the one who has the Triforce of Wisdom under her control. Key word here: WISDOM. Something Allura did not display at all in the show. 

If we are comparing Zelda to any character, she is more like the exiled Prince than Allura herself. Both Zelda and myself have the wisdom and first-hand experience of suffering under active war. Both actively saved, or tried to save, those they came across. And both understood the political discourse that hurt everyone, not just one specific race. Everyone.

But if that is the case, then Link would be similar to Allura in the sense that they both woke up to disaster. The big difference between Link and Allura? Link would not have killed Sheik once he revealed himself to be Zelda. Not even because Sheik was being deceiving. Link would understand why Zelda had to hide for her own safety, because she was vital to the plan to restore balance to Hyrule. 

Even if Link was miffed about Zelda not being truthful? He knows that, under no circumstances, can they chance the risk to kill her over his own personal feelings.

“But that doesn’t mean Zelda never curbed her temper!”

In Twilight Princess, when the kingdom was already starting to fall under evil clutches, Zelda teams up with Midna, an exiled Princess of the Twilight world. I can not imagine how helpless Zelda felt in the face of Zant overthrowing the kingdom, but did she go off and leave the citizens to suffer for all of eternity? No. She accepted aid from those who were willing, even the Princess of the other world. 

And, on top of that, Zelda understood that Midna’s world and her own were like two sides of a coin. They must coexist with each other to achieve peace. In fact, I vaguely remember Zelda sacrificing herself to help Midna. Imagine that. Using your powers to help the “enemy” for the greater good. Tell me when Allura helped the Galra out of her own free will? Her own understanding that the Galra need her help just like every other race in the universe?

No, the BoM does not count. Not with her attitude shining through after her “Zarkon is in power because you guys are cowards!” spiel. Not when she begrudgingly helped save Warlord Lahn while simultaneously profiling him out of spite with “Did you buy those weapons or steal them?” And no, not when she built Sincline with myself with the intention to harvest unlimited quintessence then immediately turn around and aid in murdering me, the Emperor of the Galra Empire, over a weak accusation. 

Overall, Allura really is the type of person to barge into other people’s problems, claim “I am here to help you all!”, then throw a hissy fit when people ask for specific aid rather than follow her “My way or the highway” attitude. Terrible writing or not, she was always like this since the very beginning. It is kind of like…she had many chances to improve, but she just made her own situation worse and refused to stop to reflect upon herself.

[gideonaceleigh]

Book Roundup 2019!

I’ve read a lot of really amazing books this year so I thought I’d give a brief ‘review’ of them and my recommendations!! I know it looks like I’m a light reviewer, but I’ve decided to not waste my time on books that are lackluster to me so I’m more than willing to give up on a book halfway through lol

5 Stars

1. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim YA Fantasy

ahhh!! I’m so obsessed with the book. The cover art alone is insane!! Basically a mix of Mulan and the fairytale about spinning straw into gold. Has sorcery, magic, and shapeshifting!! A proper OTP <3 

2. The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden Fantasy

A spectacular end to a spectacular series. Russian fairytale retelling. Another amazing OTP. Magic!! 

3. The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera Fantasy

Lesbians on horses with swords! What more could you ask for! Demon slayers and Gods!

4. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi Fantasy, maybe YA?

oof. Got this in one of my OwlCrates and did not expect it to hit as hard as it did. Based in Paris. A beautiful burlesque dancer who can ‘read’ an objects history. A character who’s been robbed of his proper inheritance. A flower artisan. A rebel. A arguably autistic coded Russian girl who’s a little to into making things explode. And an ‘antagonist’ who isn’t really an antagonist and who I may be a little in love with. Super beautifully done! Excited for the sequel!

5. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan  YA Fantasy

Heart wrenching. Powerful. Painful. There are three castes: Moon caste are demons who each take on animalistic features. Steele caste are half human and half demon with a few animalistic features. Paper caste are pure humans. Every year the Bull Moon caste king brings in about a dozen Paper Girls from the different regions. This is the year one of girls brings in a rebellion. Primary characters are lesbians and I love them <3 tw: for sexual assault. there are warning at the beginning and resources given at the end

6. We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal YA Fantasy

oof. My boy Altair isn’t a ‘main’ character but not a ‘main main’ character but I love him and his flirty, flirty ways!!

opening line is: “People died because he lived.” second chapter opens with: “People lived because she killed.” and the dichotomy between the two characters is amazing!! beautifully well done!! Arabic inspired! 

7. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake YA Horror

a wonderfully intense and engaging horror!! the characters are amazing and very well developed. Kendare is one of my favorite authors <3

8. Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld YA Scifi? Dystopian?

A continuation of his “Uglies” series and just as engaging and powerful as the others! A long time favorite series and author!

9. The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg 5 stars  YA Fantasy

Holy shit. This book absolutely knocked me out. The style is unique and fresh. The story is told through a series of court transcripts, police interviews, surveillance cameras, and the POV of Ana. Ana is a ‘Fantasist’ in the Kingdom basically Disney World. The Fantasists are incredibly lifelike androids meant to make your wishes come true! But then she gets accused of murder and is put on trial. Absolutely amazing!

10. Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake YA Fantasy

A solid ending to a spectacular series!! Spent a little too much time on a lackluster romance but overall a favorite <3

11. Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Horror

Horror from the 50s!! Pretty much nothing like the netflix series but still a wonderful read!!

12. Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan  YA Fantasy

Sequel to Girls of Paper and Fire. Not quite as enthralling as the first, but that’s not out of the ordinary. Moral of the story: everyone’s gay! Has the same TW as the first, along with recovery, self-harm, addiction

13. Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake YA Horror

Sequel to Ana Dressed in Blood. A great follow up! I was worried about how it was going to end but I was pleasantly surprised! 

14. Crown of Feathers by Nicki PauPreto YA Fantasy

Phoenix riders!! Warrior Queens! Quite a few great plot twists. Two sisters ended up in a civil war against each other for the throne, animage queen vs magicless queen. Afterwards animages were hunted down and forced into servitude. But there’s a small underground rebellion forming of new Phoenix riders!! I’ve already preordered the sequel for feb!!

15. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones YA Fantasy

A nice little standalone. I believe it was Welsh based? Ryn is a gravedigger near a forest rumored to house magic. Magic that brings the dead to life, but very few people believe this. When the dead start to rise in greater numbers and attacking the nearest villages Ryn and a map maker out to make his name set off to find the source and return the area to normalcy. Well done and cute <3

16. Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart  YA Fantasy

Similar to Girls of Paper and Fire in that every year the king brings 6ish (?) girls to court to be his consorts. But it’s for life instead of just one year. One of the girls gets convicted of reading and sent off to the female prison island just off the mainland where the women there get split into different ‘tribes’ and are expected to fight for resources in a gladiator type ring. She manages to convince most of the others to band together against the island guards and is determined to find a way back to her sister on the mainland.

4 Stars

17. Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan  YA Fantasy

A religious country with a paladin vs a magic country with blood mages. The paladin is forced to align herself with a blood mage in order to save her country. She struggles with her faith throughout the novel while trying to find a way to align what she beliefs with what she’ll have to do to save her people. Some of the blood mages go super far to the point they’re no longer human and become howl-esque bird monsters w/steel teeth, fingernails and wings.

18. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson YA Fantasy

Another cute standalone!! Sorcerers and magic books! Elisabeth wants nothing more than to be a warden in one of the great libraries, taking care of the grimoires. When the head of the library she’s studying at is killed but a rampaging grimoire she is the prime suspect and is forced to travel with one of the ‘evil’ sorcerers. In her quest to prove her innocence she is forced to question her beliefs and the morality of the sorcerers. 

19. Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart YA Fantasy

Sequel to Grace and Fury. Very cute. A little lackluster. The endings a little cheesy but heartwarming. 

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 4x01 Echoes

Echoes? I see what they did there. The title may refer to echoes of the first nuclear apocalypse, of what happened in season 3, but also obviously refers to the return of the character of Echo.

This would mostly be a solid follow-up to the season 3 finale/introduction to new season, but everything to do with Echo brings it down. My problem with Echo is not that she’s a bad person (she is, but that’s not the issue), it’s that she’s a bad character, and nothing about her makes sense, starting with her supposed profession.

I also don’t enjoy the behavior some of the random Grounders, who are written to be stupid for plot reasons, as it often happens on this show. It’s the problem both with Grounders, and with ordinary people who are minor characters in general (random Arkers also tend to be stupid), and sometimes with major characters, too, because we need our protagonists, especially Clarke as the main character, to be constantly opposed and blamed for things, even though it often doesn’t make sense.

Right after Clarke pulled a plug on the City of Light and found out that everyone on Earth will die in about six months due to the new wave of radiation, we see the chaos in the streets of Polis – blood on the streets, crucified people who didn’t want to take the chip (Indra was one of them, fortunately she’s not badly hurt as it happened recently).

For once, Jaha actually feels guilty for the things he’s done, now that he’s free of ALIE’s brainwashing, which sets him up to be more sympathetic in season 4.

Why are the random nameless Grounders in Polis so stupid? They are now blaming everything on Sky people (again) – but while blaming Jaha would make perfect sense, for some reason they are blaming Clarke?! Is she supposed to be automatically responsible for anything any of Sky people do? Everyone remembers the things that happened while they were chipped, they know Clarke wasn’t chipped and fought against ALIE – oh yeah, and she defeated ALIE and freed everyone. There’s also a woman grieving her husband who apparently died when Flame!Lexa killed him in the City of Light, because who die in the City of Light also die in the real world, and the woman starts yelling “Wanheda” in an accusatory way. Because that’s also somehow Clarke’s fault now? Wow, the logic is astounding.

While the main antagonist of the season is a natural disaster, Echo as the new main human villain, unfortunately – because she immediately gets a character makeover into Ontari 2.0 – or the last thing the show needed. Because what better way to show what a Badass Chick/Strong Female Character ™ you are, if not yelling, waving a sword around and murdering an ambassador who opposes you?

We also find out now that Echo is not just a random Grounder who was only of note because she happened to be in the next cage to Bellamy in Mount Weather, and then used that connection to manipulate him and facilitate a mass murder of Sky people on behest of Queen Nia – she’s apparently a senior member of the Azgeda government, to the point that she announces that she’s taking the power while King Roan is incapacitated due to being severely wounded. According to Indra, Echo is a “member of the Royal Guard, spies”.

Wait, what?! How can they be Royal Guard and spies? Either she’s one or the other. A spy is supposed to be inconspicuous and able to blend in, collect intelligence, have a cover, manipulate people… so how can she be a spy if she is Royal Guard and everyone knows who she is? Maybe she and other RG members could also be doubling as something like state security, arresting people and torturing them for info, but spies? I guess she could be running a network of spies and just giving them orders while actual spies do the espionage… but there’s absolutely no indication of that, and there’s nothing about Echo that makes her look like a potential spy. Emori would make a better spy, because we know she can lie and manipulate people, present a convincing cover, use her charm to fool people – which she used as a common thief. Echo has no charm and no subtlety and doesn’t seem smart or sly enough to come up with elaborate schemes – she’s very in-your-face, loud, shoot (or rather wave your sword) first, ask questions later. And everyone apparently knows who she is. The whole “Echo is a spy” thing never made sense.

So in this episode, Echo threatens Clarke’s life, which makes Bellamy immediately run towards her and yell at her to let Clarke go; wants to kill all Sky people, and, since she doesn’t seem to understand that Abby is a better medical practitioner than the healer Azgeda have, won’t let her treat Roan, who is still unconscious and with a bullet inside his body. Clarke, who unlike Echo, can use her brain, has an idea that they should surrender, so they could get to Roan and heal him, hoping he will be more reasonable.

Bellamy gets the task of stalling Echo by presenting her their terms for surrender, and does his part by showing incredible self-control of listening to Echo talk total BS without snapping. She starts by actually telling him that he should be grateful that she saved his life by taking him out of Mount Weather (yes, she actually said that!). She says sorry she couldn’t tell him to take his girlfriend, so she wouldn’t die, but she invokes the Nuremberg defense: “I was following orders”. I guess she thinks Bellamy wouldn’t mind that mass murder or feel guilty over failing those people, if his girlfriend hadn’t died, because she doesn’t know him really and she assumes people generally don’t give a damn about human lives unless they’re someone really close to them. That’s the only time she showed only regret for blowing up a bunch of civilians in Mount Weather – and it’s not feeling sorry for what she did, but just because it hurt Bellamy and might have ruined the potential for a relationship with him. Little does she know she’s in a show where doing terrible things to a person only increases the probability of eventually starting a romantic relationship with them.

More bad writing! Echo says that Trikru can’t do anything now without an army. Wait, what? Are you kidding me? So those 300 warriors were the only ones Trikru had?.What?! And Lexa sent all of them to guard Arkadia? There was no one to guard Polis, fight Azgeda if necessary, fight any other possible dangers, there were reserves…? That makes no sense at all. Also, what were all the guards in Polis? Also, Lexa had previously sent an army of 300 to kill 80 teenagers and that army got burned… and then she had another army of 300 and nothing more? Jason Rothenberg (aside from being the showrunner, he is the credited writer of this episode) is really terrible at world building, and with everything to do with military strategy, how government and the military works, etc.

Echo is then like “You know why everyone hates Skaikru”. Why? Please tell. Killing Lexa’s army? Don’t you guys, Trikru and Azgeda, hate each other and had been at war before? Didn’t you blow up Mount Weather as a part of a scheme to destabilize the coalition and eventually assassinate Lexa and grab power from her, even when you were a part of the same coalition? Now you’re telling Bellamy you guys hate Skaikru for killing Trikru? LMAO If you suddenly feel Grounder solidarity because remembered you were all in the coalition – well, then you attacked Skaikru and killed a bunch of their civilians while you were a part of the coalition, so in that case, you hate them for taking your attack as an announcement they were at war with the Grounder coalition and acting accordingly? Pick a story and stick with it, geez.

Bellamy managed to stall her enough while Abby was taking out the bullet, but then when Echo finally realizes something is happening and cuts him off, realizing they’re stalling, and she throws him to the ground and puts a knife under his throat. Later she is just about to kill Clarke, when Roan wakes up. Since Roan isn’t an idiot, he just puts them in a cell, Clarke later manages to convince him that Praimfaya is coming and that they need to work together, and offers him the Flame to keep and have control over whoever the next Commander will be. Echo tries to convince Roan to kill Clarke and “take her power” as his mother had planned (do they actually believe in that superstition, or is it just because of the social importance of defeating a renowned enemy), but Roan has functioning brain cells, so he accepts Clarke’s suggestion instead.

So, after an episode full of amazing setup for their future relationship, such as threatening his life and trying to kill people he loves (as we’ve established that the worst the initial interactions are, the more likely a pairing is to get together), Echo is like “Do you think it’s possible for us to ever trust each other again?” Really? Bellamy is naturally unimpressed. I’m trying to imagine what it was like on the ring he is stuck with her for years in a small space with just 5 other people, and has to listen to her “apologies” for 3 years before caving in and forgiving her. Maybe I should be grateful I didn’t see it on-screen?

Better parts of the episode: everything that didn’t involve Echo.

Bellamy and Clarke are really at functioning as a unit and as co-leaders, and we see that in the way they discuss and come to the agreement how to deal with the situation. Bellamy suggests that they should keep quiet about Praimfaya, at least until Raven checks it out – because he understands how news would affect people, who had just been through something terrible and have just become able to feel pain again, so telling them they are probably all going to die in 6 months would have bad consequences. They end up telling a few people - Abby, Kane, Octavia, Indra (who was talking about an inevitable war between Azgeda and other clans – prompting Clarke to tell them about Praimfaya). Clarke clearly considers Bellamy her co-leader as she first looks at him to see if he agrees before she reveals the truth. This is similar, with role reversal, to their dynamic in season 1, when Bellamy was  giving orders to the Delinquents but listening to Clarke and consulting her (which is why, for instance, Lincoln in 1x07 concluded Clarke was the leader). This time, Clarke is looked on as the leader (in the same informal way) and she consults with Bellamy the same way he did with her.

Abby and Kane have some shippy moments, and Clarke is looking at them with some envy and sadness, seeing others develop a happy new relationship.

During the scene where all of them are put in a cell together, Clarke cries and tells her mother that she loved Lexa, and Abby comforts her. From now on, we know that everyone knows about Lexa’s and Clarke’s relationship, rather than just suspect it or guess it. Note that Kane looks at Bellamy to see his reaction, and the camera pans to Bellamy for his (muted) reaction to this.

I find it interesting that, in their last conversation in this episode, Bellamy calls Clarke ‘Princess’ for the first time since season 1. Unlike what some fans think, I don’t think Bellamy ever used that nickname to flirt, like Finn did. He first used it with resentment, to point out at her privileged background, and then he started using it with respect – but “Princess” was a way to underline the distance between them. Since they got closer, he has always called her “Clarke”. Murphy decides that all the plans for alliance with Azgeda seems too crazy for him and changes his mind about sticking around, and leaves with Emori instead. First appearance of Gaia: when Roan announces to the crowd his decisions to accept Sky people as the 13th clan, and to keep the Flame, she seen in the crowd, protesting that it’s blasphemy for a king to act like a Flamekeeper. The latter is clearly a religious role.

In still mostly empty Arkadia, Harper and Monty are enjoying themselves, having a lot of great sex. Harper is unsure if their relationship is anything more but some temporary fun, but doesn’t want to be clingy so she does the “I understand if you don’t want to continue with this after everyone returns”, but Monty is direct and tells her that he would like to continue their relationship, to Harper’s relief and pleasant surprise.

Raven confirms that the radiation from the meltdown of the plants will indeed kill everyone in six months. Unlike Raven, who thinks that “nothing like a little pain reminds you that you’re alive”, Jasper is suicidal after being able to feel the pain again. He is listening to music on Maya’s player and has Maya’s favorite painting on his wall, and comes close to blowing up his brains, when he’s called by Monty, Harper and Raven. The other three are confused and shocked by the fact that he laughs at hearing the news of the upcoming end of the world. He feels free and this is where he decides on the “Seize the day” approach – if the world is dying, let’s have some fun and then die.

The closing scene is the first (and last) time we see something that happens in another part of the Earth, not North America: in Egypt, in the desert see a dead man, and a woman dies horrifically when a radiation wave hits. It’s a very gruesome image, and also a reveal that Raven’s and ALIE’s calculations weren’t right, and the death wave is coming much faster.

Timeline: The episode starts mere minutes after the end of season 3, and seems to takes place over the period of a few hours.

Body count:

We find out that several people died in the season 3 finale when Lexa killed them in the City of Light, which seems to follow the Matrix rules.

Rock Line ambassador is killed by Echo with a single sword stroke, because she stood up to her.

Two Azgeda guards and the Azgeda healer, killed by Octavia when she sneaked in as a part of the plan to allow Abby and the others could get inside and heal Roan.

Two scavengers in what used to be Egypt, killed by the death wave.

Rating: 6/10

[imthemuthafuckingcricket]

I was tagged by the lovely @somewheremeantforme

10 Favorite female characters

What? Only 10? Alrighty then…Potential spoilers and rambles. Here we go.

1.Angrboða [Poetic Edda/Norse Mythos]- I don’t know if she counts as a character, but considering she is not a real person that is alive and breathing I��ll add her to the list. I have always found her fascinating and her lack of media presence just fuels me to do more research and gdi I should just write/draw her more, but I can never get her right. And dammit Angrboda deserves, nay demands perfection.  Anyways I feel as though Angrboða doesn’t get enough respect. Grief bringer? Mother of Monsters/Wolves? Hag of Ironwood? Chief?? Yea she’s badass and is worth more than her relationship to Loki(e)…I could go on…

2.Integra Hellsing [Hellsing] - I don’t know man she’s just cool. I wish I could be that cool.  

3.Princess Carolyn [Bojack Horseman]- Oh where to begin, this is one of the best female characters I have seen written. PC is at her core the stereotypical “I don’t need a man, I don’t need anybody all I need is my career. Oh no I’m almost 40yrs old and I’m lonely” character, but still the show gives her so much more beyond that. She is working hard to adopt, she genuinely cares about her friends/loved ones and will do anything to help them, when Diane wanted an abortion she was upset that Diane was willingly giving up what she could never have but still at the end of the day didn’t vilify Diane and talked to her (this whole episode btw was amazing and dealt rly well with abortion) I also enjoy Diane as a character and her flaws, most of the female characters are written really well, I’m getting sidetracked here but yea watch Bojack Horseman. Anyways, PC is a strong person (cat?), but we get to see her at her most vulnerable “It's…just…really hard to need people” and her struggles. PC can be pushy and one-sighted and yes her helping people is not completely selfless and in some way it benefits her. Besides wanting children, I never thought I would related to a pink cat wearing a fish dress so hard.

4.Lady Eboshi [Princess Mononoke]- In many ways she is the villain and the main antagonist (I say this bc there are multiple villains) of the movie but I find her interesting in that she is not wholly evil.  Though she is horrible to the environment and the animals/spirits living there she is a fair leader, who has helped the unwanted and worthless of society and gave them work and a home. Her people genuinely love and care for her. Which is another reason I love this movie because it hints at “Humanitarian vs. Environment” Lady Eboshi being the personification of this argument, also Lady Eboshi highlights how one person can do excellent work/relief in one area and be a completely shitty person in another area. Does her bad deeds cancel out all the good she has done? This is a favorite argument of mine, just in a general sense.

5. Evelyn O'Connell [The Mummy]- Come on I made a post specifically about how I wanted to be like Evie when I got older. Super brave and intelligent woman that could read Egyptian( I think she knew multiple other languages as well) studied/worked in Egypt,  got to go on a magical adventure in EGYPT. When I was a kid I was majorly into Ancient Egypt (I haven’t quite outgrown that). I also had a big thing for Lara Croft too and I think that goes hand-in-hand with Evie. But most importantly… “ I AM A LIBRARIAN!”

6. Haruka Tenou [Sailormoon]-  Baby gay [me] was gay way longer than she anticipated. Also...A E S T H E TI C

7. Medea [The Medea]- Countless essays have been written about Medea that would go way deeper into her complexity as a character than what I can do right now. Yea, she’s an interesting character that is by all means not a hero, but it also a victim herself. And one of the few stories from the classics that revolves around a woman, that isn’t two-dimensional.

8.Leslie Knope [Parks&Rec]- I’m going to say it, Leslie knope is the reason that P&R is far superior to the Office even though the writing team is practically the same and the humor at its base is also the same. Leslie Knope is not Michael Scott, Michael is pretty bad (tbf I haven’t finished the series, so we’ll see), But despite Leslie’s many flaws she’s still endearing, hardworking w/ high goals, loves her friends/job and her community. Again, I’m not saying she is perfect because she has such high standards/expectations that she expects everyone to meet her at these impossible heights, often ignores her friends’ advice/complaints even if it’s all with good intentions, can be mean and so forth. Ill admit it, she makes me want to work harder and the character Ron Swanson was great at balancing her out.

9. Rosa Diaz [B99]- Rosa is a cool character with a cooler jacket and I enjoy watching her, I don’t have a deeper reason than that.

10. Anthy Himemiya [Revolutionary Girl Utena]- Anthy is a character that has more questions than answers within the context of her own story. She has done many horrible things and should be held accountable, however, Anthy has been the victim of abuse for years and as a character we must take that in consideration. But where do we draw the line for guilt/personal responsibility? How much physical/emotional abuse can really mess a person up and drive them to these terrible acts? Also, I thought she had the most character growth in the series, which made the ending all the more powerful because of what she went through and the choices she had to make to get there. However, I would literally die for all the women in RGU so…

Bonus: Xena the Warrior Princess, Medusa

Mutuals/followers please feel free to do this and tag me in your post!

[fuckyeahjamieandclaire]

Welcome to ‘Should You Bother Watching’, Junkee’s new column that helps to answer the streaming age’s biggest question: is this show for me? Do I spend my precious time watching this? Today, we tackle Outlander.

I know what you’re thinking — how could a television adaptation of the paperback sitting on every middle-aged mum’s bookshelf ever appeal to me?

But hear me out — Outlander is more than just your average bodice-ripper.

If you’re not familiar with the premise, Outlander follows Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), an English ex-combat nurse, who is on a second honeymoon with her husband, Frank, (Tobias Menzies) in the Scottish Highlands in 1946. But, after encountering a mysterious circle of ancient standing stones, Claire is transported back to 1743, a turbulent time featuring a bunch of tension between the Scottish Highlanders and the British Redcoats.

Back in the past, she meets dashing Highland warrior James Fraser (Sam Heughan).

Warning: This article briefly discusses sexual assault and contains mild spoilers for seasons 1 & 2.

Pros:

Handsome Ab Boy

Two words: Sam Heughan. To get the obvious out of the way, Outlander’s appeal largely comes in the form of perfectly-crafted specimen, Jamie Fraser, played by Scottish actor Sam Heughan.

But Jamie is more than just a piece of kilted eye-candy. Aside from being incredibly stoic, intelligent, funny and passionate, Heughan also manages to bring such a vulnerability and charm to Jamie, that it makes it incredibly hard to resist falling for him.

A Focus On The Female Gaze

Outlander is told through the eyes of Claire: a fairly modern, free-thinking woman who is thrown back to a world of oppression and danger, particularly for women.

Although it’s interesting to watch Claire navigate this world, she doesn’t always fit into the ‘strong female character’ trope. She’s flawed and makes mistakes that have repercussions, but still has badass moments that will make you slow-clap at the screen.

Outlander’s ‘The Wedding’ episode has become one of the most lauded moments of television in the last few years, due to its focus on female pleasure in its sex scenes. Compared to other shows, Outlander doesn’t always present sex just for the sake of shocking viewers.

Although it’s fun to watch two extremely attractive people *get it on*, the beauty in these scenes comes from the tender passion both characters share.

A Sweeping Musical Score

The stellar cast are brilliant at realising their characters on-screen, but it’s undeniable that Outlander’s soundtrack gives the show its breath of life.

Composed beautifully by award winning composer Bear McCreary, the combination of bagpipes, strings and ethereal vocals emotionally transports you into the world of Outlander. Aside from ‘The Skye Boat Song’, which plays during the opening credits, I recommend listening to the tracks ‘Dance of the Druids’ and ‘The Key to Lallybroch’ for a taste of how stunningly crafted the music of Outlanderis.

You Can Learn Some Facts While Your Heart Is Torn Apart!

Outlander is as much a drama as it is a history lesson.

Instead of filling your head with a fictional encyclopedia, Outlander invites you to uncover an aspect of history that you may not have been aware of beforehand. The story takes place within a turbulent time of British history, and although most characters are works of fiction, both the show and its source material feature real-life individuals.

The book’s author, Diana Gabaldon, researched meticulously for the series, and her attention to detail has most definitely carried over to the adaptation.

Cons:

A Slow (But Worth It) Burn

Outlander is most definitely a slow burn, as the episodes are fifty minutes to an hour long.

The show can lose pace at times, particularly in the first half of season 2. If you’re into 20-minute fast-paced serials, maybe Outlander isn’t the show for you.

It Can Get Incredibly Graphic

Although I’ve sold Outlander as a Casablanca-esque love story set in the Scottish Highlands, it can’t be denied that the show gets incredibly graphic.

Outlander doesn’t shy away from blood-and-guts, but it’s a violent and gruesome depiction of rape in the season 1 finale between Jamie and the sadistic antagonist of the show, Black Jack Randall, that sees the show at its darkest. Although this can be incredibly off-putting, the show later explores the repercussions of sexual violence.

So, Should You Bother Watching Outlander:

To put it simply, Outlander is more than just a historical drama or love story. One of the best things about the show is that it’s almost impossible to put into a box.

It follows a slice of British history when tensions were at their highest, and at its core, is an exploration of the feminine mind. If you have an affinity for history, beautiful scenery, amazing production design and a willingness to open yourself to a well-developed, deeply intense partnership, maybe it’s worth giving Outlander a go.

Outlander seasons 1-3 are currently streaming on Netflix.

[a-baleful-howl]

A Song of Ice and Foils - Jon & Daenerys

The more I see Jon and Dany’s stories portrayed as parallels, the more I’m convinced they are foils. GRRM is writing a genre-defying story of good vs evil. Both protagonists believe they are good and that they are doing what is right - but even if they go down similar paths, their life experiences and personalities will ultimately lead them to different results. One will triumph, and the other will fall. Like fire and ice.

A literary foils purpose is to highlight another characters (or even one subplot foiling another subplot) qualities by starkly contrasting them. It doesn’t always have to be “hero vs villain” or “protagonist vs antagonist” - but it is a beautiful literary device to help readers. With ASOIAF, and if the ending will reveal true character, then Jon and Dany will have some similarities and also some contrasts. What sets them apart will show what truly affects them and shapes their morality.

Jon and Dany will have similar things happen to them. They will follow similar story arcs, they will encounter similar hardships which will propel them forward in the plot, but the end will reveal their true character. GRRM will make us root for both of them and then pull the rug out from under us and show that it is not just our experiences and titles that matter, but what we are on the inside. If we put two similar characters down a similar path, we will see their true character revealed in the bitter end.

So far in ASOIAF, we are led to believe that being honorable and doing the right thing will not always win or end happily. That’s a great rule of life- reality is cruel and bad things happen to good people. GRRM doesn’t want characters to be good or bad, or white or black - he wants them to be interesting, to be sympathetic, and to be blurred in grey. So making us root for two characters who are foils will perhaps force us to choose a side, even if that side is grey.

Having two main characters be foils, neither of which are the clear-cut antagonist, keeps readers on the edge of their seats, keeps readers guessing about the end, and prevents a story from being predictable. ASOIAF is all about turning the high-fantasy genre on its head. To guess what Jon and Dany being foils means, to try and guess the outcome will be, would require knowledge of what theme and moral GRRM is wanting to achieve. And I can’t begin to presume I know 100% the answer to that. And anyone who says otherwise is no true King.

Besides the obvious contrasting characteristics, their gender, their appearance, their locations, we also have their backgrounds, upbringing and their contrasting morals. Jon is a bastard looking for his calling, and Dany a ousted princess looking for her calling. One is an honorable boy and the other a girl who was raised with a sociopath. My question is: nature vs nurture??

One thing that is driving me crazy, is seeing Jon and Danys characteristics and similarities being portrayed as parallels and hints at a Jonerys endgame. So here are the best ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Similarities:

1. Third child whose mother died in childbirth. (This is a streeeeeetch, but I’ve seen it used.)

2. Both are hidden from Robert Baratheon.

3. Jon was born a “bastard” who felt unwanted and is looking for his place. Dany was born a princess who grew up as a fugitive who lost her title.

4. They find surrogate families. Jon with the Night's Watch, and Dany with the Dothraki.

5. Both received animals that represent their houses; Jon and Ghost, and Daenerys and her Dragons.

6. Both received important weapons for defeating the White Walkers. Jon receives Longclaw and Dany and her dragons.

7. Both eventually fall in love with their “captors” from a different culture - Jon and Ygritte, Dany and Drogo.

8. Both are ousted by an uprising; Jon and the Nights Watch, and Dany with the Harpies. Both are direct results of their actions, but Jon was not outsed by the people he helped, whereas Dany kind of was.

Contrasts:

1. Male. Female.

2. Jon has dark brown hair, and dark-almost-black grey eyes. Daenerys has pale silver gold hair, and light violet eyes.

3. Jon grew up in one place, with a secure family unit. Dany grew up constantly moving and on the run, with only her older brother.

4. Jon had a good role model and father figure growing up. Dany did not have a good role model or father figure growing up.

5. Jon grew up in the cold climate of the North, and Dany grew up in the warm exotic Essos.

6. Jon is not searching for power, instead being voted in and accepting the responsibility, whereas Dany is on a quest for power and vengeance.

Things that are touted as parallels, but are actually contrasts:

1. Both leave their home, Jon to the night's watch and Dany with the dothraki. Jon is searching for a purpose in life better than his bastard status at Winterfell. Dany is used as a pawn, forcibly married off to a culture she doesn’t understand to help her brother start a war.

2. Become close friends with a member of a noble house - Jon with Sam from house Tarly, and Dany with Ser Jorah from house Mormont. Sam is loyal to Jon as a true friend, and Jorah is not, at first using her for his own gains. And Jorah is still beneath Dany, not ever really considered her equal. Sam has been “banished” to the nights watch for simply not being the fierce warrior his father wanted, and Jorah is banished from Westeros for selling slaves.

3. Both protect the vulnerable by threatening someone - Jon threatens the boys bullying Sam at Castle Black, and Dany threatens Viserys. 🎼One of these things is not like the other. 🎼 The mindsets are different. Jon is protecting someone other than himself, being selfless. Dany is standing up to her own abuser.

4. Lost a family member. Jon lost Benjen and Dany lost Viserys. 🎼One of these things is not like the other. 🎼

5. After tragedy strikes their heads of household, Ned’s arrest/death and Drogos illness/imminent death, they must chose between their family and upholding an ethical code. Jon chooses to honor his vow and stay with the nights watch and Dany decides to defy the laws of nature and go against Dothraki law to try and save Drogo. (One argues that she did it for selfish reasons, as once Drogo is gone, so is her power.)

6. They fall in love with someone from another culture, Ygritte and Drogo, and their lovers die from chest wounds. No ones going to mention that Drogo dies as a direct result of Danny’s actions? No one? 👀

7. Dany does not take the guilt and responsibility of Drogos death, instead burning the witch. Jon takes the guilt upon himself, becoming distant and cold, and doesn’t hold someone else accountable for Ygritte’s death.

These are are the basic “parallels” I most often see used as proof of a Jonerys endgame. In my opinion, it’s the opposite. They are foils. We’re going to see the true character and morals come to a nasty head by the end of the series.

[A few more posts to come.]

[alonebadman]

Yoko Taro: The Mad Prince, The Living Weapon, The Killer Goddess, The Foolish Father, and The Machine Children of Men

Nier Automata is considered a relatively successful sleeper hit. To many people, it brought attention to its eccentric creator, Yoko Taro. For me, it was vindication for one of my favorite videogame developers, and more importantly, writing/storytelling influences. Yoko Taro is a bizarre but genuinely enthusiastic storyteller and game designer. His works often are made on shoe string budgets, have outdated graphics, and strange characters and messed up plots. All of Taro’s games are mostly standalone but share core worldbuilding elements and links that are subtle but important. Let’s go back to the beginning.

Drakengard (2003): A knock off Dynasty Warriors epic fantasy clone. You play as Caim, a displaced prince yearning for revenge for your family, your ruined kingdom, and to protect your sister, and childhood friend. The game takes place in a standard European medieval fantasy. The game starts off fairly simple: The Union is fighting the evil Empire. You are supposed to be a righteous hero to save the Union and stop the Empire’s schemes. What begins as a cliched plot swiftly veers off into crazytown. Caim turns out to be a bloodthirsty psycho who will kill enemies, allies, and even children, all while using his revenge as an excuse to satiate his lust. Your party members are a cannibalistic female elf who wants to eat children to bring them back into her womb, a remorseful blind pedophile who is a death-seeker for sneaking of for some boy love that led to his brothers dying, and a eight year old boy stuck forever as an eight year old who is the twin brother of the game’s creepy little girl antagonist.

Drakengard is fucking weird. Each playthrough you can unlock increasingly worse and batshit crazy endings. The final ending leads into Nier and is a joke ending for putting in hours to collect all the weapons in the game. Also, the final battle is a tedious rhythm based button masher straight out of DDR. But this is why I loved Drakengard as a kid. It was unlike any fantasy story I’d read/seen before. The characters were terrible, the world was nihilistic, and the fuck you attitude the game had to you was refreshing. But that was only the beginning.

Drakengard 2 (2005): Taro’s only game he didn’t make. A lighter, softer game that follows the first ending of Drakengard. Caim is an antagonist now, your protagonist is a JRPG shonen cliche, but Manah is back to save the day. Despite many fans lambasting it, the game does still follow Taro’s world but provides a more positive ending for it’s final route. Taro then wrote an epilogue for one of the endings only to take his trademark glee and ruin the game’s optimism. Not much to say on this.

Nier (2010): The cult classic that most people remember Taro for. Probably his best game before Automata. The game has the most sympathetic protagonist, a father/brother looking to save their sister/daughter, depending on what version you purchased. The story takes place in a post apoc Japan where magic is rampant, a strange disease called the Black Scrawl kills people, and monstrous beings called Shades, attack isolated villages and hamlets. Nier starts off simple and goes into a full blown tragedy by the final ending. It is more subdued, less nihilistic, but still critical of the protagonist. Nier is heroic, well tempered, but possesses a certain rage/malice that leads him to commit actions that bring further ruin to the world. Considered Taro’s best work, Nier is a standalone fantasy that tells a simple story of love, death, and a rendition of the Dying Earth executed very well.

Drakengard 3 (2013): A standalone prequel to Drakengard. It follows the story of Zero, a living goddess, who aims to kill her other sisters to become the only goddess. You have a naive dragon, a strange girl who knows things about you, and a predominantly female cast of characters. Drakengard 3 is a typical Taro game. It’s bleaker than Nier but not as crazy as Drakengard. Zero comes across as a villain but each subsequent playthrough reveals, while she’s not a saint, she is trying to save the world in her own way. The antagonists, the goddesses (Intoners), are essentially rebels who overthrew the tyrants of the land. They are well loved, respected, and worshiped by humanity. However, like a typical Taro game, the good intentioned rebels turn out to be more repulsive than they initially appear. Five is a gluttonous maneater, Four is a xenophobic psychopath, Three is a sociopathic “puppet maker”, Two is a broken mess, and One, arguably the most heroic of the Intoners, is a prideful but well meaning antagonist. Honestly, One would be the hero of the game in a more traditional narrative, but this is a Yoko Taro game.

The antagonists do have a sympathetic origin. The true antagonist of the game relates back to Drakengard’s otherworldly gods but you don’t get much more than that. The final ending is less bleak and more hopeful than Drakengard or Nier’s endings. It fits the game’s narrative and leaves the world in a better place.

Nier Automata (2017): Taro’s first critical and commercial success. Developed by Platinum Games and headed by Taro, it tells the story of YOHRA, an elite group of combat androids created by humanity, to fight machines created by aliens millennia ago. The game is straight up weird with its premise. Aliens, human like androids who use magic and tech to fight them, awkwardly inhuman machines, androgynous male framed antagonists, fishing, riding moose, the game is wonderfully offbeat. It’s set in the same world as Nier but is self-contained and has marginal connections to Nier.

Automata tells a classic story of androids, what it means to be human, the remains of human civilization, and the senselessness of violence. The game has a wonderful cast of characters, all supposedly cold, but all very human and flawed. 2B is a professional soldier who masks her emotions and attachment to 9S, her support unit. 9S (arguably the real protagonist of the game), is a curious, somewhat naive male android has one of the best character arcs in recent memory, and A2, the mysterious YOHRA traitor 2B and 9S encounter, and fight. The game is told from 3 different perspectives that interconnect, crossover, and switch back and forth in surprisingly clever gameplay elements. All of the supporting characters are sympathetic, even the antagonists have a similar drive/desire to the YOHRA androids. The plot is serviceable, with plot twists arriving when appropriate, and character reveals altering the game’s narrative on repeated viewings. The game’s final ending is somber but still hopeful. Taro himself expressed it was “happy”, which in it’s own way it is.

Yoko Taro is a particular storyteller. What started as a dark mirror of traditional fantasy spiraled into a science-fiction forever war fourteen years later. At times, Taro can be needlessly nihilistic, his characters too edgy/flawed for people looking for heroes, and obtuse in certain storytelling elements. He’s not perfect but he is unlike most writers in the world. Taro takes traditional fantasy and science fiction plots, motifs, and twists them in his own view of the world. He’s also an extremely nice guy, despite his dark worlds and twisted characters.

[theladyof-lorien]

So after starting the Get to Know Me meme, I realised it's probably too far into my account and people already know my taste. So I have condensed it down A LOT. So it will only consist of: 5 favourite films 3 favourite series Just for a bit of fun! So instead I am going to the Female Awesome Meme with some of my own categories. It will be as follows: 15 Females in Movies 15 Female Dynamics 5 Female Characters Who Are Unfairly Hated 5 Female Characters with the Best Growth 5 Female Antagonists 3 Mother Characters 10 Non-Warrior Characters 10 Warrior Characters 10 Supporting Female Characters 10 Lead Female Characters 10 Real Women Portrayed On Screen 5 LGBT Characters 5 Female Driven Shows This is all based on the Female Awesome Meme originally created by bellegold-archive, but I have taken inspiration from lady-arryn . ENJOY ALL THE AWESOME LADIES

[parapluiepliant]

Anonymous asked: It’s interesting that their kind of love/devotion is normally attributed to the other gender.//Not really. Bellamy\s devotion to Clarke is very much in line with the show considering him her "knight" from the very first season. He's a devoted knight to (Ice) Queen.

Dear anon,

first of all I have to apologize for my late answer.

Your ask is related to a post that I reblogged on January the 14th. The last days were quite busy and eventful with Unity Days and many doctor appointments on my part which is the reason my answer is late.

And I have to confess that I was trying to find the best way to answer your ask and sorting my own thoughts at the same time, so that I don’t fall into unconnected ramblings (one of my many weaknesses that my English teacher pointed out to me once. Sometimes, writing in a third language and make yourself clear can be really hard)

I answered you in more detail which I will put under the cut.

Here is the short version in the form of a bulletpoint summary of my thoughts:

- They are both devoted to each other though they express it differently

- Bellamy is not a knight in a derogative sense; he doesn’t follow Clarke blindly

- He might be considered a ‘knight’ because he tries to save her BUT it’s also the other way round (see point one)

- Clarke is not cold but rather distant when her logical/strategic reasoning and thinking kicks in; it’s part of her personality and also a coping mechanism

- It’s either the head (logic) or the heart (emotion) that determines their actions

- The ususal literary stereotypes for men and women is inverted in Clarke and Bellamy; The change occurs from the “normal setting” in season 1 to the total inversion in season 3 (and will probably culminate in an amalgamation of both characteristics on both sides)

- The stereotype for males: “I will let you go; You’re better off without me; I protect you from afar so you can live in peace and be save from my enemies and/or me” --> Clarke at the end of season 2, in season 3 and between

-  The stereotype for females: “I’ll be there for you; I support you; I believe in you; I won’t leave you, no matter what” --> Clarke in season 1 (Day Trip); Bellamy in season 3 (Demons)

- Prediction for season 4: “Two hearts believing in just one mind” (Phil Collins)

If anyobdy likes to add, has questions or criticism: my ask box is open, the reblog button is on the bottom right. :)

*For those of you you like to read more, here is a word of warning: it’s rare for me to give short answers. So be prepared. You, reader, are hereby warned.*

Back to the topic, splitting up your ask:

 Bellamy\s devotion to Clarke is very much in line with the show considering him her "knight" from the very first season.

 What you’re saying here is that Bellamy is not only following Clarke’s orders since season 1, similar to a knight who follows the orders of the Queen, but Clarke also sees him as someone that can be ordered around. Their behaviour is also supported by the script and by what is shown on the screen.

 As you might already guess, I beg to differ.

The word “knight” was only used for Bellamy once. It was Raven who was posessed by ALIE in that particular moment. A lot of people did a great job in analyzing ALIE and her ways to take advantage of people’s knowledge to ellicit certain reactions from others. It’s the same case here with ALIE, trying to provoke Clarke, Jasper and Bellamy with words that will hurt them for sure.

In that case, it could be speculated and debated for days if Raven really thought that Bellamy is a mere knight (“knight” in a derogative sense; more on that later) or if she only knew that phrasing it like that, Bellamy would be hurt, get angry and would thus create an opportunity for ALIE/Raven to escape.

 In season one, the only title by which Bellamy is called by is “king” when Murphy tries to hang him. In the same breath, Murphy also refers to Clarke as the “queen”. It’s interesting that Murphy saw those two starting out as antagonists and even though he was banned from camp, it took him only one or two days to see that Clarke and Bellamy have become equals within a short timespan.

 He's a devoted knight to (Ice) Queen.

By saying that, you are not only implying that Bellamy in his actions is a “devoted knight” but also that Clarke is relentless and cold towards him.

 Focusing on Clarke for a moment: I see why you might have this impression about her.

The most shocking moments for me were the moment she was using the Grounder’s weakness to flee (and kill him) in season 1 and the moment she sent Bellamy to Mount Weather in season 2 (which is the one I suppose you might have also thought of among many other situations while writing the ask).

 I have to admit that I was really angry the first time I watched this scene. However, a few moments later I came to the realisation that Clarke was not cold or mean, she was thinking strategically, analytically, logically; and to many people this sort of behaviour can be seen as cold.

 Yet in fact, she cared. In the beginning of the episode, Clarke didn’t want Bellamy to go to Mount Weather, though it was him who initially brought up the idea of having an intel and was volunteering for that job. He thought it would be a smart move but Clarke didn’t want to risk losing him too. It was only after she had talked to Lexa, with her “Love is weakness” philosophy, that Clarke wanted Bellamy to go.

 “Love”, of which devotion is a great part of, can take many forms. You can love your significant other as you can love your parents, your brother and sisters, your friends, the scent of books or the feeling of a sunny spring day. These are all different kinds of love but in their core sentiment they are the same. It means you care about something deeply.

 And so far, she does care about Bellamy as a friend at that point. With having lost Finn only hours ago, she still cared for him in a way that made her realize that she didn’t want to risk anybody else. Her heart ruled her head which made her unable to move on and take further actions. With Lexa’s words, she came to that realization and in a moment of overcompensation, she let her head rule her heart, sending Bellamy to Mount Weather.

Now, it should be added that Bellamy was hurt by her words given her statement from the beginning. Yet, it was his idea to begin with because strategically speaking, it made sense. That’s why he agreed in the end because he saw the need and reasoning behind it.

 This brings me to the next point, recalling the derogative use of “knight” from before. Of course, Bellamy does follow some of Clarke’s orders BUT they talk about her or his plans beforehand. And if Bellamy thinks it’s a stupid plan, he won’t do it and even speak up to her. He doesn’t follow her blindly as a mindless knight might do. Season 3 is a prime example for that. Clarke wants to find another Nightblood, Bellamy wants to head back to Arkadia to look for their friends and any potential support; he tells her no. Clarke wants to sacrifice herself so that Emerson will let the others go unharmed; Bellamy tells her no.

 Of course, there are other instances where you might argue that he is devoted to her in an “unhealthy” way. One might be probably the time when Bellamy was crossing the field full of Azgeda warriors to rescue Clarke.

Well, that was something he did out of his own volition. Later, he went with Pike and Octavia to Polis to save her, Abby and Kane. Again, he did it out of his own volition.

You might think of Clarke being cold to him when she dismisses him in the throne room. Clarke telling Bellamy that she has to stay was again a strategic move; one that was incredibly hard for her. After he left, you could see her visibly breathing out. She held her breath because she knew how hard it would be for him to accept her answer and it was of course hard for her too to tell him this. She wanted to make sure they are safe whereas she remains in ‘enemy territory’. In addition, she didn’t know and couldn’t fathom what Bellamy had done to get to her. No one had told her that.

 So, Bellamy is devoted to Clarke and he would do a lot of things for her but not everything. And I think that’s the most important point. The moment you are about to lose yourself as a person, you are no longer in love or devoted to someone; you become a mere charicature of yourself.

 In addition, there are also many examples that show how Clarke is devoted to Bellamy. They might be more subtle but they are still there.

She offers him forgiveness where she was ‘disgusted’ by Finn in terms of massacres; she does everything in her power to keep him safe and unnoticed in Mount Weather (sending Emerson; letting the bomb drop on Ton DC).

Actions speak louder than words and Bellamy’s are only louder because Clarke’s are most of the time disguised (or rather they coincide) with practical reasoning.

I am quite sure that in season 4, her actions will prove again and again how much she cares for him without the cover of logic.

 My last point: It’s interesting that their kind of love/devotion is normally attributed to the other gender.//Not really.

 I have to say that I was a bit flabbergasted when you went on about a Knight-to-Queen devotion in your ask. When I wrote this, I also added what kind of love/devotion I meant by it and I was clearly not referencing to that kind of dynamic.

 What I said though is that it’s quite normal for characters in literature to follow certain stereotypes. Normally, a man would go on and say that he has such a dark personality or whatever that he can’t be with anyone to keep their family and loved ones safe from either their enemies or from themselves, and are thus being (perceived as) distant to others.

Females, in contrast, are normally shown as “mother-hens”, trying their best to be warm and caring, supporting others wherever they can, thus being very welcoming and warm personalities.

For Bellamy and Clarke, it’s the other way round. Bellamy is the one trying to keep an eye on the delinquents, helping them wherever he is needed, letting Clarke leave because he supports her and knows that she needs to. Clarke is the one who lives the epitome of “you are all better without me” by leaving at the end of season 2 or staying in Polis.

 So, where men tend to be “I am going to let you go/You’re better off without me”, women tend to say “No matter what, I won’t leave you and support you”, which might have be true in season 1 for Bellamy and Clarke, given their respective gender roles.

Now, in season 3, this dynamic has shifted completely. Clarke leaving at the end of season 2 and staying in Polis in season 3 was her way of saying “You’re all better off without me” whereas Bellamy tells her that no matter what will happen “She won’t be alone because he has her back”.

 Season 3 was only the beginning what is likely to be an ongoing process in season 4. For them, the typical stereotypes of males and females have slowly merged so far and at the end of season 4, we will see them as the balanced result of both.

In regard to their devotion/love, this balance will be shown in exactly that; in their actions and reactions to each other and in a combination of “head and heart”.

 To quote Phil Collins: “Two hearts believing in just one mind”. ;)

For those of you who read so far, thank you and let me hear your thoughts if you’d like to share them :)

[recentanimenews]

#VillainTakeover at Crunchyroll Store - Evil Figures for the Evil Week

  Your favorite villains are taking over! This week during Crunchyroll's #VillainTakeover, we're featuring our top picks of villain figures from the Crunchyroll Store! 

  These are our top villain figures in the Crunchyroll Store right now! 

  1. Dragon Ball Super - Broly S.H. Figuarts  It's BROLY! The titular antagonist from Dragon Ball Super: Broly is ready to take all of the forms and poses from the battle scenes, even wearing Frieza Force's armor! This Broly figure is the perfect Saiyan to add to your Dragon Ball collection! 

2. My Hero Academia - Himiko Toga 1/8 Scale Figure Up next, comes our loveable, crazy girl villain from My Hero Academia! This figure comes with both her supervillain AND civilian clothes! The details of this figure accurately shows her exciting blushing and her cheerful sadistic personality. If Himiko Toga is your best girl, this is the perfect figure to add to your collection! 

3. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders - Dio Chozokado Action Figure YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A REGULAR OLD FIGURE, BUT IT WAS HIM, DIO! This Dio Action Figure is the perfect render of his appearance in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. The flexible joints of this figure allows you to imitate all of Dio's iconic poses - perfect for any Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fan! 

4. Naruto Shippuden - Madara Uchiha G.E.M Series Figure BEHOLD! This is a PERFECT render of the legendary leader of the Uchiha clan - Madara Uchiha! Here he is in his full, dynamic glory - jumping into battle with his gunbai fan and giant kama! As one of the founders of the Hidden Leaf Village, this legendary shinobi is a MUST for any Naruto Shippuden collection! 

5. Dragon Ball Super - Frieza - Resurrection - S.H.Figuarts  We couldn't possibly forget about the legendary supervillain of the Dragon Ball series, Lord Frieza! His ancient, yet ageless evil charm is captured perfectly in this action figure, letting fans replicate famed scenes from the series with all his interchangeable parts! Your collection simply can't reach its' FINAL FORM without this figure! 

6. My Hero Academia - Tomura Shigaraki Nendoroid (Villain's Edition) This wouldn't be a proper villain takeover without the leader of the League of Villains - Tomura Shigaraki! From My Hero Academia, comes the scornful and disillusioned primary antagonist of the series! This nendoroid figure of Tomura Shigaraki comes with two face plates including his scornful standard expression and his crazed expression. The interchangeable parts allow you to recreate your favorite scenes from My Hero Academia!

7. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders - The World Chozokado Action Figure As a humanoid Stand, The World bears a striking resemblance to Dio in terms of clothing. This poseable action figure is a scarily accurate rendering of The World as seen in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. I can already hear its Stand cry just by looking at it!  

8. Dragon Ball Fighter Z - Android 21 S.H. Figuarts  From Dragon Ball FighterZ comes the popular female antagonist, Android No. 21! This former scientist turned power-crazed monster now comes in a poseable action figure that includes her "good" and "bad" expressions as well as an accessory donut! You can now bring her insatiable hunger for all the Z Warriors anywhere you want! 

9. SSSS.GRIDMAN - Akane Shinjo Gridman Gals Figure  From the anime SSSS.GRIDMAN comes the central antagonist, Akane Shinjo! Though this figure does not feature her Kaiju form, her human appearance with her nice girl facade is perfectly represented here in her relaxed, at-home version of herself. True to ther series, her disguise as a nice girl is rendered masterfully in this incredibly detailed figure from head to toe!  

10. Naruto Shippuden - Orochimaru Nendoroid Next in the line of Naruto Shippuden's Nendoroid versions of the Legendary Sannin comes Orochimaru! This poseable figure comes with interchangeable tongue and sword parts that include his infamous snakes. As Konoha's biggest bad boy, this figure captures Orochimaru's twisted and unethical personality to the tee! 

  We hope this list inspires you to go outside your comfort levels and explore a little of your bad side! Which villain is your favorite on our list? Did any of your favorite villains get featured or not?

  Wishing you all a WICKED #VillainTakeover this week! 

  >> Crunchyroll Store website 

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  (C) K. Horikoshi / Shueisha, My Hero Academia Project All Rights Reserved.

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By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com