#Innocence of Cross Marian

[kruk-art]

Day 21 - Chains

[arimiaromage]

I made a rough d.gray-man timeline for the Earl/Allen/Mana shenanigans and some people found it useful so I'll throw it here too. should be, like, 90% accurate at least until more chapters come out lol.

spoilers up to ch 247

- Adam/original Earl meets Catarina in Edinstown, disappears sometime later, and Mana & Nea are "born"

- Catarina raises Mana & Nea

- Nea meets past!Allen, Mana & Nea meet Cross Marian and the Noah clan, Nea awakens as a Noah (but doesn't have Noah memories)

- Nea gains Adam's memories*, makes past!Allen his pianist/partner in crime who controls the ark

- Nea kills the Noah, Catarina is heavily injured possibly by Mana/the Earl

- Mana becomes the Earl, kills Nea in front of Road & Cross, regains control as Nea tells him to find "Allen", at some point during this past!Allen asks Nea to let him hide Nea's memories

- Mana goes... somewhere... and is himself for a brief time but the Earl takes over again

- several years pass (around 28ish years) as Mana is the Earl and Cross searches for "Allen"

- Allen is sold to the circus as an infant

- Mana wakes up one day as himself—amnesiac of the past 28ish years up to when he was with Nea—and in Edinstown he joins the circus to find Nea

- Mana & Allen find each other but Apochryphos messes things up, Earl tries to take over Mana again, Cross tries to kill Allen, Mana & Allen flee the circus after Allen's innocence breaks Mana's memories

- 3 years later Mana ""dies"", Allen supposedly calls the Earl, and Cross finds Allen, somehow in this time Mana returns to being the Earl

- 3 more years later Allen is sent to the Black Order, i.e. the beginning of the manga

*we don't know when Nea gained Adam's memories but he had them after death so I think it's mostly safe to say he had them while he was alive, as it was probably a cause to him killing the Noah

**in the circus flashbacks in chapter 233 Cross says that "Allen became Nea's host 35 years ago" but at this point in time it was around 28ish years ago, as it's 35 in present day. I think this is a typo but feel free to make theories around it lol

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

Cyrus, Katerina, Campbell

First impressions after re-reading DGM Some theories and observations Notes on Link, part 1 & part 2

Have a nice week-end!!

Again I'm sorry for the awkward english!!!!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH247!!!!)

▶ « Cyrus » and Cross

After focusing on Skulls and Link���s names, I wondered if there was something for Cross and Katerina, two enigmatic characters!

In volume 24, サイラス (‘Sairasu’), which is localized as Cyrus in the English translation, Mana and Neah’s ‘uncle’, is mentioned. This could add to the ‘Cross = Cyrus’ theory:

Cross’s name in Japanese is クロス, which is pronounced ‘Kurosu’. The ancient greek form of Cyrus is Κῦρος, pronounced ‘kuros’ (like how you would pronounce ‘hybris’).

Is Cross the name Cyrus adopted after whatever happened at the Campbell mansion (and also, a symbol of the heavy cross he has to bear for Mana, Neah and Katerina)? Though it’s interesting to note Neah calls him Cross in ch215.

Now in the French translation, his name is localized as ‘Silas’, and the Japanese prononciation could lead to both localizations so I don’t really know if this holds any meaning!

▶ « Katerina »

Katerina is a variant of the name Catherine.

The name became attached to the ancient greek adjective καθαρός, ‘pure’. Also, « Marian Cross » might be a reference to a kind of religious cross:

A SAINT, you say....................

A side note: on the miraculous medal, there were twelve stars, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel and the apostles. There are two hearts on the medal. One heart bears a crown of thorns — the Christ’s Sacred Heart —, the other is stabbed by a knife — the Immaculate Heart of Mary —. Joined together, the two of them represent the Christ and Mary’s love of the world.

I don’t know if it’s relevant or not, but in ch121, Lavi managed to get out of Road’s dream by stabbing Allen’s illusion in the heart, which ends up piercing through Road’s own heart. And volume 13’s cover features a colorful focus on Lavi and the knife spilling blood in the foreground, which contrast with Cross, two crosses and the coffins coloring the background.

Not to mention:

1) Grave of Maria accompanying Cross: her dress is adorned with roses which are associated to Mary, sometimes represented with a rose crown (the rosary also originates from them). The ‘saint’ from Luberrier’s family is drawn wearing a (presumably) white rose, symbol of purity, innocence and devotion. The black ribbon that covers Maria's head ends up in a butterfly-shaped bow. In christianity, butterflies symbolize rebirth after death like the Christ’s spirit. Though rare, Mary has been represented with butterflies (I also saw that butterfly in spanish is 'mariposa' and its etymology was sometimes supposedly linked to Mary, I wish I could read in spanish ;;).

2) The association of Maria to what looks like a memory of Katerina:

3) In volume 13, Allen says Maria is the corpse of a parasite-type accommodator that is now controlled by Cross’s magic. Though it’s a forbidden spell, he was granted an extraordinary permission from the Order.

On the other hand, Cross suggested that Allen searches for Katerina in the mansion. This leads to the belief that she's pretty much alive, so perhaps Maria and Katerina are unrelated and Cross just remembered Katerina because the two are similar in personality. Their association is really tempting, though.

Especially since her whole face is concealed by her ribbon and we were recently given this page linking the two together!

Or who knows, maybe her soul got separated from her corpse or some other magic happened? We know so little so anything could happen!

It's a great stretch in all this, but Katerina’s name origin has also been linked to Hekate, a goddess of, among other things, liminality between spaces/worlds (entrances, exits, city walls, doors, gates, boundaries and crossroads, the living and dead realms ; one of her epithets was Enodia, ‘she of the road’), the underworld (she was considered the guardian of Hades’s keys, served as a guide), witchcraft (eg. in greek tragedies) and the night. Throughout history, she was also sometimes confounded with other divinities eg. Demeter, Artemis, Persephone. The dog was one of her sacred animals (represented accompanying her and also her sacrifice).

She wasn’t originally associated to the moon, but it became one of her main attributes with witchcraft later, as well as ghosts. In wicca, she is related to the Triple Goddess, which is associated to the archetypes of life (birth, death, rebirth), the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone or the moons (waxing, full and waning).

She was also later said to have a great knowledge of plants, especially to make poison.

The story uses these symbols a lot. The symbol of liminality especially reminds me of Road. (Of course I don’t believe there must be a correlation, references can just be references for the sake of it and highlight meanings, but the research was very fun!)

▶ « Campbell »

A CROOKED mouth…...... ? It’s THE telltale characteristic of the Noah’s memory, while Noah’s physical appearance features golden pupils and stigmata!

Now I don’t know where the story is headed with the Campbells, but I’m really curious to learn more, especially their link to Mana, Neah and the Noah!

[anamelessfool]

Ribbons & Ties (AO3 Link) Chapter 4

M/M, GEN (Ch 3 Here) 2000ish words

Terzo x Omega, Terzo & Family, Terzo & His Ghouls, Cardinal Marian is in there for like ten minutes

Tags: Domestic Fluff, Commitment, Rom Com Energy, There's a Wedding, Secondo is Papa Emeritus, Gift Giving, The ghoul names are all messed up sorry it is for plot purposes, I can't have Fluff without some Angst sorry

For reasons beyond Terzo's understanding, he wants to give Omega a present for the ghoul's "birthday". It proves to be a lot more complicated than Terzo realizes.

Art by @kabukiaku used with permission

Chapter 4 Below the Cut! (We like Reblogs, Comments and Kudos omnomnom)

Refusing the gift was an innocent decision. But tonight it felt personal.

4

The Satanic Church of the Void was populated mostly by humans, and therefore their wedding receptions followed the typical ebb and flow of drama and joy. There would be at least one person crying in the bathroom over someone else. Later on, maybe someone would trip over an errant step, or pull something from dancing too intensely. The bride’s bewildered family was already slipping table decorations into their handbags.

But the moon was perfectly at first quarter and the paper lanterns above gave a cozy glow over the entire courtyard. It was going to look fantastic in the pictures that nobody would go back to see.

Nihil had entrapped Copia in an excitable one-sided conversation about either plant emotions or the lost experimental recordings of Syd Barrett’s cousin’s next door neighbor that were perhaps too far out for modern society. Copia, well practiced in how to nod politely, discreetly read a book under the table.

Secondo and a few other magicians had created an impromptu Conclave meeting, a brooding theological discussion over cigars that was way too intense for the occasion.

Smiley baby Paul was in his glory, biting every unsuspecting family member he could before falling asleep in his mother’s arms.

Terzo watched most of this play out from the stage, occasionally striking up the band for a few numbers. He felt protected on his perch, although normally he would find a way to collect as many eager Siblings as possible for a raucous private “party” nearby. And some siblings all night had been attempting to get such a party started through a variety of tactics: staring at him through their wineglass, or lingering close to the stage suddenly deeply interested in the dance floor parquet or the lighting situation. He chose to ignore them, a rare action that surprised him.

There were a lot of things that surprised him about himself that evening. For one, the image of the couple standing united would not leave his mind. A crowd of people cheered them, celebrated them. Terzo felt a hungriness that he had no idea what could sate.

And the gift. His gift thoughtlessly chosen, and then politely declined. Refusing the gift was an innocent decision. But tonight it felt personal.

Marian appeared with a platter of hors d'oeuvres for the musicians. Alpha quickly grabbed it from her, pulling it up onto the stage and away. He paused, slightly offering some to Terzo. YOU FIRST, IF YOU WANT.

Terzo had his feet on the ground, leaning against the side of the stage, arms crossed. He had been feeling a combination of wistful and guilty this entire time, which ended up becoming a general sense of seasickness. He waved it all away. Alpha shrugged and dropped the platter on a stool, the rest of the ghouls drawing close. They snatched at the little appetizers, swallowing them under their masks toothpick and all.

Marian raised an amused eyebrow at them, then considered Terzo. “Wow, they can really tuck it away. Literally.”

Terzo shrugged. “They eat mostly for fun.”

“That so?” Marian frowned just thinking about it, then switched gears. “Did he like the gift?”

Terzo stared hard at the ground. “Didn't open it. Refused to open it.”

“Oh. Damn.” Marian blinked her eyes. She had been blinking them slowly this entire time and Terzo realized it was a desperate attempt to keep her makeup from running. She added, “Are you doing a speech later? At dinner?”

“Secondo didn't ask. He asked Copia, actually.”

“Damn,” Marian repeated. “That's…wow.”

A sudden tide of bitterness swept over him, and as usual he felt the compulsion to drag someone down in it with him. If he was going to feel this exposed, then there was going to be some collateral damage. “You and Copia have a lot in common, you know.”

Marian snorted. “Don't even…”

“You're both weirdly over-invested in Secondo,” said Terzo. “My brother’s had over half this room and nobody else is dabbing at their makeup about it.”

“Over-invested? Do I look—” Marian blinked furiously at him, her lips attempting to twist into a neutral expression. “Besides, I bet Copia’s mouth tastes like boot. Pass.”

Terzo cackled, a little too loud.

“Well I'm off to get drunk, if you want to join,” Marian announced as she straightened the cape of her vestments.

“With you? No thanks.”

Marian froze, her gaze sliding into his. She adjusted her biretta. “Get bent, your Eminence,” she said, then left.

***

STILL CAN'T WAIT FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST? Omega’s eyes crinkled into a smile behind the mask. IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT. TRUST ME.

Dinner had been over for nearly an hour and the party was winding down in preparation for the wind up of after dinner drinks and debauchery. Terzo and Omega had slowly made their way to a far corner of the stone arcade surrounding the courtyard. They sat on the low wall there with their backs to the festivities, shielded by the stage itself. They took the opportunity to hold hands despite Terzo's glum restlessness.

“It frustrates me you can read my mind but I can't read yours,” muttered Terzo. His eyes searched the floor. His blood was still boiling over about the gift for some indeterminate reason. He crossed his legs, uncrossed them, then resorted to resting his head on the ghoul’s chest. That action seemed to calm him down.

Omega wrapped his arm around him, softly petting. THIS WEDDING IS DIFFICULT FOR YOU.

“Perhaps that's it.”

EVERY PATH IS DIFFERENT. SO FAR YOUR PATH HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. They were in a secluded enough spot that Omega lifted his mask slightly and brought his face down to kiss the top of Terzo’s head. BECAUSE IT LED YOU TO ME.

“Stop,” Terzo muttered.

WHY STOP?

“You're just…” Terzo felt a stabbing guilty pain in his heart as he looked up at the ghoul. “You're too good for me.”

NOT THIS AGAIN. The thought almost sounded like a grumble, the frustration amplified through Terzo’s anxious mind.

“The gift I picked for you doesn't compare. Doesn't measure up in any way.”

YOU HAVE EXTRA TIME NOW TO THINK ON IT.

Terzo let out a bitter laugh. “I won't. I'll wait until the last fucking minute and then just find something useless to solve the problem. Like always.”

Omega cleared his throat and Terzo met his eyes. They were their usual clear blue-grey, but in that moment they had an uncustomary hardness to them. Terzo waited for the reprimand.

STAND UP. Omega watched as Terzo obeyed. The ghoul guided the smaller man in between his legs and pulled him forward, nearly against his chest. Their eyes met. YOU TRUST ME, YES?

“I do,” Terzo murmured. “But I'm always a little afraid when you ask me that.”

I NEED TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN, THAT'S ALL. Omega brought one of Terzo’s hands in his own. He began slowly, almost teasingly slipping the glove off, finger by finger. He finished one hand, then brought it to the front of his mask, pressing it to the metal as if planting a kiss. NOW THE OTHER. He repeated the process with the left hand.

Terzo felt the leather slide across his skin, and his mouth parted as his breath hitched. His vision blurred, his face collapsing in a near ecstatic grimace. Blood rushed across his neck, down his legs as he let out a small unconscious groan. The ghoul removed the other glove and it felt like Terzo was now more bare before him than if he truly was naked. “What are you--” Terzo could barely catch his voice, and the low purr of Omega's breath behind his mask smothered his senses.

The ghoul gripped Terzo’s hands now, and brought them to the back of his own blackened neck, encouraging Terzo to slide them up under his mask. Terzo’s fingertips studied the firm muscles that quickly faded into the incorporeal essence bound by the metal mask. A black hole. The rim of his physical vessel.

Terzo knew ghouls had no head or skull to speak of, and Omega himself had bared all to him on several occasions. Under the mask it felt as if Terzo had dropped his fingers into a warm bath, except there was no feeling of wetness, just a strange static across his hands. In his mind’s eye he saw the bones of his hands, stark white against an infinite blackness, as articulated and intricate as paper cutouts. He heard Omega exhale deeply, watched his chest fall, and he felt the weight of his lover’s breath envelop his entire body like a blanket of calm.

WORDS ARE STRONGER THAN THINGS. AND IF WORDS WON'T COME, SHARE WHAT YOU FEEL.

Terzo’s eyes flicked from side to side. They were in the far corner of the arcade, concealed by the stage. He had thrilled himself before with erotic games, near misses and fumbling just outside the public eye. This felt even more intimate to him with just his hands under Omega’s mask. The ghoul breathed out again, and again Terzo sank into his miasma of affection.

He thought about the hands clasped and bound. He thought about cutting the ties, rising to their feet as one. For an instant afterward he thought about a moment in his childhood blurred by the decades that had passed. Crawling through darkness, his shoes tied around his neck so his feet and hands could feel their way. He remembered the thrill, of what he did not know. It was perhaps lost to him. There was the feel of papered wood, cold stones across his back—cold stones all around him, holding him secure, safe. He opened the wooden box and opened his heart.

There was an overarching fear, a hesitation. Omega gave Terzo’s waist a supportive squeeze. Terzo felt a bolt of nerves, a shiver shoot up his arms, and he pulled his hands away, gripping Omega’s shoulders. “Too much,” Terzo whispered.

MORE THAN ENOUGH. Omega leaned his large head forward to rest across Terzo's chest.

“What was I even seeing?”

SOMETHING WITHIN YOU ALREADY. SOMETHING YOU NEEDED TO SEE.

“A prophecy?”

NO, A MEMORY. Omega stroked Terzo’s back with a huge hand.

NOW TERZO THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO ASK OF YOU. ONE REQUEST.

“Anything,” Terzo said, wrapping his arm around the ghoul’s head and peppering the sculpted metal hair with kisses. “Anything and I'll get it for you, amore.”

Omega pulled away from him and wiggled his fingers excitedly. THE MINI BEEF WELLINGTONS. THERE HAVE GOT TO BE MORE ROAMING AROUND. I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE FOR SECONDS.

Terzo finally laughed out loud, planting another kiss between the ghoul’s eyes. “I'll move Hell and Earth for you, my ghoul!”

HAVE FUN. I WANT YOU TO HAVE FUN. Omega stood up to full height and gently replaced Terzo’s gloves on his hands.

“The cake will be out soon. They've been making it for days. Six tiers.” Terzo’s face cracked into a wicked grin. “I'm going to bring you the entire top, my love.”

I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY.

“I was quite the little thief in my day,” said Terzo. “Perhaps he's still in there.” Again the shred of memory returned, the feeling of his bare feet and hands on cold, pitted stone, scurrying through the dark, his younger heart hammering with excitement in a much smaller chest. Somewhere.

The ghoul’s moment of bonding must have knocked something loose inside him, something that had been buried for decades.

I'M SURE HE IS, TERZO. Omega rested a heavy hand on Terzo’s head. AND I'D LOVE TO MEET HIM.

NEXT CHAPTER (5)

My AO3 | Tumblr Fic List | My Terzo/Omega Fics

Please reblog! Thanks and have a lovely Solstice season!<3

[candy-crackpot]

I hope this doesn't come off condescending but like I really am stunned and confused over how it became a fanfic trope and fanon that:

- Allen, Apprentice of Cross Marian who canonically sleeps completely naked and starts the day sunbathing nude, was depicted as so "pure and innocent and unassuming" that he was absolutely ignorant of sex or what maiming meant

- Lenalee who at a young age got kidnapped into the notoriously anti-sex, pro-celibacy Vatican's military organisation, who her brother very protectively guards and is consistently shown to be very oblivious to advances, ended up somehow well versed in relationships and sex

- Kanda who can barely stand being around anyone but a select few is a rampaging sex chad who fucked everyone in the Order and has an insatiable libido

[teas-of-trin]

"Camille and Amy are further unsettling because they invert--indeed, weaponize--the violence aimed at them and gain power through the language they have been historically denied. "

"...her motivation in solving the Wind Gap murders is unconsciously linked to this sorrow. Camille's inability to find a home stems from her newfound position as an objective stranger, someone who is not passive and detached, but simultaneously distant and near, indifferent and involved. Despite having belonged to the Wind Gap "group" in her adolescence and her childhood, Camille's external development as an antiheroine now renders her strange...she imports qualities into [the group], which do not and cannot stem from the group itself"

"Camille's acts of self-harm place her in the liminal space between life and death and serve as a physical reminder of her existential uneasiness... Camille's cutting is a safety net...the words cut into Camille's flesh symbolize her fraught relationship with femininity"

"The perpetual links here between self-mutilation, sexual desire, and maternal control speak to anxieties surrounding female otherness, suggesting that the antiheroine-stranger is inextricably and disturbingly tied up with such notions. In crossing these patriarchal boundaries and defying traditional notions of femininity, the antiheroine-stranger remains familiar, rejected, and desired in her transcendence."

"Camille is a variation of Camilla and the Latin name, camillus, meaning noble youth attending at sacrifices, or acolyte. The connections here between the violent sacrificial deaths (of humans and animals) and smothering motherhood further enunciate Camille's outside status, for her very name positions her as involved but detached, distant but near--an attendee or observer, a stranger."

"Amma's fascination with the objectified animals [pigs] hints at her own internalization of patriarchal methods of violence control, which she then internalizes through the act of murder, whereas Camille redirects the violence onto herself. Both methods expose the cyclic nature of patriarchal violence, suggesting that the antiheroine-stranger must either redirect such violence towards others or decide to harm herself, both of which operate as a coping mechanism and method of cathartic expression"

"Amma's violent transition into adulthood holds a mirror to Camille's own traumatic past, but Camille's social exclusion and strangeness are also exacerbated by her significant lack of a physical and symbolic place to call home...[Camille] hated being in Wind Gap, but home held no comfort either, with its "cheap transitory, and mostly uninspired" aesthetic only reinforcing her wandering and nomadic status. Conversely, the family home in Wind Gap is stagnant in its isolation and memories of Marian's death."

"The name of the town itself suggests a transitory place, a space defined by invisible forces, absence, and now, inexplicable crime. Camille's own childhood abuse at the hands of her mother is suggested from the moment she reinhabits her childhood hom, for her dreams begin to confuse memory, fear, and unreality...It is the reconnection of the self with the familiar, transitory space that allows Camille to confront the horror and realities of her past. Further grounding of this dream as symbolic of her own past is Camille's discovery shortly afterwards of Natalie Keene's corpse, found in a physically liminal location...Natalie's body, simultaneously innocent and defiled, speaks to the sexual anxieties surrounding female deviancy, sexual expression, and violence, confronting Camille with her uneasy relationship with her (strange) self and others. The positioning of Natalie's body is also fittingly gendered given that she refutes traditional binary gender performances in her own propensity for violence and her tomboy personality. Viscerally disturbed by the sight of Natalie's body--which is representative of the "utmost abjection--Camille also unknowingly faces the realities of her childhood and witnesses her potential future as a fatal victim of Adora's 'love'".

"Camille's position as a stranger...clouds her ability to find the truth efficiently, yet it also empowers her to find answers eventually."

"Camille unrelentingly confronts the boundary of life and death, actively skirting the borderline to gain a sense of control over her own body and identity...It is only because of her position as a recognizable stranger that Camille is able to confront the truth of her past and expose both Amma's and Adora's crimes."

"...Camille engages with the borderline between life and death as a way of reconciling her inner turmoil...."

-From, "To Start: I Should Never Should Have Been Born": The Antiheroine as Stranger in Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and Gone Girl by Eleanore Gardner

[sweetmage]

WIP WThursday!!

Today we have a little snippet from a dystopian DA2 AU I am working on casually :) Chapter 1 is finished, but I'll begin posting once I have a few more chapters finished and edited.

They'd been shipped in like cargo, a week on a landship then another on a freighter, shivering and starving all for a filthy city that put them out the moment they'd stepped foot in it. No thanks to good ol' uncle Gamlen who'd done away with the assets he had no business handling.

Garrett didn't mind the slums, they weren't exactly living like royalty in Lothering either, but it was the principle of it all. What he hated was rotting in that house with the prick. Every moment spent there was one moment longer his mother and siblings would have to endure.

He much preferred to be out in the streets making ends meet. He didn't mind dirtying his hands if it meant the family would be able to eat. It was hard to think back a few years when the very thought of ending a life might have revolted and terrified him. Mere months in the steel and concrete prison that was Kirkwall had snuffed his innocence out quickly.

He wished there was another way, but you didn't exactly leave the Red Iron after swearing yourself to them.

"That dwarf had better come through," Carver grunted. "Or we're screwed."

"He's screwed, more like. If he likes his teeth where they are he won't cross me." Garrett's fingers flexed around his staff. "I'm not convinced he won't just run off with the money and leave us high and dry," he sighed, shoulders sagging.

"You worry too much, brother. Varric's reliable. Probably," Marian said, leaning in to throw an arm around each of her brothers. "Besides, even if he does screw us, we'll break his knees and take the money back. Then we're still all the better for it. Right?"

"Right," Garrett and Carver said in unison, something that seemed to ruffle both of them.

"I could use a pint," Carver said, shaking his sister off and striding ahead. Waltzing around in the shadows was one thing, but playing sitting ducks as two mages in an unvetted bar was quite another. That seemed Carver's way of saying 'Let's split up' or, more aptly, 'Get out of my face'. Fair enough.

When he turned back to Marian she had her eyes on him, brow arched as though awaiting his move as well.

"I think I'll go check in with Mother. She worries," he said. Marian's face fell a bit, her mouth a thin line. "I take it you have other plans?"

"Varric invited me for a game of Wicked Grace. Winner takes all." She grinned, all teeth and mischief. "Though I suspect Varric wished a word with me. I would like to know more about this 'expedition' he keeps going on about."

Garrett hummed. "If we've any coin left by the time you're through." Marian smacked his shoulder and he winced. Damn, she was strong. "All right, all right. Just be safe. You know how things are here."

"Varric promised he'd call me a cab home. He's a natural at spotting the fake ones."

"There are... fake cabs?"

"You don't hear of them much because if they catch you they'll beat you bloody and steal whatever you have on you if you're lucky. If you're not you'll wake up a factory worker in Orlais. Or worse."

Garrett's brow shot up to his hairline, but Marian just smiled.

"Not funny," he grumbled.

"I'll be careful. You do the same." Marian patted him on the back, giving him a gentle shove towards the road home. "Mother's waiting." Garrett glanced over his shoulder as she headed towards the Hanged Man. He hoped Varric's brother's idea was solid and his cab spotting skills were legitimate. Losing one sister was enough.

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog - HanaCon - 11/05/2024

It has been some time since my last travel blog entry. I can tell this one is shorter as I didn't stay at the con for long (just about 4,5 hours), but still I want to show you some impressions from the small convention.

As announced I wanted to wear the 3rd uniform again, I got new boots, had repaired a bit of damage and got a new wig to wear. Also first time with the Innocence.

As Hannover is just 1hr from here I got ready before I left home completely.

I arrived before the Convention opened, it was their first time so the organisation needs to grow and learn but I think they did a good job.

The location itself is cure and fitting but they were surely overwhelmed by the amount of people that came. You could tell they poured a lot of love into the details here.

As I felt terrible after an uber exhausting week at work I was looking forward to the con but the day it was I had quite hit rock bottom and just aimed to go there for a bit and head home again once I wasn't feeling it anymore. So my goal for now was to at least see a few of the events they had on the schedule.

The first started right after they opened it was a workshop about dynamic poses for Cosplay Photography and that one was surely interesting and I was able to answer questions and discuss, this was really good I like it.

It has been some time since I attended workshops but it was up to a great start.

While I sat in the workshop I noticed someone from the hallway recognized my cosplay and I hoped to see them later on again. Being recognized is the best.

I hopped right into the next one after that which was "Level up your cosplay" in which a lot of information was given about little tricks to enhance your cosplays, like how heavier wigs can be worn better, that a hand steamer can be really helpful and weathering your costume gives more depth.

Sadly I felt how I had trouble to focus more and more, therefore I kinda didn't pay attention at the end and didn't engage as much as in the other workshop.

I decided to enjoy my little lunch snack at that point. I did that outside, here are a few shots from the area around the building:

I went inside again to check the artist alley, the merchant room, the café etc.

The artist alley was quite small as well, about 6 artists were there and some items were already sold out as I went to the workshops first. The merchant room had 4 merchants, then you had a bring & buy (didn't take photos here) and at the 2nd floor there was the café with two more artists and the games area. Also the stage for perfomances. It was quite crowded and I wasn't really into the merch they had, therefore I didn't buy a thing.

I had planned to watch some performances later on but a bunch were around the same time as the workshops so I skipped. They even had a band from Japan for the evening, I had planned to see that too but as said I didn't stay that long.

Back outside I found the cosplayer from before again, to my luck there was only one Valentino from Hazbin Hotel and .... it was the Cross Marian from the Bookfair, now you know why the header image shows a Valentino and an Allen :') we didn't take photos together so I drew us.

We talked a bit about things, I explained how I made the Innocence and we just chatted along about plans for next conventions. Also if you are around me and you say you don't feel well I will start to pamper you, so, yes, Valentino used Tim as cushion. And pls for the love of everything try to drink more at conventions. I just drank a bit too little during the day and already felt it quite hard.

I have to say for the fact I wasn't satisfied with the make up as I left home I ... think the eyebrows came out pretty nice this time.

I went home around 14:40 again, I felt like it was about time. No cosplay photoshooting time time, as you can see ... I have selfies.

And I left my glasses at home which was a bad idea, I would have needed them.

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Two Worlds One Family

Synopsis: Disney and Warners' fights were legendary. For so many years, nobody dared cross these lines, that was until Max Goof and Yakko Warner decide they don't mind crossing the boundaries, especially for Love.

Now married and with 3 kids in toe, they must navigate being a family from 2 Worlds while being One Family.

A/N: Lillian is named after the Matriarch of the Disney family Lillian Disney , Blair is named for Mary Blair, whose legendary art style can be seen still in the Disney Parks,

If not clear Max and Yakko are Adults in this,

.

.

"Blair Warner Goof!" Came the call, she winced as her sister side eyed her, asking

"What did you do now?"

Her twin giving the classic grin, trying to look innocent,

"Oh come on Lillian, you know me"

"Blair!" Came a much more stern voice and she winced sighing getting up

Stepping out of the room her father Max stood there arms crossed Yakko in front hands on his own hips tapping a foot, she giggled out of nervousness

"Hiiii"

"Don't Hi me, Blair Warner-Goof" her father Yakko snipped

Max sighed sounding slightly stressed,

" You're lucky we have Mickey as family, starting a fight with a Cast Member Manager? What were you thinking?"

Blair swallowed, tugging at one of her ears murmuring

"She called me a bootleg and that Papa Max was a traitor to the Disney name"

That deflated the duo, they looked at one another before looking at her,

"Oh Blair, come here."

She traipsed down the stairs, they guided her to the living room her Dad Yakko sitting down and patting beside him, she sat down and he drew her in

"When did you get so big, I swear you and your siblings get taller by the day"

That made her give a small smile as he wrapped an arm around her,

"Why do some humans say Papa is a traitor...I don't get it, it hurts"

Her father sighed,

"Because they can't let sleeping toons lie. Warner and Disney, before us, they didn't cross and they can't let the animosity go,"

She felt another embrace her Lillian had come down and their Papa Max came in with drinks on a tray,

"Grandpa's Coco," he smiled handing them their cups, Blair giggled before a hyuck escaped, getting the others snickering,

"Theres our girl," he sat the tray down, sitting on the opposite side of Lillian,

"Where's Henri?" Blair asked,

"Where do you think?"

The girls broke into laughter, Yakko shaking his head,

"Him and Grandpa Daffy are darn near inseparable,"

Max nodded, before he got a look on his face

"Blair, sweetheart you do know you don't need to stand up for me don't you?"

She tucked into herself,

"Yeah but it ain't right!"

"I know, but I'm sure if you told Uncle Mickey, he'd handle it. I called him and told him what really happened, and he's already handling it. He was more worried that you were okay,"

"I got angry, how dare she say that about us!" Blair actually growled and Max sighed as Lillian snuggled closer to her sister

"I know sweetheart you got that temper from me, that protective streak, I'm not saying it's bad, but you need to realize not throwing the first punch is sometimes better,"

"I bet that Manager is getting yelled at and fired by a very angry Mouse." Yakko stated, making the pair smile,

"Yeahhh, I got a text from Marian asking who angered her Dad at the Parks," Lillian added" "Grabbed his jacket said he'd be back in 15 and had the most angry look on his face,"

"Hell hath no fury like Mickey Mouse protecting his Family Members," Yakko grinned, making them break into laughter

[allen-san]

Seiyuu : Sanae Kobayashi / Ayumu Murase ( 2016 )

Prénom : Allen

Nom : Walker .

Origine : anglaise .

Taille : 1,68 m .

Poids: 58 kg .

Âge : environ 15 ans.

Anniversaire : inconnu .

Groupe sanguin : O .

Objet : il possède un golem nommé Timcanpy que lui a donné Marian Cross ( qui lui appartenait avant ) .

Particularité : Ses yeux sont de couleur Argent-gris-cendre .

Allen est rejeté très tôt par ses parents biologiques à cause de son bras gauche anormal. Il grandit dans la rue seul et effectue des petits boulots pour se nourrir. A 7 ans, il rencontre Mana Walker dans un cirque qui y travaille comme clown. Mana décide de s'occuper de lui et deviendra ainsi son père adoptif. Il le recueil un soir de Noël. Ils voyageront ensemble pendant 3 ans suite à quoi Mana disparaîtra d'un accident de carrosse .( Qui selon des rumeurs aurai était orchestré par le comte ).

Le Comte Millénaire lui demandera alors s'il souhaite ressusciter Mana. En acceptant, Allen le transforme en Akuma et Mana maudit Allen pour ce qu'il a fait. Il le blessera à l'œil gauche ce qui vaudra à Allen sa marque rouge (ainsi que la faculté de voir l'âme des Akuma par cet œil) , quelque jours plus tard ses cheveux devinrent blancs ( brun a l'origine ) à cause de sa tristesse( d'où le proverbe qui dit d'une personne triste ou inquiète qu'elle se fait des cheveux blancs .).

Son Innocence, jusque là inactive, réagira indépendamment de sa volonté et détruira Mana . Après ce tragique accident, il est récupéré par le Général Cross Marian auprès duquel il apprendra le travail d'exorciste. Au départ, il ne souhaite que libérer les Akuma mais au cours du temps il décidera que son bras gauche sert pour les Akuma et son bras droit pour les Humains.

Allen est le seul à pouvoir contrôler la première Arche. Auprès de Mana, il a appris les symboles qui composent la partition de piano, l'instrument étant le cœur de l'Arche pour la déplacer. Selon la prophétie d'Hevlaska, Allen est le « destructeur de temps » et serait le seul à pouvoir tuer le Comte Millénaire. Il est l'héritier de la mémoire du 14e Noah( nommais aussi le "Musicien" ) et risque de finir rongé par l'âme du 14e et devenir un Noah. Jusque là, Allen ne faisait jamais preuve d'une réelle agressivité ou envie de tuer envers les membres du clan Noah sachant qu'ils sont semblables aux humains. Road lui fera remarquer d'ailleurs lors de leur première rencontre qu'il finira seul et détesté de tous.

Du fait de son lien avec le 14e, il est surveillé par Howard Link.

Malédiction : L'Œil maudit

Son œil gauche est noir avec une Pupille formée de cercles concentriques rouges et lui permet de voir l'âme d'un Akuma et de les repérer pour les détruire. Plus tard , lors de sa rencontre avec Krory , celui-ci devient plus puissant car il permet aux exorcistes proches d'Allen de voir également l'âme de l'Akuma. L'œil peut se régénérer s'il est détruit.

Innocence : God Hand ( Main de Dieu ) .

Son Innocence réside dans son bras gauche et c'est une Innocence de type parasite (ou symbiotique), celle-ci est greffée à la place de son bras gauche depuis sa naissance, elle lui donne un aspect desséché et rouge sombre. Elle prend généralement la forme d'une énorme griffe argentée qui découpe de l'Akuma (technique de « Cross Grave »). Elle peut également se transformer en une épée d'énergie pure ou en canon gatling qui tire des balles d'énergie en rafale . Elle peut se modifier afin d'être uniquement constituée d'énergie pure. De plus, l'œil d'Allen évolue afin de pouvoir distinguer plus d'Akuma simultanément, plus vite et plus loin.

Évolution de l'Innocence : Crown Clown

Après avoir perdu son Innocence suite à sa rencontre avec Tyki Mikk, il pourra la récupérer car elle se sera implantée directement dans son cœur, chose inédite, même pour une arme de type symbiotique. Son taux de synchronisation est meilleur et son bras s'intégrera mieux à son corps. Lorsque nôtre héros dépasse les 100 % de synchronisation , son bras se transforme en une épée blanche et or semblable à celle du Comte

[ladystrallan]

Once Upon a Time season 4B thoughts

I’m rewatching OUAT and I wanted to share some of my opinions on each season!

- I think the life she always wanted was for you to not be evil

- Camelot mention

- Okay that’s actually kinda nice

- Rumbelle travelling together would be so cute

- Robin… stop brooding and get a DIVORCE

- When is Marian Zelena? Waiting for my girl to come back

- Wow that’s cool of Marian

- Still annoying though

- Yeah… don’t call me grandma

- A dalmatian… Cruella?

- Oh no she got kidnapped!

- Bye Robin lol

- You kidnap my girl, you will die

- “Why do you care about me?” “… I don’t” HE WAS GOING TO SAY I LOVE YOU

- Rumple getting exposed…

- This is making me so anxious omg

- Oooh belle with the dagger

- Omg she’s gonna command him to cross

- “Your true love is power” omg nooooo

- This is DEVASTATING

- NOOOOOOOOO

- I’M CRYING THIS IS SO SAD

- “Everyone deserves their happy ending” except rumple apparently

- I LOVE this interpretation of Cruella!

- Her animal control powers are so cool and I love the green smoke like in her movie

- Regina is mayor again… don’t know how that happened

- What if… I don’t want them to be released

- Her name in the land without magic is still Cruella??? Isn’t that suspicious?

- Get in loser, we’re going to storybrooke

- Not the drive thru…

- She taped the picture back together… can’t she just magic it back together?

- Is that chernabog?

- He also used to give me nightmares

- Loving all the fantasia content this season

- “Is there a dwarf called Evilly?” Lol

- IT WAS GOING AFTER EMMA

- The charmings have a juicy secret

- Cruella’s matching phone case… iconic

- “Is there a problem sheriff chiseled chin?” Lol

- WHAT DID HOOK DO???

- Ooh maleficent is pregnant! (I remember that lily is her daughter)

- Omg the rattle

- Maleficent’s modern outfits are so slay

- She has a similar style to Zelena

- Since when was there a train in storybrooke??? It has to be in the town lines obviously

- Using a sleeping curse concoction to get high lol

- Did young regina borrow one of rumple’s outfits? It looks like it

- OMG IT WAS RUMPLE

- Rumple is going to beat up will so hard lol

- Noooooo I hate there not being Rumbelle

- YASSSS August is back!

- Ursula has the exact same backstory as Ariel

- But I do like the idea that she used to be a mermaid

- I have a feeling that’s not actually Robin

- Oh it was a dream

- Sometimes the cgi in this show is downright scary

- Not the growing nose

- Loving these villain backstories

- Awwww Ursula redemption

- “It’s you” AWWWWWWW

- I love captainswan

- Omg young emma ripping snow’s heart out

- Ooh they’re setting up the dark swan arc

- THATS THE AUTHOR (I remember him)

- Ugh I hate Isaac

- That’s actually so sinister (the charmings stealing maleficent’s baby)

- And to ‘ensure Emma’s goodness’

- Like maybe just raise her right???

- Rumple stop being evil I’m begging you

- Oh that’s how ursula and cruella ended up in TLWM

- I LOVE WALT DISNEY BEING AN AUTHOR

- Kinda ironic that the thief gets stolen from

- Not the taxes

- “If this is new york I’d hate to see the old one” lol

- Not rumple having a heart attack…

- OZ MENTION

- Hopefully this means my girl Zelena is coming back soon

- “That’s not the marian I know” foreshadowing

- YASSSSS ZELENA IS SO SLAY

- Even when she’s threatening rumple

- Her plan to disguise herself as marian is 10/10

- She’s so smart

- Not Cruella’s mom using dalmatians to threaten her

- Fun fact about me is that I don’t like dogs at all (I’m a cat person)

- Cruella being able to control maleficent as a dragon is so cool

- EX HUSBAND???

- Noooooo rumbelle should still be together

- YASSSS THEY KISSED

- not Will…

- NOOOOO IT WAS REGINA CONTROLLING HER

- Regina literally stop

- You’re supposed to be redeemed but you’re literally leveraging belle (who is innocent) against rumple

- Doesn’t seem like a very heroic thing to do

- “I know a nice quiet spot where we can… talk” seems a little serial killer-y

- All the little details in this show are perfection

- Like Cruella’s favourite song being the Cruella de Vil song from the movie

- FaceTime ransom

- Ooh emma doesn’t trust her parents

- Noooooo not the mom

- Ohhhhh yikes backstory

- I like how they sympathized/redeemed Ursula and Maleficent but when they got to Cruella they were like nope she’s just a psychopath

- Emma’s going dark omg just about to punch that guy

- Ooh rumple is going to beat will’s ass

- “Alright scrappy” lol

- SHE LIED

- Emma should have mentioned that she knows her birth mother

- Nooooo that is so sad that Emma never got a good family as a kid

- She got copped out so many times (Ingrid, these people)

- Nooooo rumple saying will is going to protect belle’s heart

- I NEED THEM BACK TOGETHER ASAP

- Okay the fact that Zelena tricked Robin into getting her pregnant is very yikes

- Yikes I forgot Regina sterilized herself

- THE HEROES AND VILLAINS BOOK

- The ogres are back!

- I love hero!rumple

- Would he be called ‘the light one’???

- “Come on Henry please be dead” lol

- Isaac is literally so stupid he can’t even remember the story that HE WROTE

- “Hi ho boys, it’s off to work we go” that sounds so funny when you say it ominously

- Villain!snow >>> hero!regina

- I said what I said

- Omg Snow actually being in love with James???

- LOL ZELENA BEING ROBIN’S FIANCÉE

- I just noticed charming’s guyliner lol

- He is called the light one!!!

- THE CHIPPED CUP

- I love a good stop the wedding plot

- OMG SHE’S TURNING GREEN AGAIN

- “I don’t love Will” YASSSSS

- KISS HIM BELLE

- Aaaaaaaa I hate stuff with black eyes

- Ooh dark swan set up

How I feel about the characters this season

Love: Zelena, Hook, Emma

Like: Cruella, Belle, Ursula, Maleficent, August

Neutral: Rumple (it pains me to put him here), Lily, David, Snow, Henry, The Apprentice, Will Scarlet

Dislike: Regina, Robin

Hate: Isaac

Season rating: 6/10

I really like Cruella, Ursula, and Maleficent! I think the writers made really cool interpretations of their characters. I was not a fan of Rumbelle not being together, Regina and Robin getting a lot of focus, and Isaac. I HATE ISAAC. The season was pretty engaging though. Probably would have rated it lower if not for the villain girlboss trio (and Zelena).

[bookobsessed1412]

Homestuck/D. Gray-Man idea

This is basically Allen has DID/MPD.

The alpha and beta kids (and maybe the trolls) find themselves (reincarnated?) in the body of Allen Walker. Not sharing a body. They actually are Allen Walker.

They wake up one day as little Allen, years before being given the name Allen, with their powers being mostly sealed(they still have access to the more minor things, like Dave’s perfect sense of time, and stuff like that, but can’t do anything more than that), and maybe their memories sealed too, so they only remember their names and their relation with each other, and their classpects, and the things they know, but they don’t have access to the memories connected to everything. Perhaps the reason for the sealed memories is the fact that they have the soul of Neah with them in their body as a guest. One that’s sleeping most the time. Anyways, Neah’s more than a normal mortal but his soul still isn’t truly capable of being housed in the same body as a bunch of deities without getting burned or something so they seal their powers, which also happens to seal their memories. Also, the whole thing with ‘resurrecting’ Mana and Mana cursing them allows them to take his soul into their body as well, which helps stabilize the sanity of both Neah and Mana.

So they learn to sorta merge their minds to the point that they can all control the body at once without fighting over what to do or say. They only do it about half the time, but it’s still something they do. And they can’t pick a collective name for their body, because like hell their going to go by the so-called ‘names’ that others call them. Going back and forth between the streets and the circus because the streets mean less abuse but also less food. And of course Mana meets them and then names them Allen and they grow to like him enough that they accept it. Mana adopts them, the accident happens, they awaken the innocence (maybe they can communicate with the innocence too), they get taken in by Marian Cross (Cross Marian?).

This whole idea started with a whole summoned deity ‘why have you summoned me’ scene but it’s just Allen being interrogated or tortured by the order, until suddenly he’s glowing and got godtier clothes (that don’t just look like glorified pajamas) and multicolored eyes and literally sounds like multiple people all speaking at once, and any other god-like effects you can think of, and it’s more of a ‘we have been awakened before the right time’ or ‘you dare to mess with our seal’ or something like that. And then there’s a bright green light and Allen is just gone.

[talonisputi]

Jumputi Series #19: D-Gray Man

A manga written and illustrated by Katsura Hoshino.

Synopsis: The story of a young man named Allen Walker who joins an organization of exorcists known as The Black Order. They search for and use an ancient substance known as Innocence to battle demons of the Noah Family.

Characters:

Allen Walker - A young man who became an exorcist of the Black Order following years of training by Cross Marian. He was adopted by Mana Walker at the age of seven, who would die three years later. Following Mana's death, Allen turned him into an Akuma. Mana would curse Allen by slicing his left eye, giving him an ability to detect disguised Akuma. At this moment Allen's left-arm would also awaken as an Anti-Akuma weapon.

Yu Kanda - An exorcist of the Black Order, he uses a samurai sword with Innocence sealed within it to hunt Akuma. Kanda tends to be a lone wolf who doesn't really communicate well with many others.

Lenalee Lee - A young woman who was taken from her brother at a young age. After many failed attempts to escape a forced stay at the Order, Lenalee had a mental breakdown from stress and had to be kept restrained. Not long after, her brother joins the Order and helps her to think of it as her family.

Cross Marian - Is an exorcist and General of the Black Order who trained Allen to be an exorcist. He is notorious for disappearing for long periods of time. a man who loves to gamble and drink. When he gambles, he makes extravagant bets and, if he loses, he never pays, leaving Allen or someone else to do so. He loves very few things: women, wine, money and beautiful things.

Lavi -An Exorcist and member of the European Branch of the Black Order, He is one of only a few people to refer to Kanda by his first name, though often nearly gets killed for it.

Arystar Krory III - He is an Exorcist and member of the European Branch of the Black Order. A baron by birth, he spent a large portion of his life hidden in his grandfather's castle, He was lovers with an Akuma whom he eventually had to kill.

Alma Karma - A former Exorcist of the Black Order, a Second Exorcist, and the "First Womb" of the Third Exorcist Program. 

Millenium Earl - He heads the Clan of Noah and has existed for 7,000 years. The Earl tricks people who mourn for their dead friends or relatives into resurrecting them, and turns them into Akuma: weapons which consume human bodies and follow his orders.

This series was in the game at launch.

[mannatea]

"Leaving us so early, magician? The men will be sorry they missed you." He turned and saw Molly Grue leaning against a tree. Dress and dirty hair tattered alike, bare feet bleeding and beslimed, she gave him a bat's grin. "Surprise," she said. "It's Maid Marian."

Then she saw the unicorn. She neither moved nor spoke, but her tawny eyes were suddenly big with tears. For a long moment she did not move; then each fist seized a handful of her hem, and she warped her knees into a kind of trembling crouch. Her ankles were crossed and her eyes were lowered, but for all that it took Schmendrick another moment to realize that Molly Grue was curtsying.

He burst out laughing, and Molly sprang up, red from hairline to throat-hollow. "Where have you been?" she cried. "Damn you, where have you been?" She took a few steps toward Schmendrick, but she was looking beyond him, at the unicorn.

When she tried to get by, the magician stood in her way. "You don't talk like that," he told her, still uncertain that Molly had recognized the unicorn. "Don't you know how to behave, woman? You don't curtsy, either."

But Molly pushed him aside and went up to the unicorn, scolding her as though she were a strayed milk cow. "Where have you been?" Before the whiteness and the shining horn, Molly shrank to a shrilling beetle, but this time it was the unicorn's old dark eyes that looked down.

"I am here now," she said at last.

Molly laughed with her lips flat. "And what good is it to me that you're here now? Where were you twenty years ago, ten years ago? How dare you, how dare you come to me now, when I am this?" With a flap of her hand she summed herself up: barren face, desert eyes, and yellowing heart. "I wish you had never come, why do you come now?" The tears began to slide down the sides of her nose.

The unicorn made no reply, and Schmendrick said, "She is the last. She is the last unicorn in the world."

"She would be." Molly sniffed. "It would be the last unicorn in the world that came to Molly Grue." She reached up then to lay her hand on the unicorn's cheek; but both of them flinched a little, and the touch came to rest on the swift, shivering place under the jaw. Molly said, "It's all right. I forgive you."

"Unicorns are not to be forgiven." The magician felt himself growing giddy with jealousy, not only of the touch but of something like a secret that was moving between Molly and the unicorn. "Unicorns are for beginnings," he said, "for innocence and purity, for newness. Unicorns are for young girls."

Molly was stroking the unicorn's throat as timidly as though she were blind. She dried her grimy tears on the white mane. "You don't know much about unicorns," she said.

—The Last Unicorn, Ch VI Peter S. Beagle

“She’s the last unicorn in the world.” “It would be the last unicorn in the world that came to Molly Grue.”

The Last Unicorn (1982) dir. Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.

[teas-of-trin]

“Sharp Objects uses the mystery around the story of dead girls to dive deeply into the psychology of motherhood, and the entrapment of female characters in cycles of violence and their own traumatic family history—a history that repeats itself again and again in persistent yet futile attempts to resolve the childhood trauma perpetuated by the malevolent mother.”

“In Sharp Objects Flynn situates violence by and against women against the trauma and dysfunctionality of a matriarchal family.”

“There are two parallel stories of dead girls in the novel, the killing of… Natalie and Ann… [and] the mysterious death of Marian, Adora’s daughter….This meeting point between violence, trauma, and the female body points to a larger discourse that delineates the missing/dead female narrative and underlines a common culture “of the atrocity exhibition, in which people wear their damage like badges of identity, or fashion accessories.””

“Flynn also twists the dead girl victim narrative often found in crime fiction by shedding light on her complex female characters who often cross the line from victimhood to transgression and criminality. Sharp Objectsthus paints dark and disagreeable images of the mother as well as her daughters, who are both victims and perpetrators of violence.”

“Adora’s diary entry after Marian died shows this intense obsession with her daughter and death itself: “Marian is dead. I couldn’t stop. I’ve lost twelve pounds and am skin and bones. Everyone’s been incredible kind.”…In contrast, Camille recalls her mother’s neglect and coldness towards her, which seemingly shaped her upbringing and her mental state…Adora’s open admission of hate towards her own child can be viewed in light of the mother’s mental state and the broken mother-daughter relationship.”

“Camille is shown to suffer from a severe trauma after repressing a lot of painful memories from her childhood, especially the trauma of losing her sister Marian at the hand of their mother. The narrative illustrates the failure of processing her trauma; Camille is painted by her past and her pain is literally painted on her body…Camille embodies words literally and the words on her body become her main narrative, a vehicle for whatever attempts to escape language and expression—her trauma.”

“Adora needs to be at the center of her daughter’s lives and assume control over them to the point of suffocation and death. She seeks attention and love from her daughters but she takes loving and caring for her children to the extreme. What Camille describes as her mother’s “voraciousness about children” is not separate form the violence and control that she exhibits.”

“While Camille rebels, Amma plays along with her mother, she lets her mother give her the medication that makes her sick yet she also revels in the attention she is given.”

“Throughout the story Camille is presented as a puzzle; she is full of conflicting feelings towards her mother, her family, and even the whole town. She refuses to end up like her sister Marian, another “dead girl”, and turns her pain, anger, and frustration towards her mother inwards. Her body is a full canvas of her traumatic past, while it also speaks to the present…”

“Adora is “a girl-woman who occupies an ambiguous space between appearances of innocence and expressions”, while Amma oscillates between the roles of a child victim and a ruthless killer.”

“The sexualization of the child exposes the dysfunctional family and the harm that Amma suffers under her mother’s hand, but it also reveals the doubling in her personality. The two faces of Amma—a child and an oversexualized girl—disclose the fissure in her psyche and the trauma that lies behind her dissociative behavior. It is the trauma of being a victim of her mother’s constant manipulation, which is soon translated into violence.”

“…the temporal fluidity in Flynn’s story shows how the female characters navigate their reality. The story moves smoothly between the past and present, which creates more tension around the murder mystery of the two dead girls, and at the same time underlines the trauma and the complex family history of the female characters. She demystifies and resolves the mystery of the murders and brings attention to the conflicting facets of femininity, victimhood, and power.”

“…in presenting “a lineage of disturbed women,” Sharp Objects focuses on femininity in a display that reveals a tension between public “performance” and “private deviance.” Femininity in the novel is closely related to criminality and monstrosity…Although Adora’s daughters are victims of their mother’s MBP…the novel also suggests that there is a mirroring between the mother and her daughters. Flynn establishes Amma as a “monstrous double of the mother,” as both Amma and Adora killed girls, while Amma herself is the product of her mother’s abusive upbringing. This complicates the demarcation lines between victimhood and criminality on the one hand, and victimhood and agency on the other.”

“Through a family full of dysfunction and destruction, Flynn brings to the fore the origin of female monstrosity and dissects the inner workings of femininity and motherhood in this narrative. The story reveals generational hatred and damage in the family structure.”

-From Monstrous Mothers and Dead Girls in Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and Gone Girl by Maysaa Jaber [Part 2]

[bluejay1624]

Ok so please hear me out.

We know how before becoming an exorcist Cross was a scientist and is well versed in magic and uses it to control the corpse of an exorcist who we know as Maria dus having a second innocence called Grave of Maria, but we don't know why. Like did Cross know Maria before she died? Was it just coincident and he thought she'd be useful? Were they lovers and he just couldn't part with her?

Well what if Maria was actually his older sister and the only family he had left and after she was found out to be an accommodator and taken to the Order, Cross joined the Science Division to be with her. They had a very deep sibling bond and after she died Cross just couldn't let her go and used magic (as we know he can use it) to keep his beloved sister by his side.

This would make sense and also explain his fondness for the Lee siblings especially Lenalee, since they're in pretty much the same situation and why he hates being at the Order so much. This also could be one of the reasons he decided to help Nea in his plans. After seeing Nea doing everything he can to protect Mana from the Noah and the Earl, it made him think of how he wanted to protect Maria but couldn't and the sentiment was part of why he teamed up with Nea (Apart from the obvious that this whole Mana and Nea thing being a global life or death situatiaon.) Also explains why he isn't too happy about it since Nea, is kinda part of the reason why his sister died.

Like it's all just my theory bbbuuttttt.....It does make sense.