#as here obviously the symbolism for accepting would not be self sacrifice

[fipindustries]

Honestly the more i think about it the more unsatisfied i am with jinx death, both in a conceptual and execution sense.

First i just dont think it fits well with her character arc. Shes self destructive and filled with selfloathing because she sees herself as a poison, a jinx, only capable of destruction, and more specifically only capable of ruining the lives of people she cares about.

Problem is this is obviously wrong, to act like this perspective is right would be to say that vi was right when she rejected her after vanders death in season 1, it would be to say that silco was right when he raised her to be a weapon of destruction. And furthermore, this is proven wrong in season 2 when its shown that she can be a symbol of hope for zaun, when she reunites vi with vander, when she takes care of isha. Is shown preety decisevly that she is capable if changing, of getting better, of helping, of being loved and valued for who she is. She then backslides harder than ever into self destruction after ishas sacrifice (which was later proven to be pointless) but if ishas self sacrifice for the sake of killing vander was ultimatly a horrible tragedy and a futile action, how does it make sense for then to be a good choice when jinx does it herself later? The idea that she is inly bad for vi doesnt stand, vi has firgiven her, she wants her back into her life, she trusts her and we see them fighting side by side

If we had seen a jinx who only got worse and worse as a person, who kept choosing again and again to go deeper into bad paths, who demonstrated to be so fundamentally broken as a person there was no hope of her changing for the better then i could see a story where her self sacrificing in warranted.

But as it stands clearly the completion of the arc here was jinx learning to choose life, to forgive herself, to accept that she is not a jinx like the world insisted that she was, to recognize the worth the show clearly showed us she has for others and for herself. to stay and help build rather than thinking shes just good for destroying.

Ekko himself has to show up to save her from herself and let her know that she can still help, apparently that help was dying at the right time.

On top of all that the death was really contrived, oh it just so happened that vi and vander fall on the unstable ledge away from jinx, by pure serendipity, not really determined by any of the choices of the characters, it just so happened that the only way out of this arbitrary situation was for jinx to self sacrifice. A completly conyrived situation by the writers who just wanted at all cost to have the tragic ending where jinx dies.

Also this all happens sort of completly disconnected from the main plot which has already been resolved without them contributing or participating in it.

Not good

[vibinginthedreamlands]

Another craft shirt painting! This one isn't an older one, admittedly. It's actually my newest. I spent a while working on the concept and hands and I'm rather proud of it, as well as just a really big fan of the source material.

Malevolent episode 43 chewed me up and then spat me back out so it's only fitting that I would have a collection of art ideas for it.

This one is based off of John's line when he's scared Arthur will truly and finally die: "Not like this."

Excuse the photo quality, I had to take it at a weird angle because of my light source.

Below the cut is just going to be a detail breakdown of it because I love symbolism and other such silliness.

So obviously we've got Arthur' heart, the thing that, if I'm being honest in my perception at least, John absolutely covets and in this image is attempting to protect. He's a little to late though.

Mostly! The Witches Rapier is going through the heart of the man he loves but if you see there are the other two items.

The one on the left is the speared tale of the creature in the Mines in the middle of season 3. John will not be in time to block this attack either but his hand still reaches out and is ready to provide aid and save his friend. (Some what representating the distance and disconnect between them in this season, after John's absence, Arthur's darkening morals, and John's greater lean toward personal morality.)

The one on the right is Kayne's dagger, the weapon Arthur used to try and kill himself with as to evade the King in Yellow. For this, John's hands are already around Arthur's heart (this being the same interaction where Arthur first admitted to loving John and therefore he has no need to yearn, for the man's heart is already his). In spite of this the dagger will either slip past his fingers or pierce through his flesh and still harm his friend, the same way John's sacrifice to the King did not negate the harm already done or that Arthur himself would inflict. But it matters. It matters that John defends him and in the end it will do him enough good that he survives long enough to broker a deal with the owner of that near fatal weapon.

The Rapier itself struck high and struck true, already having completed its gruesome deed long before John's hands even had a chance to move. And yet he reaches, hopes, strives to defend a dead man from harm even still.

Speaking of John's hands. There are two of them. This is obviously for piece symmatry but also I decided to personalize them as well.

I lean more toward the headcanon that John, if granted a physical body, would be POC.

For outlining the hands I used gold, *his* color as well as something that both compliments his skin tone and, imagery wise, contrasts against the slew of silver weapons leveled against them.

You, if anyone makes it down here, may have noticed that his pinky is an entirely different skin tone. That is correct and intentional! I've got a fun Lil headcanon that if John ever gets a body, specifically in some kind of ritual, he and Arthur would split ownership of their scars. So Arthur would have the cut on his throat as that was self inflicted, but John might have the gouge in his stomach because he was the one who sewed it up. With the pinky, Arthur wouldn't lose his wooden one, but because it happened *to* John, by Arthur, and as a shared decision, John's own pinky would be lighter, closer to scar tissue or Arthur's own skin color. This way they both have an off pinky in a way that matches, differs, and compliments.

Finally, I just picked the color yellow for his lettering. I thought about gold, because again, his color, but I didn't think it would stand out against the red enough (though the yellow might be a bit much itself lol). Additionally, because in 43 he tries to protect Arthur by calling up his KiY roots and the episode culminates in him accepting himself for who he is and wants to be, and allowing himself grace and full range of identity.

Anyways that's a lot for a 2" by 2" painting on a t-shirt but I enjoyed it and wanted to get the work and thoughts out there. If anyone made it this far, thanks! I hope you enjoyed my over analysis of my own work and thoughts on Harlan Guthrie's fabulous podcast lol.

I'll be painting more for sure and posting older pieces intermittently so there are going to be more of these in the world eventually.

[draconixiaa]

dream's mask and symbolism

recently (or rather, some time ago, at this point) i saw a post on the symbolism over dreams mask but i felt awkward just putting my own opinions on a reblog so my spiel will appear here:

the purpose of a mask is to hide and/protect someone's face, whether it be about identity, physical image, or safety during a pandemic. thus, a person using a mask has something to protect: usually one of the three aforementioned concepts.

the mask: whole

cdream, his skin, obviously does not have a mask, but the characterization of him having a mask originates from cc!dream's facelessness. the popularity of that concept made it so that it is popularly accepted that cdream dons a mask wherever he goes, and the fact that his skin does not change much throughout the majority of the server also helps in the wide acceptance of this theme.

therefore, we establish that cdream wears a mask throughout the majority of the dsmp, up to ctommy unmasking dream during his disc confrontation and cquackity doing the same in prison, and then also after the prison arc until the very final lore stream.

physical image

cdream hiding his face means that he has something to hide & protect, and in literal terms, this would be his physical image. when someone wears a full face mask, no one would be able to know what they truly look like, and this gives them an element of mysteriousness, and in cdream's case with the simplicity of his mask, allows him to be even more terrifying. this also leads to my second point: by hiding his physical image, no one would be able to see how his appearance changes over the course of the storyline.

characterization

cdream's character changes drastically throughout the storyline of not just the disc saga but also with l'manburg/manburg/pogtopia/etc and the prison arc. he begins with pure intentions, ends with the same intentions, but all throughout, his method of reaching his ultimate goal changes: from manipulation, to war, destruction, and self-sacrifice, etc, etc. he becomes more and more desperate, more and more willing to do whatever he can to achieve his goal. he also initially refutes that he is a villain, but then changes to embrace that role more and more.

meanwhile, cdream is wearing a mask. his physical appearance does not change much; people are able to keep on easily believing that cdream is a powerful and ruthless character without much emotions. oh right, masks also hides someone's faces. literally and figuratively, as he further embraces his role as a villain, cdream dons a physical mask and a verbal one to distance himself from the server to be seen as such an evil character.

this image of a powerful and evil character is what the masks does for cdream. he (or this image of him) is everlasting, almost like a higher being, and a malicious one at that.

characterization II

but, in all truth, cdream is very vulnerable. for as much as he claims that he has destroyed his attachments, these very feelings of protection and homeliness are what drives him to do what he says and does, especially as revealed during the dsmp finale. he changes so much behind that mask.

the mask: destroyed

as mentioned above, this occurs arguably on two occasions: the disc confrontation or also in prison. both have similar but also different implications.

disc confrontation

it is at this finale that ctommy gets his moment; he shines by breaking away cdream's protective shell and getting his rightful vengeance by killing him twice before sending him to prison. he pressures cdream with the presence of the server to take off all of his armor, and proceeds to kill him. for some fans, the armor represents cdream's mask-- particularly the helmet-- since he is always seen with his armor on in the server. as is with almost every other pvp-oriented person on the server, but ive digressed. taking off the armor is part of taking off that which is hiding what is inside cdream: his physical body, and his well-being. perhaps in the scene where he is compelled to throw his armor into the hole is part of him letting go of his image of a tyrant, but personally, i'd disagree, since the disc confrontation was all planned and organized by cdream; the armor, perhaps, is just the first layer.

the confrontation was all supposed to be under control-- his control. the armor and hole scene, cdream probably would've predicted; he went along with ctommys commands without much resistance, and honestly, this moment is just as symbolic to ctommy as cdream. just as cdream is pretending to let go of his image, or his powerful image is forcefully shoved off of him: ctommy is doing to cdream what he did to ctommy. this is the retribution of the golden rule: treat others how you'd want them to treat you. just as how cdream stripped ctommy bare of all his friends and protection in exile, thus also ctommy to cdream of his items and the power that he held from having them, including both the advantage in pvp and his frightening image. dream probably knew this was going to happen, since thats what you do when you want to kill someone. but, after the armor and the hole scene, ctommy kills cdream-- once, which was alright, fine, he also knew this was going to happen, and then twice. by the time he came back after his first death, cdream was screaming for mercy.

the cdream deaths are also widely interpreted as him losing his mask. or at the very least, it cracks. maybe ctommy was merciful enough to leave the last bit on, or maybe it was all shaken off as cdream begged and pleaded to be let to live-- and then the reveal of the revive book in his hands. but before that, when cdream was being killed: this is the physical shaking off of his very precious lives, the two extra chances he has at living, something preciously irreplaceable. thus, cdream realizes that the situation is spiraling out of control. he has to time this very well, between satisfying ctommy's anger and the reveal of the revive book, as well as his life. this is a gamble on his life. at that moment, cdream is showing his own true desperation, freed from his mask out of fear of death, freed from his mask by ctommy (the very person he sought to control, and the very person seeking to destroy him). look at the irony!

prison & cquackity

perhaps the mask also represents the control the cdream believes that he has over his surroundings. in the prison, cdream is either maskless (going with the above scenario), or half-masked (for cquackity to finish destroying).

either way, cdream's maskless-ness represents how he has no protection, no outer image, nil, none. this protection manifests itself in cdreams mind as the perceived control he has over situations because of the image he believes he has created for himself, because with this villainy, he can control the movements and actions of others. in the prison, though, when he is fully unmasked, he is all open for his visitors to see and tear open and look for themselves: who cdream truly is. maybe this is a good thing, that people will be able to see his true self-- not a villain, but a man with hopes and dreams. thus, when cquackity comes around, what he does is tear cdream, already unmasked, further apart. there is no more armor to protect him, and inside the prison, all thats left of cdream is his real body, and his real mind. and by real i mean unmasked, and not faked.

i like the other interpretation better though: that cdream goes into the prison half-masked. he still has a semblance of control, because he has punz, and technoblade, right? he planned for himself to go to prison... but what he didn't plan for was cquackity's deal with the warden. this is when he loses the rest of his mask, because this is when he loses complete control over not just the situation, but what happens to his own body, and he also can no longer influence other people, because he has no more power. he's being starved, tortured, and confined in a box with no escape nor contact with anything outside the prison; when cquackity comes, csam shuts down the ability for anyone else other than cquackity to visit cdream. so this, the point when he loses the rest of his physical mask is the same as the point when loses the rest of anything, any thing else that he could possibly have control over.

the mask: re-made

after prison, what does cdream do?

cdream gets his armor again, and he puts his mask back on. this mask physically and symbolically hides the effects of the prison on his being: the scars of both the body and the mind. he goes back to being powerful, being a big bad end-game boss, hiding in his mighty prison of which no longer traps him but is his safe place (a whole analysis post on the prison can be made holy) but also to others, the evil villain's lair... cdream resumes his status quo from before the prison. but, he is Not Alright underneath the mask-- but who can tell? who would want to tell, and try to see underneath the mask?

because on the server, there aren't many people who are willing to uncover the mask that cdream has laid over himself, the act that he puts on to be a villain in order to achieve his goals. part of the reason why cdream's 'mask' never gets 'taken off' is because no one cares enough about the true him-- and funnily enough, the only four/five people on the server are: cpunz, ctechnoblade, ctommy, and cquackity. and chbomb lmao. but thats besides the point: half of the people care about his "true self" because they are friends and close allies, while the other half want to reveal it to be able to hurt and destroy him. everyone else only think too shallowly about him: to them, cdream is an evil character harboring evil intentions, and thus the reasons behind said intentions are also similarly evil-- because they need a face to despise.

but its important to note that it isnt just cdream aiming to make himself a villain; it is everyone else as much as he. it's like a negative feedback loop, and i also want to point out that it was all started by cwilbur, who was the first to antagonize cdream as a major villain.

so, both during and after the prison, this feedback loop is why the villainous image of cdream persists. during the disc confrontation, all that happened was that the people were shown that cdream is not strong but weak. yet, just because he's now weak and defeated doesn't mean that the shadow of his villainy won't haunt him or the other uninvolved server members.

the mask: the end

at the very last stream, what is known as the dsmp finale between cdream and ctommy: something shifts. at the very end of the stream, after they argue and argue and argue, trying to get the moral upper hand, tommy trying to gain sympathy, displaying to the world all their differences and oppositions as if they can never, ever agree... ctommy gets killed in the heat of the argument. he gets revived. and he undergoes a revelation.

here, ctommy is very crucial to the moment because he gets dream to take off his helmet, which, in that moment, likely represents cdream's mask. because it is only after that moment that cdream starts talking about the real reasons why he's doing stuff, that he wants everyone to be a happy family, just like how he did privately to punz on the night after the butcher army. here, cdream starts being genuine; he asks: "is it not too late?" to his greatest nemesis.

here, the mask represents all the false narratives that he put forth, and perhaps all the sins that came along with them, and it reveals him: he who did evil for the sake of good, he who sold his soul for the world, he who told his friends, showed his friends, that he is evil-- for the sake of all of his friends and their friendship. it reveals him, as a man, his true face and physical appearance, taking off a bit of the armor that protects him.

this moment where cdream takes off his mask and starts asking if its possible for change is a culmination of cdream and ctommy's character: mutual understanding and hope.

the mask is like a wall that prevents cdream from seeing eye-to-eye with anyone, from reaching mutual understanding from anyone (except for cpunz ig, who supports him no matter how evil he is). by getting cdream to taking off the mask, he gets cdream to reveal the truth, but also understand that there is hope for the future. a better future.

(we dont talk about the nuke)

cdream personally taking off his mask during this time also directly contrasts with how ctommy and cquackity forcibly takes it off of him. there, they are removing the illusion of control cdream has-- to the people of dsmp, and then to cdream himself; yet, despite having everything taken away from him, he still holds close to his heart his ultimate goals. but, at the nuke finale, it is cdream deciding to reveal his thoughts and feelings himself, and this is crucial to his character's growth. even with all his armor on and cpunz is with him, he takes off his mask, his emotional barrier of sorts, to be able to tell the truth: his truth.

Conclusion

cdream's mask has been crucial to his characterization throughout the different arcs and storylines. while in physical depictions, it is an object that hides and protects one's physical appearance, it also affects the image of his character by providing an element of mystery and notoriety.

through the disc confrontation with ctommy and the torture cdream experienced by the hands of cquackity and csam, we can see them forcibly remove cdream's mask and do away with whatever semblance of power and control cdream has-- both over the people of the server, as well as cdream himself.

when cdream returns from the prison, it's as if nothing had changed; this is because of how established his image already is, and this emphasizes his loneliness (with the exception of cpunz) and continues to cast shadows on the rest of the smp.

finally, in the dsmp nuke finale, cdream ultimately decides to take of his mask on his own and reveals his intentions, displaying strong character development and hope.

tldr: the mask protects cdream, assists in his spiral to evil, and is also a tool used to represent changes in his characterization and his situation.

[bpd-shuichi-togo]

anyways maria redux.

something something - maria's reluctance to accept help from others- a prominent character trait here that i think diverges from canon- comes in part from guilt over the og maria's death, feeling as though she was part of the burden maria died trying to bear, and in part of out resentment for her death, for the world that left that woman to bear every burden alone, and the offers of help that only come after she lost what mattered most. i think it would add some depth to maria's character and her dedication to the first maria's ideals if she still had some bitterness and anger at her core - at some point, zazzle dazzle (gently) confronts her on her reluctance to accept help, asking her if this is what she thinks the first maria's love was- a burdensome obligation, rather than something she took joy in? shutting out those who want to connect with her to suffer in solitude? simply a pretense for punishing herself? is this what she thinks that woman would have wanted for her? maria answers no and finally allows herself to just cry over the loss - by the end of the chapter she's trying to be more open with/willing to rely on others, and less quick to take on burdens that are obviously detrimental to her- at least, not on her own

thinking that like. the first maria had long hair, so after her death maria wore her hair long up until she learns in chapter four that she doesn't have to- and shouldn't- completely sacrifice Her Self to ensure that maria's ideals live on, and cuts her hair shorter, closer to the way she wore it while the first maria was still alive. since SHE'S WEARING A HABIT WHICH KEEPS HER HAIR COVERED it's a private change, but it's incredibly significant nonetheless as it symbolizes that the life she's living is just a little more Hers, rather than just a desolate, grief-stricken mimicry of the first maria's life [am i the only one who thinks it's fucked up that in canon it's just Accepted that she's thrown away her own identity to live out maria's like Hello ?]

[atopvisenyashill]

@eddardofthehousestark you convinced me let’s go-

okay listen i have sympathy for the aemondwives who felt that alicent flipping on him was badly done and out of nowhere. it’s just that i think they really misread the alimond relationship in s1 and are just kinda mad that they’re wrong, bc i think the build up to alicent being willing to sell out aemond’s life makes sense. in fact i would argue the alimond relationship is the most consistently written and built up of her children - it's the aegon and helaena ones that needed more screentime (fuck daeron).

imo like criston, aemond fundamentally misunderstands what his mother wants from him bc he sees her as a thing to protect instead of what she wants to be which is a partner in ~protecting the realm & the vulnerable (and all of that is very much tied to how she sees duty & being married off as a child etc etc). her being unable to get through to him, unable to control him (something she feared from RHAENYRA re: daemon, and this is why she reacts so negatively every time she feels undermined by aemond!) makes her increasingly disconnect from him, see him less as one of the vulnerable she must protect (it’s WHY she brings up losing his eye) and more as something the vulnerable must be protected FROM. the final straw for her is HELAENA. helaena is her DAUGHTER. this is the bond alicent wanted, that alicent cherished, even if she doesn’t understand helaena, helaena to her is the symbol of all that needs protecting in the realm, alicent is very much (imo) projecting her own self as a child bride onto helaena...and aemond puts his hands on her and attempts to ~sully helaena with violence!!!! of COURSE that was alicent's final straw and she agreed to rhaenyra's terms that aemond was an acceptable sacrifice for peace. i don’t think this means she can’t hope for him to come & save her later - OBVIOUSLY they are setting up fallout for when rhaenyra takes the capital & aegon is gone. but everything up to this point makes sense to me.

the problem for ME is a) they do not feature helaena on her own or with her mother often enough to really sell this dynamic imo and that’s why alicent showing up in dragonstone falls flat wrt her being willing to sell out aemond even after the murder of jaehaerys and b) i don’t think they set up her selling out aegon very well here. yes i’m biased aren’t we all now walk with me.

yes i know she told aegon that he is not her son. COMMA BUT. i do think a lot of her relationship with aegon has been her slow realization on just how enmeshed they are + who they really are as people. not only is he (clumsily, selfishly) doing more or less what she wants from him (at least giving a passing thought to the smallfolk & taking her opinion into account) he is also very clearly trying to prove himself TO HER more than anyone else. he doesn’t care about otto. he doesn’t think about aemond in terms of someone he needs to prove himself too. same for cole. same for helaena. but he DOES think of ALICENT in that way. i think s1 is very much about how she WANTS to disconnect from him but can’t no matter how she tries to, culminating in her instinctively putting herself between him and meleys, the same as she throws herself between helaena and the mob - probably one of the first times she has acknowledged that the vulnerability in aegon is something she can protect (if that's what she wants to choose). and s2 is her realizing that if he is a bad king it’s bc (in part) she has failed him as a parent the same way otto failed her - yes there is dysfunction in this relationship and she's acknowledging that some of that is because she encouraged the dysfunction. she hates his weakness, his violence, his need for attention and affection, his self consciousness, as surely as she hates all those parts in herself. but at the same time, as she loses control of aemond and the council, she starts to in turn reflect on why she's wound up in this spot and finds she misses his need for attention and approval (because he was the only one making at least a passing attempt at getting it). and notable that aegon is not ACTIVELY harming helaena the way aemond is. yes i’m positive he is unkind to helaena has a husband, but you have to take into account the level of domestic violence that has been normalized for alicent & the way aemond ordering helaena onto her dragon is transgressing gender norms in a way alicent is ALREADY wary of (bc of rhaenyra).

now what i THINK she’s feeling when she gives him up is essentially. he’s as good as dead already. he’s never going to properly heal from the burns. better rhaenyra give him a quick death than let him linger. she can protect the one child she has left (much imo like catelyn letting jaime go - she’s prioritizing the children she can help over the ones she feels are lost) & she can protect her last remaining grandchild. BUT. like i said i think so much of the aligon relationship is alicent realizing how much she’s helped encourage the dynamic between herself & aegon, like just finally Aware of the Reality of the situation she’s in, that her allies are NOT the men she thought were her allies. that she doesn't have the control over the council she thought she did. that aegon is too weak to be king. but imo even as she’s rejecting aemond for his cruelty, she’s seeing & recognizing the weakness in aegon as similar to her own (they’re so alike even despite how different their lives have been). with that said, she’s also VERY USED TO scapegoating aegon & i can see her justifying it. i am simply saying that her crumbling immediately when rhaenyra says she’s gonna execute aegon herself didn’t quite line up for me.

and again. helaena needs more screentime with her mother. i think if they wanted to imply that helaena was thinking of killing herself & that’s why she cleaned up, they should have been clearer rather than leave it vaguely implied. they should have shown her prophecizing about her mother & daughter more in the middle of the season. they should have further emphasized in character scenes and not just plot necessary scenes that alicent turns to helaena to comfort herself, and that alicent is the only real touchstone helaena has. helaena lives in a walled off castle of her mother's making, because it protects helaena from the world, but no one ever asks helaena what protection she really wants from the world, if she wants it at all. she says she doesn't want the smallfolk to know her, which implies she's relatively content in her walled off tower but she also mentions the smallfolk lose babies all the time for all sorts of different reasons, which seems to imply some level of...engagement, i suppose, with people besides alicent (and jaehaera). can we see the engagement???? spare helaena scene please??? i think a lot of why b&c didn't work for people is because they simply do not linger in helaena's mind enough. we also see her filtered through other people! let us see alicent THROUGH HELAENA'S EYES so that when alicent suggests they simply run away the three of them, helaena hoping for the first time hits the way it should. it's like. rhaenyra said she wanted to fly away with alicent and eat only cake and alicent tells her to be serious. but what does alicent suggest to helaena when alicent is at the end of her rope, without otto or aegon dictating what she's doing, with only helaena and jaehaera to worry after? to fly away to essos!

no one needs to hear me ranting about the same scene in hotd over and over again omg

[restlesshush]

The Replacement is to The Gift as There’s No Place Like Home is to [a hypothetical good end to the Mark of Cain arc about accepting the bad parts of yourself and learning to live healthily with them]

[aspoonofsugar]

The Maidens: The Cycle of Life and Death

This post is inspired by @hamliet’s alchemy metas... I know nothing about alchemy, but after discussing it with her, this idea came up and I am sharing it on her behalf too.

In short, in alchemical stories (which RWBY apparently is) there are 3/4 phases. Each phase is linked to a specific color:

1) Nigredo (black)

2) Albedo (white)

3) Citrinitas (yellow)

4) Rubedo (red)

That said, often the yellow phase ends up being fused with the red one, so in most alchemical stories there are only three phases. Now, for each phase there is a major death, so there are usually 3/4 key deaths, each one linked to a specific phase.

For example, in Harry Potter there is

a) Sirius BLACK dying

b) ALBUS Dumbledore dying

c) Harry dying and being carried by RUBEUS Hagrid

Let’s highlight that each one of these deaths is especially resonant and important for the story. Sirius dies when Harry discovers about the prophecy. Dumbledore’s death leads to Harry leaving Hogwarts to look for the Horcruxes and finally Harry’s own death leads to Voldemort’s defeat.

What I mean is that the deaths linked to each phase must be resonant and meaningful either in terms of plot or in terms of themes. They must have weight and be felt both by the audience and by the characters.

So far, in RWBY we have had two such deaths:

Pyrrha’s death is linked to Nigredo, while Penny’s to Albedo. Interestingly, both deaths happened to two (supposed to be) Maidens.

This is interesting on multiple levels.

First of all, I have been asked about the Maidens in RWBY here and here. However, Penny’s death helped me gain a new perspective of their overall meaning.

In the first meta I have written this:

In a sense, the story keeps repeating. Salem kills Ozpin, he is reborn and his daughters are victims of the conflict between them.

Because of this, the four Maidens have become one of the many symbols of this endless cycle, which is clealry breaking its protagonists more and more.

This is well conveyed by the Maidens having a season theme. Seasons are in fact linked to the repetition of time aka one of Ozpin’s motifs.

I still think it is a part of the truth, but as for now I think the framing of the series over the cycle is more nuanced. It is a cycle of death and rebirth:

Goodwitch: The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever.

Seasons live and die, but new ones are born. It is a death that leads to a new life and that protects life itself since the Seasons are supposed to be Guardians.

This fits with the actual cycle of seasons where “no two summers are alike”, but that also accompanies humans’ lives and makes many human activities possible.

Secondly, both Pyrrha and Penny’s deaths have to do with the theme of choice, which is central to the series:

Ozpin: Maidens choose themselves.

In particular, Pyrrha and Penny’s final choices are two different declination of this idea. At the same time, they are linked to the theme explored by their respective relic as well (in Pyrrha’s case it means that her link to choice is twofold).

1) As the (supposed to be) Maiden of Choice, Pyrrha is given a choice in the Vault of Choice:

Ozpin: You, Miss Nikos... have a choice to make.

(...)

Ozpin: Are you ready? I... I need to hear you say it.

Pyrrha: Yes.

Ozpin: Thank you, Miss Nikos.

She is given some time to think about it and in the end she chooses to accept her new duty. Still, the power is stolen from her and the choice she was given is negated to her:

Pyrrha: But I can help.

Ozpin: You'll only get in the way.

However, this does not stop her:

Red-Haired Woman: She understood that she had a responsibility... to try. I don't think she would regret her choice, because a Huntress would understand that there really wasn't a choice to make. And a Huntress is what she always wanted to be.

Pyrrha’s death is about doing the right thing even if it comes with a high personal cost. She is able to make the choice to keep fighting against an enemy impossible to defeat an arc before our protagonists are strong enough to make it.

This is why... even if she never receives the powers.. Pyrrha is the true Maiden of Choice of the Vale arc. She does not need the powers because deep down being a Maiden is something deeper than that.

Pyrrha embodies the idea that Maidens choose themselves because she chooses to be a Maiden at Heart and dies true to her choice:

Pyrrha: Do you believe in destiny?

2) As the Maiden of Creation, Penny is created anew in the Vault of Creation:

As I have stated in previous metas Creation as a concept is linked to free will. Creations are free to develop and to change independently from their “creators”. This fits Penny’s transformation, who ultimately gives her back the free will that the virus had stolen:

Penny: I...I must...open the Vault. I, I do not want...Ah!

And in the end she uses her free will to make a specific choice:

Penny: Let me choose this one thing.

I have actually a lot more to say about Penny’s death and final choice, but I will write a longer meta about it, so for now let’s just say it has to do with self-actualization.

Penny embodies the idea that Maidens choose themselves because she chooses who she wants to be and how she wants to live.

What is more, her choice has to do with Creation because she saves Winter’s life and also (symbolically) makes her a whole person as well:

Winter: No, Penny, you were always the real Maiden at heart. I was just a machine. Just... following orders.

Penny: You’re my friend.

Winter: Perhaps, but I’m choosing it now. I’ve made it my own. And I take great pride in it.

Winter: You chose nothing. This was a gift.

At the same time, Penny’s sacrifice also saves the people of Atlas and Mantle who are stranded in Vacuo. If Cinder had stolen the power, they would have all died.

As a final note, we are directly told the themes linked to both Pyrrha and Penny’s death back in volume 5:

Ruby: When Beacon fell, I lost two of my friends: Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos. I didn't know them for very long, but that doesn't change the fact that they were two of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met. But that didn't save them. Pyrrha thought that if there was even the smallest chance of helping someone, then it was a chance worth taking. And because of that, she died fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win. And Penny... was killed... just to make a statement.

Pyrrha died to make the right thing.

Penny died the first time as a result of her being objectified, so the second time she herself chose how to end her life in a way she found meaningful.

In short, Pyrrha and Penny’s deaths can be read as the two deaths linked respectively to Nigredo and Albedo. What is sure is that they are meant to be compared and foiled.

All this leads to a question... will we have other two (or one) major death(s) that will be linked to (the yellow and) red phase(s)? Will they be other Maidens?

As for now, I think it is possible, even if not sure obviously.

First of all, I do not know if we are gonna have a death for Citrinitas since from what I understood usually the yellow phase gets conveyed as a part of the Rubedo one. Moreover, if we have it, it might not be linked to a Maiden. After all, another pattern one could find is that both Pyrrha and Penny died at Beacon and so did Ozpin, so maybe he will be the one to die (once and for all?) in the yellow/red phase. However, as for now, I don’t think so and I am gonna theorize that the yellow and red deaths, if they happen, will have to do with the Maidens and will be other declinations of the themes explored above.

As for now, we know nothing of the Maiden of Destruction, so I am not considering her.

Still, there is another Maiden whose arc was left unsolved and who needs to come back in the story:

3) As the Maiden of Knowledge, Raven is told the truth about herself in the Vault of Knowledge:

Yang: Oh, shut up!! You don't know the first thing about strength! You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!! You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong.

And it is possible that this self-knowledge will eventually lead her to make a choice, which is what she has failed to do up until now.

If she chooses to sacrifice herself, her death will be a redemptive one and it might come to embody that Maidens choose themselves because they can always change and become true Maidens.

Finally, there is the Rubedo phase, which is the last phase. If we are gonna have a red death, it should be a key one for the whole series and one which leads to its resolution. As for now, I think there is only one character who can pull it off:

4) Cinder is a key character for the whole story. Personally, I think this volume was a turning point for her, but she failed to learn the lessons she needed to learn. What she did was to take these lessons and to twist them in a hypocritical way:

Cinder: I suppose I have only you to thank for one last lesson… Sometimes, if you want to win…you simply can’t do it alone.

And this has made her even more similar to Salem:

Salem: Why....do...you...keep...coming...back?!

Yang: Why do you?!

Penny: Why did you come back?! Why couldn’t you just learn your lesson?!

I would also like to highlight that so far Cinder has failed to learn the lesson of each relic.

In the Vale Arc, it is implied her concept of Destiny and Choice is different from Pyrrha’s. She wants to be “worthy” and to be chosen. Moreover, her idea of agency is linked to stealing others’, just like she stole the Maiden’s power and Pyrrha’s destiny.

In the Mistral Arc, she receives a warning about her Shadow Hand:

Raven: Aura can't protect your arm, it's Grimm. You turned yourself into a monster just for power.

But she chooses to ignore it.

Finally, in the Atlas Arc she manages to make herself anew. She recreates herself, but fails to truly change.

I am expecting all these failures to come back at her with the Vacuo Arc, which is about Destruction and will probably lead to everything coming together to crush Cinder (the people she used, the Shadow Hand, Salem’s true plan).

Once this happens, I think Ruby will save her with her eyes and will offer her that pity she was never shown as a child. This will lead to Cinder’s final choice which might be a synthesis of all the choices made by the Maidens she killed.

It will be a selfless choice, like Pyrrha’s, in contrast to the selfishness she displayed throughout the series.

It will be a self-actualizing choice, like Penny’s, which will free her from Salem’s shadow and influence

It will also be a redemptive choice, where Cinder finally lives up to her name and becomes the true Fall Maiden.

I am also expecting this choice to somehow solve the conflict or to be a part of the reason why the conflict is solved.

It would also be interesting if the Maidens’ sacrifices become progressively more effective in solving the conflict.

Pyrrha’s death is the most pyrric (obviously). She did not manage to stop Cinder, but barely gained enough time for Ruby to arrive and wound the villain. Still, it is a choice who clearly inspired her friends and I think that in the end it will inspire Cinder as well:

Cinder: You know, Neo, someone once asked me if I believed in destiny. And I'm happy to say I still do.

Penny’s death is framed as a sad, but powerful conclusion to her arc and saved both Winter and the people of Atlas and Mantel. It still did not prevent Salem from taking the relics and did not save the Kingdom.

So, maybe Cinder’s death, if it happens, will be key in saving the world.

This would also fit with the idea that we are going through a journey where we are getting to know the four gifts the Gods gave humanity.

Pyrrha sacrificed herself even before our protagonists received Knowledge, Penny did so after both Knowledge and Creation, while Cinder perhaps will do so after the characters have aquired all the four gifts.

[notsosilentsister]

Green Knight Spoilers

My friend didn't find the ending ambiguous at all. She was disappointed to hear that in the poem, Gawain definitely survives; she found that a cop-out, less true to life. In life, honor is rarely rewared, you can be honest and suffer, or lie and feel guilty. I can see her point -  virtue has to be its own reward, and if the Green Knight is Nature, well, Nature is merciless. Play stupid games, win stupid prices, why should Gawein survive his stunt? He's not the only boy out for glory - we already met the other ones as corpses on the battlefield.

If the Green Knight is not primarily a symbol of Nature (and how could he be? He is also Bertilac, the hunter, as opposed as he's aligned to it), however, he is - and I think the poem supports that reading - mostly just a regular guy enchanted by Morgan (not Gawain's mom in the poem) to mess with the knights and freak out Guinevere. And then, well, there's just no reason for him to kill Gawain. It is, after all, just a game; there's nothing to gain from Gawain's death; the point is to humble the knights, and stop them from buying into their own hype too much; Gawain needs to see that he's not quite as brave as he wants to appear. If I set out to humble someone, I'd like to get to enjoy their new-found humility in action; killing them right after seems a waste of my efforts. Nature doesn't care about honesty, people occasionally might.

When I read the story before, I lowkey always rooted for Gawain to cheat. I'm not very much one for dying for honor. Sacrificing yourself so that someone else may live, sure, I will admire that, but sacrificing yourself for your self-image? (And be it your self-image in your own eyes only, I actually don't even think the distinction matters all that much here). I found the beheading game exceedingly stupid, accepting the challenge was already the first mistake, but not necessarily one that merits getting killed for.

Of course that's just because I would never have accepted the challenge, I've never pretended to that sort of courage Gawain wants to project. It's a slightly more interesting challenge, if you understand the assignment - not a test of mettle but a trust-fall exercise. Can you see someone's vulnerability and not exploit that? Can you trust that they won't exploit yours in turn? Can you take the stranger at his word, that he's not seeking a foe? It's a game to test a lover, not a fighter.

Of course that's not how Gawain understands it - the film makes it very obvious that he doesn't; he freaks out, when the Green Knight makes no move to attack him, lays down his weapon, bares his neck - that's no way to find out who's the better fighter, and what other point could there be?

In the poem, it's less clear - maybe Gawain gets it, maybe he's just not here for it, maybe he's trying to be clever about it in an Alexander-just-smashing-the-knot way. And, fair enough, I wouldn't be too keen on doing trust-fall exercises with some rando coming in from the street to crash the party - like, maybe let's start with some small talk, get to know each other first. But in the poem, it's also very clear how much Gawain is set up by Arthur, who's in my opinion, the true villain of the piece. Gawain only volunteers after Arthur, who could nip the foolishness in the bud, succumbs to the Green Knight's taunts and decides to go along with the game to preserve his reputation. In a way, Gawain does nobly sacrifice himself, because, once Arthur has decided this is happening, someone has to. And in the poem, Arthur very much advises Gawain to go for the kill.

I also found it interesting, that the movie seemingly reverses that aspect, having Arthur remind Gawain that it's a game. It makes Gawain's failure more individual, less systemic. But in the film too, it's Arthur who decides, yep, this is happening, we're doing this. And in the film too, I don't necessarily get the sense it's about teaching his knights the value of accepting vulnerability for Arthur, he has just made a pretty ra-ra-speech about subjugating those Saxons. And as we later see the results of his military exploits on the corpse-strewn battlefield, he's also no stranger to the overkill approach - leave no survivors, don't risk a rematch.

This is the club, that Gawain wants to join - or vaguely feels he's supposed to want to join, since his mum and his uncle Arthur clearly want him to - and the film is about his realization that no, he actually doesn't, it's not worth it. He sees the emptiness of his ambitions, and how the power would corrupt him, and resigns himself to death. What shall it profit the man, if he shall gain the world, and lose his own soul?

I would have liked it better, if that realization just made him decide to go home as a coward, admit his failure, give up the pretense, with his head held high, as the fox suggested, not caring what the cool kids think any more. I still don't entirely see why it would mean he has to die.  But okay. Nice idea, very Christian, completely fine message for the movie.

Big departure from the poem though. Because the poem is about testing a lover, and that element really gets lost in this film.

To me, the most interesting thing about the poem is that unlike in the movie, Gawain actually _passes_ the chastity portion of his trials. Sure, it's a definition of chastity that involves a counter-intuitive (to me) amount of flirting and making out, but there's indeed a line Gawain never crosses with Lady Bertilac. More importantly, he honours the agreement by returning all the kisses he owes to the Lord - and not half-heartedly either ("long and deliciously" in the Tolkien translation). This time, he fully seems to grasp the spirit of the exercise, even if there are some minor flaws in execution. He does fail to disclose the gift of the girdle, but that's not out of malice or subterfuge ("for no artful wickedness, and for no wooing either") , but out of a fairly natural instinct for self-preservation, and the Green Knight, being so in touch with nature, can acknowledge that. He doesn't seem to feel too terribly betrayed at their final encounter. Gawain is not trying to come between him and his wife by keeping the girdle - he's just trying to improve his odds in the next trial.

For what it's worth, the Green Knight never really made himself vulnerable either - he had Morgan's spell to protect him, which he also didn't disclose when he issued his initial challenge. In a way, Gawain is just levelling the playing field. (In the poem Gawein gets to comment on it, when the Green Knight mocks him for flinching after the first feint - easy not to flinch, when you know you can just pick up your head afterwards). It's obviously still plenty brave to submit to the blow even with the girdle, because Gawain has never seen it in action and has to trust that it works (which is why film-Gawain in failure mode doesn't even do that, he just legs it). But he's still pretending to be braver than he his, and is suitably chastened when called out.

In the end, the poem seems to be fairly pro "fake it till you make it" however. The values of chivalry are portrayed as ultimately worthwhile even thought the knights don't entirely live up them. The world is a wild and scary place, and you won't always know the rules of the game, but if you go at it with the right attitude, people might give you some margin of error.

[lunarfly]

Hermione as Harry's Light (by Evaluna)

Hello! This is an essay written many years ago, before the release of HBP&DH. It doesn't belong to me so credits to the original writers(Evaluna, Turambar & Mad-I Moody)! It was written on the CoS forum, I'm not sure if it's still saved there but I have a word document with all of the essays. Anyways, this essay has no ship/character bashing. Again, this essay isn't written by me, but it's one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Quote by Mad-I Moody:

"1."Ron's mum's lit a fire in there [Harry's bedroom] and she's sent up sandwiches." -Hermione couldn't know that if she had immediately dashed up to Harry.

2. "Ron and Ginny say that you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's." - She's obviously talked to them about this at some point between their arrival back from the hospital and her arrival at 12GP.

3. "The others have told me what you overheard last night on the Extendable Ears."

-Does this indicate that she's had time to talk to the other members of the Weasley clan? Sources point to yes!

Now, isn't it sensible to assume that, in the instances wherein Hermione talked to the Weasley family, she was, at least, thoughtful enough to ask about Mr. Weasley?

Saying Hermione came only to be with Harry cannot be true therefore, because:

1. She doesn't go to see him the MOMENT she comes through the door

2. She gets Harry right out of the sulking room and takes him into a room with Ron and Ginny, with whom she has quite obviously been talking.

3. There is no indication that she wants to be alone with Harry"

Mad-I: Disagree. Not just from a textual analysis standpoint; there we have each our own interpretation. My strongest disagreement comes from what I see as a critical ‘septology’ issue [overarching theme of all 7 books]: Harry overcoming his own internal darkness [despair, hopelessness, isolation] before able to wage and win [or overcome] the external darkness [Voldy, evil, fear, hatred and division]. See below post. IMO the Hermione as Lifeline or Light for Harry scene is representative of what Harry must confront and for what he must stand and fight:

--darkness and the battle of good over evil,

--despair [depression] and the battle of love over [here, self-] hatred,

--isolation and limitation [e.g., Harry imposes on himself a prison for his mind], and the battle of love as emanation over barriers, constraints, and perceptions

It begins with himself. And IMO it doesn’t end. But anyway, it progresses from there to encompass the world. On his own, this scene shows that Harry is vulnerable in that he needs a source of love [for himself] to sustain him; only then can Harry be a source of love [for the world] in his [upcoming and perhaps ongoing] battle with darkness. Harry needs love in this regard perhaps more than anyone else in the world, and yet he’s had very little of it, with Sirius mostly kept apart from Harry. Except for Hermione, who has always been there for Harry? With Hermione’s return, once more for Harry there is connection and hope, and the belief in unlimited horizons and potential - some would call it faith -- when with Hermione. For ship and for series, IMO, I believe that Harry’s ability to acknowledge his need for love [for me, this means for Hermione] is the first step on his path to the light.

What the scene does imply is that Hermione’s conversation with Ron and Ginny and the others’ [may include Fred and George as well] was extremely brief and in the majority focused firmly on Harry. So brief in span that the snow had not yet melted even after climbing the stairs and so focused on Harry and his situation that Hermione had the grasp on all the main details already when she first pounded on the door. This is a young woman on a *mission*. A mission to save Harry. Hermione reaches Harry and saves him from himself, from his dark side, from his own personal hell. I personally think this is one of the most critical scenes in the book for Harry and his battle for good over evil, probably the most important one. The battle is within as well as without, and Hermione is the bringer of light to balance his darkness, to bring balance to his soul AK and Earendil:[thanks for SF ref!] a soul is a universe in and of itself <kabbalah, so one could say Hermione is bringing balance to the universe, in this sense]. Some may say it is not romantic..er…well…to each. But it can certainly be argued that the light and dark imagery, in bringing light from darkness, in the balance they provide one another, in the give and take [in interactions, in providing insight [in this scene=hers/giving love to him through her actions when she comes] or providing courage [in this scene=his/accepting her love through his actions when he follows] between them are the yin and yang that represent in both religious and esoteric texts the love on many levels required for spiritual completion of the marriage of two [bodies and souls] as one, separate but together [again, see the smoky caduceus-like vision that Dumbledore views after Harry’s vision prior to their arrival at number 12, which is followed shortly thereafter by the arrival of Hermione.

With this, one can make a case for striking symbolic romantic and platonic love imagery simultaneously, as well, in terms of a soulmate love that is “complete” on an esoteric level, a bonding of body and soul, the material and spiritual. I see no inherent contradiction, probably because I’m not an ancient Greek philosopher named Aristotle. [‘What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies’. --Aristotle] The difference being that we in our day can allow for this kind of soulmate love

between a man and a woman, as well, and that we can allow love to exist on many different levels between a man and a woman, not just Eros or what the Greeks narrowly defined as romantic love. The esoteric concepts of a true bonding of souls between a man and woman did of course contain all of these forms of love, sealed with emotional, physical, and contractual public commitments intended to represent the bonding of two souls as one before God and heaven. IMO how can this scene not be important for Harry, particularly as we all know that love is critical to overcoming all that Voldy is and represents? And whatever type you feel exists them between them, IMO there is deep love. So in fact I think this can be argued strongly as a H/Hr scene. For those who disagree, nonetheless it’s all-good since a deep soul love exists regardless if it is ‘very’ platonic. This is, after all, just a hair’s breadth from ‘total consciousness’.

One more point I mentioned before that I want to bring up in context of reinforcing Hermione’s critical position as Harry’s Light, Lifeline, or Savior. Arguably, since Hermione is key to bringing Harry back from the edge [regardless of what comes later], IMO the larger symbolism is that Hermione is “the one” who will always save Harry from his greatest enemy - himself, his dark side. After that, and only after that, can Harry save the world. She will help him choose light [represented by…Hermione] over darkness [his own despair and hopelessness, his feelings of being unclean and unworthy]. Even I can see some traditional religious symbolism here, but there’s much esoteric symbolism as well. Nonetheless, Ron’s gift of…what, frankincense and myth? Is that why the perfume smelled unusual?... Ron’s gift only seemed to highlight his deeper, intuitive understanding [at some level] of Hermione’s fundamental importance to Harry. Yin and Yang. Inexorably intertwined - just thought I’d throw that in here as well! And for what purpose would Ron is shown as gifting her with such symbolic honor if not to perhaps choose to give his life for hers, thereby saving Harry’s light and thus saving them all. Particularly, if Ron betrays or obstructs Harry and Hermione [this may happen if Ron is rejected by Hermione or “loses” her to Harry, per 6th step scene, falling away from the path to Hermione's door], then Ron may sacrifice himself [from betrayal guilt] to save Harry and/or Hermione [same scene, where Ron falls at Harry's feet] thus restoring his character and his legacy in addition to doing his critical bit to save Hermione &/or Harry [=the world].

(Turambar) I agree that the Christmas scene is one of the most significant in the book.

Just on what you said about the light/dark: it's interesting that JKR accentuates the extremities in various ways to bring out that contrast.

She uses biblical language - appropriate considering the timing - such as "unclean" and "possession" to describe Harry's self-disgust. His feelings of being unfit to be in the company of others brings another biblical image of the leper.

He completely isolates himself for a period rather than just behaves in a moody/angry fashion in company. He's "starving", cold.

Hermione is not mentioned at all from the time of the dream to her knocking on his door - an obvious device to enhance the surprise and impact of her arrival.

There's the imagery of evil (snake) and love (hippogriff) and as I've said before that suspicious dream occurs just when Harry is at his lowest ebb.

I agree with what FP said: the sequence shows the limitations of his relationship with the Weasleys and Sirius and conversely the growing significance to him of Hermione.

Both times he's considered running away when in a depressed state - here and before the First Task - the option has been to run to the barren, loveless Dursleys. To the house that's not a home and the family that isn't a family (to him). Both times he's got through the bad patch with a bit of help from Hermione.

[gingus-doon]

am i going to talk about how undisclosed desires by muse is a perfect keishima song?

yes, yes i am.

before i even get into the lyrics, the song as a whole is such a boy band-y, cheesy, poppy love song. oh muse's tendency to experiment...

i find the resistance to be a particularly odd album with how much classical music and queen inspiration it contains, and it's one i've come to associate with mishima, so it makes me happy to pin this song to keishima :] the visuals i associate with this song are a mix of robots in the chorus and boy bands for the verses, so i guess you can imagine mishima doing some backstreet boys-esque choreography with ai mishima humming in the background. visuals aside though, let's begin!

—

“i know you've suffered, but i don't want you to hide. it's cold and loveless, i won't let you be denied.”

you could take this song as being from mishima or keiji's perspective, but i prefer to put it with mishima for a couple of reasons. the speech in this song is a bit more formal, leaning towards mishima and away from keiji, as well as the lyrical content of the above– how mishima acknowledges keiji's suffering and tries to coax him into making friends to solve that, because isolation in trauma is a tortuous place to be. "i won't let you be denied" particularly signifies mishima's persistence towards keiji, which i think goes too often unnoticed. keiji makes the opposite of a good first impression when they meet on the island, is hesitant to accept mishima as a friend or to change his ways, and even mishima acknowledges that keiji has a "dangerous air" about him. in spite of this, he repeatedly tries to connect with keiji.

–

“soothing… i'll make you feel pure. trust me; you can be sure.”

it is SUCH an important aspect in keishima that mishima revives keiji, in a sense. keiji feels irreversibly tainted by sin, and here comes in mishima, boldly promising to wash that away through companionship. the reassurance in the last line is the verbal equivalent of mishima coaxing keiji out of his shell.

–

“i want to reconcile the violence in your heart.”

keiji's not necessarily a violent person, not unless provoked. but he is logical, willing to sacrifice others for himself. the violence in his heart could be interpreted not only as the literal violence he may enact, but the ever present storm of emotions about the shooting, which is definitely violent. in the first, the line would be mishima promising to make keiji a better person. in the latter, it'd be a promise to help him through his trauma.

–

“i want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask.”

getting into headcanon territory now, as i often do– one thing i enjoy to headcanon, because i love seeing keiji suffer i guess, is that keiji views his body as his only good quality, and that's part of why he keeps up his physical appearance. he feels as though he has nothing to offer emotionally, either being a burden or a bad influence on those he's around, so at the very least, he could give his body. this is one of the reasons i'd see him as the type to fall into a lot of one night stands, which would reinforce love as a fleeting thing that's only at a surface level. but this line would be mishima challenging that, acknowledging what he enjoys about the interior that keiji hates. it's sweet, because mishima doesn't take people at a surface level and is willing to give people a chance beyond that, and over the time of their fondness events, it's clear that mishima sees keiji as a friend and enjoys hearing him talk, and cares about him genuinely.

–

“i want to exorcise the demons from your past.”

more loving the trauma out of someone! which obviously isn't possible, as love doesn't solve trauma, but mishima is a very patient person and would stay by keiji's side despite the fact that he may never be "fixed." to exorcise the demons from his past here doesn't mean to make it as though his trauma never happened, but to loosen the hold it has on him so he can enjoy life again and stop holding the blood spilt in the past inside of him.

–

“i want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart.”

keiji generally keeps what he wants to himself… besides meat, i guess. but generally speaking, keiji would not have admitted he wanted friends had mishima not pried. keiji's feelings are classified, but despite mishima's minimal exposure to these files, he seems to read keiji easily.

–

“you trick your lovers that you're wicked and divine. you may be a sinner, but your innocence is mine.”

i think we can say with confidence that keiji has a mask. not only the mask over his loneliness, to keep his trauma from everyone else, but the mask itself, which exudes a false esteem. as if keiji embraces the ways in which he's wrong, when in actuality, he hates himself. "you may be a sinner" acknowledges the very real ways in which keiji is wrong rather than sweeping them under the rug, or perhaps just his perception of being a sinner. the follow up, though, seems to promise innocence to keiji through their togetherness.

–

“please me; show me how it's done. tease me… you are the one.”

i am completely going to skip past the suggestive nature of this line straight to the symbolism LOL.

so, while keiji has the air of indulgence about him in terms of taboo like alcohol, mishima has the opposite– though he smokes and drinks, he's afraid to admit these things as if they alone taint his character. this line, however, is an invitation for keiji to show him the "darker side" of life, and to let him enjoy it without guilt. with them having opposite issues, they fit together like pieces of a puzzle in how they could fulfill each other. soulmates, of a sort.

—

i know i've said "promise" a lot in this analysis, but that's just because that's largely what this song is; a love letter in the form of promises. and i think that's just what keiji needs. someone patient, who would stand by him in spite of his self destruction and pull the undisclosed desires from him, kissing them into oblivion.

[nvvermore]

Amaryllis — Reversed

I feel like I’ve seen a lot of talks lately of reversed apprentices/OCs and so I just have to butt in with mine for Amaryllis. Under the cut because these did get a little long, but my two concepts are ‘basically a vampire’ and ‘basically persephone’.

Disclaimer: I probably barely remember the plot in this game correctly especially towards the end so forgive me if I get messy with canon details or how reversed endings actually work. Also most of what’s here has simply been a stream of consciousness so.

basically a vampire

Would happen under circumstances similar to Julian’s reversed form, either in his route they jump in to make the deal, or in some apprentice route. Having a them turn only physically monstrous wouldn’t work as a punishment or as a way for the Devil to keep them isolated, so it has to be something that preys on what really matters to them (literally).

If Amaryllis were to just look like a monster but knew they weren’t a danger to anyone, that wouldn’t keep them from seeking everyone out. They doubt Asra or Julian would just turn them away because of it, because in their opinion of themself they were already a monster well before now. And even if they did shun Amaryllis in such a state, it’s not like it can be fixed if they don’t all come back together.

But remaning mostly unchanged physically, but now with the need to survive off of blood, would keep them away from seeking everyone out. Insert all sorts of common vampire turning tropes, and Amaryllis hasn’t seen another person since this started happening and sometimes they feel out of control around animals when clearly they aren’t what they should even be feeding from. Obviously someone has to stumble upon them at some point (Asra, probably), and it probably doesn’t go well because of Amaryllis’s fear and not any sort of urge to attack who finds them. Also isolation is going to be triggering for them without the devil sending apparitions of people and things.

Also, since reversed ends are what happens when growth does not stick and the unhealthy methods and impulses are what is done in the heat of the moment, Amaryllis’s tendency for manipulation and self-sacrifice has to play into it. Now, they’re going to be more inclined to manipulate anyone, not just bad people, and because they look the same there’s another level of misleading others. And the Fools reversed meanings need to fit too: holding back (from seeking out their family), recklessness (to have struck a deal at all), and risk-taking (it’s apparent they don’t know if it will work but don’t feel like they have time to consider).

basically persephone

This would happen in a similar manner as above, but I think plays into their less desirable qualities even better and is generally more tragic.

I do have a vague scene in mind for this. Again, Amaryllis steps in for a deal before anyone else can, and attempts to callout how lonely the Devil must really be. He’s bored and alone for eternity in his realm, and that’s why he’s doing any of this. So, Amaryllis offers themself in exchange for the safety of the world and everyone in it. He agrees to the deal, Amaryllis is gone, and the world is righted.

Obviously, everyone very quickly gets to work on figuring out how to rescue Amaryllis, as their wording of the deal was very specific, enough to leave room for the possibility of their rescue that leaves the deal intact, or they can just figure out a way to seal him in his realm now that there’s more time on their hands.

Also obviously, the Devil forsees this, and didn’t expect or even want to keep Amaryllis in his realm full time, but framed it this way to guarantee that they would end up staying for some amount of time. Here is where he offers them the pomegranate seeds, chosen because of the pomegranate juice Asra used to sabotage his plans three years ago. In turn, the Devil would use the same fruit to ruin his.

The Devil knows that holding them as essentially a hostage won’t foster any sort of good relationship between them, and he wants to because they were right in their assumptions about him. And between Amaryllis and everyone on the outside, he’d always need to be on guard, as clearly they’d only done this in an attempt to get close to him to seal him, and their family who he knows won’t give up trying to get Amaryllis back. So keeping them for eternity doesn’t work in his favor at all. (And maybe the mechanics of a person staying in the realms for too long is a problem? Or not because they have the Fool’s magic? It seems like they can stay in the realm forever with Nadia but I don’t remember why.)

Amaryllis accepts, because as far as they know food in the realms isn’t real and the Devil can’t lie, and they eat six seeds. It’s their favorite fruit, so they don’t see anything symbolic about it past thinking of it like some sort of olive branch.

So when eventually everyone breaks through to attempt to rescue them, the Devil is prepared and they aren’t able to seal him. But he offers to “amend” his end of the deal, trying to seem benevolent. He says they can stay down for six months and up for six months, and if the threat of breaking the deal isn’t an enough of an incentive to bring them back to him, then he reminds them of a separate deal he struck with them. He reminds them of the pomegranate, and how that had tied them to this realm indefinitely. The six seeds they ate represent how long they can stay away before they will begin to die. Everyone hears this, so while Amaryllis might (impulsively) let themself die to avoid it, no one else in that room would let them do so.

And really, it’s not that horrible of a deal. Everyone and the world’s safety and all Amaryllis has to do is live— very comfortably— in the Devil’s realm for half the year. None of them can really complain too much about it now. Not that it makes any of them any happier now either. But everyone does learn to live with it, and after a few years and failed attempts, Amaryllis stops plotting on how to seal him away. Asra definitely never stops trying to find a way though, and the six months spent without them are passed obsessed by trying to come up with a solution.

So in the end, trying to manipulate who they seem deserving is their downfall, paired with the Fool’s reversed meanings similar to the ones above.

[jean-does-not-have-a-horseface]

ok, so here's what i think could happen:

i think eren and zeke wil die, not sure about zeke, obviously i hope it will be levi, but i'm fairly certain mikasa will kill eren. i think they'll behead him. again i don't know about zeke.

i think we all know we aren't getting a happy ending, so most of my ideas involve that. i think that if levi lives, maybe he will be the last one, only to be used as more fuel for his survivors guilt. with this, he will get his tea shop, a calm, relaxed retirement, but he won't be happy. it will be bitter sweet, he is "ok", but again, at what cost? ( also, he may lose his leg. again, i'm not sure. )

i also think it could end in a suicide from the final character, weather that's levi or armin. i don't think, realistically, everyone will survive, and i feel like if there will be one who live to the end. if this is happens, i think it will be levi, because he's him, or armin, because he's the narrator.

i do feel like levi isn't really one to take his own life, so either the first ending, or of he does die, he'll sucome to his injuries, and it goes without saying that it will be soul destroying. this would also mean armin will be the last one. in that case, he will write about what happened, then kill himself, perhaps by returning to paradis and jumping off the wall. with his recent character development, i don't think he'll be able to cope with being the last one, and i think he would feel like he didn't deserve to survive, maybe because someone sacrificed themself for him, maybe mikasa.

either way, i think the end will be one of those where you just feel so numb afterwards, something that changes you, your outlook on things, especially in the anime. it will be very emotional, and satisfying, if done properly. i just hope they don't rush it and sacrifice some of the meaning just to get it finished.

idk, these are just the theories i think of whenever i'm crying at 3am. hopefully not but this is just how i see it going.

also;

connie could die, but honestly i don't see it. i think he'll survive and try and move on as best as he can. maybe starting a family, i like the idea of him adopting/ having a daughter and naming her sasha. i can't remember who said that but it's a great idea.

i think jean will live, maybe having a similar ending to connie. but realistically if he dies i think it will be to save mikasa. i just don't think he will.

i think riener will die trying to save one or both of the kids, and it will be very sad.

mikasa could be killed but i don't think so, unless, like i said, she sacrificed herself for armin.

i think if annie lives, she will fade very much into the background, might kill her self, or just isolate herself. she's still very affected by what happened.

i think piek will survive. i don't know what will happen to her after, i just think she'll live.

historia is hardly mentioned, maybe she is but briefly. nothing of importance.

i think there will be a scene of the fallen soldiers, maybe of erwin looking over, finally knowing the truth.

this is just what i think though. i'm very nervous to find out what will actually happen.

Hmmm okay ASSUMING that isayama isn't trying to just ridiculate snk so we don't ask for more i, and accepting that that's what he's probably doing i believe certain things will happen

1) Connie and Jean will die. Isayama stated that the end will be bitterweet and jean specifically said to Reiner "we'll fight to the bitter end." Now this could mean he won't get to 'see' the sweet of it

2) Mikasa will die, the symbolism was too strong to ignore,

These wings look broken, collapsing from her back as she screams that she's strong, maybe foreshadowing her end, also remember season three part one opening song? "Like a fallen angel?" Is this an allegory as well? We shall find out

3) I don't think it's in Levi's character to kill himself, but I dont see him necessarily dying either.

Now I'm not getting into much detail, bc phewf this gives me so much anxiety that I could vomit...

Also, I strongly believe that it could end with Mikasa saying goodbye to Eren, and very briefly here's why:

In Mikasa's ova we were basically told that Mikasa cannot escape ANY reality in which Eren dies and in which she can't do anything about it, so I don't believe she will kill him, what I think is that once Eren sees Mikasa die he will snap out of it, he'll let the moment slip away and then someone will step in and kill him and Eren will accept it, saying he's finally free, but instead of actually dying he's sent back to that day that Shiganshina fell, having to relive this nightmare over and over again.

Shorter version?

Eren will pull a Thanos on everyone

[lunarianborn]

☾  @roseofbaron​ :  For the ask anything meme: Please tell me more about Cecil’s stuffed rabbit! :3 Who did he get it from? What did he name it? What happened to it when he grew older? Did he have it long enough to pass it on to Ceodore (if he would even want to)? It’s the most adorable tiny fact and I can’t stop thinking about it lol   ☽  CURIOUS ASKS  :  always accepting

Cecil’s little bunny toy !  What a nice ask, I shall indulge in these headcanons a lot now that I have the chance to explore them eheh !  For anyone who isn’t aware, the DS release of FFIV came with new official art - in a very cute style too. One of them has a young looking Cecil  ( I say young because his hair is shorter, and he even sports two little braids )  sitting on his bed, in the West Tower, looking with sad eyes at the helmet of the Dark Knight in his hands. On his pillow, there’s a little stuffed rabbit toy - here is a link.

There is no further mention or picture of said bunny, both in the game or in the novels. So it’s all an headcanon of mine -- but I’ve always imagined it being a memento from his childhood. Cecil first came to Baron owning nothing - and the circumstances of his finding are quite traumatic and sad themselves, so I don’t think it belonged to his brother, or parents even. It was a gift, given to him when he obviously couldn’t notice, nor remember it.

So, Baron had most likely been ruled by the current King Odin for a while now. He knew of Cecilia, who must have died at around 30 years of age  ( or so I imagine, considering the age difference between Cecil and Theodor is of about 9 or 10 years and that she still looks pretty young at the time of her demise ) - which makes the King himself close to her same age. We can imagine him being the next in line of succession, rising to power when still quite young. Still, the King never had a queen, and back when Cecil was found, he had no legitimate heirs; common folks in Baron do chat about it even in game - rightly so, lamenting of how the King never married nor sired children in order to, one day, name a rightful heir to the throne. No matter how silly it may sound, it surely did translate therefore in a lack of children living the castle -- till Cecil came around, of course. Kain is just a year older than Cecil, and it can be argued that his father, as Captain of the Dragoons, did maybe reside into the castle of Baron and not in the city proper -- his baby and wife with him. But Kain had, at least at first, a family, wealth and the prestige coming from the important name of the Highwind’s  ( not to mention a dragon his father would ride in battle, how cool is that ? ) , and it’s still not certain whether he actually lived inside the castle or not. Cecil didn’t have any of that, and all that’s certain is the fact Kain did hang around the castle as a child.

Anyway, as a result, the odd-looking baby found in the far-away woods and taken to Baron, under the King’s wing and patronage, did gave rise to waves upon waves of curiosity among the servants of the castle. Welcomed as the youngest ward of His Majesty, he was attended and cared for by numerous women, men, servants and mage -- who knows, perhaps the royal nurses did finally rejoice in the presence a newborn inside the castle, haha. He was given, most certainly, all that might have suited a little prince indeed --  attention, care, plenty of food and toys. A brighter future, no doubts. A young chambermaid charged with keeping a close eye on the infant at night, did crochet Cecil that very stuffed bunny. It is nothing fancy: it is stuffed in straw and wool, with two small buttons serving as its dark eyes and felt soft to the touch. She absentmindedly placed inside his cradle and there it remained till he was old enough to grasp things to play with.

He never named it, but it became a huge comfort once a toddler, and accompanied him on his nightly way to slumber as a child, too. While Cecil did prefer to play with other toys, small airships Cid would gift to him and wooden swords, he never thought of giving or storing the bunny away either. At times, a young Kain would reach him in his room to play and snatch away the rabbit from its rightful place and owner to mess with him in a playful, childish way -- which did bother Cecil a bit, at first. The rabbit could have become a poor damsel in distress to rescue, or the white-scaled dragon to slay in Kain’s and Rosa’s company, in their games of play-pretend; but Cecil would have made always sure, by the end of their games, that the toy was perfectly sane and undamaged. It was a senseless attachment, for something so meaninglessly simple, but it persisted for a while - despite being told it held no significance to the circumstances of his finding as a newborn  ( and we know for certain Cecil knew from a very young age that he was a foundling ).

When the age fit to play with toys and stuffed rabbits was long gone, unfortunately, and Cecil began attending school and the military academy inside the castle, the toy simply became a silent presence in his room. While he wouldn’t sleep with it anymore, the maidservants in charge of the tower and of his bedchamber always made sure to keep the rabbit on top of his pillow, on fresh and clean sheets for him to sleep upon. There were nights when, too tired to do anything else but fall asleep at the very first touch of the pillow against his head, Cecil wouldn’t even moved away the rabbit from the spot, to just doze off immediately. At the age of 15, shortly after being appointed a Dark Knight, he saw fit of storing all his toys and props inside a chest by the bed -- thus, in a way, finally partying from his childhood days and appealing to the meagre and ‘dark’ lifestyle of such knights. And the bunny remained in said chest for the following, almost forgotten, for the following five of six years...

Considering he became a father rather early  ( although, in Final Fantasy standards and more generally, in a medieval setting, it is not that early ) , I like to think he recalled of his old stuffed bunny and ‘passed it down’ to Ceodore - or perhaps it was fished out of the chest by Rosa, it’d be cute to think about it. Although old, it might have been with his son for a while, when still very young -- but given Ceodore’s temperament being quite more playful and adorably lively than what Cecil used to be as a baby, the bunny held his interest for a very brief lapse of time, overall.

Naturally, on symbolism, the bunny gets a deeper meaning. In Asian culture, the myth of the bunny on the moon is a well-known one. An otter, a monkey, a fox and a rabbit decided to help poor people, and once met a old traveler dying of hunger; wanting to save him, they all thought of a way to bring him food: the otter could fish easily, the fox could steal and the monkey was smart enough to bring him fruits -- but the bunny had no particular skills, and all it could fetch him was some grass. Sad and deluded, the bunny then jumped into a fire to donate himself to the hungry man; the traveler felt pity at the selfless sacrifice and revealed himself to be a god, saving the rabbit whose silhouette now stains the moon forevermore. The legend treats themes of self sacrifice, long-life and charity -- which aren’t stranger themes to Cecil. Plus, on a lighter note, Japan celebrates the moon on a specific day each year mid-fall, with stories of the moon rabbit pounding mochi and bunny-shaped sweets. Namingway and his brothers do live on the moon, in-game, and they do resemble white bunnies -- a wink of the eye to that legend and folklore. 

It is a clear reference to the fact Cecil descends from a Lunarian man, his destiny laid bare before him from the very start, when he still had no clue of his origins or of people living on the second moon. Bahamut resides on the moon too, and I did read somewhere that it did imply either a form of worship for the Eidolon, or a descendance too -- so the Father of the Dragons could also serve as a symbol; but we have to admit bunnies are just cuter eheh !

[natsubeatsrock]

The Rewrite of Fairy Tail: Part 25 (Ultear)

Was Last Ages a good idea?

Part of me wants to say that the answer is yes considering Opening 16 having my favorite visuals of any Fairy Tail opening. The clock twitch at the start is one of my personal favorite aspects of the opening and it wouldn't be there if Last Ages didn't happen.

Of course, pedantic issues like that aren't enough to blind me to the weight of what I'm advocating. Ultear is one of my favorite characters in the series. I wouldn't suggest essentially writing out one of my favorites if it didn't need to happen. 

But that's just it. Did it need to happen? (Don’t worry, we’ll get to talk about Ultear as a character.)

A good place to start is its place in the Grand Magic Games arc. The reason it needed to happen, as the story goes, is that multiple people need to be saved from situations and the difference of one minute, while also remembering what happened in the alternate minute, was enough to save the lives of multiple people. Most notably, Lucy was able to avoid being killed and Gray wasn't impaled by multiple dragons. It's framed as a sacrifice that caused other people to live.

At the risk of sounding callous, I'm not sure this was really all that much of a concern. For all the people who did get affected by the spell Last Ages, there is one important person who wasn't: Natsu. As sad as it might be to consider our favorite characters dying it wasn't like their actions stopped the Eclipse Gate even after Last Ages. Lucy knew how to stop the Gate, but she didn't destroy it. Neither did Gray, Juvia, Lyon, Meredy, Baccus, Romeo, Macao, Wakaba, Cobra, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, or anyone else whose name isn't Natsu Dragneel. It would have been tragic, but the result would have been similar. (An interesting "what if" scenario I may or may not consider.)

And consider the scale of the event in the arc. The entire world was set back by one minute. It's described as innocuous enough that it was barely noticed by most people. Of course, this is juxtaposed with how important it meant to the actual people at the moment. However, consider what that means for the majority of people in the universe. Ultear could have done nothing and it would have as much of an effect for the people within the series universe.

This is, of course, not to say that Ultear's sacrifice didn't matter past Grand Magic Games. This is to say that the idea that this sacrifice changed a lot isn't as true as Mashima would have us believe and that there might not have been much of a need to have Ultear get basically written out of the series.

After using Last Ages, Ultear becomes a part of the time stream, showing up at times when it gets messed up. (At least, that's the explanation I'm going with.) She makes two as her younger self in this form. We obviously need to talk about (read: you're going to read my interpretation of) these moments. But, I want to start with the second moment first and you'll see why.

The second meeting was Ultear's appearance during Wendy and Chelia's fight with DiMaria. Now, there are issues with their interaction in regards to the Third Origin, but that's for other reasons. This wouldn't necessarily be impossible if Last Ages didn't happen. After all, she's doing this in conjunction with the rest of Crime Sorciere. The only reason this comes off as shocking is exactly what she went through Last Ages. As long as they show up and Ultear remains a member, there's no reason for she shouldn't be in the fight. Heck, we may have gotten interactions between her and Gray.

And, with that totally non-bitter transition (I'm actually okay with that), let's talk about the meeting between Gray and Ultear during the Sun Village arc. This is part of a trend wherein Ultear, either implicitly or explicitly, serves as a reminder for the fact that you shouldn't sacrifice your life to save other people, even if you love them. Her sacrifice reminds Gray that he ought to continue living on for other people.

But, and I again recognize this does sound callous, that's stupid.

I mean, it's exactly the kind of message he ought to keep with him, especially in those moments. But, I'm not sure that this is a point that ought to be beating in the ground as much as it was, especially to the point it was in the way it was. In Gray's specific context, it makes symbolic sense that he is saved by her. But, shouldn't Gray already know that from as far back after Galuna Island?

It could be argued that Gray needs to have these lessons reinforced multiple times through his journey as they clearly haven’t sunken in. To a degree, I understand that as a realistic portrayal of depression. But, what happened to “I will seal your darkness away”? Isn’t it possible to have him remember that instead of Ultear sacrificing herself?

And that gets to another thing. What does this mean for Ultear's character? Much of the reason that she's willing to do this at all is that she believes that she is a terrible person at heart and can't make up for what she's done over the years. Therefore, she wants to use her life force to help other people's lives.

I don't think that is in and of itself a terrible motivation for an action like this from a reformed villain who thinks the way Ultear seemed to. I don't even think that she's entirely wrong to think so, considering she wanted to kill present Rogue to stop future Rogue. I could even understand our hypothetical character going through with his or her choice and going on to save a large number of lives, as Last Ages does.

However, this is a Mashima villain. He's stated in the past that he likes to make villains that are more than just evil. While we can talk about how he did with that goal, this feels like something uncharacteristic of his villains. 

And even if he wasn't open about his penchant to redeem villains, we'd absolutely know something is up. Jellal was in a similar spot during Nirvana - ashamed of his existence and ready to die - but he ended up being a better (not sure good is the right word) person. Meredy was convinced to become good and even was part of the reason Ultear started to want to change. Flare changes during the Grand Magic Games arc into Sun Village arc. Sabertooth becomes a good guild (not that they should have been evil anyway). A lot of Alvarez Empire arc involves Brandish's struggle of doing good and/or evil and Irene realizes she actually loved Erza before stabbing herself. Oracion Seis joins Jellal in Crime Sorciere (under duress).

In a sense, Last Ages is Mashima's way of saying, "This one's staying evil. They can't change." In another series with another writer, that wouldn't be annoying. With Fairy Tail, this is clearly purposeful. My job isn't necessarily to speculate as to why, but I can't think why that would make sense to him except that it makes the parallel to Ur for Gray. In a world where she doesn't come back to relevancy in the final arc, I might be to accept that as fine. Considering she did come back and that the continued relevance of Crime Sorciere past the Grand Magic Games, it’s not as if I can’t do things with her character if she were to stay alive.

Therefore, I'm actually going against canon in this regard. In the rewrite, Ultear wants to go through with the spell Last Ages but is prevented from doing so. (I’m debating who stops her.) With this, Ultear continues to be an active character during the series. What the circumstances are surrounding her not going through with it and what she does now that she's a part of the series are topics worth talking about. However, I'd like to save those for another time.

For now, though, I feel that it's worth mentioning is that not every villain has to be saved or redeemed. I'm not here to argue that every villain is equally deserving of a second chance, even though I absolutely believe such to be true on some level. Some villains will and should stay evil until the end. But if Jellal is going to struggle to do the right thing, I think Ultear should try to as well.

Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18  | Part 19  | Part 20  | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24

[iwillgetridofyourangerforyou]

Do you think that Genos's choice of cybernetics was a mistake?

Oh anon. I’m so glad you asked. I’ve been wanting to write about this for so long. You asking is giving me the motivation needed to put ‘pen to paper’ so to speak. I guarantee you that I have not expressed everything I think or feel about this subject but here’s a taste at least. 

The short answer is:

I absolutely do not believe that Genos becoming a cyborg was a mistake. 

Some key ideas in brief: 

The ‘what’ hardly ever matters as much as the ‘why’. “What” Genos is doesn’t matter as long as his motivations align with his actions.  

If you do what must with what you know while and learn more later how can you call that a mistake? It’s just the learning process. I think to say that Genos made a ‘mistake’ by becoming a cyborg gives the past too much credit when it’s really the present that needs to be focused on. I think he did what made sense at the time and to suggest that he’s totally fucked because he just tried to do his best is a really messed up place to take his character and that just doesn’t sit well with me.

Background

I’ve thought a LOT about this and I’m dying to know what ONE will tell us. I’ve made it pretty clear in a number of posts that I don’t think Genos Should have to get his body back in order to break his limiter and/or find fulfillment. In fact, I would really rather see a story where, for once, a cyborg being a cyborg isn’t a tragedy or a sacrifice. 

That said, I’m actually a really big fan of the ‘fight to get one’s body back’ motif. I think it’s entirely heartwarming to see a character experience wholeness in every sense at the conclusion. If, like Hyakkimaru (dororo 2019), or Alphonse and Edward (FMA:B), Genos’ quest was about getting his body back (who knows maybe it is but that’s not what’s been presented so far), I would be all about that! If you can Stan a motif, that’s a motif I Stan hard. At the moment Genos’ quest is about being ‘strong enough’, and I don’t think that has anything to do with whether or not he has what material his physical body is made out from. 

The Physicality of the question

There is a popular assertion that Genos *must* get his ‘real’ body back or he will never be able to break his limiter. I do actually think there is something to the symbolism of that argument (which I’ll get into later) but I find the entire argument disturbingly ablest.

What could possibly be the necessity of getting his physical body back? Being able to heal? Doubtful, unlike most mere mortals no one could ‘heal’ from most of the things Genos has experienced. He can, and does, regularly take risks and do things no ‘normal’ human could do. S-Class heroes ranked higher than him would never literally risk life and limb the way he does. Imagine, for a moment, if Genos started to protect and value his physical form and stop treating it as disposable? He is able to do much of his own superficial repairs. Without making as many reckless decisions Genos might drop in the rankings for a brief time but at the rate he learns he’ll be stronger than ever in no time. Sure he doesn’t have Saitama’s invulnerability- 

BUT Speaking of Saitama’s invulnerability, Saitama’s strength and invulnerability LITERALLY defy all logic. So if breaking one’s limiter is so logic-defying , why then would it be logical for Genos to have a ‘normal’ body in order to break his limiter? What purpose would it serve precisely? It’s like someone took the work-out routine idea a bit too literally. Also even Garou, and Zombieman both show at different points that this world doesn’t follow the conventional rules of science. Even if Genos wasn’t just ‘more careful with his body’ I think the limits of his potential are not constrained by the physicality of his form. While battling EC Genos was able to literally pull himself together. 

Even if the world did follow the laws of ‘science’ there are so many options from the more crude ‘replace and repair’ via drone perhaps? to the more sophisticated nano-tech options. But this isn’t really an argument about the semantics of HOW, the ‘how’ doesn’t matter. 

The point is, I don’t see any reason why Genos would need to have a ‘normal’ human body, with all the normal limitations of a human body, in order to break his limiter. How does a flesh suit provide any advantage to a mech suit if you're just as human either way? I suspect that his limits are not physical but mental and that what Saitama told him in the beginning was shockingly on point. 

The metaphysics of the question, IE what does being a cyborg represent

What I’m dying to know is what does ‘being a cyborg’ represent? How does ONE think of cyborgs? 

There is an idea that when faced with the existential question of one's life, when faced with the reality that the construct one holds to growing up, is flawed, there are a few choices a person is likely to make. One of those choices would be to address the existential question head on and define meaning for oneself. Another, possibly more common, tactic is to jump from one flawed construct to another hoping to find one strong enough to allow the user of that construct to avoid dealing with existential reality. Some may argue that the harm to a soul caused by changing from one construct to another without addressing the issue is an irreversible damage. But is this how ONE thinks of Cyborgs? There is an uncomfortable possibility of that. 

So far, we haven’t met many Cyborgs but both Genos and Webigaza seem to be avoiding addressing the root of their internal turmoil and suffering by attaching themselves to some highly specific and possibly unattainable externalized goal. Perhaps, being a cyborg represents a certain kind of self-destructive cognitive dissonance? but that’s not been unique to the experience of the cyborgs represented in OPM. 

Obviously Genos’ limits are strongly internal, but are his cybernetic parts an expression of that internal conflict more than they are an aid to him? If so, what's the alternative? It seems like a pretty permanent change! But I’m unwilling to accept that a choice a person made for themselves with the information they had at the time could entirely ruin a person's chance at fulfillment later in life. I believe in unlimited growth. I know the process of learning and growing can be painful and can leave literal scars. But if you’re still alive, like Genos is, I believe you still have a chance. 

So, if between now and the end of Genos’ arc ONE finds a way to clearly define why being a cyborg is inherently ‘wrong’ because of what it represents conceptually and how specifically getting a ‘normal’ body back solves that problem, maybe I can accept that Genos should get ‘normal body’. If getting Genos’ body back is integral to his personal fulfillment, I’ll accept a transformation like the one’s I’m so fond of in FMA:B and Dororo 2019. 

But if I were ONE I’d tread lightly on this subject since there doesn’t seem to be as much set up as FMA:B and Dororo 2019. Wherein Both of those stories are explicitly about the character’s getting their bodies back and literally recovering themselves from the sacrifices that were made by them and/or with them. By contrast Genos' story hits much harder for me because he CHOSE to become a cyborg. We don’t know all the reasons why or how much of his ‘normal’ body remained when he asked Kuseno to help him and that would certainly answer some questions. In both Dororo 2019 and FMA:B the individual’s technological aids help the character’s rather than hold them back even while those aids cause pain and limitations. The cybernetics weren’t the problems these characters had to solve they were tools to help the characters solve their other issues that would allow them to restore themselves, they weren’t as linked to identity as they are for Genos. Genos who literally identifies as a ‘Cyborg for Justice.’ Asserting that Genos can’t be a Cyborg and achieve his goals doesn’t just darkly suggest that Genos’ capacity for fulfillment is irreversibly damaged by his decision making structure but it also invalidates his identity. 

What Genos thinks

All that being said it doesn’t really matter what I think, it matters what Genos thinks. Big questions about life, identity, and one’s own body, can’t really be determined by other people. The important thing is, if Genos decides that becoming a cyborg was a mistake, then it was a mistake for him. I think at this point he’s terrified that becoming a cyborg was a mistake but it’s hard for me to see if that terror has settled into certainty or resignation. 

I think if he has a certainty about that question it could give him some calm and clarity to help him make the next steps, after he goes through a grieving process. But I think if he’s resigned to the belief that he made a mistake it might indicate that he doesn’t really want to believe it was a mistake for him, he just believes that the mistake is that it limits him from achieving his goals, which is -in itself- a limiter which could be broken. 

Frankly, I think Genos is wrong to assume that his cyborg body is the problem. Once again rejecting himself, assuming he’s the problem, and focusing on a possibly unsolvable external problem rather than strengthening his mind and working on his internal land-scape. 

Expectations

Despite all of this, I have relatively low expectations. Somehow I expect ONE to write off being a cyborg as a character defect which, although solvable somehow (because ONE does like to provide solutions even if they’re tough ones) is a great sacrifice/tragedy. I do expect that somehow Genos will monsterfy (I doubt he looks so much like Ichigo’s hollow (Bleach) on accident after all) and I would not at all be surprised if this transformation provided him with a new body of some kind, who knows maybe merging flesh and cybernetics to be truly biomechanical (wouldn’t that be something after all?) I expect that Genos will somehow be able to recover and at the end of his arc there will be a path forward and I expect that path forward will be a difficult but achievable one. I am genuinely looking forward to the conclusion, even though I am somewhat expected to be disappointed. 

Conclusion

Genos absolutely doesn’t need a fucking flesh suit to be an hero, to be happy, to be functional member of society, or to be whatever he wants. He can be whatever the fuck he wants. If he wants to be a Cyborg he should be able to be a Cyborg and be happy! But ONE may be using cybernetics as a cautionary tale against emotional/psychological crutches, in which case it would make some degree of sense that ONE would choose to give Genos a stupid flesh suit. And even though I won’t even be mad I will be disappointed. 

>:(

Anyway, that’s my ‘hot take’. 

Feel free to ask any follow up questions! 

[theharellan]

An incomplete list of my Solas’ names, listed semi-chronologically:

Da’Fen. An affectionate name given by Wisdom when he was young, and likely was invoked by it throughout their friendship until its death. Only a few know him by this name, and fewer still ever took physical form.

Fen’amelan. A name given by Mythal, more or less translating as “wolf guardian,” it references his role as her protector although later was adopted by the People to represent his expanding role as their guardian. One of the most common names to refer to him by, up until he took on the name Fen’Harel. Obviously when writing with a Mythal this headcanon is flexible and won’t be forced upon them.

Fenara. A name given by the People, but often used by friends. He wore many disguises to walk among the People unnoticed, and eventually earns a name to reference the habit-- “the wolf that wanders.” He had a particular fondness for this name, especially when it was invoked by people who just figured out who he was. Often such cleverness was rewarded, either through a gift or recruitment.

Fen’Samahl. A name almost exclusively used by friends, although I’m sure that there have been people who picked it up after overhearing those close to him use it. It just means “the laughing wolf” and is more or less the ancient elvhen equivalent to “Chuckles” because his laugh has always sounded Like That.

Fen’ghil’an. It means “the wolf that guides” and was given to him by the faithful, mostly invoked by lost travellers, traders about to make a long journey, or on more dire occasions by Andruil’s sacrifices. I should note here that this is a feminine name, and that Solas was not exclusively seen as a masculine entity-- in fact, most often he was seen as neutral (most ancient texts likely refer to him with the neutral len over lan or lin), but there were those who would exclusively or occasionally use she/her pronouns when referencing him.

Fenvir / Fen’an. Two very niche names used during the period just before he broke off to ultimately become Fen’Harel, and only by those who knew his heart. Fenvir references the new path he is on, and Fen’an represents his changing heart. They also likely could have been used after his turn for those who didn’t want to call him something his enemies had named him.

Fen’Harel / Fen’Harellan / Fen’Harillen. Names given to him by his enemies, intended as an insult but adopted by the revolution and by Fen’Harel himself. It means both “wolf traitor” and “rebel wolf” and can invoke either a terrifying god-monster bent upon destroying the people he was meant to protect, or a person who has upheld the meaning of his ancient names even if it meant turning against those who gave them to him. Fen’Harel is a strange name which contributes to Solas’ ill feelings towards it, to some it is a god’s name, to others it is a hero’s name, to others still it is a monster’s name, albeit a divine monster, rarely is it is his name. Especially after the creation of the Veil. Also interesting to note that the gender of the noun associated with the name is feminine.

Solas. A name he chose for himself after he wakes, representing both his own self-admitted pride and the pride of the elves. Pride isn’t an inherently negative thing, least of all to a race of people whose pride has been purposefully stripped from them, and I don’t believe every Fade denizen who represents Pride is necessarily demonic or violent in nature. But getting into that would be opening up another discussion about the nature of spirits so we won’t be getting into that. One thing I should note is that if someone notes that “Solas” is a strange thing to name a child, if he has a positive relationship with that person he will mention that he wasn’t born with that name, although if someone responds by asking what his real name is he will greatly disapprove. I have written a little fic about Thora and Solas discussing his (and hers) names and their meanings here for an example of what I mean. In addition to those who knew Solas in the Inquisition, those who are close to Solas and understand ancient Elvhen naming conventions and his feelings about his own names are likely to call him Solas, too. At least under certain circumstances.

Chuckles. It counts as a name in his mind, and one of the few he’ll accept as gladly as he does Solas. How you interpret the meaning of Varric’s nickname varies and I will leave that up to any Varrics I write with, personally I tend to see it as literal rather than ironic as the first time he invokes it in-game is after Solas snort-laughs. I also think he had this nickname before you as the Herald meet Solas or Varric (they obviously know each other if Solas is giggling over the prospect of Varic being with the Chantry) but again I ultimately leave that up to Varrics.

Vhenan / Sal’shiral. Affectionate nicknames given to him by Ian over the course of their relationship, but begin to feel as real as any other name he’s been called, especially when they rendezvous in the Fade and the full meaning of what Ian feels when he says it can be felt. Shout-out to Ala (seahaloed) for giving me feelings about this.

Many of his old names may provoke negative feelings in Solas, as they’re names associated with his false divinity or are easy to project onto on a scale that can be disorienting. When people called upon Fen’ghil’an or Fen’amelan for protection, they called upon him, but also they didn’t. It’s one reason Solas is a more comfortable name for him, it’s the one he owns completely.

And one final name:

Lavellan. You may have noticed Solas has never had a last name! In my modern Thedas verse he does invent one, but he doesn’t put as much weight in them as he does first names (I don’t think Elvhenan quite had surnames, as nuanced meaning could be put in one name or dispersed over several). In the Dragon Age not having a last name is pretty acceptable for lower classes, and therefore suitable for an apostate elf dressed in rags. However, when Solas does marry Ian he takes his last name as a symbol of their joining. In modern Thedas it’s the first time he ever gives his students the option to call him by his last name, as before he typically instructed them to call him by his first name and the more polite students would just have to suffer or call him “Professor Solas.”

This is all 100% fanon/headcanon and diverges from canon, please don’t reblog this unless we’re rp partners!