And the last thing you wanted
Is the first thing I do
I tell you my problems
You tell me the truth
It's the last thing you wanted
It's the first thing I do
I tell you that I think I'm fallin'
Back in love with you
The confession, the kiss, the heartbreak.
Jason comes back from the dead and, as he's still a bit out of it, heads to the manor.
Crawling straight up through six feet of compacted earth is hard, especially after waking up suddenly in a coffin, so after he makes it inside, he sits down to rest on the couch.
And immediately falls asleep.
Hours later, Bruce returns home to find Jason's body, covered in dirt, dug up from the grave and left on his couch.
soap's whole deal being sniper and demolitions gets me going bc on the surface they sound so different but when you get into it, you realise it's bc soap's smart
sniping is all math; calculating distances and wind interference and bullet drop. something i think people overlook is he was listed as a sniper first so it can be implied that he's better at it than demolitions. he does more sniping in both campaigns than demolitions work; in capture or kill, ghost specifically calls on him to take down the aq snipers
and demolitions is math with a hit of chemistry; knowing what mixes with what, knowing how much to use, recognising environmental factors and adjusting accordingly. it's not just about the boom; so much work goes into contained/ planned explosions. especially when having enough power for a breacher charge and not bringing down the whole building is the difference between mission success and failure
the chemical bombs he makes in alone can't just be any old cleaners, they have to have the correct reaction to each other; he just knew off the top of his head what would mix with what to create what reaction. he would also potentially have to recognise them by sight/smell bc they would’ve been written in spanish
soap would also have to know architecture; recognising structural integrity and weak points so he knows exactly where to plant a charge to bring it down and how it'll come down
he has an incredible soldier's mind people just forget that bc he's sociable which itself is a skill
we know he tends to buck against orders he doesn't agree with like when he pushes back against ghost in capture or kill and shepherd when he tells them to release hassan
he gets closer to people and sees if he can trust them and that's when he follows them without question. really think about how he talks to alejandro and rudy; he asks about their home and alejandro's family and rudy's relationship with him. those aren't questions you ask a stranger after a few hours of knowing them. that's not even touching on his relationship with ghost
he also deliberately brings people of higher ranks down to his level; talking informally with ghost and giving him a shoulder punch, addressing alejandro (a colonel!!) by his first name and rudy by his nickname despite literally just meeting them. he personalises all of them and it’s in direct opposition to the reason most characters do that; it’s not due to insubordination or lack of respect, the more he respects and trusts someone, the more casual he is with them
he digs into people; he wants to know what makes them tick and that determines if he can one, trust them and two, follow their orders. once he decides that, he's the ultimate soldier; he bleeds loyalty which makes him vicious when that loyalty is taken for granted
he isn't naive or bubbly or insecure; he's an incredibly smart and aware soldier. he's aggressive and bloodthirsty and loyal and intuitive and i love him so much
"my infant death. it was never you."
bailey bass & sam reid in interview with the vampire (2022) cr. by rolin jones // 1. this post // 2. this post // 3. piss river - kevin morby // 4. a mother's hate - sam gordon // 5. elektra - sophocles // 6. on earth we're briefly gorgeous - ocean vuong // 7. unknown // 8. nayyirah waheed // 9. susan smith - wych elm // 10. unknown // 11. elektra - sophocles // 12. the ghost is dead, long live the ghost - mara avoth // 13. this post // 14. this post // 15. love drought - beyonce // 16. confessions - ijeoma umebinyuo // 17. unknown // 18. mother - john lennon
really fighting to accept & make peace with the ways i will never find the things i lost, or never again have them in the same way. also trying to be liberated by this
You're still standing off to the side. Somehow, center stage has shifted from under your feet without you realizing, and you're standing in the wings, performing to no one.
1. Are they a Dreamer or Soundless? What's their relationship with the Pale Mother and Ventari's teachings? If the first, have they ever thought about leaving the Dream behind? If the latter, why did they make that choice?
2. How much do they remember from the Dream? Did they have any particular experience in it before awakening?
3. Do they have a Wyld Hunt? Did they complete it?
4. How was their awakening? Did something particular happen? What's their first memory?
5. Are they from the first batch of Secondborn or did they awaken at some later point? What's their opinion on the Firstborn?
6. What did they do after leaving the Grove? Did they feel a particular call or did they just roam and explore Tyria? Would they still feel at home if they went back?
7. What was their first experience with other races? How did it impact them?
8. Do they fit well into sylvari society or are they more at home with other races? How do they feel about fellow sylvari? Do they have any particular sympathy or antipathy for other races?
9. Do they have a job/occupation? Why did they pick that? Did they ever change it? Are they happy with it or are they aiming for something else?
10. What are their hobbies and pastimes? Do they have any natural talent or particularly strong interest? Was it something they knew from the Dream or did they develop it once awakened?
11. Have they ever changed their own appearance? Was it intentional or due to external factors? Did it affect their glow as well? How long did it take? Would they ever change back?
12. What do they usually wear? Do they prefer regular clothes or growing "clothes" out of their bodies?
13. How do they feel about death? Does it make them curious or scared? Do they wish to understand it or do they simply accept it?
14. What do they think of the Nightmare Court? Would they ever join it? What would make them do so? / What made them join them? Would they ever leave it?
15. What are their feelings on their race being minions of the Jungle Dragon? What's their attitude towards those who turned? How do they feel about the shift in perception of their people from other races?
16. Where were they when the call of Mordremoth struck? Did they hear and follow it, or did they resist it?
17. If they were to turn into Mordrem, what would they look like? Would they manage to turn back? / When they turned into Mordrem, how did their appearance change? Did they manage to fully turn back?
18. [Free space for 3 pieces of trivia about your sylvari!]
I actually made 33 emotes, affectionately known as Aegirglyphics to some, for my own personal use on discord. However, I figure why not share some of them! They're free to use for discord servers/icons/pfps or whatever. However, my only request is Do NOT use them as subscriber emotes on Twitch. You can make them free follower emotes but you are not to make them locked behind a paywall.
What happens after a Halfa dies? What happens when their bodies of flesh can no longer hold the power of their soul? What happens when they’re no longer alive despite the fact they can never truly die?
What happens when their soul finishes incubating in its cocoon of meat and bone that’s warped and twisted over an immeasurable amount of time? When the soul leaves a body that refuses to stay down because death is not an option?
What happens when a Halfa finishes incubating in their first form, and splits? What happens when mortals not understanding what they’re doing in their hubris, causes one to do so early?
solavellan this solavellan that. my favorite way to interpret dalish heroes is as mirrors.
you're Mahariel. your life is over because of a mirror.
You are the mirror of Garahel. Tamlen is the blighted mirror of you. You, the hero, are a reflection of what has been and should never have been. The blood spilled and blackened over a millennium in the name of corrupted once-gods.
you're Merrill. your life is forever altered because of a mirror. you are a reflection of the pride and the folly of your Keeper, of what a Dalish mage should be, and should have been all along.
you are Lavellan. you are the Inquisitor, the lynchpin of fate, both a reflection and avenue of change - like an eluvian. you are the reflection of Mahariel. you are the reflection of your clan. you are the reflection of Ameridan. you are a reflection of Corypheus, caught in a cycle older than either of you. you are a reflection of the elvhen heart and soul. you are, unknowingly, the reflection of Fen'harel, and you will drag the world kicking and screaming into it's new fate and future.
I want to talk about this page in particular because the implications here are so riveting.
Lavi is currently 19. Allen is believed to be 16.
Which means that either
The Bookmen are lying
Bookman Jr. did die then and Allen either didn't age the first few years or his age got fucked up multiple times before he met Mana
The first seems highly improbable at this point tbh. If the Bookmen were planning to make Allen take the poison to make him remember his past then lying about when Past!Junior (presumably) died seems counterintuitive and would only make Allen mistrust them more once he was in full possession of his memories.
It doesn't seem like Allen de-aged to an infant. He says his earliest memories are from when he was in the circus. Even if he did age back to an infant, he would've needed caretakers and nothing in the story suggests he had any.
(Note how little Allen doesn't have his Innocence in the last panel. What the fuck does this mean Hoshino.)
Allen looks perhaps 4-5 in both of these panels. If Past!Junior died over 19 years ago and Allen aged linearly since then, then he would have to be 23+ by now. Even considering the possibility that he aged back to an infant, he he should be 19+ by now and he looks barely over 17.
We can assume that he must've aged in a somewhat even fashion once he joined the circus because otherwise the performers would've commented on it at some point of time.
What happened in the years between Junior dying and little Allen getting into the circus? Was he in a child's body till he acquired his Innocence? How did he even acquire his Innocence in the first place?
There's also a final possibility that came to me while I was writing this post— Lavi was born while Past!Junior was still alive. He was born with the 'mark' because Past!Junior was no longer fit to be a Junior. I genuinely have no idea how Hoshino will explain this. Will it be some sort of corruption? Memory loss? Chronic illness?
All of them seem equally unlikely options at this point. But so did the possibility of Allen and Bookman Jr. being different people before this chapter :)
Either ways, this was a very intriguing chapter and I'm looking forward to whatever Hoshino has in store for us.