***Spoilers for Seraph of the End manga chapter 131***
I just wanna talk about Mika and Yuu's changes in demeanor in this chapter. This page, in particular, was actually really sad to me.
Mika, while going along with Yuu's plans and ideas, was never really enthusiastic or optimistic about their chances of turning him back into a human. He was never super invested in saving his own life, but now that it's Yuu's life, he's suddenly super motivated. It's sad to me because it really emphasizes Mika's disregard for his own life. He didn't care as much about saving himself, but it's clear that he's about to pour all of himself and then some into keeping Yuu safe. It makes a depressing kind of sense. He's always been like this. Even as a kid, he gave up his body and blood to a vampire in order to provide for his family. He gave his life to distract Ferid to ensure that at least Yuu made it out alive. He then spent the next four years starving himself in order to keep as much of his humanity as possible and searching for Yuu. Once he found him, it was his single-minded mission to take Yuu away from the people who might be hurting him and to keep him safe. Mika has always held other people's lives, especially Yuu's, far above his own, and this chapter made this even more apparent.
Honestly, Yuu is the same way. He is 100% willing to sacrifice himself for the people he loves. Mika knows this, which is why he wanted Yuu to promise not to do exactly that. But notice, Yuu managed to avoid actually making the promise. Mika kept asking, but Yuu kept changing the subject.
I hope that doesn't come back to bite us later...
As for Yuu's change in demeanor, it is also very telling. While Mika seems upbeat and motivated now that he can focus on keeping Yuu safe, Yuu seems more subdued and much less enthusiastic about it. Yuu was putting all of himself into trying to save Mika, but now that he's the one who needs to stay safe, he doesn't seem as driven. Yuu and Mika have literally swapped places. They are both ready to give their all to protect each other while at the same time being reluctant to give anywhere near that same amount of energy when it comes to helping themselves.
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Is it possible that Armand's treatment of Daniel in Devil's minion is an "improved and tamed" version of his treatment of Louis during their years in IWTV. Louis doesn't disclose about that chapter of his life ever, even in his own book. I don't remember Armand doing it either.
My reasoning is that Armand was still fresh off his cult/coven master days, and a catatonic Louis would response better to more psychological and physical trauma.
If Armand could change Louis's frame of reference of "violence and trauma" (because his life had been twice traumatic than Lestat's and Louis's combined) then Louis could see his glass was still half full and open up to Armand.
I can't say that I see that!
The thing about Armand is that he does learn. Yes, it's a painful process for him and everyone involved, but he does learn and grow through every relationship.
We really don't get much on Louis and Armand, Part Un after IWTV, which was originally written to be a standalone novel. In IWTV, Louis and Armand have just separated before Louis meets Daniel. In TVL, Anne retcons this to have occurred roughly 50 years prior. It might have impacted what Louis decided to share about Armand since their breakup just happened, and also it wouldn't be relevant to Louis's motivation for giving the interview in the first place.
I tend to view Louis as being the successor to Nicolas, whereas Daniel is the successor to Denis. Armand's going to treat a human pet/prey very differently from the way he treats another vampire.
Armand was not feeling any affection or desire (besides hunger maybe) for Daniel at the beginning--he's playing with his food. We know Armand felt a "great affection" for Nicolas, and that he absolutely did want Louis in a romantic way.
With Nicolas, Armand quite literally didn't know any better. We're not told much about the nature of their relationship except for the small quote above and that Armand handled him in a way that was typical to the practices of the cult.
As much as Louis reminded Lestat of Nicki, I have to wonder--how much for that was also true for Armand? But that being said, Louis was not Nicki in either temperament or madness. That wouldn't have been the means for Armand to deal with Louis, and I don't think he would have the provocation nor the desire to go there.
Louis might have been distanced and detached but he was present enough to still have some sort of general awareness and to communicate with Armand, albeit in a very tragic way, as evidenced by this quote:
And, from time to time, Armand would ask me to take him there. And I, being aware in a gentlemanly manner that I did little to please him and often went for long periods without really speaking to him or seeking him out, wanted to do this because he asked me.
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[ID: Several drawings of Five from the Umbrella Academy being hugged and/or being shown other forms of physical affection, from each of his siblings (plus Lila). They include: Klaus draping himself over Five's head while Five claws at him and scowls. Allison wrapping Five in a tender hug. Luther carrying Five like a football while Five glares but has giving up on fighting. Diego lifting Five up in a hug while Five looks surprised. Five leaning on Viktor, napping, while Viktor reads a book. Lila scrolling her phone with her legs draped across Five, both of them lying on the floor. End ID.]
I have largely restrained myself from giving Five hugs because he does not hug. But now!!! It's fair game and I'm here to make it everyone else's problem
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Castor and Pollux are actually so sad.
So in the riordanverse, Castor and Pollux are Dionysus’s twin sons.
In mythology, Castor and Pollux were the twin (half and full) brothers of Helen of Troy (and Clytemnestra). Zeus had turned into a swan and uhh… slept with their mother, Leda, the Queen of Sparta, who had also slept with her husband, Tyndareus, the King of Sparta, so the following quadruplets that were born had different fathers. Castor and Clytemnestra were the children of Leda and Tyndareus, and Helen and Pollux were children of Leda and Zeus. Castor and Pollux were identical twins despite having different fathers, and they were inseparable and became known as the Dioscuri.
Long story short, Castor ends up being killed and Pollux is so distraught that he asks Zeus to kill him so that he could be with his brother, or he asks Zeus to bring Castor back to life (the sources in my admittedly brief research varied between the two). In the end, Zeus agrees to split Pollux’s immortality between the two, allowing them to be together in the sky as the constellation Gemini for half of the year, and reside in the Underworld for the other half. They are the Gemini twins.
So, we already know that Rick Riordan likes to make parallels to different Greek Myths with his characters (ex: Clarisse and Silena paralleling Achilles and Patroclus), and this is another sad instance. He gave Dionysus, the son of Zeus, twin sons named Castor and Pollux, and then killed Castor in the Battle of the Labyrinth.
I just wish we got to see more of Pollux’s grief in the aftermath. We get a little bit, when right before they burn the shrouds Pollux goes up to say a few words but can't, but I kind of wish we got to see some of the heartbreaking devotion in Pollux that was in his mythological counterpart.
Anyway, Rick was really out there writing tragedy into even the background characters that had only been mentioned maybe two or three times before.
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eddie going in to scoops ahoy dressed as a pirate and saying he’s here to ‘plunder scoops’ treasure chest of ice cream yarhar’ only he gets to the counter and it’s Steve serving, not Robin. He was expecting Robin. What comes out of his mouth is ‘I’m here for your pleasure chest’. Cue eddie turning on his heel, walking out of scoops and sitting himself down in the fountain of the food court, hugging his knees while the corroded coffin boys throw pennies at him.
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