#maes is also a war criminal

[sassydefendorflower]

I’m glad Maes Hughes died.

He’s a fan favorite character and I enjoy him a lot too, but I think fundamentally he’s a character who has to die. His role in the narrative is to haunt it.

I might be even more of a weirdo because I enjoy his manga characterization over his Brotherhood or ‘03 portrayal, but I love the idea of Hughes being someone the Elric brothers barely know - someone we, the audience, barely see.

Until he dies.

Because suddenly he’s everywhere. He was Roy’s friend and Armstrong’s superior officer and Winry’s acquaintance and Elicia’s father - and he was the soldier both Ed and Al knew, but didn’t actually know, that got killed because of them anyway.

In the manga Winry stays at Hughes’ place, but Ed and Al enter his house for the first time after they found out he died. For them, it’s not about losing a friend (though I am sure they liked him just fine) because that story is already Roy’s - for them it’s about realizing that this plot they’ve involved themselves in kills people that aren’t actually directly involved at all to begin with. It makes sense for their allies and friends and loved-ones to be targeted by the antagonists - but a soldier who mostly joined in because he was at the right (or wrong) place at the right (wrong) time? That’s not supposed to happen. And that’s what makes Hughes’ death so hard on them.

(and poor Elicia - abandoned children without their fathers were always a weakness of Ed’s)

But Roy? Yeah... he suffers. From the moment of Hughes’ dead on, Roy is haunted by it. By him. His best friend follows him everywhere. We see it in the way Roy only involves himself in the plot because Hughes figured something out and Roy is desperate for answers. He hunts down the homunculi to save this country, sure, but mostly so he can burn his best friend’s murderer to the ground. When Riza talks about winning against the Führer and their military dictatorship, she talks about all of them, not a hint of revenge coloring her vision - but Roy? It is telling that it isn’t a greater ideal that makes him torture Envy, but the agony of his best friend’s death.

The thing that almost breaks Roy is Maes.

No.

It’s Maes’ memory haunting the narrative.

And isn’t that beautiful?

The tragedy of it all, the horror, and the realization that Roy Mustang never really recovered from the War, that his friends are the only think keeping him in one piece, the fact that Roy Mustang is a Hero and a Monster and a fallible human capable of love.

Maes Hughes has to die to remind all of us of what Roy Mustang is capable of: love, loyalty, devotion.... and the slaughter and torture of numerous people.

His ghost is haunting the narrative - and for that I love him.

[physalian]

Yet another 5 Character Types The World Needs More Of

Continuing on the list of “tropes the world needs more of”

1. The optimist in denial

This is a character who probably didn’t have the best life growing up, so determined to look on the bright side to escape their objectively crap situation that they’re in denial, not just being annoyingly optimistic. They’re frustrating cases to all the people who care about them because they won’t admit anything is wrong, holding onto a life or reality that doesn’t exist, or perhaps never did, as it’s all they have left.

Example: Todoroki Fuyumi

2. The “peaceful” pacifist

As opposed to harmless, the distinction is important. Demons run when a good man goes to war. This is a character who took themselves off the game board because they know they’d win in a landslide. This is a warrior who left the battlefield because they are the weapon of mass destruction. This is also the character who is determined to be good, even if it gets them killed. I don’t care if there’s already plenty of them, this is good shit and I want more.

Example: Too many and yet not enough

3. The likable autistic

Neurodivergence in media is often the butt of the joke. You like these characters in spite of their “quirks” or you find them incredibly annoying because their “quirks” are their entire personality. Usual representations are arrogant and anti-social narcissists who lack compassion. Shockingly, autism is a spectrum, and a very far cry from sociopathy. No one trait should define an entire character, and that includes neurodivergence.

Nothing specific to do this time, more what not to do. Make them people first, yeah? A person with autism. Not autistic person. There’s a difference.

Example: Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)

4. Husbands who love their wives

Wow this feels like a low bar. These men who adore their wives, who wouldn’t dare think the phrase “ball and chain”. If he likes his wife, he’s probably a good man altogether. I feel like media is stepping away from the misogynistic kinds of protagonists (assuming their wives weren’t fridged) but I’m talking men who are their wives fiercest defender (socially) and biggest cheerleader.

Example: Gomez Adams, Maes Hughes

5. Unmanicured Female Heroes and Love Interests

Slapping barbie dolls who look gorgeous and can do no wrong aren’t anyone’s favorite character. Let her hair be a little frizzy, let her not wear makeup, give her jeans and a t-shirt and flat. Let her be a little lazy and self-indulgent. A little cluttered and messy without joking about how she’s ���letting herself go”.

Let her have some biases, some arbitrary hills to die on. Not every female character but usually characters like this are the jealous villains or the girl who gets dumped for someone prettier.

Example: Toph Beifong, Princess Fiona

—

Oh look I wrote some of these in ENNS haha what a coincidence

Check it out if you'd like~

[leclerc-s]

espresso with a side of depresso

series masterlist

liked by mickschumacher, bradleywillsimpson, zoyatorres and others

maejonesverstappen just wanted to put out a little song before coachella 🤎 espresso 4/11

view all comments

rhysjones i fear for my mental sanity every time you drop a new song.

estebanocon please no more songs with inuendos

↳ maejonesverstappen 🤭

↳ lancestroll we are so fucked.

user82 i too am also praying no more songs about max jones-verstappen's dick.

↳ user45 she has us all traumatized

isabellaperez what's the point in dropping music if i'm no longer around to terrorize jos?

↳ maejonesverstappen now whose choice was it to leave?

↳ isabellaperez THAT FACT IS IRRELEVANT!

alex_albon ma'am we are begging please stop singing about max's dick or your sex life.

user51 okay but she looks so hot? can max verstappen fight?

↳ maxjonesverstappen1 *max jones-verstappen does not condone hitting women but point me to the nearest track in your area and we'll settle this on the track like real men.

↳ user51 i'm a woman?

↳ maxjonesverstappen wasn't aware gender mattered on the track? but fine *we'll settle this on the track like real people.

danieljonesricciardo as long as it's not another nonsense or nonsense christmas we'll be fine guys. so fine.

↳ user30 this is the embodiment of the dog in a room on fire saying 'this is fine'

georgerussell63 no doubt she's getting ready to further traumatize us. twice just wasn't enough.

lewis hamilton my blood pressure has suddenly skyrocketed. anyone want to tell me why?

alex albon why do you always have to assume it's our fault? lewis hamilton it's always you people

isabella perez mae's dropping a new song.

lewis hamilton that explains so much. please tell me there's no references to max's dick.

mae jones-verstappen i can't promise that.

george russell WHEN WILL THE TORTURE END??

daniel jones-ricciardo probably when they have children to embarrass.

charles leclerc if max keeps winning everything, that'll probably be soon.

rhys jones woah! gross! child here!!

lando norris that's the circle of life baby jones! well, maybe not soon.

logan sargeant i think she enjoys torturing us with mentions of max's dick in songs.

max jones-verstappen can we stop talking about my dick please?

zoya torres TELL YOUR WIFE TO STOP WRITING SONGS ABOUT IT!

mae jones-verstappen 🤭🤭

daphne jones-ricciardo oh she is so proud of herself.

rowan todd of course she is. it's like pierre making a tripod joke.

fernando alonso sebastian i am begging you, please come back. put these animals under control.

sebastian vettel aren't you the one extending his contract to become the oldest driver in f1 histroy?

lewis hamilton hey, i'm still here!!

sebastian vettel he's older!

isabella perez i'm still going to torture jos. he's not get away from me simply because i no longer work for red bull.

rhys jones THE TORTURE JOS VERSTAPPEN CLUB HAS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED A NEW MEETING!!

max jones-verstappen stop torturing my father!

dulce perez but you two make it so easy for them

daphne jones-ricciardo children. all of you.

liked by maxjonesverstappen1, rhysjones, tatemcrae and others

maejonesverstappen triple shot...espresso out now ☕️

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user63 how the fuck did max verstappen end up with her?

isabellaperez oh wow. ditch the husband and marry me please!

↳ maejonesverstappen we can run away, ditch the husband and the boyfriend!

↳ isabellaperez say less baby girl

↳ oscarpiastri no, please say more.

↳ maxjonesverstappen i agree say more.

user09 oh she's so hot. please marry me.

user56 good thing your daddy made you get a boating license when you were 15.

nataliaruiz woah, how did verstappen ever end up with you??

↳ maejonesverstappen his insane yapping rizz somehow woo'd me.

user79 you're so pretty. i love you.

rhysjones how did you release a summer bop but daph is releasing the world's most depressing album?

↳ maejonesverstappen it's called versatility baby brother. you play a war criminal, daphne is depressed, and i sing about things i shouldn't.

↳ isabellaperez like max's dick!

baileywinters you gorgeous, gorgeous girl.

↳ maejonesverstappen 👩🏼‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏻

user61 it will always surprise me that daphne and mae are related. it's no surprise that mae's related to rhys but witch daphne's it's a shock.

liked by maxjonesverstappen1, rhysjones, tatemcrae and others

maejonesverstappen espresso btsoo ☕️

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maxjonesverstappen1 woah. marry me??

↳ maejonesverstappen maxie, we're already married.

↳ maxjonesverstappen i am one lucky man.

maxjonesverstappen1 that smile 🥰

maxjonesverstappen1 i love you

↳ user42 max jones-verstappen, certified simp for his wife.

↳ user28 he's never beating the trophy husband allegation. this is why he and daniel get along so well, they were made to be trophy husbands.

user56 good thing your daddy made you get a boating license when you were 15.

coreyfogelmanis how did that man end up with you??

↳ maxjonesverstappen1 stop bullying me!!

↳ coreyfogelmanis oh as her best friend it is my job to bully you

user10 i have never been more in love with women than i am now.

dulceperez that's one pretty girl. marry me?

↳ maejonesverstappen i would rather not be chased down by a rabid leclerc

↳ arthur_leclerc i am not rabid mae!

↳ louis_graham you chased me through the streets of monaco with a rolling pin because you thought i had a crush on dulce.

↳ arthur_leclerc that's not true!!

freya vettel me? you? beautiful blonde babies?

↳ maejonesverstappen i'm sure we could find a way

↳ maxjonesverstappen1 okay, mickschumacher come get your girlfriend before i block her.

↳ mickschumacher oh but this is so funny.

user06 SUMMER BOP RIGHT HERE!!

user17 oh mae jones-verstappen sure knows how to write a summer bop.

sebastian vettel why did you have to speak of honeybees that way?

mae jones-verstappen seb, please.

mick schumacher you might actually make him cry.

freya vettel he's definitely going to cry.

sebastian vettel i don't understand why we had to speak of honeybees that way?

rhys jones WHAT ABOUT THE NINTENDO? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO RUIN THAT FOR US TOO??

alex albon she ruined christmas now she's ruined honeybees and nintendos

mae jones-verstappen okay, now you two are being dramatic. i didn't ruin anything.

daphne jones-ricciardo how to you look sophie in the face? because it took me months to look grace in the face after i released dress.

penelope trevino it's a talent!

lando norris okay mayores, calm down

rowan todd and this is why i'm glad i never wrote a horny song about a french man.

bailey winters or me about a british man

pierre gasly wow imagine what it would be like if my girlfriend loved me.

rhys jones maybe she'd love you more if you stayed at red bull considering she's a red bull fan.

pierre gasly daniel, i swear to god, keep that kid away from me or i'll strangle him.

daniel jones-ricciardo okay, rhys, maybe we shouldn't attack the driver.

rhys jones he drives an alpine. i'll be safe.

logan sargeant lmao!

lance stroll who pissed off the pipsqueak?

arthur leclerc my guess is pierre.

pierre gasly all i said was percy jackson would get beat up by harry potter and now he's all pissy.

rhys jones BECAUSE YOU'RE LIKE YOU CROISSANT! PERCY GREW UP IN NEW YORK!! HARRY GREW UP IN FUCKING ENGLAND!

isabella perez yeah, i agree with rhys. there's no way harry beats percy.

charles leclerc but harry has a wand?

dulce perez and 9 times out of 10 he only uses expelliarmus.

logan sargeant have none of you read the percy jackson books? percy controls water, he 100% beats harry.

lewis hamilton this is just another way for you people to do the whole uk vs usa argument.

isabella perez WHAT'S A STICK GOING TO DO AGAINST A GLOCK?

fernando alonso i beg, please god give me strength to deal with these idiots

esteban ocon why are we having this argument?

rhys jones because i'm right and pierre is wrong. he just won't admit it.

mick schumacher i fear our brains need to be studied for science.

carlos sainz i think katniss beats them both.

rhys jones STOP CARLOS OR I WILL NOT HOLD BACK!!

daphne jones-ricciardo he's very passionate about this carlos. please don't make him attack you.

carlos sainz i retract my statement

rhys jones I'M RIGHT AND EVERYONE WHO DISAGREED WITH ME IS WRONG SO SHUT UP!

natalia ruiz never a dull moment with you people. never.

sebastian vettel i seriously question my life whenever someone sends a text that starts an argument in this group chat.

isabella perez YO NICO ROSBERG'S GOING TO BE IN CHINA!!

george russell BROCEDES REUNION INCOMING!!

rhys jones more like nico yapping about lewis

charles leclerc you can sit i my garage for the race weekend?

rhys jones LET'S GO!!!! A WIN IS A WIN BITCHES!!

max jones-verstappen traitor

daniel jones-ricciardo traitor

rhys jones I AM A TIFOSI FIRST AND BROTHER-IN-LAW SECOND!!

fernando alonso i don't have the strength to deal with this.

isabella perez remember to stream espresso!!

taglist: @burningcupcakefire @arkhammaid @applopie @sunflower-golden-vol6 @lorarri @bb-swift @thewannabewriter @mypage-myfandoms @stopeatread @hobiismyhopeu @lilsiz @alessioayla @niniluvsainz @au-ghosttype @six-call @justtprachisblog @nichmeddar @landonorizzz @unluckyyoshi @cool-ultra-nerd @kami10471633 @1nt3rnetgf @fernandoswarcrimes @arieltwvdtohamflash @brekkers-whore @natcha888 @camdensreg @mycenterfold @dear-fifi @georgeparisole @dan3avocado @nikfigueiredo @bella-1 @namgification @jensonsonlybutton @weekendlusting @trouble-sistar @lesliiieeeee @leclercsluv @33-81 @theseus-jpg @sarah-thatstings-ann @minmira95 @casperlikej @formulaonebuff @hopenshaw @ijustgomessitupx @hwalllllllelujah @doodlehunz @prongsvault

¡leclerc-s speaks! i'm not going to lie, i've been watching grey's anatomy for the first time and that's why i haven't been posting much. but today's the day guys!! i also don't know how or why this devolved into what it did towards the end.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[levis-coffeecup]

chapter 29| Turning Page

WC-6.5k

Summary

The underground is filthy and dark. Dim lights, dull alleys, and desperate hearts. A place Levi knows as well as the back of his hand, and a place he would do anything to get out of.

Chapters of life roll by and with the turn of a page, things drastically change. In front of him is the opportunity to live on the surface. And the flimsy bridge that he has to cross. From an uncivil criminal to a disciplined soldier.

But life on the surface seems tougher amidst all the mockery, civilities, and the gaping hole left in his heart, after the demise of his dear friends Isabel and Farlan.

Content/Warnings

canon- compliant, canon-typical violence, spoilers for No Regrets OVA, descriptions of PTSD, grief, depression, heavy angst and themes, strong language, self-hate, physical assault.

Author’s Note

OMG hiii guysss!

Can't believe that this is the last chapter!! There's so much gratitude in my heart right now. This has been a long long (irregular🤡) ride, and I'm grateful to everyone who's sticked around!

I've tried my best to write an amazing chapter since its the last, which is why this got so delayed. (And I might also have been overworked to the core at work lol ) But there's going to be a long ass note at the the end of the chapter about everything!

Song for the final chapter is by Turning Page by Sleeping at Last!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Chapters

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

Masterlist | Playlist | Other Works

APRIL 857

It’s an hour past 12, and Levi sits on his balcony looking at the midnight sky.

The thick veil of pollution prevents the stars from being visible. Instead there's street lights and high beams from cars, twinkling on the ground.

He misses the stars from Paradis. It was the first thing he fell in love with once he came to the surface. And he wonders, whether Mae is looking at the stars and thinking of him as well?

The world outside the walls is beautiful.

There are soaring cathedrals that almost reach the sky, and beautiful temples with the most intricate architecture. There’s snow capped mountains and beautiful cherry blossoms. And everyday, from his tiny balcony, he gets to see the sun sink below the sharp silhouette of the towers.

He’s getting to experience the world his comrades died for.

But as beautiful the outside world is, it isn’t home

The development of technology seems unfamiliar. And the people around him haven’t lived their entire lives caged in fear. These people don’t know the cost of freedom.

It has been so long since he’s been back home.

It’s been so long since the Rumbling too.

The earth was left razen. Mountains crumbled to dust and forests burnt to ashes. Countries had simply been wiped off the face of the earth. Years of civilization and developmentsnuffed out in an instant, with no one to record their names.

But against the odds, humanity managed to survive. Traumatized and beaten, but still alive.

Miraculously Levi made it too.

Jean and Connie found him half dead, on the foot of Fort Salta. He was lapsing in and out of consciousness. Devoid of the strength to even stand up.

Tents were made into makeshift hospitals, food was meager. And his first few months were spent on a wooden cot,bed ridden with the stinging pain of his knee and his yearning for Mae.

He yearned to see her when he was trapped with Zeke for a month, he yearned to see her when he woke up with searing pain and bandages all over his face. And now the war was over, but he couldn’t get back to her.

The Rumbling destroyed everything humanity had ever strived for. Rail tracks, roads, ports, farms… everything was abolished as an aftermath.

It was impossible to get to the other side of the world.

Gradually Levi recovered, it took him almost a year. But his strength never returned. The tiniest task would turn him breathless, and the sight in his right eye was gone for good.

The doctors diagnosed him a plethora of health problems. And he was never allowed to look weak, but now he was in a wheelchair, needing help to pick things up from the floor. Life dealt him one blow after another.

Armin, Jean and Connie became busy, making peace with the remaining nations. Mikasa never returned. And Levi found himself, all alone. With a chaotic mind, and too much time on his hands.

Soon the Allied Nations rescued all the survivors from the Titan Waste Lands. Marley was no more, so most refugees ended up taking asylum in Hizuru.

And by the courtesy of Kiyomi Azumabito, Levi was gifted an apartment in the center of the city hall, and citizenship. A tiny apartment in between a lush square, in the city center.

It was tiny, but homely enough. And he would love sitting on the balcony and watching the outside world.

Life got more comfortable and Levi got to see the sights his comrades died for.

But there were still days where he barely had enough strength to pick his remaining fingers. Those days were the worst. And he felt like the walls of his apartment would swallow him up.

The purpose of his life was over. Hange was gone. Erwin was gone. Life came crashing down.

And sometimes, under the flicker of a candlelight, at his tiny desk, he would close his eyes, and imagine that he’s back in Mae’s old house. Learning the alphabet, listening to the soft scratches of her pen as she corrected his writings. It seemed like lifetimes had passed since then.

Mae was always with him, through all his hurdles he faced on the surface. And now he had to face an awfully big one, without her.

So he decided he’ll start to learn writing again. With two fingers of his right hand gone, he had to re-learn how to hold a pen again. He told Onyaknapon to get him books, so he could trace over letters, trying to perfect every curve. Just the way Mae had taught him.

It gave him a sense of purpose, and it also made him feel close to her in some way.

It took three years for the Yeagerists to finally agree to a cordial discussion with the Alliance. Historia sent letters to everyone. And this morning the Alliance left, back to their hometown.

Armin did extend an invitation to him too. But Levi didn’t want to be associated with the world anymore. He didn’t have the strength for it nor the will. His job was done.

“Captain,” A voice pulls him out of his thoughts. Behind him is a sliding door that leads to his room. And on the bed sits Onyakapon.

He points at the three thick journals that take up most of his space in his briefcase.“Are you sure you want to take these back?”

And Levi contemplates. Paper doesn’t spoil, and he should rather carry some spare clothes to keep himself clean.

“Leave the journals there.” His voice comes out gruff, and then it turns wispy. Everything he’s ever felt in these years without her and his limbs, is penned in these flimsy sheets of paper.

“It’s letters I have written to her.” There is no need to clarify. There’s no need to carry his journals all the way back either. But he does it either way. The war has changed him. And Levi realises he doesn’t have to torture himself anymore.

“I’m surprised you never got her to meet us.” Onyakapon smirks. He could have never guessed the captain had a lover.

And a faint smile appears on Levi’s lips as the curve of her smile plays on his mind. He wonders if she found the pearl ring and his letter. He never found the courage to directly hand it to her.

It’s been three years. Three long painful years. Perhaps, she’s forgotten all about him.

“Tch, as if I’ll let you filths near her.” He brushes his feelings off. Masking his thoughts with harsher words. Some things truly never change.

A flight passes over his head, he’ll probably sit in the next one.

“I hope everything is safe out there, hope there’s no hostility.” Onyakapon mumbles as he closes the briefcase.

And Levi gets off from his wheelchair, limping towards his bedpost. “No harm from a guy in a wheelchair.” He tries to joke, but there’s a prick in his heart.

He can’t pick things from the shelf. Some Days he also needed help to get to the toilet. And even though he’s returning back to Mae, there’s nothing he can do for her now.

And while happiness was never a part of his destiny. He hopes she’s happy. At least one of them must be.

“Well if things are bad, you can always come back here captain.” Onyakapon’s voice cuts through the constant torture of his thoughts.

The words bring him enough solace to take him through the night. A rare smile tugs on his lips. “Thanks Onyakapon.”

It’s going to be a long trip.

_________________________

It’s 10 am, and it’s sweltering hot in Mitras. Sweat clings to Levi’s skin, and he wipes it off with the back of his hand.

His briefcase sits on his lap. And he pushes his wheelchair through the dirt road,

Vast meadows stretch in front of him. The air is fresh, and a plethora of apple trees border the sides of the road. Its shade is very welcome in the sun.

Farmhouses are scattered at a distance, crops grow in structured rows. And Levi taps his heel, as he moves past them mindlessly. His thoughts are only set on one.

Historia told him Mae’s house was at the end of the apple plantation. Luckily the terrain is flat, and he’s able to maneuver his wheelchair with ease.

Nonetheless, it’s been a tiring ride.

The royal guards did offer to escort him to Mae’s house, but he declined the offer. The moment approaching was too personal to share with a bunch of strangers.

Soon, what he’s searching for comes to vision, and eagerly he moves forward.

100 meters away from him, down the mud path, is a humble home. Its stone walls are smooth, worn out by time. And the roof is thatched with wood and straws.

There’s a small garden at the front, with saplings that are beginning to sprout. And a few meters away from it all is a park. The sight of which bubbles a bittersweet feeling in Levi's chest.

“This is it.” He exhales, cherishing the cold air on his lips. It’s a breath that he’s been holding in for too long. A yearning that has been living in his heart for years now.

His mind jogs back to a small trip they took 5 years back, on Mae’s birthday. She had booked a small cabin nestled in the middle of farmland.

He still remembers the smile on her face, and the way her eyes crinkled in the sunlight.

Her hair flowed in the wind, and he thoughtlessly followed it. Too enamored by the happiness she radiated.

The birds sang, and the lillies seemed to beam.

Stories were told by the fireplace, and they would stargaze from the flower field. Cuddling under the sheets of the stiff bed, and eating lunch under a tree's shade.

She laughed, then he smiled. And for a fleeting moment, Levi had escaped from all his responsibilities.

He realized he could spend his entire life this way, under the shadow of the sun, and the warmth of their love. He couldn’t care less about saving the world, or his tea shop even…

He just wanted to be here with her.

Forever.

But time stopped for no one. And Levi’s prayers had a habit of going unheard.

And now, 5 years later, life has brought him here again. In a secluded countryside so full of beauty and peace, and so unlike him.

This is the kind of life Mae had always wanted to live. Away from the bustle of the city, where she could spend countless hours looking at the stars.

The door to her house softly clicks. And Levi leans forward, with his breath caught in his throat.

He has felt her caress in the warmth of the sunlight. He’s heard the faint echo of her laughter in the rustling of the leaves. Every breath, every movement, was just in the hopes that he’d get to see her again.

Seasons passed by like shadows, and now finally he’s finally here, moments away from her. The journey has been staggeringly hard.

Time passes at a lumbering pace, and Levi feels like he can almost hear the creaking of the door, as it gets swinged open.

Out steps a man with a basket in his hand. He’s well built and tall, and donned in a casual attire.

And Levi’s heart drops to the floor as a sickening feeling of jealousy takes over. All of a sudden the blood is thunderous in his ears.

He feels like he can’t breathe And his heart burns at the thought that her gentle smile turns to a man who isn’t him.

A moment later, a toddler comes out, chasing behind the man.

And Levi clutches the sides of his wheelchair so tight, that his knuckles turn white.

Fuck

He feels like he’ll vomit.

Like salt to his wounds, the man picks up the child. And she smiles so bright, he can see her sweet giggle, even though it's barely audible in the distance.

The man kisses the toddler’s cheeks, and takes her to the park. And Levi watches the scene with a sting in his eye.

He was her lover once but now he's a mere bystander. A powerless man who can do nothing but just watch. The realization is like a punch to his gut, and a bittersweet memory comes to Levi’s mind.

On their last night in the cabin, he told Mae he didn’t have the time to get her a birthday present. And then she shed a silent tear, telling him how she felt like she’s carrying the entire relationship.

It wasn’t too far from the truth. He had too much on his mind as a soldier. And life was not easy when the weight of humanity rested on your shoulder. Some days he didn’t even have the time to think of her.

And Levi knew he was being selfish by keeping her chained to him, but his heart didn’t know a way of living without her.

He asked what he could do to make it up to her, and she asked him to run away to a peaceful place.

All she had ever wanted was to stay next to him.

The decision was clear in his head then, but now he wonders if he should have just eloped with her… It's not like all the wars he’s fought have turned this world into an ideal place.

The impermanence of life… It’s something that he still can’t comprehend.

What is born shall die, what has started shall end. People come and go out at their own pace. The good moments turn stale, and eventually everyone ends up alone, with only memories to comfort them. Time is truly a fickle piece of shit.

The man places the toddler on the swing, before he heads the other way. And Levi gets consumed by his thoughts.

He had people who he once held close too. Erwin, Hange, Isabel, Farlan. But they left.

He wasn’t prepared for their deaths, but somehow he made his peace with it.

But he's not ready to let Mae go yet.

Not when her name is etched in the depths of his heart. Not when her thoughts have troubled him day and night. His heart yearns for her so deep, it doesn’t know another way of living.

It was supposed to be his kid, she was supposed to be his wife. He wanted to start his tea shop too. Life just had some other plans after all.

There were days when he didn’t have the strength to get out of his makeshift bed, there were days where his injuries hurt so much, he thought he’d prefer death over the pain of living like this. But he pushed and pushed.

Because at the end of this tunnel, he saw her.

The sweet end of his tiresome journey, The reward for his unyielding perseverance. His home after years of loneliness.

But it’s been three years now. And she’s not his anymore.

A part of him wants to throttle this man, for laying his hands on her. And a part of him wants to hate on her too. But it isn’t her fault as well.

His heart has been placed in the palm of her hand for far too long. And if she decides to break it, then he’ll just have to disseminate.

He guesses he’ll just have to live with the weight of being all alone.

The silence consumes,

And Levi taps his heel in frustration.

Time passes by painfully slowly. And one minute turns into fifteen.

The man and toddler are long gone now, but Levi still continues to bleed on the edge of his seat. He continues to sweat in the heat. Too nervous to move forward, yet too regretful to turn away.

Old habits die hard, he guesses.

The strength to move forward wanes from his body and every breath he takes only shatters his composure into pieces. He never thought he’d have to taste defeat, after winning over the entire world.

There’s some shuffling in the woods, and he swivels around aghast. His reflexes are not as sharp as he used to be. And he’s too exhausted to put on the act of a stone cold person.

He tries honing on the sound of movement but what use would that even be?

Back in the day he had the strength to beat any person to a pulp. But now with his crippled leg, he’s more of a burden, than a lover.

His hands trace back to his scars, a habit he has recently developed. And insecurity floods his mind.

He feels stupid pondering over something as trivial as his appearance. He wouldn’t even pay it a thought when he was in the Survey Corps. But he’s on the way to meet the love of his life and there’s these scars on his face that make him look fucking hideous.

The pit he's falling into is not unfamiliar. It’s something that bothers him everytime he looks into the mirror.

And in the haze of his insecurities. A sweet voice finds him.

“Dadd-a?”

He gasps, slowly turning towards the voice.

A little girl peeks at him from behind a tree trunk. He can’t see much of her, as she’s a few feet away, partly covered between the dense layers of trees. But he recognises her as the same child, who stepped out of Mae’s house a few moments ago.

The silence stretches, and she continues looking at him. With her eyes all wide and beaming. And Levi sighs, not knowing how to react.

He decides he doesn’t have it in him to see Mae or her happy family. He’ll just come back another day, when his heart hurts a little less.

And so he turns his wheelchair around, almost taking a U turn. But the same innocent voice stops him again.

“Dadd-a,” the girl squeals, and her tiny shoes squeak as she waddles towards him.

And Levi feels stumped, when she wraps her tiny body around his leg.

He’s always been quick to react to situations, but now he’s frozen.

He wonders why this little girl is hugging his leg, and how she’s not scared of how scary he looks with the huge scars on his face.

And as much bitterness his heart holds at the cruel turn of fate, her purity washes it away. Slowly, gently, deliberately. His features soften, and he decides the least he can do is drop her back home to safety.

He huffs, bending down to pick her up. And as he lifts her up by her armpits, his eyes are met with the same shade of silver.

Her skin is pale, papery white in complexion and her hair is the same shade of midnight black as his. Everything from the shape of her face to the shade of her lips comes from him. And there’s also a little cravat tucked inside her red polka dot dress.

“Daddaaa,” she chimes as if she recognizes him.

And a shuddered breath escapes his lips. Her smile… It comes from Mae.

She is his. Theirs. A part of him and a part of Mae.

And Levi has faced strong emotions before. He’s had his stomach churn with anxiety, and he’s had his heart overrun with grief and loss. He’s always anticipated all the things that could happen in his future, trudged every moment with caution. But no amount of preparedness could prepare him for the moment in front of him.

His hands tremble, as he puts her down on the floor. He’s a father now… he’s been a father for the past 3 years. It's too much to process. And his heart beats so fast in his chest, he’s afraid it will break out of his ribs.

“Lilly, Lilly,” A familiar voice cuts through the moment and his heart skips a beat.

“How many times have I told you not to-” Mae steps out of the trees, panting and worried. But the sight in front of her makes the words on her tongue scurry away.

Levi is a few meters away from her, in a wheelchair with 2 long scars running down his face, just the way the Queen had foreseen in the paths.

Everyday, she has stared at this road for countless hours, waiting for him to show up. It feels like she’s waited a lifetime to see him again.

The years of separation pass by her eyes.

Countless nights were spent crying into his shirt and every breath felt like a burden.

Everyone was ecstatic about the liberation of their island. And Mae was condemned to be alone, with her dwindling will to live.

Then she met Samuel and Claus, the soldiers who showed empathy to her, in a world that had become too hostile for anyone who supported the alliance.

They took her to the Queen, and the Queen recognised her instantly, as the doctor who helped when Trost was breached.

And as a Survey Corps Soldier who was once a part of the Levi’s squad, the Queen made it her mission to protect and provide for the ones who were close to the Alliance.

That’s when Mae moved into the peaceful countryside, with Jean and Connie’s mom.

Living with people who dealt with the same grief surely gave some solace, but life was still painful. And in the midst of her pain, like a beam of light into stark darkness, her baby came into this world.

And Mae never thought she’d get to see Levi’s eyes again, but they were right in front of her. Resting so peacefully against her chest.

That night she cried tears of gratitude. Life crashed into her as peacefully as it could.

“Mama mama, dadd-a has come back,” Her daughter squeals, with her tiny finger pointing towards Levi. Her grasp on her leg is still tight, and her eyes sparkle with joy.

And Mae tries to smile, but it gets dissolved in the trail of her tears.

This moment has haunted her every second, wrecked her entire being. And as she steps closer to the dream of Levi she’s had, every night since she was pregnant, the details of him come to life.

Her eyes follow the strong curve of his jaw, chiseled as if it has been carved by an artist. The ridge of his nose is sharp as always and his thin eyebrows are slightly disheveled.

She caresses him with her gaze, before her touch can even come close.

Two different Levi’s look back at her now. On the left, his face is marred, with two long scars running down his face. He is hurt and hidden away. And she can never see him through his cloudy iris.

But in his other eye, there are flecks of hope. The black of his pupil has expanded, and his iris shines blue in the sunrays. He wears his heart on his sleeve, Mae swears she has never seen him this vulnerable before.

And she might have lived without him for 3 years, but he has lived inside her every second, in her every thought. Her hand extends towards him out of deprivation.

Life hasn’t been the kindest to her.

But when the pads of her fingers reach the hollow of his cheek, her heart steadies itself. Whenever her eyes met his orbs , her ears met his voice, and her body met his touch. His familiarity always envelopes her. As if the hearth of a warm house, always welcoming and open.

Her hands reach to his lips, the shape of which she can trace on paper, even with her eyes shut close.

And Levi closes his eyes in alleviation.

There’s a search for words. Words for the longing, words for the separation.

And Mae shudders, as the pads of her fingers skim over his skin. They trace over his scars, the old and the new. From the top of his forehead, down to the edge of his chin. From the curve of his necks down the length of his arms.

Three years have passed by, but his features are still as strong.

Her caress reaches the end of his arm, and her fingers find the indents of his knuckles. Gingerly she takes his palm into hers,

And Levi is quick to wrap the 3 fingers that remain on his hand, around her.

Her touch feels both foreign and achingly familiar. He has craved this so much.

Mae’s eyes widen at the gesture, heavy with tears. And she kisses the spot where his 2 fingers once used to be. Levi is as real as ever, she can feel every divot of his skin against her lips.

The realization breaks her, and she drops to the floor. With her head on his lap, and her arms sprawled all over his thighs.

There’s disbelief, there’s elation. The feeling can never be put into words. Her shoulders wilt, heavy with the pain of separation, and she cries into his lap.

“I missed you… You weren’t there.” Her voice is muffled against his skin. “I thought I’d never see you again.” Her sobs pierce through the quiet of the farmland.

And he stares wide eyed, biting back his tears as well.

The pain she has carried with her all these years, is right in front of him. Laced into the heavy sobs that rake through her frame.

And Levi knows he should pick her up and kiss the shit of her, but he’s frozen. For his gaze is stuck on the familiar pearl ring that rests on her ring finger.

Words fail him, and his heart spasms in his chest. “D-did y-you ? He can only stutter, as his touch lingers over the pearl. ”A-after all this time?”

The question hangs in the air, but the answer is right in front of him. In the grief that occupies her heart, in the love that still brims in her eyes. And in the tiny girl who looks exactly like him.

It feels like all the sacrifices he’s made in life have finally come to fruition. His directionless quest has finally found its destination. His exhausted soul has found its shelter.

There’s such mercy in this moment, all he can do is shudder and let out an exhale. Maybe in exhaustion, maybe in fulfillment.

And Mae looks up at him, her eyes tinged red with tears. “I was only going to wait one more year, good that you came back in time.”

He puts his hand on her head, and her body trembles beneath his touch. All the grief she has held onto for so long, slows paroles in the form of her tears.

The scene is as heartbreaking, as it is rewarding.

“Ma-ma,” Lilly babbles, her voice as bright as sunlight cutting through storm clouds. And Levi looks at her as she tries to fit herself in the space between Mae’s hunched frame and his legs.

She settles into Mae’s lap, and Mae is forced to look into her eyes full of wonder.

“Mama…” she coos, and her tiny hands wipe the fat tears that roll down Mae’s face.” Dad-da’s back, don-t be sad.”

And Mae smiles at that, certainly she takes a lot from her father.

“You’re right, my love…let’s take Dada home shall we?” Her voice turns gentler, and she gets up with Lily in her arms.

“Levi?” Mae questions, gesturing towards his lap.

And Levi hesitates, a little too afraid that he’s too scary for the delicate human being.

“You’ll be a great father, don’t worry.”

The second time he looks at her, he knows he’s doomed. Her cheeks are round and full, as if there’s food stuffed inside them. And her eyes are just like his, but there’s a brightness in them that he never had.

She settles on his lap. And as he wraps his arms around her waist, she places her tiny palms on his scarred forearms. And Levi realizes there is nothing he wouldn’t do for this tiny person that he’s just met a few moments ago.

His heart feels full of love.

Mae starts pushing his wheelchair forward. And he closes his eyes, as he feels the wind against his face. It’s a moment that makes him feel grateful to be alive.

In a span of a few minutes, they’re already outside the veranda to her house. And Levi can smell the Lavender she has planted in the front garden.

“It’s not a big house but it’s enough. I stay here with Jean and Connie’s mom… Luckily for us though, they’ve gone to Trost for a bit.” Mae speaks, as she picks Lily from Levi’s lap, and places her inside the house.

“It’s a very sweet place though. All the farmers staying around often visit. It’s like a big family. Borris was here too, half an hour back. You might have seen him…he wanted to take some cookies for his son.”

“Ahh,’ Levi drawls, as if he didn’t spend fifteen minutes hating on that man. “I don’t think I saw him.”

She takes his briefcase in one hand, and hooks her other arm around his waist. Slowly helping him up the short flight of stairs. And he wants to do nothing, but melt in her embrace

“I can walk for a few minutes.” Her murmurs, almost embarrassed.

“You’re not walking anywhere until I check your leg myself.” She reprimands, but the softness in her eyes contradicts her strict tone.

As it turns out, Mae’s house is very much a home.

The interior is simple and modest. There’s a couch, two wooden chairs and a table in the front room. The wooden floor creaks as he steps in. And the walls are filled with the crayon marks.

“I’ll get your wheelchair inside.” Mae mumbles as she seats Levi on the couch.

And when Mae comes back in again, Lilly has already managed to climb on the couch. She’s standing on Levi’s lap with her hands on his cheeks. The faintest of smiles plays on Levi’s lips, and he holds her by the waist, making sure she doesn’t lose balance.

The sight makes Mae’s heart swell. Her entire world is now in front of her. Her heart feels so full and so heavy at the same time. And her eyes turn misty again.

“Oi oi, don’t start with all the crying again?” Levi mutters as he notices her standing by the door.

And Mae sniffs, overwhelmed. “I’ll make you some tea?”

“Yaa- Da-dda love teaaa.” Lilly squeals, before Levi can even respond to Mae.

And Mae smiles. Her family is finally complete... a few years back she would have never believed she’d get the privilege of experiencing this.

And just as she’s about to turn towards the kitchen, Levi stops her.

“Mae…” His voice drawls, and he pats the spot next to him. “Tea can wait.”

_________________________

The world outside fades into a quiet hum as the bustle of the morning stretches into the lull of the afternoon.

The sun has draped itself over the earth, like a soft blanket. And Levi rests on the bed. He’s just finished his lunch, and he allows himself to sink into the mattress.

Time seems to have been caught in the gentle sway of the trees, and Levi takes his sweet time looking at the things around him.

Lily's soft toys are stacked on top of the cupboard. And there's a wooden cabinet, filled with all of Mae's favorite books.

The curtains are made of colorful crocheted patchwork. And somehow Mae has managed to bring most of her things from her house in Trost here.

But it's not just that. Levi's stuff is here too.

There’s a cupboard next to Mae with his clothes folded and organized just the way he likes it. His favorite novels and teacups are kept in a separate cabinet. And right in front of the bed, there's a wall with paintings of the three of them together.

It feels like nothing has changed, like he was never away.

And everytime he closes his eyes, his heart begins to race. But for the first time, the adrenaline that flows through him isn’t nerve-racking. It feels exciting

The curtains above his head billow softly with the wind. A mild breeze enters the bedroom and Levi tilts his face to bask in its warmth.

His whole world now lies in his arms. Snoring peacefully, with her hand wrapped around his finger. She's so tiny, that all of her body fits on his torso.

And he lets out a sigh as he feels the subtle rise of her tiny chest against his own.

“Are you not able to sleep, because all of a sudden there’s a child on your chest, and you don’t know where she came from?” Mae steps into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

“I can clearly tell where she comes from.” Levi comments as he looks at his dear daughter. “Is this why you were crying so much the day I was leaving for Marley?”

“Mhmm… “ Mae nods, as she rests her back against the door. And Levi closes his eyes, listening to her voice.

“You had to save the world Levi, you had to give it your all. And you would have died hating yourself if you knew you had a child coming into the world, that you weren’t going to be there for… As much as I was dying to tell you about my pregnancy, I thought it was best to keep it from you…” It’s an uncomfortable topic that defines the rest of their future, Mae’s eyes fall to the ground.

If only she would look up, she would see Levi with the faintest of smiles, thinking of how he can actually see her instead of imagining her.

“I know a child was never something you wanted… So I understand how complicated this situation can be for you.” Mae goes on and Levi lays still with his eyes shut in contentment, hoping for time to slow down.

“What?” She gasps, finally looking up at him. “Say something? I’ll never know how you’re feeling if you don’t tell me about it.”

Finally his eyes flutter open, and he looks at her through the curtain of his lashes. A faint smile plays on his lips, and his cheeks turn pink as he stretches out his other hand towards her. “Come here.”

In an instant, her features soften, turning into one of relief. And she smiles as makes her way to him.

She rests her head on his shoulder.And he drinks in every detail. As if he’s a parched man, dying of thirst. His heart pounds in his chest, and then his gaze falls towards her lips.

It doesn’t take too long for their lips to fuse together. It’s a simple kiss, but it’s been years.

They part in bliss.

And Levi brings her hands to his lips, pressing a doting kiss on her skin. She’s his to keep, his to salvage.He can’t put his gratitude into words.

“Thank you.” His voice is heavy. “ I-I…” He wants to tell her how happy he is to be next to her. He wants to tell her how exhausting it was without her. And that he can’t believe she’s all his. He wants to tell her about all the letters he’s written to her. But his heart is lodged so deep in his throat that he can’t squeak out the words he desperately wants to say.

“Rest my love.” She keeps her thumb on his lip, tracing his bottom lip. “We have time.”

His eyes flutter shut at her words, and her hand reaches to the top of his head. She starts combing out the hair that falls on his forehead.

His old scars have faded, almost blending into his skin. And the hard muscles on his chest have been replaced with soft dimpled skin. The lines in the corner of her eyes run deep.

He’s softer now. Marked by age, but just as beautiful.

Her finger traces down his cheek, following the scar that runs across his face. The feeling of his skin dipping under her fingers almost feels overwhelming.

“Levi,” she calls, caressing the side of his face. And he responds by leaning into her touch.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” She murmurs.

The silence is blissful.

And Levi feels his heart flutter, just like it did when she held his hand for the first time.

“Mae…” his voice trails off and he gulps. “How did Lily recognise me?... It feels like she knows so much about me?”

And Mae tilts her head up. “She’s heard stories about you ever since she was in my womb, of course she knows a lot about you… We even got someone to draw a portrait of you last year, because she wanted to see you for her birthday.”

“She thinks you’re some kind of hero Levi.” Mae yawns, “A few months back, she was trying to eat food by herself, and she ended up making a mess… which was fine because she was just learning, but she started crying frantically, and I asked her what happened? She said Dada wouldn’t like her, because she made a mess and Dada hates messes.”

Mae’s eyes trail to the way her daughter sleeps, with her cheek squished against Levi’s chest, and her eyes are shut close in peace. “She thinks you’re some kind of hero.”

And Levi remains silent. Afraid the words will ruin the tender moment.

It might seem like he’s dozed off, but the pink crawling on his cheek tells otherwise.

And Mae looks at him with the softest of smiles. For the first time in a long while, her heart feels complete.

“Actually she is right… you are a hero.” She mumbles as she closes her eyes in peace.

And a single tear slips past his eye.

He’s finally home.

Thoughts? Thoughts? Thoughts?

I know its a very simple, cliche, happily ever after ending, but I really REALLY wanted Levi to have a family of his own, and experience a normal, happy life, which is why I made Mae pregnant lol.

To anyone who has made this far. I would love to know your thoughts on the entire story. Things you liked, didn't like. Your feedback is crucial.

I'm going to start editing this fic from now on, and whatever you say will be considered. So I would love to know your thoughts on what could get better and be improved.

Something else, I'm very excited about is designing and illustrating a book cover (since I am a graphic designer lol) and get a few hardcopies printed for myself!! I'm assuming I'll be done with it by DEC 25th, so right now I do plan to post an Epilogue/ bonus chapter and share the book cover designs on Dec 25th. (I don;t know if anyone is interested in this, but I'm just doing it for myself hehe)

I would like to thank the many people who have been a constant support while writing this. I don't think I can tag everyone since they are on different platforms, so I'll just mention their names here. @Alexandra218943 , Cupidcup, @musumusuhasi and Abha , I wouldn't have completed this without you, so thank you <3

And to all the people who have commented, and interacted with the story at any point. I want to let you know that I've had a shit month at work, my self esteem has been at an all time low , and the only thing that's made me feel capable of something are your comments, and I keep going back to them! So thank you for that, I am immensely grateful!

[midnight-talescape]

𝑀𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉

｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡

Not me having to do this twice because tumblr ate the first one

The single character are just the only character I will write for in their fandom because I only find them attractive (no I don't take question for my choice) But feel free to convince me otherwise with nice prompt

𝒟𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑜𝓃 𝐵𝒶𝓁𝓁

The Tyrant and His Pet (Yandere Frieza x Reader)

^ art to go with that story I said no oc but im also a hypocrite

Mine (Yandere King Cold x Adopted Reader) <- I will fuck his entire family excluding chill who look like a purple and orange dildo and kuriza whos a literal child

Frieza x Majin Buu’s Sister Reader Headcanon It actually took me 6 months wtf 😭

𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝐵𝓊𝓉𝓁𝑒𝓇

Contract (Alpha Sebastian x Omega Reader) I want a demon buler

𝒫𝑜𝓀𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃 (𝐼’𝓂 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔)

Trainer and Pokémon are both okay (final evolution and grown up only)

Rage (Yandere Human Gyarados x Reader) no thought mind blank

Sacrifice (Yandere Human Volcarona x Reader) why did i write lava cum

Forbidden (Yandere Greninja x Reader) i will always love forbidden ninja love

Mate (Serperior x Reader) favorite starter no regret

Virus (Various Pokémon x Reader) no comment

Worship (Arceus x Reader) go big or go home

Fire (Arcanine x Reader) dog

Love and Lust (Sylveon x GN Reader)

Undeserving (Ceruledge x Reader)

𝐼𝓃𝓊𝓎𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒶

Heat (Sesshomaru x Half Demon Reader) <- first anime crush

𝒟𝒮𝑀𝒫 (𝒞! 𝒪𝓃𝓁𝓎)

I’m here (C!Philza x Cat Hybrid Reader) Im so fucking sorry

𝒜𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒞𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓈𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 (𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒’𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝒶𝒹𝓊𝓁𝓉)

Prey (Koro Sensei x Reader) Adult need special care

𝒪𝓃𝓂𝓎𝑜𝒿𝒾

Treasure (Yandere Tamamo no Mae x Reader) fluffy tails

𝒟𝒞

Criminal (Yandere Batman x Criminal Reader) I might have a type

Taboo (Brother Batman x Sister Reader) i was so fucking excited for this ;-;

𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒫𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 (𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝑔𝑒 𝓊𝓅)

Purpose (Lucius Malfoy x Reader) I have some daddy issue

𝐻𝒶𝓏𝒷𝒾𝓃 𝐻𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓁 + 𝐻𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓊𝓋𝒶 𝐵𝑜𝓈𝓈

Deal (Alastor x Reader) not me remembering Alastor doesn't brush his teeth

Lust (Asmodeus x Succubus Reader) I love mister rooster guy

Soul(Alastor x Overlord Reader)

Eyes(Vox x Reader)

Wish(Zestial x Overlord Reader)

𝒞𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝑒 𝑅𝓊𝓃 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔𝒹𝑜𝓂 (𝓈𝒽𝒽𝒽𝒽𝒽𝒽)

Cookie & Cream (Yandere Dark Cacao x Reader x Yandere Pure Vanilla) It's definitely call cream, I don't take argument

𝑀𝒾𝑔𝓊𝑒𝓁 𝒪’𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶 (𝒴𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝓊𝓂𝓃)

Princesa (Miguel O’hara x Reader) I love writing hate sex

Needs (Alpha Miguel O’hara x Beta Reader) I want this man to do so many illegal shit to me

Washing Machine (Miguel O’hara x Reader) help me stepbro

Needs and Wants (Omega Miguel O’hara x Beta Reader) this man has so many things that can do so many things to me

Protection (Bodyguard Miguel O’hara x Reader) I will pay big money for this man

Aphrodisiac (Miguel O’hara x Reader) he totally gaslighted you lol

Good Boy (Hybrid Miguel O’hara x Reader) the title has little to no correlation with the story

Mi Diosa (War God Miguel O’hara x Reader) The amount of Miguel i’m writing is getting ridiculous

Secret (Best Friend Miguel O’hara x Hero Reader) I want miguel so badly

Villain (Yandere Villain Miguel O’hara x Hero Reader) I need to remember this is a smut

Hatred (Various Miguel x Reader) i love angst

Killer (Ghostface Miguel O’hara x Shy (?) Reader) very thin line between shy and psychopathic

Little Spider (Stepdad Miguel O’hara x Reader) stepdad miguel lets goooooo

Love(Yandere Ai Miguel O’hara x Creator Reader)

𝒥𝓊𝒿𝓊𝓉𝓈𝓊 𝒦𝒶𝒾𝓈𝑒𝓃

Leash (Wolf Toji x Reader) Bark bark

Master and Slave (Toji x Reader) No thought want Toji to [bleep] me

Discipline (Proffesor Nanami x Student Reader) Look at this beautiful mature responsible man

Liar (Sukuna x Reader) I think regular people will die if they fuck him

𝒥𝑜𝒿𝑜’𝓈 𝐵𝒾𝓏𝒶𝓇𝓇𝑒 𝒜𝒹𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒

Courting(Jotaro x Mermaid Reader)

Blood(Risotto x Reader)

Doll(Bucciarati x Reader)

Savior(Ghost Pucci x Reader)

Kiss or Kill(Yandere Various Stand x Reader)

𝒮𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓁𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑒𝓇

Jealousy (Ice Bear x Reader) *insert How bad can I be

Despise (John Wick x Reader) <- this is favorite will recommand

Wine (Thranduil x Reader) Im into some freaky shit

Game (707 x Reader) My beloved

Love (Yandere Kururu x Reader) I dont know why I love him I just do

Captain (Levi x Reader) You can break my neck

Pet (Slenderman x Reader) daddy long leg

𝒫𝓇𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓉

Pearls (Yandere Sea Monster x Mermaid Reader) I had to cut it because I was dragging it on for too long

Intertwine (Genderbend Parallel (?) x Reader) its just a little weird okay

Don't Leave (Yandere Dragon x Reader) Dragon, my love

Obsession (Yandere Wolf x Reader) I have no thought just head hurt, also want a wolf. Doesn't have to be a man just a wolf

[tremendouskoalachild]

The Acolyte timeline

or, my attempt at figuring out over how many days the present day events take place.

we'll be looking at episodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8, broken down by location. estimating elapsed time is quite tricky here, because the narrative takes us to many different places on various planets (which, if we want to get technical, won't have the same length days and be synced time-zone wise. for the purposes of this write-up i'll do as star wars does and ignore multiple timezones on a given planet, and assume 24-hour day-night cycles). the show also has several main characters whose stories don't necessarily happen concurrently in the order shown. the hyperspace travel routes, around 11 with some being traveled multiple times, appear to be quite short in the show.

Episode 1: Lost / Found

Ueda – at some point during the Uedan day, likely afternoon. takes place mostly in real time, with Mae’s trek from her ship to the bar shortened.

the Fallon – seemingly starts in the morning of ship time, as Osha wakes up at what seems to be a normal hour for her (the lights come on gently, and don’t seem connected to the alarm that sounds a little later). she gets dressed and asks her colleague what the emergency is, implying there was little to no time skipped. the jedi arrive a short time later, and presumably within 12 hours or so of the Ueda events, since those are “last night” relative to the ship’s time. they are directed to her room and wait there, seemingly just the time it takes her to get back from the ship’s exterior and change, though it is possible she has other work tasks that aren’t shown. there might be a larger skip between getting identified by the eye-witness and boarding the prison ship, but it doesn’t seem very likely. at most several hours pass between Osha waking up and being transferred to the prison ship, and it is conceivable that the events take place in less than an hour (the screentime is about 8 minutes, and most skips are for gearing up/walking from place to place).

Coruscant – starts with Sol’s youngling lesson, which takes place in mid- to late morning (he ends the lesson with “time for lunch”, and even though Vernestra’s arrival might end it ahead of schedule, that would be a weird thing to say at an entirely different time of day. this also suggests the Fallon is synced to Coruscant time). Vernestra informs him of Osha’s arrest, which she would have heard from Yord and Tasi, so it necessarily happens after the entirety of the Fallon scenes, presumably very shortly after (if it wasn’t time sensitive at all, Vernestra wouldn’t have needed to interrupt the lesson; if it is a matter of her availability, we know she has Mog or other padawans like Jecki to carry messages for her). later Vernestra calls Sol (still in the same room, reminiscing) to the detention level, after the other prisoners from the Palwick are captured. Sol obtains permission to go to the crash site on Carlac, gets changed into mission robes, gets Jecki plus Yord, and sets off. this presumably happens in quick succession, as it is both a rescue mission and apprehending an escaped prisoner.

the Palwick prison ship – appears to take place over hours at most, but likely far less. from what we see the ship is clearly intended for short transport trips. the attempted prison break starts with the other prisoners and Osha having what seems to be their first interaction after Osha’s transfer to the ship, including Osha first noticing the subdued criminal, and it would be somewhat odd to have an icebreaker conversation after several hours of sitting next to each other. we see the breakout in its entirety, and know Osha is knocked out in the crash. (this gives us extra information for the Coruscant timeline and travel times – the first temple scene happens while or shortly after Osha is transferred to the ship, and the second immediately after the attempted escapees get automatically transported to Coruscant. Yord gets back from his mission in the meanwhile.)

Carlac – Osha spends some undetermined time unconscious. she wakes up and sets off on foot. Sol, Jecki and Yord arrive a relatively short time after she leaves, examine the wreckage, and follow her. their travel time appears to have been relatively short, unless they only started discussing the mission minutes from their ETA (but hours at most, since Carlac has to be en route from the Fallon to Coruscant, and earlier Yord made the trip in a short time, in a starfighter; Jecki appears to have had the time to read through Osha’s file, although this could have happened earlier). the team catches up to Osha and takes her to their ship. the hike there and back, plus Osha’s unconscious period, was likely short, since she doesn’t seem to have experienced hypothermia in her clothing unsuited for cold weather (even completely ignoring the weather aspect, it was clearly hours at most). we can assume she got to the ship, was given medical treatment and food/water, and possibly went to sleep for a short while – the next time we see the characters, they are discussing her situation for the first time with her onboard.

Unknown Planet – the scene only contains Mae arriving at the Stranger’s hideout, presumably at a prearranged time for a debriefing after her first assassination mission. it takes place after Mae’s departure from Ueda and before her departure for Olega, where she presumably heads together with “Qimir” after this scene. it is the closing scene but definitely doesn't take place after all of the episode's events, since the episode 2 scene taking place shortly after Osha's arrival to the ship references Mae's actions on Olega.

estimated time from Indara's death to Osha being taken onboard the Polan: 24 hours or less, but certainly more than 12. the time spent on Carlac is the biggest variable here. to simplify, i'd argue the episode's events take place over one day, morning to evening, with the cold open happening in the evening of the previous day.

Episode 2: Revenge / Justice

Carlac – the scene starts with Osha resting, possibly waking up from shallow sleep. she had a get-to-know-you conversation with Jecki, and Sol and Yord discuss Osha’s situation for the first time since she was brought onboard. Sol contacts Vernestra for the first time since apprehending Osha, all suggesting the scene takes place shortly after the team’s arrival back to the Polan. Vernestra informs him of Mae’s break-in on Olega, which has to have happened after Sol’s team finds Osha for Osha to have a clear alibi, as Vernestra says. the team departs for Olega.

the Polan – the travel from Carlac to Olega is unspecified but appears to be one of the longer ones in the show. Osha is in the middle of working when she is interrupted by Sol and they have a heart-to-heart. they arrive during Olegan day, and they departed after receiving recent news of an event that happened the previous evening/night on Olega.

Olega – starts sometime during Olegan night, but early enough that people are still out, the Jedi in the temple are walking in the hallways conversing, and it isn’t seen as suspicious for a child to be playing on the street. we see Mae’s first assassination attempt in full, assuming she didn’t spend a very long unseen time prowling through the temple. she leaves the premises and returns to Qimir the next day – at a time late enough that it is odd for him to still be asleep, and the street outside is bustling with activity. he makes her a short-lived poison on the spot, and she immediately sets off to use it. Sol’s team arrives concurrently to this, since they have a quick chat with local Jedi on the street, get taken directly to Torbin, and find him already dead. it is highly unlikely he has been like that any longer than several minutes, if that – he is in an easily accessible open space with several entry points, the temple is on alert after a break-in the previous night, and both Osha and Sol react to Force sensations relating to the situation in progress.

the Jedi team regroups on the temple’s balcony with view of the street, presumably right away, since they are investigating a crime that just took place. they make a plan to investigate the apothecary and execute it right away, but agree to wait for that night, as Qimir convinces them Mae will come then. she does appear as promised, some time after dark but while main streets are still somewhat busy, and escapes again. Sol informs Vernestra, hoping to follow Mae’s trail immediately, but she recalls the team to Coruscant. the local Jedi keep watching the building into the next day, when Mae confronts Qimir there, and the pair make for their ship together (it is unclear what time of day this happens, but i'd assume morning).

estimated time from Mae's first assassination attempt on Torbin to Mae and Qimir escaping Olega: around 36 hours, assuming the closing scene does take place in the morning: two nights and one day.

Episode 4 and 5: Day and Night

Coruscant – starts at some point during the day at the Jedi temple, late enough that the temple corridors and hangar are busy with Jedi and outsiders alike. since episode 2, the team has arrived back at Coruscant, Sol went to debrief with Vernestra’s council, Osha got Pip serviced, and Jecki went to a lesson with her peers. Sol finishes his briefing and obtains permission to lead a team headed for Mae’s next target. he catches up with Osha about to leave Coruscant, persuades her to join the mission, assembles the rest of the team and they set off, most likely quickly as they assume time is of the essence.

the Polan – the travel time is unspecified. we see only a snippet of the journey, seemingly towards its beginning, as it includes an introduction to Yord’s briefing and Osha getting to know a fellow traveler on the transport for the first time.

Khofar – Mae and Qimir arrive, with the implication that it is their first stop from Olega, while the Jedi team took a detour through Coruscant (though the duo left the day after Mae’s escape from her confrontation with Sol, while Sol and his team likely departed immediately and left the locals to watch out in case she remains on planet. i find it quite likely Mae and Qimir got there later). they land in an area not commonly used as a spaceport, with three hours of sunlight left, and spend the whole time hiking towards their destination, with Qimir knowing the direct route. Mae arrives at Kelnacca's shelter the very moment the sun’s last rays disappear.

the Jedi team arrive at some point during the day, land in a designated landing site with a local presence, and spend the rest of the daylight hours on foot, searching for Kelnacca. they have a vague direction from the locals, Sol’s senses, and their professional tracker’s information, though they lose sight of him for a while. they arrive at Kelnacca’s shelter at the same time as Mae, at sunset. the Stranger arrives and knocks Osha out, starting the fight.

the next episode starts right after the previous one ended, with Osha waking up after being unconscious for a presumably short time (the Jedi are engaged in combat with the Stranger a short distance away as she comes to, one man down already). the bulk of the episode’s action – various chases and confrontations between different characters – takes up the entirety of the night, and doesn’t stray too far from Kelnacca’s shelter. at dawn, Mae and Osha reunite and Osha is knocked unconscious. at this time, Sol is still stunned by a blaster shot and the Stranger fighting off an umbramoth swarm in the air, possibly with Bazil trailing him.

Mae takes some time to disguise herself as Osha and finds Sol a short distance away as he comes to. assuming she didn’t re-stun him in the meantime, this is likely shortly after he went down the first time – Mae herself gets stunned earlier and wakes by the end of the same uninterrupted scene to shoot Sol with the same weapon. they immediately set off for the Polan, several hours away on foot, but likely with a better idea of direction than the previous day. the Stranger finishes fighting off the swarm and lands somewhere relatively nearby – Bazil appears and collects Pip’s head before heading for the ship, where he arrives shortly after Mae and Sol. the Stranger unhurriedly collects his items and a still unconscious Osha.

estimated time from the team arriving on Coruscant to Sol and disguised Mae returning to the ship: 24 hours. one full night, a morning the next day, and at the very least hours of the previous day.

Episode 6: Teach / Corrupt

Unknown Planet – Osha wakes up, examines her surroundings, and gets dressed before leaving the cave. during her unconsciousness she was at the very least carried to the Stranger’s ship (roughly 3 hours away on foot), transported to the planet, and carried into the cave. her wound was treated at some point, though this could have taken place during hyperspace travel. after arrival the Stranger also arranged Mae’s clothes for her to find, made food, and took off for a bath, likely intentionally shortly before she woke up. it isn't clear how much time has passed since their arrival on the planet, but i'd guess it hasn't been long.

the Stranger ends a scene by asking if Osha is hungry and the conversation continues in their next scene arriving back at the cave, presumably minutes later, and later resumes after another scene break with Osha eating soup, implying little time has passed. the episode ends with Osha putting on the cortosis helmet shortly after.

Coruscant – the Jedi temple receives Sol’s unclear message and Mog passes it on to Vernestra, who orders him to quickly dispatch a team to Khofar. she gets changed and prepares to depart with them within minutes.

Khofar – Sol and Mae’s storyline resumes immediately after the previous episode’s events, with them and Bazil taking off in their ship after Sol sends a message to Coruscant. their conversations and Mae’s encounter with Bazil and Pip appear to take several minutes, then she is stunned and restrained by Sol, who pilots the ship away from Khofar. the jedi rescue team arrives immediately after, implying the travel time between Khofar and Coruscant is within minutes with their transport, and that the Coruscant scenes take a very short amount of time. Vernestra’s team talk to locals and head into the forest. they arrive at Kelnacca’s shelter presumably hours later, without Bazil’s help but guided by Vernestra’s Force connection, and investigate the site. they prepare the corpses for burial, return to their ship, and depart the planet.

estimated time elapsed during the episode: several hours, less than a day. the Sol/Mae storyline appears to take place almost in real time, and the unknown amount of time Mae has been unconscious after Sol stuns her allows it to catch up to the other plotlines. Osha's scenes seem to happen fairly quickly, with several short timeskips covering walking from place to place, but she too spends an unknown amount of time unconscious at the start of the episode. the Vernestra storyline is the most demanding one time-wise, because it necessarily includes the on-foot trek through the forest, twice, and however long it took to prepare the bodies.

Episode 8: The Acolyte

Unknown Planet – Osha experiences a Force vision after putting on the helmet in the final scene of episode 6, and the Stranger finds her a short time later. they decide to go to Brendok together and depart shortly afterwards, changed into more appropriate outfits and with their gear.

Coruscant – Vernestra gets back from Khofar (still wearing her mission robes) and immediately gets pulled into a meeting with Rayencourt. she tries to get in touch with Yoda before Mog informs her Sol has turned his beacon back on, and is currently on Brendok. she immediately makes preparations to depart with a team of Jedi once more.

Brendok – Mae interrupts Sol’s explanation and escapes the Polan, now orbiting Brendok. Sol chases her through Brendok’s moons’ rings and Mae’s escape craft crashes on the planet, in relative vicinity of the abandoned fortress. Sol lands nearby, activates the beacon, and sets off for the fortress, while Bazil stays on the ship. Osha and the Stranger arrive a short while later, while Sol is entering the courtyard, and land nearby. Mae finishes climbing up the fortress’ pit and heads for her childhood bedroom, where Osha finds her shortly after and the two talk before breaking into a fight. Sol is concurrently confronted by the Stranger.

both duels are interrupted by the arrival of Vernestra’s ship, which lands a short distance away from the fortress. Mae joins the fight between the Stranger and Sol, before Osha arrives and executes Sol. the Jedi team disembarks right afterwards, joined by Bazil and led by Vernestra to the fortress. Mae and Osha escape the fortress and stop at the bunta tree – quite a trek through the forests, as we’ve seen in episode 3. Vernestra finds Sol’s body and sends Jedi with Bazil after the sisters, while the Stranger observes her and disappears to catch up with them. the sisters say goodbye and Osha departs with the Stranger right before the Jedi team catch up. meanwhile, Vernestra apologizes to Sol and gives him a burial.

Coruscant, again – after the Brendok mission Vernestra attends a Senate tribunal before (or possibly right after) talking with an amnesiac Mae and enlisting her help. she then makes contact with Yoda. Mae appears to have been brought to Vernestra from the transport, by the Jedi who apprehended her, so it likely hasn't been long since their return.

Unknown Planet, again – Osha and the Stranger, still in the clothes they wore on Brendok, hold hands dramatically, likely right after returning to the planet.

estimated time elapsed on Brendok: hours at most. the plotlines are lined-up in this episode, and apart from the epilogue post-Mae's arrest most timeskips are fairly short, allowing characters to reach the fortress/bunta tree. the epilogue skips forward a little bit, but appears to take place during the same day.

tldr: there's no way to know for sure, but we can make a (very) rough estimate based on the sequence of events and storylines influencing each other, day/night cycle of two planets, and the assumption that characters aren't sitting around wasting time (almost) at any point. the first arc (episodes 1 and 2) takes place over around 2 days, 3 at most. the second arc (episodes 4 and 5) lasts a bit over a day. the final arc (episodes 6 and 8) happens quickly, most events definitely unfolding within a day.

[bikananjarrus]

some thoughts on the acolyte episode 6*

(*reminder that this is my opinion and is based off a first watch. my opinion may change after sitting with the episode a bit more; and i will reserve final judgement on the show as a whole once it's all out)

let's start with what i liked:

it was nice seeing more of venestra (lightwhip!!! hyperspace visions reference!!!), and she felt the most like vernestra in this episode so far to me.

it seemed to me that they were hinting at vernestra being qimir's master, which i am not at all opposed to. also if she took a crack at him with her lightwhip and kicked him out of the order, i trust her judgement asdfsdjkl. that's my girl! regardless, she at least seemed to maybe suspect qimir was responsible for the murders, so even if he wasn't her padawan, maybe she still knows who he is/who his master was, and i'm eager to see that play out.

manny is fantastic as qimir. he has a very calm presence that i don't think we've ever seen from another sith/dark-sider before. (like the closest i think would be dooku, but dooku still had to work under palpatine, and really, who could ever be truly calm in that situation lol.) but manny's presence as qimir is really refreshing, and he definitely has a gravity to him, and it was really great seeing this calmer appearance to him after his slaughter last episode. (wish they would focus more on this duality than just playing up the "manny hot, villain hot, that's good enough." like yes, manny is a beautiful man. but i would like to see a beautifully developed character more)

some things i am disliking at this point in the show (and which became a bit more apparent with this episode):

it does not feel great sidelining the black woman lead(s) for male characters and their man pain (ie qimir's apparent tragic backstory and sol's probable Bad Shit that he did on brendok). it's fantastic having asian leads as well, but it sucks that it has to be at the expense of the leading black woman (especially when amandla has been leading press and has been advertised as THE main character).

going off that, i feel like osha and mae's development is not where it should be at this point in the show. obvs we have 2 episodes left, there's still time for more answers, and i'm guessing we're going to be building to a final confrontation between them. but i still feel like i barely understand their relationship outside of "mae is obsessed with getting osha back, and osha lowkey hates mae and thinks she's a criminal." it's just very surface level for the relationship that is supposed to be the central conflict of the show (with their relationship with sol being the very close secondary conflict).

i feel like we started to touch on the fact that, even though they have a conflicted relationship with each other, there's still a deep connection there. they're twins, and they have a shared history, a shared traumatic event from their childhood. but i barely even feel like they're sisters at this point :/ even pitting them against each other, the conflict between them feels flat. i didn't think their scene at the ep5 had as much weight as it should've, so unless there's some serious development in the next 2 eps, i don't have a lot of hope for their final confrontation being super emotionally satisfying.

and now on top of that, osha is getting more face time with qimir than her own sister. she's asking more questions than she has the rest of the show now that she's with qimir. it's um. hm. 😐 i think qimir and osha's relationship is intriguing (and amandla and manny play off each other really well), but it's with the villain that we get to see most of osha's development? idk, it just doesn't feel great. especially when mae was introduced as his student first, and they just gave us a throwaway "eh, mae didn't want what i want, i made a mistake with her" and that's that.

(i'm hoping next episode they actually give us more of mae's side of the story, but i'm also now nervous that sol's war crimes are going to take the focus, and not mae's journey from the night of the fire on brendok to how she ends up with qimir)

pacing in this episode itself was fine, but as far as how it fits into the pacing of the show overall is not great. this is a mystery show, so it's fine that there are still some unanswered questions. but it feels like there are A LOT of holes right now, and it's a lot to cover in two episodes.

like this episode didn't move things along as much as it should have, probably. everything with qimir and osha, fine. but why did we spend so long on sol's ship being stuck in space? i get they were trying to build up to him and mae finally confronting each other, but the tension was not there. and i get his judgement was clouded with grief and all that, but i just don't think it needed to take him that long to figure out it was mae. i think it would've been more satisfying if he'd figured it out right away, and we actually got him talking about brendok in this episode. like we already KNOW he was involved in whatever happened on brendok, and it was shady enough that master torbin killed himself over it. so like just tell us already please. and then spend the last 2 episodes resolving it. him talking to mae about brendok (telling her the truth) would've also played really well off of qimir and osha's scenes (with him telling her what she wanted to hear; probably some truth, definitely some lies in there too).

if the season was 12, or even just 10 eps, fine. it feels like they’re setting up for a s2 which would also be fine, IF i thought a season 2 was guaranteed. (But with how much hate the show has gotten, I can see them not investing in more.)

overall, mostly solid ep (the performances continue to deliver), but i think the pacing issues are rearing their head again, and i really don't like that osha & mae keep getting sidelined in THEIR show :/

[dg-outlaw]

Fan Theory on who the “Sith Master” is in Star Wars: The Acolyte

While this could all be blown to bits by episode 5 or 6, if my theory is correct I think it could make for a very compelling story that fits so well within the general themes and symbolism often found in Star Wars. 

Recently I’ve seen a lot of online commentary about Qimir being the Sith Master hiding in plain sight. There are references to his strong interest in helping Mae, being able to defend himself against Mae’s attack in episode 2, being too obvious as the unassuming friend character, knowing how to find Kelnacca, knowing a lot about the master, and not being present in the final scene in episode 4. All good clues, but I think they’re all red herrings. Do I think there’s more to him than what we’re seeing? Maybe and if so I think it’ll be him having force abilities and being the Master’s number two rather than the Sith Master himself. If anything he’ll be a Darth Maul or Count Dooku–a placeholder for the real prize, the twins (Mae and Osha). Also, there’s the issue of his motivation and Ki-Adi-Mundi’s prequel statement of the Sith not having been seen in over a millennia—something people have pointed out as a potential plot hole. 

So if it’s not Qimir, who is it and why?

I believe the “Sith Master” is… [spoilers ahead if I'm right]

A sad, broken, and vengeful Mother Aniseya.

Why?

The short answer: Because Star Wars… and because of themes and symbolism often in Star Wars which include duality/opposites, balance, family, anger, fear, and love.

Aniseya’s death was not shown or confirmed in episode 3, and while there’s another strong suspect, her partner Koril, I think she’s another red herring like Qimir. Just like it’s often not the angry or unlikeable suspect or the suspect with a criminal record in mystery stories, Koril is just too obvious. Plus, we know that Leslye Headland consulted with Dave Filoni, is a big SW fan, and is friends with Rian Johnson who likes mysteries as well (‘Knives Out’), and The Acolyte has played like a mystery so far. Also, what little we saw of Koril was that she was stern, untrusting, and quick tempered, especially after the Jedi showed up. Again, too on the nose. Aniseya on the other hand was the opposite; not wanting to discipline or be firm with the twins, but instead was soft, allowed them to eat treats, and act up during her coven TED Talk about the Thread… until she eventually got annoyed. 

But why Aniseya if she’s the “nice” parent? 

To paraphrase the Joker from Batman comics, “one bad day”, and that day was the temple destruction and chaos of episode 3.

Episode 5 promises to give us different accounts of what happened that night, but we’re also expected to question the truth of those different accounts. Without speculating too much about what could be in episode 5, I think the general situation is that an array of things happened. Mae started a fire, a stand-off between the coven and Jedi occurred where tensions were high because maybe Koril didn’t want them take Osha, and someone flinched—most likely Torbin as a result of whatever Aniseya did to him earlier when his eyes went black. Again, another clue that she’s not all peace, love, sunshine, and roses 24/7 and is willing to go dark to protect her own. I don’t think Torbin’s “flinch” will be a direct action from her (or another witch), but him being on edge because of what happened earlier, but I could be wrong. This would explain his constant meditation though in episode 2, not fighting Mae, and eventually drinking the poison to kill himself—he feels responsible for what happened and likely vowed to never go on offense again or even go out into the world. 

In the chaos of the fire and Torbin’s actions (?), a random “bar fight” type scenario between the coven and Jedi likely kicks off, Kelnacca possibly gets bewitched (given the Kelnacca is seen attacking Torbin in the show’s trailer or Torbin is taken over again), and that generator thing in the temple blows up. This would explain the destruction of what we saw at the end of episode 3 because that wasn’t all due to Mae’s fire. 

With her coven and temple destroyed, her daughters presumably dead (or at least one of them if she only finds Mae later), her partner dead, and all of it seemingly because the Jedi stuck their noses into her business, I can see this as the Thread that unravels Aniseya because she is now all alone, but maybe too angry or afraid to face Mae because maybe time has passed. She wanted peace and community, she wanted her daughters to be the next generation (even though she was willing to let Osha go), and she led with kindness. What did that get her? Pain and Loss. To her, maybe Koril was right. Maybe her softness was her downfall. I then think her learning that Osha is alive is what sets things in motion for her to train Mae and set up her revenge against the four and the Jedi Order, but she has to keep her identity secret for it to work.

“That’s great and all, but how does that make her a Sith?”

She’s not. I think the red lightsaber and the assumption that she’s a Sith is all to create fear and panic among the Jedi. (This also keeps Ki-Adi-Mundi from being a liar in the prequels.) She knows the Sith are the Jedi’s main boogeyman so why not use that to destroy who they are just as they came and “unraveled” what she had built. I also think the helmet is a nice inverse of how she feels. While sinister looking, the grin of the mask hides her anger and sorrow. 

“Fine, but what other clues or symbols point to Aniseya?”

Why the four Jedi targets? On the surface they are a test for Mae, but also on Aniseya’s hit list for obvious reasons (see above). Unless we get some random episode showing those four pissing off someone else or Aniseya having fled some unknown Sith Master, it has to be more than just Mae’s revenge. If Qimir, what's his motivation? Had the Jedi not shown up and disturbed her peaceful coven none of Aniseya’s pain would exist. Not only that, but Mae’s initial assassination of Indara sets things off in the series and brings Osha back into the fold when she’s accused of being the assassin. With Osha back in the mix, Aniseya can get her daughters back and possibly restart her coven and destroy the Jedi who think so highly of themselves. Again, she’s not in her right mind and I don’t think this show is trying to paint the Jedi in a negative light, but I do think there's commentary here on religion as the Force and the Jedi are the dominant “religion” in the SW universe. 

Many SW stories speak of the Force and its presence throughout the galaxy and in all living things, and how the Jedi don’t have exclusive rights on the Force–it’s just what we’ve predominantly seen in the films and what they call that energy (much like Christianity in America). But different stories; prequels, sequels, and in-between media have challenged the Jedi and whether or not they are always right, so to the haters who think Disney/Leslye Headland is just trying to water down/ruin Star Wars or the Jedi… you’re just not paying attention. The Nightsisters existed in Legends and George Luca incorporated them into the Clone Wars. It's not just Jedi v. Sith. Sorry, not sorry. 

Back to Aniseya.

In her peaceful mindset she was willing to let Osha go (which was a great and sad scene in episode 3), but with darkness, sadness, anger, and revenge having consumed her she wants Osha and Mae together as originally planned, no matter what. That said, I think it will be Osha and Mae who will have to come together to stop her/save her, which harkens back to the original trilogy and Luke’s choice in RotJ. Kill his father or save him? This is also neat in that instead of that conflict coming from one person it’ll be two people wrestling with that choice. 

Duality, Opposites, Love, and Family.

In the beginning of the series we see Mae as the cold-hearted and determined killer (and we see hints of her early aggression/Dark Side-ness in episode 3), but by episode 4 she has softened and just wants to be with her sister again. She's even shown slightly wary of her mission in episode 2. By the end of episode 4 she wants to turn herself in, stop all the killing, and is willing to face the consequences of her actions. Inversely, Osha is becoming slightly darker, having asked Yord to stop Mae if it came down to it as Sol wants to save Mae. She is by no means going to the Dark Side, but she’s struggling and if more Jedi die (especially Sol) she might feel that desire to kill her mother rather than save her. Osha’s inner conflict is also seen with the umbramoth and how she blames herself for its death. She says to Jecki that she disturbed it and now it’s dead. I think this harkens back to her choice in episode 3. She “disturbed” the balance of her world by coming forward, telling the truth, and wanting to be a Jedi, and then she lost everything. While the events of episode 3 were not her fault, she feels like that was the thread she pulled to set things in motion and likely still blames herself. 

In the end, I think Mae and Osha will have to work together, but there will be conflict before they get there. This is also foreshadowed in the coven temple scene when Aniseya is talking about the Thread and the power of one, the power of two, and the power of many. She easily fends off one opponent, but struggles against two. Mae and Osha are not paying attention in the background and Aniseya gets annoyed and force pushes them down, but I think in the end it will be the two of them versus Aniseya as a callback to this scene.

Other clues and symbols.

The title logo has two rings/moons/Os forming a light and dark, just as there are the twins and Star Wars has always been a story of Light versus Dark, Good versus Evil, Love and Hate, etc. Even in the Clone Wars there’s an episode about the Son and Daughter representing the Light and Dark sides of the force and I think that is played up heavily in this series. While I don’t think the main theme is that Aniseya and her coven are/were the bad guys and that witches = Bad and Jedi = Good, but rather the symbolism of opposites, duality, and balance, and how unity is better than division, which is part of Aniseya’s initial belief system.

Aniseya is also a woman, a mother, a witch, and the Ascension takes place at night under two moons that align. Her and her kind have been exiled and must hide in the shadows. They are the outsiders. The unwelcomed. In lots of mythology and creation stories the moon and night are seen as feminine or are often associated with a female deity/goddess. But what is the opposite of the night, the moon, and the mother/feminine?

The masculine/father, daylight, and the sun… or should I say Sol, which is another word for sun. 

No, I don’t think Sol is the father of the twins, but he is Osha’s pseudo-father and represents sunshine in his mannerisms and even his appearance. While appropriate for the canon depiction of the Jedi Order of this time, I think Leslye Headland took this visual aesthetic and ran with it. The Jedi robes of this era are yellow with cream, much like sunlight, whereas Aniseya and her coven are clothed in purples, dark blues, and earth tones representing night, darkness, earth/ground, and magic. The Jedi are the ruling order out in the sun, high above all, and Aniseya’s coven are exiles who must hide in the shadows, but they are both connected to and by the Force/Thread. Thus, neither is the villain, but each a side of a coin in the balance of things.

Again, this is more likely a commentary on religion as many religions and subdivisions/denominations believe in similar things, but they love to fight over the details and who’s supreme... even to the point of war.

This also makes sense as to why Sol is the last on the list (outside of his connection to Osha and plot reasons). He is the “father” who took Osha away (atleast in Aniseya’s broken mind, even though Osha wanted to be a Jedi before meeting Sol). While I don’t think this is an anti-male/man-hating commentary, I think it’s a further reinforcement of the duality/opposites theme (because SW is never subtle), but also another example of the same but different.

In episode 3 Indara is the one who comes off as firm, unfeeling, and “masculine” when the Jedi arrive, citing Republic law, but it’s Sol who is gentle, kind, and soft-spoken (more “feminine”); thus very much Aniseya’s “masculine”/opposite equal. When he meets Osha he kneels down in front of her rather than tower over her as one might expect of a male authority/power figure. He hands her his lightsaber (showing vulnerability), and since it’s a Jedi’s sacred weapon (if you’ll recall Obi-Wan getting onto Anakin for being so careless with his in Episode II), he presents it as a symbol of peace. Aniseya interacts with Osha in many of the same ways, but also uses her powers to possess Torbin. Same, but opposite.

Had things played out differently, Aniseya and Sol could bridge their two worlds given how similar they are, but threads pulled in the wrong direction set them on a path to become enemies. And while I don’t think this show is meant to show the Jedi as the bad guys or be some grand commentary on the persecution of witches and “othered” people, I think it’ll ultimately come back to the concepts of love, hope, fear, anger, family, and balance—themes Star Wars often explores and has in this series so far. 

We've also seen this with Luke regarding Anakin, Anakin with Padme, Obi-Wan with Anakin, Ahsoka with the Jedi Order and Anakin, Han and Ben, Fin and Rey, and Rey and Ben/Kylo, as well as many other examples in SW canon. Some of these characters succeeded and others failed, but I think in the end, if it is Aniseya, Osha and Mae will have to work together to save her or at least try. 

Lastly, looking at the titles of each episode, I think they further support my theory and the symbolism and themes in this series. 

The first two episodes have two word titles of opposites. Lost/Found and Revenge/Justice. Episode 3 we find out how the twins were split and thus episode 3 and 4 become one word titles to reflect that split, Destiny and Day. I think 5 and 6 will likely be Choice and Night or something like that. Episodes 7 and 8 will return to the two world titles as Mae and Osha come together again to stop/save Aniseya. What those titles will be, I don’t know, but I think the full list of titles will create a symmetrical/mirrored/balanced list because why not.

Also, I think Sol’s statement that Mae started the fire and destroyed everything is a simplistic explanation/quasi-lie similar to Obi-Wan’s Episode IV "lie" to Luke about Darth Vader having betrayed and killed Anakin. A truth, “from a certain point of view” rather than a convoluted, “So… some crazy shit went down and everything went south. It wasn’t fully our fault, but we’re not blameless either. Sorry everyone you’ve ever known or loved is dead.” Again, more ties to Star Wars rather than "woke" stuff ruining the SW-verse.

Who knows. Maybe I’m wrong about all this and I’m looking too deep into it, but I woke up the other day and all of this just made sense. 

But if all of this is true, this show is so very Star Wars and it sucks that toxic “fans” are hating on it because a white guy isn’t saving the day with a hot girl in a gold bikini.

[kylermalloy]

Was Maes Hughes a good man? Was he a bad man?

Consider the evidence we have.........

Loaded question! I feel like the obvious answer is “yes!” because who doesn’t like Hughes? Who isn’t gutted by his death? Who doesn’t get sad thinking about his daughter growing up without the father who loved her so much?

But we also have to consider that Hughes canonically took part in the Ishval extermination—in other words, war crimes. The man’s a war criminal and a murderer. Even in the 03 version, where he states he took a desk job rather than participate in the massacre, he knew about the killings and did nothing to stop them. Complicity.

So then our answer should be “no,” because he Does Bad Things in canon. And—so does Roy Mustang. So does Riza Hawkeye, and every state alchemist and almost every enlisted soldier at the time of the war. They’re all part of a machine that steps on people. Slaughters then mercilessly when it’s deemed necessary. And anyone who follows those orders without question is, by definition, a bad person.

I’m not breaking new ground by saying this, and I’m far from the first to talk about the Amestrian military being almost entirely comprised of war criminals. But honestly? Whether or not someone is a “good” person is…such a boring question to me. The far more intriguing question is “Is Maes Hughes a good character?” And the answer to that is yes.

He’s a good character because he haunts the narrative. Because his death causes more ripples than his life. Because his friendship to one man helped cause the downfall of the regime he served, the regime that made him culpable in a genocide.

He’s a good character because, in the Conqueror of Shamballa movie, he makes us as viewers uncomfortable because he’s a Nazi. He’s complicit in that system of oppression as well, one that we’re far more familiar with. It might make viewers angry, make them decry the movie as bad because “ugh not my boy Hughes he would never!” Uh…he did. In his world, he did. In fact, in CoS, he is better than his Amestrian counterpart, because he denounces and leaves the party before they do anything more than shoot up a beer hall. Not a completely bad person, after all, so it seems.

[thehandwixard]

for the character ask thing: jake the dog perhaps ?

YAY jake my friend ok

First impression: im gonna pull from 11 year old me for this i didnt think about him often but he was like. you know. cool presence like spencer from icarly. very funny character very chill guy

Impression now: hes probably the single most generally important character to understanding the overall Vibe of adventure time holisitcally. hes so important. he sucks. hes incredible. he struggles intensely with the fight between his spirituality and denial of pleasure and his fleshly desires. and he has so much flesh

Favorite moment: How to fucking pick. gut reaction is just most of the episode 'No One Can Hear You' because while that episode is famous for the deer with hands its famous to me because during my most recent rewatch of the show it was really where i went. oh. thats a psychotic break. this is a noticable pattern with him where he decides to not confront reality when its scary to him. its so fascinating. i think its the most frightening he ever is in the show, partially cause we are having this realization at the same time as finn is. that jake may not always be stable. second choice is princess cookie, as it comes well before jake's criminal past is strongly established and yet his empathy towards someone unstable in a rough situation comes Full Force. ill talk about this more in relationships because..

Idea for a story: I want to put him in resident evil 7 and 8 situations ive talked about this before. i want to put him in ethan winters situations. my current largest story idea for him is him slowly losing his sanity over a period of time trying to find finn while playing both sides in a war and losing sight of trying to stop it. I also want to write my own story kind of exploring his like. gestures vaguely unresolved feelings about his alien form. i dont think he should have ever gone back to complete normal it feels cheap.

Unpopular opinion: im the only one on this goddamn earth who understands the point of why he was kind of a deadbeat dad. i.e HE WASNT it was a messed up situation with no true irl counterpart. he wanted to be a mother. he has fantasies of being a mother up through the twilight of the series, and the fact that he was not present in his children's life while they were children is something that was completely out of his control because they grew up so fast. the fact he was not Allowed to nurture them is the tragedy of it!! ocarina is as much about kim kil whan reconciling the idea of his father being the way he is as it is jake trying to reach out for any connection that anything he cares about means anything

Favorite relationship: Finn and jake's relationship is quite literally the most important thing in the show and its so easy to flatten but its so so so so so so so complex and also. they love eachother. the depths of that love are unfathomable. simple as that. its a kind of undefinable relationship i find so compelling.. its. jake and finn rely on eachother so much youd think itd be unhealthy but it ISNT and its because they never expect anything from the other that they arent. jakes feelings about finn though related to that are so fascinating because he has a kind of consistent.. discomfort? whenever faced with the fact that finn can hurt people in a meaningful serious way. he doesnt like it. he doesnt like when finn, panicking in the water, attacks him. it makes him wanna shut down and not deal with the situation and its so interesting to think about. and this doesnt detract at all from how much jake depends on finn in a real, loving, genuine way. he loves that kid. hed get sick and die if he thought finn was turning out bad/like him. they protect each other (I AM FORCEFULLY DRAHHED OFFSTAGE WITH A CANE

Favorite headcanon: he loves any depressing indie game protag he has a plushie of mae from nitw and brad lisa at LEAST. I am also incredibly fond of jake and his fam being jewish but i consider that less of a hc given that in one title card art hes literally wearing a kippah

[lwh-writing]

Oh, goodness, I've been summoned.

Fullmetal Alchemist is near and dear to my heart, and I will defend it with my life. And for anyone who hasn't read it or watched either version of the show, I need to sit down and explain one major driving force of the entire story is this:

Every main character, and I do mean every single character, has done horrible things that haunt them and will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. Be it crossing the line and committing the alchemic taboo (Ed, Al, Hohenheim and Izumi), Ishval (Roy, Riza, Maes Hughes, and Alex Armstrong), or both (Dr. Marcoh).

And all of these actions? They have consequences. Seemingly unfixable consequences. Ed loses a limb. Al loses his entire body. Izumi Curtis loses at least one vital organ. And actively helping in a genocide speaks for itself. If it was any other story (or Arakawa any less of a talented writer), we would not be rooting for a good three-quarters of the staring cast. But because Arakawa is a GOAT, we get a novel concept that I have not seen successfully pulled off in any other piece of media on so many characters.

Arakawa redeems the war criminals. And she does it in three steps.

1.) Those horrendous acts with seemingly unfixable consequences? They've still happened. There's no fixing them. No take-backs. No "I learned my lesson and will never commit war crimes again, pinkie promise." But the characters and the narrative acknowledge it. They acknowledge that the cast has done horrible, unforgivable things. They drive it home, make it explicitly, abundantly, and undeniably clear. That's step one: do not deny the war crimes. Instead, make them a fact that the characters (and the audience) has to live with.

2.) Make them live with it. That's step two. Make the characters wake up every day regretting what they've done. They don't get an easy way out. They don't get to make a couple donations to "minority organizations" and then call it a day. They don't get to say "I did what I had to do" while forlornly looking off in the middle distance. They have to live with what they've done and actively work to better the situation they caused. They don't get to "make up for it" because there is no way to make up for it. But they can do the best they can and push even farther than that and maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to look themselves in the mirror and not want to kill the person looking back.

3.) There's no taking away the consequences, but you can make the consequences seem... softer. By the end of the series, Al gets his body back but Ed's missing his alchemy. Izumi still can't have kids, but she's been healed enough that she's not going to keel over at the drop of a hat. Hohenheim and the souls trapped in his stone are gone, but the being that destroyed their country and cursed them to roam the world for eternity is no more. Roy Mustang's gotten a promotion and is one step closer to his ultimate goal of Fuhrer; and also one step closer to putting himself on trial for his war crimes and (most likely) giving himself the death penalty. The characters have still done horrible things. They still have to live with it. But now what they have to live with actually seems livable.

Are there some aspects of Fullmetal Alchemist that could've been done better? Definitely. I'm sure Arakawa's got her own list of things she'd do differently if she wrote the series today, just by the fact that she's got around twenty more years of experience as both an artist and a storyteller. But I love FMA for what it is, flaws and all, and I will die on the hill that no matter what problems the story has, making the audience "root for war criminals" isn't necessarily one of them.

“FMA is bad because it portrays war criminals as sympathetic, likable people” bro that’s the point. That’s the whole point. That is THE point. Did you think Ethnic Cleanser is some kind of special category of person that gets separated away from all the Good People at birth? Did you think there’s some kind of barn full of Genocide Doers that only gets deployed into the general public during world wars? Did you think assholes who do terrible shit in real life are never charming or likable or capable of doing good things and helping people? One of the best parts of FMA is how we the audience realize that some of our core protags have made irredeemable choices, and we have to reckon with the fact that they’re still people, with the unalienable rights and qualities thereof. Sorry if the Problematics aren’t constantly wearing a dunce cap and a list of all their crimes and this makes the media incomprehensible to you  

[aidendh]

BSD!OC! Vincent Marco Allan P1

Rework of my RAU! Poe

--

Kanji: ヴィンセント・マルコ・アラン

Rōmanji: Vu~insento Maruko Aran

Also Known As: The Evil Librarian, Mischief (mouse miraculous)

Namesake: Vincent Marco Allan (American fantasy writer)

--

-:Personal Information:-

Status: Alive

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Straight

Birthday: 19th January

Age: 47 (BSD), 45 (Persona 5), 36 (Gifted War), 29 (Haikyuu!! Arc), 28 (Tower/Casino Arc)

Height: 182cm (6'0")

Weight: 64 kg

Blood Type: AB

Likes: Fantasy novels, raccoons, butterflies, carrot cake

Dislikes: Heights, large group conversations, not being evil, Atsushi Hinata

--

-:Professional Information:-

Ability: Curse of Toshokan

Reference: The Curse of Toshokan series

Occupation: Author, School Librarian, Anti-hero, Accountant (former)

Affiliation: Shujin Academy, The Resistance, Unnamed Corporation (former)

--

-:Metaverse Information:-

Name: Vincent Marco Allan

Location: Shujin Academy Library

Distortion: Evil Lair

Treasure: Cursed Tomb → Notebook

--

-:Relationships:-

Family:

Unnamed Wife,

Edgar Allan Poe (son)

Pets:

Kit (female Raccoon),

Carl (Kit's son)

--

-:Appearances:-

Manga Debut: Lost Souls, Kamoshida arc

Anime Debut: Bungou Stray Dogs: Lost Souls, Kamoshida arc

Light Novel Debut: Curse of the Shujin Toshokan

--

-:Portrayal:-

Japanese Voice: Toshiyuki Marikawa

English Voice: Todd Haberkorn

--

"

Vincent Marco Allan to Takeo Kagami

"...evil..."

Vincent Marco Allan (ヴィンセント・マルコ・アラン,, Vu~insento Maruko Aran) is Shujin Academy's librarian and holder of the Mouse Miraculous. He is a member of The Resistance, and his ability is Curse of Toshokan

Personality: Chuunibyou, Social Anxiety, Crafty, Clever, Antagonist Chuunibyou, Villain Complex, Protective

Confidant/Arcana: Priestess

-:Ability:-

Allan's ability, Curse of Toshokan (東照館の呪い,, Tōshōkan no noroi), can transport readers into the setting of any book that hasn't been written by Vincent. However it will work if someone else writes it for him. The book must be open.

Curse of Toshokan (東照館の呪い,, Tōshōkan no noroi)

Color: Dark Green

Manga Debut: Lost Souls, Casino arc

Anime Debut: Bungou Stray Dogs: Lost Souls, Casino arc

Light Novel Debut: Curse of the Shujin Toshokan

Ability: Book Imprisonment

--

-:Etymology:-

 

• The name Vincent is a male given name derived from the Latin word vincere meaning 'to conquer'.

• The middle name Marco is primarily a male name of Italian origin, meaning 'Warlike'.

• The surname Allan is of Irish origin meaning 'handsome'.

--

-:Namesake:-

Vincent Marco Allan

He was known for his fantasy novel series, The Curse of Toshokan, each being their own fantasy world but with the same villain who always loses. The series is set in a cursed library that traps all who enters into each novel as the heroes. Except the narrator/librarian who is cursed to wander the library without entering any books.

--

-:Trivia:-

His raccoon, Kit, is Karl's mother

He and Louisa are part of a totally evil organization!.. They're petty criminals

He gave his son Edgar his old black coat, the boy is very protective of it

Vincent has an Antagonist Chuunibyou Syndrome (Villain Complex), his student Kyouba being his henchman

He has extreme social anxiety and will hide behind those he trusts, even with his tall height

He suffers with selective mutism, struggling to utter a word to most people

He can easily talk to those he's closest to, such as his Wife, Son, Tarou Edogawa, Louisa Mae Mars, and Kyouba Satsune

Vincent Marco Allan (Criminal)

-

--

A Chuunibyou with a Villain Complex and extreme Social Anxiety

Ability: Curse of Toshokan* Book Imprisonment

Confidant: Priestess

--

(Fantasy Bartender)

Victor (Vincent M. Allan)

-

--

A Bartender and the owner of The Raccoon Tail

Magic: Magicless (Teleportation, Purple)

Weapon: Anything

--

[Continued in P2]

[godmodebeginswithlesbians]

yeah that one

ah, ok!

his name is maes hughes, hes from fullmetal alchemist! one of the things hes known for is how much he dotes on his family! also hes a war criminal!

[incomingalbatross]

Exceedingly Long Rant About Redemption Arcs

Zuko’s arc was amazingly written, innovative and solid and sympathetic... but the thing about it is that it’s not CHALLENGING to the audience. They weren’t writing a redemption arc in the sense of “redeemed from the price of his own evil,” they were writing a rescue/escape arc of an abused child overcoming and breaking free of his abuser. The writers wanted us to be able to like/root for him from the start without feeling bad about it, and they wrote him with that in mind.

The worst thing he ever does, really, is betray Iroh—and yes, I know he helps Azula at the same time, but he still has several strong reasons to help her. It’s WRONG, but he’s following early teaching and his father’s wishes, and he has no concrete, clear reason that he ought to help Aang. He does, however, owe Iroh his loyalty and love, and he knows it. This means that what we feel he’s most culpable for, his worst offense, is the offense against Iroh. This also means that his worst offense can, and will, be forgiven by the actual victim—and we know it will, because we know Iroh loves him unconditionally and all Zuko has to do is turn back to him. This means we also don’t have to worry about what Zuko owes in terms of justice, because Iroh will give him mercy.

A real, challenging redemption story does have a price to be paid... and generally, with a real bad guy, it’s a price that they cannot humanly repay.

Darth Vader is an example. We don’t see a lot of his evil onscreen in the original trilogy, but we know it’s happened—he’s been serving the Emperor and the Empire Luke’s whole life! The fact that we don’t see it in person, and also that he suffers death as he turns to the Light, makes this story less challenging than it would be otherwise, but... he’s still an Actual Bad Person, and Luke offers him forgiveness. Mercy. And the story tells us that this, and his One Good Choice, is enough. That’s kinda challenging.

OR. In terms of fire-users... Roy freaking Mustang, of Fullmetal Alchemist. This guy committed actual war crimes—no, worse, because that was never a war. He participated, extremely effectively, in a genocide. And yet, because he’s repented—after the fact—and is trying to atone, he’s one of the story’s heroes. Again, his crimes are largely offscreen, and our one major flashback comes late in the series... But, through Scar’s retribution, and the recurring presence of the Ishvalan Genocide and its effects, we know very consciously that he (and Hawkeye, and Hughes!) did horrific things. And they can never pay the full price—can they return the lives they took, or undo the trauma of those who survived them? NO. They can’t even seek forgiveness from their victims, because their victims are dead. And they know this, and we know this... and yet, we’re still fans. 

I love and admire Roy Mustang for who he is, and I also believe he 100% deserves the death penalty, regardless, for what he did. I don’t want him to get the death penalty, but I cannot possibly argue that anything less would be just. That is a challenging redemption story, even if it’s still offscreen.

A redemption story isn’t “how to make an antagonist who has a right to a happy ending, and then build his character to the point that he switches sides so you can give it to him in a way that pleases the audience.” A redemption story, at its best, is “how to make a character who deserves to suffer for what they’ve done, be very clear that they deserve to suffer regardless of future actions...and then have them receive, at minimum, the mercy of becoming a good person, and build their character well enough that the audience is happy to see them receive said mercy while still knowing it is better than they deserve.”

REDEMPTION is about MERCY. It is UNDESERVED. And the redeemed party’s role is to CHOOSE TO ACCEPT this mercy, and the ONLY characters who are “irredeemable” are the ones who would not believably MAKE the choice to be redeemed—it rests not on what they’ve done, but on who they ARE.

[eye-lantern]

I mean. The most evident part is the souls used for creating philosopher's stones. But also using body parts as a ressource like with the kids' resurrection attempt. Then the use of soldiers as experimental subjects, making them chimera.

And then we have the perfect segway, with the Tuckers. Nina and Alexander are the first level obviously, used as ressources by Nina's father. But when looking further, Shou Tucker did it because State alchemists are used as a ressource by the Amestrian military and disposed of if not useful.

One of the other major themes of the serie is the search of meaning after being made a monster. Nina gest this chance taken away by scar who decided that he will embrace the monster his people have been made to be in the public's opinion. The Elrics became some sort of monsters after attempting the ritual. But the most visible case, and where it converges with the idea of humans as ressources, is the war heroes/criminals of Ishbal.

They were forced to exact the most vile acts for a cause most of them did not believe in, on people that did not deserve it. Some of them were broken like Armstrong, not even able to whistand what they were forced to become. Some of them like Kimbley decided that if it was acceptable to do those horrible acts on order then they were acceptable even when not requested by an administration. Some endured it, but were changed all the same.

They were used by Amestria and then dumped back into a "normal life" after being forced to do things that their loved ones would not understand. Some of them like Maes Hughes take refuge in this domestic life and try to balance out the horrors of what they did and lived by having the most normal life and shielding the n'ext generation from all of it, burying it deep. He will still die the moment he steps out of his role as a tool of the military. Roy Mustang feels like he has to reform the system to prevent it from repeating this cycle (he also becomes the "last monster" by burning the fire formula off the back of Hawkeye who was used as a protection and transmission system, both so nobody can/has to use this horrifying technic and to free her from her status of notebook) and is ready to become worse for that goal.

But he refuses to use his men as ressources. He gives them the choice every step of the way and adapts to each of their situations. And that is one of the answers the show offers. So absolutely, the lack of agency, use of others as ressources, as a replaceable cog, the disregard of every individual life as something to be respected is core to the scheme of themes in FMA.

This idea of living creatures as ressources is even explored from a different angle in the author's next manga, silver spoon. She adresses the ethics of raising farm animals for meat, taking into account emotional attachement, human needs, animal living conditions, the weight of tradition and the need for this reflexion in each and everyone before making a definitive choice.

The real antagonist of Fullmetal Alchemist is the nameless Xerxian alchemist who bought a teenage boy to sweep his floors and then was like "hey, I'm going to take your blood to try to play god, you can't legally say no because I own you. If this, say, backfires horrifically in 20 years time, then I guess it's you and your descendants' problem since it's your blood lmao"

[gremlines]

roy mustang and riza hawkeye and maes hughes. they're presented to us as good, kind, compassionate people, and then we learn that they've done terrible, terrible things. every single one of them is a war criminal. they all actively participated in genocide.

and they are so fucking guilty, and trying their goddamn best to make reparations. they understand what they did was wrong, they understand how to make sure it never happens again, and they devote their lives to doing so. why do they want to reform their government? because they know firsthand that it is cruel and unjust, because they have been the executors of cruelty and injustice. they're not standing around making excuses for their actions or trying to justify what they did. they are actively trying to make amends.

it brings me so much comfort. that u can fuck up so horrendously and still be a good person. u can still be full of love and compassion and empathy, and u can do better.

also. that sometimes we are do bad things bc of the system we live in. and the answer is to overhaul that system. it's not just about personal growth and development. that means nothing unless u can strive toward a better society.