#might need to add some animation to the normal punches to justify them having the reach a flail has

[claire-starsword]

when I translated the character bios for Shining Soul II i had a brief moment of fear as they said the priestess was not too good at offense, though i knew this series has an habit of downplaying the priests’ strength. Very glad to see now that it was indeed the latter, Karna is demolishing everything with double punches and it’s so satisfying

[rexcoatlarchive]

Summer Quetz ideas

Super long so adding a read more to it

Gonna share some ideas for a potential summer alt for Quetz. Now when you look at most seasonal alts for servants what's something you notice? Usually they kinda hyperfixate on some modern thing. Especially when their base form was already a fan of said modern thing, their alt is usually them hyperfixating even more so. Like normal Archer Tomoe likes games, while Saber Tomoe is a straight up gamer with her VR headset and sword controllers. This has already been done for Quetz with her Santa alt, where Rider Quetz was a lucha fan who likes the fighting style, Ruler Quetz is a straight up Luchadora, with Samba thrown in their too. Now with this summer Quetz I was thinking do that but with her being a superhero type character. Now you may wonder why a superhero, well for one thing Quetz is already relatively similar to one, she has abilities that are comparable to many hero's powers. She has flight, super strength, fire powers, weather powers and so on, and yeah I get a lot of other servants have superhero like abilities but another thing about her that I think would make her fit the superhero thing is her love of Lucha. Now if you don't know Lucha is essentially a way to kind of bring superhero stories to life, that's why the masks and the costumes and the flashy behavior and so on, so Quetz becoming a superhero type character in her summer form is basically her taking the Lucha even further and going full on hero with it. And if you still having trouble seeing the connection, if you take a look at one of the most iconic superheroes, Spider-man, was influenced by Lucha Libre. When you look at his mask, it's almost one for one the same as a tradition lucha mask and even his fighting style matches up with Lucha Libre in a lot of ways.

Now another thing, if we're doing a superhero Quetz alt it makes sense to have her be a paragon type specifically. If you wonder that means, paragons are characters that do good for goodness sake and inspire others to follow in their footsteps and are often enough leaders of a superhero team too. The biggest examples of this being heroes like Captain America and Superman. Kind of an obvious choice given how Quetz is literally a goddess of all things good, so much so that good aligned characters can't do as much damage to her as those of other alignments.

Now when it comes to story reasons as to why, that's a bit of a bigger hurdle. The only thing I can think is basically the real life reasoning (aside from the fact that the idea of Quetz being a superhero is fucking amazing to me) that Lucha Libre is already pretty close so why not go all the way. I do think a summer event story that tells about hero Quetz fighting against someone whose being the super villain (probably Tezcalipoca) while the player and others are caught up in the middle. Now with such an idea, it also makes sense for her to be the 4 star welfare servant for such an event, if it wasn't for the fact that she deserves to be a 5 star summer servant in my eyes. One way I can think for a superhero summer story with Quetz as the main hero but still be a 5 star with proper ascensions is by having the 4 star welfare be her sidekick or something along those lines (kinda like Bradamante in the Quetzmas event but flipped)

With class the main one I can think of for such an alt would be Saber. The main reasons for this being a. I want a Quetz of every class and b. I can't really think of a class that's 100% fits the idea so saber it is. Now we don't really need to 100% justify the classing for the alt considering DW themselves don't seem to care enough to try to justify the classes for many alts. But we can atleast have her use her Macuahuitl in this alt along with lucha moves with some superpowered boosts to them.

Now since I insisted her be a 5 star with proper ascensions, I might aswell think of said ascensions. Now the first one I think should be the one looks the most like a normal bikini. The second one I have more trouble with, I'm thinking like a one piece swimsuit but with a lucha style mask, cape and boots maybe? Or maybe kind of do what they did with Summer Carmilla and go all the way superhero in the second ascension and when we reach third it's another nicer bikini like the first one. I dunno, I have to brainstorm these a bit more.

Now for the actual gameplay and animations. I'm thinking for most attack animations it's still her using Lucha Libre along with the Macuahuitl but maybe add some fire to help emphasize the whole superhero theming, along with stuff like a flying super strength punch and so on too. Also maybe have it look different depending on ascension, like the moves look more hero-esque in the ascension that's more hero focused while the other ascensions it's mostly just flaming lucha. Abilities are a little more difficult, I rarely think of these things. For the first one I'm thinking something a kin to charisma like her default rider and x-mas ruler forms. The second one I think should probably boost defence and grant debut immunity and maybe even cleanse to the whole team, kind of meant to embody the whole inspiring others thing that paragons are known for, but for gameplay. The final ability I think should be like a self buff, maybe boosting buster, self healing, immunity to death, ignore invincible, and maybe even add that special protection against good and even evil aligned servants she had in the Babylon story. For the card selection I think 2 arts, 2 buster, and 1 quick makes the most sense. I think the NP should be a buster single target, maybe it can be that super move she hit Tiamat with in the Babylon story.

That's about all I have, if anyone has some input they want to share about the idea that would be great. And maybe one day I can commission an artist to draw the ascensions when I'm finally fully satisfied.

[the-order-of-fools]

Headcanons for when the knights get horny perhaps??? 😳💦💦

What is there to expect from a "knight" in his 30s who has lived most of his life until now with his mother? He may have been king for a few years, but that doesn't change his incel status. The only hand that has touched his dick belongs to him. He's in no way sex-obsessed, but he does get horny. He's touchy. If he's someone so obsessed with maintaining his status and avoiding "filthy peasants", why does he have his hand right on your back? You would quite like to punch him in the face, but sadly, you would rather not break your fist. Though, one may come to ask themself if it's worth it. On one hand, you teach him a good lesson about personal space and get to wipe that stupid confident smirk that you just know is behind his helmet, on the other, you may be thrown in jail for the rest of your life with a broken hand. You're left contemplating it as you feel his hand lowering. You swear he's trying trying to perk your attention with (mostly) empty promises of riches and status, but you're too lost in thought to notice his hand on your ass. He's seconds from storming away frustrated that you can't notice his foreplay, he contemplates just smacking your ass. He clearly does not foresee the consequences of his actions - but you do notice instead, and your mind is split between slapping him once and for all (your hand is willing to sacrifice itself) or politely pull his hand back up. His voice will become louder and more confident (or at least try to be), as to counteract his growing embarrassment and need. Even when he's horny, he doesn't result any less obnoxious than normal.

Tinker Knight usually tries avoiding the feeling as much as he can until it finally dies down and he can concentrate once more on his beloved machines, as working in such a state is an absolute no for him. He gets horny while he’s working on something and he accidentally distracts himself and blacks out (working 24/7 in the same place is very mentally tiring), letting the lewd thoughts seep him. Now watch his hands become sweaty under the gloves, his fingers tremble and his grip loosen, causing him to mess up and consequently curse out loud. He needs a pause, and most importantly he needs to drive the troublesome thoughts away. He's a man of focus, commitment and sheer will damnit! His ambition may keep his spirit strong, but it certainly doesn't help his screeching boner. He would rather die of sexual frustration than stop working. That's why you're around. You make sure he doesn't suppress it too much and get permanent hard cock disease.

Sentient magic has a strange way of acting when "aroused". It doesn't quite feel the same sexual arousal as humans or animals, but something much different, like craving a good piece of meat. Wait no that's sexual. A good carrot. Who even likes vegetables? Either way, sentient magic has its own manner of attaining pleasure. Treasure Knight just happens to be sentient magic inside of a free real estate armor. Whether it's a good thing or bad thing is all up to you. When "sexually" frustrated, there exist two ways of dealing with it. You either form what can only be described as a magic dick, or you touch your magic essence under the helmet. Treasure Knight has better things to do than keep a boner and wait for it go die out on its own, which means he'll actively drive it away whether it's thanks to your help or his own hand. He's curt enough to walk up to you and ask you to bed him right away. Expect him to stare intensely at you as you try mustering up an answer, your pupils travelling in every direction just to avoid that intense, supposedly horny gaze. He'll be more than happy to indulge in adult fun time if you give your consent, and then he'll be right back to work. Magic-possessed armors can be quite the workaholics sometimes, while still not being affected by their insane life-work balance. What a blessing.

Some may ask themselves: How can a corpse get horny? Can they even get hard? There isn't any blood in their veins. To which you say: "Magic and social awkwardness". It's like he's a teenager, really. Watching you from the corner of his eye, avoiding you as much as possible, spying on you in the dark. You might as well invite him over for a good fuck since he doesn't even dare wank it in the bushes. Specty can be a creepy motherfucker but with enough love you're sure he can reach some level of basic human decency. He acts like touching you is the most difficult thing he has done in his entire life, and that includes recruiting the Order of Asshole Knights. His touches are awkward, too shy to be truly tangible. You're sure that if you were to grab his dick he would disintegrate. You don't even know if he wants to either hold hands or fuck. Heck, they could mean the same thing for him for all you care. Touch him, and he's immediately on fire - you couldn't know dead skin could become so stiff until you tried caressing his cheek for the first time (while being in the dark of course, he's still trying to accept his body as it is).

Libido can vary between sentient magic beings. Plague Knight? His libido is nearly inexistent. All he knows is how to make potions and do crimes. This little fucker hasn't even experienced a handjob in his entire life, not even from his own hand. He has reached a new level of incel. You need to make the first move. What move? Who fucking knows, it can be getting him new potion ingredients (he might consider leaving your body explosion free for your apparent generosity), or maybe you're both nerds who enjoy discussing alchemy. Who knows, add some of your knowledge about creating gold out of lead, it might turn him on. His horniness translates into science, you struggle to find a way to fuck the alchemical bitch. They say "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach", but if the man in question is a bird-like alchemy enthusiast, you better go for potions. Has he ever made potions that affect sexual behavior? Aphrodisiacs? The Middle Ages’s alternative to Viagra? No one knows, actually, no one should.

Propeller Knight has no problems getting accustomed to his sexual needs and will find a way to quench his primal thirst. This man is labelled as a chad and so he shall be remembered, because he always knows how to get rid of the boner in the most pleasurable way possible. Still, he happens to find the foreplay quite... interesting. His voice becomes mellow and his gestures slow and kind, he's the type to push your lower back towards him as he holds your chin between his two fingers. He won't straight up ask you to bed him, he has manners and he does not want to ruin the poetic atmosphere, but sometimes his horniness will be so apparent that you'll find yourself blushing in embarrassment as his hands travel to places they normally wouldn't belong to.

Specter Knight might be laughably edgy, but Black Knight? He doesn't fuck around. Dubbed the Friendzone Knight by the Bard (who has luckily managed to escape his hot topic wrath), he lives up to his name. He's so sexually oppressed you might think that he's as mellow as a newborn duckling with no legs. Which has been justified by the fact that at times, he seems particularly determined to avoid your touches. He acts as if you're attempting to lay claim to his little edgy soul. Sometimes you find him brooding silently at the horizon. For a moment, you believe he's reminiscing about his tragic backstory, something along the lines of being rejected by his mother and living his lives with a pack of wolves. Then you realize that he's trying to suppress his boner. He avoids you like the plague.

Mole Knight, similarly to the two other sentient magic knights, does a bit of a better job at admitting his arousal and not breaking your pelvis. His flames are a clear, but unwilling, indicator of it. You have never seen them burn so bright before. They're dancing, scorching through the air itself as he awkwardly looms over you. He would try to bend. Though, he doesn't want to insult your short height, or burn you alive for that matter. He's awfully kind and polite, and most importantly: unfocused on his work. He'll try to pep in, subtly try to hint at spending some time together until you cut him off and kiss his helmet. The ordeal leaves a burn on your lips. Still, you're quite happy as long as he's not dying of heat. But that would be assuming that magic fire can be affected by it. He's literally on fire, what are you even thinking about. Though, the flames under his helm are soft and delicate and certainly not scorching. You haven't lost a body part... yet. You lick your lips as a reflex after feeling them burn a little, he ends up blushing even more and his magical boner is almost tangible. His instincts are screaming at him to jump on you but no, you're too precious for him and he would never do such a despicable thing to you - unless you consent of course. You'll need to ask him to bed you, and he'll be ready to run (more like wabble - he's massive) to the bedroom and spend some quality couple time with you.

Polar Knight hasn't gotten the privilege to get accustomed to his sexuality for a long time, being the coldest man you have ever known - at least on the outside, because you know that on the inside, he's certainly warmer than a couple of certified edgelords we all know. However, he still remains an incel. A silent, massive bearded incel. You'll find him to be quieter than usual (which is impressive if we consider that he established that record), and deep into a pensive state that may look similar to meditation. Leave him alone and he'll drive it away on his own, approach him and he'll look at you with such intensity that you'll think he either wants to murder you or fuck you all night long. Luckily for you, it happens to be the latter. He'll let his large hand loom over your shoulders, arms, hips; his gaze may leave yours but it will still be as intense. You can and will shiver when he'll finally place his lips against yours. -Mod Tinker and ~Mod Propeller

[owl-eyed-woman]

Attack on Titan Season 2 Episode Analysis - Episode 7 (Episode 32)

After last week’s thrilling cliff-hanger, it’s finally time for some ‘close combat’. Yes, this episode knows what it’s about, and that is action, action, action. To be honest, when I realised that this was going to be an action-heavy episode, I feared that there wouldn’t be much for me to analyse here – I mean, it’s thrilling action done well, what more is there to say? On rewatch though, it’s clear that there’s a lot going on beneath the surface, particularly in regards to who Eren is and how his style of fighting reflects his psychology. It’s been a while since we’ve had an Eren-focused episode, hasn’t it?

The episode starts with a brief flashback all the way back to episode 3 – those were the days! Usually, I wouldn’t deign to comment on an episode recap, but this recap isn’t just reminding us of a previous event. Instead, the audience is forced to re-contextualise this moment and actively reframe it within the context of Reiner and Bertholdt’s betrayal. This was once a beautiful scene about the formation of an unexpected bond and growing mutual respect between four people who had experienced the horrors of the titans firsthand. Tragically, this once genuine moment is now tainted by deceit and betrayal. Still, we absolutely can’t forget that Eren is fighting one of his closest comrades, someone he trusted with his life for 5 long years! And, to put it bluntly, Eren is pissed.

In the last episode, we experienced the immediate emotional fallout from Reiner’s duplicity, as Eren shifted from paralysed shock to grief. Now, as he begins comprehend the depth of Reiner’s betrayal, Eren is consumed by bitterness and rage. Everything he thought Reiner was - strong, loyal, steadfast, reliable - has been comprehensively and cruelly demolished.

This is so devastating for Eren not just because he loved Reiner dearly, but because Eren wanted to be Reiner. For Eren, Reiner was the perfect model of a soldier and everything Eren aspired to. In this way, Reiner’s betrayal, unlike Bertholdt’s, is a personal affront to Eren; he hasn’t just lost a friend, he’s lost his ideal. Poor Eren just can’t catch a break.

Reiner as the Armoured Titan is a striking, intimidating opponent, to say the least. It’s strange to think that even though we’re over 30 episodes in, this is only the third ‘Titan Eren vs Titan’ battle we’ve seen (and only the second ‘Titan Eren vs. Titan-shifter’ battle). So though the novelty definitely hasn’t worn off, AOT still makes sure that each iteration is compelling and fresh by introducing new challenges to overcome and seemingly unbeatable abilities. AOT knows that you don’t need to reinvent the proverbial wheel every time, but you do need to tweak it just a bit to keep the audience invested.

Thus, a pattern of escalation and complication is evident in every titan battle we’ve encountered so far. We can basically view Eren’s first transformation in Trost as a kind of tutorial level in titan shifting. Tasks like defeating normal titans or successfully moving the boulder all function to demonstrate Eren getting a handle on his powers and establishing the basic rules of this ability. So in the scheme of things, the challenges here are comparatively simple (OK, it wasn’t simple at the time).

With Annie as the Female Titan, the show started to add new obstacles to complicate this formula. Against the Female Titan, Eren had to contend with mental and emotional challenges in addition to a physical one. Annie was a formidable opponent combat-wise, but she was also highly intelligent and, even more importantly, a friend. Thus, the main conflict for Eren against Annie was learning how to overcome the emotionally devastating challenge of fighting someone you’ve trusted for years and psychologically move past this.

Now with Reiner, we see AOT continue to evolve Eren’s titan-shifter battles by further centring the main conflict in Eren’s psychology and emotional perspective (we’ll get to that in a bit).

But on a more basic level, he is quite simply the most intimidating enemy physically that Eren has ever encountered– I mean, he’s a Titan with armour for god’s sake! Reiner’s ridiculous strength is made abundantly clear from the beginning with our first establishing shot of the fight showing Reiner’s punch literally sending Eren flying through the air. It’s practically comical! In addition to this, it’s quickly established that Reiner’s armour is impervious to Mikasa’s blades. For both titans and humans, Reiner is set up as a nigh invincible enemy and the greatest challenge combat-wise that Eren has ever encountered.

So with Eren as the clear underdog in this fight, the fun is in seeing how he can possibly even the odds. One thing is clear: this isn’t a fight Eren can punch his way through. He’s going to have to use more than brute strength to possibly stand a chance.

Facing this seemingly insurmountable challenge, something starts to shift within Eren. Fuelled by the memory of the destruction of Wall Maria and the death of his mother along with countless innocents, any regret, sadness, or confusion dissipates and is replaced by white hot rage. Only one things remains startlingly clear; Reiner is a monster and he must be destroyed.  As Eren rises up from the ground, the camera sweeps over his weird, bumpy abs before showing Eren standing proudly, ready to fight. This shot communicates one idea; Eren is powerful enough to defeat Reiner.  

And then he gets punched again, twirling through the air! It’s important to note that Eren’s impotence is purposefully comedic, with the sudden cut to the eyecatch heightening the absurdity of this moment. This entire scene then, with its powerful angles, empowering music and inspiring sentiments, functions as purposeful misdirection.

But we still need to ask, why doesn’t Eren succeed in this moment? Why isn’t his willpower, resolve and rage, which were so essential to defeating Annie, effective against Reiner?

On a basic level, we could say it’s just because Reiner is physically stronger than Annie. But I believe the reason for Eren’s failure goes much deeper than this. Ultimately, Eren’s success or failure in this fights comes down to his morality, his psychology and how he perceives his opponents. This came up in my analysis for last week’s episode, but essentially, this conflict with Reiner relates to Eren’s strict adherence to an extremely black and white view of morality and his almost compulsive need to clearly place people into this stark dichotomy of good or evil.

Eren’s done this exact thing several times throughout the show. It happened with Annie and, even more notably, when he first met Mikasa. It’s (surprisingly) easy to overlook, but Eren basically murdered two men when he was just a child. I’m not saying his actions weren’t justified, but realistically, any other child would have been traumatised by this experience, or simply unable to commit such an act in the first place. Eren, however, was able to remain completely unfazed precisely because, in his mind, they weren’t truly human. They were animals and thus he faced no ethical dilemma when killing them. It’s almost disturbing how easily Eren is able to compartmentalise complex moral situations and even people by reducing them to completely inhuman or monstrous forms.  

As Eren prepares to fight, he starts to fall into this familiar pattern. He calls them ‘pests’, and declares that he’s going to ‘exterminate’ them, already starting to conceive of Reiner and Bertholdt in inhuman terms, as insects, animals or monsters. By doing this, Eren forces himself to repress his emotional turmoil and erase any feelings of friendship by reducing them to mindless monsters to be destroyed.

In the past, Eren’s ability to apply this dehumanising morality to the situation at hand has been essential for his survival and success. Quite simply, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Annie if he hadn’t been able to conceive of her as a monster, not a human being who was once his friend.

Crucially though, the fact that Eren dehumanises his enemies so frequently and comprehensively has serious ramifications for his mental wellbeing. You see, in order to effectively utilise this ability, Eren has to rely on the worst parts of himself (his rage and his hate) and repress the best parts of himself (his compassion, his idealism and his loyalty). In the process of harnessing this monstrous side of himself, Eren literally loses his own humanity that he treasures so, so much. Ultimately, by dehumanising others so thoroughly, Eren essentially participates in his own dehumanisation as well.

So when he starts to dehumanise Reiner, Eren is essentially reverting to an emotionally unhealthy and psychologically damaging pattern. Fundamentally, on an emotional level, Eren can’t keep this up without self-destructing. But on a simple tactical level, the benefits of this method, specifically the monstrous determination and strength boost, aren’t enough to defeat the pure might of Reiner.

Faced with this conundrum, Eren suddenly recalls his cadet combat training with Annie. It’s an innocent, tranquil time, even though Annie is absolutely destroying Eren. Eren’s impulsive and angry fighting style is simply no match for the cold calculation and skilful timing of Annie. But more importantly, during this training match, Annie teaches Eren how to use opponent’s force against them, along with specific wrestling holds to incapacitate and defeat a much stronger opponent.

Then, Mikasa comes over and requests Annie try her technique out on her. Crucially, Annie admits that she is unsure if it will work, as her combat style was made to be used on humans, not beasts like Mikasa. Though Annie’s intention was to insult Mikasa, this point is absolutely crucial and will ultimately enable Eren to gain the upper hand against Reiner.

This flashback gives Eren a genuine breakthrough. Tactically, Eren learns to harness a new technique that is tailor-made for defeating brutish fighters like Reiner. But more importantly, this style is specifically intended to be used against ‘humans’, not ‘beasts’. Until now, Eren has been fighting ‘beasts’ like a beast himself. But he can’t do this with Reiner. This time, he has to fight Reiner on equal footing as a human. Basically, in order to use this technique effectively, he has to acknowledge Reiner’s inherent humanity.

This shift in perspective is immediately apparent as Eren battles Reiner. He no longer conceives of Reiner as a pest or vows to destroy or exterminate him. Instead, he gloats over the fact that because he fought with him as a cadet, he knows their weaknesses and how he can defeat them.

Before this moment, Eren has always needed to dehumanise his enemies, reducing them to inhuman monsters and repressing any emotional connection. But in this one episode, his friendship with Reiner and understanding of him as a human being is no longer an emotional hindrance for Eren. In fact, if he can remain conscious of Reiner as a human, he can use this knowledge to his advantage. Now, by no longer relying on dehumanisation and rage to win his battles, Eren must instead utilise planning, strategy and composure – essentially, he must retain his own humanity and rational control over the situation. This a huge breakthrough for Eren, both emotionally and mentally.

It’s also a huge step forward for Eren morally and ethically. What Reiner and Bertholdt did was despicable, monstrous even!  But this is not necessarily at odds with their humanity. If there is one truth in AOT it’s this: humans have the potential to do monstrous, despicable things, but we still need to acknowledge this as a part of our humanity, rather than consigning this to the realm of monsters and beasts. Only then can we truly grow as people.

By acknowledging Reiner as a human during this battle, Eren is slowly incorporating moral nuance and understanding into his worldview. No, he’s probably not ready to see the virtues of his enemies or the vices of his friends. But still, it’s an important step towards recognising the monstrosity in humans and the humanity in monsters.

So with all this in mind, Eren is finally able to gain the upper hand against Reiner, incapacitating Reiner completely before TEARING ONE OF HIS ARMS OFF! I’ve rambled on far too long about the character implications, so let me just say that action-wise, it’s awesome seeing the addition of martial arts and dynamic strategies in a titan battle!

Additionally, while Armin, Mikasa and Hanji worry that Eren has lost control, Eren remains entirely lucid and rational throughout this entire episode. So here is yet another benefit to viewing one’s enemies as humans rather than monsters – Eren can retain his own humanity and control.

In this one episode, Eren has made so much progress with his titan powers, as well as substantial progress as a character! So, of course it’s disheartening when he is so soundly defeated at the hands of Reiner and Bertholdt.

I guess everything was going a bit too well for Eren, as everyone seems to forget their initial plan to escape in their desperation for just one success. Basically, they got cocky.

So while in the end, Eren failed abysmally, we mustn’t forget the significant breakthrough he’s had morally, emotionally and mentally. Let’s just hope it sticks!