#okay now I'm free to ramble about symbolism

[codecicle]

hey guys is this anythingburger :-)

all art credit goes to sadist and their animatics! go here NEEEOOOWW

[kopivie]

okay so i’m obsessed with your hades wrio so i have to know,, does he compromise? like in the original myth of hades & persephone he decides to let her back into the over world 6 months out of the year,, does he use something akin to the pomegranate seeds? id love to hear your thoughts lol

i'm so happy you like it! thank you so much for reading my silly little rambles, heh ♡ but i've been giving this a lot of thought because as of right now, i'm not 100% sure on what would act as the pomegranate seeds in this au. this is gonna be a bit of a brainstorm post, so bear with me:

it's evident that wriothesley loves and adores you enough to want to monopolize you, but he also knows that if he keeps you here for too long, you may grow to truly hate him. he can't have that, so he lets you go.

to some, the pomegranate seeds in persephone's myth symbolizes the indissolubility of marriage. i'm not quite sure if our hades!wriothesley would make you ingest something quite like that, but i do think he would give you a small mechanical device developed by the best mechanics and engineers in fontaine. this device would act as a timer that would go off on the fall solstice each year, which would signify that it was time for you to return "home".

hades would be gentle about it. he knows that you're suffering without organic plants and the initial love (or infatuation) you felt for him was dwindling by the day, so he pulls you aside one evening to propose the idea. he will send you back to the surface on the spring equinox. wriothesley will watch your expression change several times, but he will continue:

you deserve to thrive in the warmth of the sun. you need the long days and short nights that spring and summer provide. you deserve to be happy.... but there's a catch. the world in the fall and winter is no different from the fortress of meropide year-round; you will return to the fortress on the fall solstice to stay warm and cared for with wriothesley, who will ensure your happiness.

i think out of sheer desperation, you agree to his terms. if i were to circle back to the whole pomegranate seed thing, i don't think that would be necessary. like maybe it's just the prolonged time away from wriothesley that allows for your emotions to settle; the dust clears, the anger fades, and you're left feeling... hollow. you feel lonely in your bed at night. in the warmer months, you feel like the euphoria you feel is best shared with a companion -- with a loved one. what would wriothesley think about picnics with you on a grassy hilltop? would he go swimming with you? surely he'd ask you for flower crowns for sigewinne, right?

the time you spend away from wriothesley are freeing, yet simultaneously agonizing. you miss him.

so when the timer goes off on the fall solstice, you're actually eager to return to wriothesley's side. he's taken aback by your change in demeanor around him when you come back to the fortress -- you're shy around him, you get flustered so easily, and he can feel your lingering gaze from a mile away. but it's certainly not an unwelcome change. it's like a fresh start, where the two of you can now blossom into each other without the threat of resentment looming overhead.

i'm kinda giddy just thinking about the previously overconfident wriothesley being reduced to a smitten lover once more when you come back and actually return his feelings.. it's so cute! he wasn't expecting you to warm up to him during your time away, but now that you aren't giving him the cold shoulder or appearing visibly reluctant to accept his kindness, he doesn't really know what to do.

[starpros-sunshine]

Eichi gives away the mask so easily because it was never meant to be an "engagement ring" like you delulu wataeis imagined it to be lmao. It was wataru saying that he will continue playing tsumugi clown role in fine and won't leave it for hokuto's mother troupe after graduation. Do you dumb fucks even read the stories? Eichi didn't even understand tf that mask meant when wataru gave it to him and wataru referenced fucking tsumugi in his "proporsal". I dunno why the f you think it's ok to lie about "! EnDiNG wItH wAtAeI EnGaGeMEnT" when the chapter it happened wasn't even close to the end of ep:link. Cope

PS: how do you live with the fact that Eichi clearly admitted to never being in love in his life and Wataru said that even though Eichi likes him, he still can easily discard him for the sake of his objectives?

I love you anon thank you for giving me a nice reason to ramble again beautiful ask 10/10 I'm sorry this is probably not how you hoped this would go but this is such a funny block of text delightful really thank you for the enrichment please marry me

But okay yes now to get down to the actual ask just to disclaim I am solely relying on translations seeing as I do not speak japanese well enough to understant the original text so if anyone has anything to add to this or to correct me on please feel free to do so.

Now to get started I'm not sure if one could say Eichi gave away the mask "So easily" seeing as he claimed that it was "a hard choice to make"? Which, as one might know, implies unease with an idea and pondering and debating and a general amount of thinking behind a decision so? I know this isn't really the main focus of this ask but I'm just a tad miffed with the semantics of it is all. And in either case giving the mask back to Wataru while expecting it back still shows a certain degree of trust in their relationship it wouldn't have been such a big deal for him (as it apparently was) if the mask didn't have a lot of sentimental value to him (the both of them really if we look at the whole exchange).

Now to the claim that the mask was "only" Watarus promise to stay with fine and "continue playing Tsumugis clown role". This is not entirely incorrect. Regarding the acting troupe and staying with fine bit at least.

I'm assuming this bit in EP:Link Deadend/7 is what you are referencing, and I see where you're coming from. But the bluebird line

from literally three dialogue lines further down, which references this line of dialogue (notorious Eichi line everyone should be familiar with)

kind of somewhat really recontextualises that? Because you see this is a reference to a fairytale about a pair of siblings and they get sent out by a nice fairy to find the bluebird of happiness for her sad daughter to make her happy again so they both go on an adventure and travel far and search and search but they can not find the bluebird of happiness and then when they return home again, disappointed because they couldn't find the blue bird, they realise only one night has actually passed and the journey was probably just a dream. But then their eyes fall upon their pet dove in it's cage which appears blue all of a sudden and so they gift it to the fairies sad daughter which becomes happy again and sets the bird free. The real bluebird of happiness is a dove. At least in the version of the story I'm familiar with but I mean everyone sees the symbolism right? It's. very hard to miss.

And then dropping this?

I'm not sure how to say this properly but in the overall context this makes it pretty clear that Tsumugi has nothing to do with this anymore this is Fully between Wataru and Eichi. And I am the last person to dismiss Tsumugis significance in the course of Wataeis relationship as characters I will be among the first to protest when someone dismisses the importance of Tsumugis and Eichis relationship in favour of some image they have of Wataei but he has nothing to do with this one.

Yes Tsumugi gets namedropped but - again - I don't really see how that would lessen the sentiment Wataru is triying to convey here? Because. Yes. Why wouldn't he mention Tsumugi?

The entire conversation pretty much boils down to "Yes I was initially only in this because I thought I could replace Tsumugis role in your life and then I wanted to leave but we have spent so much time together that I realised that that is definitely not working out because I really do love you. I love you as a teammate; I love you as a friend; I love you as a person and I am very angry at myself for not managing to get that into your head. So please allow me to stay with you for as long as you'll have me." And then also Eichi not understanding because he has the emotional self awareness of a very emotionally unaware loaf of bread and also because he hates himself that is a very big thing about his character huge part of his character arc actually that he. you know? Hates himself? And feels guitly for his actions during the war? And doesn't think he deserves love and companionship? Which is why Wataru wanting to stay with him for him and not for some twisted form of revenge is such an alien concept to him? Because he is projecting his insecurities onto Wataru? As one is wont to do when they hate themself? "EiChi Didn'T eVen UnDErStanD WhAt tf ThAT Mask MEAnt" Yeah. That's. That's the point? So he can think about it and come to that conclusion himself which works as a keymoment in his characters journey from hating life and himself to enjoying being alive and wanting to live on because of the people he's surrounded with? He literally explains why he didn't immediately understand the mask during the EP:Link Epilogue/4

And to get back to the "I dunno why the f you think it's ok to lie about "! EnDiNG wItH wAtAeI EnGaGeMEnT" about which I have two things to say:

"Lying" implies further intent and an effort. Neither of which exist in this case.

He literally went down on one knee while making a big proclamation of offering himself to Eichi with a very personal item that works as a symbol for their commitment to each other on a starlit rooftop. The comparison writes itself.

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke

And then I expected there to be a proper reason given and instead you proceed to follow that up with "when the chapter it happened wasn't even close to the end of ep:link". I know the shame is on me for expecting something sensical from an ask which has been near constant in it's lack of correct statements but such is human nature I suppose. And you are not wrong. Deadend/7 isn't very close to the end of EP:Link. That is true.

But do you know what Is very close to the end of EP:Link? The Epilogue Chapters 3-5.

Do you know what the content of those chapters is? I do. Very well actually :)

(Eichi literally explains why he didn't get it)

So if this answers your "Do you dumb fucks even read the stories?" questions, Yes. And I think I'm a lot better at it than you. So I'd say I'm coping quite well over here :p

PS: Regarding your PS, I take the "I've never been in love before so I wouldn't know" comment with a lot of humour actually as an aroace person who's emotional self awareness also ends at "good" and "Not good" I think it's very funny all things considered especially because he mentioned the loving Wataru thing several times before that and I'm generally of the belief that actions speak louder than words and also am in a happy long term relationship with the concept of "Reading Subtext". So please excuse me for not breaking down in tears everytime someone reminds me of that one singuar line of text in one of my favourite all time enstars stories that came out three years ago which also brought us the single best card set in the entire game

as well as absolute banger dialogue such as

Among others <33

And there are soooooo many other examples of wataei dialogue that simply make me swoon but I have already had to take out so many of the one's I wish I could put here so this wouldn't get "Do you love the colour of the sky" long

And also, regarding your "Wataru said that even though Eichi likes him, he still can easily discard him for the sake of his objectives" I'll just say that no he absolutely could not. I mean he'd say that and if pull comes to shove and he has no other option then he might seriously consider it but may I mention that Wataru was gone for a few days at most but really not that long of a time during Sanctuary and Eichi stopped considering being a normal rational person that doesn't leave helpless 17 year olds in the midst of a construction site. Very different situation but I feel like it's worth mentioninh here. Another example is Eichis almost not being able to go through with the war because of Wataru. Wataru had to actively come and tell Eichi to go through with it. Wataru isn't the reason Eichi started the war, that is wrong, but he is the reason Eichi almost didn't finish it. and during the war era that was his Main objective. Again I'm part of the fraction "actions speak louder than words" Show don't tell and all that, but even the words are pushing it.

And that concludes my essay :)

[fabiansociety]

I've been following your dicussion R.E Majima and Kiryu and I have a weird observation I want to throw into the ring if that's okay! Not so much a question more me rambling.

I think a lot about how Majima, in particular, falls in love and how this plays out in the games. So, I mainly have to take from Makoto and Kiryu (although....again Love is maybe not the word and I know I'm missing A Certain Person but we know so little about her). What I've noticed and what I really enjoy is that Majima tends to see echoes of himself in the people he attaches to. With Makoto there is a clear parallel between them (loss of sight and autonomy) and a desire for her to be free from it all but also not to be tainted by it. Kiryu as well is so interesting to think about with this.

I always think of that first big convo in K1 and Majima has this really serious moment where he says to Kiryu 'you know, if you keep this up, it's gonna kill you' (paraphrase I can't remember the exact quote dfgf) and coming off Y0 it seems obvious to me that Majima is seeing Himself from Y0 in Kiryu a bit? But crucially what I think it does is trigger this Protective Instinct which is obvious in Makoto but less so in Kiryu. Until I think about the Majima everywhere system a bit too long fgdfg The Majima everywhere system is Explicitly this - Majima making Kiryu stronger so he can survive, so he can Live. It's protection. The mad dog is actually a guard dog who knew fdgfd.

For me though it's not really K1 that swings the Kazumaji for me it's K2/K3 and the messy aftermath. It's the few times we see Majima try to haul Kiryu aside and have a direct conversation with him, offer guidance and advice. It's some of the few times he drops the mask and to me that means more than any flirting in K1 could. Because if Majima in K1 would hate anything it's being vulnerable and by the time your reaching 8 he's telling Kiryu "If you go I don't think my heart can take it".

What this all says about how Majima leans romantically or sexually IDK but I think it's a neat little comparison? For me I'd argue that the sexual element isn't really important and doesn't tend to hold weight? For a game about Yakuza Crime Men they are oddly. IDK. Sexless?

RGG seems to suggest they are bound by fate. The games keep pairing them off in different lives and different iterations and in each and every one Majima loses his shit over Kiryu (which...makes me ponder just how involved Nishitani is in a larger scheme of things)

Sorry I'll stop rambling now apparently I have more thoughts about this than I guessed.

no, yeah, exactly, their relationship is hard not to get kind of feral about if you spend much time at all thinking about it, because it's SO supersaturated with possible meanings and readings and then they just kind of… drift apart? like whatever their feelings are in yakuza 1 and 2, by the time you get to 5 they are mostly symbols for each other, the ideal of what they think a yakuza *should* be, rather than people with an actual relationship. they aren't estranged, they aren't exes, but particularly after 2 it felt like they both had what they wanted from each other: kiryu got to leave the way majima wanted him to, and majima got to protect the tojo clan the way kiryu wanted him to. i think they see a lot of themselves in each other, despite having such wildly different personalities, or maybe just their aspirations, and because neither of them has died they get to carry those messy feelings forward from game to game in a way that nishitani, for example, doesn't

they really should have made daigo a protagonist at some point (maybe in 6?), because the relationship he's supposed to have with kiryu just isn't on screen the same way kiryu's relationship with majima's is. i had honestly hoped that infinite wealth would be split between kasuga and his cast in hawaii and kiryu and his cast in japan, so that you could have party chats where the older folks actually get to talk to each other, you know?

[winterfromtevinter]

I want to start this out by saying that I love this game a lot. Veilguard has brought me back to Dragon Age, invested in its lore and characters again, in a way I haven't been in years. I think there is plenty that can be critiqued, but that a lot of hate the game is getting is disheartening and I just...don't want to see it. I enjoyed the game! I had fun! Sue me. And yes, I am an OG Origins player and love this universe's lore, but I'll admit to being a Veilguard enjoyer and defender too. So I've been hesitant to voice my own criticisms and have it appear as if I'm inviting all the really negative, unhelpful bashing too. I'm not.

All this being said, I had a lot of thoughts particularly with how the elves are handled here.

Game spoilers under the cut. VERY long and rambly, elf centric talk mostly.

Absolutely bonkers batshit wild to me that when we tell the Veil Jumpers their gods have come back and are very evil about it that their immediate reaction is fear and they just accept that. Now, and I don't know if I missed this being mentioned maybe, but did the Veil Jumpers uncover the truth or were somehow made aware before all of this? Did they discover things this close to Arlathan that contradicted the beliefs they were raised with?

But even so; the reality of the 'gods' and their treatment of the ancient elves is not widespread knowledge. It was this big "oh fuck" twist in DA:I that the gods were actually tyrants, their markings to denote their slaves. It was a slap in the face to any Dalish who had proudly reclaimed that, worse it as a symbol of heritage and pride after coming of age. The elvehn pantheon is still venerated by most Dalish clans to this day. How interesting would it have been to see a divide in the Dalish? I think it was sooooo silly to just have a single line about how the modern day elves wouldn't willingly follow the Evanarius. How would the vast majority of modern elves even know they're evil? And many elves are heavily discriminated against, living on the fringes of society or in alienages, or outright enslaved. They are not a monolith, and they are heavily oppressed in most of Thedas. Nuance and factions here, please!

Just some ideas but: A) these beings are not really their gods, their gods could not be these monsters. So having to prove to Dalish allies that these are the gods in the first place. B) the gods have come to liberate them and will free them from obscurity and this slow death of their way of life and history. Why wouldn't they side with them?

I also think there are quite a few characters who should have come back instead of some of the ones we were given...

You're telling me we have the whole eluvian network thing and no mention or sight of Merrill? Okay. Like Merrill and Bellara tinkering on the eluvians together and interacting wouldn't have been the most interesting thing in the world. I'm tired of Morrigan being treated like the ancient elven expert I'm sorrrryyyy.

Really, really wish we had gotten Fenris involvement with the Shadow Dragons. Speaking of elves, how interesting would it have been had the gods turned to all the elven slaves in Tevinter and used them as part of their army? City elves who know nothing about these beings who claim to be their ancestral gods except maybe very convoluted stories. Elgar'nan whispering in their ear of freedom, of broken bonds, of power and lives reclaimed? You're telling me some of them wouldn't find that appealing?

Fenris and Shadow Dragons racing to free city elves from Elgar'nan's influence, those who want to can then join the Shadow Dragon's ranks...

There's so much more too. But I've said enough I fear LOL.

[librathefangirl]

A Libra NNT Analysis: Meliodas' Demon Secret

Masterlist

Part 1: The Start of a Millennia Long Secret (pre-season 1)

Okay, time to finally get this started. And I want to do that by saying what I've said before, and probably will say again: The Seven Deadly Sins is an anime that needs to be watched (at least) twice. It's like Zaratras says:

Looking back, especially at the earlier seasons, so many things get another meaning when you know the whole story. Meliodas' demon secret is no different. The first time around you get to learn about it along with the characters. The second time around you can see the nuances of it, the symbolism and relation between it and the rest of the story. This is why I wanted to do this analysis series in the first place, to look at the earliest episodes with the perspective of knowing exactly who and what Meliodas is, and see how his demon secret is developed - or rather, how it's revealed. This means that yes, there will be angsty ramblings similar to my previous posts on the subject. I mean how could there not, because a) it's me (and if you know me, you know I love angst), and b) Meliodas really hid who he really was from the people closest to him for so long...

But! Before we get into how Meliodas' secret is revealed I want to take a look at how it was formed. Starting with the why.

Actually, first I'm gonna put a read-more because this got long :) Continue reading for: the reason behind Meliodas' secret, 3,000 years of history, the fall of Danafor, and the Seven Deadly Sins knows... what?

Meliodas' demon secret doesn't actually become a secret until after the end of the First Holy War. Before the end of the war, he has no reason to try to hide it. Everybody already knows what and who he is. For those who don't, well, they soon figure it out. He doesn't hide it; he openly uses his demonic powers and shows himself as a demon, because again, he has no reason not to, and he even admits to being a demon when asked about it. This, to me, is especially noteworthy since this is something we're shown repeatedly that he doesn't do after the end of the war.

After Meliodas and Elizabeth's confrontation with their parents, and the following death and cursing, Meliodas wakes up to a new Britannia. A demon-free Britannia. The war has by then ended, leaving the demons sealed away and the goddesses having lost their physical forms. A new era has started in Britannia. An era where the demons are becoming nothing more than a great evil sealed away by the goddesses. The more years that pass, the more solidified this view becomes. The humans who once had encountered demons, all die or are already dead. By the time of the first season, the demons are just monsters of myth. While there are still some people who know about demons, like Gerheade (who lived through the war) and Elaine, we're also shown that most people don't. They struggle with the idea that such beings even exist, or have a very limited knowledge of demons. We can probably also safely assume that nobody is exactly considering the possibility of a "good" demon. After all, that was already a foreign idea back before they were sealed.

So, given everything we know about this new Britannia and how it came to be, it makes sense why Meliodas would choose to hide the fact that he is a demon. He has no reason to believe anyone would accept this about him. While the world before was also filled with hate and fear towards demons, back then he at least had Elizabeth. And his entire race, even if they did hate him too (but not for being a demon). Now he is all alone, stuck trying (and failing) to protect Elizabeth in a world that doesn't understand demons. People knowing he is a demon would also make it a lot harder for him to live among the humans, which we know he has done repeatedly during his attempts to keep Elizabeth safe and in his search for a way to break the curse. So, yeah, it's easy to see why Meliodas' demon secret would come to be.

At the same time, I think it's really interesting to point out that while Meliodas does hide that he is a demon and won't even answer the question when directly asked about, he doesn't really lie about it either. He doesn't say he is a demon, but he also doesn't say he isn't a demon or that he is human.

We don't get to see lot of what happens to Meliodas over the 3,000 years between the start of the curse and his arrival in Liones. What we do see is Meliodas, repeatedly, living human lives with Elizabeth's numerous reincarnations. Because of this, the most significant moment we get during those years in regard to his demon secret is the fall of Danafor.

Danafor is an example of a human life we see Meliodas living with Elizabeth, or Liz in this case. From the flashbacks of his times there, provided by the druids' trial, and his interactions with Cain, it's safe to assume that the people of Danafor saw Meliodas as a fellow human - a stupidly overpowerful human perhaps, but a human nonetheless. When Cain learns that Meliodas is in fact Meliodas (and not his son) he is, understandably, shocked. After all, he clearly expected Meliodas to age like a human would and not still look as young. Danafor, or rather the fall of Danafor, marks the beginning of the unraveling of Meliodas' demon secret. This is the first time in who knows how long that Meliodas uses his demonic powers. It's also the first time he's faced with someone who knows who and what he really is (not counting Merlin and Elizabeth with her memories regained) with the appearance of Fraudrin. Even disregarding Fraudrin's future possession of Dreyfus, the events in Danafor (Meliodas' destruction of it and the Coffin of Eternal Darkness) have significant repercussions for Meliodas going forward.

After Danafor, Meliodas life becomes different. Back in Danafor, he was greatly respected as the leader of the Holy Knights. In Liones, he still has respect and status as the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, but he (along with the other Sins) is also seen as a criminal and sinner. By then, rumors have also spread about what happened in Danafor and Meliodas' part in its destruction. We don't really know for sure what exactly those rumors entailed or how close to the truth they were (they most likely did not involve "demon" or "demonic powers"), they still told a story of Meliodas being the one, not only to destroy Danafor completely, but also kill its citizens.

So, from what we can see, Meliodas' arrival in Liones comes with a new life and a different role. While he is still mostly seen as human, he is also seen as more of a "monster" than before. Both Zaratras and Hendrickson admit to having sensed Meliodas' true identity during some of their earliest encounters with him.

That brings us to another interesting thing to look at before I get into analyzing the individual episodes: the extent of Meliodas' demon secret. Meliodas is generally seen as a human, but his secret isn't a complete secret. It's not a situation of nobody knows nothing, as seen above. Of course, how much is known depends on who's perspective we are talking about. So, since it's kind of important for these breakdowns, and it intrigues me to talk about, let's end this part with looking at what the fuck do each of the Seven Deadly Sins actually know about Meliodas in regards to his demon secret?

The most obvious (and also easiest) to start with is Merlin. She is the one who knows the most about Meliodas, seeing as she first met him 3,000 years ago before he even betrayed the demons. To her, there isn't really a "demon secret", only a secret he is keeping from everyone else. Merlin knows Meliodas is a demon. She knows what kind of demon he is and was, his past with the demons and Stigma, even about the curse at the hands of the Demon King and Supreme Deity and what it means for him.

I'm gonna try to do these in order of who knows most, so next up is Gowther, who - well, who the hell knows what he actually knows? But he is the one, next after Merlin, who is the most knowledgeable about Meliodas. Technically, he met Meliodas before even Merlin did, since he was (as his creator's proxy) in the Ten Commandments alongside him. It has also been revealed that the original Gowther was one of Meliodas best friends (Q245, Q&A Corner of chapter 234 in the manga). But Gowther also did erase his own memories prior to season 1, after Nadja's death. Despite this, Gowther is still shown to know more about Meliodas' secret than the others. When the group is first reunited with Gowther, he points out to Meliodas that none of them are of the same race, hinting that he knows Meliodas is not human. Though given his powers, to me at least, it's hard telling exactly how much Gowther knows about Meliodas.

Merlin and Gowther are more or less the only Sins with any real knowledge about Meliodas' secret, but that doesn't mean the others don't know anything. In fact, most of them have gotten some hint prior to the events of season 1, proving that Meliodas' demons secret isn't absolute. Among the remaining Sins, Escanor is the one with the biggest reason, I think, to suspect something. Escanor has, after all, seen Meliodas in his demon form. He might not know exactly what Meliodas is, but he should definitely suspect that Meliodas isn't human. The moment I'm talking about happens during the battle between Escanor and Meliodas, when Meliodas is trying to convince him to join the Seven Deadly Sins. During that battle, Meliodas easily defeats Escanor by releasing his Assault Mode. This means that Escanor saw him with his black eyes and demon mark. Like I said, Escanor probably didn't know what it meant at the time, seeing as he hadn't actually met another demon by then, but at the same time, it stands to reason, that Escanor shouldn't be seeing Meliodas as quite as human as the rest of Liones did.

Now let's talk about Ban. The interesting thing about him is that while, out of the last three Sins, Ban is the one who knows the most about demons, he is also probably the last one who would (willingly) suspect Meliodas of being one - something that he shows later in the first season. Ban's knowledge of the demons comes from him encountering and fighting the Red Demon during its attack on the Fairy King's Forest. This means that his knowledge of the demons as a race is very limited compared to Merlin (though to be fair, most people's knowledge is limited compared to Merlin, especially about demons since, well, very few people seem to know what the demons really are anymore). The Red Demon is also a huge part of Ban's struggles with the idea of Meliodas being one, as he obviously can't let himself put Meliodas equal in any way to the monster who killed Elaine. Still, even if he doesn't want to, Ban has reason to suspect it even before season 1, given what happened with Meliodas' dragon handle. When Ban tried to take the dragon handle, Meliodas cuts him with black flames. This is also the one and only time something has managed to leave a permanent scar on Ban's body since becoming immortal. Both of these indicate, if nothing else, that Meliodas isn't as human as he first appears to be.

Between Diane and King it's a little hard to tell who knows most, because let's face it, neither has much knowledge about Meliodas' secret at this point. Though I would probably have to say Diane does - mostly because I've got an issue with King's knowledge, but more about that later, let's talk about Diane first. Diane doesn't have much knowledge about neither demons nor Meliodas' secret, but, like the others, she has some reason to suspect him not being human. Diane was there and saw Meliodas scar Ban, meaning she saw Meliodas with the black flames just as Ban did. Later, during the events of the Vaizel Fighting Festival, she also admits to having seen "that look" on Meliodas, referring to how he looked while defeating Ban. So, yeah, not much knowing but still some hints.

Now then, last but not least, King. Okay, to be fair, he is one of the Sins with the least knowledge about Meliodas' secret. He also, like Diane, lacks the knowledge of demons in general. He wasn't there during the Red Demon's attack in the Fairy King's Forest and has shown himself to not share Elaine's knowledge about demons, given his reaction to seeing the Red Demon's corpse. He even expresses shock that beings like the Red Demon have actually existed in Britannia. As for Meliodas' secret, when King first meet him in the manga, he literally calls him human. By the time of the first season, King is seemingly still holding this view, later expressing his surprise that Meliodas looks exactly the same despite 10 years having passed.

But I did say I had an issue with King's knowledge, didn't I? Well, unfortunately, I do. It comes with that first meeting between King and Meliodas. As much as I love it, it provides some... inconsistencies, especially in regard to the reveal of Meliodas' demon secret - and since that is what this post is about, it's only fair that we address it. Okay, so here's the thing. King was captured 200 years ago. In the manga page above (first panel, lower left corner) you can even see Helbram's dead body still lying on the ground, proving that it was 200 years ago. Now, Meliodas being there when King is arrested by unnamed knights 200 years before he and Merlin decide to form the Seven Deadly Sins, while a coincidence, is not that unimaginable. But King remembers that moment. He references it to Meliodas in the druids' cave and thinks back to it in the fight against Chandler, which means he clearly remembers the Meliodas 200 years ago as Meliodas and not just some random knight. But then when they are reunited after only 10 years he suddenly thinks it's weird that Meliodas remains unchanged? I just- that is what is happening, right?? Anyway, let's just... drop it for now.

Okay!

So what do we start of with when the fist season begins? Meliodas, who has kept the fact that he is a demon a secret for 3,000 years because Britannia is now "demon-free" and demons are seen as ancient evil monsters; Merlin, who knows everything; Gowther, who knows he is not human; and the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins, who still think of him as human(?). At the same time, the events of Danafor's destruction has set the wheels in motion regarding Meliodas' demon secret finally being revealed to everybody.

Coming soon - Part 2: Cracks in the Mask (season 1 part 1)

---

Taglist: @zorria

[kit-williams]

Note: Barn Anon. decided to play around with this idea while zoning out through work.

He hoists his backpack higher as he trudges through the thick undergrowth. The mocking words of his fellow researchers echo in his mind and he grits his teeth. Soon, soon he will prove them wrong. His backpack suddenly gets pulls off him and he turns to see none other than his own Ultramarine staring back at him. No words are spoken but he can feel the disapproval and wariness in his gaze.

"Look, all I need is proof okay? Just something, anything! I know I'm right about this... You believe me don't you?" He looks up at his Ultramarine who has been his loyal pet friend for the past few years.

A deep sigh comes from the blue behemoth but his friend doesn't leave. Good enough for him he figures. Slipping a hang into his pocket he pulls out a map that's decorated with the ramblings of a madman and old drops of blood. But if he is right then the former owner of this map isn't mad, the former owner didn't die chasing fantasies. Crude sketches of landmarks and arrows with half sensible annotations give him the directions he seeks. A few more days of trekking through this unforgiving forest, just a few more days.

--

The sun was just starting to set behind the mountains when he spots it, rushing forward and ignoring the alarmed shouts from his Ultramarine. His eyes are set on the massive and slightly eerie run down structure in front of him. it looks like part of a fortress's outer walls. It's design reminds him of what that massive pack of Imperial Fists had built in the park near his home. Yet it has it's own distinct characteristics that differ from the typical fortresses built.

His Ultramarine is at his side and trying to pull him away from the structure but he pulls away from his pet friend. Instead he takes his camera out and starts snapping pictures. His eyes are drawn to an worn out symbol and he rushes to clear the leaves and vines off it. Could it be? The symbol of one of the Lost Legions? A frustrated grumble leaves his lips when he realizes it's getting quite dark. When he turns to get his backpack from his Ultramarine, he's annoyed when his Ultramarine refuses to do so and starts pulling at his arm.

Why? He knows how much this discovery means to him! With this he can prove to his fellow researchers that he was right! The Lost Legions? They still exist, far from the touches of human civilization. There's more breeds of space marines out there than they thought and he will be right!

Then his Ultramarine seems to have heard something. He lets out a startled shout when he's picked up and held over his Ultramarine's arm. His Ultramarine now at full sprint away with him from the structure. Anger and annoyance flares and burns only to sputter out when in the growing darkness, he spots shadows moving without a sound. Each one the size of a Space Marine yet with they have their own distinct style that mark them different from the Loyalists and Chaos that are already so well known.

Then a shot rings out. His Ultramarine falls and he hits the ground hard, half crushed under his Ultramarine. The last thing he sees are more silhouettes of the Lost Legion marines closing in as his Ultramarine tries fruitlessly to fight them off. He closes his eyes one last time.

He was right about the Lost Legions.

Barn Anon gonna be honest I feel like a publisher for your works because how do I add onto this? I spent the past 5 minutes trying to figure out how to add onto this.

I tried my best

Feel free to ignore my addition I decided to try something a little bit more horror? A little bit more dread? A little bit more

But like I said feel free to ignore this

He opens his eyes feeling sore... sore? He makes the mistake of looking down and swallowing a scream. There must be a tech-marine around or a techpriest as the leg that was crushed under his Ultramarine companion was fully replaced by mechanics that few people seem to understand how it works.

No one wants to look deeper into the sudden appearance of these demi-god like beings... no one wants to question their behaviors... no one wants to look beyond the surface that there are suddenly demigods who decided to spend time with certain humans. Everyone likes to joke how they adopted their marine when in the painful itching cancerous thought in the back of your mind tells you the truth... they chose you for some reason. To accept the love and affection that people give to them just like his Ultramarine.

They speak in that language that no one can really follow as soon the helmeted heads all turn to his groggy face. He is painfully aware of how thirsty he is and how weak he is. He's painfully aware of his own mortality is this how some owners feel right before they get mauled.

He sees his Ultramarine rush into the room and carefully pick him up.

"I was right." He says deliriously with a pale smile, "They do exist."

A childing sigh and some words he doesn't understand are the reply as an unarmored hand just pets his hand. In this situation he feels like the silly little pet that got hurt and just woke up... tail wagging and happy to see its owner.

"Rest." A raspy voice scrapes out from a hooded figure as he looks away from the uncomfortable face... with tubes and wirings pushing and plugged into human flesh. He never did like admech... far too horrifying. But he somehow heeded it leaving his Ultramarine to deal with the consequences of this expidition.

What was going to happen to them?

[merriclo]

hihi!! i don't know exactly what to ask but i'm super curious. looking at you with my autistic eyes, if you want to talk about your religion, feel free to tell me any aspect of it that you want to talk about..,.,

AHAJJDKSK YAY OKAY !!!!!!!! i don’t get to talk about it irl because.. im the only person i know who practices it. so omg yippie

okay so i practice hellenic polytheism, which is just a fancy was of saying worshipping the ancient Greek Gods. surprise, their worshippers still exist!!!!!! tbh i completely understand why some people get freaked out or confused whenever they find out (another reason why i usually keep it under wraps most of the time) because.. it’s weird as fuck from an outside perspective. without any genuine knowledge of modern day hellenism, it’s strange seeming.

i’m personally a devotee to Lady Aphrodite, Goddess of love, beauty, and passion! it’s actually kinda fun how i came to worship her. a few years ago when i discovered hellenism, i was like woah.. this resonates…. and then that night i had a dream where a beautiful woman held my face and told me i was a follower of Lady Aphrodite. which was freaky and all woahhhhsjsjdjf what. the fuck? and now that i’m typing it out it sounds Very Strange. i promise im in the right state of mind i just have weirdly personal dreams sometimes

UHHANSNFK ANYWAYS. i love Lady Aphrodite very much and nothing makes my blood boil than seeing people spread hatred and bigotry in her name. i’ve seen a few TERFs claim her messaging and use her symbols as way to hate trans people and it’s like. whhat the fuck are you on about. have you even read her myth. do you even know anything about her. in certain theologies she was formed from a castrated penis and sea foam. and don’t even get me started on her children??????? anyways. Lady Aphrodite is not a fucking TERF for fucks sake

i’m actually not quite sure what else to say without getting into the real nitty gritty and personal stuff. if you have any more questions i’m so down to answer i love rambling about Lady Aphrodite

[gendercriticalthinking]

hi, agender non-binary person here interested in gender critical feminism! i was wondering what your take was on people being uncomfortable with certain pronouns (he/him, she/her).

how do you feel about they/them pronouns, or neopronouns?

Hello there! I apologize so much for not answering your ask in a timely manner!! Responding to people on social media still makes me a bit anxious and stressed so I usually ignore my notifs even though I really shouldn't haha

Thank you for your question, and for being open to listening to gender critical people!!! It's an important and admirable quality to have, and especially worth praising when you and others have outright been told to not interact with gc people/radfems at any cost! So yes, thank you for that! :)

As for your question (which is a good one!) I originally wrote this very long rambly reply and saved it to my drafts hoping to make it coherent one day. But then recently something happened that made me realize something about human nature in general that directly ties into how gender identities and discomfort/enjoyment of certain pronouns came about:

My brother has always loved nature, especially animals. The reason his favorite color is green is because it's the color of plants: trees, jungles, the places animals live and eat and get to be free in. He's so obsessed with green that seeing something green, anything green, compels him to go " :O !!!! Green!!!"

Because he loves nature and animals so much, he's also a vegetarian. And not just in a "eating animals is bad for the environment" way, but a "it disturbs me on a visceral level to see, smell, or be near meat" way. I have to clean up my bowls and plates that I eat meals that have meat on (I mean, I'd do it anyway because you should pick up after yourself but you get what I mean) because the thought of touching a utensil that once came into contact with meat, even if I ate that meat and it's gone now, carnally disgusts him.

He loves animals, and he wants pets. He'd never ever malnourish a pet just because he has a problem with meat, but it'd be a real emotional challenge for him to feed a carnivore wet meaty food and/or live prey every day. (The token family dog was always fed by our parents or me; he'd be okay if our dog liked dry food but he doesn't lol.)

So I researched the options out there for herbivorous pets, and I found a couple species of lizards (he loves lizards in particular, partially because they're often... green) that eat an exclusively plant-based diet! I showed them to him and he was definitely on board... but alongside the herbivores we found a species of lizard that's a bright, vibrant green and makes a great pet, but they need to eat (preferably live) insects.

He's over the moon about the green insectivore lizards. Once he learned they existed it was over for him. They're all he wants, he's 100% sure. And it's for a lot of other reasons besides the fact that they're green, but... they're green. There are no herbivorous green lizards that make good/easy-to-care-for pets. On some level, he cares more about the green-ness than the vegetarianism.

Why is that?

It's because humans are obsessed with creating symbols to represent ideas. So much so that they often get more attached to the symbol itself than the thing it's supposed to be a reminder of. It's like a self-made Cloth Mother that's built to look like the Wire Mother, but comes with none of the substance or nourishment.

Green represents nature and animals coexisting peacefully to my brother. The emotion the color green instills in him as it reminds him of the things he loves is so powerful it surpasses his enjoyment of the literal thing that the color represents to him.

I'm just using him as an example, but everyone does this. Your favorite childhood shows make you happy because they're nostalgic and reminds you of being a kid first and foremost. They can be well-written and artistic and enjoyable underneath that feeling, but the simpler time they mentally take you back to is what you love about them. Your favorite characters, the "he's just like me fr" ones you read fanfic of, are ones that remind you of yourself and/or ones that you're attracted to. They can also be fun to analyze and have interesting personalities and be great meme fodder, but at the end of the day they represent something to you beyond their objective qualities.

.

So. If we live in a world where women are treated as lesser to men, not fully human, accessories to the actual thinkers, and we use "she/her" to refer to women, is it possible your hatred of hearing those pronouns is because they represent the idea that the person saying them to you sees you as inferior, vapid, incomplex?

If you're in a community where being a female who goes by "they/them" or "it/its" or "he/they" means you get to be who you want to be, who you truly are, enjoying everything life has to offer instead of being restricted to a role someone else made up for you, why wouldn't you like to be called something other than "she"?

When the majority of people who go by "she/her" in your spaces are amab people who constantly, vocally fetishize and dehumanize people with your biological body type (with a few afab people who don't seem to act like you or share your interests sprinkled in) why would anyone as smart and complex and kind to yourself as you ever like being called "she"?

Do you have an innate discomfort with certain pronouns because of dysphoria, or do you hate what the sound of them represents, reminds you of, that they're telling you what other people think of you? Do you enjoy being called certain pronouns because of euphoria, or do you like what the sound of them represents, reminds you of, that they're telling you the people who use them must listen to you and care what you think and support you being who you are?

What's my take on pronouns? They're symbols that represent the type of person you are and want to be. They mean something important. They tell a lot about a person. They're not something to play around with and try out for fun like they're clothes. They're not something you can make up out of thin air and pretend they have no connotations attached to them other than an Aesthetic TM you like.

Nor are they an escape from the problems of the world: the baggage comes with them, I'm afraid. It's a lot easier to change your bio and Discord server role than to change people's minds, especially ones belonging to those who hate you. That doesn't mean it's better or it works, just because it's feasible for you to do.

Whenever you feel a certain way about hearing "she," know that countless other women feel the same way as you. And know that leaving "she/her" behind doesn't mean you've found a cheat code out of being victimized and belittled, you've only left women like you behind instead.

[wing-shot-first]

So, as I'm sure we all know, family is a very important thing when it comes to HIVE. It's the main theme, and there's all sorts of different families shown too. Found family, estranged family, family getting cut off (AKA getting murdered), and even a few healthier dynamics here and there.

With that being said, I recently discovered something that's actually very significant to a character and his connection with his family (or lack thereof I suppose) that I don't think I've seen anyone else talk about.

Before I get into this I do apologize if none of this makes sense. My thoughts are Everywhere and I'm writing this in one sitting so bear with me. I'll also be putting this under a read more bc idk if posts get condensed in tags and this will get Long.

We all know Wing is the only character actually born into the last name Fanchu, and likely the only person ever in-universe. The name is a mashup of two other Chinese surnames (Fan and Chu), and while this could just a creative choice on Mark's end to give a character an iconic name, I think it holds a lot of significance with the whole family and ESPECIALLY Wing.

One significant thing taken from this is that the last name being made up works so well with the family and how they came to be! Wu Zhang and Xiu Mei Chen never intended to start a family, they just happened to unfortunately be at the wrong place at the wrong time and needed to find safety. Fanchu could very easily just be a name made up on the spot by one of them (listen idk how practical that would be okay). Two characters come together to create a family that shouldn't exist, and the surname they use is one that doesn't exist!

Speaking of things that shouldn't exist, Wing was never meant to be born. If Project Overlord had gone as planned, he wouldn't have existed at all. Hell, it's very likely that his parents weren't even planning to have a kid (though you'd think these two geniuses would know about protection but hey whatever). Wing's birth was an accident, basically, in many ways.

So we have a kid who should've never existed, born into a last name that was likely completely made up! Symbolism, baby! Now yes, I could definitely be looking way too deep into this, but hey that's the fun of these books! It's not HIVE if there isn't an insignificant detail that's actually super interesting when you think too much about it.

Anyways that's all I can think about ATM when it comes to this topic but feel free to add on! I'm sure most of you know just how much I love this damn family and I am CRAVING content.

Okay anyways bye enjoy my rambling

[rollercoasterwords]

hiiiiii how are u hope u are doin good :-)

i remember how once you said something about the ending of the hand that feeds being based on reproductive futurism (? and i thought that sounded really interesting so i looked it up but. okay. maybe i am just a little bit dumb but i could not connect the two concepts at all + also i am interested in hearing your thoughts about how the ending ties into that idea so if u WANT to ramble or even talk briefly about that i would personally be very interested in reading if not please feel free 2 simply ignore this ask i will not be even a little bit offended i promise :-)

anon i am literally kissing u on the mouth for giving me an excuse 2 break out my edelman slideshow!!!!!! ok buckle up i'm gonna put this all under a cut but here's how i broke down edelman's theory of reproductive futurity + ethical queerness when i was an undergrad ta:

first of all u are NOT dumb edelman is just really fucking boring and his writing is SUPER dense and full of all these references to psychoanalytic and postmodern theorists so u need like. a ton of background knowledge 2 even engage w it. it literally broke my brain trying 2 understand 'no future' the first time i read it so i am HAPPY 2 explain it in a way that's easier 2 understand bc it's not actually all that scary + complicated!!

first off - important words to know. most of this is edelman drawing on those postmodernists + psychoanalysts i mentioned earlier, so it gets confusing if u haven't encountered any of it before. but basically: the Real is like...true reality. the thing that's actually at the center of all life + society, which is actually nothing, bc it's all just meaningless chaos. we live in a random and unfeeling universe! hooray!

the Symbolic is humans' response to that meaningless chaos - an attempt to assign meaning to life by constructing symbolic structures of meaning. think about things like law, religion, politics -- all structures by which we assign meaning and understand the world, which are really covering the fact that there is no real, pre-existing Meaning in the world. it's all made up by humans. fun!

the Death Drive is a product of humans creating the Symbolic. bc we're all basically playing a big game of pretend where we act like the Symbolic has real meaning and try to ignore the chaos of the Real, we all feel an internal urge (the Death Drive) towards the Real, an internal urge to tear down the Symbolic covering the Real and embrace the chaos at the center

Jouissance is a manifestation of the death drive; essentially pure pleasure without any meaning. because it refuses meaning, it forces a confrontation with the Symbolic by highlighting the fact that the Symbolic is constructed and not real.

here's my little chart trying to illustrate all that lol. the Symbolic covers/hides/obscures the real and in the process claims that it is true reality. however it cannot eliminate the Real at its core, out of which grows the Death Drive, which manifests as Jouissance.

so here's the breakdown of what edelman is saying about all this. basically, all society is contrived social structures which insist they are not constructed, and all those social structures are grounded in Reproductive Futurism: an imagined future in which we just repeat the past ("the good old days" mentality, if you will) to continue to uphold our Symbolic structures

within reproductive futurism, there are two important figures: the Child and the Queer.

now, we aren't talking about actual children or queer people here. we're talking about the idea of The Child, the idea of The Queer. we're talking about them as figures, with figural roles.

the figural role of the Child is to uphold reproductive futurism. we're told we need to uphold the past (Symbolic structures) in the imagined future for the sake of our children. just think about how basically all politics positions itself as "think of the kids!!!!" while simultaneously hurting real-life children - perfect example in what's going on w trans legislation in the u.s. right now, where politicians are banning gender-affirming care for imagined, theoretical children who might one day regret it, but ignoring real-live trans kids who beg them to stop. politics isn't about children, it's about The Child

the figural position of the Queer, on the other hand, is to oppose/threaten reproductive futurism. an important note here - edelman isn't talking about queerness in terms of gender or sexuality or identity; he's talking about it as a structural position that threatens reproductive futurity. because we need an excuse to protect the figural Child--a threat to rail against, in order to make all our politics and Symbolic structures necessary--the Queer is ironically produced by the same systems that claim they want to destroy it, a chronic threatening figure so that politicians (and anyone invested in upholding the Symbolic) can point the finger and go "see!! look how the Queer threatens the Child!! we need [x oppressive law/structure/etc] to protect the Child!!!!"

so--within this context, edelman suggests that there is, essentially, a more and less ethical way to be Queer. an ethical Queer, according to edelman, embraces their figural status as oppositional to the Symbolic. rather than going "omg noooo i'm not a threat" the ethical Queer goes "yeah fuck your Symbolic i'm gonna kick and scream and wreck shit and make sure you never forget how contrived it all is!!" however, edelman also stipulates that an ethical Queer does not try to escape the Symbolic; an ethical Queer isn't trying to rebuild any new society, bc to do so would inevitably result in the same structural creation of a Real, a Symbolic, reproductive futurism, and the figural position of the Queer. the ethical Queer knows there's no way to escape the Symbolic, and because of that the figural position of the Queer will always exist, so rather than trying to assimilate to the norm and abandon that figural position, an ethical queer accepts and embraces it.

^ an ethical queer refuses to deny the Death Drive and pretend that the Symbolic (all our nice, contrived social structures) are anything but a flimsy veil over the Real

^ in this way, edelman's theory is a fundamentally negative one. it isn't hopeful or positive; it doesn't imagine a better future--because to imagine a future at all is to inevitably fall back into the trap of reproductive futurity

this sort of concludes the summary on edelman, so it's usually where i ask if there are any questions etc. so. feel free 2 send me another message if any of this was confusing!! i am happy 2 elaborate

the next part of the slideshow is a film analysis of megamind using edelman's theories--unfortunately there's a 10-image limit on mobile so i can't fit it all here. it's just an example meant 2 ground the theory a little and show how it can be applied to ur own outlook/analysis/thinking irl--if u want it, lmk + i'll make another post, but otherwise this is the end of my reproductive futurity crash course!! hope u enjoyed <3

[hoffmannwrites]

On My List

1  - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 + 1 Masterlist

Author’s Note: I'm gonna just post part 2 now because the response has been overwhelming and also I need to ride this train until it runs outta steam, yfm?

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Description: 5 Times Steve and Eddie kiss as friends, and one time they don't.

Warnings/Tags: Everyone lives, Nobody dies, 5+1, Kissing, Fluff, Idiots to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, some pretty brief mentions for drinking, smoking, being inebriated (the gang is drunk here but nothing too bad, just in a fun way), uhhh they're gay your honor, no beta we die like Barb, vague medical issue, fainting, let me know if I missed anything?

Every Breath You Take

Two

The second time Eddie and Steve kiss it’s not really a kiss at all. Robin and Steve are working a shift at Family Video - well, trying to work at least, because Eddie’s there which means everyone’s just sort of dicking around. Steve is processing some returns while Robin and Eddie argue about some sort of incomprehensible music shit. They’re both such fucking nerds about it that it makes Steve’s head hurt hearing them discuss the rhythm vs the beat and the symbolism of the song's accompanying music videos. Steve doesn’t understand why they have to analyze everything, why they can’t just like shit.

He’s not really paying attention until he registers the panic in Robin’s voice as she suddenly pushes off the counter and says Eddie’s voice just a little too frantically. Eddie has slumped slightly forward over the counter, eyes rolled a little too far back, and not responding to her calls for him. Steve immediately jumps into action, thinking about seeing Max in an eerily similar situation, about the fits Will had when he came back. Steve grabs Eddie and lays him gently in the ground, immediately crouching over him to do CPR, not bothering to check for a pulse or breathing. Just starting compressions, counting the way he learned how while hanging out at the hospital waiting for Max and Eddie to wake up. He couldn’t just sit there, and the hospital offered free training courses in shit like this, so he went. And he’s so glad he did as he starts doing rescue breaths on Eddie, ignoring Robin’s “ohmygodohmygodohmy-“ as she struggles to remember Hopper’s number when she finally stops freaking out enough to grab the phone. It doesn’t matter though, because by the time Steve is halfway through his second set of 30, Eddie’s eyes are fluttering open and he’s breathing heavily, but just fine on his own.

“Oh thank fuc-“ Robin starts as she drops to the ground on the other side of Eddie. “Are you okay? What happened? You just-“ Robin starts rambling, panicking that this meant the worst wasn’t over.

“Robs. Give him a minute. Go grab a water bottle,” Steve softly commands, his instinct to protect and help and heal outweighing his ability to do anything else. She does as he asks, and Steve starts to help Eddie move to a sitting position. “Easy does it, man. You can keep laying on the floor for a little if you need.”

“No, no. I’m okay. Sorry. I just, uh, had a minute. It happens sometimes. Happened a lot more when I was little. Stress, ya know? Was real bad right around the time I started living with Wayne. Had a really bad couple of weeks after Bonham died, too. But since, ya know- everything, it’s been happening again.” Eddie explains, rubbing the middle of his chest where Steve had previously been pressing. Steve just nods as Robin hands him the water bottle, watching, waiting for everyone’s adrenaline to slow.

“Jesus, dude. I think you almost cracked a rib. Way to put those muscles to use,” Eddie jokes, in between sips. Steve cracks a smile, but his eyes are still filled with worry. “Thank you for trying to save my ass, but in the future, I’m just fainting. No CPR required. Just make sure I don’t hit my head on the way down,” Eddie explains.

“Sorry,” now it’s Steve’s turn to ramble. “I just went into panic mode and I didn’t even check for a pulse or-“

“Don’t sweat it.” Eddie cuts him off. “I appreciate you wanting to save my life. Again.” He adds that last part a little quieter, knocking shoulders with Harrington. As Steve helps him to his feet, he adds even quieter “You sure you didn’t just wanna plant one on me again, Big Boy?” And Robin is too busy fussing over Eddie and asking questions about his fainting and yelling at him for not warning anybody that they’re both too busy to notice the blush that creeps up Steve’s neck and the way he flexes his hands like touching Eddie hurt. 

A/N: Not so fun fact! John Bonham, drummer for Led Zeppelin died in 1980 after a heavy drinking binge. This would have been absolutely devastating to a young Eddie Munson, as it was for everyone else with ears and a soul at the time.

Also, Steve does the Pride and Prejudice hand flex every time he touches Eddie. Convince me otherwise. I dare you.

[thawthebeez]

alrighty Haikyuu essay time again because I watched s2 ep5 and I have a lot of feelings.

The part I want to talk about specifically is the argument between Hinata and Kageyama because I feel like it's a fantastic display of their characters and values, and I also feel like it is heavily glossed over and reduced to "omg it's gay because they were making physical contact" which I would like to fix.

I'd like to take a quick moment to highlight the tension that gets established from before they even enter the gym.

This frame right here is fantastic, because it shows an empty seat beside BOTH OF THEM, and the fact that they're both sitting closest to the window makes that gap feel further. And it both sets the mood and FITS the mood, especially with Hinata having just been told by literally EVERYBODY (Ukai, Suga, AND Kageyama) that doing a fast attack with his eyes open is useless and it's not even worth trying.

The fast attack Hinata pulls of with Kageyama symbolizes freedom for him. It's an attack that avoids blocks (blocks being symbolized as tall, tall walls preventing him from seeing the other side), an attack that lets him fly, and an attack that lets allows him to use his abilities to their maximum potential (speed, height, and agility).

However, this current form of the fast attack in regards to Season 1 and 2 is still run completely under Kageyama's actions. Hinata may be running fast and jumping high, but that's the only freedom he has. The rest of it is done by Kageyama. So when blockers do start to catch up to the fast attack, it's frustrating, because the whole point the attack was to avoid blockers but now they aren't so Hinata, even at his maximum effort, is no longer free again.

To be free, he knows he needs to open his eyes- and to have the self-awareness to realize that on his own is impressive, but it also puts him in a tough spot because he is once again fighting on his own.

Now imagine you're Hinata, you want to fix this attack that you know isn't going to work anymore, and everyone is saying "it's not possible. It'll never happen." That'd probably give you some flashbacks to middle school when you wanted to start a proper volleyball team and go places with it only to be told "never gonna happen, kid," and it'd also be frustrating as hell.

Hinata is not at all the type to just give up. That man has never given up on something in his life (both pre- and post-time skip). The difference with this fight, however, is that he needs at least one other person to be on board for it to even work, and nobody is giving him that.

Hinata's quick attack symbolizes freedom for him. It seemed limitless at first but here he's hit one of those barriers and nobody seems to want to help him break through it. The thing that was once freedom for him now has him trapped.

Because Hinata (especially at this point in the series) is shit at everything besides his attacks. He can't block, he can't receive, and he can barely serve. He knows that if he loses this attack, he'll be useless (which he expresses later. Again, the self-awareness of this man is astounding).

This is what makes the motivation to fix the quick attack to strong. There's a lot at stake.

Which perfectly shows Hinata's 'unstoppable force' vs Kageyama's 'immovable object' mentality.

(okay small Kagehina ramble here because I am weak and flawed

the fact that kageyama noticed the subtle change instantly is nuts. like the fact that his tosses have grown to be muscle memory and have adapted to toss the ball right where hinata's point of impact is every time, coupled with the fact that he immediately notices that his jump isn't reaching that point, AND that fact that he knows what exactly is distracting him OUGH they just understand each other so well i'm so normal about it)

NOW LET'S GET INTO THE GOOD STUFF

(going to use manga panels for the sake of being able to understand things like dialogue and such)

A lot of people tend to misinterpret Tobio's character as one that's mean or cold-hearted, but he's not. This a bit of dialogue where that conclusion could be drawn. He looks angry, sure, but what he's saying is entirely true. Hinata is weak, and there are a lot of other things he could be working on. Kageyama is not wrong.

We also have a little bit of the ol' 'immovable object' with Kageyama outright not wanting to try the new attack. He's justified for saying this, though, because the whole point of being in that gym is to practice and get better. What they're doing- trying and failing with no progress- is not practice. It's a waste of time, and Kageyama being Kageyama, wasting time in the gym is NOT something he does. Like. Ever.

And what Hinata says here is entirely true as well. He knows and understands that without the quick attack, he's nothing. There's no point for him to be out there, which is precisely why he's fighting so hard for it. He wants to be out on that court more than anything.

Kageyama's response saying that his tosses evade blockers is like saying "You're no good without me. There's no reason for you to be out there without me," which Hinata obviously takes offense to because WTF? The quick attack is meant to represent freedom for Hinata and the fact that that freedom can only exist when another person says so is a paradox. It's not true freedom if that's the case.

(Now, side note, one part that was added in the anime that does not appear in the manga is that Hinata points out that the attacks got blocked when they were against Nekoma and Seijoh. Kageyama asks if his tosses weren't good enough and Hinata says "No, they were perfect. Spot-on. But they still got blocked." It's weird how that's an anime exclusive because it's another fantastic show of character- how Hinata does genuinely appreciate Kageyama's tosses and also the recurring motif of Kageyama expressing and insecurity and Hinata immediately comforting him about it.)

Hinata's "I won't be able to get any better because of this" is also ultimate truth. It's him expressing how he's trapped if they continue like this- if he's not able to fight on his own.

And Kageyama is once again back with a line that makes him sound awful BUT it's not really his fault (number one Tobio apologist right here hi ^_^) because in Kageyama's mind, Hinata wanting to get better is selfishness. WHICH MAKES SENSE because when Kageyama continued to train long after practice all throughout middle school TO GET BETTER, he was called selfish. His tosses were good, they would evade blocks, he was good, he trained to get better, and he got called selfish. He destroyed his team's balance because he was better (amongst other things like, you know, his grandpa passing away. That would cause quite a disruption as well).

"I'll only toss to those who are essential to victory" is yet another horrible-sounding line, but coupled with "The same holds true, even now" makes it essential to the prolonging of the 'immovable object' aspect of Tobio's character. Because Kageyama isn't unjustified or evil for saying that he'll only toss to those who will score points. Like, of course he's only going to toss to those who score points. Who else would he toss to?

Where Hinata prioritizes development (because that's where he's at), Kageyama prioritizes victory (because he's passed that stage of development. He's good, and he knows he is, and he no longer needs to focus on getting better because he is better. Development will continue to come, but he doesn't need it in the same abundance that Hinata does).

(Or he at least doesn't need physical skill development. Tobio could definitely use some emotional development- which he does get later on in season 4- and oh, don't you just love how they compliment each other like this? Hinata needing physical development since he strives in emotional understanding and Kageyama needing the exact opposite? Yin and Yang? Sun to Moon?)

Hinata HAS to be an unstoppable force. One of the main focuses in Haikyuu, especially between Hinata and Kageyama, is their rivalry and how they use each other to motivate themselves. Hinata is far behind when it comes to his skills, and if he wants to reach Kageyama's level so he can continue playing volleyball, he NEEDS to get better- keep moving- be the force he is and keep barrelling through.

And Kageyama, always complimenting Hinata is every regard (setter to a spiker, winter solstice to summer solstice), HAS to be his immovable object. I'm sure he doesn't mean to be, because Kageyama will always be seeking to improve himself and others around him (ex. raising Tsukishima's point of impact with his tosses), but it's so in-character of him to not want to move for the sake of complimenting Hinata's need to.

Haikyuu has got to have some of the BEST characters out there. They all work so well together, and I have yet to find a series where the two main characters compliment one another THIS WELL. Being the two main characters, of course they have to drive the plot of the show forward, but to do it in such a beautiful way is something you don't see very often.

[daz4i]

What are your top 10 favourite things about your babygirl-princess-clown

akskflflglb um fr i think instead of doing a top 10 thing I'll just gush but in separate topics(?). if it's okay. bc it feels weird to list things when it comes to love. does that make sense

starting with the surface level stuff i gotta gush abt his design bc if it wasn't for it i wouldn't be into bsd now akskdlglg (<- saw gifs of him from the season 4 trailer and went "who's that saucy gendered fella. i gotta know them")

in addition to just liking it visually, i think it has a lot of neat symbolism too. the pinkish-red puff balls for example, i THINK are meant to be a reference to the color of the overcoat which is described to be a muted red color iirc. also possibly adding a red element to go with the subtle card aesthetic he has going on

the black and white can be a nod to his shifting personality changes, the crazy killer persona and the "perfectly sane" side of him. they are (mostly) equal in size, side by side, and overlapping each other. the exceptions are the hat and eye cover - mostly white - and his hair, completely white. i think this comes to imply he's still leaning more towards morality, but. the whole murder thing still taints it, same way his guilt taints him.

um. tldr cool design :) visually pleasing and has some deep meaning behind it :)

ANYWAY NOW ONTO SOME DEEPER THINGS.

i mentioned the two personas thing and well. i wasn't an akechi obsessed blog before switching interests for nothing. fucking love characters that are 2 identities at once despite them directly conflicting each other. i think there's something very real about it - we all change ourselves depending on the environment - but nikolai takes this aspect that exists in every person and takes it to the extreme (no grey area. just black and white yet again 👀). he claims to be one or the other, but imo it's a lie, never believe the words of a clown or you'll go insane etc. he can be both at once. honestly I'd argue he can draw more guilt from *enjoying* killing than from just the killing itself, which makes things spicier.

his thoughts abt free will are so so interesting and i totally get where he's coming from and why he goes to such extremes to prove it exists when it's smth that matters to him this much. i kind of admire it tbh? like having a. let's say value, that you really stick by, and doing whatever you need to follow it, is p amazing! horrible way to live but i gotta respect it when i see it 👍

his whole performanc shtick means so much to me as a fellow dramatic bitch. he is so fun. every time he's around is a delight not just bc i love him but also bc that's just the way he is. he brings in such refreshing energy to every scrne he's kind of impossible not to love imo. also the whole ring leader vibe i think plays into the 2 personas thing, really hammering in the pretense of it all

. i kinda started rambling here idk if any of this is even coherent I'm sorry. there's also so many other aspects i didn't even get into oof

anyway back to shallow again:

murderous men hot

big thighs awooga *cartoon eyes popping out sound effect*

[peppered-moths]

- Curses

- The Garden

- Metaphor

All 3 are by crane wives and they’re the first 3 on my majorwood playlist and I’ve been keeping my mouth shut about it for a while but I NEED to ramble now and u have been designated majorwood songs blog so :3c

They all make me so insane about them and I’ve been brainrotting them mostly because they all have the vibes of having a past (the games/lives) that still Actively Haunts them, but now in the context of the final episode……..👁👁 hoough BOY. Idk how to even describe it, other than I am going insane over them hhhouhdhhs-

assigned majorwood songs blog... my dream come true <3

i already did the garden in another ask, so i am going to skip that one! but the others....... >:)

starting with curses:

"Every word I say is kindling / But the smoke clears when you're around" - okay so i have to preface this with the fact that my assigned martyn symbol for winning is wildfire. which makes this lyric just so much more AUGH. agony. it's the way martyn threatens anyone who even jokes about killing scott. it's the way those threats can't ever stop the violence. he has to do it himself, sword in hand, lava bucket in hand. it's the way scott forgives him every time, any time. does he even really deserve it?

"Won't you stay with me, my darling / When my walls start burning down, down, down" - martyn doesn't always mean to cause destruction. it's in his nature to leave it in his wake. and yet. and yet. scott holds out a hand, offers him a place to stay. offers him the cooling comfort of the ocean, the comfort that he isn't alone. there are no walls to burn, not anymore.

"Won't you stay with me, my darling / When this house don't feel like home?" - nowhere feels like home anymore, except for each other. they're all they have left. martyn's all scott has left. martyn? martyn wants to win.

"Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust / The devil's after both of us" - there is a price. there must always be a price. wildfire cannot burn without fuel. the world cannot end without a sacrifice.

"Lay my curses out to rest / Make a mercy out of me" - a curse is broken. a curse is kept, close to the heart. it's mercy, it's betrayal, who cares? he wins. he drinks down time, and he marvels in it. so what? it was always meant to be betrayal, in the end.

and then metaphor:

"I've gotten good at leaning on metaphors / I've gotten good at living on someone else's page" - this is a martyn song. i'm obsessed. always a side character. always the hand. always the sword, the bow, the protector. he lives his life in service. wouldn't you itch for something, anything else? even if it's blood?

"I cut my teeth on secondhand sentiments / You can't trust a single thing I say" - i won't betray you. lie. though he didn't know it yet. he's always been good at that kind of lie, saying afterwards he meant to do it all along. sentiment is a curse, betrayal secondhand. he won't care. he won't.

"I keep my closet free of skeletons / 'Cause I'm much better at digging graves" - do you think he dug a grave for scott? do you think he'd afford him that courtesy? do you think he realized, in the end, that it was just more blood on his hands? or do you think he went out, time-drunk, reveling in that one, perfect moment of victory? i suppose we'll never know.

[ivanvew]

termina!griffith in his machine god glory!.. messy lore drafts under cut read with caution

(will probably post more ab this au (berserk x fear and hunger termina crossover au!!) later on so if u dont want to see it block the tag "charlottes berkmina crossover" sorry mwah)

p.s. his name is Griffith Falke:) a v lazy one but it has a ring to it and has sort of stuck lol. Wait till u hear Guts' name hehe

I imagine termina!Griff as a Bremen dude being born in wartime already, then making it up the ranks of L'garde's military (I'm pretty sure from what we know ab Bremen from lore that under L'garde it's government and military are pretty much merged), gaining power to eventually have enough of it to overthrow L'garde and establish a Bremen kingdom that is HIS OWN!!:3 and has NO FIGHTING!!! ain't that lovely. He is the public's sweetheart, and commands a division or something similar that is rather obviously first loyal to Griffith and only second to Bremen or Kaiser or anything (basically a loose analog to the canon band of the hawk).

Eventually, as war goes on and more bloodshed occurs - bloodshed which Griffith now has a hand in contributing to, he grows more hopeless and desperate - until the hawks get their hands on Eastern Union's research about something called Project Logic. (I know this is not at all how it goes down in termina canon okay? but reila doesn't exist here as of now so that doesn't matter) Griffith sees his only chance to fulfill his dream in becoming a machine god, giving his power, money, men, sanity, anything to bring the project to fruition. while disguing it as something more L'garde-friendly obviously.. although L'garde can tell Griff has no intention of donating his godhood to anyone.

Then a bunch of minor war prisoners from the Union (as in Union soldiers held prisoner by Bremen lol) gets sent to the project as free labour or something more sinister. One of them is a dude named Guts, and the rest is history. Bthump bthump, Griffith's resolve wavers, and boom, the esteemed Griffith Falke is caught in an affair with an enemy soldier. Legarde does not pass on the opportunity to get rid of Griff after the latter has been pissing him off for like a decade - there is a scandal, the hawks are scattered and gently ostracized from anything that matters, and Griffith is ofc slowly tortured to death for all of his fellow big military people to see and fear.

After getting proper tortured yet not quite killed yet, Griff gets rescued by Guts and Casca (the second in command of griffith's disbanded division). The two convince themselves that if they can fix Griffith somehow, Griffith can fix the entire situation and bring back the hawks and finally end the war and invent the eternal engine also. Desperate, they search for ways to do so. Griffith silently directs the search to the city of Prehevil, Bohemia - and it's connection to ancient religions and practices worshiping older gods. The tales of the old goddess Sylvian tell of miraculous recovery - and what Griffith needs is nothing short of a miracle. With nowhere else to go, the trio on the run sets off for Prehevil.

Neither Guts, nor Casca know of testing grounds for Project Logic underneath the city - started by the Union's scientists and bring to completion under Griffith's command. The only thing missing is a vessel. The final sacrifice on the way to his dream will be gargantuan and fell of terror - Griffith can feel this with every fibre of his being.

But he has gone so, so far for this dream that he shares with so many corpses - stopping has not been an option for a long time.

///this is faar from all of it even immediately concerning griffy and man i really need to reread golden age I don't remember 60% of anything what the hell

also plssss Imk if im you think something in my ramblings is inappropriate!! as a refugee myself I understand that war, even fictional, is a very sensitive subject (esp with all of the fkn third reich symbolics shoved into termina for shock value) so any breach of this sensitivity deserves to be called out thanks🙏