#orringins

[greenteaandtattoos]

A traditional "knight saves the princess" story except at the end, the princess sighs and goes, "I suppose you want my hand in marriage as a reward" and the knight goes, "Oh, no, I'm just new in town and wanted to make friends but I've got really bad social anxiety" and the princess is like, "Rad, because I was never gonna fall in love with you" and they live happily ever after as besties (they're both aroace).

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

Happy new year,all!:3

[greenteaandtattoos]

Yeah, this is something that’s always bugged me about Explorers (one of very, very few criticisms I have about it). 

However, by the fact that they know what a human *is*, but are still clearly shocked that the player claims to be one, but Grovyle acted like it was pretty normal, and so did the partner after a while, and even Uxie. 

I’d like to think that either humans are a rare species scattered around the Pokemon world that aren’t often seen, sorta like Humans in Wings of Fire, or that they live in an isolated part of the world, away from the continents inhabited only by Pokemon (Water, Air, Grass, Mist, Sand, etc.)

Can’t say for sure, of course, but since each game presents humans different (Trainers were a thing in Rescue, a human worked with Grovyle in Explorers, humans were confirmed to have come from an alternate dimension in Gates, a human fought alongside Mew in Super, etc.) and in Super it’s confirmed that all of the other games are canon. 

So, if we go by Hydregion saying they come from an alternate dimension, but the fact that they know what a trainer is, AND the fact that Decrepit Lab in Rescue was made by humans, my guess is that they once inhabited the part of the world alongside Pokemon, but for some reason, moved to a different part of the world, the one that Hydregion calls an “alternate dimension”, and never or rarely returned to that side of it, and thus turning the concept of them into stories. 

But that’s just my theory. For my novelization, I came up with the idea that humans once inhabited the Pokemon World, with trainers and tech like in the anime and main games, but at some point, Pokemon drove them out, and they fled to another side of the world where they have since stayed. 

(PMD: EXPLORERS SPOILERS)

... so do they ever actually explain where the human came from? I don’t mean how they got turned into a Pokémon (I’m willing to accept collapsing realities shenanigans, my guy, this is Pokémon), I mean: do they actually explain how there was a human in the future in the first place? There are no humans in this world, present or future. I don’t even care about EXACTLY where they come from, I’m just confused there’s nothing like “oh a portal opened at one point and the protagonist came through!”

I think my actual gripe is that the human element is completely pointless in this game. The plot of Rescue Team could not have happened if the protagonist was just an amnesiac Pokémon. The plot of Super could not have happened if the protagonist was just an amnesiac Pokémon. GATES TO INFINITY COULDNT HAVE HAPPENED IF THE PROTAG WASN’T HUMAN AND IT SKIPS THE AMNESIA PART.

But in Explorers, what’s the purpose of the protag being human? The Dimensional Scream? That’s not a human ability, that’s called being a fucking psychic. Literally the only reason I can think of is that Grovyle doesn’t recognize you as a Pokémon (and never asks or overhears your name through all those dungeons). You know how that could be achieved? LITERALLY ANY OTHER WAY.

[greenteaandtattoos]

Yeah, hi, so,

I have a better idea:

✨Let aroace characters be aroace✨ challenge 2024 [impossible]

[greenteaandtattoos]

I think a new character should come in and have a crush on Alastor and he's just like ??? and Charlie or Rosie or even Niffty goes, "You're shooting your shot in the wrong direction; not even Cupid's arrow could make him fall in love with someone" and then we get a play on the word aro just like we got for ace, and the aro community gets to hear their identity mentioned in media for the first time.

[greenteaandtattoos]

Science has established that humans are social creatures, but the way society tries to dictate how we interact with people is kinda fucked up. I don’t need a lover to be social. I don’t need a sexual partner to be social. Some people don’t need friends to be social.

Sure, humans might have evolved to desire connection with people, but it’s nobody’s right or business to try and tell us how we connect with them. Also biology is funky and broad and not always precise. Scientists are learning new things and disproving things all the time.

So, yeah. Biology is weird, fuck amatonomativity, and you determine how you want to be social.

[greenteaandtattoos]

I agree. And there’s been so much emphasis on honesty, simplicity, smallness, love, understanding, and most notably, spirit.

“a smaller, more honest soul”

“a simple soul”

“like-minded souls”

They’re not going to win through strength, as mentioned by Salem several times,

“there will be no victory in strength”

“strength will not bring victory”

“strength’s not victory”

and the thing is, she’s right. And the proof of that? The fall of Atlas. 

They’re not going to win with strength. Look at what happened when the strongest military in Remnant tried to fight her? They lost. 

Trickery will not defeat Salem. RWBY, even with good intentions and justified reasons, lied to Ironwood, and it backfired on them, miserably.

The reason Oscar is alive after being shot by Ironwood? Who was there for him while he was being tortured? Ozpin. 

And the reason that Ozpin returned was because he had learned, he had understood where he went wrong, thanks to Oscar and the others. 

But it wasn’t just Ozpin who learned. RWBY also learned. They were put in Ozpin’s shoes and they finally understood what drove him to do what he did. 

It was honesty that allowed Oscar and JYR to escape from Salem. Oscar decided to be truthful to Hazel in hope to get to him, and it worked.

Sometimes, being smaller will give you the most opportunities, and we have Ambrosius as proof. RWBY had a small window of time to figure out a plan, a slim chance to get everything right. And while they didn’t get it perfectly, they managed to succeed in saving as many people as possible. 

AND THEN. And here’s an interesting thing. Take Pyrrha’s chant while unlocking Jaune’s aura into account here. 

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee."

RWBY and Jaune fell. To everyone on Remnant, they’re dead. Penny’s death is almost certainly the catalyst for the final half of the series. The people that RWBY and Jaune and the others used to be? They died with the fall of Atlas. They’re new people. Or, they will be when they discover who they truly are while on the Island. 

They say that the eyes are windows to the soul. Look at Blake and Yang. Their eyes match each other’s aura. They’re literally soulmates. Ruby’s eyes are powered by love. The Maidens produce eye-flames when using their powers, which they most often receive while being the last thought of the previous maiden (most often. re: cinder and raven).

I don’t know where I was going with this, but TL;DR: the answer to the problem has been in our and RWBY’s faces the whole time and now they just have to figure out how to proceed forward. How to keep moving forward to keep the people and world they love so much, safe. 

listening to the back-and-forth narration salem and ozpin have from v1 to v3, i get the feeling there will be no victory in power (duh), nor will there be victory in strength either...

no. there will be victory in hope.

that is, essentially (if i'm understanding this correctly) what salem is saying; "However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change [...]"

— "A smaller, more honest soul... It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my power... to snuff it out."

— "Like you, they'll cling to their fleeting hope, their aspirations. But this is merely the first move. So you send your guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses, and when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise."

salem recognizes the strength humanity has and the threat they possess, especially when they're united by a common enemy, and she specifically notes that most—if not all—of it is derived from hope.

so while things like strength and power are useful tools to have, if there's no hope for the future, what use is there for them? that's why salem targets those who may bring a spark of hope to the weary lives of others, because that's where the real threat to her plans lies.

...but also it's really funny how parts of this narration is salem just going "i'm going to tear down everything ozpin built to serve the gods and no one can stop me". which is like killing two birds with one stone because not only does she get to do that by destroying the academies, it also gets her that much closer to the relics.

it's a win-win for her and a lose-lose for oz. someone did not think this through.

[greenteaandtattoos]

oh... oh the truly delicious foil between melora sending rain when orym took the blade, something that causes plants to grow, and then laudna trying to get rid of the vines by using wither and bloom against the vines (and accidentally him).

melora approving orym taking the blade and putting everyone's and the world's burdens on his shoulders, and delilah encouraging laudna to take the blade to relieve the hurt she was feeling and to protect orym (and the others).

orym, who already had a blade gifted to him but also took the one who killed his family. laudna, who already had magic but uses the magic given to her by the one who killed her family (and her).

both of them seeing their worth in what they can do for others, how much they can sacrifice for the people they love, and willing to take whatever dark measures necessary to do it, and melora and delilah enabling them.

both of them being taken advantage of for being vulnerable and hurting and taking the opportunity to give them a "purpose" or a way to achieve their personal goals, but only giving them what they need to achieve that purpose when they are desperate as a way to keep their... continued support (used very loosely).

and oh... the absolutely delectable parallel between the rain stopping when dorian told orym that he didn't need to save everyone and delilah's voice and visage disappearing when imogen held laudna and told her that she loved her.

everything about them... the plant parallels, the life/death foils, their sun and moon motifs, the shared experience of death and abuse, the shared belief that their self-worth was tied to their worth to others, both feeling saved and grounded by the one they love.

orym and laudna are profoundly alike, yet fundamentally doomed by the narrative to end up where they are right now. the potential of them being the closest of friends with an unbreakable bond and the inevitability of their differences breaking them and causing a rift between the people they care about is what truly hurts the most.

[greenteaandtattoos]

What if the stitches along Alastor's body and mouth are actually keeping his powers in? He came to Hell so powerful that it was unheard of. Maybe he has to physically keep his magic locked up and carefully release it a little at a time otherwise it could go berserk or take him over or something.

And what if his shadow is a manifestation of magic that's leaking from his body. He can summon other shadows and entities using the magic he can tap into, but the one that sticks with him at all times and envelopes him when he travels is formed from and connected to the magic he can't control.

[greenteaandtattoos]

Burying my head in my hands thinking about the reason the Collector had such a knee-jerk reaction to Lilith trying to reach out to King was because she called him her “nephew”, and the only association they have to that word is Belos calling Hunter that - and knowing that Belos only created them to kill them. 

He got scared that Lilith was gonna hurt King because that’s all he knows about nephews: they were born to be hurt.

[greenteaandtattoos]

GODS how can you ask me this? If I really think about it, I’d say Jellal. 

His character arcs and development is so phenomenal, some of the best in the entire series. 

After everything that happened in the Tower of Heaven and Oración Seis , you can see how badly Jellal hates himself. He loathes himself for a reason he can’t remember. All he can remember was a woman named Erza Scarlet, whom he cared for deeply enough to feel her strength and weakness from miles away. It was what kept him going while enduring endless torture with no memory. 

And then he gets his memory back. And Erza is gone. He has no reason to end his suffering because he remembers all the people he hurt, and the person he hurt the most is gone. He’s ready for the death sentence.

But then Meredy and Ultear break him out of prison. They explain that they’re creating their own guild in order to redeem themselves. And now, Jellal has a purpose again. He’ll dedicate his life to eradicating the thing that put him in the position to cause so much hurt: The Dark Guilds and Zeref.

However, he comes to believe that his redemption comes in the form of punishment. A punishment of his own making. He can’t be happy because he caused so much misery. And when Erza goes to kiss him, he pushes her away. He can’t love her, not when he caused her so much suffering. He lies in order to hurt her into not loving him anymore. 

It’s a tricky thing. He convinces himself he can’t love her because he hurt her. So, in an attempt to stop Erza from suffering by refusing to reciprocate her feelings - he’s not allowed to be happy, remember - he lies in an attempt to hurt her into falling out of love with him. Better for her to find someone new than to hurt her by refusing to accept her love. 

Punishment and death are all that can redeem him. He knows Erza would be hurt to see him do that to himself, so he pushes her away. He continues to watch her from afar, never talking to her, of course. It causes him sadness, and he deserves to be sad. 

But, of course, Jellal and Erza are continually pushed into circumstances together, so that plan doesn’t last very long. 

And then Ultear “dies”. And Meredy is crushed. And we see how much love Jellal has in him. He’s so full of it, and he comforts the person who aided the woman who controlled him all those years ago. 

Then there’s the anime-exclusive Jellal vs Oración Seis arc. He fights in order to help others redeem themselves, even if they don’t want to be redeemed. He wants to HELP others. Others who caused suffering, because he believes they deserve a second chance to do good. 

And he loses his eyes. He gives up his eyes in order to give these villains a chance. He’s SO willing to give others a second chance, but not himself. His eyes are restored eventually, but with his goal completed, he doesn’t really care.

And then we get to the Alvarez Empire Arc. Oh, what an arc. He decides that he’s DONE hiding. He’s there to help, and if people want to condemn him, they can do it later, after he’s helped Erza and the rest of the Ishgar. 

And this is the second time he’s come face-to-face with another person he’s hurt, the first being Milliana at the Grand Magic Games. Now, it’s Kagura. Kagura, Simon’s sister. Simon, who then seemingly comes back to life, used against them by Neinhart. 

After he is saved by Kagura, he returns to the boat to help Erza, only to find her critically injured. And, oh, is he mad. He breaks his promise. He’s going to sin again because the woman he loves is injured. 

And while fighting August, we wants to be able to protect Erza. He knows Erza can take care of herself, but he still wants to be her shield. To be her spear. to do whatever he can for her. 

And he attempts this when he takes on the freaking Dragon of the Apocalypse. He throws himself into the battle with little care of his own safety... twice. And he is .2 seconds away from dying when Ichiya of all people, scolds him for being so willing to leave the woman he loves behind. Because while Jellal thinks he’s saving her, his death would destroy her. 

And when he reunites with Erza, she tells him that he doesn’t have to punish himself anymore. She scolds him and tells him to keep on living, because he’s worth it. 

And then we get to 100 Years Quest where he’s mind-controlled and, uh, yeah. That chapter happens. 

Moving on from it, we see Erza and Jellal sit down to have a talk. Jellal talks about how he’s going around in order to stop other malicious guilds, and Erza comments that she thought he promised he’d stop punishing himself. He corrects her, saying that he’s not punishing himself, he’s doing this because he wants to. He wants to help other people, this time, not at the expense of himself. 

And then Erza invites Jellal and Meredy to join Fairy Tail, so that they can help people together. 

So, uh, to answer your question: Jellal because his character development (and Jerza) is my favorite in the whole series.

Who is your favorite fairy tail character and what are the characteristics that made you love them?

[greenteaandtattoos]

I am THAT stereotypical aro because apparently two friends have been heavily flirty/dating for nearly two months now and I only JUST NOW learned about it when they literally spelled it out for me.

[greenteaandtattoos]

TO EVERYONE WHO HASN’T SEEN RWBY VOLUME 9 EPISODE 8, IT IS BRUTAL. BY FAR THE DARKEST RWBY HAS EVER GONE. MIND THESE TRIGGER WARNINGS:

SUICIDE

TORTURE

ANIMAL DEATH

PHYSICAL ABUSE

EMOTIONAL ABUSE

PLEASE WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK. THERE IS A CONTENT WARNING AT THE START OF THE EPISODE, BUT IT DOES NOT SPECIFY WHAT FOR.

[greenteaandtattoos]

Pyrrha would want Jaune to move on and fall in love again. If he fell for someone who loved him back just as strongly, she'd be overjoyed. If he found someone who wanted to live by his side the way she wished she could have, she'd be so happy for him. She wouldn't want to be his "one true love" because she'd want him to be open to loving another person the way she loved him.

[greenteaandtattoos]

Here’s the thing, Eddy said in the V8 commentary that both Emerald and Oz had yet to be fully accepted back into the group, so I’m thinking we’ll get both Oscar/Emerald interactions but also Ozpin/Emerald interactions. 

Emerald City Siblings has so much potential.

Not only do I wanna see Oscar continuing to be a good influence on Emerald, but I also wanna see Emerald be a bad influence on Oscar.

Like, he already has gremlin-like tendencies. He is a sassy lil boy.

But I wanna see more. I wanna see mischief. And I wanna see Emerald encourage that side of him. I wanna see some antics goddammit.

[greenteaandtattoos]

shout out to aro and ace-spec witches. we're rad as hell.