#sorry guys my terrible ship is leaking into my metas

[therealvinelle]

Hi, love your metas and your fic. I think you mentioned somwhere that at the end of BD Aro was trying to prevent the fight. What were his motives? According to Edward, the Volturi are cowards, but I didn't get this feeling. Caius was begging for a battle, the guard vocally proclaimed willingness to die for the cause... hell, Jane had to be restrained from running to Bella and punching her in the throat. And I find it unlikely that their leader is less brave than them. Explain Aro's brain pls

Thank you so much! That’s really nice of you to say. And sorry for the late answer.

And explain Aro’s brain, whew. That is a very big question with a very long answer and this post will be a manifesto by the time I’m done. But you wanted Aro’s brain explained so manifesto it is.

So, before we go anywhere I have to make the distinction between Aro of the books and Aro of the movies. Those two are different people.

Starting with appearance, because casting does a lot for me and if a big deviation is made it better be like Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, which is to say it better fit the character. Also, disclaimer, I think most of Twilight was miscast, and especially the Volturi. I’m forever dying at Caius looking like Lucius Malfoy. However, this is an Aro post, so we’re highlighting Aro.

Aro of the books is a twenty-something Greek with skin that has petrified and eyes covered in a milky sort of film, which totals to him looking perfect, as all vampires do, yet frail. When he walks it looks like he’s gliding. This is an otherworldly, ancient, inhuman being. He’s energetic and excitable, yes, but if anything that should add to how very other he is. Casting Michael Sheen is a clear signal that the movies were going in a completely different direction with Aro. Sheen is a great actor who played what he was given perfectly, but what he was given was a very different character.

In New Moon the book, Aro first rejects Edward request because this is Carlisle’s gifted son, and more, this is not what the Volturi do. They are not hitmen. It’s just a big no all around.

Bella enters, and the Aro she meets is a very polite and gracious man who’s delighted to see the human still alive, and pleased Carlisle’s son won’t be suicidal anymore. However, Edward fully intended to step into the sunlight in the middle of Volterra, specifically to provoke the Volturi, and he has broken the law with Bella. Further, Edward makes it clear that he fully intends to walk out of Volterra with his human still human, and that she’ll die of old age if he gets his way. Edward’s contempt of the law could not be more clear. However, Alice shows Aro that Bella’s fate is sealed, she turns or she dies. The law will be upheld. Aro is glad to hear it, and lets the Cullens all go home.

All in all, it’s a very tense occasion where Edward has put Aro in a difficult position, because he’s trying to force him to kill his best friend’s son, and Aro goes “YES THANK GOD” when Alice finally gives him an out.

New Moon of the movies was not this. Starting with the flashback (because I’m being thorough), Aro executes a lowly criminal himself.  I object to that, I think that’s a menial task and Aro doing it himself made the Volturi look less regal, not more. Cut to the present day, Aro rejects Edward’s request because he doesn’t want to waste his gift. We get the whole meeting with Bella, and Aro… well I don’t know why he does any of the things he does. This guy never mentions his friendship to Carlisle, tries to kill our plucky heroes three times in the space of one minute (one, gives Felix the order to kill Bella, stopped by Edward. Two, moves to decapitate Edward, stopped by Bella. Three, he’s about to eat Bella, stopped by Alice), and when he lets them go it feels terribly convenient.

This was a guy written to be the villain of the series, and it showed.

Cut to Breaking Dawn part I’s ending scene, and while I love the song choice for the scene, and fully agree that Aro considers misspelling Carlisle’s name to be a capital offense, the scene itself… we are presented with a villainous, power-hungry megalomaniac who’s just waiting to strike against the Cullens.

We then get Breaking Dawn part II, and I haven’t seen that movie in years but I remember the fight scene well enough. Aro kills Carlisle with the biggest grin on his face, and gives the go-ahead to his Volturi to kill the surviving Cullens and their witnesses.

Contrast that with canon, where Aro’s first words to Carlisle are «Nothing would make me happier than preserving your life today». Now, he’s making it very clear that this meeting will most likely end with Carlisle’s death, but he’s not happy about it. He’s certainly not going to kill him with a smile on his face and laughter in his heart.

The movies needed a hammy villain, and that’s what Michael Sheen played. It is not who Aro is, at all. And he’s not the only character this happened to, but again, this is an Aro post so I’m not going to start raging like Don Corleone about what they did to my boys.

So, with the movies firmly expelled from the post, let’s look at the Twilight series from Aro’s point of view.

Or, rather, we’ll have to start earlier because Aro’s decisions throughout the series are pretty clearly motivated by Carlisle. And that means considering, “why is Carlisle so important, anyway?”

Consider these things: one, Aro is gifted with the power of knowing every single thought a person has ever had. He knows your soul. Two, Aro is the leader of the supernatural world, he has been for over a thousand years.

How many friends does a person with that power and in that position have?

Three, who does Aro even come into contact with?

Starting with number three, for Aro it’s going to be 1) criminals, 2) Volturi guard hopefuls, 3) Weirdos like Laurent who are wasting Aro’s time.

(“But what about the guard!” Well, while we observe close interpersonal relationships between Aro and Jane, and Aro and Renata, and one can assume Corin to be close to the wives, the distinction between Volturi coven and Volturi guard remains. The guards are servants, in some cases beloved servants, but servants nonetheless. It would be inappropriate and weird for Aro to start slumming it with Demetri and Felix)

So, Aro doesn’t get out much, which brings us to point two. The people he does meet, and who are willing to entertain a friendship with the Volturi leader, are going to be people who want something. And that might work for some rulers, Louis XIV built Versailles specifically to make his subjects do this for him, but he had something to gain politically from that. Aro does not, his power is supreme without a need to tolerate brown nosers. More, with his own and Marcus’ gifts, he’ll know right away that he’s being used for power. He would get nothing out of it.

Finally point one, Aro’s gift. Say that we have a vampire who’s not a weirdo and who thinks Aro’s a cool dude. Well, the question now is, who would ever want a person in their life who knows all there is to know about them? I wouldn't want anybody to know every thought I've ever had, I certainly would never seek out a person to know me that deeply when I could just go find normal people to be friends with instead. Not to mention how incredibly unequal such a friendship would be.

In short, I don’t think Aro has any friends.

Enter Carlisle a very amiable person who cherishes Aro for his personality, and doesn’t mind having his mind read. Aro just found a unicorn. Carlisle on his end likes Aro so much that he lives with him for decades. Even if you want to read their relationship as platonic, that’s still a very strong friendship.

Point being that Carlisle is unbelievably precious to Aro, and so very unique. Aro has lived for over three millennia, and never met anyone like this before. There won’t be another Carlisle.

This in turn makes him willing to stretch as far as he can to preserve that friendship and, as the plot thickens, keep Carlisle alive.

Fast forwards to 2006, and Aro is sitting in Volterra minding his own business when Carlisle’s son walks into town demanding his own execution. He has not committed any crimes. Not only is assisted suicide not something the Volturi even do, but this would ruin Aro’s friendship with Carlisle. Even if Carlisle was miraculously understanding of Aro killing his son (which I can’t imagine he would be), this would never leave the air between them. Carlisle could never be around him again after something like that.

So, Aro turns down Edward’s request. “Stupid Volturi man ruining my dramatic suicide, I’ll show him who’s boss!” Edward replies, and runs shirtless into the sunlight. I’m sure Aro was just dying, you had “The Sound of Silence” playing as he stared into nothingness because how is this happening to him. A whiplash of an hour later, Bella is alive again, Aro is happy, we can be done with this now, right? Right?!

No, Edward says, we cannot be done with this. He’s still refusing to turn Bella.

And so we get that whole New Moon exchange where Aro very tellingly shoves the part where Edward WALKED INTO THE SUNLIGHT IN VOLTERRA under the carpet and out of the conversation (for comparison: Irina is executed for false testimony and Bree for breaking a law she didn’t know existed), and he even allows Bella to leave human when he could easily have bitten her himself to keep the Cullens honest. This guy went out of his way to be lenient and show the Cullens good faith.

And then a few months later Irina walks into Volterra, bearing memories of what is unmistakably a Cullen immortal child.

Aro may care for Carlisle, but this is the guy who killed his baby sister so he’d still have Marcus’ gift. He will bend far, very far, for those he cares about, but he will not break. It’s duty above love, Volturi above Aro’s personal preferences. An immortal child is not an offense that can be tolerated, and so it’ll be Didyme 2: Aro Kills Someone He Loves Boogaloo.

By now I think it should be quite clear why I think Aro was trying to prevent the fight. Battle would have meant Carlisle’s certain death.

(And that’s even assuming the Volturi won the fight. With Bella there, there was a chance the Volturi wouldn’t prevail. But even before Bella started showing off, Aro was very much hoping this wouldn’t be another Didyme situation.)

[flameintheblacknight]

RvB reactions: S16 Episodes 12 to 14

Because I’ve fallen behind.

Let’s fucking go.

Episode 12:

I see we’re getting the movie version of the beginning of s15′s... episode 9, I want to say?

Wait what

jax what the fuck

OH MY GOD, THEY KNOW ABOUT CARWASH, ABORT, ABORT

what the fuck is with the shaky cam.

Hey, we finally got most of the main cast together again!  Except Doc...

OH MY GOD, THEY’RE MAKING TERRIBLE SWORD PUNS TOGETHER

MY HEART

hey, wait, where’s huggins?

hi donut

oh, so you’re on our side now, okay

oh my god, Sarge and Tucker looking into the camera like they’re on the fucking office with these innuendos.  I love it!!!

“I leave you guys alone for 5 minutes, and you piss off god.”

Wash is too tired for this shit.

Huh, interviews.  I’m seriously getting The Office vibes now.

“Fuck everything about this.  I’m supposed to be on vacation.”  And here we see that Kai was not expecting this level of bullshit.  She is still unused to the rest of the Crew’s total insanity and insane adventures.

omg

“Time for a new tactic: lying”

Wash: *dead inside*  “This is finally making sense.”

Sister:  “Cuz!  We’re all unwilling agents of some awful time god!” Wash:  “Last time I was an agent, at least I got dental.”

I am living for Wash in this episode

Jax wants the cold, hard evidence and I like that about him.  He learned well from Dylan, I think.

I’M UP FOR A TIMELINE

THAT’LL PROBABLY HELP ME GET A FUCKING IDEA OF WHAT THE FUCK’S BEEN HAPPENING IN THIS SEASON, AT LEAST!

jax oh my god

what the fuck has been happening here on this studio, anyways?

Simmons: Assistant (to the) Red Team Manager

THE VIBES I WAS GETTING WERE FUCKING RIGHT OMG

omg

OMG

“Huh.  I actually think the other hand is, well, empty.”

That’s sad.

“I’ve been using Sarge’s time machine for weeks with no negative consequences!”

uh what

jax why

rip timeline

that don’t help at all

o

oh no

not the memory issues

not nowwww

carolina why didn’t you just tell him months ago

Oh, so that’s why you’ve been using the time machine, Jax.

uh, why tho?

omg jax no

not these people

plz

and funding’s been cut

rip movie

ooooooooooo, back to the plot!

JAX NO

JAX JUST GOT FUCKING BODIED

Kalirama:  *glares* Atlus:  “...I’m sorry I smited your mortal idiot friend.”

Carolina does not seem impressed.

oh, so their relationship *is* a zeus/hera deal.  good to know.

tucker, this isn’t that surprising if you know greek mythology

wash, it’s also some greek mythology shit

...did neither of you ever read Percy Jackson growing up?

Genkins, huh... O SHIT, IT’S JENKINS FROM THE CUT CONTENT

“I love posting spoilers on Youtube!  On the end of the next one, the pink guy steals the hammer!”

...wait what

DONUT WHAT THE FUCK

guys please don’t make the jokes

guys

i’m laughing my ass off.

EXPOSITION, FINALLY!

Episode 13:

this is gonna be good.

“I ain’t talking about that!  Why’s Grif got a sword?!”

I think Tucker appreciates where Sarge’s priorities are.  “Upset the balance of the universe”, indeed.

i am not surprised that Sarge wants one too, tbh

EVERYONE WANTS ONE

Well, except Lina and Caboose.

CABOOSE WANTED THE GOLF CLUB

Oh, almighty beings apparently can’t cure a fucking headache.  i’m impressed.

back to the exposition!

wait what

Wait, Simmons, are you saying what I think you’re saying--

THEY’RE AIS!

...they...

that’s what epsilon first had as a body

oh my god

this

this changes everything

so there was enough of a leak in the order of space-time to get Loco to build a time machine, which led to... wow.  Joe really planned all this out, didn’t he.

guys don’t insult donut!  he’s been trying his best!

“Where we just fucked it all up!”

I feel like you could insert that into any description of the plots of the arcs and still be accurate.

I’m dying with these metaphors

“Master builder of the gods--” “Of the AI!” “Of the AI, okay...”

“Few have made the journey, none have survived.”

Sounds right up our alley!

...it’s a hammer.

NOBODY TRUST DONUT WITH IT

...The Hammer.  That’s a... simple name.

all of these names are catchier, tbh.

Even Atlus is in on it!

ohhhhhhhhhhh

“Counter-intuitive, but that’s magic for you”

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

oh, hey!  Grif still has his!

Caboose still has the golf club!!!

well, I think our goal is obvious:  we save the universe and get our energy swords, dammit!

or... how about we punt a hammer into a god’s face?

that sounds great to me

no more time-travel, please.

Wait... Wash, are you going into a speech?

Wash... that was beautiful.

yeah, for once in forever, this is not the fault of pfl/any associated companies

wait carolina no

NO

NOT NOWWWWWWW

YOU COULD’VE JUST TOLD HIM A FEW MONTHS AGO

LINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

full fucking minutes without oxygen

oh... oh my god

...wait

no

i

no

that’s

that’s the meta’s theme

oh god

wash...

wait donut no

donut goddammit

“Y’all need therapy.”  

...I think Kaikaina’s the luckiest one here, for having dodged all the bullets that make them need therapy.

Episode 14:

TUCKER, OH MY GOD

GROWTH!

oh?  character growth for both of yall?!

that’s great!

...Tucker’s gotten to the point where he’s comfy with someone else saying his catchphrase.  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

fuck... I think I ship them.

Also, Tucker’s clearly got a lot of guilt over... that.

Kai knows him too well at this point.

Also guys no.

Please don’t.

Just a few details...

Tucker

have you never heard of the butterfly effect

you’re gonna fuck this shit up

GUYS NO

Carolina just... used Wash’s real name.

So I assume any revelation about Wash not being named Agent Washington was had before this.  I also assume it was comedic.

STILL, GUYS, NO

I’m like,,, 90% sure Lina’s a red by now

...oh fuck.

HUGGINS, YOU’RE MY LAST HOPE.  KNOCK SOME FUCKING SENSE INTO THEM, PLEASE

...ugh, i don’t want to watch this, i already know what happens, tumblr’s told me.  i’m just gonna skip a little bit.

GENKINS WHAT

HUGGINS

NO

no

genkins i’m going to kill you and make your death painful

where’s my fucking emp

hey, Muggins.  Seems you understand what’s happening too.

she’s really gone.  damn.

i’m... i’m fucking crying again.

this show hasn’t made me do that since epsilon, i think

guess that says something, huh?

...wait.  the fates?

they’re here?!

“All is lost.  Tonight the sun sets.  There will be no dawn.”

Well... fuck.