#I almost have a whole backstory created for them at this point XD | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

probably-haven · 3 years

Note

Hello!

So I’m the anon who asked for more Archon War Venti headcanons and I just loved it! I really like reading your headcanons cuz some of them are similar to mine but mostly are headcanons that I didn’t think of so it really is nice to read and see your thoughts about Venti!

I feel like as if I’m asking too much but could you keep doing these types of headcanons? Like it doesn’t have to be Archon War headcanons but like some headcanons about Venti’s relationship with the Ragnvindrs and Gunnhildrs. Because the first Gunnhildr was the first one who prayed to Barbatos and the first Ragnvindr was his friend who left but came back and I really wanna hear your thoughts on that!

And I’ve decided to get off anon cuz you just replied to my texts and I wasn’t expecting that so I’ve got a short confidence boost that I am completely taking advantage of! And thanks for the advice! or uhh comment? observation? I’m not entirely sure but thank you for that! I’ve heard that be said to me a few times and I have been trying to be more, uhh, assertive so thanks for that!

rfouierjkhfkecs i actually came across information on Gunnhildr and the "Red-haired warrior" yesterday when i was doing more research into the rebellion against Decarabian and I was like "wow this would be really fucking fun to research and theorize on, but its too specific/niche to include unprompted no matter how much i want to" but bestie you prompted, and im literally so happy right now because I didn't think I'd ever really get the chance to post about them!

also lmao yeah, i tend to try and reply to as much as I can, since it's a good feeling when someone does and all. but yeah, no problem! I’m glad you felt confident enough to reveal XD.

This may be structured a bit more like analysis/theory/just citing canon things at first before it gets into a more headcanony format.

ehe i have so much free reign on this it's lovely

More Archon War Era Venti: one two three

spoilers for Venti's backstory and Diluc's(kinda, i think, just in case)

first things first, laying down some canon background because before yesterday i hadn't heard of either of them outside of that one cutscene.

the very reason Decarabian had his storm wall up in the first place was because at the time Andrius had declared war on him- and his tower, and the city of Mondstadt by extent, were basically constantly under attack by Andrius's blizzards, which since he was still alive back then, were a lot bigger and covered basically what seems to be the whole of Mondstadt outside the barrier.

This meant that people had two options. Live in the city under Decarabian's oppression, or live outside the barrier, and brave the blizzards of a warring god... which was not a good idea

but the Gunnhildr clan(not yet called that) tried- and they almost died because of it. In the midst of a blizzard, the clan chief's daughter, named Gunnhildr(which the clan would be named after later) sent out a prayer that was heard by a wandering wind spirit. And the faith of that prayer gave the spirit enough power to create a small shelter to protect them.

When her father past, she became the new leader and also a priestess. She would later lead the clan to fight Decarabian alongside four others. And basically the Gunnhildr Clan ended up as like sworn protectors of Mondstadt

as for the red-haired warrior, who is basically assumed to be the earliest known ancestor of the Ragnvindir clan(im gonna refer to as Ragnvindir for convenience sake, even though "Ragnvindir" is technically a different character from Vanessa's era)theres not much information on him, but heres what i have from the various wiki's

- he was a wanderer

- one of the first to use the sign of windblume to find other rebels(so he's intelligent)

- actively propped up the nameless bard so he could watch as the tower was destroyed

there's this little tidbit too from the Windblume Ode bow's description that im probably gonna talk about a considerable amount too: "Atop the ruins of the ancient tower, amidst the cheers, songs, and tears of those who had newly won their freedom. A red-haired warrior turned his back on the newborn god, hidden like a single raindrop in a tidal wave of humanity. He was first among those who passed the secret sign of Windblume, the one who wove threads of dawn throughout the long night. His name has since been lost to time, but his deeds are still remembered in song." followed later by "The fate of this clan will likely never change: they shall ever live in the darkness and bring forth the flame of dawn."

Now I'm going to start with the Ragnvindir(geez, why's it spelled like that tho)

My idea of his character is basically formed by a mix of Ragnvindir stereotypes and just generally analyzing text.

So what do we know about Ragnvindir's for sure? they are shady motherfuckers- or at least they rarely operate in the spotlight. also damn, these guys are more cursed than anemo vision wielders- like the only one who didn't canonically lose someone close to them was Crepus, but considering that Diluc doesn't exactly have a mom..... he probably did

so what do we know? - he was close with the nameless bard - he was intelligent - he likely operated primarily from the shadows "ever living in the darkness" - he was a wanderer - he abandoned Venti during the celebration - but his deeds were still remembered in song, so Venti and him were likely still close

now the question of the century: how will i choose to interpret "turned his back on the newborn god"? And honestly, I'm- not sure- at first i assumed he abandoned him completely- but Venti did still make sure to carry on his memory- which could just be Venti being Venti, but for the sake of sanity, this is how I'm interpreting it.

A lot of things happened to the Ragnvindir that day. He lost a friend, saw another become a god to replace the one they had conquered, and he saw his goal, his reason for being in Mondstadt, come to fruition. "see the world through my eyes" the bard had said, and the Ragnvindir had been a wanderer even before. Sure, the people had won freedom, and that was to be celebrated, but he's intelligent to recognize that people would likely see him as one of the key figures in leading the rebellion. And for him this was a solemn time, and ending to a chapter, and not being one to operate in the spotlight, the last thing he'd want is to be swept up in festivities and attention at a time like this.

It also likely didn't help that he's probably smart enough to understand the idea of "power corrupts," and seeing the wind sprite just readily accept the mantle of Archon was likely not the most comforting thing to happen in the given situation after all. But Decarabian was gone, and Andrius had ceased his blizzards, so without a word, he slipped into the crowd and left, a wanderer once more.

now back to Gunnhildr

she was the first to receive an anemo vision from Barbatos, no I do not take criticism on this "the power bestowed on her by Barbatos" like please, they basically said it.

It also mentions that she crowned Venti with laurels(symbol of vistory) after the battle- the book Biography of Gunnhildr additionally says "the Gunnhildr Clan will continue honoring the legacy of its ancestors and its duty to the Anemo Archon: to protect Mondstadt, the land and all who inhabit it, forever."

I really like this because it conveniently ties into my past headcanon about Venti granting visions to the people of Mondstadt and having them be the ones to erect wind barriers and defend the city in his absence.

So in the Archon War I like to imagine that the Gunnhildr clan had a lot of people who were actually granted visions and were basically in charge of protecting it from those who would attempt to ambush them.

Mondstadt essentially became known for this- the fact that the mortals within it were strong enough to fend off the force of a god without support from their own.

but regardless, Gunnhildr, as she had before, served as a priestess to Barbatos, the closest thing that Mondstadt had to a ruler, and yet she only took charge of prayer and protection.... i hate to just- equate them to their descendants- but to an extent- her role was kind of like a merge between Jean and Barbara- Except with a whole lot less structure.... i really dont want their characters to just be carbon copies of the descendants but- c'mon, the comparison was right there.

anyways besties- back to Venti so i can tie them in

The Archon War was one of the worst times for Venti in his entire life thus far. And the time immediately after Decarbian's fall, while Gunnhildr and the Ragnvindir were still alive, was the key period of time in which things could have gone very differently.

Venti is the god of freedom. That's a reoccurring theme and I think I've made that abundantly clear. But during this time, Venti was anything but free.

I've mentioned before how he would stay far from the city of Mondstadt so the shockwave of his death wouldn't reach him, should he fall.... well- Venti is new to a lot of things- godhood- humanity- war- freedom- and at this point he was trying hard to figure out how to be Mondstadt's god without becoming Decarabian, and while still being able to survive, and make sure they survived, and see the world for his friend, and carry on his friends legacy.

And this is a lot of stuff for what was once a carefree elemental being, and there were certain things that had to be done for this to happen. He couldn't just stay in Mondstadt, or he would grow weak and his people would be vulnerable to attack, but he couldn't abandon it, because despite being able to fend for themselves, there's always hat just in case. He couldn't stay in any one place outside of Mondstadt for very long or he'd be found and killed. He knew in order for Mondstadt to survive he would have to take an active role in the war, strengthen himself so he could defend Mondstadt, and thats exactly what he did.

He started by going after the less powerful gods, ones he had a chance at beating with the power he got from the Gunnhildr clan and the rest of Mond, and by wiping them out, he would grow stronger, so he kept it up- working his way up the metaphorical ladder.

but he couldn't let anyone near him either, because he knew just what would happen if he was attacked then. Were it not for Gunnhildr's prayer, the early years of the Archon War would have been without contest the loneliest time of his life, and there would be nothing he could do about it, bound by survival and his attachment to the legacy of his friend, constantly fearing for his life and going against his very nature as the god of freedom. Frankly thrust into that circumstance that early on, and having to face it alone, it's likely that Venti would have caved under the pressure and dropped his attachment to either his survival, or to his friends legacy... or just something entirely worse(isolation messes with brains) so I'm attributing the fact that he didn't do that to Gunnhildr's companionship, speaking to him and guiding him through it as he had guided her through the blizzard some time ago.

I also like to think that she's responsible for founding at least a number of the different celebrations that still happen in Mondstadt even now.

Ugh supportive warrior priestess- we stan

anyway meanwhile! we got the Ragnvindir

He hears about Venti taking part in the Archon war during his wanderings and returns to Mondstadt to check in, wary of what he might find.

Venti, who hadn't seen him since the rebellion, is elated to say the least and they do a bit of catching up because they need it

and then the conversation turns more serious, and the Ragnvindir brings up a third thing that Venti needs to hold onto- his humanity.

See, in the early years, just desperate to get a foothold on the world, Venti's first number of targets were just indiscriminately going after those he knew to be weaker than him, and the Ragnvindir points this out, saying that while it's not necessarily bad, if he keeps doing it, it won't be long until he causes his and, by extent, Mondstadt's legacy to be tainted by a reputation for slaughter, no better than any of the other bloodthirsty gods that frequented the war's fields. "Think of what the bard would do, we were both close enough to do that much"

And Venti becomes yet more caged, but recognizes that he's right, and this is another turning point, that in the coming years would keep Venti from losing himself.

also- Gunnhildr, Venti having told her about the Ragnvindir's concerns that he now shared, probably organized some kind of event (not unlike the right of part, but also, yes unlike it) that was deliberately intended and designs to serve as an excuse that Venti could chose to take to visit Mondstadt, something she know he desperately wanted to do, but wouldn't allow himself for fear of putting them in danger. But if she made it an official celebration, then it would give Venti the opportunity to visit his people again, under the guise of it being a responsibility, not having to deal with the moral implications of doing so at a time when he was already dealing with enough of those already.

Also on his travels, the Ragnvindir probably started and spread a number of rumors that could end up working in Venti's favor, not that anyone ever knew it was him of course.

basically Gunnhildr protected the people of Mondstadt and did all she could to keep everyone in as high spirits as possible, Venti included.

And as for the Ragnvindir, he took a more realistic approach, traveling and getting venti followers in far places, spreading false information about him, and just overall making sure that Venti didn't do things he'd regret.

And when they died, Venti would carry their legacy with him as well, not losing his humanity to the tide of war as he very nearly had(though he still often came close), and trying to spreading high spirits where ever he could without fail.

#genshin impact #genshin venti #genshin impact headcanons #genshin theory #genshin headcanons #archon war era venti #genshin barbatos #genshin decarabian #nameless bard #genshin ragnvindir #genshin gunnhildr #genshin lore #genshin spoilers #spoilers #angst #venti angst #archon war #old mondstadt

108 notes · View notes

luffyrose · 3 years

Note

Hello! Can i learn more about your god au? I find it really interesting and would love to hear more about it!

I saw this while I was heading to school so I thought about this au the whole day so far, so here’s some more info!!!

More characters and what they are first! (The possibly some design ideas and/or more world info!)

First two are the ones that @clovley helped me figure out!

Eret, a human King that Dream is currently fixated on watching. He is very kind and his kingdom is prosperous thanks to how he runs things and the blessing of a god.

Niki is the God of Love! She represents and can control all forms of love. She generally just chooses to give people a nudge in the right direction instead of directly involving herself. She also gets easily attached to people so she doesn’t interact with humans since their lives are so short to them.

Puffy is the God of Beasts! I was struggling with Niki being this then I realized her and Puffy’s characters were canonically dating and I could have the two of them work closely together since I imagine Niki would want a friend instead of living alone.

I may have their characters be dating but I’m unsure. It would only be their characters though. We don’t ship real people as that can make them uncomfy and it’s just kind of weird if you aren’t like their super close friend. And I only say that cuz me and my friends from school are comfortable with us saying they’d look cute with blah.

Back to characters!

Fundy is a spirit! And a quick thing about spirits, they were humans in a past life. So if I say spirit I mean they were reincarnated or revived into a magic being. If I say monster/creature, humanoid or not, they were born like that and not a human before.

More about Fundy though. He didn’t know Wilbur in his human life but Wilbur found him wandering after he passed and revived him with the help of a mermaid. Sally! The two raised him as best they could but Sally had to leave and Wilbur was left with Fundy. Who is a Kitsune by the way.

Little story info: Fundy currently lives in a shrine in a city not too far from the ocean. He is worshiped by the people that live there and seen as a messenger of the sea god. The humans don’t know they are father and son though.

Another little thing. Spirits are common to see around, it’s just uncommon to interact with them much as they are technically deceased. It is also rare to worship them but not impossible to happen.

Schlatt! Now you’re probably wondering what I have for him and I actually really like what I came up with! He is the God of Corruption! The thing is, he wasn’t corrupt, he managed the balance of good and bad by taking corruption and moving it to other places. He can create and destroy corruption but usually chose not to.

Now here’s where his story shifts though. He was exiled and disowned by the elder gods, aka the assholes that don’t actually have characters connected XD. But Schlatt was exiled and changed. I won’t say how as that is actually a big plot point and one of the only plot points I have an idea for XD

Quackity was created by Schlatt with the help of Ranboo with the purpose to help Schlatt maintain the corruption. He worked well until Schlatt was exiled and hated. Then he had nowhere to go so he went to the humans, blending in fairly well.

Karl is a human that both Sapnap and Quackity have taken an interest in. I have no idea why yet, but he lives in the kingdom Eret rules. He is a simple herbologist that runs his practice at cheaper prices for those who can’t afford expensive medicines.

Ranboo is the God of the Dead/Spirits. He generally just watches what happens and travels around to make sure there is no outburst of spirits as too many in one area can create an unwanted imbalance of power among them. Spirits have the ability to consume others and take their power, hence why he must watch them.

He does enjoy giving spirits a chance to make friends not only among themselves but gods. He himself is looked over as a god most times but he doesn’t mind because he befriends the nicer gods.

Sam is the God of Justice. He stays neutral for the most part but sympathizes with those that are unjustly accused or treated. He has stepped in very few times but each time he has those that were wronged got what they deserved while those that wronged them were punished.

Antfrost is a demon that works in the castle under Skeppy. He is technically a soldier but tends to just guard the castle.

Okay! That’s all for the characters. A little about the world itself.

As I said earlier, spirits aren’t that rare to see, they just aren’t interacted with as often. Monster/Creatures, whether humanoid or not, are a little rarer as they most commonly are beasts that fall under Puffy’s control.

Gods are either almost never seen or appear so much in history it is strange when there is a gap of time without them there.

There are a few gods that are seen more than others, but all are still respected and feared.

A small design idea I had while thinking about this is that among humans, Fundy takes a more humanoid appearance with ears and tails as his most prominent fox features. When among gods he takes a more fox-like appearance with the head of a fox.

The reason he does this is that among humans, the more animal-like appearance of spirits or gods usually means they are dangerous while the more human-like usually means they are kinder.

The old cranky gods prefer the animal form of spirits and gods alike because it shows that they are above the ‘lowly’ humans. If a god doesn’t have a human form then just changing size to be larger and more intimidating or making it obvious they are a god is expected.

Puffy and Techno are the two gods that have animal-like appearances as well as their more human forms. Puffy is a ram and Techno a pig obviously. They can switch between the forms with ease.

Puffy is more usually in her human form as she likes to go to the humans and travel on pirate ships. The pirates refer to her as the God of Pirates as well but it’s just a title like Blood God for Techno.

Techno will more often be in his animal appearance as it is more intimidating but changes back when around his family for two reasons. He looks more like them which makes him glad and when he first met Tommy, his animal form scared him and he felt bad so he subconsciously avoids it while around Tommy.

Antfrost also can take a human form but it is more an illusion than a second form as if he is knocked unconscious, greatly distracted, or feels too strong of a negative emotion he will appear as his cat demon form.

I really loved having to think more about this au so please keep asking me things! I’ll probably be thinking of connections between characters and some backstory to where the ‘plot’ lays in time the next few days so ask questions about that if you want more detailed responses!

(Also, I see the other ask, I just need a bit to respond to it as well ^^)

#dream smp #dream smp au #Technoblade #Eret #mcyt #mcyt au #niachu #captain puffy #fundy #quackity #karl jacobs #jschlatt #Schlatt #ranboo #awesamdude #antfrost #god au

85 notes · View notes

dancingstarsbornfromchaos · 2 years

Note

Fandom meme: Rick and Morty

Send me a Fandom !

Character I first fell in love with: Honestly, both Rick and Morty in equal measure and pretty much at the same time ‘cause they were both together in the very first scene (although for different reasons). I remember watching the Pilot for the very first time and going like “omg who the fuck are these two idiots”. I kinda never went past the first ep back then, but when I picked up the show again a couple of years later, I had the same reaction plus “bloody hell, I’m in love”.

Character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Space Beth. She looks a bit clichéd, especially at the start of the ep, but damn, she turns absolutely badass. And I love how she works through her conflicting feelings for Rick while dealing with the whole cloning ordeal. She really finds the guts to stand her ground and say “fuck it”, directs her anger not towards her other self, but towards the one who actually deserves it (Rick), and in the end she decides that she doesn’t care because, all considered, she’s happy with herself and her choices and she couldn’t give a damn about giving Rick any satisfaction. And she enables Earth Beth to do the same, which is freaking awesome.

Character everyone loves but I don’t: Unpopular opinion, but Diane. It’s not that I dislike her or anything, I just...couldn’t care less for her? I see her significance in the show and, especially, in Rick’s backstory, but she’s basically a plot point for me and nothing more. I don’t even know why I’m so indifferent to her.

Character I love but everyone else hates: I can’t think of anyone that fits the “everyone hates” part, but I think we can say that I absolutely love a character most people don’t care for or dislike, which is Evil Rick. We see the guy once and he is not even himself because he’s been controlled by Evil Morty, but...my brain went nuts creating ideas for him and I’m really attached to those HCs.

Character I used to love but don’t any longer: Uhmmm, I don’t think there’s one? Mostly because we don’t really get to see much of the characters that aren’t the main five, so usually my impression of them stays the same. Maybe, maybe, maybe Birdperson? I still like him a lot, but...idk, he looked cooler as a character when they firstly introduced him I guess.

Character I would kiss: Summer. Be it platonically or not, whatever she wants xD While she isn’t my fave character (she’s in the top 5 tho), I truly enjoy her character and like her as a “person” too. She’s hardly the best (but let’s be honest, no one in there is), but I find her approach to all the bullshit she’s faced with realistic and kinda admirable too. I’d love to have her as a best friend. She seriously rocks.

Character I want to slap: Let is be put in the record that I felt like slapping everyone at some point, aside from Summer and Doofus Rick, I guess I’m gonna pick Jerry for this one. For the mere fact that he’s so good ar looking harmless and pathetic that no one ever felt like actually slapping him. But damn if he doesn’t deserve it.

A pairing I love: Anyone who has just glanced at my blog can see that it’s screaming “Rickorty” in capital letters. There’s a ton of things I could say about why I like this pairing (and I’m talking both c137 Rickorty and almost any other version of Rick and Morty...yes, even the Evil pair. Especially the Evil pair), but I’m trying to keep this short and sweet so I won’t xD instead, I’m just gonna name another pairing I really like, and which unfortunately doesn’t get much love, aka Beth & Space Beth (they’re so sweet and badass and you gotta love the way they rock together).

A pairing I hate: I have a few pairings I dislike, but if I had to pick one that really hits my nerves I’d say Morty/Planetina (I wrote a 7k words coda to that episode because the conclusion left me totally unsatisfied, but nvm that). I guess it’s mostly because I really can’t stand her (she’s a huge hypocrite, like the Vindicators, and I gotta agree with a lot of the shit Rick says about all of them because yeah, he’s a total dick about it, but he has a lot of good points). The relationship per se is something Morty can learn from, but outside of that I didn’t enjoy a single moment of it. They aren’t even remotely cute, even if they are presented as such. And it feels like the foundation of whatever feelings they develop for each other are just all wrong, if you get what I mean.

#scotty speaks #rick and morty #fandom meme #answered asks #[ yeah all my replies can kinda be guessed by the contents of this blog xD ]#[ I'm not surprising anyone here ^^" ]#[ thanks a lot for the asks anon <3 ]#[ sorry for taking forever and a half ]

3 notes · View notes

cloudsrust · 3 years

Note

Ello, it's Cuphead anon here- what are your thoughts on the King Dice and his crew, specifically his crew bcus we all know that Dice is a fan favorite xD. Im asking this cuz i keep seeing people goin ham on their backstories meanwhile the other bosses outside of that are like: 👁👄👁...we EXIST YOU KNOW!

(Not really complaining tho, i could simp for a stack of chips any day-)

Ngl- I was and STILL am guilty of having Dice as a big fave sfdsdghd- I see a dapper object head and boom mind gone lmao.

Also uh?? Damn did I miss the backstory phase of the fandom? The only backstories I’ve seen around were about Dice and Devil- never seen the crew touched;; (except in like- afterstories with the cup bros.) (And damn I feel that- just with the cigar instead dsgdhsgd) But anyway-! Thoughts... mhhh- (btw I interpret that “thoughts” with “headcanons/theories/stuff like that” so sorry if I go on a tangent with some parts djfhdjfk)

-I used to have a theory that the entirety of the casino crew (except Dice) were brought to life by the Devil himself once he decided to fix himself into the casino business. The reason for it is because we don’t see them among the other bosses in the finale: all debtors are free, they have no reason to be hostile towards each others anymore, so why isn’t the crew there as well? Perhaps they were never debtors to begin with, they were just born bound to the Devil. They are irredeemable souls, so once the casino is done- they are done.

-They might have souls, perhaps souls that once belonged to unfortunate folks that couldn’t pay their hellish debt. Such a thing brings moments of deja-vus never lived before or memories that don’t belong to them all among the crew. The way they look is also heavily influenced by the soul that was used to create them, either heaving on the vices or the way they met their demise. -So,, don’t have many thougths about their backstories per se- since I don’t think they had one in the first place eh;;

-This is more in general for all bosses but- I noticed that most of them (the ones who show their irises and/or at least one member of the group bosses) have yellow eyes in some way or another. So I headcanon that anyone that has or had dealings with the devil gets yellow eyes, matching with him. -While all the ones that gave up their souls to the Devil have yellow eyes, Dice’s are green, color of greed. Why? For what I remember my headcanon was that his greed got so strong that almost had him killed (cheating against mafia- or whoever was around those times- wasn’t the best idea) and so, after eyeing a green die on the floor while about to take his soul and casino in exchange of another chance life, the Devil decides to not only mark his soul as his but with the sin itself. Hence the greedy green eyes.

-My absolute faves are Mr. Wheezy, Pirouletta and Hocus Pocus.. oh and Mangosteen! That funky ball lad is cool too dsghsdg. I love Mr. Wheezy style, is simple but to the point, and the fact that his portrait is yet another reference to Cab Calloway already makes it a win for me ohoh. Pirouletta is just beautiful, absolutely love her design and her background is so amazing to look at- them floating hands be hypnotizing. Hocus Pocus... c’mon he is a deranged magician bunny what’s not to love about it? Mangosteen- I used to be absolutely weirded out by them but heck the fandom made them grow on me;;; they’re just a funky 8 ball vibing around, love ‘em.

I just remembered a few headcanons I used to have for a few of them of the crew! Here goes nothin’-! (Note: I like the idea that who has no “real body” gets one when they normally work around the casino. So.. think of them as object heads!) -Mr. Wheezy can light up cigars by simply touching the foot of it with his lips. It’s a trick well liked at the casino. -(Note: I see Chips Bettigan’s body like the one of Mr Oogie Boogie- meaning he is filled with tons of chips-!) Before playing with the others, Chips has to roll up his sleeves and is also closely supervised by the rest all throught the game. This ‘cause he is know to slip a few of his own extra chips to use for betting. It wouldn’t be a problem.. if he didn’t have the ability to swiftly recall them to his body once the game is done.

-Phear Lap and the Conductor (Phantom Express) are buddies. They’re two skeletons of a bone.

-Pirouletta is quite good at juggling. She started with it ‘cause of boredom using the roulette’s marbles and she ended up taking a liking in it.

-Mangosteen is the head of the bodyguards, but when they aren’t on duty they are quite a softie among the rest. Their head is also sometimes used to take stupid decisions (Like c’mon, you got a whole 8 ball and you don’t use it?)

..alright I think I’ve said enough! Hope it’s what you asked ‘cause I ain’t too sure ahahah

#the cloud can speak oh boi #cuphead #headcanons #I was gonna go and try to come up with the backstories of their souls but damn- they a LOT #it was fun thinking back at them tho;;; lowkey miss 'em now ;w;#sobs guess I'll add KD and Wheezy on the list of characters to draw again;;

20 notes · View notes

carewyncromwell · 3 years

Photo

Hey guys! So, in the past, I’ve done “inspiration posts” centered around my HPHM MC Carewyn Cromwell, Carewyn’s mother Lane and her brother Jacob, and my HPHL MC Jackson Knightly...and now it’s my HPHL vampire boy Bartholomew “Bat” Varney’s turn!

As hilarious as it sounds, I can actually blame the Twilight films for the initial spark behind Bat’s character. I admit that I’ve never really been a Twilight fan -- I read the first book because of my interest in vampires and the (rather shallow) comparison the mass public made at the time between Twilight and Harry Potter, but the second Twilight book lost me once main character Bella started trying to hurt herself just to try to see her OTL Edward again, and I’ve never picked them up since. Skip about fifteen years, and I get invited to a friend’s house to watch and rib Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2. Even if I hadn’t read the books, I knew the overall trajectory of the story, so I was able to basically follow what was going on, but those films were and remain the only Twilight movies I’ve seen. And after seeing them, the main emotion I came away with was absolute exasperation...because the entire time Breaking Dawn Part 2 was playing, I couldn’t give a damn what was going on with Bella, Edward, Jacob, Nessie, the Cullens, the werewolves, or the Volturi. All I wanted to do was focus on one of the most minor, bit-part characters placed in the background -- a vampire who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and later went on to fight in just about every other American War since, played by Lee Pace, named Garrett. I was absolutely beside myself that we had an engaging, snarky, charming vampire who’d once lived in the 1700′s, one of my absolute FAVORITE historical eras, and he was shunted out of the way to make room for such a boring, stake-less, and kind of dysfunctional romance. I wanted a whole book about Garrett -- I wanted a whole TV series! It still boggles my mind that Stephanie Meyer could create such an interesting character and then only feature him for a fraction of the very last book in a four-part series.

The feelings I had about Garrett sort of lingered in the back of my head for a while, and one thought led to another, and I got to thinking about why I’d even tried reading Twilight to begin with. The answer, honestly, was that vampires was one of the biggest question marks left open in the Potterverse by Jo Rowling. She’s claimed in interviews that she didn’t think she could add anything to the vampire mythos through her work, hence why she referenced them existing, but didn’t feature them much at all in the story. And yet from my point of view, the vampire as seen in traditional folklore sort of contradicts one of the core themes of Rowling’s books -- namely, that death is both irreversible and inevitable. Because of the very diverse ways vampires have been depicted in different cultures and media over the years, there were so many questions left unanswered regarding which powers if any Potterverse vampires have, what their weaknesses are, why Voldemort never looked into becoming a vampire when searching for immortality, what their status in the Wizarding World is, why we don’t see any fighting with Voldemort like we do other “Dark creatures” like werewolves, and how their undead status fits in with the tenant of death being something you can’t escape. And the more I thought about it, the more exciting that potential became -- so I fleshed out a kind of vampire that could answer those questions and fit comfortably in the Potterverse without running the risk of “god-modding” or being too overpowered.

Vampires have more weaknesses than powers -- lessened magical ability, hypersensory sensitivity, the inability to sleep and dream, poor health, and intense and constant blood lust VS. lengthened life and increased durability.

Voldemort never sought becoming a vampire because someone else has to curse you both before and after your death, and not only are you not guaranteed to end up in the body you died in, but your magical ability is close to non-existent.

Vampires are on the absolute fringes of magical society and largely live in isolated colonies, hence why we so rarely see them or know much about them.

Vampires didn’t get involved in the Wizarding Wars because most truthfully don’t want to hurt anybody or create more of their kind by sharing the knowledge of their creation with wizards.

Vampires are similar to ghosts in the way that they died, but returned to Earth and cannot pass on, but are different in the way that they have a physical form and someone else forced them to come back against their will, rather than it being a choice on their part. They’re similar to Inferi in the way that they were brought back from the dead by Dark magic cast by another person, but they have a soul and are so trapped in the bodies they’re cursed into that they almost always outlive the person who originally cursed them and can only be killed through the traditional “stake through the heart and beheading” technique. Vampires also all end up dying sooner or later, whether by their own hand or intervention by wizards after they’ve lost so much of their sanity and humanity that they become dangerous.

With the vampire lore plotted out, I had to go back to figuring out who this vampire of mine was as a person. At that point, I hadn’t had an MC that was a Ravenclaw yet (unless you count Carewyn’s brother and mother), so I decided that could be something fun to explore, particularly if I wanted to steer clear of the brooding vampire trope. (All of the Ravenclaws I’ve known in my life are much less prone to self-loathing and depression than I am. XD;;;) Sure enough, though, one of the influences that popped up right away was Garrett. Like Garrett, Bat was originally from the 1700′s, only to die and become a vampire while fighting in the American War for Independence -- the biggest difference, of course, is that Garrett was an American Patriot, while Bat was a British regular!! LOL!! As I hashed out Bat’s backstory as a Muggle-born wizard who went to war with his best friend, however, I found Bat (or, more specifically, his original human self, Robert) picking up traits from another character -- Sirius Black! Like Sirius, Robert was disinterested in rules and a bit cocky, but also incredibly talented and intelligent and a deathly loyal friend, especially to his male best friend, who was like a brother to him and he would’ve died rather than betray. If Barty was the popular, well-liked leader of the group, Robert was his right-hand man and foil. Sadly, like Sirius as well, Robert also ended up losing his male best friend far too soon and being condemned to a fate worse than death thanks to a betrayal by his other best friend. They’re also both dog Animagi who become surrogate parental figures in later life! ^.^

As Robert, Bat’s face claim is Josh Groban. As a vampire stuck in his BFF Barty’s reanimated corpse, Bat’s face claim is Lee Pace, specifically in his role as Fernando Wood in the film Lincoln.

#hphl #hogwarts legacy #about bartholomew #bartholomew varney #personal #that sketch of robert? that maaaaay or may not be part of something else I'm working on >3

19 notes · View notes

versatilewindow · 4 years

Text

My Mortal Enemy

Find it on Ao3

Summary: I saw a tumblr post that said, reader insert fic but make it about being enemies instead of lovers, and I immediately came up with this. Read either as an OC or yourself as you go about your day, and finish by curb stomping Sasuke. First chapter is an OC, inspired by the writing style in My Immortal. The second chapter is the same plot but reader insert, inspired by cringey wattpad writing.

A/N: Repost bc i hated the format it was in before. In case it is not clear, this is satire, anyway hope it makes you giggle, also ao3 has a reader version in chapter 2, its the same thing but y/n instead of the oc

I, Blake Dracon’ia Lunacy Crow Wentz, woke up in my cozy bed in Konoha and turned on my favorite Waterparks song (A/N: I know they don't exist in the Naruto world but suc my pp i can do what i want XP) No one else I know listens to them, but I guess I'm quirky like that. I got out of bed and looked in the mirror, I have long midnight black hair (which matches my soul xD) and have two different colored orbs, one pink, and one that's almost darker than my hair. I then turned my attention downward to my big ol’ honkin tiddies. They have been huge since I started puberty when I was 11, now I am 18 and they are impossibly large. Continuing downward I saw my tiny, 24 inch waist; that in combination with my humongo tiddies and juicy earthquake creating ass made me the object of every boy’s attention. I mean my cheeks are just constantly clapping as I walked it made being a sneaky ninja so hard DX, like if I were to run or twerk it would cause a 8.0 earthquake, and if I were sprinting or throwing it back for a real one, it also creates a sonic boom, shattering every eardrum in a 100 yard radius. All of these problems are manageable tho bc I have the tightest, moistest, Gorilla Grip™ coochie, like it sounds like a fresh pot of Kraft mac n cheese.

Then I got changed into my favorite clothes. I put on a v-neck fishnet bodysuit and black Sleeping with Sirens crop top, which was just the right length to cover my nips, and show off the tattoo on my stomach that said “For my vampire boyfriend’s eyes only” with two arrows pointing downwards and upwards. I also put on cute pink leather assless chaps with a lot of chains on them, with a checkered studded belt to hold them up. Then I pulled on my ginormous 12 inch stilettos that have skulls and glitter all over them (If you think the way she dresses is “slutty” then get da hell out of here!!!!) Then I put my super long black hair into high pigtails which made me super Kawaii!!! And then I did my make up. Yes I put on makeup, but not for anyone, I do it for me, so that the outside matches the inside. I used stickers and blush to make it look like there were heart freckles on my face and I put my eyeliner on so that it looked super sharp and pointy. I also made my lipstick look like I had just eaten a cherry popsicle, so it was super concentrated in the center and faded out. To finish off the look, I put on my ninja forehead guard, but tied it around my super tiny waist and I was ready to go out and get groceries.

I had finished getting my groceries, which were mainly dumplings, takis, and Monster energy drink, when I saw HIM, my mortal enemy, Sasuke Uchiha. Ever since the academy, we hated each other, it was a constant battle to see who was more angst, emo, punk, and goth than the other. He doesn't even care about his friends!!! So not punk or Cash Money! I mean I also had a tragic backstory. My dad was an Uchiha, who had an affair with a Hyuga, meaning I was born with both types of dojutsu, then when I was two, they were both killed by Madara Uchiha, who then watched over me until the actual Sage of Six Paths beat him up and he gave me the Rinnegan, and made me capable of using all the powers of the tailed beasts (even the ten-tails!!;!!,.!!) And no, despite all of this I am NOT op. Point blank periodt!!!!

Anyway Sasuke and I caught eyes because the clap of my ass cheeks alerted him from across the street, and he ran towards me activating his sharingan/rinnegan. But he was too late, had already used my Super Speed Shadow Asscheeks Jutsu, causing him to go deaf, and I activated my Byakugan, Sharingan, and Rinnegan Combo eyes. (I can use them all individually but this is my mortal enemy, so I can't take any chances >:3c) Because of my dojutsu. Sasuke just stood there, and I used my taijustu skills to beat the shit out of him.

By now we had attracted a huge crowd, Naruto was there, looking mad because I was beating up his boyfriend (If you dont think theyre boyfriends then you're homophobic!!/11) Sakura and Ino were also there clinging to each other for safety because while they used to like like Sasuke, they realized over the 4th Shinobi war that they were actually in love with each other and got married as soon as the battle was over!! (If you dont think Sakura and Ino would be girlfriends if Kishimoto actually knew how to write a well rounded female character then you’re still homophobic!!!) Then from the crowd I heard Shikamaru and Kakashi and Kurenai cheering me on!!!

“Yes girl curb stomp the shit out of him!!!”

“Show him who’s boss!!!”

“Teach him about what a Poser he is!!! He doesn’t even know who Brendon Urie is !!!!!”

That line got me really mad, How can you even pretend to be emo or punk without knowing who Brendon Urie is????????!!!!! >:^(((. So I concentrated all my chakra into my fist, (like Tsunade but came up with the move first!!!!) and Pummeled Sasuke in the solar plexus, and he flew off into the air, up in the sky to space, a la Team Rocket (If u dont kno who they are then ur the biggest chump ever!!!!!) And then Sasuke came back down and said that I was the most goth, emo, punk person in the whole Land of Fire, and apologized for not knowing who Brendon Urie is. I wish he stayed up in space, but that would’ve made Naruto sad, and he’s my 6th cousin 9th removed, and keeping my friends and family happy is part of my Ninja Way! Believe it!

#Sasuke x reader #sasuke x oc #Naruto #whenever i think about this fic i feel shame #but i also laugh uncontrollably so

14 notes · View notes

dragonwarriorgal · 3 years

Text

Fate: The Winx Saga episode 5 - Wither Into The Truth

*inhale*

Is this a flashback?

Oh, that's right, Beatrix. I completely forgot about it, I thought it was the birth of Bloom

You know, they could have had interesting camera angles with this setting (a cage in the middle of the room with Beatrix in it), you know, like how they did in avatar, but then again... this show is INCREDIBLY LAZY when it comes to being interesting.

Just... what... ugh

Oh, poor, poor, useless Dane. He should just be called Checkmark, because that is what his character is, a LBGQ+ checkmark. You could have cut him out and NOTHING would have changed!

GASP! HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE! IT WILL BE FOREVER SCARRED AND DEFORMED HIS ENTIRE LIFE IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT BLOOM! HIS FATHER FIGURE WILL DISOWN HIM! HE WILL BE KICKED OUT OF THE SCHOOL! HE WILL BE EXILED FROM SOLAARIA! DOOMED TO ROAM THE MOST DESERTED OF THE DESERTS, TO WALK THE LONELY DUNES OF SOLITARY!

In all seriousness I was kinda hoping that she made it worse when she was healing him. That she would actually burn this scratch (if you can call it that) and make a thumb print burn mark on his cheek. XD. Make her claim!

I didn't know it was possible for this show to be EVEN MORE VAGUE! But here we are with this montage of drab and boring fight training.

YOU'RE JUST NOW THINKING THAT? YOU HAVE BEEN DOING IT THIS ENTIRE SEASON EVER SINCE WE LEARNED YOU WERE AN EMPATH!

I think that I will not be having not many comments on this episode because I am still getting my brain around the fact that this show went 180 in the last 5 minutes of the last episode AND I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS AREA HAS FOREVER RAIN AS AN AMBIANCE!

Hello random flashback

And now we have Marco bursting through the door while injured saying "Hey, I'm still hot, also here's some information for the next plot point, lastly ouch! Look at my booboo, it is on my beatiful ABS"

Ah, yes, politics, that's what it was missing from this show...

My face in every scene Terra misses Stella (and also every scene Terra is in):

You know Aisha, you could try taking away her door to force her to be "more open". Worked like a charm for HER PARENTS! (I will never get over that)

And now we have ghosts... *sigh*

Nevermind, it was Stella... it literally changes nothing to me, but because this is text and I really don't wanna overwhelm you with photos and make this post kilometers long, it is best to let you know what is happening. (I say in this long ass post)

I need to pee

*smacks lips* Tell the chef that this generic teen dramatic scene with Stella and her mom is very bland and tasteless.

Like, how you've been THIS ENTIRE SHOW!

YOU'RE IN THE FUCKING CAFETERIA!! THERE ARE STUDENTS!!!! ALL AROUND YOU!!!! WHAT KIND OF MENTAL BREAKDOWN DID YOU GET!!! TO THINK THIS WAS OKAY!!!! And also Gay Checkmark went to being a "delinquent" real quick.

This scene with Sky and Bloom has barely started and I can already tell you, without seeing the rest of this scene (I am 28:55 into this episode), that she spiked the drink or did something with it. Though it would be funny if he were to pass out while he was confessing his sad backstory. XD

I. Feel. Nothing. I just want this episode to be over with. It's a good thing that Netflix counts down the minutes.

He passed out.

"I'm dying, and everyone around me is dead :(. Better facetime my boss" Ah, I just got it why they did it... it would have made absolute NO DIFFERENCE if it was a regular phone call or with radio. I will go through the whole "update it to the modern age" this show has been going through in another post.

I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS ALL THE TIME!!

There are so many things to talk about in this "Dowling's confession" scene. How the hell did the three of them create a single lightning to bomb a village with 300km radius? How boring those military outfits are. AND WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE BURNED ONES? WHERE THE HELL DID THEY COME FROM? WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE? WHO THE HELL IS THIS "HE" BEATRIX AND THE ASSISTANT WERE TALKING ABOUT WHEN THEY FIRST MET? WHY THE HELL AM i SOBER WATCHING THIS?!!!??!?!

Wow, I completely forgot about Sky. Pfft-hahahahhaahaahhahahahaahahaha

And also, this is the pen-ultimate episode so we naturally *scoffs* have to get together to destroy the evil or whatever the fuck they're doing. Even though we have ALMOST NEVER HUNG OUT TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR QUEST!!!

There sure are a lot of off track driving going on in this show...

5 and a half minutes left

Ah, another round of "I can't see shit!" with some JJ Abrams flavouring.

*ominous* "Hello Bloom" I am SERIOUSLY gonna need a drink tomorrow to get through this last episode!

#I REALLY tried to make this a short one #but DAMN IT this show brings out my nitpicky side #fate the winx saga #winx club #live action winx #live reaction series

3 notes · View notes

littlepurinsesu · 4 years

Text

V Watches MagiReco - Season 1 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime*

If you’ve been been following my weekly reviews on the Magia Record anime, you’ll know that my “reviews” are really more like general impressions, thoughts, and fangirling as I mentally recap the episode after my initial viewing.

For this final review of the season as a whole, however, I’m actually going to try and make it more like an actual “review" and discuss each aspect of the anime separately. I’ll be splitting my points of discussion into individual sections and giving each a score out of 10, before rounding it all off with an overall score/grade.

Oh, not sure if this needs to be emphasised, but these are just my opinions! You may agree and you may disagree, and either way is cool! (・ω・)b

Before I begin, I just want to make it clear that one very, very important thing to keep in mind when watching and reviewing MagiReco is the fact that it isn’t a direct continuation of PMMM. So many people find themselves unable to enjoy the series because it’s “not the same” or “not the PMMM they know” etc. But it isn’t and was never intended to be. It’s a spin-off, not a sequel. To expect a spin-off to have the exact same impact and level of quality as the original is unrealistic to begin with, not to mention that although comparisons will be inevitable, the original PMMM anime has reached a legendary status where it isn’t really fair to compare anything with it xD

(And for the PMMM fans who are unhappy with MagiReco simply because it isn’t “dark enough” and there isn’t enough “suffering”, all I can say is that if a lack of darkness and suffering automatically means the show is bad, then this one just isn’t for you. Dark doesn’t equal good, and suffering isn’t essential. MagiReco is not intended to have the same tone as PMMM, and those elements do not entail everything that defined PMMM to begin with anyway.)

For these reasons, I’m going to try my best to review the MagiReco anime as a standalone piece and try not to make too many comparisons with PMMM, unless explicitly necessary. Also, as a game player, the inevitable curse of “expectations” was a major issue I needed to overcome when watching the anime. I will therefore also try my best to look past these expectations and try to see the anime as a story of its own. However, there will be discussions on the changes that the anime made and how I feel the anime did in adapting the game story for a television series.

Anyway, sorry for all the additional rambling. Let’s jump into the review before I lose everyone’s attention ^^;;

Plot: 8/10

One thing I love about the MagiReco plot is that they take the original world and concepts of PMMM and actually come up with a whole new story. It’s familiar yet different, and a perfect way to please the nostalgic fans while also offering something fresh. The PMMM world always had a lot of potential to explore other girls’ stories, considering how many Magical Girls there are, and it’s nice to meet a whole new cast of characters with their own story that’s still set in the same world and uses the same concepts we’re familiar with.

I think my favourite thing about the MagiReco plot, which is the same both in the game and in the anime, is the idea of the Wings of Magius. Any story that involves Magical Girls somehow trying to undermine or overthrow the Incubators’ system always has a lot of potential, in my opinion, and it’s a creative way to delve even deeper into PMMM’s unique take on the magical girl genre without being repetitive. But the key to what makes the Wings of Magius so compelling and intriguing as antagonists is the moral issues it raises. The grey morality going on with the Wings of Magius is not too different from the issues presented by Kyubey, and these kinds of moral debates get the audience really thinking about what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s evil. The Magius are presented as being very similar to the Incubators in many senses--sometimes even worse--and I always love a compelling villain or villain group that actually gets the audience pondering whether the bad guys really are that “wrong" after all. Plus the whole idea of salvation and liberation and the whole cult impression we get from the Wings of Magius really adds another layer of that dark and creepy atmosphere that PMMM does so well.

However, I do strongly feel that many of the important scenes and major plot points were presented much better in the game. As mentioned earlier, having played the game meant I was going in with expectations for how I wanted/hoped/expected certain things to be done, and this is a common issue that adaptations have when there’s an audience familiar with the source material. I’m okay with completely changing parts of the game’s story to create something new, but there were instances where the anime intended to replicate the scene as it was in the game but somehow fell short in its presentation. These cases of inadequate storytelling thus hinder the unfolding of the plot, ultimately creating problems with coherency and pacing. (I mean, if you think about it, the “main plot” doesn’t really even truly begin until all five main characters have been introduced.) I have dedicated a whole section to this pacing issue, so I’ll go into detail when we get there xD

Characterisation: 7/10

The anime’s presentation of the characters ranges from fantastic to extremely lacking. Iroha has moments where she’s extremely passive, but also times where she’s shown to be quite proactive and brave as well. I’m honestly not too sure what to make of Iroha’s characterisation so far due to this big range, but I’m hoping that she’ll show more growth and that her changes will be written in a way that actually makes sense, rather than abrupt shifts that make you question how and when she had it in her. Either way, she’s a lovely sweet girl and a very likable character, and I do like that even if she isn’t necessarily always doing anything or contributing to a fight, the sole reason she’s in Kamihama in the first place (to look for her sister) is a good sign that she knows what she’s doing and has taken the necessary measures to go about her quest.

Yachiyo didn’t seem to display much uniqueness until her past was unveiled, and that wasn’t until we were well into the second half of the first season. In my opinion, this took way too long. I find this to be a slight problem because of how central to the plot Yachiyo is, and while I understand that backstories being revealed later on can have a bigger impact (like Homura’s in Episode 10 of PMMM), the way they portray Yachiyo throughout the majority of the season doesn’t have that constant loose thread hanging. She almost seems too “normal” at times, blending into the cast, and only when certain things happen or when someone says something in particular do you actually remember that we still don’t know what her deal is yet. I guess what I mean is that a more looming sense of “mysteriousness” could have justified the late reveal a lot better. The reveal of her past and her wish were slightly underwhelming, too, seeing as we hardly got to know Kanae and Meru before they were killed off, making it difficult to connect with those characters and thus relate to Yachiyo’s grief at losing them. And as for the revelation of her wish, I’ve ranted enough about it in my review for Episode 13, so you can check that one out if you haven’t already xD

Tsuruno has it even worse than Yachiyo because they literally haven’t revealed or even teased anything about her. All we know is that she works at a Chinese restaurant, was already friends with Yachiyo in the past (this “mystery” was later explained in Yachiyo’s flashbacks), and is super cheerful and energetic. Her backstory is the only one that hasn’t been shown yet, and they never really even hinted at there being something deeper about her character. While I completely understand that they’re intending to leave all that for the Rumour Tsuruno arc (which will most likely be done next season), I feel that they really needed to give us at least something for now. Even in the game, we got a better sense of who Tsuruno was as a person before the Rumour Tsuruno arc revealed her hidden sadness. I guess I can’t really fault the anime for this, since they’re just going in chronological order, but a little more insight into Tsuruno’s character would have been a better decision so that we don’t get another round of “info-dumping” when we do get to Rumour Tsuruno, and the reveal about her inner emotional turmoil would actually be a slight twist that adds even more depth to her character, rather than random information that never seemed important because there were never any signs of it.

But while Yachiyo’s and Tsuruno’s characterisation could have been better, Felicia’s and Sana’s were handled superbly. The anime actually made me adore Felicia as a character when I merely “liked her enough” in the game. She’s so much more than just the spoiled and rowdy child who goes berserk when seeing a Witch, and her introductory episodes (namely Episode 7) actually managed to move me to tears. Her bond with Iroha is also portrayed even more nicely in the anime, and I have a newfound love for the friendship between these two, which is quite underrepresented in the game. Felicia manages to retain all the lovable traits she displayed in the game with just the right amount of brattiness so as to not seem too annoying, and the anime hasn’t even really touched upon the cruel reality behind her wish. Whether or not they venture into that territory at some point, I just hope they continue doing as amazingly as they’ve done with Felicia so far, because she really is super cute and a lot more likable in the anime version <3

As for Sana, she’s more or less the same as her game counterpart, but something about the way the anime unveils her past makes it even more tragic. We’ve always known of her terrible “family” and the unfortunate circumstances of her home life prior to joining Mikazuki Villa. But the episodes that detail her story did a stellar job at bringing out and actually showing the sheer horror of having a family like Sana’s, and just how deep and suffocating her sense of loneliness was. Her story is absolutely miserable, but the anime manages to present it in a way that doesn’t make it seem like they were “trying too hard” just to make it as sad as possible. The things happen for a reason, and the consequences it has on Sana as a character are all realistic and believable, and even a wish as extreme as hers made perfect sense after seeing everything she had to go through.

Other characters don’t seem to have as much of a presence to warrant a paragraph of their own, but I will give honourable mentions to Rena and Tsukuyo. Rena’s Magical Girl Story made me a sobbing mess when I first read it, and while the anime obviously couldn’t sidetrack and include all the details, I think they did a pretty good job considering the limited amount of time they could spend on a supporting character. The anime also did a really nice job at giving Tsukuyo that humanising moment during her conversation with Iroha at the cafe, emphasising the good inside of her despite being an antagonist, and also taking the chance to give her a sense of individuality so that she and her sister are not always seen as an identical and inseparable pair with no personal lives or traits, so props to them for that :) Mitama has hardly made many appearances and doesn’t even seem very story-relevant at this point, so I’m wondering how they’re going to build up her importance in the next season so that she doesn’t seem like the “token shopkeeper character” who’s there for no real purpose outside of gaming mechanics (because we all know that Mitama is so much more than that). And as for characters like Kaede, she’s been changed so much that I’ll reserve my judgment for now because I simply don’t know where they’re intending to take her character. Same goes for Kuroe and her still-unclear purpose in the plot lmao

I think it’s important to remember that a lot of characterisation we get in the game is from Magical Girl Stories and Event Stories, both of which are obviously not viable to delve into too much in the anime. As a result, I guess it’s “to be expected” that the anime will have to give up quite a bit of the details that make all these characters so real, likable, or relatable. I’m not an anime writer, nor do I know anything about adapting games into anime, but I do feel that it would have been so much better if they had come up with some other way of compensating for the lost characterisation moments that are only shown in the game’s side stories. Not sure how else they should have done it, but simply removing some of these vital bits of information does harm the portrayal of these characters, especially when they’re part of the main cast.

But yeah, mixed feelings because while some characters really needed more work in the characterisation department, others were handled amazingly well xD

Pacing: 4/10

Okay, let’s be real. The pacing was almost definitely the anime’s weakest point, and possibly one of the main reasons why someone would find the show hard to enjoy or even understand. I’ve seen people complain that the story is too fast, and I’ve also seen people complain that it moves way too slowly. In my opinion, it really is a combination of both, and I’m honestly quite fascinated at how the anime somehow manages to pull off being both too fast and too slow at the same time xD

The story is almost excruciatingly slow in that it takes a whole ten episodes before the main cast is fully assembled. I thought a bit about this and, to be fair, some classic magical girl shows also take many, many episodes before all the main characters are introduced, such as Sailor Moon taking a whopping 33 episodes before all five Inner Senshi have gathered. So I guess this slow episode-by-episode “collection” of team members really isn’t something new. But MagiReco isn’t really a long-running anime that has filler episodes back-to-back to justify the slow pace of the plot. The plot is moving every week, yet it still feels like it takes forever to get the main cast together, which is slow enough to make the viewer question what they had been sitting through all this time when it’s been ten episodes and the story is really only “actually beginning” now.

And at the same time the plot somehow manages to feel too fast at the same time. How is this even possible? My answer to this is simply the fact that they introduce conflicts and mysteries, only to quickly resolve them and then immediately jump to the next one before the audience has even had a chance to really process or understand what they just watched. We’re not given the time to really absorb the development of the story or the subtle changes the characters are undergoing before we’re immediately thrown into a new mini “arc” the next week. In some ways, it almost seems like the “Monster of the Week” formula that many magical girl series adopt, only instead of being aware that we’re seeing trivial conflicts that are intended to last for one episode with characters we are likely not going to see again, MagiReco is throwing out new ideas, new terms, and new plot-relevant characters almost every episode, vomiting out information in a way that viewers who haven’t played the game will find very difficult to keep up with.

And that brings me to one of the biggest problems I had with the anime: important terms and concepts are often thrown in as a “by the way”. (This is most apparent with anything to do with the Wings of Magius before Episode 10, most notably Alina’s introduction.) Game players will obviously know what they’re talking about, but anime-only viewers are left confused and lost as to what exactly is happening half the time. I’ve seen more than a few instances where a viewer who wasn’t familiar with the game needed extra clarification and explanation before they understood certain things, and honestly that isn’t a good sign. All the important stuff should be made crystal clear so that even anime-only viewers will be able to grasp all the concepts without game players to spell things out for them. The anime should be a standalone piece on its own, not a “supplement" to the game. And the consequence is that anime viewers are constantly raising their eyebrows and wondering what the heck just happened or when the heck something was ever established, because crucial information is thrown around with no emphasis and the fast pace doesn’t allow viewers to digest anything properly. This unclear storytelling wastes the opportunity to present mysteries that are intended to keep the audience invested; rather than continuing the series because you just have to find out what something means or why something is the way it is, you’re left with question marks popping up all around your head because you’re confused af and wondering if you forgot or missed some crucial information at some point.

Another issue I had with the anime was what I’ve decided to dub the “one-shot curse”. Witches and Rumours alike are one-shot-ed so quickly and fights resolved so suddenly that I was often left wondering what the point of that fight was. Not to mention that a lot of the battles lacked real “action”. Witches appear, get one-shot-ed, and the characters return to whatever it was they were doing before as though nothing had happened. So... what was the point? I guess they really wanted to emphasise just how many Witches there are in Kamihama and just how easy it is to come across one everyday? Or maybe it was just for the sake of including an obligatory battle in each episode so there’s at least some action each week? Either way, if you’re going to include Witch battles, you may as well do them properly. For crying out loud, InuCurry, the guy who designs the Witches, is the director of the MagiReco anime! You’d expect a bit more emphasis and flourish to highlight what he’s so good at! But to be fair, there were some good Witch battles, such as the ones in the first episode, the ones in Yachiyo’s flashbacks when Kanae and Meru died, and of course, the epic battle between Holy Mami and Sayaka in the final episode. So they’re not all that bad, but I just feel like there was a lot of wasted potential.

I find that the main problem is a lack of balance between the battles, the exposition, the plot, and the fluffy slice-of-life stuff. All these are crucial to a good anime, and a lot of these moments were done quite nicely as standalone scenes. But the way the MagiReco anime has packaged them together and tied a very unattractive Bad Pacing ribbon on top just doesn’t work. It’s like a giftbox that has some lovely things inside if you look carefully at them one by one, but the way the gift is presented just isn’t very appealing and ruins the goodness of the content inside.

I get that the anime probably has issues with pacing because it’s essentially adapting a mobile game. I’m not sure if the pacing would be better if this weren’t the case and the MagiReco story was scripted for an anime to begin with, but I really, really hope they fix these pacing issues next season.

Visuals and Animation: 8/10

To me, the visuals were nearly always top-notch, and definitely a huge improvement from the original series. They managed to retain the art style of PMMM while also updating it so that it looks a lot more sleek and polished. The characters looked great, the scenery is gorgeous, the labyrinths all unique and intricately designed, and there was a lot of clever visual symbolism going on in the still shots and subtle scene transitions. I’m not an expert on animation or visual arts, but I definitely think this series deserves a very high score for this section.

There were a few instances where we saw some wonky “meguca" shots, but those were rare and nowhere near bad enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the series. I don’t really have much else to say because, like I said, this really isn’t my forte, but I genuinely loved most of the visuals we got.

Music and Soundtrack: 9/10

I know a lot of us were disappointed when we learned that Yuki Kajiura would not be returning to do the music for MagiReco. And we all knew that whoever they hired would have very, very, very large shoes to fill. And I can definitely say that I was not disappointed at all.

Guys, the music for this series is AMAZING. Takumi Ozawa managed to capture the style that Kajiura used for PMMM in a way that retains the original tone of the franchise without seeming like a mere carbon copy of her work. I don’t think there was a single musical piece in there that didn’t make me feel like, “Ah, this is no doubt a PMMM anime!” And none of them gave me the impression that he was “trying too hard" to “rehash” Kajiura’s style. No, there’s familiarity and there’s originality, and it’s all packed together in a way that allows MagiReco to retain the charm of its predecessor while also standing strong as a work of art by itself.

I only docked one point because there were so many amazing tracks from the game and I don’t really understand why they didn’t use them when there were moments that seemed perfect for those tunes. It would be a nice sense of familiarity for game players, and it’s still considered “new stuff” for anime-only viewers too, so I really don’t get why xD Maybe they really wanted to separate the anime from the game? Which is also fair enough :)

I wasn’t so sure about “Gomakashi” as the OP when I first heard it in the trailer, but it’s definitely grown on me! While I still think “Kakawari” is superior and has a more catchy and iconic sound to it, “Gomakashi” is sweet and girly, very much like the kind of song you’d hear in a magical girl series. I don’t think this is an OP that will be legendary enough that everyone knows the tune (like the theme song for Sailor Moon, for example), but it’s a lovely song and I do like it a lot ^^

“Alicia” was beautiful from the very first time I heard it, and I’ve only grown more and more fond of it with each listen. Definitely one of my favourite EDs of all time, and perhaps my favourite OP/ED song out of the entire PMMM franchise.

And that ED song for the final episode? Gorgeous, too. Almost has a “Magia” kind of sound, and definitely sets a darker tone for the upcoming season where (I assume) sh*t starts getting real.

Overall: 7/10, B+ or A-

Despite my criticism and picking the anime apart in this review, overall I still genuinely enjoyed it a lot :D It’s far from perfect, but I was nowhere near as disappointed as I’ve been in the past with other anime adaptations, and while some parts could definitely have been handled a lot better, it was mostly still decent in my opinion. Get rid of the pacing issues and I’d probably give it a solid 9 (for context, I rate the original PMMM anime a 10/10, perhaps even higher if possible).

Again, I think my experience and knowledge as a game player definitely influenced my view on the anime as an adaptaion. For example, I already love the characters and know enough about them, and so I probably didn’t really feel the consequences caused by the anime’s sometimes lackluster characterisation. I also often have ideas of how I want or hope a part gets adapted, and then get disappointed when it’s done in a different and underwhelming way compared to what I imagined. I’m sure my impressions, comments, and scores would be very different if I were an anime-only viewer and had no idea how things went in the game. But alas, you can’t have both experiences to compare, so it is what it is xD

Anyway, no matter how much I nitpicked, I still love MagiReco a lot, both the game and the anime, and am really looking forward to Season 2! With the obvious changes they made in that last episode, I get the feeling that it’ll only diverge even further as the story unfolds. I’m okay with these new surprises and new takes on characters, but I do hope that they aren’t changing it all completely, because there’s a lot of good stuff in the later chapters that I really hope gets animated, e.g. Kanagi’s entrance, Rumour Tsuruno, Yachiyo vs. Holy Mami, basically everything that happens at Fenthope in Chapter 9, and of course, the big reveal about Ui, Touka, and Nemu’s wishes in the final chapter. Just imagining these things animated already gets me super excited, so hopefully we’ll at least still keep the core of the game’s story despite the changes (and hopefully these changes are all improvements!) ｡^‿^｡

~~~

And since the anime is taking a break, my reviews will also be going on a break ╥﹏╥ I’ll probably still pop up in the MagiReco tag every now and then if I can think of something to talk about, though? Depends on what I can come up with xD But yeah, I don’t really post updates about my gameplay here (unless it’s something major like pulling my favourite character lol), so if you’re interested in seeing any of that stuff, you can follow me on Twitter instead, since I’m much more active there nowadays. I’m always happy to discuss things and scream with fellow fans, so whether it’s here or on Twitter, please feel free to approach me anytime if you want someone to fangirl with (๑ゝڡ◕๑)

I’ll be ending this post here! Thank you so much for reading, and please continue to love and support MagiReco while we wait for the second season ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

#magia record #magireco #puella magi madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica side story #pmmm #fandom #mine #anime #review #magia record review #v watches magireco

9 notes · View notes

the-princess-with-pancakes · 5 years

Text

Bruce Campbell movie week (marathon)

I was sitting today (Tuesday) and thought to myself “Hey, why not watch one movie with an actor, for a week and get to know his career better”. And since I watched Evil Dead two days ago, I thought, that Bruce Campbell would be a good choice. I already saw Ash vs Evil Dead and loved it and I like his facial expressions.

I’m gonna spoil of course, because most of this movie are old, so if you haven’t watched them already, you probably don’t want to that much anyway.

Day 1: Evil Dead (1981)

Wow. This looks like a movie made by some friends, that had a good idea and made a timeless horror classic. It’s actually pretty dark and fresh after all this years. I mean, xD, you have to ignore the fact, that it’s an old and cheap movie, so it looks rough around the edges and aged hard. But the tension is built really well. I was a bit surprised, because I was expecting an comedy horror, but this was a full horror, which is not a problem, since I like this type of movies. The worst thing was, that the whole movie I was waiting for his hand to be chopped off, but it sadly didn’t happen. The scene with the decaying dead ones, was so gross, that I almost vomited, and that’s a good thing, I loved it xD So yeah, the final verdict is, that I liked it, it was a good movie, to watch once and watch from where the series came from. Also it’s very interesting, how a 350k $ movie gathered almost 30 million in the box office. Just wow.

My favorite quote: Ash: Shut up, Linda!

I actually wrote this two days after watching this movie, but I still remember the important stuff, so don’t worry.

Day 2: Evil Dead II (1987)

What the hell was that? This was a great movie! (Did I just answer myself? Weird..) I had a lot of fun on this one! I start with the thing, I didn’t like as much, it was the redcon, but it’s okay, at least it changed some things for the better. As I said before, Bruce’s facial expressions are amazing. I mean, the laughing room scene was so funny, I laughed so hard. The hand thing with his hand, just great. I also had fun on watching, how weird this movie was shot, it was actually weirdly (I’m gonna abuse this word, don’t I?) entertaining in it’s unexpected way. Seriously, especially the scene, where they all gathered around in the big room in started to chase the noise with their sight. What else can I say? It was still fresh, to see a good parody movie. It still looked very cheap, but had some magic in it, because of the cheapness. And I love, how the movie teases the third movie in the middle with the pages and that starts the third movie in the end xDD And OMC, it was directed by fucking Sam Raimi! I didn’t know that! The director of the best (and only for now) Spider-Man trilogy creates Evil Dead. I’m even ashamed, I didn’t know that earlier. Good job Sam. You already delivered me 3 hours of good cinema, can’t wait to watch Army of Darkness tomorrow ^^

And this quote:

Ash: [for no apparent reason] ... Groovy.

I actually could change this to Sam Raimi movie week at this point, but nah, I like to know more about my boy Bruce.

Day 3: Army of Darkness (1992)

I was too hyped for this one. But come on, Ash traveling in time, to fight a dead army with some knights. That sound great! But I’m disappointed. For a comedy horror, there was no horror, not even a little, not even some gore. It’s not bad, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Well okay, it’s not good either. There was a lot of jokes tho, most of them weren’t funny in my opinion. The little Ashes scene was a good idea, but made just okay. The skeletons were okay, like cartoon Clone Wars funny, not minions funny, so that’s good. The movie... it was just lazy writing I guess. The story wasn’t so fresh and new, like the first two, and it was very rushed. It’s a good 2 hour material, compressed to 1:20h. They could cut the budget a little in some scenes and make it longer. In some scenes I thought it was a little inspired by The Mask, but it actually came out two years later, so maybe Sam Raimi likes the comics or something? Idk, it was a good movie to watch once, as the end of this trilogy, but nothing else.

Favorite quote: [Upon getting the powered glove in place of his right hand] Ash: Groovy.

It’s just gets me every time! XD

Day 4: Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

What a bizarre concept for a movie. Old Elvis Presley (played by the man Bruce) and a black “JFK” (he’s literally called that in the IMDB description) fighting a mummy in a nursing home. Odd, huh? But it had a good rating, so I picked it. Cthulhu, was it slow. When I complained, that Army of Darkness was too rushed, that this movie is too slow. Ist not just slow, it’s actually pretty boring, for an interesting concept like that. I would really like to see this movie with young Elvis and young John. Maybe it would have get a little kick. (It actually is coming, but I get to that in a moment) But this? They were moving as slow, as the movie was going. Elvis at least had an interesting backstory. John had an even funny theory. The jokes weren’t bad. And the nurse was actually my favorite character. So much charisma I guess. The movie, sadly, was a little below average, and that’s disappointing. Ikd what else to say. Don’t watch it. It’s not even worth it.

Favorite quote: Elvis: No offense, Jack, but President Kennedy was a white man. JFK: They dyed me this color! That's how clever they are!

Told you, his theory was good xD

Also, they making a prequel to that, whaaat? I’m surprised, that they want to get back to a buried franchise (if you even can call it that).

I haven’t had a good mood and because of that I had a brake for over a week. So I’m changing the movie week for a movie marathon. Which isn’t a good term, but it’s still a better one then ‘week’.

Movie 5: Running Time (1997)

It’s nice to see a solid Bruce Campbell movie again. It wasn’t great, it was just solid. An 60 minutes experience, just for the actor. The movie was literally 60 minutes, so I didn’t even feel, like I wasted a lot of time watching this. The movie is filmed to imitate real time, which looks actually pretty good. So in 60 minutes he gets out of prison, get some people, performs a heist, runs away and gets the girl. The heist was also well made. Because of the real time experience, it was actually pretty stressful. I mean, after like 10 minutes you just watch, like the perfect plan slowly goes to shit. And it’s also made pretty good. Because of that, the heist scene made me feel stressed, because I hoped they get the money and get out of there. Surprise, it all didn’t go as planed, they got out, but like 1/2 of the team. It’s not a complicated story, so after a while you can guess how it goes. It wasn’t destroying the experience tho. I only wish the dialogues were better, because most of them were average or even a little shallow. But hey, it could have been a lot, lot worse. And the black and white actually adds a little “color” to this movie. Good choice from the makers. The movie was also very cheap, 130k $ budget. I’m surprised that Bruce, after playing in a 11 million dollar movie, decided for one like this. Maybe it was a project he really liked and the money wasn’t so important? Who knows.

Favorite quote: I didn’t have one ;-;

And! I actually saw the blooper, they wrote on IMDb. I was like “wait, was that the camera man?”, went back a few seconds and yeah, it was, in the window of the police car xD

And sadly the post ends here. I really wanted to watch Going Back (1984), but I couldn’t get my hands on it, not even illegal. Also I had a problem to watch Man with the screaming brain (2005) or My name is Bruce (2007). So, yes, the week ends at fifth day (movie). But yeah, Bruce doesn’t have many movies with leading roles. But I hope the next actor will have more of them. And yes, I already decided who that will be.

#bruce campbell #movie week #movie marathon #evil dead #horror #evil dead 2 #comedy #army of darkness #fantasy #ash williams #sam raimi #bubba ho tep #elvis presley #jfk #running time #heist #man with the screaming brain #going back #my name is bruce

17 notes · View notes

nymphl · 5 years

Text

Lie to Me – Hux x Reader - Ch.8 - Right & Wrong

A/N: Hello! I know I promised to update every Friday, but things got a bit crazy here with my Masters and real life and everything, so you know... I couldn’t exactly update. But I do promise to do my best to update every Friday from now on. I hope you enjoy this chapter xD It’s one of my fav ^^

Story Summary: Falling for the enemy… That’s probably the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. Letting him live… for he should be dead. And you should’ve been the one to kill him. You had him, right there… and you let it escape through yours fingers. He lived. And now only the time could tell if you made the right decision — more likely wrong — by saving the amnesiac General of the First Order and telling him he was your husband. [Hux x Reader - Hux x You]

Warnings for the entire story: Will contain at times; graphic violence, sex, drugs and manipulation, coarse language and OOCness.

AO3 Tags: from enemies to lovers; eventual romance; memory loss; fake marriage; fake marriage becomes real marriage; rebellion; married couple; canon divergence; slow burn romance; politics; rebel alliance; resistance; first order; OOCness; eventual smut; eventual sex; power play; power dynamics; syndicate; lies; you lie; Hux lies; Hux backstory; manipulation; political alliances; political betrayals; secret organizations.

Wordcount: 5243

PREVIOUS CHAPTER *** NEXT CHAPTER

KRIFFS!

You should not have said that. You should have kept your words to yourself; your thoughts should have stayed deeply buried in your mind.

Yet, you had to voice them.

You had to say what should have never left your lips.

He froze in your embrace; his arms sort of slackening around you. In response, you tightened your hold around him and inhaled his scent. He smelled nice. And it was not just because he had showered. There was something else…

As if on cue, the streetlamp near the two of you flickered in again and this time the light shone upon you. You took a step back and caressed the fabric of his shirt. A frown marred your features.

You even opened your mouth to ask where he got them, but he held your hand and, in silence — because he never explained himself, you quickly noticed this —, pulled you out of the alley.

He guided you in the streets northwards, tracing the way back to the Hospital. If possible, your frown deepened. What was he doing? You knew that given your current physical state, it would be useless to make him stop with your hands; even his pace — which was not that fast — left you utterly exhausted.

“My house is on the other way,” you pointed out, voice a bit higher, so he could hear you over the sound and sight of people parading on the streets as if some sort of festival was taking place.

You shook your head and planted your feet firmly on the ground. Still holding his hand, you pulled him more forcefully than necessary, forcing him to look at you over his shoulder. His light eyebrows were raised. It was clear he did not understand your actions.

“Please don’t take me to the Festival,” you whispered. Your felt all blood drained of your face. The mere thought of taking part — even seeing it — made your stomach churn. You trembled. “Please, I—

He shifted his attention to you, holding your face between his fingers. He eased his thumb over your bottom lip, preventing you from punishing it further. When he was sure you would not bite yourself any longer, he removed his black coat and placed it over your shoulders.

“Which Festival?”

Relief flooded you; some warmth returned to your body — and certainly not because of his coat.

“You aren’t taking me to the Festival?”

His lack of answer was answer enough. A sigh left you as you closed your lids and breathed deeply through your nose. Your nostrils flared; the smell of food was so strong it was almost nauseating. The sound of drums was getting louder and louder as the passersby walked past the two of you singing and playing their instruments.

The General held you closer — and you begrudgingly admitted he was getting good at this, even if it still seemed awkward to him —, not letting you go even after it was just the two of you in the darkened streets again.

“Thank you,” you whispered and broke away from his grasp.

He held your shoulders, giving them a slightly squeeze, “I was taking you to the speeder bike.”

Speeder bike? You did not recall having one. Well, you once had a landspeeder when Aquilla was still an Emissary to the Senate, but that was so long ago, you even thought the model probably had been dismantled and its parts used power-up other speeders.

As expected, he gave you no further explanations as he guided you to a shiny speeder bike and handed you a helmet. You accepted it willingly — the first question on your tongue was whether he had stolen the vehicle and whom he had killed to have it, because apparently the words ‘murder’ and ‘General Armitage Hux’ walked hand in hand.

A shiver ran down your spine as you mounted it and embraced him by the waist firmly. You had lots of questions, but for now, you would have to wait. It is, at least until you got home. What mattered the most now was to stay away from that damned Festival and the fanatic people who usually attended it.

The way back home was silent and almost peaceful. After almost five years walking by yourself everyday — you had no vehicle, so you had to walk if you wanted to go anywhere —, the velocity of the speeder bike left you a bit dizzy. However, he was a smooth driver and although you would rather have your feet firmly placed on the ground you could not complain after getting home in record time.

He was the first to disembark, offering his hand to you shortly after. As soon as you slipped the helmet out of your head, the first words came to life in your mouth.

“You left home.”

It was no question. You knew it for a fact, but you wanted his confirmation. He had barely nodded before you open your mouth to assault him with all the questions that were bombarding your mind.

He silenced you with a gesture. It made you bit your bottom lip, in anger. Even if you lived alone for five years — in which you took care of yourself and became your own rightful owner —, it was difficult not to go back to some old habits your father had taught you. If a man — any man, but mainly your husband — is speaking, you should not interrupt him and if he wants to speak, you should be silent and pay attention to him.

That… Or the General indeed knew how to command every attention…

…which he did.

It did not mean your own actions left you less upset with yourself than you were right now with him.

Shaking your head, you trailed your way to the door with him right behind you. As soon as you opened it, you were assaulted with the smell of food and the sight of lights all turned on.

You furrowed your brows, but before you could shift your attention to ask him what had happened, a protocol droid bowed dutifully in front of you.

“General Hux and Lady Hux, welcome back.”

The entire situation left you agape.

You closed and opened your mouth once and twice, not really sure what you should say. The General was right behind you, mere inches apart, but his warmth enveloped all of you. He said nothing — as you expected — so you forced yourself to ask, “Do we have a protocol droid now?”

“I am D-Five, at your disposal, my Lady.”

“Where did you get him?”

You were not sure if he did not want to respond or if the protocol droid — a modified version of the popular 3PO series — was too nosy, but he never had the time to come up with a reply. The shiny droid took your bag from Hux’s hand and started making his way towards the bedroom.

Needless to say, you were left speechless at the state of the entire house. Instead of the messy living space you were used to, there was a tidy, welcoming home.

“Did you do it all by yourself? Did you have any help?” you asked, running a finger over the headboard of your bed. The wood was so clean and lustrous it seemed it was new.

You looked around and was shocked to realize how much space you had. The house seemed much bigger than it actually was. You shifted your attention back to the protocol droid and accepted the towel he was offering you.

“I took the liberty of preparing you a relaxing bath, my Lady. General Hux said you would be tired when you arrived.”

He did not give you any time to come up with any sort of thanks.

“Dinner is also ready, and I fixed the electricity problem.”

You furrowed your brows.

It made no sense whatsoever.

“You’re a protocol droid, not a domestic droid.”

“A protocol droid is created to serve its owners in any way they see fit, my Lady. It’s a pleasure serving you and General Hux.”

That lead you to another question.

As you heard no signal of your husband around, you approached the protocol droid and whispered to him, “And where did the General get you?”

If D-Five thought of a reply, you did not know, because at the same time your husband entered the room, his bluish eyes narrowed.

“You are dismissed, D-Five.”

“General.” The droid bowed dutifully. “My Lady.”

You watched the whole scene with arched brows. It simply made no sense. The entire day seemed like a ridiculous dream — nightmare? You started the day by being trained — tortured, you had no other word to his training sessions — by the General and then you felt watched your entire shift at the Hospital, and when you left you were ambushed by the General himself, only to find out he was not the one following and watching you throughout the day. Then he kissed you — leaving you wanting more — and you realized that you were not as immune to him as you wanted to be.

As you believed yourself to be.

As if that was not enough, the two of you almost entered a Festival whose meaning and importance you did not want to acknowledge right now. He brought you back home in a speeder bike that came out of nowhere and when you got home there was a protocol droid waiting for you with the house in one piece — in fact, it was in better shape than you had left it when you went to the Hospital that morning — and with the necessary repairs you have been postponing for what felt like your entire life now.

Could this day get any weirder?

The first words to leave your mouth were not to question him about any of this, but instead to chastise him on his impolite behavior.

“You should have thanked him.”

He looked at you as if he had never heard anything stupider — and that was a habit of him that you more than hated. He stared at you as if you were a very different alien almost twice a day. It was insulting! — and started unbottoning his shirt.

“It is a protocol droid. It exists to serve. It doesn’t need thanks or compliments for doing what it has been programed to.”

You simply hated how he stressed the word it every kriffing time. You felt like saying you thought that D-Five was courteous — even if a bit creepy —, but stopped when he pulled his undershirt over his head.

“What are you doing?” you asked while turning around. The quick movement made your vision go blurry for a moment. You realized you really needed to feed and get some sleep. Your body would not go far if you kept that insane routine.

There was no need to look at him to know he had that impossibly blue eyes of his narrowed — the thought in his head was certainly of how stupid your complaint was. You heard his steps before you felt him touching your shoulders. It was with some difficulty that you did not jump startled.

“You should bathe before the water grows cold.”

From your part there was only a nod.

Albeit unwilling and unsure — mostly unsure —, you let him help you removing your own shirt. You wore a black tank top beneath it, which you would remove yourself in the fresher. And would was a rather good word to define it, for he did not wait for you to move and merely hooked his fingers under the article of clothing and pulled it over your head.

A sharp intake of breath left you as he traced his fingers over your nude shoulder-blades and then placed a small kiss on your nape. You trembled in his arms and subconsciously leaned against his warmth.

Your back was met with his chest. You closed your eyes as a shiver went through your entire body. It seemed as if thousands of butterflies danced in your stomach as he leisurely traced your forearms, till he reached your hands and brought them to his neck, forcing your fingers to entwine in his ginger hair. All the while he never stopped showering your shoulder and scapula with small kisses.

Part of you — the rational and sane you — screamed at you to put a stop to this madness. Another part — guided by the deep craving you felt —, begged you to let him continue with his assault to your senses. It had been so long since you last felt this relaxed in a man’s embrace… besides you were too tired to put up a fight right now — and you were not really sure you wanted to.

Not when he used his fingers to lift your chin — and put his hand on your throat — and guided you in a soft, even if lustful, kiss. You should — and would — feel ashamed later when you realized you were the first to deepen the kiss and slip your tongue inside his mouth, tasting him — the first to let out a moan.

The sensory overload made you gasp inside his mouth when he left your throat — such a pity, you were getting used to his show of absolute power over you — brought both hands to the front of your breasts and touched the opening of your bra. They did not remain there though, slithering through your skin to your hips, pulling the strings of your breeches to let them pool around your feet.

It was as if you had not realized you were almost naked — you had never gone that far! Last time, when you demanded him to kiss you, you were mostly clothed — in front of him. He was still kissing you — fiercely this time — and you still had your fingers entwined in his hair. He left you no choice but to follow his lead. He was demanding and thoroughly dominated your mouth, leaving it — leaving you — at his mercy.

He positioned his hands on your hips brought you against him, causing you to brush against his erection — Maker, he was hard! —; and groaned in your mouth. He bit your bottom lip lightly before drawing apart. His breath tickled your neck as he whispered against your ear,

“You should bathe. Now.”

Craving his attention — his lips, his warmth, his body pressed against yours; his cock deep inside you —, you ground against him again, eliciting a quiet moan from him. He bit your earlobe and planted a small kiss behind your ear.

“Unless you want me to bathe you later.”

His husky — needy even, you were not sure which of you had fallen deeper for the baser instincts — voice coupled with how his fingers found your clit and expertly handled it had you snapping out of it.

You nailed him and shook your head.

It took you a while — and a moan; he was thoroughly good at it and it was with some regret that you had to stop him — to find your voice.

“S-Stop.”

He did not need to be told twice. He removed his fingers from your undergarments and stepped away.

You looked at him over your shoulder, avoiding his eyes. You kept your attention on his chin and lips, which was a terrible mistake — you realized quite soon — for he brought his fingers to his mouth and licked them clean. Eyes widened, you looked at the entirety of his face, only to find his bluish orbs focused on you. They were of a darker shade of blue and hid nothing of his lust.

It was obvious he was grimly struggling, but he kept away from you nonetheless. He respected your space as you asked him to.

“I am sorry,” you whispered. “I am so sorry. I-I can’t.” You backed away towards the refresher; your eyes on your feet. You doubted you would be able to look at him in the face without blushing for a while now.

You could barely believe you had let it go that far!

“I think it’s best if I…” It was struggle not to place both hands on your face and shake your head in shame. “Alone… I mean…”

You stopped making a fool of yourself and closed the door behind yourself. You hit your head against the wooden once and twice. Your thundering heart almost made it impossible to hear him approaching the refresher. He did not open it, which brought you some relief, but his whispered words left your heartbeats in a mess all over again.

“Of course you do.”

You were not sure what he meant with those words and even less sure if you wanted to figure it out.

Dinner was a quiet, awkward event.

You did not raise your eyes from your plate, afraid to find his impossibly blue eyes focused on you — to find the wrong judgment of your actions. You knew, however, he was staring at you and that at some moment you would have to face him. If not now, you would have to do it when the two of you retired.

It was obvious he would not relinquish his place in the bed tonight.

The mere thought made you gulp.

Part of you was also afraid of the questions he would start asking soon. Last time had him asking if he was impotent, and after finding that such assumption was not the case — in a very scandalous fashion that had you blushing now at the remembrance —, he inquired you about his ability to create life — and yours too.

What followed that was a heart wrenching moment that you had no desire to remember in its entirety.

You shook such thoughts away and finally — with some internal struggle and a heart beating madly against your ribcages — cast a glance at him. To your surprise, although he was looking at you, he did not seem focused on you. Instead, he seemed lost in his own little world.

A sigh escaped you.

If you did not question him, he would question you. And you did not even want to think what he would ask you this time.

“Where did you…” you started, your voice small and very low. The words came out almost as whispers. They were enough to make him shift his attention to you and focus those blue eyes of his on you. You bit your bottom lip. You hated how he always seemed able to read your very soul with a mere stare. “Where did you get the droid? And the clothes? And the speeder bike?”

He did not give you an immediate reply.

As kriffing expected.

Instead, he gestured towards your plate in a silent question whether you had finished your meal. You nodded, and he removed the tableware, placing it inside the sink. You expected him to either wash it or start talking. He did neither.

“My Lord?”

He turned to face you. His eyes on your face as he started, “I have some credits in accounts that are unknown to the First Order”.

You gasped.

That could mean…

Did he already expect to be betrayed by his kin?

Or nothing… That could mean nothing. And you were just aiming high.

You bit your bottom lip and waited for him to continue.

He did not.

“You bought them with those credits,” you finished for him.

Well, that was… less than what you were expecting. But you were relieved that was the case. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Walking towards the sink, you were ready to wash the tableware when he chained your wrists with his hands.

You looked up at him, brows furrowed. You knew there was more to come, and you could only hope for the best.

“I found the site where the battle took place.”

You looked up at him, surprised because he opened up to you and because he let immediately go of your wrists. He took two steps away, but if you were to have this conversation, you had to look at his face.

Biting your bottom lip, you did your best to control both your facial expressions and your messy heartbeats.

It was impossible to know what scared you the most: if the idea of him finding that you were not his wife or the possibility of him taking a life while you were away.

“Did you find anything?”

“Wreckage and destruction,” he replied curtly.

You approached him, invading his personal space. You found yourself entwining your fingers together. Your thumb slightly brushing his pulse. It did not go unnoticed by you how you were at easy whenever you touched him and how you always did it when you were talking.

“What more?” you whispered to him, looking at him in the eye.

His blue, icy orbs never seemed so distant nor more impossible to read than in that moment. Even if his warmth encircled and involved you, he was never so cold. It was if Dantooine suddenly became Hoth.

“My Lord?”

He disentangled the fingers of his right hand and brought it to your face. This time he did not brush against your throat, and merely brushed his thumb against your lower lip. It was a little swollen, a courtesy of your early kisses.

“These clothes belong to the First Order,” he replied nonchalantly. “There was no information whatsoever concerning the attack.”

That made you let out a relieved sigh.

It did not go unnoticed by him, but he did not say anything. Instead, he smoothed a strand of your hair between his fingers and placed it behind your ear. His eyes were thoroughly focused on your lips, which made your heart beat faster.

He was seriously not considering the possibility of…

…Again…

Right?

“The speeder bike…” you offered, not willing to stay a moment in silence. “Where did you get it?”

“The Syndicate.” That was another emotionless reply. One that had you widening your eyes and your breath coming out in a gasp. It took you a moment to realize he had left your side and was heading towards the bedroom.

“No.”

This time you did not turn away when he removed his shirt and folded it. You walked to him and touched his elbow. He immediately turned to face you.

You lost no time to trace the recent scar across his chest. He tried to remove your hands from him, but you waved him away and continued what you were doing. It was a terrible wound and whomever gifted him with it knew what to do. If you did not find him in time, General Armitage Hux would be just yet another story now.

It covered most of his chest. Starting right below his clavicle and ending after his last ribcage. If you had any bacta left, or could take it from the hospital without arousing suspicion, it would be less noticeable.

“If you deal with them, they will do worse than this,” you whispered, against his warm skin. Your hand stopped right over his heart. It beat in a calm rhythm and your words did not seem to affect it in the least.

“Are you implying I cannot take care of myself, (Y/N)?”

The coldness in his tone made you look up. His eyes were as frosty as his voice.

You tried not to get intimidated by this and continued with your inquiry, “Seeing that you came back unscathed… Did…” You bit your bottom lip lightly. “Did you kill anyone?”

“You were not there to see.”

A slap could not have been any harsher.

You opened your mouth to say something — anything, he had to understand your concerns! —, but he beat you to it and added, “You can be at ease. I did not kill anyone.”

A sigh of utter relief left you.

He did not know how heavy your heart was right now. His admission had it feeling so much lighter now. You knew that whoever he killed — whoever lives he reaped from now on — it would be all on you.

It did not matter he was the one to pull the trigger, you had your share of guilty as well.

“Thank you,” you whispered again and broke apart. Part of you was apprehensive with his whole story and some piece, deep inside of you, did not trust his words completely. He was hiding something.

But so were you.

Perhaps you should let him have his secrets as well. Perhaps you should not worry before the time came… Perhaps you should… give him the benefit of doubt? If he said he did not kill anyone, then, maybe, he did not.

And why would he hide it from you?

It was not like he was shy about taking lives.

Contrary to you, he did not hesitate to pull the trigger.

Did he ever?

A yawn left your lips. You were so tired you doubted that his company — his body next to yours — would be much of a hindrance tonight. You would sleep like a sated baby.

He did not allow you to go far, though. Holding onto your wrist, he brought you back to the comfort and warmth of his arms. You placed both of your hands on his shoulders, ready to keep him at bay in case he tried something else. It did not seem to faze him, for he buried his nose in your hair all the same.

“Why were you so tense at the thought of the Festival?” His voice was no more than a soft murmur as he placed a small kiss to your neck.

This time there was no shiver, no butterflies dancing in your stomach.

There was nothing.

You froze in his arms.

That was certainly a topic you did not feel like revisiting.

Not tonight.

Not now.

Not with him.

And possibly not ever.

He seemed to have understood your reaction, for he did not press you further. Instead, he took you by your hand and lead you to the bed. You watched in silence as he pulled the blankets aside.

It was not comfortable. It was not awkward either. It was merely eerie and depressing — at least for you it was.

The fact that his bluish eyes were not on you — accessing you, judging you as you kind of expected and was already used to — made it even harder.

You thought about apologizing — that was definitely not how you intended on finishing your day, but that was simply unavoidable — but stopped yourself. If he were in your place, he would not give you the same curtesy and, besides, that was probably an admission that would drive him further apart from you.

As if you had just awakened from a dream, you started helping him with the bed. The two of you moved in sync, adjusting the pillows and sliding under the blankets at the same time.

You turned your back to him and closed your eyes when he turned off the lights. Sharing the bed after so many years was no easy task, not when you were used to have all the space to yourself, but you knew you would manage. You expected him to shift to his side as well, but he did not.

Seconds in silence become minutes and you found yourself turning to face him. You supported your weight in one arm and outstretched your finger to poke him in the chest, but retreated shortly after.

It was obvious he was not sleeping yet. However, touching him and invading his personal space was maybe not the most recommended course of action to take.

“My Lord,” you whispered.

“You never say my name,” he observed. Once again, there was no trace of judgment in his voice and you could not see his eyes, which left you conflicted. Part of you thought it was for the best, he could read easily read you with those blue orbs of his and another part was not sure you wanted to keep a conversation where you could not face him and guess — because you never knew for sure — his thoughts.

The silence was sepulchral. That was a topic you did not want to discuss. If it depended on you, it would stay untouched; a big bantha in the room looming over you.

You shifted, adjusting your weight in order not to hurt your arm. He did the same and lay facing you. Both of you had your heads in the same pillow, sharing the same space and the same air. You could feel his breath on your face and a knot took place in your stomach.

“A-Armi… Armitage…” you tried. The word felt foreign in your lips. You had said it out loud only once… or twice before and neither had that same intimate connotation. You brought your hands to his face. It felt even foreign touching him and feeling no traces of his growing beard. You smoothed your fingers on the planes of his cheeks, tracing the contour of his nose and moving back to his jaw. “Armitage,” you repeated, your voice firm, even if lower this time.

He lost no time to crash his lips against yours, taking you by surprise. Your hands moved back to his chest — to keep him apart, to pull him closer, you did not know for sure. His made their way to under your shirt, tracing patterns on the small of your back.

Unlike earlier, they did not move higher, they caressed you innocently. His knee parted your legs as he settled between them. Your foot traced his calves and moved higher, bringing both of your hips closer together. He did not take your silent — and subconscious — invitation to grind against you.

He kept his distance, kissing you almost chastely. As if you were something precious he ought to worship. It made you feel worse than you felt when the two of you had that steamy, lusty moment earlier.

You even opened your mouth to beg him to stop, but your throat was already closed with the need to cry. And cry you did. You buried your face against his chest and he ran his fingers through your hair in another awkward attempt of calming you down.

This seemed to throw a bucket of cold water over his head.

“Sorry, I can’t…” you whispered against his skin.

His heart was beating faster this time as he moved away from you; his lips kissing your tears away in a soothing manner.

“It’s just… It’s not right.”

He remained silent for a moment, holding you while you cried even desperately. For each tear he kissed away, more came to take its place.

Twice or thrice, or even more times, you repeated that it was not right. That it — the two of you — could not be.

Could never be.

He never said anything. He held you close and ran his fingers on your back, comforting you. He had moved away from you, sitting with his back against the headboard and you in the comfort of his arms.

You dossed off in his embrace, no tears tainting your face anymore, when you heard his voice against your forehead.

“No, it’s not wrong.”

And when he thought you were not listening, he added, as if he had solved one of greatest mysteries of the galaxy,

“You’re not afraid of intimacy, (Y/N). You’re afraid of enjoying it… With me.”

A/N - Well, that will be all for today. I’ll come back this Friday or next Friday, let’s see with chapter 9. See you xD

#hux x you #hux x reader #armitage hux #general hux #armitage hux x you #armitage hux x reader #general hux x reader #general hux x you #hux #fanfic #story #star wars fanfic #sequels #sequels fanfic #lie to me #ltm

38 notes · View notes

animes-trash · 5 years

Text

Servamp Theory Game

This is a “summary” with an explanation of every reference in Servamp, spoilers included !

Hello guys~ ! Holy heck, it litteraly took months to make. Like, I started in September (I’m also lazy since lots of weeks though). So, as you may know, Servamp has a lot, and I mean, a lot, of references coming from a lot of different things such as myths from various mythology, plays, books, poems and else. I tried to find and explain them as best as I could, even though I'm not an expert about some of them.

Also, this has been written the BIG HELP of my dear friend @amaranight ! All of the tarot cards and the Mikuni parts are from her ! I want to thank her A LOT for the help and also for the emotional support XD

Remember, this is not an exhaustive list. I don't know all of them, though I tried to find the most I could. Also, I didn't want to say wrong things so there are references I wrote less about, even though I still searched a lot for every of them. Yes, there are things probably already have been explained somewhere in the fandom.

ALSO ! The manga isn’t finished yet. I’ll edit this post when there’s a new reference or if some of you have things to say to complete what I say or if modifications need to be made.

Forgive me if there’s typos, spelling mistakes or whatever. This post is really long and there’s still things I couldn’t correct, and note that I’m french so English isn’t my first langage, so pardon me if some things sounds weird.

Here is a table of contents

Alicein family and Servamps

Greed Pair

C-3 Arc

Tarot cards

Basically, that’s how I cut this thing. There are some things that aren’t related to the C-3 but happen in the arc so I also put them under it.

This is a very long post (+10 000), everything is under the cut !

Alicein family and Servamps

Lust Pair

I found something about Misono and Lily’s attack. When they fight Belkia (vol. 2, chap. 7/ ep. 3), Lily "cuts" Belkia's head. When doing so, it is written "Good Night Sweet Dreams, execution block of the Red Queen". The first part doesn't mean anything, it's just saying good night because Belkia ends up... knocked down.

What's interesting is the second part : "execution block of the Red Queen". Given that it's about cutting heads, I thought it could be something about Alice In Wonderland, which would fit the Lust Pair. (I mean, Lily's mail is "Alice-In-The-Garden"). But when I searched, I learned that it wasn't that. In Alice In Wonderland, the queen who's always like "Off his head !" is the Queen of Hearts, and not the Red Queen. In fact, there's a Red Queen in Through The Looking Glass (Kind of a "volume 2″ ? of Alice in Wonderland). But she's not like the Queen of Hearts, she doesn't cut head and all.

So I kept searching and I found who is the Red Queen. It is Marie Stuart, queen of Scotland (1542 - 1587). She was put to death because she was plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, queen of England. Her head had been cut off on the scaffold.

That's not all. Her last word were "in manus tuas domine commendo spiritum meum", which means in english "into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit". After "cutting" Belkia's head, Lily says "The thing I destroy is not the body, but the mind." So, it kind of connects with her last words with the spirit thing.

Most of all, in the anime when Lily cuts Belkia's head, things are written in japanese and there a crown that's put on one of the Kanji, I screened it.

This is the same crown as Marie Stuart. (In one of the paintings of her, she wears a crown like that, made of gold with a Christian Cross.) This is all I had to say about this one.

Mikuni Alicein

East of Eden - 1

In an official art, we see Mikuni (and others) reading. Mikuni is reading "East of Eden". Though we don't know the author, we can easily guess who it is. First because there isn't any other known books with that name, and second because you'll see that all fits.

It is "East Of Eden" from the author John Steinbeck. (1902 - 1968). it's a book that refers to the verse of the Bible about Caïn and Abel, but we'll talk about it later. This book talks about two families : the Trasks and the Hamiltions and interwoven stories. We can do some parallels with Mikuni's family.

Mikuni / Adam, son of the first marriage of their father, who remarried with a maid and had another son : Misono / Charles. The oldest, Mikuni / Adam leaves the house to engage in the army / C-3.

Another parralel : the mother of Mikuni / Adam becomes crazy because of a supernatural thing. (Religion in the book, the Servamp of Envy in Servamp.)

Some themes are quite similar too. In the book we have : individualism, Mikuni thinks he's better alone, without people to bother him in his projects, and freedom, which is what Mikuni assumes to have when he leaves the house.

The parralels are pretty hard to tell if you only read a summary of the book. You can find one online if you want to know more about it, but it might confuse you. I advise you to read the book if you want to fully understand all the parralels.

East Of Eden - 2

This time, I'm talking about Caïn and Abel. For those who are unfamiliar with that story, it's a biblical myth. Caïn and Abel are the sons of Adam. (Adam, like Adam and Eve.) The brothers don't get along, and Caïn ends up killing Abel. He is known as the first killer of the World. To punish him, God bannishes him and makes him immortal (with the Mark of Caïn, but it doesn't matter here). Then, Caïn leaves and go to the East of Eden, more precisely to the Land of Nod.

So, first of all, his doll is named Abel. I think it already makes things pretty clear. Second, we know that Servamp has a game, who takes place in Mikuni's shop, who is litteraly called “The Land of Nod”.

Do I need to say more ? "Nôd" means "to wander". When Mahiru first meets Mikuni (vol. 2, chap. 9 /he doesn't say it in the anime) he says to him "I'm just a poor antique dealer, whose hobby it's to travel the world". He is wandering.

That all we had for these two part of East of Eden. Even if these fits with Servamp, there are still differences, things are not exactly the same. But, it's like that for each references, everything isn't exactly like in the books / myths.

My Fair Lady

Now it’s about Mikuni’s attack. When he fights with Tsurugi in chapter 44, we see his attack, which is called “My Fair Lady”. It comes from the musical / operetta of the same name. I won’t talk about it because it doesn’t matter now. What’s interesting is the reference of the musical.

It is inspired by the greek mythology. More precisely bya myth from the Metamorphoses, a book by the Roman poet Ovid. The myth we’re talking about here is the one of Pygmalion and Galatea.

So, Pygmalion wasa telented sculptor who decided to stay single. Though, he dedicated himself to his work and created Galatea, a statue of a woman. He found his statue so perfect that he deeply fell in love with it. Aphrodite, the goddess of love took pity on Pygmalion and decided to give life to Galatea. The sculptor lived happily with her.

Now, think about Mikuni and Abell, his doll. Though they aren’t in love, it fits the story. Look at Abell’s form when Mikuni attacks :

She looks like a woman that could be a statue. Also, look at how Mikuni treats Abell. Once again, there isn’t love or anything, but we see that he cares a lot about her. About the judgment thing, I think it’s just because of the title, my “fair” lady, with the idea of justice and all. Okay, maybe this one is a bit extrapolated but when we think about it, it makes sense.

Alice in Wonderland

So, I'm going to talk about the whole Alicein family and their servants now. They are all, or almost, from the famous book Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Caroll. Though, apart from Misono and Lily, they others don't really have a character development or even a backstory, so we can't really develop. And even, at this point of the story, we didn't know a lot about Misono and Lily either.

So, firstly, Misono is Alice, and Lily the White Rabbit. Misono is "the center" of the family and the others focuses on him, he has all the attention. It's not really a common point with Alice, just that they are the "protagonist" of their story. Also, Lily's item is a pocket watch, like the White Rabbit. Lily is the "supernatural creature" that kind of drags Misono into other supernatural things, even if Misono already lives in a house full of vampires.

For Dodo, he's a reference to The Dodo. Yeah, it was a bit obvious. Though, only their name is similar. The Dodo being a caricature of the author, and isn't well developed.

For Mitsuki, she's a reference to the March Hare. This time, it's in the name again. In kanji, her name is "三月", "Mitsuki", which means March. So yeah, March Hare.

For Hattori, he's a reference to the Mad Hatter. Once again, the almost only thing they have in common is their design. But, in Through The Looking Glass, there's another character that is Mad Hatter, but called "Hatta" (why, I don't know). Hatta / Hattori,you see.

For Yamane, she's a reference to the Dormhouse. If you only saw the movies by Tim Burton, she's called Mallymkun, or just Mally. This time, the two have the same "fighting style". Mally fights with a pin, and Yamane fights with that, which looks like a big pin.

For Julie & Marie, they are a reference to Tweedledum & Tweedledee. Just because... well, they both are twins. I told you, these ones aren't that complex.

For Mikado, he's a reference to the White King. The people in the Alicein family call him the King already. He's the White King, and not the Red King, because he's on the "good" side. (The Red King being on the "evil" side, as an antagonist).Alice and the others are with him, like Misono and the others are too.

That's all we know for them. For Mikuni, he has his own reference to something else, that I already talked about here.

Greed Pair

Shakespeare

You waited for it. Even though Lawless does quote Shakespeare a lot, his character is a reference to one play, Hamlet. Now, I'm going to explain what's Hamlet about, in the big lines : Hamlet's father, the king, died a week ago. He was killed by his brother, Claudius (but nobody knows), who becomes the king and marries Hamlet's mother. Hamlet learns that Claudius killed his father and only wants one thing, revenge. His thirst for it will drive him crazy. He loves Ophelia, and some people tells that it's the reason he's crazy, because he doesn't have her. In the end, he's killed by Ophelia's brother, Laertes, by a poisoned rapier.

Now, I'm going to compare the characters from the plays to the characters from the Greed Team, by explaining their character traits.

Hamlet - He is melancholic, bitter and very cynical. He is full of hatred for his uncle's scheming and so loses faith in humanity. Though, he's thoughtful and studied at the university. On one hand, he's hesitant and doesn't know what to do, and on the other hand he's very impulsive and do rash acts.

Lawless is a lot like Hamlet. When he meets Kuro again after all these years, he isn't angry and serious, he does bitter and sarcastic jokes. He doesn't take it seriously. We can also see him as melancholic, sort of. He is stuck in the past and refuses to turn the page. A major difference is that he's full of hatred for humanity, and not someone in particular. The other common points are his "bipolar" tendencies. When he's with his eves, at least the ones before Licht, he's rather calm. (Like, he doesn't kill every moving thing). But at the moment he gets bored, he becomes impulsive and violently kills them. When he was back to the castle, after the others decided to kill sensei, Lawless was very lost and didn't know what to do.

Ophelia - She'd the daughter of Polonius, a friend of the king. She is a beautiful, sweet and young woman. She obeys her father and the other men in her life, as long as she thinks it's for the good. Her father doesn't want her to be with Hamlet. When her father dies, she's the one who becomes mad. Not long later, she's found dead in a river.

Our Ophelia is also like the one from the play : sweet and caring for the others. She does what she's told to, like when she accepts to marry the prince of the other country, because she thinks it's a good thing to do. What changes is that our Ophelia doesn't become crazy, and she doesn't drown in a river.

Guildenstern and Rozen Kranz - They are Hamlet's friends since he is young. Though, the king turns them against him when he tells them that he's crazy. Later, Hamlet is send to England and the two have to go with him, the king wrote a letter saying that Hamlet shall be executed there. When Hamlet finds it, he thinks that his friends betrayed him. Which is wrong, they didn't know about the letter. So, Hamlet changes the names on the letter and escapes the ship they're on. The two ends up being executed in England, by mistake.

We can't really make parralels between them, exept that they're good friends. Maybe for Guildenstern who was with Lawless for a long time. Appart from that, they aren't really similar.

Now, I want to talk about the scene where Lawless goes back to the castle, or what remains of it. (chap. 34, vol. 7 / ep. 10). Because it is, for me, one of the most interesting scene with Lawless.

So, what happens ? When he returns to the ashes of the castle, he sees Ophelia's statue falling into pieces. Then, he hug the bust of the statue. That's from here that he becomes crazy. He starts dancing and singing. He sings "she is dead and gone, lady. She is dead and gone...", "Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be !", and "Sweets to sweet, farewell !".

Now, what's interesting : in Hamlet, it's not Hamlet who says all that nonsense. No, it's Ophelia. After her father died, she goes in the Queen's room and says "he is dead and gone, lady. He is dead and gone". She talks about her father. She then starts talking nonsense. She talks about a baker's daughter who became an owl, and says that "we know what we are, but now what we may be". Then, she starts singing and dancing.

Lawless is quoting Ophelia in his madness. (Litteraly quoting, he’s a fan of Shakespeare and probably already read Hamlet). When he says, "she is dead and gone", he compares his love for her with the Ophelia from the play's love for her father, who was known to be immense. And I find that beautiful. Sad, but beautiful.

I also want to make a parralel with Hamlet and Lawless's duel with Higan. (Chap. 36, vol. 7 / ep. 11). It is like the duel between Hamlet and Laertes, Ophelia's brother. He wants to kill Hamlet because he thinks it's his fault if his sister died. (Technically, it is. Hamlet killed Ophelia's father, but not on purpose). They fight with a poisoned rapier and both of them die at the end, because of the poison. The "atmospheres" are similar. Though, this scene is more a reference to next thing I'm going to talk about.

The Phantom Of The Opera

Also an obvious reference, but this time with Licht in it. I’m now going to talk about The Phantom Of the Opera. More known for its musical comedy, it comes from a book with the same name, written by Gaston Leroux (1868 - 1927). Basically, someone is damaging the opera, the people are calling him "the Phantom". However, plays and comedies are still playing. Christine, a singer, will sing in an upcoming play. But she's afraid because, at night, someone comes in her room and sings to her with a beautiful voice. She calls him her “Angel Of Music”. She tells that story to the viscount Raoul De Chagny, who secretly loves her. They both find out that this "Angel" is really the Phantom, a man named Erik. He has an hideous face and is considered as a monster, he lives under the Opera. In love with Christine, he kidnapps her and drag her under the opera. Soon, Raoul comes to save her. A swordfight happens and Raoul wins, but doesn't kill the Phantom.

So, while fighting with Higan, Licht starts playing the theme of The Phantom Of The Opera on his piano. Because of the magic, both Higan and Lawless are wearing capes and masks, which are the costume of the Phantom.

I guess we all assume that Lawless was the one compared to the Phantom ? Because it's wrong. Lawless tells to Higan "I have a verse that fits you perfectly. 'Ah, secretly, secretly. The loathsome gargoyle who burns in hell, but secretly years for heaven !'".

This quote is talking about the Phantom. Lawless is comparing Higan to the Phantom. The ugly beast with a beautiful voice. So, does that make Licht Christine ? It would make sense. Christine was kidnapped by the Phantom, Licht was kidnapped by Higan, exept that he isn't in love with Licht. Raoul fights for saving Christine, and that's, sort of, what Lawless is doing : he's moving forward. He doesn't want Licht to get killed. That's also in this scene that Hyde is telling himself "I want to change !". He, now, wants to protect what's important to him, like Raoul protects the one he love. (My mind wants to scream "LAWLICHT" do damn fucking loud but I'm going to stay serious). So, the "final duel" between Lawless and Higan is also a reference to the swordfight between the Phantom and Raoul.

I thought Licht was compared to "The Angel Of Music", that would makes sense. I mean he's an angel pianist. But no, the Angel of Music is the Phantom of The Opera. Well, after all, everything isn't like in the reference, so I guess it's still refering to Licht.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This reference is not only about Licht and Hyde’s attack, but rather about themselves. It comes from the novel "The Strange Of The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", written by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894). It talks about the Dr. Jekyll, a famous Doctor known for his kindness. Philosopher obsessed with dual personality, he creates a liquid that separates Good from Evil in someone. Except that when he drinks it, instead of being two people, he turns into Mr. Hyde, who looks like Dr. Jekyll but smaller, more hideous and a lot uglier. Jekyll chooses to turn in Mr. Hyde at night so he can do whatever he wants without being reconized. In the end, he randomly transforms and the others are about to find out, so he kills himself.

This novel is about he duality of Humans. The Good and the Bad, what is one and what is the other. It's about the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so different yet the same person. There's not a "right" one and a "wrong" one. It's the two perspectives of the same reality, seen by two different opinion. The two faces of a same coin.

It's exactly like Licht and Lawless. They are the two opposites and they perfectly complete each other. Licht is the Angel and Lawless is the Demon. Licht is the Good and Lawless is the Bad. Licht is the introvert and Lawless is the extrovert. Licht is the optimistic and Lawless is the pessimistic. Licht is the dreamer and Lawless is the stuck-in-the-past. Licht and Lawless' versions of the world couldn't be more different, but neither of them are “right” or “wrong”. Just two points of view. Even in their character design : Licht's hair has a white stripe, Lawless's hair has black stripes. In his hedgehog form, Lawless is black and his stripes are white, exactly like Licht.

In their attack, it's almost as if they were really the same person doing the same attack, when they almost can't stand each other.

And also, I mean, their fucking name. Licht JEKYLLand Todoroki and HYDE.

C-3 Arc

Oh dear, the C-3 is so damn full of references. Their spells have, generally, some verses of a true poem/nursery rhyme, some verses invented by Tanaka Strike to fit the charachter and things like that. Some of their spells are easy to find where they come from, but some other are either hard as hell or just aren't a reference to something. There's some where I didn't find anything, so I tried to interpret it, because why not. There’s also all the norse mythology things, not gonna lie it was a pain to write.

Tsurugi Kamiya

Norse mythology

At the C-3, his code name is Baldr. Baldr is a God in the Norse Mythology. He is loved by all, handsome and gracious. At least, most of the versions say he's like that, but they forget to mention his love for fighting and for war. Some people even say he's a God of War. One day, he begins to have dreams of his death. People laugh at that because he's an immortal being, so they just throw things at him. He is finally killed by Hodr, his brother. Hodr didn't mean to kill him : Loki, the guileful trickster of the gods, made an arrow with misteltoe (that can kill Bladr) and told Hodr, who was blind, to throw it at Baldr, and he did it without knowing it would kill him.

Knowing that Hodr is Yumikage's code name, it would mean that Yumi's going to kill Tsurugi. We can't say if it'll happen or not. The death of Baldr is very famous though. It could make sense, Yumi and Tsurugi are almost like brother, but it doesn't mean anything.

spell

When Tsurugi uses his spell (vol. 8, chap. 44.) it's "against" Kuro. It puts a kind of necklace / choker around their neck. A string of around 200 meters stops Kuro from running away and Tsurugi has power on him.

The spell is : « I want you to read pictures books to me by my bedside. I want you to pat my head and say 'goodboy, good boy'. Then hold me kindly, and say you love me. I am your treasure. 'Neverland' don't leave me alone ! »

I didn't find where it comes from. Not even some verses. Still, we can say that this poem talks about a child who doesn't want to be left alone, and to be loved, probably by the love of a parent. We can say with because of the pictures books by the bedside, who's usually a parental gesture. This poem is rather childish, and that's one of the reason we can relate it to Tsurugi, who couldn't grow up. He basically stayed alone, but with Touma. Even if he has bad influences on him, Tsurugi doesn't want him to leave him alone.

Another interesting thing is the "Neverland". Neverland is the magical land in Peter Pan. Once again, we have the parralel with the child who couldn't grow up, exept that Peter Pan didn't want to grow up.

Other

Here's a little thing I noticed. I don't really know how to call it or if it's even a reference but anyway.

In that pic (chap. 48, vol. 9), the white bubbles are Tsurugi's words. The two first are a quote from Martin Luther (1483 - 1546). Well, it's not the exact quote. The exact one is "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."

This quote talks about the fact that you should be happy now, instayead of wasting your life searching happiness. It has a sense, I promise.

What's interesting is the "I wonder what kind of tree it was...". The tree represents the "happiness", Tsrurugi is asking himself how to be happy. He doesn't know how to be. He wants to stop asking himselft how to be happy and plant that tree. But, which tree does he need to plant ?

Also, maybe a small parralel to The Mother's farm with her apple trees ? I don't know.

Yumikage Tsukimitsu

Norse mythology

His code name is Hodr. We don't know a lot about this god, compared to the other ones. Though, we know he was seen as very strong, even too strong.

The most famous story about him is the death of Baldr, as I explained earlier in Tsurugi's paragraph. I'm not going to repeat it here. Though, I want to point something. It is said that Hodr was blind, when he killed Baldr. Buuut- he wasn't really. Buuuut- maybe he was. People aren't really sure about it, it depends of the versions. Though, most people tend to say that he wasn't really blind and that it was rather for the symbolism.

He is killed by Baldr's avenger, Vali. Vali almost has been made to kill Hodr.

Spell

His spell creates a kind of sphere, like a moon, of light. He can throw them and it seems to be very powerful. We see it he's fighting Touma. (chap. 70)

His spell is : "Who killed Cock Robin ? You said it was you. Cast away the green eyes ! Flee, cowardly Lion ! Everyone shall grieve your absence. The tree is swaying from the flight of birds, making the hanging craddle fall down. Kill your mother, kill your father, kill your friends, kill your teacher. Kill everything and end up alone. Crawl the sky drowned in spilled blood. Cry for the Moon."

So, so, so. The first two verses come from a nursery rhyme called "Who killed Cock Robin ?". Yeah, it was pretty obvious. This rhyme talks about the death of the Cock Robin, who was killed by Sparrows. Basically, the animals of the forest talk about his death and what will happen next (who will burry him, etc). It has many interpretations. One of them being the death of Robin Hood. But it's not the one I'm going to talk about now. The other one, is the death of Baldr by Hodr. Baldr/Tsurugi would be the Cock Robin, killed by Hodr/Yumi, who would be the Sparrow. Here again, the sparrow didn't kill him on purpose. It was by mistake.

Seriously, all tends to say that Yumi will end up killing Tsurugi, by mistake, yes, but still. Tanaka please ;;

We can notice is the "cowardly lion", a character that comes from The Wizard of Oz. The "green eyes" could be the Green Witch, but she doesn't have green eyes. Though, it is said that the “green eyes monster”, in Shakespeare’s plays represents the Jealousy.

Now, here's something else. The verse "The tree is swaying from the flight of birds, making the hanging craddle fall down." I think it's a reference to the nursery rhyme "Rock a bye baby", who's... one of Touma's spell. You know what, I'll talk about it in Touma's part, to get it less confusing. I'm putting a little (1).

Jun'ichirou Kurumamori

Norse mythology

His code name is Thor. Well, I think you all know who's Thor, at least his name. Still, I'm going to developpe. Thor is the god of lightning / thinder. He is the warrior. He's the loyal and honorable fighter of the other gods and their world. His sense of duty and courage are unshakeable. Doesn't that sound like Jun ?

Also, Thor has a charriot carried by goats. What is Jun's tarrot card ? The charriot. He also has his famous hammer. I'm going to talk about it right after that.

Spell

His spell can "summon" a big hammer. Like, a really big one. This hammer is obviously Mjölnir, Thor's hammer. In theory, only Thor should be able to hold the hammer. That's maybe why he's that big in that scene, like only the one who casts the spell can hold it. Here, he's fighting against Tsurugi. (chap. 53, vol. 10)

His spell is : "Let's talk about the past. Let's talk about when you smiled. Let's talk about when you got mad. Let's talk about when you were here. I still can't believe in all those things we called the past. Ring a Ring, the Wheel of Fate !".

I didn't find where any of those verses come. If they come from something XD. But I still have things to say there. I believe that this spell talks about Tsurugi, a bit. Since Jun is fighting with him, it's almost as if he's "blaming" him. Jun is talking about the past, when he smiled, got mad, was here, etc, so, when he had emotions. Maybe, when they were younger, Tsurugi was less... sick ? I don't know how to call how Tsurugi is doing now. In the past, when Tsurugi still had, at least a little more, emotions. But here, I'm just speculating.

There's another thing I want to say here. Touma is watching the whole scene on his screens. He says "even if he's not as good as the previous Thor, he's using Mjölnir better than I thought he would". That implies that spells can be transmitted from one to another.

Touma Taishi

Touma doesn't have a norse mythologic reference. He has more spells than the others, though. Most of his spells don't have an affect on himself, but on Tsurugi. Like, a boost of power. Let's go in chronogical order.

Spell - 1

In chapter 53, when Tsurugi is fighting with Jun, Touma uses one of his spells.

It goes like : "You were born in a room with no windows. Today is the senventh you'll crawl on the ground. Instead of crying like an infant, scream out. Clutch your throat and yell. Breath five times in one second. Meanwhile, a single adult will die. 'Baby in the Dark', 'the black bird of Kensingston'".

The only reference I see is the "black bird of Kensingston". It comes from the book "The little white bird, or adventures in Kensingston Gardens". Written by James Matthew Barrie (1860 - 1937). This book is where Peter Pan comes from. In the first chapters at least, the next is someone else. As most of you know, Peter Pan's story is in Neverland. But in the beginning, Neverland was just the Kensingston's gardens in London. Barrie changed the name afterward.

Though, the title of the book says "white bird". But in Touma's spell it's "black bird". Touma could be compared to a darker version of Peter Pan, probably his shadow, given of one of his last spells.

One of the interpetation of Peter Pan's shadow, is that it is his inability to grow old. It would represent the spirit of a dead one, who's still tied to earth. For the first thing, it could Touma and Tsurugi. Tsurugi is Peter Pan, the one who couldn't grow up because of his shadow, Touma.

For the rest of the spell. Touma is probably refering to Tsurugi, also because his spells can make Tsurugi "stronger" to fight. But, it could also be referring to Touma, for we also know that he had a bad childhood.

Spell - 2

In chapter 70, Touma and Tsurugi are fighting against Yumikage and Kuro. (Well, Tsurugi doesn't want to fight with Touma, but he forces him).When Yumi attacked them with "cry for the moon", Touma fights back with his spell. Once again, the spell affects Tsurugi, and not really Touma.

The spell is : ... well there isn't really one. I mean, not a long thing. But that seems already enough. It is "Rock-a-Bye-Baby ! 'sleep, little one, go to sleep'".

So, Rock-A-Bye-Baby is a nursery rhyme. The most common version used today is "Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree tops, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock, when the bough, breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all."

This nursery rhymes has some interpretations, but no one really suited the story in any sort.

Though, it talks about chidlren. That's probably why it fits with Tsurugi, who's still like a little child. I don't have anything else to say, exept maybe that the last thing "sleep, little one, go to sleep" comes from one of Mozart's lullaby. Same in that case, the only parralel is the child state of Tsurugi.

HANG OOON, THE LITTLE (1) IS NOW. So, in Yumi's spell was the sentence "The tree is swaying from the flight of birds, making the hanging craddle fall down." I think the hanging craddle is the same as in this nusery rhyme. We have the same idea of the wind who makes a craddle fall down from a tree. Maybe it's only a coincidence, maybe not. Still, I find it funny to tell.

Spell 3

Now, we're in chapter 74. Touma is fighting against Tsurugi, Kuro and Mahiru. Tsurugi is still a bit fighting against Kuro and Mahiru, because of Touma's previous spells. This time though, Touma's spell has an affect on himself, and not on Tsurugi. He can turn himslef into a shadow and attack people.

The spell is : "Do not open the lock, do not go outside. There's no place for you in the world. Tonight as well, monsters with the same face are bringing agony. Laughing in a world where I do no exist, there won't come a day when I can forgive you. The world is full of pain. Daddy Long Legs, 'nobody knows'".

Exept the litterature reference that I'll explain just after that, let's talk a bit about the spell in itself. It could be refering to Touma and Tsurugi, but it's rather for Touma I'd say. It talks about him. We know that Touma mostly had a shitty childhood, and let's say it a shitty life. I think the "onsters with the same face are bringing agony" sentence is referering to humans in general. He is full of hatred toward the others, he won't forgive them, as it's said. I don't think I need to say more, it speaks about itselft.

Now, the daddy long legs thing. Daddy Long Legs is a book written by Jean Webster (1876 - 1916). It talks about a girl, Judy who lives in a very poor orphanage. They live thanks to donor donations. When she's around 17, she wants to go to college, but she can't because of money. But, a mysterious donator offers to pay for her studies because he thinks she can become a wonderful writter. The only condition, she ahs to write a letter to him every month. She named him "daddy-long-legs because she never saw him and knows nothing about him, she only saw his shadow. To college, she has two friends. A kind and humble girl and a rich / snobinard girl. She not friend with the second in the beginning, but later.

Judy is obviously Tsurugi. He lives only from what he's given. (Even clothes, like Judy). And the Daddy-Long-Legs is Touma, even if now he's not someone good for Tsurugi, we can't forget he litteraly saved him and helped him a lot in the past. Also, Judy has two friends, like Tsurugi. The more humble one, like Jun, and and the snobinard one with whom she becomes a friend only later, like Yumikage.

Also, Touma has fucking long legs man.

Shuuhei Tsuyuki

For now, the only references we have for Shuuhei is his spell and his tarot card. Well, I wonder if he could be Loki, from the norse mythology, because Iduna calls him like that. But I don't see any parralel he could have with Shuuhei, so I'm not gonna speak about that, because, well, I just have nothing to say.

Spell

While he is fighting with Shamrock, in chapter 62, he uses his spell that he seems to have inherited from his father. Shamrock says they have the same eyes, and his power are a thing with the view, so maybe he inherited it.

The spell is : "I am thy law. Thou art a demon. Thou art corrupt. Fall from the rye field's cliff. Where no one will find you. You cannot return, even if you hold tightly to the 6 pence that you gave me. Four and Twenty black-birds. 'nobody in the rye'".

His spell gives him the power to have an unobstructed bird's view. He can know the position of objects and people and their behavior up to 10kms away, this power is called "Hayabusa", or "Hawk Eyes". The hawk is one of the bird that has the sharpest vision.

The "four and twenty black-birds" come from a nursery rhyme, who's not really one but we'll call it like that, who's called "Sing A Song of Sixpence". The rhyme goes like :

"Sing a Song of Sixpence, pocket Full of Rye, four and Twenty Black Birds, baked in a Pie. When the Pie was opened, the Birds began to Sing, wasn't that a dainty Dish, to set before the King ? The King was in the counting, house counting out his money, the Queen was in the Parlour, eating Bread and Honey, the Maid was in the Garden, hanging out the Clothes, when along came a Blackbird and snipped off her nose"

It has many interpretations, but the one that I find the better and who fits more Shuuhei is that the rhyme was Blackbeard's Alert.

Blackbeard was a famous and succesful pirate. Unlike most of the others, he paid the member of his crew. He paid each man 6 pence a day and a packet of rye whiskey. Like every crew on a ship, there was around twenty-four men. Given it was Blackbeard's crew, they were called the black-birds. Thanks to his many sources, he could usually know exactly were a ship would be.

(Blackbeard was the King, the Queen was his ship, the Maid would be the ship about to be attacked and it was in the garden, a specific area which was useful for Pirates. It was hanging out the clothes, meaning under sail. The black-birds were Blackbeard's mean hidden in the ship/pie.) The part in parenthesis isn't really important for the explanation, just for culture, if that interests you.

It fits Shuuhei because of Blackbeard's ability to know where every ships would be. The men are also the called "birds", and the hawks are birds. Also maybe, Shuuhei used to have black hair. And blackbeard had, well, a black beard.

Shamrock

We don't know much about him. We know a bit about his past, like the fact he was german. Like some subclasses, he has a special attack. In that case, it transforms him into a kind of... beast, that seems to be a bird, at least. Which species, I don't know. A kind of hawk, maybe.

His attack is called "Die Verwandlung. 'the nighthawk star'".

"Die Verwandlung" is a german novel written by Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924). In english "the metamorphosis". Basically, here's what happened. Gregor Samsa, a salesman, one day, wakes up, transformed into an insect. He has a sister and his two parents. Because of his "insect" state, he can't go to work and ends up fired. His sister is the only one who tries to help him (like, to feed him and all. He's not a little insect like we see everydays, he's a human sized insect). His parents are too frightened to help him. One day, his father throws an apple at his back, which ends up causing an infection. Now, even his sister stopped help him. He will die alone in his room because of the infection, he thinks of his death as a sacrifice to help his family to move on.

This novel is about the transformation. Gregor Samsa was abandonned because he became an insect. He was still the same man, but had another body. And because it was ugly to see, disgusting even, the others let him alone. It fits Shamrock, somehow. He didn't became an insect, but a vampire. Though, Tsubaki didn't let him. Yoshimasa did, but he wasn't a vampier yet. But we can still make the parralel of the abandonment. That's all I had to say for that.

"The nighthawk star" is a popular Japanese children's story written by Kenji Miyazawa (1896 - 1933). Here's a summary of what happens. There's a Nighthawk, who is a nightjar (another species of bird, but who isn't an hawk). He is bullied and hated by the others because he is descibed as "ugly". The "real" Hawk dislikes him because the nightjar has "hawk" in his name and demands him to change it. But the Nighthawk refuses. He is very sad to see that the others hate him just because of his appearance. He ends up dying, alone, while flying. He became a star and shines.

We have the theme of the reject because of the appearance back, and the theme of the birds that goes with the Tsuyuki family. It could be that the "real" hawk is Yoshimasa or Shuuhei, that hates the nighthawk/nightjar, so Shamrock, because he is an ugly beast/monster.

Shuuhei does hate him because he is a vampire. (Well, also because he killed his father, but the fact that he is a vampire has something to do with it). Yoshimasa didn't hate him, we can say that he abandonned him, but before he was a vampire.

Because of his attack, Shamrock does transform into something else. The two of his references reflect what happened/happens to him, and one if it is tied to the Tsuyuki family. Now, I'm done with him. Let's move on.

Wrath Pair

I didn't know if I can call Iduna and Freya like that, but for now I will. Their references are related. They have references to the norse mythology and an attack. Let's begin.

Norse mythology

I'll begin with Iduna.

Iduna, mostly called Idun, is the goddess of youth and fertility in the norse mythology, pictured with long blond hair. We don't know a lot of things about her, sadly. In her best-knows, and only, tale, she is the owner of a fruit that gives immortality. People accord to say that this fruit was apples. Whoever eats one of her apples finds his youth back.

Take makes a parralel with Freya's backstory, we knew she married a man that planted apples. Also both Idunas have long blond hair. Apart from that, there's nothing else to say. Let's go with Freya now.

Freya, also written Freyja, is the goddess of love, fertility and beauty. Her name would be a derivative from the german word "Frau", which means "lady". We have more stories about her than about Iduna, but it'd be too long to tell them. Also, they're not interesting for this post and for the parralels we're trying to make.

Freya und Iduna don't really have stories in common. Well, there's one book. It's called "Freya, Iduna & Thor : vom Charme der germanischen Göttermythen" (Freya, Iduna & Thor: from the charm of Germanic myths of the gods, in english). It's a book of some tales for chidlren about the gods. But it doesn't really speak about the two goddess together.

Attack

When Freya und Iduna are fighting against Shamrock, in chapter 76, they have a special attack called "Maiden of Orleans ! 'war maiden, take the sword !'".

Their special attack creates a bunch of light swords. Freya is fighting with them while Iduna seems to control the swords as well.

"The maiden of Orlean" is a reference to Joan of Arc, who had that nickname. She was a french girl who was born in 1412 and died at age 19 in 1231, burned at the stake. She was considered a heroine in the history of France and a saint by the Catholic Church (though she had been canonized like 500 years after her death).

At this time, the Hundred Years' War was going on between France and England. At age 17, Joan of Arc, who was the daughter of farmers, began to have hallucinations. She thought the angels (such as St. Micheal) told her she was the one who had to save France from the british. She went to see the future Charle VII, son of the previous France's king. He accepted that Joan join his troops and gave her and an armor. In the end, at age 18, she led the the French army to victory in the battle of Orléans. She was captured one year later by the British and had been burned alive.

The parralel obviously the fact that "Hey, I'm a girl and I can kick your fucking ass". (A sentence is better than a hundred of words, sometimes. XD). Because, I think y'all can agree with me, Freya is fucking badass, like Joan of Arc was. Iduna is strong too, but here it focuses more on Freya. She's the one with the swords and the shield, who were two of Joan's attributes.

Johaness Mimir Faustus

Norse mythology

This tall scientist is a reference to Mimir. He is the counselor of the gods and known to be exceptionally wise. We don't have a lot of sources on him, and the ones we are have are contradictory. For example, we don't know if he was a God himself, or just a Giant. Tanaka Strike seems to have choosed the second option, because Johaness is the tallest of the manga, with 2 meters and 11 cms. (Or 6'9'', in feet. Basically, fucking tall.) The vikings thought of him like "the one who helped the gods retain the wisdom of tradition".

Though Johaness is more seen as the "crazy scientist", we know he has a lot of knowledge, especially over vampires. His words also help Mahiru a lot, sort of, he acts as a counselor. So yeah, some people could consider him as a wise, in some ways. I already talked about his height, but I still want to say again that us, people, call tall people like him giants.

The Lion and the Unicorn

There's something else about Johaness but I don't really know where to put it. Given that it's Johaness who talks with Mahiru, I'll put it here. Also, it happens in the Greed Pair Arc, sooo yeah kinda confusing

So, in chapter 29, Johaness helps Mahiru to... hum, should should I say this... get into Kuro. Well, his mind. And before throwing him, Johaness says "I'll recite a poem for your journey !"

Here's the poem : "The Cat and the Unicorn, were fighting without the crown. The Cat beat the Unicorn, all about the town. Some gave them no flowers, and sent them out of town."

This poem is adapted from this one : "The Lion and the Unicorn, were fighting for the crown. The Lion beat the Unicorn, all around the town. Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown. Some gave them plum cake, and drummed them out of town."

The real peom (who's a bit longer, but the last four verses aren't interresting here), also called nursery rhyme, is about the United Kingdom. As you may know, the Lion and the Unicorn are one of its symbol. Even before the unification of England and Scotland, in 1603, the Lion was England's symbol and the Unicorn was Scotland's smybol. When they unified, they combined. And this nursery rhyme was created.

Though, the rest of the poem, well... doesn't really have a signification. Some people say there was a battle between the two country and that England (the lion) beat Scotland (the Unicorn). but they officialy unified as equals. Soo, I'm kind of lost with this.

In Johaness' version, it is the Cat and the Unicorn. The cat is obviously Kuro, but for the Unicorn... I can't really say.

This one is kind of confusing. The rhyme talks about "fighting for the crown", but there wasn't a war or anything, they unified, as I said, as equals. It's pretty hard to make parralels when you can barely understand the base.

I did some research and asked friends, and it appears that the Lion and the Unicorn are two characters from Through the Looking Glass. (Who're also a reference to the original rhyme). It was surprising because the Alice's references are rather for the Alicein, but here it's in the Greed Pair arc, said by Johaness and to Mahiru. But hey, that's the only clue I have so let's go that way.

The Lion and the Unicorn are fighting for the White King's crown, which is pretty absurd because both of them are on the White side. There, the Lion is pictured as a rather slow, even stupid, but the better fighter. The Unicorn sees Alice as a monster, but he says he'll believe in her if she believes in him first. The Unicorn also "attacks" Alice, but the Lion protects her.

We know the Lion/Cat is Kuro. Now, here is my interpretation. I don't know at all if it really meant. I thought that Lawless could be the Unicorn, and Mahiru Alice. (Even if Alice is already Misono, buuuuuut, this and the Alicein aren't related, not in here.)

It could make sense, with Lewis Caroll's version and the Servamp one, combined (?). Kuro and Lawless are on the same side, sort of : they're against Tsubaki. They aren't fighting for a crown. Lawless doesn't believe in Mahiru, he stills thinks humans life are meaningless, etc. Though, Lawless doesn't talk about believing in him later. Also, Lawless attacks Mahiru, not the first time they meet, but after, in the concert hall, and Mahiru protects him.

In both versions of the rhyme, they end up kicked out of the town. But I don't see anything that speaks about that. Not even in the original meaning the rhyme. I guess it's just... there, with no meaning behind.

Now the question is why the fuck does Johaness tells Mahiru that, when he doesn't even know what the fuck is going on between the others and Lawless. I'm talking about Johaness' later, he's a reference to a wise being, so we can say he doesn't tell things with no meaning. Once again, it's only my interpretation there, but Johaness could be telling Mahiru that the fights between Sloth and Greed are absurd, just like the Lion and the Unicorn's ones (at least those from Lewis Caroll's).

Mahiru Shirota

So, the sunshine finally's got a reference to something. Bye bye norse mythology, we're now in greek mythology.

In chapter 75, Mahiru and Kuro are fighting against Touma. Mahiru's attack/spell is "Elpis". (I don't know how to call that. It is formuled like a spell, but spells are only for magicians, if I'm right. So maybe it's an attack with Kuro, or maybe Mahiru has magician blood ? Anyway, it doesn't matter here) It is a reference to Pandora's myth, with the infamous Pandora's box. Basically, here's the myth in the big lines.

Pandora was said to be the first woman. She was created by the gods, beautiful and sweet but also curious. She was what we could call a poisoned gift for the human, given by Zeus. She was sent with a small box, but with the ban to open it. But, because of the curiousity, she opened it and all the sins were released in the world.

She was so sad and cried, her husband came to comfort her and asked what happened. She opened the box again to show him, but this time Hope came out. (Depending of the versions, people says it was Hermes, another god, placed Hope in the box without Zeus (the god of the gods) knowing).

"Elpis" is Hope. It is the way to call it, and also the personification.

This myth means a lot of things. One of the most important, it tells you that you shouldn't be curious. I mean, see what it did. Also, when Pandora talked to her husband and showed him the box, hope came. She opened up to him, and it helped.

We already saw these black boxes in the manga. Everyone has their Pandora's box. Touma's one already opened and the sins came out. Touma says it himself, he's a bad person. It is said the key of his box is lost, so the box can't open anymore, can't release the hope. But, here's Mahiru. His spell made the key. Now the box will open again, and Touma will be able to release his Hope. (With a bit of chance, still). He and Mahiru will probably talk (or talking while fighting, we'll see). Maybe Touma will open up to Mahiru and, like the lesson the myth teaches us, find hope.

Nothing more about the sunshine boy, for now at least.

Yggdrasill

This time, this isn't a reference to a character in particular. Rather to... the C-3 in itself. As you all know now, the C-3 is full of references to norse mythology. Let me explain, in chapter 42, we have this picture :

I don't know why there's a bunch of triangles on the ground, but that doesn't matter. The interesting thing is the tree. It is Yggdrasill, the Tree of Life, also called the World Tree. It is in center of the Norse spiritual cosmos, and the it leads to the nine worlds of the said cosmos. The Tree is connected to the worlds in all ways : if the Tree is bad, the worlds are bad. It is said that the Tree has three main roots, one leading to Asgard, the world of gods, to Midgard, the world of humans and to Helheim, the world of the deads.

It's not surprising to see the Tree in the C-3. After all, there's so many characters with a reference to the norse mythology in it. The C-3 probably represents Asgard, the world of gods, because all of the references are gods. Asgard is the fortress of the Aesirs (the people of Asgard). The C-3 is also kind of a fortress, and also the home for some of the members, such as Tsurugi (Bladr).

C-3′s building and Servamp - Eve distance limitation

Okay so I really didn’t know where to put that, but I wrote something about the Servamp - Eve distance limitation and about the size of C-3′s building here.

Gilbert Weasel

His attack is called "Forbidden Lover ! Dying in Venice !". He seems to be able to "shot" water. It is pretty powerful, even if it doesn't sound like it. So, this is a reference to the book called "Death In Venice", by Thomas Mann. (1875 - 1955). Here's a summary.

A writer, Aschenbach, goes in vacation in Venice. In his hotel, he sees a Polish teenager called Tadzio. Achenbach falls in love with him, finding him just... perfect. Though, they never spoke a word to each other, just stares. When he learns that Tadzio has to go back in his country because of a disease that spreads fast in Venice, Achenbach goes to look at him one last time on the beach and then dies, of the said disease that he catched.

We understand the "forbidden lover", now. The forbidden love between a 14 years old boy and a man. Though, there isn't a real link between this story and Gil. Except maybe the fact the italian is often seen as "the lover, the romantic" in a lot of stories, and Gil and Ray are both kind of gentlemen.

We also have the thing with the water. As you may know, Venice is called the city of water, and the story of the book happens in Venice.

Ray St. Crazy Rabbit

Ray's attack is called "Illumination ! Betraying the Sun and the Moon !", it seems that Ray can prevent the person from moving, for some seconds, in a small space, as if taking a picture. All colors, light and black, disappears from this small space.

For this one, it's more complicated than for Gil's. "Death in Venice" is a famous book, and was pretty easy to find. If Ray's attack has a literary reference, it's more hard to find, if you don't know the book at all. It's also complicated to search, because the sun and the moon are very common in italian litterature. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If it does refer to something, I didn't find. But, I had another idea. As I said, it's almost as if Ray was taking a picture.

His attack is like the old way of taking pictures. Look, the time is stopped in a small space, and Before having the photo, we only have the negative, that we'll have to develop. If mangas were with colors, we could easily tell if it is the negative version of the old pictures, or just something in black and white, which would be something else then. The negative version of a photo reverse the colors, here, it works.

Tarot Cards

A lot of characters, almost all from the C-3, got references to Tarot Cards. All the following has been written by my amazing friend, I'll go character by character. For almost every of the, their tarot card was said in a chapter title, exept for Mikuni, it is the cover of a chapter who’s the same as a card.

Yumikage Tsukimitsu - THE MOON

Indicates that you are kind of "lost in thought", that you have something to overcome even though you refuse to face it directly (because it's in your subconscious). = Yumikage is shown to be kinf of self-conscious about the choices he made. Despite not helping Tsurugi at first, because he didn't think he could / didn't really want to care, but he was still always there for him

The Moon shines less bright than the sun, but its light is more persistent. In the night as in the day, it's the moon that you can see. In the end, it's the moon that shows you the way between the Towers, helping you to deal with your tamed aspects and your wild aspects = Yumi's role is very important for Tsurugi. Mahiru did a great job reaching out to Tsurugi, but, at the end, Yumi's the one really pushing Touma (the Tower) once and for all, so as to soothe his friend's anxietes.

Taishi Touma - THE TOWER

Chaos and destruction = Touma is no good news. It seems nothing good can be coming out of him. He tries to take everybody down with him.

Solid but shaky = Touma is a strong opponent, if not the strongest. However, his core is based on false, or at least biased assumptions. Is he really the monster he claimed to have become ?

Desperate situation but it is possible to be saved = Touma claims to be a "purebred villain", and seems to have done everything to be one and to stay as such, but is there really no way to make him realize that he's blinding himself, living a life that will destroy him ? Maybe he has already realized it. Persevering in his wicked ways will without a doubt lead to a disaster (for him and everyone else), but maybe the sun will clean the tempest.

Iduna Nobel - THE STAR

Highly feminine card, water everywhere which means fertility, renewal. = Iduna is one of the few female characters. The chapter named "The Star" focuses on her bond with The Mother, another female lead.

The Star also follows the Tower in the Tarot Deck = After the chaos Touma made, Iduna is there to fix her superior's bullshit, which she can do with her loving and pure energy.

Inner resources and and intuition = Iduna is shown to be able to adapt very quickly. She is a scientist, and a talented one, very creative.

Hope and faith = She seems to be quite good at helping people and guiding them on a better path. "You're open minded and want to help the others, and you should not feel down about it. Even if you do, you have to stand up and show that you can handle the situation". Which Iduna does quite well for someone who hasn't gone through some personal shit and is not used to fight.

Tsurugi Kamiya - THE HANGED MAN

Martyrdom, sacrifice to the greater good = Tsurugi's relationship with Touma (or how Touma abuses Tsurugi). He is to become the ninth Servamp, and his life doesn't matter as a human being, for he has to serve this higher purpose.

Ultimate surrender = Tsurugi's passivity regarding, like, his life in general. He doesn't choose things. They are imposed to him, and he doesn't care because he judges it's not his role. He is willingly serving Touma.

Break, new perspectives, letting go = However, at some point, Tsurugi really suffers of his situation. The Mother, his friends and Mahiru make him realize that maybe he's not really doing what's best for him. Maybe he just has to take a break and let go of everything stalling him. But, he has to be ready to make this decision, and not to be forced to, or he'll just end up killed, like the Hanged Man. If he takes the leap, things are sure to go better, though it won't come from nobody but him.

Mikuni Alicein - THE HIGH PRIESTESS

Highly feminine card = Mikuni, do you have something to tell us ? XD This card maybe as well be about Abel, at this point.

Sacred knowledge, secrets, silence, subconscious, withdrawal = Mikuni is the guy knowing the most of stuff (with Johaness, maybe). But he doesn't share them easily, if not at all. Even his own self is full of secrets, maybe even for himself. It's more likely than you think that the guy pulling the strings from behind is actually the one having the most troubles to settle with himself. He will help you if you're ready to hear him, but it is not said that following him will grant you what you were looking for, maybe Mahiru will do as well to trust himself more than relying on Mikuni.

BJ - entrance of the Temple of Solomon (B = Boaz, "in his strenght", J = "he will establish"), duality = Very likely, Mikuni holds the answers our main characters are looking for. However, they are his strenght, that is, he is the one making "good" use of the,. The heroes have to be ready to face him. Moreover, he's ready to do anything to prove his point, and has a kind of God Complex. "He will establish", no matter what it takes.

Jun'ichirou Kuromamori - THE CHARRIOT

Lack of direction = Jun has gone through hard times, and didn't know what to do in crisis. He was really despaired when he was left alone with his son, when his wife died.

Brave warrior, determination, willpower = Jun has faced life with all his strenght, despite having lost his wife and having to raise his kid alone.

Mahiru Shirota - THE MAGICIAN

Numer one = Mahiru is the protagonist, aka the most important character. It's also the number of new beginnings and opportunities. The infinity symbol and the snake biting his own tail around the magician's waist also stand for the unlimited potential and the blossoming of ideas and intentions in the character.-

White robe for purity and red cloak for worldly experience and knowledge = Despite being only a child (at least it's how he considers himself), Mahiru has experienced a lot of things in his life and acts in a very mature way, especially in the way he takes responsibility for things/ of the others.

The magician brings you the tools, resources and energy you need to make your dreams come true, he's a source of inspiration for many people who are still insecure about what they should do/ who they should be, and make them realise that what they want to achieve is possible if they make efforts to do so. The magician will help you gathering everything you've learned so far + establishing a clear vision of what you can and want to do = Like Mahiru with Kuro especially.

However the focus, to be efficient, must be on one thing it's easier and allows you to eliminate whatever disturbs you = "Thinking simply" is Mahiru's motto. The Magician can also help to question one self.

Shuuhei Tsuyuki - THE HIEROPHANT

The Hierophant is the masculine counterpart to the High Priestess (Mikuni’s card) = Even if we don’t know a lot about their relationship, they are linked. Mikuni offers his help to Shuuhei (though it maybe isn’t a good idea)

The other things don’t really fit Shuuhei, but he isn’t that developped yet so maybe there’s more to come.

98 notes · View notes