#No kidding chances are that Emma would have brought Don with her instead of Norman??

[1000sunnygo]

Hello! Its me, shobi! I was wondering on what your thoughts are on what if sister krone were to escape with the children? Would she and yuugo get along? would she survive getting chased by demons with the GF kids? Would she stay with don and gilda or go with emma and ray incase yuugo plans to kill them? How would she react if she found out that norman is alive and wants to genocide? Would she agree with ray and emma about their plan to not kill demons? would she trust and get along with sonju and musika? If they ever return to the farms, how would she react when she found out that isabella became a grandma instead of getting eaten by demons? I have so many questions. I'm sure having her around be a great benefit for the kids. I miss her sm. I wish she had more screentime. I get that she was a huge help when she gave the pen to the kids but still. I want an AU where she lives. OHH AND ANOTHER QUESTION! If you were given a chance to change sister krone's design to make her a great representative of black people, what would it be? What would it look like? sorry for disturbing you and if theres any grammatical errors. I would love to hear your thoughts and don't hesitate to ramble about it. Again, I would love to hear anything you want to say.

Sorry for the delay 😭 got a one piece brain bug so I decided to give this ask some time.

Initial hostility aside (with Krone around they may knock him out as soon as he brings out the gun lol), I think Krone would get along fine with Yugo. It would be Krone's first time interacting with an adult man, right?

Don't blame my mind for going places 🌚

As for whether she goes with ER or stays in Bunker, I think she stays. She would agree with Norman but then support Emma like GP gang. Overall, the story would proceed just as it did, maybe smoother. Hope she survives Andrew

It's a good food for thought, leaving it here for anyone who wants to add more!

Since you brought up Krone's design, I remember recently rereading an interview where Shirai and Posu talked about her design. It's an extra info but I'd add it here in this opportunity.

^ francetvinfo interview (2018), Shirai says he came up with Krone's design with Posuka.

(upper two are Shirai's drawing, bottom one is Posuka's)

Posuka's inspirations for her style of drawing Krone (and others) was Rembrandt's arts, some video games and Little Prince's illustration book (snippet from the aforementioned interview):

Frankly speaking, I feel that the answers aren't on the same wavelength as the questions, that speaks something for itself :re Shirai and Posuka's awareness on the matter.

And to answer your question. I'm afraid I might not be able to provide a good insight to it based on my insufficient knowledge from news outlets and social media :re this matter. I'd like to hear your own thoughts though :)

[just-like-playing-tag]

Me???? Still not over that Apollo Ray AU in 2021?????? It's more likely than you think.

I jumped into the water and now I need to keep swimming

If you're new to the AU, you can check out this post where it's explained where the name comes from and this other post on what Apollo Ray differs from Minerva Norman.

Tonight, I'd like to expand the plotline that Apollo Ray would choose to imprison Emma and Norman to prevent them from getting in his way to demons' eradication. I know y'all might cringe at this but you have to understand, he's REALLY convinced it's for their best.

This is how I can imagine things to go: Ray kinda tricks them and traps them somewhere inside of the Paradise Hideout. Not really a prison, he'd probably just lock them in a room and be like “you just got back from a long, dangerous journey, why don't you take some rest? In the meantime, I've got some stuff to do at, let's say, the Royal Capital :)”

Sounds familiar?

Like mother like son

Very relevant detail is that the room MUST be without locks. Make it an electronic key or a biometric iris recognition lock or whatever. Ray knows Norman well enough and he's not falling to the magical hairpin trick lmao.

Now, I like to think Gilda would take sides with Ray. I've always thought about Ray and Gilda having a lot in common (often seeing the glass half empty, loving Emma unconditionally; furthermore, they were the only ones who agreed that escaping from Grace Field with everyone was unequivocally impossible). At some point, paralleling how Norman asked to talk with Gilda and Don, Ray asks for Gilda only to come into his study. They have a long talk, during which he persuades her to join him. On Ray's end, he needs somebody he trusts to stay in the Hideout while him and his squad go to their fun trip to the Royal Capital, to keep an eye on Emma and Norman and make sure they won't escape or try and go to the Seven Walls. Now, Gilda probably wouldn't look like his first choice, for she is endlessly loyal to Emma; however, Ray plans of making that very factor, her love and dedication for her friend, his trump card. By talking to Gilda and calmly describing their situation, he makes her understand how hopeless is the mission Emma is so desperate to fulfill; that no one ever came back from the Seven Walls, and they're most likely to die there. Moreover, Ray persuades Gilda to believe that his plan of demon eradication is without doubts the most certain route, that will surely lead to the safest future for her friends - even though they can't understand it yet. However, their safeness and happiness is above anything else, even their own temporary freedom- isn't it? They will understand, once everything is over, that him and Gilda were only acting for their best.

Although initially hesitant, as never in her life she had gone against Emma, Gilda ends up firmly accepting, for she's determined to do anything to save Emma's (and Norman's) life- including betraying her.

I don't think it shouldn't be too surprising to have Gilda accept Ray's plottings; already in the manga, she's shown as being maybe the most condescending to Norman's plan, since she believed it was the less dangerous route to secure Emma's safety- and, to her eyes, consequential happiness.

In this AU, Ray's using the very feelings of affection that build Gilda's loyalty to Emma to bring her to his side; he's persuading her that the mission Emma and Norman are trying to carry out is a suicidal one, and that if they let them go they will lose them forever- which is something he knows Gilda would do anything to not let happen.

I know it may seem like he's manipulating her to get what he wants, but I want to underline I don't think that'd be the case: by saying he's worried Emma and Norman are going to lose their lives going after the Seven Walls, he's putting genuine sentiments on the line, and he's as determined to prevent it from happening as Gilda is. In comparison, Norman has been way more dishonest when he spoke to Gilda and Don- as Gilda would have later learnt, he was never intentioned to spare Musica (thus having plainly lied to them).

On the contrary, Ray's intentions of simply wanting to protect Emma and Norman were sincere, and he was way more honest with Gilda with his plan, fully entrusting her with it.

On the other side, Don would obviously take sides Emma, which would eventually lead to a very cool conflict between Gilda and Don?? I'm certain Don would support Emma because he grew up to be very similar to her. Brings back to my mind this old old post I once made, which considers the events of chapters 138 and 139: Don shares Emma's point of view on many matters, so I'm confident he would be ready to support her. When you think about it, he was the fastest to take sides with her in canon too, probably second to Ray only; and when Ray's choice was likely driven by his undying loyalty to Emma, chances are that Don was supporting Emma not only because he believed in her, but also because he was the first one to truly believe in her ideals as well, the first to believe they would have really been able to find a solution that would have brought happiness for everyone.

Now Don openly supporting Emma would inevitably lead to him and Gilda clashing which I find being the absolute COOLEST thing. I mean I love them, and I love how they love each other; still the thought of them being compelled by the circumstances to collide intrigues me so much!!!! I think they'd have this extremely angsty confrontation that will eventually end with Don convincing Gilda that trusting Emma has took them so far, and that the best thing to do is give up and help him to free Emma and Norman (maybe Ray had entrusted her with the keys / password to open the room Emma and Norman were locked in?? Dunnot)

Besides, I think it would make a lot of sense taking the whole tpn plotline?? It would end up paralleling Gilda and Don's chapters in Grace Field in so many different ways. First of all, I have to say it would be very nice to have a new spotlight on Gilda: her role in the first arc was relevant indeed, with her and Don being the key to the success of the escape; however, she didn't really got to have enough space for character development. The moment when the trio revealed them the truth was more about Don, while Gilda had never doubted of their words in the first place; moreover, the space she had as a possible spy was mostly used to deceive the attention from the true spy, and the revelation that she was never intentioned to betray them was more of character development for Emma, who consolidated her will to trust and protect her family, than a growth of Gilda herself.

But now, for Gilda to take sides against her dear Emma, the person she's more loyal and devoted to, what a great potential for character development that has!!!!!!! I can imagine her, once she finally accepts to help Emma, to echo the words Emma once told her at Grace Field: “I'm sorry- to protect you, I was prepared to be hated by you; yet, I wasn't ready to believe in you!”

To sum up: the Apollo Ray AU is still my jam and Gilda and Don deserve way more space than what they were given in the manga. Also stan Gilda.

[madara-fate]

Who was your favourite character from the shows that aired during this recent season (January - March 2019)?

I’d have to say that it would be Isabella from The Promised Neverland. While researching how well she was received, I came across Mother’s Basement’s video on YouTube over here for how he viewed Isabella, and I found that we shared many of the same opinions on her, so check out his video because it really helped me to articulate various of the following points.

She was such a good antagonist because her mere presence was just so… dominating. She was compelling in a way that few characters are, because she was able to constantly evoke feelings of concern, uncertainty, and to a certain degree, even futility with regards to the kids’ chances of success. However, most importantly, she added a constant sense of tension to the show, which was vital in determining how great of a character she truly was, because whenever she was in view, whenever she was even talked about, Isabella gave the scene a “what’s going to happen” element to it. She kept you on your toes, kept you guessing, and that’s what I loved about her so much. She was remarkably insidious with her actions and mannerisms, and this made her so captivating - Because even when she was in the background of the scene, Isabella just had this way of silently looming over everything that was going on, consistently reminding the kids and the viewers that she is always there, always watching, and would always be a threat. This was one one of the factors which contributed to her overall portrayal as such a truly intimidating force.

She didn’t need to be in focus during the scene in order to impose herself, and she certainly didn’t need to say anything in order to convey how fearsome she was - She could just be playing with the kids like any other normal day, and then she would flash that sinister grin, which always spoke a thousand words:

Isabella always carried herself with this aura of untouchable confidence which just screamed “you can’t win”, and this was very explicitly communicated in her grin above. She was always depicted in a way that made it seem as though getting the better of her was a near impossible task, because she always seemed to be at least three steps ahead, every single time.

Yet, that only scratches the surface of what made her so captivating as the series’ main antagonist. Despite her calm demeanour and her smiley nature with the kids, this didn’t prevent her from being scary, because there were times when she was scary. The expression that she wore at the very end of the first episode was one of the most memorable shots in the entire season for me:

It was just the mixture of cold rage and subdued panic on her face when she was staring down at Connie’s stuffed toy, and realising the implications of what that meant… It was just downright chilling.

Similarly, the way Isabella looked at Emma as she was confronting her during episode 2 had a similar effect - It’s like she was piercing a hole straight through Emma’s very soul with that frightening glare:

However, I’d argue that Isabella is actually collectively more scary when she is her normal, smiley self. Whenever she acts oblivious and puts on the caring Mama facade, even her warmest and most caring actions always seemed to have an underlying feeling of superiority to them, like she had the children in the palm of her hand. This ensured that whenever Isabella was even mentioned, the scene was immediately given a sense of uneasiness, and that is a very special quality to have; her character was powerful, because even when things seemed to be going according to plan for the main trio, you just couldn’t help but think that Isabella knew more than she was letting on.

To further reiterate how menacing she could be even when all smiles, are the multiple instances in which she demonstrates just how capable and dangerous she can be. One of the prime examples was when she somehow managed to become even more terrifying by orchestrating her own backup’s death:

This scene, as well as everything that came immediately after it during episode 8, really revealed just how far ahead Isabella truly was. We learned the full scope of what she knew - Sister Krone’s plotting, Ray’s treachery, Don and Gilda’s involvement and even the most minute details of their plans of escape, Isabella knew. This really emphasised that aura of untouchable confidence which just screamed “you can’t win” that I had mentioned earlier, and it was this revelation that initially brought on the feelings of futility, because from this point onward, it started to become agonisingly clear that every solution the kids could possibly formulate would only led to dead ends because Isabella would seemingly always be three steps ahead.

Just look at how she side-eyes Don and Gilda as she passes them with that trademark knowing grin of hers:

With that one look, she instantly set the kids back to square one, because every advantage they thought they had, they never really had in the first place.

Yet, I’d say the thing which made episode 8 truly great was how it managed to shed light on Isabella’s true nature. She adopts warm and motherly mannerisms when with the kids, but when she’s with Ray or alone, she is very distant and cunning. But when she confronted Emma and Norman for the first time “without the acting”, she revealed her true incentive for being a Mama - Love:

A very twisted love, but in her mind, a genuine and authentic love for the children, because due to her own experiences with being a child in one of the farms, she reached the conclusion that escape was impossible. So rather then fight what she deemed to be inevitable, she instead opted to ensure that the children would at least be able to live happy lives until they were eventually shipped out. This endeavour of her’s was genuine, and it just added to Isabella’s mystique because she would demonstrate mere moments later the extreme lengths she would go to in order protect them from their own idealistic fantasies, as she proceeded to nonchalantly break Emma’s leg, and would then comfort her as if nothing had just transpired:

That, is terrifying - This love that she harboured for the children would lead her to lie to them, manipulate them, and physically injure them all for the sake of their own “protection”. This love of hers was the kind of love that would lead her to cradle Emma with a broken leg in her arms, lavishing her with love and attentiveness, as if she hadn’t just broken it herself seconds earlier with minimal effort.

In my opinion, that is far more terrifying than any expression she could wear, or the cold and calculated persona that she adopted when with Ray or alone, because her method of controlling them and imposing her dominance through her love, made the angle so much more psychological, and when Isabella visited Emma shortly after Norman was shipped out, she had this very telling expression and demeanour; It was almost as if she was saying “I told you so”:

This is important because as mentioned earlier, Isabella has first hand experience with being a child in these farms, so a large part of her perpetual confidence in the futility of the children’s aspirations lies in her ability to predict the outcome of their efforts based on her own struggles all those years ago.

However, despite her outward aura of invincibility, there were one or two occasions where chinks in her armour were revealed. As she was escorting Norman to the gates to be shipped out, the latter asked her if she was truly happy, a question which although brief, appeared to have rattled her immensely:

I feel that this scene is a lot more significant than it’s often given credit for. Up until this point, Isabella had forgotten what actual love and happiness felt like; She only had in her mind the type of “love” that had been shown to her following her escape attempts, and as she was preparing to become a Mama. Therefore, it stands to reason that her manner of showing love to the children as discussed above may very well be the only type of love she could remember.

However, Norman’s question shook her, because for a brief moment, she asked herself that question, and realised that something was missing. This is key to what makes Isabella a sympathetic character, despite the horrible things that she had done over the course of the series and her severely warped mindset. Through the flashback in the final episode, we see what she was like during her youth, and the many parallels with Emma were unquestionable:

We understand how she became what she is currently, why she ultimately submitted to the Grandma of her time and started training to become a future Mama, and what motivated her to become such a valuable asset to the organisation. It’s like Isabella can really be herself when taking care of the children, even the ones who had no future. This wasn’t solely a means of survival to her - She did genuinely love the time that she spent taking care of them, and that’s part of what made her so successful. An authentic love for what you do always leads to a better performance.

Additionally, when it was revealed that Ray was her actual biological son, it made it easier to understand why they had the relationship that they did. When Isabella first learned about it, she displayed a level of vulnerability that was so uncharacteristic of anything we had seen from her adult self thus far:

And made it nigh impossible not to feel at least the slightest bit of sympathy for her, especially when considering the tragic origins of the melody Ray was humming. Leslie was Isabella’s closest friend as a child; she may have even loved him, but she could do nothing to prevent his departure. Thus, as she was alone, her subsequent attempts at escaping failed, and she ultimately gave in.

Isabella is a representation of what Emma could have become, had she not had the help of Norman, Ray and everyone else, and that just perpetuates the notion that at heart, Isabella is indeed a good person who is just making the most out of a truly morbid situation. However, that’s not to say that she is blameless. Isabella is definitely a victim, but she is not innocent. By accepting the Grandma’s proposition, she made the selfish decision to prolong her own survival at the expense of the other children, but her decision was understandable.

Ultimately though, when the children actually did manage to escape against all odds, Isabella lost the will to oppose them any further:

Because her desire to protect them from their attempts of escaping was only because she firmly believed escape to be impossible. Going back to the conversation she had with Emma during episode 10, Isabella reiterated what she had told the children during episode 8 - How she wanted them to give up because she truly believed that their efforts would only lead them to more suffering and despair due to its futility, and she didn’t want them to suffer:

She echoed to Emma the thoughts that crossed her mind when she eventually made the decision to become a Mama - To simply accept the grim situation that she was living in, to free herself from the suffering that would inevitably come should she persist in resisting, and to make the most of the opportunity that was offered to her by doing what she could to survive:

So she just didn’t want the children to keep hurting themselves by dreaming of things that would never come true. Obviously, they proved her wrong, and did so by having the utmost faith in their peers. The system only felt inescapable to Isabella because she faced it alone, a sentiment which she herself explicitly alluded to during her conversation with Emma:

So when Emma ultimately still refused to give up on trying to escape, even after all the setbacks they had experienced including her broken leg and Norman’s apparent death, Isabella would admonish her for her foolishness and take her leave, but not before turning back and giving Emma a look of genuine sorrow:

Because Isabella knew it too - Emma is just like she was in her youth, so she couldn’t help but feel a large sense of empathy for Emma because she knew exactly what she was currently going through. However, as Isabella was witnessing the children escaping, doing what she had agonisingly failed to do all those years ago, you could tell that she was genuinely pleased for them as she wished them all the best.

The shot of her waving goodbye to them as she prayed for their success in particular really tugged at my heartstrings, because it just illustrated how much she really did care about them, and how much in her own twisted way, she really was just trying to protect them, that much was now certain:

And afterwards, she would return to Phil and tell him not to worry because they had all escaped safely, thereby not only once again illustrating how far ahead Isabella always is because she already knew that Phil was aware of the truth, but also emphasising the authenticity of her affection for them. As mentioned earlier, Isabella finds a real purpose in nurturing all of the children, and this final shot of her taking care of the younger ones who remained really exemplified this:

Here, she’s allowed to be her genuine self, doing what she genuinely loves for people who she genuinely loves, and it was very nice to see Isabella with her hair down (both literally and figuratively). Especially when considering that her future is now surely going to be in question. So due to this, it was all the more heartwarming to know that if her days were indeed numbered, Isabella would at least be spending them without the worry and stress of expectation on her shoulders. Seeing the contrast of how she was portrayed at the beginning of the series to her portrayal at its conclusion, and witnessing the journey she took to get from one point to the other was truly enthralling; No other character from the Winter Season gripped me quite like Isabella did, and that’s why she’s at the top.