#fight for your lady

[letterboxd-loggd]

Fight for Your Lady (1937) Benjamin Stoloff

September 9th 2023

[conceiteddemon]

Been playing Tears of the Kingdom

[electracution]

Lady Galadriel, 02.2024

My favorite overpowered, scary, tall elf. Women, am I right?

[deafening-radio-silence]

I think that Dr. Christina "I was an excellent soldier" Raynor needs to deal with some personal things before she's anyone's therapist, because she strong-armed more of Bucky's autonomy away from him than Zemo did within the series.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

vaggie, miss "im not used to fighting with long hair" who's out of practice actually battling someone or really stabbing ppl...

...still had the arm and hand strength, the REFLEXES, to do a bare handed blade catch on a SWORD, who's user had been doing an aerial dive with it aimed at vaggie's FACE

then sling around and THROW her opponent with it

i know she wants a peaceful-ish life with charlie, but i really wouldn't mind seeing her getting into just a FEW more fights >:D

also also side note: carmilla was able to eff her up earlier so easily bc vaggie fought like an exorcist, no thought to getting hurt or personal defense, the headspace of 'i can't get killed! wheee! DIE DIE DIE' that got that other exorcist killed

and the main advice vaggie got from carmilla was take advantage of that sure, but first and more importantly, defend yourself better

which kinda plays into the whole "be out for love thing" too

aka the fight isn't important, it's what you're fighting to still have Afterwards that matters- the people you love, having a life with them

(the hotel, the hazbins, charlie)

carmilla doesn't send vaggie off with a 'you're ready to go kill angels'. she's only satisfied and ends their little lesson / sparring match when she can say "you might just survive this"

feels like she wasn't teaching vaggie to take out angels. she was reminding her and showing her how NOT to get KILLED

so it's just so nice seeing vaggie blocking, dodging, and grappling lute later. how good she is at focusing on avoiding or neutralizing those attacks aimed at her. how Seriously she takes them

binding lute's both lute's arms and wedging them into her own body so lute's sword CAN'T be angled towards her

the way this shot emphasis's the THREAT of the sword hanging over vaggie

and how her flash-fast recovery and block shows she's READY for it

dodging, not attacking

she's not in this for blood or vengeance, this lady is trying to stay the fuck alive. she's got things and people to live for

things like the idea of mercy. that thing both her and charlie show their enemies, people who came down to hell for murder and spent this fight trying to kill them and got damn close to doing it.

and sure there's a pretty big tone difference between charlie's "Whoa whoa dad. He's had enough" and vaggie's "No, live. Live knowing that you only do because I let you" but both end at the same place, with someone who hates them still getting a second chance

(UNLESS ITS NIFFTY WITH THE ANGELIC BLAAADE)

and vaggie wants that second chance too. she wants a life with charlie, and fights hard so she can stick around for it

epic fail, lute... have you considered getting a hobby...?

[waywardstation]

Wanted to try and figure out how I want to draw Ingo’s hair because I realize I hadn’t really done that yet (ft. Akari about to snatch Ingo’s hat)

(Influenced by some of @metacosmic-jam ‘s hairstyle designs for him, I love their art and their style of drawing Ingo, please check them out if you haven’t yet!)

[bruhstation]

a few days ago, I revived my years old hyperfixation. so what better way to keep it in memory than to make an AU based on it with my current special interest <-- has happened several times before

I present to you all: ttte atla AU! set in an era (or rather alternate universe) where the hundred year war didn't happen, the air nomads are still around, and the main conflict -- though it still came from the same source which is the fire nation -- is different now; which is a crazed nonbender scientist from the fire nation with a strong dislike for bending arts and having his own army of technology-boosted soldiers

[hihereami]

I love that one of Amina's main characteristics is ''horny romantic mess'' and I hope that continues into season 2 because it's the best

[banditsregina]

[benbamboozled]

I would actually kind of like the “becomes a doctor and takes over Leslie’s clinic” story…for Damian.

NOT because I think it would be ~ethical~ or idk whatever-the-fuck.

I just really love the concept of Damian having this “I HAVE A BIG IMPORTANT DESTINY” backstory/lineage/bloodline …

…SON OF THE BAT, and all that jazz…

But when he connects with Gotham and the people in it—because Batman should be connected to the people he’s protecting—Damian realizes that he doesn’t actually WANT “his” destiny.

And it’s not about rejecting Batman or his father or his mother or anything like that, but instead about taking what he’s learned and what they’ve given him and shaping it to fit himself.

[whumblr]

Outside

Continuation from Experiment - pt 1 here

-

Dani curled up in her favourite chair by the window of the library. Her focus however drifted and she found her gaze kept being drawn to the landscape outside. A wilderness; shrubs and greenery turning into a vast forest surrounding Roman’s mansion, and only near the horizon a glint of the headlights of a lone car. The first sign of civilization for miles - none to be found in the center of this mansion. She estimated the distance, wondered how far she could get through the woods. Useless, really.

She forced her eyes back onto the page of her book. But just as she did, clouds parted and rays of sunshine slid over the pages. Warmth roamed up her arms, tingling her skin in-between the bandages, further up her neck, until she squinted at the bright light. She let her eyes remain closed for just a few seconds, basking in the light, letting it fill the darkest recesses of her thoughts as well. Opening her eyes brought her back to her cruel reality. She exhaled softly.

“Roman.” She only continued when he looked up. “I want to go outside.”

A sly grin spread over his lips and he rested his temple against a fist, tilting his head as he looked her in the eye. “That’s nice, dear. You go right ahead.”

Dani wanted to take the Encyclopedia of the human anatomy on the table and smack him right in his smug face with all its glorious 600 glossy pages (hardcover). Counterproductive, so she sighed out temptations of violence and pulled at the leg of her jeans.

In a slow blink his eyes followed and roamed down to the device around her ankle. “Deactivate it, then,” Dani asked tightly, but still as nicely as she could.

He shifted upright as if he wanted to get up. But then he hummed, directed his attention back to whatever he was working on, and said in a clipped but still playful voice, “No.”

She abruptly stood, dunked her book into the cushion of her seat with so much force it bounced back up, and legged past him without a word. She could see his lips press tightly against his thumb in an attempt to hide his smirk. His eyes followed her out, but he didn’t say another word.

Fucking asshole.

She fumed her way down the stairs, circled through the house and only stopped in front of the back door. Tentatively opened it to gain access to the porch outside. None of the doors in this house were locked. A cruel reminder of her circumstances. She had nowhere to go to escape. Only doors to Roman’s private spaces were locked; his office, his bedroom. And of course her own door at night. She always tested it. Only needed one shot to strangle him in his sleep. Well, two, really… two doors. Still…

The device around her ankle felt heavier than before, cautioning her.

The porch should still fall into the safe area. She tipped a toe outside and set one foot, the one without the device, onto the dark wooden flooring. Technically, probably half the garden was still safe, but she wasn’t going to risk it. She had no idea how this thing pinpointed her location and if it could be off by a few yards. Not going to test that, especially when she was alone.

The lawn stretched out in front of her, tempting her. A green oasis, bordered by beds of wildflowers, hedges turning to pine trees, bushes, all closed in by the woods stretching out for… miles? He had quite a nice garden. To go along with his stupid nice house. Nicely in the middle of freaking nowhere.

She could see dew drops shimmering in the sunshine. That rare bit of sunshine she hadn’t felt in… weeks.

The porch itself, of fucking course, was cast in shadows.

She nudged back and forth, trying a few steps up and down the porch, but steering clear of the steps leading to the garden.

“Go on, then,” a voice behind her encouraged.

Her chest tightened in anger and she stopped her pacing. “No,” she answered in the same clipped voice.

“Coward.” Roman stopped right next to her, joining her with his hands in his pockets to show he came in peace. Together they looked out over the garden in silence. Then he took a deep breath and slowly, deliberately, took a step forward, down the three steps, into the sun. He turned slowly in the middle of the lawn, arms spread wide, eyes closed, head tilted up as if he was enjoying the warmth on his face.

As he spun back, she caught the grin on his face.

“Yeah,” Dani too turned on the spot, hiding her sour expression, “I’ll just go back inside.”

She heard him follow but refused to look back, instead stomping up the stairs back to the library.

He caught up, caught the clenched fist swinging next to her hip as she strode away, pulling her back. She turned with a snap, using the momentum to twist her wrist free and aimed a punch. It landed in the palm of his hand, drawing out a soft chuckle.

“Go on,” he goaded again, this time his voice low, chin tipped down leering at her, advancing on her.

His hand snapped around her wrist. Pulled her in, grabbed her other wrist as well and crossed her arms over her body, tight over her chest, forcing her back until she hit a wall.

Muscles strained as she tried to pull free from his grip. Patience strained as he leaned in closer, smug expression bearing down on her.

“Let go of me,” she said in a calm voice that didn’t line up with the rage swirling through her.

“Hm, no.”

She kicked hard at his knee. Felt and heard a nice crunch. He buckled but didn’t fully let go of her yet.

And without thinking and mostly out of habit, she followed up with a somewhat more indecent kick.

That did the trick.

He stooped forward with a choked off surprised gasp, palm of his hand crashing against the wall as he kept himself up. She just about caught the utmost fury as he glared up at her through narrowed eyes, but before he could regain his ability to speak, she zipped past him and fucking ran.

Ran but she had nowhere to run to.

She heard a thunk behind her as she rushed down the hallway, bolted down the stairs, vaguely registering that he must have collapsed to his knees. But in her panic she found no satisfaction for it.

His voice thundered through the house.

“Danielle!”

Ohhh, shit. Hearing her full name never bode well.

She sprinted to the back of the house, her legs carrying her unconsciously to the most logical escape route. Outside. But that route was cut off, by an invisible minefield that she couldn’t sneak or weave through. She screeched to a halt on the porch, panting, looking around as if she could find an opening somewhere in the invisible electric curtain that closed her in.

Nothing of course. She was absolutely stuck, with nowhere to hide, and with nothing but a severe punishment waiting for her.

Her face fell. Freedom, so close, spread out wide in front of her. Yet still boxed in.

Just as she wondered if she would be able to take the risk and run through the minefield, pain and electricity be damned – at some point she would be outside the range where the ankle monitor might just stop, right?! – footsteps stumbled behind her and her breath caught. She twirled on the spot.

Roman leaned heavily against the doorway, his face twisted in anger, the last remnants of pain twitching in his eyes. At least he had the dignity not to cradle his bruised package. Probably already did that upstairs… on his knees. Trembling. A prick of light in her darkness. An image to hold on to for the upcoming time. She had the dignity not to smirk. Her fear wouldn’t let her anyway.

Dani backed away. Slowly. Maybe she could still slip past him, but what was the use. It would only prolong the inevitable.

Another step back.

Her heart skipped a beat when the ground disappeared. Her ankle doubled as it crashed a few steps lower. With a soft shocked gasp, she fell back, arms flailing.

Completely unexpected, Roman’s hand shot out, gripping her tight by the wrist and she was almost grateful when he pulled her back onto the porch. He didn’t speak yet, just snarled down on her. And just when she got her feet firmly back under her supporting her own weight, his lips curled.

Their eyes met for a second.

And he shoved her hard.

She didn’t even have time to gasp in shock, yet it was like she fell in slow motion. Her mind braced for impact, for the shock that was about to course through her. Legs scrambled under her, stumbling back, muscles strained, desperate to stay upright but it was no use.

Before her back even hit the wet grass, the device activated.

And her mouth opened in a silent scream.

Pain coursed up her legs, the electric surge spreading through her body in an instant. It tensed every muscle to the point where she was completely paralysed for a few seconds.

Then finally could she release the pain in a scream. She wrenched onto her stomach, shaking heavily, fists clenched around the blades of grass. It was like all here muscles were caught in a ring of fire, heat burning through her.

But then it stopped. Muscles abruptly released and she lay flat as a board on the grass for a moment, heaving in gasps.

So much for her escape plan to just power through…

Roman lazily watched her from the porch, fiddling with the remote control for the ankle device. “You’d better crawl back here, fast,” he said, ice in his voice. “It will reactivate again in a few seconds.”

She clawed a hand forward, but before she could even get a leg under her to push off, her muscles clenched up again.

“You know,” Roman’s voice came when her screams died down again to sharp exhales. “To give the escapee the chance to get back within the perimeter…”

He hadn’t moved a muscle, simply watched as she struggled to pick her way back, fell face-forward into the grass as the device activated again; not by its setting but by his hand, hidden behind his back.

Every time Dani went just a little too far in one go for his taste, he pressed the button, stopping her dead in her tracks. Not like she had any grip on how many seconds had passed anyway…

Teeth clenched, Dani fought her way back, trying to move through the paralysing pain. Every inch she gained would make this stop faster. She managed to stay on her hands and knees, simply letting the pain shoot through her and endure, so she could stay upright and immediately inch closer when her muscles were under her control again.

And finally, as she pulled herself up the porch, it stopped. She lay there clutching at the wooden boards, breathing heavily as if she’d just clawed her way back out of a river, holding on for dear life afraid the stream might drag her back.

“Well, now, look at that,” Roman crooned, lightly kicking at her hips, gesturing to her long legs still on the grass. “At least now you know what the safe zone is. Look, you could sit over there in the sun next time.” He put the remote back into his pocket, after completely turning the device off for a bit. A little surprise for next time she tried to sunbathe.

A hand snagged in her hair. He pulled her up and hissed in her face,

“Now, I sincerely hope you didn’t think we were done here.”

-

Tag list: @firewheeesky @myfriendcallsmeasickwoman19 @whumpawink @painsandconfusion @whumpifi @whumpy-daydreams @whumpyourdamnpears @auroragehenna @alsolucakairomi @suspicious-whumping-egg @whumppmuhw

[lillylunala]

(Re)training

[dayurno]

most touching bit that has been going on recently is people including kevjean when they say there are ship wars being fought on jean's holy name as if kevjean is ever even remotely comparable to jerejean (famous) and jeanee (canon)..... there are five kevjean fans and two are me. i dont think we can compete let alone compare but i love the enthusiasm

[teeth-draws]

“What do you mean he’s scary!! Look at him!”

— taking artistic liberties to scrunkle the face of @shepherds-of-haven’s Blade Bronwyn - a man with 0.6% body fat lol

[katyspersonal]

Katyyyyy where are you, new way to hate gehrman just dropped. Basically now he disrespected maria because doll is a levelup maiden that helps hunters during the hunt despite the fact she hated the hunt.

He is even at fault for not doing enough to prevent it in case it was moon presence doing. Its that absurd

fdsjhfh Hrrrrg sorry anon, I've been taking a break from the internet for health reasons (and still need more of it). But, damn, this sounds so... forced? Honestly, I do not understand such a strong hate-boner for a sad man in a wheelchair some people in this fandom have. I can't really think of any benefit of the doubt to spare here, it just feels like some people are unable to enjoy any piece of media without pulling real life problems, grudges and extremely unsympathetic judgement into it, especially towards characters and stories where they do not apply.

ANYWAYS, TWO-PARTER!

1) "Maria hated the hunt"

I think an important point to make here is that Maria's disdain for the hunt was, first and foremost, rooted in personal reasons! She was that strong, capable hunter of beasts (and undead Pthumerians of the Chalice Dungeons, for all we know!) but slaughtering the fish "monsters" that could still speak and think and pray was what broke her and made her unable to kill any longer. The way I see it, it was a trauma, and damaged self-image. She could not stand herself as that horrible killer, SHE was the real monster and it was plain to see!

If the point here is that making the Doll, a creation to immortalise Maria('s softer side), help Dreaming Hunters to become stronger and carry on the night, I don't.... understand it? Maria was no longer willing to hunt herself, and in the end, it was very likely that guilt that driven her to su1cide. We don't know that, though. It could've been losing Adeline, it could've been that Cainhurst massacre happened while she was still alive and she hated feeling like a traitor of the sinking ship, it could've been madness and misery of patients rubbing onto her, or all at once, or something else.

But let's say, dreading her past as the hunter was the core thing. I believe this as well, because in the Nightmare part focused on tormenting her, we can see a Chalice and a picture from Abandoned Old Workshop. This is very telling about what she does not want to remember the most:

The problem with the hunt and the beasts though? Beasts attack and eat people. Maria maybe never wanted to draw a blade again, but we can't say she would be opposed to helping the hunters. If nobody hunts the beasts, while they are growing in numbers, they will just... eat people? It actually reminds me of a misconception about Djura hating the hunters in general! He specifically asks to not attack the beasts of Old Yharnam, for the reason of them not being able to harm anyone unprovoked! Meanwhile, he encourages the Paleblood Hunter to go and hunt beasts out there, that can and will just attack humans! I think that Maria must be similarly rational: she can't fight anymore, but she can't deny that if no one else fights as well, beasts will just overcome people, and there will be no one.

If anything, Maria spent the rest of her life, after having revoked her hunter status, to help in the walls of the Research Hall. Research Hall was laboratory of the Healing Church, who were having and governing the hunters by proxy, even if their own type (the Holy Blades) and not Gehrman's type (the Old Hunters)! I would not say that her helping to sustain the hunt past death is so alien to her! The Hunter's Dream was Laurence's plan, and very likely the purpose of it is so that the Dreaming Hunters are able to sustain the full-moon nights with their power and immortality - all so Healing Church has more time and resources for research on ascension. In conclusion, Maria resorted to the role of passive helper, the support, rather than fighting force, even in life. Doll, in a twisted way, continues that quest.

P.S. Just because Maria hating all hunt and hunters as concept would be irrational, it doesn't mean that it can't be! It is still possible that she went 'may Chaos take the world' and spiralled into thinking that maybe humans of Yharnam had to pay the price for messing with things beyond their comprehension by simply perishing. Just.. not only I think this doesn't work so well for the character, but also in this case, Gehrman's "disrespect" would only be charitable! As in, 'Maria lost all sympathy and hope for humanity in life, but she might be her real caring self once more, in this new form', you feel? Not disrespect, but feeling like he must carry on the image of her true self when she no longer could.

For the next part though, let's assume that Maria would not want to ever help the hunters with no other ways around it, and that Gehrman was aware of it, to cut to the main points!

2) "Gehrman did not do enough"

Moon Presence is a literal God that owns the Hunter's Dream, I strongly doubt that Gehrman would be able to have much of a say in this...? If it was Flora's intent to animate the Doll, she might just do what she sees fit regardless of his wish. Or, more twisted yet: even if Gehrman asked her to please leave the Doll out of the hunt to honor Maria's wishes, Flora could read in his heart that he was miserable and lonely so still chose to give him a company. Great Ones might not understand the complexities of humans, such as the conflict between "selfish" needs and their integrity! Whereas for us it is a known thing to understand we must not want what we want, and we must do what we should, for her it was just that the host of the Dream was sad and missed a dear friend that looked just like that doll thing over there!

+ Moon Presence is only able to be defied with a large amount of insight and ascension-potential gained from consuming Umbilical Cords that Gehrman most likely didn't consume. I think it's worth pointing out as one of the reasons why he couldn't even "fight it" if he wanted!

This also made me think of another possibility I discarded long ago, I guess time to blow the dust from it!

Doll's face notably has these cracks on it, and at first I wondered if maybe, it was Gehrman himself who was trying to either beat the influence of Moon Presence from her, or simply destroy her. And yet, every time, she rose back to life, as eery and unfeeling as ever, until he gave up trying over and over... What if he did not want Moon Presence and the Hunters to tarnish precious memory of Maria, to the point of trying to break the Doll to stop mocking him. To stop mocking Maria. And although Doll always assembled back, something was still always off, as the evidence of his attempts - these cracks!

...in the end, I've personally decided it worked better as manufacturing mistake because his hands were shaking at Maria's face part. But like, imagine: Moon Presence cannot be reasoned with, and the next option, to attack the Doll itself, as much as it hurts to hit something Maria-shaped, doesn't work either. It is possible that he did not quite have a choice here, and Doll was animated regardless of his will. Could be for the sake of the Hunter's Dream, could be Flora's twisted "gift" for him that she would not take back... could be a coincidence, too.

Not only it is strongly implied that Maria was buried near the Old Hunters Workshop, since Old Hunter's Bone is found at the same grave Doll prays to and that leads to Hunter's Nightmare, but Doll also has two-to-three confirmed belongings of Maria herself in her design! It could be not Moon Presence's choice and not Gehrman's, but Maria's soul simply dwelled in this body on instinct because of all the odds that attracted her! Maria's soul could be split between Nightmare and Dream, since the two have spiritual connection (Doll remarks that she felt at ease after we kill Maria), Doll sometimes sleeps and we find Maria sleeping too, they have the same voice although Doll's body has no vocal cords (she is a doll, not a robot!) and we know Maria cared about Gehrman at least at some point.

It could be the odds not even a God would have the power over, let alone a man!

+ The cut lines of dialogue offer to her NOT hating the hunt entirely too. She literally tells you that "you will not find your enemies here", and since she seems to know you are a hunter under Gehrman, it makes sense to think she is referring to actual beasts to hunt that would slaughter people in the waking world... So, yeah, her "hating the hunt" isn't outright stated nor supported by both canon and cut content, but can still be a headcanon.

But what if Gehrman did it himself?

I will admit though, there is a potential for an idea! After all.. I love this take a lot. That maybe, initially, Doll was not animated, and Gehrman was the host of the Hunter's Dream all alone by himself. But his sanity was giving up from carrying the Dream by himself and being completely devoid of company. He was losing it, he could no longer trust his own restraint, he needed to keep his distance from the Dreaming Hunters for their own safety. After all, as we can see from one of the endings, if he allows a Dreaming Hunter to kill him, he will be free and the Dreaming Hunter will take his place. The freedom from endless solitude, nightmares and torment of the wait, always so close....

( x ) for translation of his lyrics. Also I want this to be written in the protocol that I hate listening to Gehrman's theme and it makes me cry every time even these three years later fsdhfhdsds

It might have been a sad necessity. To perform some sort of ritual to bring the Doll to life, so someone could take the duties off his shoulders while he is not stable. Because he could not trust the power of his will any longer. Why not direct this to someone that could not feel the loneliness and the pain? Even at the cost of tarnishing his precious memory of a special person?

In this case, sure, he is "guilty". "Guilty" for burying her near this place when she did not want to be a hunter, sure. Again, we don't know the extent of Maria's disdain for the concept, only that she personally did not wish to draw a blade again! And "guilty" for being a human being with human limitations. I think that if someone still wishes to hate him despite it, over their own misuse of the "explanation does not equal excuse" sentiment, this is just the same overly judgemental attitude I actively oppose and I can't approve of this even as much as I want to give a chance to every interpretation. I just recently made a post digging into how the way people treat certain "problematic" characters can reflect their morality towards real people ( x ), and this brings my point again. So, person had every single reason to do the thing, and basically no other choice in the situation, but they are "still guilty"? Context matters a lot, and still willing to hate someone when they had no choice but to do the thing is inhumane, I think. It reeks of pure desperation of excluding and exiling a person "touched by sin" even if it was not their fault, and this very specific sort of superfluous judgement had rotted the society, let alone media analysis!

________________

Alright, I've gotten quite emotional in the last part for someone simply disagreeing with a take on a fictional character, but every other time no matter what reason to hate this guy is touched upon I can't find any explanation but general lack of sympathy and understanding. Heck.. I guess Gehrman was written SO, so brilliantly, that the way people treat him is a great vibe-check? Any character can be disliked, including him, but people's reasoning for why the character is disliked can give away ignorance at least, cruelty and judgemental attitude at worst!

I just hope that I've made my stance on the take clear! Admittedly, it is a more interesting discussion than "misogynist creep" discourse that has been debunked 5000 times now! I think in this case, it is harder to find a final word, and I just offered mine. A lot of this depends on how one perceives Maria and Gehrman, there is no The One True interpretation and I've just suggested my thought process and what I think is more reasonable to assume. Taking away Gehrman's complexity and potential for sympathy for the sake of 'just another man that disrespected a woman' is a pet peeve for me but I am open for surprises. You just said that people "hate" on him yet again, and it just gets old.

[mail-me-a-snail]

i think one of the only things vance has actually published is a simple infographic on data port and personal link consent. by publish i mean he wrote it out on a shard in the middle of the night and anonymously sent it careening thru the net