#like. there's enough mythos about the holy weapons' spirits' PERSONALITIES for it to be common knowledge?

[mango-dolphin]

do you want to hear a hc i have about how Melromarcs world works :000 To bad you're hearing it/j

all of the heroes summoned are normally 18 or above. its VERY rare for them to be 17, and 16 is literally unheard of. that's one of the reasons people think Itsuki's the youngest(along with his appearance and how Ren carries himself/hides his age), it's practically impossible for anyone to be younger!!

Ren's party know he's on the younger side, but they think he's just a strange 17-18 year old.

i also think the weapons have age preferences: Shield heroes have the widest range, and are normally the eldest, like 20-28. Spear heroes have a smaller range, 21-24(normally they're 21 tho). Bow heroes are have the smallest, 17-18. idk about sword heroes ;A; im thinking a wide range at 17-22, normally ~18.

Ren is an outlier XD as he deserves/j

yesssssss YESSSSSS YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS if i were a dragon i think i would hoard headcanons. even ones that i don't subscribe to. i love headcanons so much thank you king

this... is a VERY intriguing idea, actually (that the weapons have a preferred age cut-off)... i don't know how much i subscribe to this headcanon, but i feel like if this were the case on any level it'd be incredibly telling of parts of the world—both in an enlightening and a concerning way.

for starters, summoning someone at 18 to early 20s is still pretty dang young to be taking heroes, from a standpoint considering age. they're not so young as to miss out on a majority of common sense, but they'd still be young enough to be generally impressionable. they have a lot of room to grow, and would typically be in a phase of their life where they'd be trying to find out who they are. so grabbing someone around that age range would make it easier to convince them "Hey, what if you were a hero? Our hero?"

(it's a little ominous admittedly, especially in cases like Naofumi's where they aren't quite given the choice, but as someone who's gonna turn 20 later this month it'd be awesome to be given that opportunity imo. like damn alright i wouldn't mind getting isekai'd like that, even though it'd be a very difficult journey. at least i don't have the illusion of accessible healthcare)

GOD DAMMIT IT GOT LONG AGAIN

there is the thing of folktales often having young heroes to begin with, so i wouldn't be surprised if the minimum age was actually 16 myself. i don't remember too much about shit i've read but like. y'know. Y'know. YA literature, young/teenage protagonists off having adventures, the "older kids" (teens) enabling more "edgy" adventures, etc etc. but it'd be really funny if one of the Cardinal Weapons had that similar train of thought: start out your kid hero early as you can help this youth rise to greatness the old-fashioned way. i hope this paragraph made sense LMAO

BUT i think if the weapons had age preferences, i'd generally agree w/your assessment on all of them.

it makes sense that the Shield spirit would prefer older or generally more mature/experienced heroes—they'd need someone reliable, not so fickle. the issue with choosing someone older is that they may already have set down some roots, so they might not be as enthusiastic about the task. however, ideally, they'd someone self-assured and more comfortable in their identity. i bet on average the heroes they've summoned are the oldest out of the four: you put your range at 20 - 28, but i'd personally say that it'd typically start at 23 (absolute limit 20) and have no upper bound for age. just whoever would be the best fit for the role (and growing/learning on the job), and would be in the most favorable position to accept the role.

i think the Spear spirit would be looking for someone willing to act, but not so caught-up with the small stuff. someone with good instincts—and you usually accumulate those instincts and skills the more time you're given to spend on them, so someone a little older is probably the weapon's preference. but not TOO old. gotta catch someone spry. so i agree on typically 21 but ranging towards 24, maybe 25 if someone stands out. probably trying to go as young as they can, but not so young as to make too many stupid decisions.

LAUGHING AT THE BOW SPIRIT HYPOTHETICALLY HAVING A RANGE SO SMALL BTW. i think this might be the "start your kid hero early to help them rise the old-fashioned way" weapon i was musing about earlier. this is so funny. idk the Bow spirit seems like it'd be the most outwardly chivalrous & "knightly" of the Cardinal Weapons, especially considering their second choice for a hero was Itsuki (and not literally anyone else) LMAO. 17 - 18 sounds about right, if not occasionally picking up to 20 years old if the other heroes are all 23+. start your knights off Early!

i feel like the Sword spirit might prefer older heroes as well—someone who'd, at the very least, would be able to come to terms with what their job as a Hero might entail. so, older typically would suggest that. i like the range you gave, but i think the Sword spirit may not particularly have a preference so much as a trend. probably heroes from 19 - 26, but has regularly chosen from the high end, and very very rarely chosen lower.

i bet when the summoning ceremony happened for the weapons, they lost their minds when the oldest hero chosen was the spear hero. like damn, alright! the hero who's usually the second youngest (if not VERY rarely the youngest) is now the adult of the group! we be choosing babies this year!

it'd also call into question why the second choice for the Sword's holder would be someone so young... i'd like to think that the second choices for the Sword, Spear, and Bow weapons were people emotionally close to their first choices, which might explain why the Sword spirit was so comfortable with choosing a baby. their first choice was also a baby, so might as well commit!

REN IS AN OUTLIER, AS HE DESERVES—

bonus: i don't know enough about the Holy Hunting Tool to really suggest anything, but i think it'd be really funny if its spirit preferred hunters/fishers, particularly gentle/humble ones. it took one look at a maybe 13, 14-year old kizuna and was like that's her. that's the person who will defend my world from evil. and then kizuna proceeded to play the fishing minigame nonstop (while also defending her world from evil). (i don't know at what age kizuna was summoned)

[beowulfs-booty-call]

Shiro, pidge, Beezer

Hey! I’m super sorry for being so late! Considering the other asks piled up, and tumblr does blatantly no help in organizing them, I completely missed it! I hope you can forgive the unnecessary time spent waiting! Unfortunately, though, this is gonna be a long post!

Shiro: What’s the one thing you have that keeps you going on life?

Well, actually… Before, it was someone I’m very close to. I… er… Well, how do I put this? I kept going because someone became my rock. And I depended on them, a lot. But, whenever they needed me, I was as strong as ever so we both could be. 

…Truth be told, they still are, but, I’ve sorta grown more, that I don’t need to rely constantly on this one person to make sure my life is going well, you know? If I answered before, I’d probably answer that person, though… I’m still clinging to hope.

Hope that maybe, things will change. Hope, that one day I’ll fall in love the way I think I was meant to be. Hope… That I’ll be the best me I can be, that everyone I know can be as happy as they deserve to be. It’s a long shot; Where does hope come from? Where does it go? But, hope’s what got me here in the first place when things were nothing but horrid and unsafe. For what it’s worth, I believe hope’s what’s gonna keep me going, so that one day, I’ll wake up, happy and falling in love with myself and someone else, and sharing me, with someone else. 

I hope for a lot of things, but, I find it’s that hope that keeps me going forward, even when I don’t know sometimes where I’ll end up.

Pidge: Do you feel comfortable with who you are as you are now?

Pfft, it’s funny Pidge comes up, frankly, I enjoyed this question most! 

In all honesty… I like to believe I’m getting more comfortable with myself. I… I started writing poetry, I started drawing digitally, I’ve even thinking of having Beowulf as my actual name at times, hilarious as it is… It’s… Strange, actually. Getting to know the person you are now, that is. I didn’t know my life’s purpose, nor my own identity, but now more than ever, I feel… Kinda more… “whole”, you know? I, I fell in love with someone, went through a break up, consequently the “OTP BROKE UP!!!” phase, and so on which made me rethink a lot about myself. In one sense, yes, I feel more comfortable with myself. After that breakup, I sort of, realized that really, when it came down to it;

I didn’t need to ask why my ex and I did. 

I just understood that our relationship was at an end, it was time to move on, but, when you give your heart to someone, where do you go after that’s gone?

So, I took a lot more me time, I started up my love of flannel after, almost years of never seeing them again, I started reading Beowulf the first time, fell in love with the mythos and wanted really… Really badly to emulate it. I wanted to be a hero, I wanted people to remember me so much and praise me for what I do, when, most of the time, I barely even saw how far I came along the way. And, that’s how Beowulf ends (Sorry for the spoilers!), he gets too arrogant and only wants to hog the glory, and, he dies to the dragon when he’s older (35? He was still young.) and battle hardened. When I read Beowulf, that’s just when things clicked in. 

Did I really want glory and fame? Or, did I just want someone to recognize me for something? And, well, since then, I started listening to myself. I wore flannel, jeans, boots, I was so… happy not to wear whatever someone else told me to wear, it felt so… Right. I bought my opal choker, charmed it, and the local witch who sold it to me, remarked that Boulder Opal was meant to bring the real person within, out.

Looking back to that, it’s… Quite the journey. I’m… Me, and…. I know I’m gonna change more, that’s just a part of life, but, it’s been pretty cool getting to know myself. I channel spirits, I’m an incubus after making a deal with a few contracted demons and Lilith, and I’m always here for my friends. Self consciousness will always be something holding people back, and the same with body image, but, I’m much more comfortable as the person I am now, than I was before.

I think, to really say it more clearer…

I feel, free.

Enlightened.

Me.

Beezer: Who do you look up to?

Oh! Well, this is interesting as well!

I… Look up to a lot of people. I’ve looked up to my Spanish teacher in High School since, my junior year. He’s adopted me as his kid, by word of mouth and by action, the way he’s been, along with my school secretary. They’ve… Become like my mom and dad, in the context of things, I’d always make excuses to spend time with them than my own parents, and, I’d always hang out with them after school because I was so… Well, I was starved for parental affection. I felt wrong, so disastrously wrong for craving their love. “What about their children? Obviously, they won’t just drop everything to be with you, damnit!” But, those fears were just childish, my mom, when she figured how I was feeling, and she calmed me down by saying,

“It’s okay to cry, it’s okay to be weak sometimes when all you’ve ever known was to be strong. No matter what anyone says, wherever you go, whomever you become, you will always be my son.”

That was when my dad jumped in, and nonchalantly tried to hype it up by saying,

“And who better yet to be our son than a brave prince, with a soul older than the gods himself?”

(Now, mind you, my dad is sort of nuts. He’s a very strict teacher, everyone fears him and his teaching since he still uses the old RAP THE RULER TO ENVOKE PURE FEAR, but, his a very goofy guy with the air of a Sultan. Ever since I did my tarot cards, he’s always seen them as holy predictions as they for the most part, has. So, he’s always more or less, meaning well, just not… Wording things well…!)

I’ve left high school since, and I still get word from them time to time, I send cards, but, sometimes, I want to be their kid. I want to look up to them the way their kids do (Though, my dad, his sons left him with their mom when he was in the military. He… Well, he personally thinks I was sent to be his kid as part of fate. His words, not mine, but, those words always stuck with me.) and be just like them. So strong, so wise, but so loving as well.

My grandpa and grandma are just two of my supposed biggest fans, they’ve done nothing but support me, and well, frankly, I’ve always used their struggles to live in the time they are now to go on with my schooling. My grandmother worked as a worker for Verizon for years, while taking care of her mother, and her four kids at the age of 40 as a single mom, working the telephone poles (Something she claims only men did at the time, so, she worked her hardest to make ends meet). She taught me first about magic, and most of the basic Hindu mythos (We still cry over the movies and depictions of Parvati.) My grandpa, as it goes, isn’t really my grandpa, he’s simply my Gram’s neighbor and they’ve both come to fall in love with each other (As… Much as she won’t admit it openly.) 

He took me in as a young child when my parents didn’t, and was one of the first teachers I had, teaching me “Ese Lunar” (Cielito lindo, in actuality) and my first basic Spanish, and inspiring me with stories from the bible, but also about cultural figures like Santa Muerte and such. Sometimes, I gloss over it, but, I’ve always admired them. The way they bicker so much, but will always wake up the next morning, making tea and coffee and reading the paper and then asking me to do the chores and heavy lifting like we’re on Smallville. I always enjoyed their basic lifestyle… It’s taught me a lot, especially in how to appreciate the little things in life, from receiving a letter, to writing one and mailing it everyday, they’ve done so much to me, that I can only hope to do the same for them.

I look up, well, I idolize a lot of fictional characters too, like Terra Branford from Final Fantasy 6 or Yukino Mayuzumi from Persona 1 and 2. Terra keeps faith and hope for the orphans of the town of Mobliz, while Yukino struggles with her feelings for her mentor as a photographer.

Terra is a lot like me, she yearns to find out what love means. Not just the romantic ones, not just the “good friend” platonic love. She wants to discover real, true love, which she finds in orphans like her, who cling to her and call her Momma. It’s… Heartbreaking, but hopeful, in the way she was raised to be a weapon, and later, she is reversing it to teach others about love.

Yukino fights, not because she was once a gang member, not because she wants to be the only one to love her mentor, but because she wants her friends and her own student, Ana, safe and sound. Yukino’s life was turned around when her teacher, Ms. Saeko intervened and took her out of the female gang lifestyle to become a teacher like her. It inspired her to go forward, and though she couldn’t become a teacher like Ms. Saeko, she became a photographer and her mentor Shunsuke Fuji becomes her love interest. When a classmate of the protagonist, Ana Yoshizaka, goes rogue and becomes antagonistic, Yukino works to intervene like Saeko did, acknowledging she wasn’t strong enough to say she loved Fuji, nor smart enough to go to college and become a teacher like Ms. Saeko, or have “the eye” to be a photographer like Fuji himself. Instead, she acknowledges she doesn’t need those things to be a person, a strong person, to make sure she wouldn’t let Ms. Saeko’s lessons leave her so quickly to save Ana from a life of crime.

I also really look up to Beowulf, like I mentioned before, as a book, as a character, even as a Skullgirls character (pfft). I’ve always been a fan of wolves, and while they don’t exactly pertain to the legend of Beowulf, they do to the Skullgirls one. For the legend, he’s regarded as “Son of Wulf”, so, merely, his name is can be seen as Beo (lol, the logic is flawed of course, but hear me out) as Wulf was really a common ground name at the time. But, he was a prince of legend, a man the people looked up to and was, while vain, a good man at heart. I really want to emulate that, the same for the Skullgirls Beowulf, he may just be a wolf themed wrestler, but he’s got great intentions at heart besides just wrestling for his fans. But that’s just how I see it, the fact that he’s loosely based on the actual Beowulf, and my analysis of his character, it’s hard for me not to sorta… Look up to that legacy.

And, lastly, it’s my mother goddess Parvati. 

Streamlined mythos, she’s mother of Ganesha, and second wife of Shiva after her previous incarnation, Sati, committed suicide by diving into a sacrificial fire when her father Daksha forced her to marry another man and not whom she fell in love with (Shiva).

Parvati, then came as the daughter (and princess) of the Himalayas, and she gives forth an eternal maternal love only she can exude. When I was younger, I was once told, the gods decide who to protect in the world. This was why people tended to favor different gods in different households. My grams favored Vishnu, my father, Shiva, and so forth, we were a Guyanese community, so, superstitions were the best interpretation of “God comes in all forms to be accepted by his devotees.”

I didn’t bond with many gods, Vishnu frightened me, with the terrifying Ananta as his vehicle, Shiva was far too powerful in his austerities. And, one day, when I cried out that I had no one in the world to love me, a woman in a pink shalwar came to me and claimed I needed no such words, because she was here to be my mother, when my mother is not. And so, she accepted me as her child, and, I’ve done nothing more but try to be as patient, loving, and wise as she’s been for me. 

She’s never left me alone, and, well, I’m not doing that to anyone I care about either. It’s one of the reasons I look up to her, her love is as eternal as the moon’s light.

Thanks, so, so much for asking! I’d like to apologize again for the lateness! Really, thank you again!