#norman the reborn

[agentxthirteen]

Sharon-A-Day, Day 555 (7/9/23)

Captain America: Reborn 1. On sale 7/1/09. "(Reborn Part 1)"

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Penciller: Bryan Hitch

Inker: Jackson Guice

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Colorist: Paul Mounts

Editor: Tom Brevoort

Recap of how Sharon ruined the Skull's plans!

[akariamai]

Prologue: Reborn

Crossover between The Hunger Games and The Promised Neverland

Chapter 1

Word Count: 1059

Marissa Crossly picked a handful of berries, deadly nightlock berries, from the pile the oblivious boy from District Twelve left. He didn’t even realize he was being followed nor noticed the pile he had left behind had lessened in size. It was a wonder he survived this far into the games. Maybe it was luck or his partner’s sponsors. She would never know. She survived long enough. Spent the last of her days stealing small bits of food from other tributes, enough for them not to notice, and now the pool of tributes has shortened. Her time was close to an end, and she would rather not suffer at the hands of the capital. She would not die for their entertainment but as an act of preservation of the person she was. A seventeen-year-old girl whose dreams crumbled the moment her name was called out on reaping day.

Nightlock berries were extremely poisonous, kills before it reaches the stomach of the individual that consumed it, a painless and quick death. A mercy in a game that celebrates painful and brutal deaths. It would look like an accident, a starving girl who loosened her guard at the wrong moment, who has been careful throughout the entirety of the games and died because of her carelessness. It would not be taken as an act of rebellion. Her family would only have to suffer the loss of herself and no more from her actions. She hoped they would not have to suffer any longer for the rest of their lives.

She ate them swiftly, enjoying the lessening hunger that rattled her stomach, reminiscing over memories of her district and her family as she’d soon drifted in and out of consciousness. She would miss them. She would miss sending her father off as he went to work on the hydro dam. She would miss working alongside her mother at her family’s plant shop. She would miss the sounds of electricity running through the machinery near her home. She would miss it all.

She felt her body become limp, falling towards the ground as her eyesight blurred with every passing moment, and the sounds of the forest disappearing as well. She was losing her senses as she passed from the world. She gasped her last breath before death came for her. The loud boom of the cannon could be heard throughout the arena as she died. Marking the end of another fallen tribute.

Marissa had never thought of what comes after death. It was the end of life. An empty nothingness after a life of pain and sadness with a sprinkle of happy moments. She was supposed to be dead. She had eaten the berries, she felt her body drift into numbness, yet she was still conscious but not. The thought was confusing.

Her eyes opened but could not focus well, no matter how hard she tried to will herself to do so, but she could hear the cries of babies. The sound frightened her. She had lost control of her movements, unable to sit up or even stand. She could not speak or yell, only cry or coo. It took her far too long that she was a baby once again, however, was cursed to remember her life beyond this one.

The women of the orphanage, she assumed it was an orphanage due to the multiple caretakers feeding all the babies. They never breathed a word about the dreaded Hunger Games or the annual reapings. Never mentioned the Capital or the endless deaths of children. It would seem there was no such thing as the Hunger Games in this new life.

Marissa accepted her new life with grace. Crying only when she needed to alert one of the caretakers. She reined embarrassed when she felt the need to poop or pee in her pamper. She was once a teenager, now reduced to a helpless baby. She could not wait to potty-train herself.

When her eyes focused for the first time, seeing the world she missed so much, and her body filled with dread and anguish once she laid her eyes upon a monstrous figure standing outside the nursery. Babbles spilled out of her mouth, in an attempt to warn the caretakers of the frightening figure, but they all cooed at her with awe. They were oblivious to the danger they were in, and she was too young to be capable of warning them.

She wanted to live. She was given another chance at living, and it would be taken away from her in an instant if these women did not notice the being in time. She could only move her arms so much before becoming tired. Her babbles would only further their attention on her, crying would do the same.

It wasn’t until later on, when she lived and so had her caretakers, that the real horrors of the world she was reborn into. The children and herself were raised to become cattle, produce for the species that stood outside the nursery. It became prevalent that the caretakers were helping the monsters. They played a part of the scheme, caring for the young and taking the one-year-olds away.

Months went by and she received branding on her delicate baby skin. The pain of the branding was a pain she wished she’d forget. It was a pain she never felt before and her cries could be heard over the sounds of the mechanical pen, permanently marking her skin with indelible ink, becoming a reminder of the horrors only she would know.

Once she became old enough, she was moved away from the nursery and taken to a dark tunnel. A woman waited by the entrance as Marissa was carried towards her by another. “Isabella.” “Amara.”

“This is Finch.” Amara placed Marissa, now Finch, into Isabella’s arms, “Your new ward.” Isabella was young with brown eyes reminding Finch of the umber. A mixture of varying shades of yellow, red and green muddled together. Her black hair was tied into a bun.

“My little Finch.” She held her small body lovingly, “We are going to have so much fun together.” Finch doubted it. She would never love the women who would raise her for slaughter. She would try to survive in this new world. Escape the new hell she was born into. She wanted to live.

Masterlist

[bendyredrawn]

Ok so I have a draft for the pre game events in order, I thought I’d share it even tho some stuff might change a lil;

‘Sillyvision studios’ is founded in 1929 by Henry and Joey

Bendy’s first debut takes place during the same year, in the episode “The Dancing Demon”

Episode is a hit amongst audiences, production kicks off and the studio goes from around 4 employees to over 20

1929-1932 are the studio’s ‘golden era’. Bendy cartoons are at the peak of popularity and financially, the studio is doing great

1932 onwards: Bendy cartoons are being overshadowed by competing studios (eg: Disney) and the Great Depression is having a toll on the studios economic status. Production resumes but with far less episodes being released and the amount of employees slowly decreasing.

Joey notices this issue and tries to come up with a way to draw the public’s attention back to the bendy cartoons. Long story short he gets into some cult business. Henry leaves the studio around this time when he notices that joeys going a little crazy with this idea of his.

1932-1934: Bendy cult is responsible for killing some employees for their rituals, although the public is unaware of their existence or the killings as killings were falsely labeled as ‘disappearances’ and members of the cult still acted like normal citizens/employees when not partaking in rituals. The Employees who were killed by cult will find themselves reborn in the toon realm (Eg: Susie and Norman)

1934: Joey manages to bring ‘bendy’ to life. He organizes an event at a large nearby theater to show bendy to the public, Joeys plan to bring people’s attention back worked as headlines and public discourse spread.

Event takes place, Joey realizes that something is off about bendy. (Writing is kinda dookie but u can get the idea I have in my head)

After this event, Joey visits henry and asks him for a book he lended to him that contained details about the curse (Henry has no knowledge of anything and gives it to him). This curse will keep bendy trapped in the toon realm unless broken.

Joey manages to banish bendy to the toon realm, and burns the book afterwards, however this leads to his demise as the cult soon find out about what happened and murder him for betraying them.

Few days later, Investigation takes place after Joey is reported missing. They don’t find his body and the cult is nowhere to be seen. This is because they’ve hid away in the toon realm and taken his body with them.

After this event, studio is completely abandoned, and has become something of local folklore. Twisted bendy corrupts any bendy episodes that were still airing and some of those archived on film reels. Filling them with cryptic messages and disturbing imagery.

One day, bendy tells the cult that he wishes to break the curse and enter the real world so that he can punish humanity for giving him life, but doesn’t know how

One of the cult members tells him that he remembers seeing Joey asking Henry for a book before the event happened, he suggests that he might be able to break the curse.

One day, Henry receives a letter supposedly from Joey, although this is falsely written by the cult to trick him to come and find him at the studio.

Game happens

Again this is not completely final and a bit simplified, so things are open to change, hopefully u guys like it so far and I’m super open to suggestions :] 🖋

[arkashas]

i thought about why the firefly man will created in secondo had his hands clasped together in prayer, and it led me to a new realisation of where exactly i’d seen something like that before -

the angels from coquilles. in coquilles, the angel maker thought he could sense evil in people and would kill and turn those people into angels, purifying them in the process.

the prisoner killed mischa and will delivered justice for that crime through chiyoh, and elevated him in the process, just like what the angel maker did to his victims (will would come to be known as the “lamb of god” who takes away your sins in the red dragon arc). another reason why the angel maker created the angels was so they’d watch over him, because he didn’t want to die in his sleep. though will doesn’t sleep under the firefly man, he spiritually died in mizumono and references to him being dead are brought up more than a few times in the first few episodes of season 3. and consider this scene just before will creates the firefly man -

jack is in the norman chapel along with pazzi. jack tells pazzi, who asks him if he’s a believer, “aren’t we all? belief comes with imagination. we also imagine the possibility that we all live on after death. will graham died. he was dead. i was dead. we didn’t imagine that”. before he says this though, he lights a votive candle. votive candles are used as divine offerings to god, and combined with jack’s words about imagining the possibility of life after death, we can see will creating the firefly man as an answer to jack’s prayer, since with this tableau, he literally created life after death.

how did will create life after death? when they first meet, chiyoh tells will the prisoner is only allowed the sound of water like what the unborn hear. the firefly is the last stage of metamorphosis from the pupal form, so the prisoner goes from the unborn stage to the mature adult stage because of will turning him into the firefly. we also see the prisoner eating snails, which as hannibal tells bedelia in contorno, is the fuel which the firefly larvae use to transform themselves into delicate creatures of such beauty.

something chiyoh also says is that will is not allowed to look at the prisoner or speak to him, saying he’s cast aside the social graces afforded to human beings by killing mischa. since chiyoh says that the prisoner is unborn directly after saying this, there is a direct link between the prisoner not being looked at, or “seen”, and his being unborn.

“belief comes with imagination”, and what is will known for? his imagination, his empathy. it’s will’s empathy which allows for the possibility of life after death. will grants his gift of being seen to the prisoner through his empathy and gives him a rebirth, just like he did with randall tier who wanted to be seen and who had his becoming when he was turned into a beast and displayed in the museum. the prisoner lived his whole life in a dark, damp prison, so with his wings and with the lights reflecting off of him and around him, will sets him free and gives him what he couldn’t have in life in death.

not only is the prisoner reborn, will is as well. will has just created the imago, the flying insect which is the final stage of transformation which he and hannibal discussed in mizumono. and think of the journey will undergoes to get to this point, it occurs entirely through water -

“he’s only allowed the sound of water. it’s what the unborn hear”.

we also see hannibal’s kitchen being flooded with blood in primavera, and a close up of will’s guts in aperitivo, which is compared to a womb in the script, while hannibal embraces him and then stabs him.

will sinks in this bloody water in primavera, and walks on its surface to get to lecter castle in secondo (walking backwards because he’s going backwards in time like when he lets the pendulum swing and recreates a crime scene - he’s recreating mischa’s crime scene, going back to when the teacup first shattered so that he can understand hannibal).

what about jack and his belief that he’s dead though? it’s in aperitivo that jack lets go of bella and puts her to sleep permanently. bella had told him before that he’s not going to go into the ground with her, so we can see this as jack beginning to accept that he belongs to the land of the living. in contorno, he tells hannibal that after he’s gone, he’ll feel alive, before pushing him out a window. coming back to the angel maker, the angel maker had cancer and would make angels to watch over him so that he doesn’t die of cancer in his sleep. bella directly compares hannibal to a cancer within jack, saying he can cut out what’s killing him. was jack as successful as the angel maker or bella in cutting out his cancer (read: not successful not all)? the evidence suggests so, since in the red dragon arc he’s again back to his old ways and back to his old dynamic with will and hannibal, making use of them to solve cases in an effort to save lives.

[m3r1m4r5u333]

(Jjsheh. This is perhaps my most unhinged essay yet, brace yourselves. I know it's not very coherent, I sound like I'm tripping, rambling about ancient Egyptian deities and all. I'm not the only one to have talked of rebirth though so hopefully I'm not alone in this mental collapse.)

I'm a wreck. It's just such BLATANT BUDDIE SUBTEXT to air THESE SCENES in the same episode!!!!

First, Eddie finding out Buck went on a date with a man and his stunned

"Omg I need to reconstruct my entire worldview. But I'm not weirded out!! I'm an ALLY!!"-deer in the headlights reaction to that!!

Finding out that both Buck and Tommy are into men will be such a curveball for Eddie, hitting him directly in the solar plexus, leaving him gasping.

The images that will start sprouting in his mind...

And the way that suddenly they're BOTH stumbling in this gigantic maze of confusion and questioning, looking at each other anew...

realising they need to reconstruct their entire worldviews because all of a sudden... They've been shattered.

The way that Buck looks at Eddie...?

The mirrored MASKS that both of these lines are!!

Starting to realise their worlds are in ashes.

Then rebirth.

Phoenix rising!!!

It's that treasure hunt riddle again.I've tried to figure it out and the way I read it, I think it's about feelings realization.

The "Narrow place" in the riddle sounds like an obvious arrow to Egypt. That's what the hebrew people called it or something, due to the divisional geography/the stories about them being enslaved there. Something like that.

And of course the river's edge in the riddle would then be The Nile. Denial.

And that heron? The ancient egyptian version of a Phoenix, Bennu. The deity of sun, creation, rebirth.

And what's a secret treasure by denial's edge? It's love. A secret treasure. Precious, yet something you want to hide. Hidden. Buried.

And the bullfrog is a reference to a line in a song, I think. "Jeremiah was a bullfrog".

Originally the line was supposed to be "Jeremiah was a prophet". The assistant in the episode, who was asked to hide the treasure... is called Jeremiah.

Jeremiah, the prophet, according to the Bible apparently traveled to Egypt himself.

But in the treasure hunt episode he steals the treasure and takes off to Maledives - an island without river's, btw!! No DeNial there!

Also... Another link to Egypt/Denial is the bullfrog croaking good measure.

"Ancient Egyptians used weights, like this small frog, to help calculate the value of goods. One Ancient Egyptian unit of measurement was the qedet, equivalent to about nine grams. "

"The Ancient Egyptians linked frogs to fertility and rebirth, likely because of the animal’s prolific reproduction.

These ties to abundance may have made frogs a suitable form for objects used to determine value."

Secret treasure, frogs, measurement, value, herons, narrow place = Egypt, the river's edge... (& My loss of sanity) Lots of links.

So let's see.

I walked along the river's Denial's edge

To hide my secret treasure love

The heron phoenix soared (= I burned, I was reborn.)

The gray bridge roared I saw you. (Because the bridge would be a reference to the "I see you!!" scene with Lola and Norman on that bridge, I think?)

And

"Isn't that what we all want in a partner, to be seen?"

I stopped beneath the willow tree

In the narrow place

And saw a light beam fall upon my treasured place hidden love

The light beam... It think it's truth? Realization, rebirth...

Btw, in the Bible Jeremiah writes about willow trees with much passion. It symbolizes hope, will grow by the river even in times of draught. So trust the Lord (the showmakers).

Also, this recent data of Marisol being nunlike?? What's "Nun" in relation to the Egypt theme?

Nun was represented as a frog or a frog-headed man (as a member of the Ogdoad) but could also be depicted as a bearded man with blue or green skin (reflecting his link with the river Nile and fertility).

In the latter form he can look fairly similar to Hapi (LOL), the god of the Nile, and often appears either standing on a solar boat or rising from the waters holding a palm frond (a symbol of long life), Occasionally, he appears as a hermaphrodite with pronounced breasts.

Nu ("Watery One") or Nun ("The Inert One") (Ancient Egyptian: nnw Nānaw; Coptic: Ⲛⲟⲩⲛ Noun), in ancient Egyptian religion, is the personification of the primordial watery abyss which existed at the time of creation and from which the creator sun god Ra arose.[1]

So let's watch the sun, rising from the denial!

[sineala]

Hi QQ - I was going through your comics reading lists (these are AMAZING THANK YOU, I've been reading Avengers since the 90s but was never great at keeping up with it consistently/linearly. My Q: Is there an issue where Tony *reacts* to Steve coming back to life after Civil War? There doesn't seem to be anything in Stark: Disassembled, or in the main Avengers run... after all the crying and angst post-CW, you'd think there'd be... something? A breakdown? Did I miss the issue where that happened?

Okay, so. This doesn't happen, because it can't happen, logistically speaking. The very end of Stark Disassembled, in fact, explains why this isn't happening. The tl;dr version is that we don't get a reaction from Tony -- at least, not a reaction in which he is meaningfully aware that Steve has actually come back to life in the way you want him to be aware of it -- because the time period covered by the brain deletion includes Tony's entire memory of Steve's death.

This is why fanfiction exists.

Having said that, you will also probably really enjoy Avengers/invaders if you have not read it, for reasons I will explain.

I have added several panels and some discussion of both of these subjects below the Read More.

So, at the end of World's Most Wanted (IIM #19), Tony deletes his brain to keep the SHRA database out of Norman Osborn's hands, because Osborn wants to find out people's identities (okay, probably mostly Spider-Man) and hurt them. Since Tony's brain is a computer now, thanks to Extremis, it's just a matter of... well, deleting his entire brain.

At this point in canon, Steve is still dead. Technically Tony should know this, but thanks to the amnesia (which progresses in severity throughout the arc), it seems possible that Tony has forgotten this as early as IIM #17:

That doesn't seem like a guy who remembers Captain America is dead, is what I'm saying.

Anyway, at the end of #19, the last of the brain delete happens, Norman Osborn beats Tony's face in, and Tony falls into a coma.

The subsequent arc, Stark Disassembled (IIM #20-24) is about the process of bringing Tony back, healing him, and restoring his memory. He gets the RT implanted in his chest to control some of the autonomic functions of his brainstem, which is no longer functional. They also have to restore his memory, literally, from an earlier backup of his brain that Extremis made. Tony has left his friends instructions for how to do this.

In the middle of this, Steve comes back to life (in Captain America Reborn) and we see him in IIM #21 joining the rest of Tony's remaining friends in helping bring Tony back to consciousness:

So Strange has to journey with Tony through Tony's mind and at one point everyone has to defeat Ghost, and that happens, and #24 is the end of the arc.

At the very end of #24 is when everyone learns that Tony's brain backup isn't as current as they would have liked it to be -- specifically because Tony's reaction to the news of Steve being alive isn't what it should have been if his memory were complete. Steve's talking with Tony's doctor, and the doctor tells Steve that he mentioned to Tony that Steve was around... and Tony didn't seem at all surprised to hear that Steve was alive again.

Whoops.

Essentially, the backup of Tony's brain, that has now become Tony's current set of memories, was made before Steve died -- before Civil War even started. Fandom tends to assume it was probably made shortly after the initial Extremis installation. So Tony doesn't think it's surprising that Steve is alive again because, as far as Tony is subjectively concerned, Steve has always been alive. The last thing he remembers about Steve is that Steve was alive (and that they were running the New Avengers together and everything was happy), and when he wakes up, Steve is alive again, and so to Tony that seems fine. That seems normal. He doesn't remember Civil War. He doesn't remember Steve dying or Steve coming back. And he never will.

Now, this doesn't mean that Tony isn't upset about finding this out. He's very upset. In fact, the next (and final) page of #24 gives us Tony's reaction to reading all the news from the period of time he no longer remembers.

So, yeah, Tony's not taking this well.

But Tony no longer has experiential memories of this period of time (Civil War). He doesn't know what it's like to see Steve alive again after Steve being dead because he doesn't have the memory of Steve being dead. We'll never get that reaction from him. This is what canon-divergent AU fanfiction is for, and there's a bunch of fic that brings Steve back early so we can all experience this. (I wrote one! That's what my fic Double Time was. A lot of fandom has written them, and they're not as popular a subject these days but there are a lot of classic 616 CW fix-it fics about this.)

(Also, weirdly, Tony's AI in Secret Empire has a conversation with Hydra Steve that strongly suggests that he, the AI, remembers The Confession. Which really shouldn't be possible; I suspect a lot of Marvel writers have actually forgotten the amnesia happens.)

With that having been said, Avengers/Invaders is absolutely the comic book you want to read because it is the closest you will ever get to canon giving you the thing you want. It's a 12-issue miniseries that takes place after Civil War, while Tony is still the Director of SHIELD and Steve is still dead.

So for complicated plot reasons that basically come down to "everyone is really sad that Steve is dead," they... get a Steve back. But not their Steve. He gets plucked right out of World War II and brought to the present, along with the rest of the Invaders. So Tony gets to meet a Steve who is alive while Tony remembers that Steve died.

Tony's reaction to the news of Steve being alive, here in Avengers/Invaders #1, is to lock himself in a room staring at pictures of Steve:

Definitely psychologically healthy! We're doing great!

Actually, no, he's really not okay. He blames himself for Steve's death, and he is depressed and grief-stricken, and this situation is making him a lot worse. Because not only does this Steve not know him, they can't tell Steve (or any of the Invaders) anything. Since time-travel is involved, they can't give Steve any knowledge of the future. Tony can't tell Steve he knows him. Plus, Tony actually has to fight him to bring him in, which really messes Tony up.

In a scene that gets my vote for One of The Most Painful Things I Have Read In A Comic, there's a conversation Tony has with Steve in Avengers/Invaders #5. The Invaders have been assuming that this is actually some kind of secret Nazi trap, and so Tony has the job of sitting Steve down -- tying him to a chair, actually -- and telling him that, no, really, he's in the future, and sorry, he can't give him any details about it. He can't let Steve change the past.

So Steve doesn't take this at all well.

Steve tells Tony he's wrong, and he correctly reads Tony as feeling guilty about something, and he looks at him and asks him, "Who'd you kill to get where you are?"

This is, of course, probably the absolute worst thing Tony could ever hear from Steve. Oh, the angst. I love it.

Eventually Tony pulls himself together and tells him that, yeah, he got a friend of his killed and he feels guilty about it and he wishes he could change the past, but he can't, and so he can't let Steve change the past either.

This is when this Steve starts to trust him.

Later on, there's a nice scene where Steve expresses sympathy for Tony, having been told about Civil War -- it must have been hard for Tony to do what he thought was right, Steve says -- but it's clear he doesn't know any of the details and he certainly doesn't know it was him and none of this can be the absolution Tony wants, but it's the closest thing he's going to be able to get.

And of course, after World's Most Wanted, Tony doesn't remember any of this either -- he doesn't remember anything about Civil War or the period afterward, until he wakes up right after Steve comes back. So this is also all gone.

So, yeah. You can't get exactly what you want in canon, but you can read a bunch of fanfiction about it, and you should really read Avengers/Invaders. Hope that helps!

[kaii025]

A/n : This is my first time writing a fanfic. So I'll try to publish more when I'm not busy. A few things I want to clarify before we get into it.

I'm not good at grammars because English isn't my first language.

If I made some mistakes at the other parts please correct me if I'm wrong. I will try to fix it quickly as possible.

If you don't like my writings, leave. I don't need your opinion about slandering my writings.

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╗

Leslie's Lullaby

Y/n was caught by Isabella, alone near the wall underneath the tree, humming a familiar lullaby, Leslie's lullaby.

Y/n noticed her mother, Isabella, standing in front of her, frozen. She was shocked; too shocked to say anything. "Y/n, how did you know that lullaby??" Isabella asked, slightly panicking.

'How did she even know that??' Isabella thought.

"Mother, do you believe in reincarnation?" Y/n smiled as she asked Isabella. It took Isabella a second to realize what Y/n was saying.

Y/n stood up and held her mother's warm hands and said, "Mother, don't ever hate yourself for becoming a mother of this house, sending kids unwillingly. I know deep inside you, you wanted to escape and save those kids. So please mother, don't hate yourself. You have no choice but to survive."

Isabella couldn't believe what she was hearing; she felt hot tears coming out of her eyes, and she was crying.

"You've held and bottled so much emotion, Mother. Let it all out," Y/n said softly. Isabella bent down and hugged Y/n as Y/n comforted her mother.

There stood Emma, and Norman from afar. They couldn't believe the sight they were seeing. All they could do was watch with a heavy heart. They had thought that Isabella was doing it willingly.

In that moment, Isabella realized that Y/n was not just her daughter; she was also the embodiment of Leslie. Leslie, who had been a dear friend to Isabella, had sacrificed himself. Isabella had sung that same lullaby to the children as she sent them off to their death.

Y/n, who had been reborn as Leslie, had finally returned to the house to bring peace to Isabella's troubled heart. Together, they cried and laughed, reminiscing about the past and the future. From that day on, Isabella began to see Y/n in a different light. She was not just her daughter; she was also her dear friend, Leslie, who had returned to her in a new form.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╝

[lichniche]

Necromancer Tournament

i got sick so im extending the submission period! the 15th is the new deadline!

to reiterate, here are the rules:

im not gonna define necromancy, if youre not sure if somebody qualifies submit em anyway and i will either decide or if im unfamiliar or unsure too we will hold a prelim poll

submit as many people as you want but only submit each person once

real people allowed lmao ?? but i hold veto power

no ocs (sorry)

submit to the ask box! one per ask preferable!

PLEASE INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE MEDIA THEY ARE FROM

all polls will be tagged #necromancy tournament and #tournament poll and all non-poll but still tournament relevant stuff will be tagged #tournament stuff

all polls will run for one week

NOW

here are the current submissions!

anyone in orange has been submitted by multiple people

anyone not in the no category or the maybe category is guaranteed a spot unless someone raises an objection, the orange highlighting is just informative

if you are familiar with the source material and want to dispute any of these please do. if you have an opinion on anyone in the maybe column and whether they deserve to be included please share

Magic the Gathering:

Liliana Vess

Gisa Cecani

Lim-Dûl

Ratadrabik

Elder Scrolls:

Vastarie (Elder Scrolls Online)

Mannimarco (Elder Scrolls Online)

The Untamed / MDZS

Wei Wuxian

Xue Yang

The Bible:

Jesus Christ

The Witch of Endor

Dungeons & Dragons

Acererak

Azalin Rex

Vecna

World of Warcraft:

Arthas Menethil

Kel'Thuzad

The Adventure Zone

Barry Bluejeans

Lup

Abhorsen

Chlorr of the Mask

Sabriel

Guild Wars

Zhaitan

Trahearne

Palawa Joko

Marjory Delaqua

Skulduggery PLeasant

Solomon Wreath

Lord Vile

Misc:

Henry (Fire Emblem Awakening

Ned (Pushing Daisies)

Aesop Carl (Identity V)

Xykon (The Order of the Stick)

Rasputin (real life/Don Bluth Cartoon)

Edward and Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Dorian Pavus (Dragon Age)

Nico di Angelo (Percy Jackson)

Suzie Costello (Torchwood)

Herbert West (Reanimator)

Lewis Bernavelt (The House With A Clock In Its Walls)

Neferpitou (Hunter x Hunter)

Roger de Camden (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Joshua (The World Ends with You)

Pisces Jealnet (The Wandering Inn webnovel)

Malistaire Drake (Wizard101)

Mary (Trash of the Count's Family)

Delilah Briarwood (Critical Role)

Shang Tsung (Mortal Kombat)

Kotaro Tatsumi (Zombieland Saga)

Licorice Cookie (Cookie Run)

Wasp (Archivist Wasp)

Soren Baltimore (Camp Here & There podcast)

Wendell and Wild (Wendell & Wild)

Orochimaru (Naruto)

Amors (Death and the Maiden webcomic)

The Lich (Adventure Time)

Zanbar Bone (Fighting Fantasy)

Snap & Jacks (Snapdragon graphic novel by Kat Leyh)

Santa Claus (Puppet History ? real life ? its unclear)

Watcher (DeadEndia) (comics)

Ty Blackthorn (Shadowhunters)

Dr Hix (Discworld)

Maybe:

Steven Universe

Rose Quartz (Steven Universe)

Maya Fey (Ace Attorney)

Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein)

Sauron (Lord of the Rings)

Takuto Maruki (Persona 5 Royal)

Claudia (The Dragon Prince)

Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)

Norman (Paranorman)

The Marionette (fnaf)

Merrin Meredith (Septimus Heap)

Uni (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)

Bermuda von Veckenschtein (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)

No:

The Doctor (Doctor Who)

The Master (Doctor Who)

Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files) (decided by vote)

The Locked Tomb:

Harrowhark Nonagesimus

Palamedes Sextus

Coronabeth Tridentarius*****

Ianthe Tridentarius

John Gaius

if you are familiar with the source material and want to dispute any of these please do. if you have an opinion on anyone in the maybe column and whether they deserve to be included please share

here are my personal submissions (with duplicates included- if a submission is orange it was submitted by multiple of YOU, i did not take my own list into account)

Johannes Cabal (Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer)

Grimora, Scrybe of the Dead (Inscryption)

Militsa Gnosis (Skulduggery Pleasant)

Lord Vile (Skulduggery Pleasant)

Samhain Corvus LaCroix (Hold Me Closer, Necromancer)

Dorian Pavus (Dragon Age)

Henry (Fire Emblem Awakening)

The Necromancer (West of Loathing)

Novice Necromancer (Skyrim)

Xenia of the Autumn (Lovestruck: Reigning Passions)

Sabriel (Abhorson)

[princesssarisa]

The name meanings from more Barbie movies.

@paexgo-rosa

Barbie in Princess Power

Kara: "Beloved."

Corinne: "Maiden."

Madison: "Son of Maud" (it wasn't used as a female name until the 1984 movie Splash).

Makayla: "Who is like God?"

Karina: Derived from Catherine, meaning "far off" or "pure."

Kristoff: "Bearer of Christ."

Wes: Short for Wesley, meaning "west meadow."

Zooey: "Life."

Gabby: Short for Gabrielle, meaning "God is my strength."

Bruce: "From Brix" (a French town).

Parker: "Park keeper."

Newton: "New town."

Barbie in Rock 'n Royals

Courtney: "Short nose."

Erika: "Eternal ruler."

Genevieve: "Of the race of woman," "woman of the house," or "white wave."

Zia: "Light" or "splendor."

Finn: "White" or "blessed."

Aubray: "Elf queen."

Rayna: "Queen" or "pure."

Clive: "Cliff."

Reginald: "King's counselor."

Eddie: Short for Edward, meaning "wealthy guard."

Marcus: "Warlike" or "of Mars" (the Roman god of war).

Sloane: "Raid" or "mobilization."

Anne: "Grace" or "favor."

Phillip: "Horse-lover."

Olivia: "Olive tree."

Stevie: Short for Stephanie, meaning "crown" or "wreath."

Svetlana: "Light."

Allegra: "Cheerful" or "lively."

Edmund: "Wealthy protector."

Barbie: Spy Squad (new characters only)

Renée: "Reborn."

Mila: "Gracious" or "dear."

Patricia: "Noblewoman."

Zoe: "Life."

Lazlo: "Glorious ruler."

Percy: "From Perci" (a Norman town), or else derived from Percival, meaning "pierce the valley."

Violet: Self-evident; the violet flower or color.

[gmanwhore]

Important notes for my BANTIM rewrite.

Henry is the pure Bendy, and he does look like a more human version of Bendy. You can definitely see the Henry there though.

The Ink Demon is made of leftovers of the souls who go through the ink machine. It is kept alive by everyone dying and being reborn hence the violence, and it is a being of pure rage.

Related to the above point. "Twisted" versions of characters is not based off morality, it is based off anger. That's why Alice/Susie looks like that. Bertrum and Norman are also more twisted.

When you are chosen to be bonded to a character you pretty much like. Fuse consciousness with them. Like in the book. So Henry has an inner Bendy monologue. Boris is still the only one who can't talk.

The books are still canon. Well, the first one as I can't find the others but Buddy is still the perfect Boris. I'm attached to him.

Souls are stored in ink hearts. There is like. A very vague idea going around they can save people but most people think it means they have to absorb them/give them to the Ink Demon. It's actually that they are solid things and can jam the ink machine if you try to force too many through.

The truth screen doesn't just show hidden messages, it shows you the person inside of the creatures. Yes it works in a mirror Henry can look through it to see himself.

I feel like I am going to be adding more characters. Like. To represent people who worked there. Yeah.

I would love feedback! This is just some ideas!

[theoakleafpancake]

The O'Carrick Family/Hibernia Spiel

(just a few things I looked up and kind of correlated to RA because I'm lowkey obsessed with the entire family as a whole and I don't know what else to do with this knowledge so you, dear reader, are now imbued with it)

"Carrick is ancient Scottish and Irish name that is derived from teh Gaelic word 'carraig' meaning 'rock.'" Dunno if this was Flanagan's intentions or not, but it actually does fit what we know of the family on a metaphorical sense.

Back centuries, people from Ireland were said to have dark skin (and blue eyes). I rest my case.

The name Caitlyn (of Irish origin) means "pure." We know next to nothing about Caitlyn, but it fits her.

Alternatively, the name "Ferris" (also of Irish origin) means "strong man or ironworker." I find that hilariously ironic.

Also alternatively, and someone has probably pointed this out already, Halt's name is from "England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture...comes from when the family lived near a grove or woods." However, unlike Ferris's name, it does fit.

How royal succession worked in medieval Ireland is actually highly debated and uncertain. There's a whole article here on how this could have worked but my brain says no to summing it up. But something in there mentions that brother to brother succession was usually avoided, so if Halt had become King and let's say he produced one or several heirs, the likeliehood of Ferris having to kill the entire royal family would be pretty high.

Another basic point is that seniority rules, but that seems obvious.

There's an irish myth/legend of "the message of the butterflies...They move between worlds and bring messages and warnings. They are said to be souls, waiting to be reborn on earth." Nothing too specific I found solely interesting—don't get me wrong, it is cool—but I mainly found it eye-catching cause of Will's given nickname in The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. Not that Will is Hibernian, but Halt might've known that.

Leprechauns. "Little People." That's it.

Back to royal families again. One of the popular ways of succession was tanistry, an early Irish law, where the "reigning chief" would choose which of the male relatives to succeed him. Said chosen one also had to be elected from certain people. An interesting idea if the twins' father had chosen Ferris. But this was also banned during the years of James I due to the violence and wars it caused.

Isidore of Seville is known to be "one of the earliest medieval writers [of] Ireland." Ireland is referred to in his notes as "Hibernia." Maybe that's common knowledge already, but I didn't know that. And after the Normal Invasion, it was known as "Dominus Hiberniae."

In another article, it was stated that Ireland was "a country divided into two 'nations.'" The Anglo-Normal settlers, and the older Gaelic Irish. Ferris's name is of Irish descent. But Halt's is Anglo-Saxon and while it's not Anglo-Norman, their namesakes were from different sides. Take with that what you will.

I find it funny that the harp is literally one of the symbols of Ireland and yet Halt is so utterly tone-deaf.

[agentxthirteen]

On this day (November 4, late) in Sharon Carter history, Sharon appeared in:

Captain America: Reborn #4 (2009)

Captain America: Reborn #4 [Variant A] (2009)

Captain America: Reborn #4 [Variant B] (2009)

Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Perez Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (Reprint Avengers V3 #32) (2015)

[akariamai]

Chapter 1: Library

Crossover between the Hunger Games and The Promised Neverland

Word Count: 1372

Prologue

Consuming the nightlock berries should have swiftly taken her from the living, released her body from the arena and lifted by the crane of a hovercraft. Instead of being granted the sweet release of death, Marissa, a name she deeply cared for, was given another chance at life. One that appeared to be far worse than the monstrosities she’d been forced to face.

The first life she lived, the one with the name Marissa, ended in tragedy. Her name, now part of the collection of unfortunate souls to be called on reaping day, was chosen for the 74th Hunger Games. The games were a dark cloud, its presence looming over the people in the districts. It only inspired fear for the children and bred hopelessness. Marissa had grown up to see parents keep their children at arm’s length. Only rejoicing when they aged out of the reaping.

She had been lucky. Her parents, despite their fears, cared for her as if the danger did not exist. Their reality shattering every year yet persisting when another name was called. One more year. She just needed to survive one more year but life threw a curve ball to her life. It did not matter how hard her parents wished every night for their daughter to be untouched by the Capital, to escape unscathed by the horrors of the games. Their wishes to a high power were not enough to save her.

Her name and fate intertwined with death itself as soon as her name was spoken for all of District 5 to hear. She remembered the cries of her parents, so clearly, as she was escorted onto the stage. How her eyes found her parents devastated, mourning for their daughter despite her standing despite her standing before them, clinging onto one another. Using each other as a lifeline. It was tragic. Another child to carry on another senseless death.

This new life seemed perfect. It masqueraded itself to be a well-funded orphanage. A cookie-cutter life for the naive human children, who unknowingly awaited their death sentence, all in hopes of being adopted to a kind family. The reality is much darker. A farm packaged into a beautifully perfect lie, provides a life with empty smiles and so-called love. The very foundation of the house is a fabrication. It is filled with deception. It was a prison. They were birds trapped in a golden cage. Never to fly free from the bars; never to see the world beyond the gates.

Finch laid on the bed awake, waiting for the clock to strike, and the day to begin. She was four years old and burdened with the knowledge of their supposed home. She needed a plan but with her scrawny and petite arms, she could do nothing but wait till she grew. She hoped to survive long enough to grow. She still had time left but when would her time come? She noticed the children who were six or older were shipped out randomly or it appeared to be that way. She needed more information.

���Weik up, Finsch!” A high pitched voice called out, snapping her out of her thoughts, “Weik up!”

Finch turned to the person, who was already changed out of their pajamas, and glared at them. “I’m up.” Her reply was unwelcoming. Emma was an irritatingly joyful child, carefree in every way possible. Unaware of the true horrors behind the house she called a home.

“Yay!” She excitedly cheered. Her smile, at one period of time, would’ve comforted Finch but she found herself unable to be at ease.

Finch hurriedly changed into her uniform and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Emma followed closely behind her as they waited for the older children to help the young ones with their hygiene.

“Do you wanna play with me, Nor-man and Wray?”

“No.” Finch had more important things to do. This world seemed to represent fragments of her past life but demons like the ones she saw when she was a baby were completely new. Research needed to be done. She would need to make her way into the library after breakfast.

“Please!” She whined.

“No.”

“Pretty please!” Her whining did not stop. In fact, it only got worse.

“Hello Emma, Finch. What’s going on?” The hoax concern in Isabella’s voice was appalling. If she did not know everything was fake, she would’ve believed her lies. She pretended to care for them. She prepared them for the slaughter with a smile.

“I wanna play with Finch!” Emma waved her arms dramatically, lightly stomping her feet in retaliation but not enough to make too much noise. “But she doesn’t want to play.”

Isabella gently patted Emma’s bright hair and slightly bent over to look down at Finch. “Why don’t you want to play Finch?”

“I want to wread.” It turns out the games were good for one thing. She learned to pretend. This world just needed more of it.

“Really,” She cupped Finch’s face with her hands, “Aren’t you a clever one.” The smile grew upon her face. Finch’s stomach dropped at how unnerving it was. It almost felt real. “Brush your teeth and come down to eat breakfast okay.” Once Isabella was out of sight, Finch felt as if she could truly breathe again. An unseen weight lifted from her shoulders. She was as safe as she could be.

The two girls brushed their teeth with several of their siblings. While they were not siblings by blood, many saw one another as family. Finch was not one of those people. She could not bear to become attached to anyone and lose them. The world was cruel and her heart would not survive another attack. She already lost a family.

Breakfast was swift. The older children helped clean up the dishes and the younger ones hung around Isabella. Finch watched for a brief moment before making her way to the library. Hardly any one of the younger children spent time in the library and as the older children were finishing their morning chores before heading to take their exams, she would have the room to herself. Quiet and safe.

The door to the library creaked as Finch walked inside. It was finally time to look for any helpful information about her situation. She would need to read between the lines as books about demons and farms probably wouldn’t be kept in the house. To keep up appearances, nothing in the pages of the books should outright explain the situation.

First, she searched through a geology book. The world could look different than her first life, Finch needed to be sure. Then, gather a rough estimate on which hemisphere the farm was located in. A stick and the sun should be enough, she just needed to find an excuse on her reasoning. The other kids might get curious. Next, she would work on her survival skills. The games granted her some experience but she relied on the other tributes to not notice her stealing food off of their plates. It worked for a little while until the end neared and the rules changed.

“What are you wreading?” Ray, another four year old, curiously approached Finch. He took a peek at the book she had opened. A map of the world.

Finch pointed at the map and merely said, “Pictures.” Ray was almost as antisocial as she was. He hung out a lot with Emma and Norman but he could be found occasionally at the library. She hoped he would’ve been stuck playing with Emma, but there was nothing she could do to stop him.

She turned to another page and looked at a closer image of one of the land masses from the previous page. One part looked like a sort of boot. Finch remembered seeing a map like this in an old poster, faded and crinkled, in one of District 5’s schoolrooms.

She flipped to another page, hoping Ray would turn his attention elsewhere. She wanted to survive and live. For the girl who’s name was chosen at the reaping and sent to the games. For the girl who never had the chance to grow up. For the girl who wanted to live.

Masterlist

[ciaossu-imagines]

Khr gang (tsuna, gokudera, yamamoto, kyoko, and haru) with the Holiday prompt 14

Of course, anon dear! Thank you for the request - holiday asks make me really happy! And I hope these headcanons will make you happy too!

Imagine Your OC's Taking a Group Picture For Their Holiday Cards!

Who is giving directives on how to pose?

I think it would likely be a combination of Kyoko and Haru, both bouncing ideas off each other. Haru's definitely the one taking charge, but she really does care about Kyoko's opinion and Kyoko makes sure that the boys are comfortable with the end position.

How do they pose?

Tsuna's sitting smack dab in the middle, with the other two boys standing behind him and Kyoko and Haru are slightly to his side, sitting by either of his legs.

Who ruins the picture by making faces?

Tsuna honestly doesn't mean to. The truth is that he takes horrible pictures by nature - the camera is just not his friend and so many retakes had to be taken because he blinked or sneezed or got distracted by the going on's of all the people around him and the pictures never turned out with him looking all that great.

Who keeps saying "WAIT! I'm not ready!" until they find the perfect angle?

It's definitely Haru. She's by far the one most excited for the photo session and the holiday cards and she really does kind of take charge and she gets a little perfectionist about the whole thing, just because it really ends up meaning a lot to her for the pictures to look the best they possibly can.

What are they wearing? Are they matching? Is there a theme?

Haru definitely decided on a theme and her and Kyoko made a lot of the pieces they wear. The two girls decided on a 'Santa' theme, with Tsuna decked out in a santa suit (though thankfully without the beard, as it itched terribly and he kept sneezing). Gokudera and Yamamoto were supposed to be elves, and Haru and Kyoko made cute little Mrs. Claus outfits, like these.

Who shows up in something other than the agreed upon outfit?

Does it surprise anyone that it was Gokudera?? He hated having to play 'dress-up' and he was only taking the pictures because the Tenth wanted him too and to do his duty. He really doesn't like having his picture taken, and having to dress up in a silly costume? Forget about it. He ends up wearing the elf hat, because Tsuna ends up asking him to to make Haru calm down, but Gokudera very much ends up looking like a very 'punk rock'-esque Christmas elf.

Who is the most reluctant to be in the picture?

Both Tsuna and Gokudera both immediately dismissed the idea of taking a picture for holiday cards. Tsuna doesn't want to send holiday cards and only ends up doing so because Reborn forces him too and, like mentioned, Gokudera just hates having his picture taken and he only does it because Tsuna really wants him to be in the picture too.

What is written on the card?

Reborn chooses the inscription - 'Happy Holidays from the Vongola. May the holiday season bring you joy, happiness, and may the new year foster healthy, strong alliances.' He makes Tsuna add a personalized signature, thanking each of the recipients for everything they've done for Tsuna or the Vongola in the prior year.

What background do they choose?

Kyoko really got her heart set on this Norman Rockwell-esque winter wonderland scene and nobody had the heart to tell her no, so that's what they went with, rather than Haru's initial pick of a 'Santa's workshop' backdrop.

Who do they send the cards to?

As mentioned, Reborn has Tsuna send them out to each member of his family, any people who have helped him in the prior year, and to the heads of all the families allied to the Vongola.

[medea10]

My Review of Ascendance of a Bookworm

Okay, time to hit up another isekai. After watching a heart-wrenching anime like 86, I need something light-hearted to watch. No…I’m not reviewing 86. Sorry. Okay, let’s get to it!

This is Myne. But not really! You see, Myne was once a librarian named Urano Motosu with a love for reading books. But an earthquake struck and she was crushed by a mountain of books. With her last breath, she wished she could be reincarnated again and read more books with her new life. Now she is reborn in a frail five-year old named Myne. Myne is in a new world, new time, and with a new family. Only thing is, she cannot obtain a single book. Books are hard to come by, especially if you aren’t a noble. And in Myne’s case, she’s at peasant level. Even materials for writing are hard to obtain.

Before one can walk, one must crawl. Myne will go through a lot in order to preserve stories on the printed page. Will this bookworm survive without reading?

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: This one strictly belonged to Crunchyroll and the dub was filled with a lot of people I don’t think I ever heard from before this. So, hearing many of these folks is kinda a new experience for me since I decided to watch the entire thing dubbed. My experience with it was okay until I hit season three. I felt a little thrown off with the pronunciation of one of the characters. Myne’s mother Effa. We clearly hear her name being pronounced as “Eva” in the first 2 seasons. Now all of a sudden, they’re changing her name’s pronunciation. Okay, sure. Why not?! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Myne is played by Yuka Iguchi (known for Crusch on Re:Zero, Tsukihi on Monogatari, Mine on Fruits Basket 2019, Mea on To Love Ru, Yuu on Sakura Trick, and Index on Railgun/Index)

*Lutz is played by Mutsumi Tamura (known for Kobayashi on Miss Kobayashi, Kanamori on Eizouken, Ermes on Jojo’s Pt. 6, Young Jintan on Anohana, and Young Ali Baba on Magi)

*Ferdinand is played by Show Hayami (known for Juan on Pokemon AG, Aizen on Bleach, Wolfwood on Trigun, Azami on Food Wars, Gakuhou on Assassination Classroom, and Ichiya on Fairy Tail)

ENGLISH CAST: *Myne is played by Reba Buhr (known for Nikaido on Dorohedoro, Cattleya on Violet Evergarden, Aoi on Demon Slayer, and LLENN on SAO: GGO)

*Lutz is played by Jeannie Tirado (known for Norman on The Promised Neverland, Riko on Love Live Sunshine, Fana on Black Clover, Kanae on Tokyo Ghoul :re, and Zera on Fairy Tail)

*Ferdinand is played by Armen Taylor

DISLIKED CHARACTER: I think it goes without saying that I hate that high priest with a holy passion. After his unsavory debut in the first season, I wished he could have died from his injuries when Myne’s mana went haywire. Sadly, he’s still around. And whenever he shows up, nothing good can come from it. He’s the reason why Myne wound up with disrespectful retainers when she started her apprenticeship at the church. I know the high priest is the go-to punching bag for most people. I am inclined to agree. It’s mostly a bias I have against certain individuals that claim to be a servant to the lord and do shady-ass shit. Yeah, he’s right up there with the Catholic Church, Mike Pence, and Judge Claude Frollo. He’s that bad!

I would have let certain things slide in season two like giving Myne unruly retainers or petty vandalism in the library. But then season three happened and there’s just no forgiveness for what this fat fuck did. I’m just happy he’s finally going to get some much-needed comeuppance.

SHIPPING: Myne x Lutz.

*sigh* I know it’ll never happen for many, many spoilery reasons. And I know it wasn’t canon or official or anything like that. I just want to enjoy their moments in season one and somehow ignore what happens at the end of season three.

AN ANNOYANCE: At the end of each episode, there’s like a chibi/4-panel style short that airs. I wouldn’t call it a preview for the next episode as there is never any mention of what happens next. It’s just random fluff. That doesn’t bother me all that much. Yes, I realize the first season had Ferdinand shown in those moments and we were never properly introduced to this character until like 10 episodes in. What bothered me the most came during the third season. There was one of these segments where Gunther and Myne were talking and he brings up that Myne’s mother had several miscarriages prior to having Tuuli and Myne. Okay, I feel like this sort of thing could have been said during the episode and not put in the passing fancy with the end of the episode LOL fluff. That’s my take on that matter.

END OF SEASON ONE: Throughout this season, Myne has been creating certain items and catching the eye of several key people. Semi-nobles like Frieda and her family have caught wind of Myne’s hair accessories. And a gentleman by the name of Mr. Benno decides to give Myne a chance with items she creates (for the right price). Unfortunately, there’s only so much Myne can do in so much time. Myne has been sick from day one and when really sick, she’ll spend days or even weeks in bed. Mr. Benno seems to think that she has mana (that is only reserved for nobles) and it’s eating her from the inside until she dies. It’s called “the devouring”. Meanwhile, Lutz has been becoming suspicious of Myne. It’s been bugging him for quite a while, but he finally confronted her. Without letting him know about her past life, she does reveal to him that she’s not really Myne and was only Myne for over a year now. Thankfully, Lutz accepted this fact and continues to help Myne pursue her dream and current ambitions.

Myne has been revolutionizing the world she’s living in with products she was able to easily make like hair shampoo, cute hair accessories, and even sweet treats. She did sell those invention ideas, but was able to keep some for her own. On top of which, she’s inching closer and closer to getting her paper goods to be successful. It’s just that her sickness (the devouring) is getting worse and worse. Her friend Frieda was able to suppress one of her attacks one night with the use of a magical item. It’s temporary, but it helped prevent something tragic from happening this time. There’s no guarantee for next time though.

With the way things are, Myne only has one year at most to live. It was a lucky break that Myne was able to get an item because her friend is semi-royal. Unfortunately, all Frieda gets are knock-offs because she isn’t really a noble. But that can all change once her coming of age ceremony comes and becomes a concubine for a noble. Myne’s coming of age ceremony is coming up and being married off to a noble might be her one solution to surviving the devouring. For now, Myne just wants to stay with her parents and if there’s time, set up her paper-making studio with Lutz and Mr. Benno.

The day finally came for Myne to have her coming of age ceremony. At the church, Myne got intrigued by all of the ancient books, scrolls, etc. We also meet Ferdinand outside of the preview setting. He is the head priest of this church. Myne was ready to jump ship and join the church just because they had many books. Let’s just say nearly everyone in Myne’s inner circle objected to that tenfold. Her employer Mr. Benno hates to lose Myne to anyone, especially to the church. And Myne’s parents worry that being in the church can be detrimental to her health since she couldn’t live at home anymore and won’t get a steady income since only nobles in blue robes obtain that and everyone else is just a gray orphan.

Things get a little more complicated when the church learned of Myne’s devouring disease and wanted her even more. Myne is full of overflowing mana and this is something the church wants. This could work to Myne’s advantage if she gets the church to agree to her own terms. Mr. Benno told her to prioritize letting her continue with her studio works, live with her parents, and help with her health. Meeting the high priest of the church went really bad. He didn’t like the fact that Myne’s parents were not of nobility and threatened to take Myne from them by force. This led to Myne’s father beating up church guards. And then Myne went demon-possessed on them all!

Throughout this season, there were moments when Myne’s eyes would go rainbow and has this anger aura surrounding her. This would usually occur when she would get really upset or angry, like in the early episodes and she would try to make clay tablets and they got destroyed. This of course is because of the devouring. Her mana is overflowing and controlling her body. This time, this power affected the high priest by almost killing him. Ferdinand helped calm Myne down and de-escalated the situation that just went down. He agreed to all of Myne’s terms and agreements. In return, Myne will become an apprentice priestess at the cathedral. She will dawn the blue robes meant only for nobles and when she’s not doing that, she will continue to help Mr. Benno. And best of all, she could stay with her family.

Ferdinand will be there quite a bit to keep Myne in check at every moment. Especially, when she gets angry and her mana goes berserk. Because if she harms any higher-up like when she attacked the high priest, dire consequences will be passed down to Myne. But that’ll be a matter for another section of this review.

SIDE STORY: There were two short stories that were aired a month before the second season’s debut. One story was revolved around one of Ferdinand’s men from the church to spy and learn about Myne from the townspeople. The other was Myne, her sister Tulli and mother Eva visiting the fabric maker Corinna.

SEASON TWO: Myne is officially an apprentice priestess. Unfortunately, things in the church might serve to be difficult for her. The high priest has it out for her and is willing to make her life a living hell. This includes giving her retainers (Delia and Gil) that give her nothing but grief. Not just him, but everyone (excluding Ferdinand) hating on Myne because she’s not a noble, but is wearing noble clothing. Let’s just say they’re not fond that a little girl like her got to surpass many of them.

On the positive, part of her job is to read over the royal scripture. A book is a book, I guess. At least Myne made it to a point where she got her hands on the printed word, no matter what it is. Myne does get the idea to make children books during this season. Because her mother is going to have a baby in the coming months, Myne wanted to make children books with the paper goods she’s been making.

END OF SEASON TWO: Myne has to step up her game at the church to prove that she is truly worthy to wear the blue robes despite being a peasant. For starters, she has to prepare for some upcoming events that’ll require her attendance and assistance. Unfortunately, that means Myne will have to stay at the church during the duration of the winter season. That does cause a bit of a hiccup as Myne’s father is fully against it and Myne kinda wanted to stay at home a little more to help out her pregnant mother.

Myne ends up assisting Ferdinand with a mission against some out of control trombe. As demonstrated in earlier episodes, trombe can be dangerous if not controlled and cut down. Such a dangerous entity, but useful in Myne’s mission to making paper goods. This trombe however caused more trouble than normal for Myne. This time it wasn’t her fault in a sense. One of the guards Ferdinand assigned to keep Myne safe was a real shit-head and put Myne’s life in danger and lied about it. This guy put the fact that Myne’s a peasant over Ferdinand’s order. Yeah, he’s in trouble. And then Myne showed him up with the amount of mana she possesses for someone like her. After all of that, we kind of get this scene that I wondered about since I started this series.

This scene was the very first scene from the first episode of the series. Myne with something on her head and Ferdinand going to find out things once and for all. And that’s exactly it, they’re linking minds with magical items so that Ferdinand can lay his worries and fears about Myne to rest. Ferdinand got a first-hand look at what a library looks like in modern-day Japan. Myne got to see her old adult self before she died. And also, Myne almost had a breakdown after seeing her mother and wanting to say goodbye but never got the chance. That scene was pretty rough to watch, along with her hugging Ferdinand. That’s why Myne decides now to say how thankful she is for this family. Gunther, Eva, and Tuuli aren’t the family she knew back before Myne came to this world, but she’s happy for them.

Oh, and we get a scene of Ferdinand and Karstedt discussing Myne and planning to have her be adopted by a noble. Okay, that’ll be a story for season three.

SEASON THREE: Things take a bit of a violent turn in the first episode. In the previous season, Myne was seen asking about alternate inks for the book she wanted to make. The ink guild saw the book and got serious. They came to Benno’s shop and were very scary. And then, these ruffians assaulted Lutz in the street. It is now best that Myne have her winter stay at the church happen now. Meanwhile, it looks as though one of her own retainers can’t be trusted…AGAIN! It’s Delia. Of course, it’s Delia. Gil’s on Team Myne and its going to stay that way. Delia on the other hand is an informant for the high priest.

Myne’s life is about to get a little worrisome. Ferdinand told her that he thinks that Karstedt should adopt her and it was met with harsh rejection from Myne. Ferdinand decided it is best that at age 10 she be adopted by a noble. And at that age if she isn’t under the care of a noble, she will be at risk due to her amount of mana and everything she’s done up to this point.

ENDING: This season we’ve seen the good and the bad. I’ll start with the good. The book that Myne came up with was finally done. She had a lot of help from her retainers, the children from the orphanage, and other allies in the church. Myne was able to spend some quality time with her family as this may be the last years she can be with them. Along with that, the birth of her baby brother Kamil was worth celebrating. But then we delve into the seriousness here when an orphaned baby comes to the church and has the devouring disease like Myne, things take quite the turn for the worst. The high priest is at it again really causing trouble for Myne and just being an all-around fat dick. The high priest invited a noble man to take the baby and use him as a servant. Then, force Myne into a contract.

This plan led to Myne almost being kidnapped, Tulli almost being killed, Delia being deceived, Gunther and Fran injured, and an all-around magic showdown at the church. Myne went into berserk mode when her friends and father were injured by the high priest and this dick-head noble that wants to use Myne’s mana for his selfish wants. It wasn’t until Ferdinand came in the room that things settled. Unfortunately, Myne assaulted the high priest and a noble. They overlooked that crime at the end of season one when her mana caused her to go berserk. This time, Myne, Gunther, Fran, and the rest were to receive punishment for this. But a twist arose.

During this season, Myne met a man named Sylvester. He’s a bit eccentric and can be a bit of a headache. But he gave Myne a charm to form a blood seal if she were to come into trouble. What she didn’t know was that this blood seal was to form a contract with Sylvester. This means instead of being adopted by Karstedt in two years, Myne is to be adopted by Sylvester right now. If this happens, Myne and everyone else will avoid punishment because her status as Sylvester’s daughter will surpass that of the high priest and dick-head noble. Myne agrees. Add to the surprises, Sylvester is the lord of the land, the nephew to the high priest, and half-brother to Ferdinand. Sylvester laid down some much-needed punishment here as that shady noble was to be incarcerated and the high priest got the death sentence for harming Myne.

Sylvester made it official, but with some unfortunate terms. Myne is to be adopted by Sylvester. She will be a noble officially. However, she is to give up her name and her family. She will no longer be known as Myne and the commoner known as Myne will be legally dead. She may never again be with her father, mother, sister, and brother again. If they were to see Myne, they must treat her like a noble and not like a part of the family. Myne’s company and work will continue as paper goods and books are necessary. Myne will now and forever be known as Rozemyne. Rozemyne swears that she will protect those she loves and gives them a special blessing before bidding them goodbye.

This is the end of Myne’s tale as you see with her tombstone. But Rozemyne’s story is just beginning.

We just don’t know because nothing has been green-lit as of yet. But we got a “To Be Continued” at the end. That’s hopeful!

Oh, I loved this anime. I think this was one of my favorite Isekais to come as of recent. Probably up there with Mushoku Tensei and Re:Zero.

I’m going to go off a bit on something I was pondering about for a long time and how I feel about it. This mostly has to do with the story itself and not the anime at all. During season two, I got curious and read some spoilers. Once I finished season two, I really got upset that Myne was to be adopted by nobles and have all communication from her family cut off. The reason behind me being so upset is because at the end of season two, we got that sad scene where Myne is back in her modern world in her original body and her wanting to say something to her mother before she dies. So, learning about Myne’s separation from Gunther and Effa made me really upset. Myne was distraught remembering her mother in the previous life and swore to always say that she loved Effa. But now that I sat through season three, am I still upset by the circumstances? Hell yeah. But I understand that there really was no happy outcome where all parties could be satisfied. Myne was still going to be adopted whether now or in two years like originally planned.

Never mind me prattling on about this crap about adoption. This has been a fun watch and an educational one too. Isekais can get creative with new languages, items, and customs. I always enjoy learning about new worlds in anime. But not just that, I learn something new when Myne brings up something invented in her original world. We learn something new every day. By the looks of things, the light novel is still in publication, so I expect to see more content with Rozemyne and her continuing ambitions surrounding the printed word. Anyways, full recommendation from me!

If you would like to watch Ascendance of a Bookworm, Crunchyroll has every episode (along with the side stories and recaps) available to stream.

Man, I hate to think what I’m going to watch next. The anime following this one must be fucking bullshit.

It is.

*gasps* FINALLY! I GET TO WATCH IT!!!

*This stupidity aside, Medea is really enjoying Carole and Tuesday*

[alephskoteinos]

Disgorging foliate heads as medieval symbols of Christianity

Here's something of a pagan PSA: The Green Man is probably not a pagan symbol or deity.

I probably should have dug into this when that coronation invite was doing the rounds last month, but I reckon now's as good a time as any, as long as it's on my mind.

Don't let the grass horns on that coronation Green Man or decades of modern pop cultural mythology fool you: there's not really anything "pagan" about the Green Man. The idea of the Green Man as a pagan deity or mythological figure has been prevalent in the popular imagination for almost a century now, first proposed by a woman named Lady Ragland in 1939, but while people have made all sorts of connections to various pre-Christian gods, there has never been any evidence of the Green Man as an actual figure of some pre-Christian religion. Instead, the Green Man as we know him was probably actually a figure of medieval Christianity. But even that's only scratching the surface, because even the name "Green Man" itself is just a modern name for a series of faces that appear on medieval churches all over England as well in other parts of Britain and Europe.

Historian Stephen Miller suggests that the more accurate name for this motif is the "disgorging foliate head motif". It's not as catchy or pleasant as "Green Man", I admit, but several church icons do literally look like that.

According to Miller, these heads became part of medieval British Christian iconography after having imported by occupying Normans who came from France. So, in a way, you can probably think of the Green Man as a relic of Norman occuption, originally a French motif brought in by the Normans who invaded and colonized England and Wales before eventually becoming part of British iconography.

As to its religious significance, Miller tells us that it represents a motif from the Quest of Seth (or Legend of the Rood), a set of medieval Christian legends about Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve. The basic legend goes that Adam, on his deathbed, sends Seth out to Paradise to find an elixir of immortality. There Seth meets an angel who refuses to give him the elixir, but the angel does instead give Seth a seed (or perhaps more than one seed) from the forbidden tree where Adam and Eve first ate the apple. When Seth returned, Adam had already died, and then Seth planted the seed(s) in Adam's mouth or beneath his tongue, and then buried him in the soil of Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. Then a tree grows from Adam's corpse, which is then cut down and turned into the cross on which Jesus was crucified. In some versions of the legend it's not a tree, but rather a bunch of twigs and shoots, which would explain some of the motifs.

I suppose you can loosely derive the theme of rebirth in some context, but it would not be a pagan context. The "Green Man" was not meant to be understood as a pagan god. Instead, if anything the "Green Man" was probably a medieval representation of Adam, who in the Quest of Seth dies and is reborn into what becomes the cross at Golgotha. So the "rebirth" of the Green Man is a strictly Christian "rebirth": the resurrection of Jesus, which in the Quest of Seth is prefigured by "rebirth" of Adam. That is what Miller refers to as "new life to humankind" - the "new life" promised by Jesus.

So, although the "Green Man" has sort of become a fixture of British popular folk myth and culture, it was originally a Norman icon, a fixture of the Norman occupation of Britain, that also represented medieval legends about Seth and Adam. The disgorging foliate head, which we now call "Green Man", was never really a "pagan" symbol, though it does sort of resemble many similar symbols from various ancient cultures (such as the Kirtimukha in India). The motif we know today and call "Green Man" was probably always a Christian symbol, not a pagan one. I suppose if you want to keep brandishing it, that's your business, but don't refer to it as a pagan symbol or the image of a pagan god, because it just isn't.