Lichamonae

tg, snk, fma, ane and more. I could be your mom, I joke 99.9% of the time, hate free blog, but I will come at you if you touch Touka or Mikasa.

[harleyquilt]

It's actually insane that we had an author like Ishida who was so dedicated to the main couple that he refused to let anyone touch the consummation of their relationship, committing himself solely to the task for 2 whole weeks. Not only that, but a whole 20 paged chapter that show Kaneki and Touka awkwardly, rawly, passionately opening their hearts to one another as they move forward as a canonised couple. It's BEAUTIFUL.

[zuppizup]

[lichamonae]

My favorite horror k-drama is if life gives you tangerines

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

I'm not sure what significance this has, if any, but I just realized that dark magic Callum wears the same cape as Claudia wears in the ending

[lichamonae]

The dark magic fashion

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Runaan's Last Secret

*smokes bubble pipe* I suppose you're wondering why I've gathered you all here today. It is simple, mes amis. We've waited six years to find out what really happened inside King Harrow's chamber the night the assassins attacked. And with the release of S7, all these long years later, I finally have the last pieces of information I need to find the full truth.

We all thought there was a murder to solve in the king's chamber. But I'm here to tell you now, that is not the case.

Let us begin at the beginning and assemble our evidence:

The night Harrow died, Runaan tried to convince Rayla to give up the egg, tried to scare her off from returning it.

He couldn't sway her from her journey of redemption, though. They came to blows.

But he chose his mission over killing her. He wasn't even out of breath when they stopped fighting - if he'd truly wanted her dead, she'd be dead.

He left her behind and led four assassins up the front steps of the tower. There, he executed a frontal assault on the king's chamber, when they're built and trained for stealth.

The fight dragged on loudly. It drew extra soldiers from around the entire castle, who left their posts unguarded. But it had a purpose.

Delaying his own victory would cost lives on both sides, but clearing a path for Rayla to escape with two soft human princes in tow would ensure her survival. Runaan had already committed himself to this course when he refused to force her to complete the mission. He couldn't back out now.

Alright, that's the catch-up. For years, we had no idea what actually happened inside Harrow's chamber. But in S7, we finally got a peek. And I'm afraid it's told me everything I need to know. *more bubble pipe noises*

Let's consider these newer clues from S7:

When Runaan finally breached Harrow's door, two other assassins rushed in with him: Andromeda and Skor. Only Callisto, it seems, had fallen alongside Ram out in the hall.

Runaan drew his bow and killed Harrow - or so his binding ribbon believed -

- but the next we see -only moments later as the reinforcements have not yet arrived from below - only one assassin staggered out of that chamber and onto the balcony.

The other four members of the squad died in this battle, and their bodies were recovered by Viren, along with their weapons.

Which means, no one else survived that room. Only Runaan.

The assassins weren't attacked by human troops, either. Runaan had time to stagger out to the balcony at his hobbled pace. No guards caught up to him until he'd already shot the shadowhawk arrow.

When he burst into Harrow's chamber, this is what he was wearing.

When he left it, this was all he had.

Moonshadow assassins are some of the deadliest fighters in all of greater Xadia. No one survives them. No one.

No one... except Runaan of the Silvergrove.

Remember when I said we were not here to solve a murder in the king's chamber? That is because we are here to solve several murders in the king's chamber.

He turned on them.

Runaan turned on what remained of his own squad - Skor and Andromeda. He killed them. For Rayla.

They wanted Rayla dead. In the show, they believed she should die alongside them. In the novelization Book One: Moon, they specifically wanted Runaan to kill her for failing to do her duty. Either way, if any one of Runaan's squad survived and returned to the Silvergrove to report what Runaan had done - and had not done - when his mission went pear-shaped, he would've had to kill Rayla then and there. Right in front of Ethari.

And that, mes amis, he could not abide. He could not bear to be the monster he feared he had always been, right where his husband could see him.

And so, his only remaining option was for his surviving assassins to perish in battle, with their own honor intact and his in tatters. But they went down hard.

They broke Runaan's horn. They stripped off his tunic. They nearly cut his throat. They messed up his hair. Oui, the most unforgivable.

They wanted to live. Runaan did not allow them to.

He trained them all. He loved them.

And he killed them, to save Rayla's life.

For love of Rayla, his precious daughter, Runaan of the Silvergrove killed his own assassins.

It is no wonder he could not look Keeper Lyrennus in the eye when the man asked Runaan about his son.

He's drowning in guilt. He knows what he did. Even though Ram died from another's strike, Runaan knows he would have killed him himself if he'd had to.

This image of Runaan's fear at the sight of the red spirit Lyrennus cast, it lands differently now, no?

He hasn't told them. Perhaps he never will. But he has committed this sin nonetheless, and he must carry it with him for the rest of his life.

Runaan's last and darkest secret. No wonder he accepted Callum the moment he turned against Ezran and fought his own soldiers for Rayla's sake. He knows exactly what that feels like.

[lichamonae]

omg

This make so much sense.

I nerver understand how everyone died

[lichamonae]

SPY X FAMILY 109

Or the Desmond family has really fu*ked up Melinda

Or wtf Tatsuya Endo is up to with that plot

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

The dragon prince with no context

[lichamonae]

When he saw his daughter kissing a human

[tommyarashikage-archived]

characters cleaning blood off their partner's face is just PEAK romance actually. bonus points if it's someone else's blood

[lichamonae]

Terry :(

[theredhairedmonkey]

I feel like most people kinda get the point of the season, but it does seem that there are a handful of people that are either ideologically committed to either seeing dark magic as always evil or seeing Callum as morally corrupt or compromised in a way that Rayla and Ezran are not (not sure how the latter is even remotely possible at this point), so maybe it might be good to spell out season 7's theme for everyone's benefit:

This season's theme is first and foremost about the loss of childhood innocence, a necessary step to becoming a fully-rounded adult. When Aaravos talks about losing childhood innocence, he's referring to the moment when someone realizes the world isn't as simple as they once believed - that good and evil aren't always clear-cut, that sometimes difficult choices must be made. His perspective seems to be that losing this innocence inevitably leads to moral compromise, that understanding complexity means abandoning simple principles.

And he's...actually not wrong. Ezran wasn't pure because he was such a moral paragon, but because he was innocent. He was able to position himself around ethical lines (such as refraining from violence) because he was always protected from the consequences that moral complexity brings. But once that was taken away - Katolis destroyed, facing his father's killer, witnessing Callum's supposed betrayal - it forced Ez into a situation where he couldn't take the same morally rigid stances he once did. 

Complexity invites challenges. Challenges invites compromise. 

Much like Aaravos, Callum is a character who understands all too well what this means. He lost his innocence at a much younger age when both his biological parents had died and he was forced to grow up too fast. When Aaravos says that there is "great affinity" between them, he's right in a certain way - he's recognizing their shared ability to perceive moral complexity - to understand that situations aren't always simple black and white choices. Both characters demonstrate this understanding. Aaravos sees beyond simple good and evil, recognizing that sometimes difficult choices must be made. Similarly, Callum understands that situations can be "complicated," as he says about the Runaan situation, acknowledging that justice and mercy can conflict.

However, Aaravos is also very wrong about Callum because he fundamentally misunderstands what he does with this knowledge. 

When Aaravos talks about "compromise," he means compromising moral principles to achieve desired ends. His view is that since the world is morally complex, we're justified in doing whatever serves our purposes. This is where he's wrong about Callum.

Callum's recognition of moral complexity actually leads him to become more principled, not less. When he understands a situation is complicated, he doesn't use that as justification for moral compromise. Instead, he looks for solutions that acknowledge the complexity while maintaining clear principles about who should bear the costs of difficult choices. His final plan with Aaravos demonstrates this perfectly - he recognizes the need to use dark magic (showing he understands complexity) but ensures he bears the cost himself through sacrifice (maintaining his principles).

The situation with Runaan foreshadows how he handles Aaravos - Callum's recognition of complexity leads him to find more creative ways to do what's right, while maintaining principles about who should bear the costs. Whereas Viren/Claudia would sacrifice others (i.e. creatures, people, etc.) to achieve their ends, Callum's main sacrifice is himself - he will block Aanya's arrow with his body, or resign as High Mage the second he think it would be necessary to do the right thing.

This explains why Aaravos becomes so furious when Callum reveals his sacrifice plan. Aaravos believed their shared understanding of complexity meant Callum would eventually follow his path of moral compromise. Instead, Callum shows that understanding complexity just motivated him to find other ways to stay true to his principles, even at the cost of his own life. He proves that recognizing the world isn't black and white doesn't have to lead to corruption.

By the end, he demonstrates a simple truth that forms the core of this season - the loss of one's innocence is inevitable, but the loss of one's character is not.

[m4rs-ex3]

the callum / runaan dynamic is so funny bc like. out of nowhere your daughter has a boyfriend who happens to be the most wildcard character you imagine she could find - human (mind you you're currently in the process of unlearning all your racial prejudices), magical, and a government official in addition to all of his other Emo Personal Lore - and they're the most beautifully devoted but also most painfully public affection-displaying couple you've ever seen and the guy also kind of freed your soul from purgatory plus you love and trust your daughter so basically you just kind of have to Deal With It. yet it would seem he's determined to make that as difficult as possible because he is the biggest fucking dork you have ever met in your life and it seems you are the only person who is bothered by this because your husband is amused, your daughter thinks he is the greatest thing to ever happen, and the dumbass himself attempts to show you some respect but also apparently refuses to stop being cringe so now you must continue on with your life while this loser teenager does your daughter in the room next to yours every night and you can't do anything about it because oh yeah you killed his father

[lichamonae]

This could be a normal parental experience

[lichamonae]

Parental abandonment gives you the most devoted partners

[blue-violin]

Oh my gosh can't Claudia just die already????

[lichamonae]

No! That's my daughter, and I will protect her

(She's evil af)

[new-austin]

LMAOOO? The crunch sound effect when Karim dies ??

[carolinanadeau]

"this female character is underdeveloped" TO YOU. I can read subtext and I know all about her backstory and her rich inner life. also she told me personally

[lichamonae]

Mikasa and Touka !!!

[lichamonae]

Rayla: Babe, could you p...

Callum: Whatever you need my love, I'll kill for you, I'll cross the entire world just to...

Rayla: omg Callum, I just need a spoon. Stop doing that, you are scaring my parents.

[spyxfamily-yapper]

I love how Twilight both severely underestimates and overestimates Bond's abilities and intelligence. Like one moment he's like

"this dog is so weird he's just a silly little dog guy he's not built for all this attacking stuff maybe it's too much for such a goofy little doggie. why is he grabbing people??? he must not understand me at all hoho. I guess he needs more training heehee"

and then he's like

"dog. I see you have come here to avenge your brothers and sisters. let us join forces and bring about peace by combining our efforts. I see you have used your acute sense of smell to detect dangers, you are truly a capable partner"

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

She was ready to keep her promise

[lichamonae]

Because Rayla is a hero