#nero (212)

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"Something pretending to be human"

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HALLELUJAH; "I SLAYED THE DRAGON," THE SON OF THE DEAD MAN SANG

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Probably my last post of the year. Thank you all so much for the support, I hope to do more next year!

[ccnxiight]

nero's title being an object ("blade of the north") is very interesting to me and I think it reflects a core part of her character very well. in regards to anamnesis, putting aside additional information we've gotten about her life, nero is constantly dehumanized in some way by those around her in a way that I find unique among the main cast. it's not uncommon to have others reduced to a mere assigned purpose in the world of lament (we have been told that most people are raised with a specific profession in mind, a role to serve, and that is understandable in terms of survival), but with nero, it goes really far beyond that. we have the 212 homunculi to begin with, whom have all been treated as dispensable and replaceable, which already puts a very limited value on CCXII's life... though that also has to do with nero being a general knight. while looking at CCXII in particular, it's worth mentioning that she was born and raised among nobility (though certainly not... treated as such.... alpin calhoun count your days) so she wasn't quite meant to be given a specific role for survival in the same way common folk are. her being put into a caretaking position is not a survival related endeavour, it is quite literally just a reflection of alpin's disdain towards her, and the way this disdain rings in almost every corner of her life makes her a really sad character to me [side note: baiza mentioning alpin to her never fails to make me mad. what is wrong with you.]

speaking of baiza, actually, I find their relationship really interesting! with the added note of nero and baiza being somewhat similar, in cirian's eyes at least, I think there's a lot to be explored and reflected through each other. baiza is very duty and purpose-oriented, I've mentioned that before, and nero mirrors this, but to a different degree and in a very different light. what sets them apart is nero's ability to question authority; to challenge the purpose she is given, to find her own, proper meaning in life; which especially shines through with CCXII. baiza shoots herself in the foot by remaining so rigid in her ideology and thoughts, by refusing to abandon her "god-given" duty; she has clung to her role as a protector so heavily that she has set the people she is meant to protect in somewhat of a dependency on her, which makes this fate even more inescapable for her. baiza needs to be needed, which she wishes to feel in a "human" way (hence why the first years of motherhood are that fulfilling to her) but ultimately cannot. to shift the conversation (monologue) (I know) back to CCXII, nero is given the gift of flexibility! nero can learn and adapt, and is genuinely willing to! the best example I can currently give with the limited knowledge we still have of lament is nero with akani and mar's friendship. it was pointed out that mar was very attached to nero for being what baiza wasn't, and I think it definitely has to do with this, since nero can be convinced and persuaded. baiza is a very stubborn woman who does not tolerate change, and who was rarely made to confront this throughout her life. you could blame this on the way she was designed, but CCXII is living proof that it is possible to. CCXII is stuck in a similar loop (though hers is much more obvious to the viewer), with a stagnant purpose, who was never meant to change much. that did not stop her. CCXII breaks free from the cycle, and even though she doesn't get a particularly favourable ending, it is her own, and out of all the characters in the main cast who are put into a rigid purpose, she stands out for it

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