- 🐦‍⬛

|Strade|

I’ll draw the YKMET version of Strade when I get time, then all three can be together haha

I've seen a fair bit of discourse and fanart around Strade with animal features. Some liken him to a boar. Some portray him as a hyena. I'm here to argue for him as a lion.

"Oh, come ON!" I can already hear you say while rolling your eyes. "Lions are noble, brave, fierce! The kings of the jungle! Strade is just some creep who preys on those weaker than him!"

I'm glad we have the term 'king of the jungle', because every aspect of it is wrong. 'King'? Lionesses do most of the hunting. 'Jungle'? Lions are found on every continent. Even if you're referring to African Lions, they're found in the savannah and grasslands, not the jungle. "Okay, maybe the term isn't literally accurate. At least the spirit of it is correct, right? Lions being all brave and noble?" Nope! Lions are opportunists, first and foremost. They primarily hunt prey they know can't fight back (who does that sound like?).

There are also many instances of lions waiting for hyenas to do the hard work of hunting and then chasing them off a fresh kill for themselves. Ren had been stood up by his date when Strade found him, so he was already emotionally vulnerable. All the hard work of crushing Ren was already done. Strade probably could have convinced him to come home with him even without a knife!

"Alright, let's say that's all true. That still doesn't line up with other aspects of his character!" Doesn't it? Strade is known as helpful, friendly, and charming in public. This reputation is based off false pretenses, just like lions' reputation of being 'kings of the jungle' (as an aside, I've seen a lot of Strade fanart. One thing that's consistent among all of them is his longish hair, his 'Lion's Mane', if you will 😁).

Strade is notably German. I'd like to bring up another German who possibly influenced Strade's actions: Nietzsche. In his book, On the Genealogy of Morality, Nietzsche argues that the 'blonde beast' is a character trait that drives one to reject previously held morals, norms, and standards and create their own. We see Strade doing this when he claims there's no such thing as good or evil. He has attempted to reject old morality and cut his own path. This lines up with what Gato says about him, claiming he's an anarchist. This would mean he rejects traditional forms of authority and hierarchy. All well and good, but what does this have to do with the topic at hand? What animal was Nietzsche referring to when he mentions the 'blonde beast'? A lion.

Lastly, when we have Strade tied up, he promises to let us go if we release him. I'm pretty sure he's... Lion. 😀

I'll see myself out.

-LiL ☢️

- 🐦‍⬛