#Scythe Rand

[outgleaned]

God(dard)

original

[arcofacatboy]

Please read this whole post, there’s no meme or catch to this, I’m not staying quiet on this.

this is the first post I’m making about Neal Shusterman’s recent actions - the second is about AI art usage, but this is so, so much more important.

Neal being complicit in the genocide that is occurring currently in Palestine and Gaza. Neal seems to have just gotten back from a book tour promoting a graphic novel he wrote, called Courage to Dream, which is about the Holocaust. He sent an email to everyone subscribed to his online newsletter.

Neal took this as an opportunity to state that he saw how “both sides” - both Israel and Palestinians - were doing things he did not condone, and that he would be remaining neutral.

Obviously Neal isn’t wrong in some of his wording, but what he’s fundamentally trying to say here is wrong and harmful. It doesn’t take someone who has lived through genocide to recognize that a genocide is happening. Genocide is a complex topic, but not in a “both sides should be shown kindness” way. It is complex in the fact that this has been going on for years, that history is repeating itself, and that people in positions of power are so easily falling for Zionist and colonialist propaganda because of their own bigotry and bias against those living in Palestine. How did you just go on tour promoting a book about the stories of people who were being targeted and killed in a genocide, and your first statement upon returning from that tour is to email all the subscribers of your newsletter that you’re “not qualified” to talk about genocide, and that you’re refusing to support the people being eradicated? Why did you write a book about genocide in the first place if you didn’t think you were qualified to talk about it? How do you write a whole graphic novel detailing the stories of people in what is the most known genocide in modern history and not see that Israel is trying to wipe Palestinians off the map?

Being opposed to genocide isn’t a simplistic opinion. It’s fucking common sense.

[maggi3chas3]

Guess who's jamming to Will Wood and crying over Scythe Curie

Me

It's still me

[annoying--moth]

[cherrymf15]

My thought on Thunderhead which fucked me up, and I would like a lawyer to sue

There will be a ton of spoilers so don't read if you wanna avoid them!

the world building was again just incredible

just scratches something in my brain

My edgey boi Rowan be murdering scythes and I'm so proud

Just straight up abandoned his dad (Faraday) to do it

He is also still a massive simp and we love him for it

Citra really risking everything just to see him for 5 mins though please, also a massive fucking simp

Faraday really showed up and instantly was not like "im not mad just dissapointed" over Rowan MURDERING PEOPLE. I love them please

The thunderhead sections were fucking great and it was nice to see the thoughts of the AI that has to put up with our shit

Greyson is baby

Tyger is DUMB bitch (affectionate)

Curie is Citra's Mum and we love that

the thunderhead really did say fuck you greyson concerning what happened

Also Greyson sweetie we shouldn't be falling for people who have no issuing killing people regardless of how alluring and fascinating they are

CITRA WAS SO FUCKING MAD THAT GREYSON WASNT ROWAN

I FUCKING CACKLED LIKE GIRL THE FUCK

the increased level of the tonists in the book was also really fasicinating and stuff, not by much but im excited to see more in the 3rd book as well

Rand falling in love with TYGER OF ALL PEOPLE(?) was not on my bingo card for this series but I'll take it

Then proceeds to murder him anyway. You DUMB FUCK

Goddard as always can suck my non existent dick and choke on it

the way he came back was horrifying

i literally felt sick

it was so cool

grandslayers were fucking epic

and gone too soon

Citra and Rowan are obsessed with each other

and you can pry that point from my cold dead fucking hands

THE THUNDERHEAD SCREAMING IN ITS OWN WAY AFTER WHAT HAPPENED WAS NOT FINE MY GOOD SIR FUCK YOU

also Thunderhead really just said "FUCK HUMANITY apart from Greyson as he is my son and I love him more"

maries sacrificing herself and saving them both despite her thoughts of rowan was pain

Faraday not knowing marie is dead

fuck

Rowan saying citra looked like a godess as THEY WERE ABOUT TO DIE

LIKE

SIR THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE AND IT IS NOT THE NOW

and then just abandoning us with my children at the BOTTOM OF THE FUCKING OCEAN

MARIE DEAD

GRANDSALYERS DEAD

FARADAY NOT KNOWING SHIT CAUSE HES OFF TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD

fuck you neal my not so good sir

In conclusion, a cliffhanger has not fucked me up this hard since Mark of Athena (fuck you uncle Rick), and I would like to simultaneously sue and pick this man's brain to see where he can find the fucking audacity to do this to us

also theres definetley more but ive already read the toll and im trying not to mix events in my brain so yeah

[l3st1b0urn3s-707]

I've started Thunderhead, for the moment I have read 8 chapters, and it's looking really good. I think Rowan has reached the highest level of dramatism. Calling himself Sythe Lucifer, dressing in black (which I know is a symbol because scythes don't wear black but, come on, he is enjoying every part of it, he likes feeling important)... it's so ridiculous it's funny. Oh, and his meeting with Citra. Again, eveything he does is so intense and he's always trying to look misterious, I know he just wants to impress her and I can't stop giggling in excitment when they interact, even if it's stupid (because, in the end, I'm a sucker for all of these romantic things). I'm just hoping nothing bad happens to Citra and Curie because I know something is going on and that the Thunderhead wants to warn them about the danger they're in. And that something that's going on is Rand, like, the scythe that was in Goddards group and that was supposedly dead? Good to know. And also, the Thunderhead is so funny, I love that thing, he's always talking about how great he is, and he's actually great, but I just think it's hillarious.

[whotfelsewantedtobelynnyx]

Scythe Characters As Weird Shit My Friends And I Say Because I Can

Curie, standing on a stepladder: You don't have to be straight, the clock has to be straight.

Citra: Well that's rude. The clock can be whatever it wants to be.

Rowan: Let the clock love who it wants to love!

Rand: I was just giving a detailed explanation of how you suck it.

Volta: I'm gonna crash this fucking car.

Chomsky: Sometimes you just gotta do it and see what happens.

Volta: You knew what would happen! It blew up!

Mentor! Faraday: She's attacking me!

Apprentice! Curie: I'm hugging you.

Rowan: Do-nut order donuts.

Citra: I hate you.

Goddard: My god, Xenocrates! There's a fuck you!

Tyger: Wow, my head really just flew across the room.

Rand: I'm taking your silence as a sign I should kill the child.

Rowan, to Citra: Did you die? Guess I'll die too.

Greyson, gesturing proudly at Jeri: Nonbinary noodle!

Faraday, in the middle of a thought: -ledge.

Munira: Ledge?

Faraday, nodding: Ledge.

[ianmalcolmreynolds]

There are so many subversions Neal Shusterman masterfully inserts into The Toll and the entire Arc of a Scythe series, but my favorite and one I haven’t seen talked about here yet is Scythe Rand and her “redemption.”

Throughout the second book, we see Rand start to waver from under Goddard’s thumb. Her scenes with Tyger’s hologram early in the third book genuinely break my heart. And the entire time, you’re thinking she’s seeing the error of her ways. That she realizes her cause is unjust, and you start to expect redemption.

And she does redeem herself…but not to the extent we’re used to. She stops Goddard and saves Citra and Rowan not because she realizes they are right or because she’s come to regret her place in all this. There’s no changing of allegiances or crisis of conscience, no “Tyger wouldn’t want this”. She never starts to warm to Rowan or understand where he’s coming from. She just simply can’t allow herself to be a part of this side of history.

She ends the massacre at Kwajalein not because she realizes the cause she’s against is just. She simply knows the cause she’s supporting is unjust. And, sometimes, that’s enough.

[only-a-moment-ago]

Goddard: Whoever took my biscuits, come forward and all will be forgiven. Rand: Volta: Rowan: Goddard: Smart. You knew I would never forgive you.

[dvmbgvtz]

HI. I’ve joined like 2 aoas discord servers and all of them have been so dead so IM MAKING ONE. I’m still working on it and don’t know how to do some of the things so it might be a little bit BUT ITS COMING (sorry for so many tags)

[beesinmypancrees]

stupid quirks i noticed in scythe

i should be asleep rn, but instead i’m up talking about random things i noticed in a book

1. citra curls herself into a ball when stressed. she does it twice as far as i know (once in scythe, once in toll) and i think it’s amazing

2. rowan is ironically a champagne drinker

3. chomsky is the type of person to say “im so telling mom” when his sibling does something bad

4. rand. thank you, goodnight

5. goddard has long nails. he’s fabulous and i love him

6. finally, this may just be my dumb brain rambling but goddards robe is blue and rands is green. green and blue are complimentary colors. was this maybe a conscious decision on rands part?

[arcofacatboy]

also Neal shusterman or someone on his social media team is doing shady shit involving AI art

Separating this from the post about Neal taking a “neutral” (complicit) stance on genocide, since art thievery and falsely crediting an artist is much, much less harmful than encouraging people to stay silent about the genocide in Palestine.

On December 7th, 2023, Neal Shusterman made this post to his various social media accounts - I took the screenshot from his Twitter.

Neal does fanart promotion all the time, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for him, except that even though I’ve only read half of Gleanings, I could immediately tell that this wasn’t a character from Gleanings, with the obvious clue being that Rowan is the only character in the series to have ever worn a black robe, and this clearly isn’t supposed to be him.

You’ll notice I blurred the artist’s name here - I did that intentionally so they don’t face harassment from people who didn’t read my post closely enough, but if you want to support her work you can easily find this post on Neal’s socials and get her username (while it’s linked on all of his social medias, the username corresponds to an Instagram account).

To me, this post screamed AI generated artwork, and the more I looked into it, the worse it seemed to get. The cover of the copy of Gleanings in that “photo” is in German - the artist Neal credited does not seem to speak any German whatsoever. In that case, why would they pick a copy of Gleanings in a language they don’t speak to overlay this art? The artist Neal credited never posted this piece of artwork, although they had made a different piece of fanart for the series that was in a completely different style to this one. The style of the piece of AOAS fanart the artist posted THEMSELVES had a completely different art style from the art Neal credited them with.

I ended up reaching out to the artist and asked if they had actually drawn this art piece, or if they knew who did. They responded today.

(My message before I sent the screenshot to them was apologizing for confusing wording in my original messages, and the fact Instagram’s crappy messaging system never sent them the art piece I was asking about in the first place. This confused the artist, which is partially my fault since I used a translator app to translate my message into their native language, which I’m sure screwed up grammar somewhere. I wanted to make sure they knew I wasn’t accusing THEM of using AI, but rather suspecting someone was using AI and saying they drew the AI generated art.)

So, Neal, or someone who manages his social media, put this artist in a damn hard spot and told everyone that the artist made something that was made by AI. And again, absolutely no hate or disrespect to the artist, they didn’t know this was happening and they were very kind and understanding. If you do seek out their account, give them a follow!

[scyyyyythe177]

[annoying--moth]

I just remembered when I first started reading Scythe and we were introduced to Goddard and his gang and I thought they were gonna be goofy-team-rocket-style- minor villains.

I just did not take them seriously at all. And yet here we are... One of them's a fuckin dictator

[moony2moon]

Oh hey, I guess we're doing a part four now for some reason- (Arc of a Scythe Incorrect Quotes because yes)

Rowan: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Your Honor?

Goddard: No.

Volta: I do!

Rowan: I know, Volta.

Volta: I'm sad...

Rowan: I know, Volta.

Esme: Why do people complain about being fat, I mean, what if someone wants to slash your throat? HAHA! TRY FINDING IT NOW SUCKA'!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goddard: *Walking onto patio* First it was the maintenance man, and now *Points to a pot of basil on it's side* IT WAS GOD WHO F*CKED MY BAISIL!!!

Tyger: *Kicks the door down* MMmmm ma'dam! What if we perform an unholy act at the hour of midnight? HA HA HA HA! *Turns to leave* I joke.

Rand: *Just standing there*

Tyger: *Whips back around* BUT ON THE CONTRARY!!!

Greyson: *Getting attacked by Morrison* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thunderhead: Pardon?

Citra: HE RUINED MY DREAM JOURNAL!!!

Goddard: I did not! MR MORRISON, SEND HER TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE AND HAVE HER EXPELLED!!!

Citra: *Smacks Goddard*

Faraday: Story Time! It was common law that a flower be presented to the loveliest lass- *Giving rose to Curie*

Citra: *Takes the rose* Well of course that's me.

Unsavories: You think you're tough?

Slayd: Oh yeah... *Brushes teeth*

Unsavories: *Stares in confusion*

Slayd: *Pulls out bottle of orange juice*

Unsavories: No... *Backs up*

Slayd: *Chugs it*

Unsavories: *Runs of screaming* STAY AWAY!!!!!!

Rowan: When I think about my worries, and I think about my strife, this is what I simply say: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[bitchspaghetti]

about current events

this is me respectfully voicing my opinion and I would love to hear what you all have to say about this. Once again this is my opinion and I’m not trying to call out or offend anyone.

this is addressing the email that Neal Shusterman sent out on Thursday

he’s getting some backlash for what he said about the Palestinian situation going on. But imo he didn’t say anything  worthy of being offended or upset about.

“When asked about it, I tell the truth.  And the truth is, I am not qualified to spout my personal opinion.  I am a Jewish American.  I am NOT an Israeli citizen facing the murder and kidnapping of loved ones by Hamas.  And I am also not an innocent Palestinian facing Israel’s massive and deadly response to that attack.  Just because I have a microphone and a platform doesn’t mean that I have a right to vomit forth an opinion on a situation that’s so complex and so deeply rooted.”

he’s saying that he doesn’t have the experience to speak on the subject so he’s choosing to opt out. I personally don’t see a problem with deciding not to voice his personal opinion. Neal seems frustrated that he’s even be asked or involved with something that has little relevance to him. I see people saying that they plan to boycott or lessen their involvement with him, which doesn’t bother mean. That’s your choice and right to stop being involved with something that upsets you. But what does make me sad is seeing others say that they won’t reread or follow the fandom. This deeply upsets me because aoas is my favorite book series and it truly made me love reading. So I ask why people want to stop reading his work? I love Shusterman’s writing because it has made my life better. I see active members of this small fandom cutting back because of the current events, and I want to know your opinion as to why you feel this way. Hate the creator not the creation. 

Reminder: I’m not trying to offend or upset and I truly want to hear your side. 

this is all genuine and this is how I feel.

I love this fandom and the people in it. I care about what you have to say