#also i thought his response meant he hated it but the wiki says he likes it so??????

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Imagine my devastation (and severe confusion) when my game bugged out and didn't let me watch the cutscene of Krobus and I watching a movie 😭😭

[fallrimxreader]

How would companions and faction leaders (+ Nuka World Leaders) react to SS calling in a plane extraction when they’re in a tight spot?

They think SS is insane and is about to eject but both of them get pulled away by the plane lol.

After they get pulled into the plane, SS just says “It’s how me and the boys did it in the army.”

Either Sturges, Tinker Tom, Proctor Ingram, RedEye, or some guy from the Institute is piloting the plane.

This is what a plane extraction looks like (Skip to 14:53)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system

It’s like you attach a hook to your belt to a fulton device thing and then the plane comes in and pulls you away by the rope you’re attached to.

They are trapped on the roof of a desolate building. Raiders surrounded them. The companions slump to the ground in defeat, there was no escaping this one. Sole however pulled out a radio and began talking. They were real words but the companions couldn’t tell what they had actually called for. About an hour later a plane flew by and dropped a large box. Sole opened the box and a giant cable shot into the sky. Inside the box also sat two harnesses that attached to the said cable. Sole strapped themselves in, grabbed the second harness and looked at their companion. “Come on we’ve only got a few minutes before the plane circles around and picks us up.”

Cait: She thought Sole was crazy talking into the radio, there was no escaping this situation. Maybe Sole’s denial was just their way of coping with their inevitable doom. Then the plane appeared and Cait stared at Sole, holding the harness in their hand. Cait just about jumped off the roof, she’d rather take her chances with the raiders. But Sole caught a hold of her and strapped her in, a second later and they were whisked away. Cait screamed the entire time. The moment they were in the plane Cait let rip into Sole. “If you ever do that again, I swear, I’ll kill ya.” Cait hated that.

Curie: She wanted to have hope, but it was hard in their current state. So, she sat quietly and just watched Sole. It was a great surprise seeing the plane, she stood and allowed Sole to put the harness on her. Then held onto Sole’s hand as they were hoisted away. Once in the plane she jumped about in pure glee. “That was incredible! The view from up there was amazing. I never thought I would experience something like that. Can we do it again?” Curie loved that.

Codsworth: He was feeling defeated. He moped around the roof allowing Sole to do their thing while he pondered his last thoughts. His back was turned when suddenly a hook was attached to one of his compartments. Without warning he was lifted into the sky, and he let out a slightly undignified howl. It took him a second to regain his composure when they got into the plane. “While that may seem practical Sir/Mum, it is not enjoyable at all.” Codsworth disliked that.

Dogmeat: He doesn’t like the sound of the plane, but he puts trust into Sole as they put a harness around him. Sole holds onto Dogmeat as the harness wasn’t really meant for dogs. He gives a yelp of surprise as they get rocketed into the air. Once in the plane Dogmeat starts to growl at Sole. Dogmeat hated that.

Danse: He’s come across his fair share of sticky situations, but this one was the worst by far. Sole started calling through the radio, Danse listened but also tried to find his own way out. Being in the brotherhood he’s gotten extractions before, but this he never expected. The sound of the plane was a complete surprise. He watched Sole equip the harness first, then followed suit. He listened carefully to Sole as they explained the process. He then watched the rooftop get smaller as he was lifted up. Once in the plane he gave Sole a pat on the back. “That was exhilarating!” Danse loved that.

Deacon: He questioned who Sole was talking to but after no response he just left them to it. He wondered around the roof until he heard the plane. He looked up in pure disbelief. When Sole started to walk towards him with the harness, Deacon backed up. There was no way he was using that thing. Sole actually had to fight with Deacon a little to get it on. Against his will Deacon was hoisted away. Finally safe in the plane he let his dislike known. “If man was supposed to fly, we would have grown wings.” Deacon disliked that.

Hancock: He was trying to think of something clever to say as his last words but he was drawing a blank. He phases Sole out as they spoke into the radio, and were only pulled back to reality by the sound of the plane. He let Sole attach the harness, and just before liftoff he held out his arms, so that it looked like he was gliding through the air. Once in the plane he whooped with delight. “I always wondered what it would be like to fly, now I know. When can we do that again?” Hancock loved that.

MacCready: He sat against a wall and watched Sole. He expected them to sit beside him and give up with him. Never in a million years did he expect them to call in a plane. MacCready sat and stared at the plane for so long his neck began to ache. He only stopped when Sole pulled him to his feet. Sole helped him get strapped in, a few moments later and they were rising. He gripped the cable a little tight but it wasn’t the worst experience of his life. “So, what other tricks have you got hidden up your sleeve?” MacCready liked that.

Piper: She kept trying to get Sole’s attention, hoping they could figure a way out together. But Sole was too busy talking into their radio. In the end Piper gave up and stared down at the raiders below. Her attention brought back by an unfamiliar sound. She was astounded to see the plane. She refused the get in the harness. Only after raiders started climbing their way up the outside walls, did Piper finally relent. She screamed on the way up, clinging to the seat once finally on the plane. “Blue, please don’t make me do that again.” Piper disliked that.

Preston: He sat against the wall and tilted his hat to cover his eyes. This was the end and he may as well accept it. He looked back up when Sole started speaking into the radio. He watched Sole pace back and forth watching the sky. He honestly thought they may have lost their mind. But then the sound came. Preston’s jaw dropped; he hadn’t seen anything like this before. He eagerly stood when the box came down, and patiently waited for Sole to get strapped in. He allowed Sole to show him how to attach the harness then gripped tightly onto the cable as he was hoisted upwards. “I never thought I’d do something like that, it was intense.” Preston liked that.

Strong: He fought with raiders right up until the moment the plane came. Sole really had to coerce him to the rooftop. Strong was not willing to go, wanting to continue the fight. Somehow Sole got him on the rooftop, they struggled to get strong strapped in because of his size but eventually managed it. “Strong not like going into the air. Strong will not go again.” Strong disliked that.

Valentine: Nick had been around a long time, he’s seen almost everything and had his fair share of close calls. Raiders were not his first choice on how he went out, but it would have to do. Nick guarded the door to the roof, holding it back from the raiders as long as he could. While his back was against the door, he watched Sole. He was a little peeved Sole was not helping hold the door, but it did look like they were doing something. Finally Sole came to help with the door but their eyes watched the sky. Nick was confused but let is slide. Eventually an unfamiliar sound came about. Nick looked up and spotted the plane. He didn’t trust the condition, to him it looked like it was about to fall out the sky. Yet when the box dropped from the plane Sole eagerly ran to it. Nick shook his head but with raiders at his back he had little choice. Reluctantly he let Sole put the harness on him, then held on for dear life as he was ejected from the roof. Once on the plane he gripped tightly to the side. “Some things in life you only do once. That was one of those things.” Valentine disliked that.

X6-88: He stood at a window and continued to shoot raiders from there. That was until he ran out of bullets. While Sole was talking on the radio X6 took their gun and used that until it also ran out of bullets. Then he was out of ideas. He stood, staring blankly into space as he thought. He was too deep in thought to notice the plane, and he only snapped back when Sole was strapping him into the harness. X6 looked up then back down. He immediately tried to unclip himself, but he had never come across this contraption before so he was stuck. Within seconds he was in the air, and all he could do was accept it. Sole watched as he flew rigid, all limbs stuck out like a doll. He got into the plane and stood close to Sole. “If you try something like that again, I will put an end to you myself.” X6-88 hated that.

(The leaders are less detailed just because I haven’t written too much for them.)

Arthur Maxon: He absolutely loves it. He cheers the whole time and begs to do it again.

Desdemona: She grimaces the whole time, clinging to the cable. She isn’t too keen but would do it again if it was necessary.

Father: He would reluctantly do it expecting to hate it, but he actually quite enjoys it.

Gage: He put up a good fight, but was willing to go out in battle. Gage had no idea what to expect when Sole started calling into the radio. When the plane arrived his mind was blown, now he had seen everything. Sole opened the box and Gage leapt to their side, eager to find out what this thing did. He clapped with excitement as Sole clipped him to the cable. He as well absolutely loves it and will express to use this all the time, even if they just have to go to the merchant. Sole actually has to force him away from the radio to stop him calling an extraction in every second.

[just-some-random-blogger]

hello, hottie-cutie!! good morning!! how did your live sound check go? 'wait you read genshin fanfics?' hm well.. these pretty boys.. also idk anything about ekaterina but the fact my name is in genshin?? 'i have met a bunch of hannahs in college' ive just imagined a bunch of yous looking at each other like in that spider-men meme TT 'we all call kitties in the ph mingming or muning' oooh it's cute. you can call me this hfjdjd if you want. we call cats with kiskis (hope you meant it bc idk if i got you right) 'i think it has to do with the sound they make' yeah ig every language has words that imitate animal's sounds but interpret them differently. it's a cute and amusing difference. 'i hate raising my voice' so true. since i only knew how my mom expressed anger through raising her voice, now i do it unintentionally?? so i try to just not talk.. i'm really proud of your good job at calming yourself and all. it's admirable. this world is too angry. 'i hate angriness so much.' so true. 'im so annoyed im making everything so long' it's totally fine. you have life beside tumblr and it like.. takes time. so everything's fine. take your time. it's not a job or some real responsibility to have strict deadlines. dont forget to enjoy it all! it's exciting to know youre writing modern au (ok can we say wfal? anything i'm running out of symbols TT). hope it's not overwhelming or too much. 'also ive been trying not to curse' curse *devil emoji* no but if it's your goal or kind of a challenge for yourself, i respect it and hope you'll do well. but cursing isnt really bad! it's a big part of language's vocabulary so i see it as a real crime to forbid it. 'i was checking to see if you sent me a message and i was like 'oh i didnt get a message today’ ghfjdkdj lol it's funny how i've been only sending you the message when (as i learned later) you had already got up. like it was 7:40 in philippines? 'pls dont forget i will always reply to you' TT arent you cute?? thanks TT love you TT i cant really help my anxiety but im trying to calm myself with your kind words, thanks for you patience TT 'OMG YES I GOT THE NEW CHARACTER LOOK' OMG congratulations!!! so happy for you! hes hot. rip for his weakness. yk men are just never enough, its not your fault. 'i only play it to kill the enemies and to explore AND TO GET CHARACTERS' respectable. ig enjoyment is the aim of playing games? so if you're satisfied with it it's perfect. i'm really lucky my bestie didn't continue to play genshin bc the last time she liked a game, she made me download phasmophobia... and my laptop was hardly even alive... 1) it wasnt hbo it was a fucking COMPLEX SUBSCRIPTION on a russian idk browser? it has its own system with the plenty of services including the one that gives access to hbo. it just was the one they offered me to try fro free TT 2) and they NEVER replied me. no im not crying. suddenly i've read some articles on the wiki of ice and fire and all of the english cursing words are too soft to describe this PIZDETZ. the only thought i had was imsorryimsorry. like i knew about the dance of the dragons and all but later?? i still want to read the books later but it was just... idk i was just a little shocked and A LOT regretful.. i've also just started watching helluva boss bc i've seen a lot of shorts with the dad/daughter moments that made me pour my heart out with tears. daddy issues strike bad. though i've come to hate daddy kink in a way? not screaming it's disgusting why do you want to fuck your dad way but reading a pretty fic, seeing 'tell me whos your daddy' 'oh daddy fuck me harder' and closing the tab silently way. guess my daddy issues conflicted with the insecurities about being too big and these fic's always teeny-tine sweet readers... not my type ig. sugar daddies though? yeah i liked that modern sugar daddy au yk... money sounds attractive af. hope it wasn't too much!! glad to know i bring your mood up. have a nice day!! good luck with the classes (online or offline or whatever)!! love you! take care and get some rest before the homework <з

MEOW HELLOW YOURE SO EARLY TODAY???? DID YOU SLEEP 😡

LOOK AT THIS KITTY IS THIS DREAM OF THE ENDLESS IN CAT FORM? (lol just say yes even tho you dont know him HAHAHHAH)

how did your live sound check go?

T_T it was tiring. i was supposed to work out before i left for school because i work out every other day, but i woke up pretty early and so i didnt feel like working out, and it was a pretty good choice, i think, becAUSE WE DID SO MUCH MANUAL LABOR IN CARRYING EQUIPMENT BACK AND FORTH FROM THE 6th to 12th floor T_T LIKE BIG SPEAKERS AND DRUMS AND BOXES AND H:LAHF:ASF i was sweating T_T but it was pretty enjoyable i felt like i was the main character AHHAAHHAH even though i couldnt even perform like how i secretly wanted to. T_T

'wait you read genshin fanfics?' hm well.. these pretty boys.. also idk anything about ekaterina but the fact my name is in genshin??

HAHAHAHAHA YOURE SO REAL FOR THAT ME WITH MATT SMITH FR HAHAHAHAHAHHAHH my archnemesis. also

apparently this is ekaterina T_T and idk i havent been paying attention to the lore so i think she's an extra and idk anything about her HAHAHHAAH

'i have met a bunch of hannahs in college' ive just imagined a bunch of yous looking at each other like in that spider-men meme TT

T_T LOL NONE OF THE HANNAHS IVE EVER MET LOOK EVEN REMOTELY SIMILAR TO ME but its still a pretty funny thought.

'we all call kitties in the ph mingming or muning' oooh it's cute. you can call me this hfjdjd if you want. we call cats with kiskis (hope you meant it bc idk if i got you right)

yes yes! you got it right. ITS SO FUNNY YOU CALL CATS WITH KISKIS HASHFLHASF SO CUTE KISS KISS MWAH MWAH and sure you can be my muning mingming kitty kitty cat cat <3 <3

'i think it has to do with the sound they make' yeah ig every language has words that imitate animal's sounds but interpret them differently. it's a cute and amusing difference.

HONESTLY ITS SO INTERESTING AND FUNNY TO THINK THAT SOUNDS DIFFER IN COUNTRIES T_T like frog for example is it ribbit in english T_T ???? like ok but in filipino its kokak and i think it's more correct AHHAAHAHAHAH what is it in russian

'i hate raising my voice' so true. since i only knew how my mom expressed anger through raising her voice, now i do it unintentionally?? so i try to just not talk.. i'm really proud of your good job at calming yourself and all. it's admirable. this world is too angry. 'i hate angriness so much.' so true.

omg even are moms are the same T_T generational trauma coming through T_T i made that decision because of her tbh T_T [hug] anger is so ugly bOOOO TOMATO TOMATO 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

'im so annoyed im making everything so long' it's totally fine. you have life beside tumblr and it like.. takes time. so everything's fine. take your time. it's not a job or some real responsibility to have strict deadlines. dont forget to enjoy it all! it's exciting to know youre writing modern au (ok can we say wfal? anything i'm running out of symbols TT). hope it's not overwhelming or too much.

HAHAAH WE CAN CALL IT WFAL waffle 🧇 i lof it HAHAHA

'also ive been trying not to curse' curse *devil emoji* no but if it's your goal or kind of a challenge for yourself, i respect it and hope you'll do well. but cursing isnt really bad! it's a big part of language's vocabulary so i see it as a real crime to forbid it.

😈😈😈😈 HHAHHAHHAHHH. idk cursing is kinda ugly but so fun HAHHAAHAAH i love how passionate you are to vocabulary and language <3

'i was checking to see if you sent me a message and i was like 'oh i didnt get a message today’ ghfjdkdj lol it's funny how i've been only sending you the message when (as i learned later) you had already got up. like it was 7:40 in philippines?

T_T thats so thoughtful of you tbh <3 I HOPE YOURE NOT SENDING ME MESSAGES IN EARLY-LATE HOURS T_T😡😡😡😡

'pls dont forget i will always reply to you' TT arent you cute?? thanks TT love you TT i cant really help my anxiety but im trying to calm myself with your kind words, thanks for you patience TT

<3 ur cute

'OMG YES I GOT THE NEW CHARACTER LOOK' OMG congratulations!!! so happy for you! hes hot. rip for his weakness. yk men are just never enough, its not your fault.

HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

ur so right men are never enough /: yuck

idk i wanna show you all my pretty boys T_T

this is zhong (li) i love him he keeps me safe with his shield BUT HES SO CHATTY OSMATHUS WINE TASTES THE SAME AS EVER BUT WHERE ARE THOSE THO SHARE THE MEMORY he says that ever 3 seconds so when he dies im like , u deserved it tho T_T but i love him i was so lucky when i got him i got him AND XINGQIU at the SAME TIME

this is him he likes literature i think you'd like him

tHIS IS GOROU MY PUPPY BOY HES SO SOFT AND PUPPY BUT HES SO WEAK FOR ME BUT IDC I LOVE HIM AND I WILL KEEP LEVELING HIM UP BECAUSE I LOVE HIM

yeah and you know this dude im not typing his name because ITS TOO HARD T_T

he almost fell while i was climbing a cliff T_T he ugly for that

this is diluc with his long pony tail and hes so emo i love him

ill end with bennet because i luv him he's so clumsy and canonically, people dont like hanging out with him cos he's 'bad luck' BUT I LOVE HIM T_T

he deserves the world T_T

i wanted to share mah girls too but maybe next time this is getting too long

'i only play it to kill the enemies and to explore AND TO GET CHARACTERS' respectable. ig enjoyment is the aim of playing games? so if you're satisfied with it it's perfect. i'm really lucky my bestie didn't continue to play genshin bc the last time she liked a game, she made me download phasmophobia... and my laptop was hardly even alive...

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHAAHHA i had a freind who played phasmophobia and asked if i wanted to join but horror freaks me out so i said HECK NO. WHAT IF YOU PLAY GENSHIN WITH ME HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAAH <3 <3 <3

1) it wasnt hbo it was a fucking COMPLEX SUBSCRIPTION on a russian idk browser? it has its own system with the plenty of services including the one that gives access to hbo. it just was the one they offered me to try fro free TT

ah SCAMMMMEEEERRRRRSSS T_T /: HAHHAHAH

2) and they NEVER replied me. no im not crying.

it ok u can cry scammers are heartless

suddenly i've read some articles on the wiki of ice and fire and all of the english cursing words are too soft to describe this PIZDETZ. the only thought i had was imsorryimsorry.

HAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHH

like i knew about the dance of the dragons and all but later?? i still want to read the books later but it was just... idk i was just a little shocked and A LOT regretful..

lol you wanna talk about it? HAHAHAH i dont really care but that blood and cheese thing, according to one girl on tiktok, you should either read about or watch and so ive been avoiding it but idc anymore tbh

i've also just started watching helluva boss bc i've seen a lot of shorts with the dad/daughter moments that made me pour my heart out with tears. daddy issues strike bad. though i've come to hate daddy kink in a way? not screaming it's disgusting why do you want to fuck your dad way but reading a pretty fic, seeing 'tell me whos your daddy' 'oh daddy fuck me harder' and closing the tab silently way.

MY JAW ON THE FLOOR HAHAHHAHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH. i dont know helluva boss so i looked it up. im glad you enjoy it? do you enjoy it? DADDY ISSUES T_T you like me fr but idk i dont care about what people think about what i read like im reblogging so the writer knows how much i like it you can judge me all you want. idk i dont think i have daddy issues HAHHAAHAH i just really like the idea of a man all rugged and handsome and rich taking care of me. maybe i am mentally ill smh HAHAAHHH

guess my daddy issues conflicted with the insecurities about being too big and these fic's always teeny-tine sweet readers... not my type ig.

T_T i kiss. im luv u. youre not too big. 'too' is not real. its a social construct. you're just you and that's enough <3

sugar daddies though? yeah i liked that modern sugar daddy au yk... money sounds attractive af.

HAHHHAHAHA youre talking about that fic i reblogged right? JAJA I LOVE HTAT TOO HAHAHHAH gimme me all ur cash

hope it wasn't too much!! glad to know i bring your mood up.

not at all <3 you do bring up my mood very much

have a nice day!! good luck with the classes (online or offline or whatever)!! love you! take care and get some rest before the homework <з

<3 you too my love. i love you take care I HOPE YOURE BETTER NOW WITH YOUR FEVER AND ALL

xxx

[onesheeptwosheepandachicken]

26 Reasons why Qrow is not Ruby’s father and why Taiyang is Ruby’s father

In response to the toxic aspect of the fandom attacking CRWBY and demanding that their desires for Qrow be chosen over canon, or how they feel their theory is more valid than the show itself? I have researched RWBY to make this 26-point Discussion as to why Canon is valid, and fancanon is not when it comes to Qrow Branwen, Ruby Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, and Summer Rose.

 1.       “Monty said NO”    Most obviously. Monty Oum.

   He said in this tweet that ruby and yang are half-sisters…half-sisters,  which means they share the same mom or dad…in this case Taiyang….

  https://twitter.com/montyoum/status/492070189731565568

Now people have claimed “he obviously meant step-sisters or cousins” Why is it that every time we show the English dictionary to you people or ask you to read it, that you claim you are being attacked or that you claim Monty was misleading us?

 2.       The writers said NO

   Miles Luna debunked this theory on Reddit…

   He pointed out that Ruby sees Qrow as a Role model, so she adapts her colors to be similar to his.

   And you don’t need somebody to be blood to be your role model.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/7x3w4s/crwby_ama_w_miles_luna_kerry_shawcross_and_paula/du5d67g/?

 3. “Rooster Teeth said NO” Rooster Teeth even said that Qrow is "Ruby and Yang's Uncle" They also said “Ladies, he’s not your man”

https://twitter.com/RoosterTeeth/status/1067205612331782144

 4.  “But what if Summer had feelings for Qrow? Why does Qrow Serve Ozpin?” Qrow said in Volume 6 " No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good... " So he was saying he wasn't wanted, so no relationship with Summer. SUMMER DID NOT WANT HIM. And he was literally saying he served Ozpin because Ozpin gave him purpose. It’s pretty sad how people think Qrow can only be a complex character if he obsesses over another person’s wife and child. What , you wanna make him Severus Snape, the Lilly Potter stalker who insulted a girl’s face and tried to poison a boy’s pet and publicly outed a teacher?

https://rwby.fandom.com/wiki/Qrow_Branwen/Quotes#So_That.27s_How_It_Is

5, "But Qrow could be lying" Except in volume 6 Qrow literally said "Don't lie...we're better than that"

And in volume 7?

" Long time ago. I just found working alone tends to be for the best "

" Gotta say, I’m still not really used to working with other Huntsmen in the field. "

And finally World Of Remnant on Patch.

" Nice place to raise a family, if you're into that sort of thing. "

https://rwby.fandom.com/wiki/Qrow_Branwen/Quotes#So_That.27s_How_It_Is

  6.  “Qrow fans claim that Ruby and Summer form a core part of Qrow’s character and backstory.” WRONG! The main accusation for demanding Rooster Teeth / CRWBY change the backstory for Qrow would accomplish nothing.

Raven already pushed Yang onto Taiyang to raise on his own.

Qrow forcing Tai to Raise Ruby alongside Yang while Qrow could regularly visit, and while Summer lived with Taiyang, Yang, and Ruby?

It would cheapen Qrow’s character….blood isn’t everything.  Neither are cliches.

 7. “But what if Qrow gave Ruby to Tai to raise after Summer’s death?” Volume Chapter 6, Burning the Candle.

Yang tells Blake that she (yang) and Ruby were raised together by Summer and Taiyang…not by Taiyang on his own, but by Summer and Taiyang.

Yang clearly had memories of being raised by Summer and Tai both,  which meant that Summer and Taiyang lived together raising Ruby and Yang for Several Years.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZkN-53h5Os

  8. “Does Taiyang care about Summer or Ruby?” Taiyang was noted to have shut down when Summer didn’t come back…. Yang noted this in Volume 2 Chapter 6, and Ruby mentioned in the first episode of Volume 3 that Taiyang missed Summer. Qrow also said that Ruby is Taiyang’s “Special Angel”…. Ruby has also pointed out numerous times that Taiyang is Overprotective of Ruby. In fact, Ruby's conversation with Penny about overprotective fathers.

 9. “Qrow knows Taiyang is Ruby’s Father. Taiyang knows Ruby is Taiyang’s daughter. Qrow has referred to Taiyang as Ruby’s father during volume 3 and 7. Taiyang referred to Ruby as his daughter in volume 3.

 10. “Why didn’t Taiyang train Ruby in Martial Arts?” Taiyang is a martial arts fighter.   Ruby has neither the build nor the personality for ruthless hand to hand combat like her sister… Taiyang would trust Qrow, despite his semblance.   Remember how bad Ruby was in v5?

 11. “Qrow’s semblance is not what his fans exaggerate it to be”

Speaking of Qrow’s semblance? He was playing video games with his nieces,   taught at Signal Academy,   and could train Ruby… Clearly,  his semblance is not what theorists make it out to be.

 12. “Why doesn’t Qrow treat Yang the same way he treats Ruby?”

Yang is the daughter of Qrow’s sister,who abandoned the team.

During a one on one interaction between Qrow and Yang after yang vs mercury, Qrow called his own niece crazy, after she had been framed.

Qrow was not empathetic to Yang.

Qrow may not like Yang’s resemblance to Raven.

Ruby is the daughter of his two closest friends, so of course he’d prefer Ruby over Yang.

 13.  “Examples of Taiyang caring for Ruby.”

Volume 2 Ruby was excited when Taiyang sent a package in the mail, not even knowing it was Zwei.

Taiyang was at Ruby’s bedside in V3, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

He also tried to bring her breakfast in bed.

Taiyang said he wanted to chase after Ruby, but had to nurse Yang back to health.

During the V8 broadcast, Taiyang was upset when the broadcast was cut.

 14. “Genetics research”

Black hair is the subtype of the pigment for blonde hair…

Also, Ruby’s got the same hair strand that Yang and Taiyang have.

Finally, black hair is more dominant.

So Ruby doesn’t need blonde hair to be Taiyang’s kid.

https://askinglot.com/is-black-hair-a-dominant-or-recessive-gene

https://www.quora.com/If-a-jet-black-haired-parent-and-a-blonde-parent-have-children-what-color-hair-would-the-children-likely-have

 15. “The STRQ Photo”

The photo....Qrow was with STRQ for four years...do you really think Qrow is not allowed to cry on the photo unless he was romantically involved? Can't a man grieve over the death of a female friend that he was NOT in a relationship with? Or are men not allowed to have female friends? Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach for example...friendship. They were his friends, his family. People seem obsessed with the idea that Qrow cannot care about a woman unless he was romantically involved or unless he's their bastard father.

 16. “Men and Women…as friends, platonic” Harry Potter as a book showed that a boy and a girl can interact and still be friends…

Why can’t Qrow be Summer’s friend?

Why does he have to be her lover?

We’ve seen Qrow talk about Innkeeper’s skirt lengths and leer at Barmaids who flirted with him.

Also, he’s shown to be bonding with both Clover and Robyn.

People act like he doesn't flirt with anyone , and yet he does.

 17. “Bad Luck Charm” Qrow has spent his whole life with his semblance, named after a Crow.

Raised by the Branwen bandit tribe.

“You and I are not the same, you don’t want the burden of my name” Both Branwen and Qrow are names that Qrow hates due to his semblance and past…

People may think of him as cool, but Qrow suffers from self-loathing.

So NO, the Bad Luck Charm song does NOT in fact allude to Qrow being Ruby’s father, but that Qrow hates himself, hence a major part of why he’s alcoholic.

Proof of which is his volume 6 exchange with Ozpin about being useful, which Qrow disagrees with, leading him to drink further. Yang literally said that she had never seen qrow so drunk before in v6.

And Ruby encourages his self-worth leading him to try giving up alcohol….

His alcoholism is tied to low-self-esteem, not relationships.

 18. Manga Anthology

Taiyang was shown in the Manga Anthology to have shut down upon Summer’s Death. That impacted his relationship with Ruby and Yang. Qrow? Is relatively unaffected. The good Uncle helping around the house. Taiyang haters and Qrow stans took this to demand that Qrow is entitled to Ruby, despite Taiyang recovering and doing his best to be a father. Anything Qrow does is worshipped like Mother Teresa, while anything Taiyang does, good or bad, is downplayed and smashed. Taiyang loved Summer so much he was devastated by her death. Qrow was unaffected. Think about that.

 19. “I like Brats” Why does Qrow spend time with kids he’s not related to? Because he likes kids. You know how there are adults who enjoy being around brats? That’s Qrow. He didn’t have romantic feelings for Summer, he liked being around her because she was like a kid. Similar to how Blake likes Ruby’s idealism? And trusts her leadership?

 20.  “Taiyang the 2-timer accusation”

A woman on youtube claimed that Taiyang was a 2-timer who cheated on raven with summer, as there was, in her and her friends’ minds, “no way that taiyang could be with half his team” When asked about TaiQrow as a joke, she was angered that people even ship TaiQrow.

But let me ask you this. Are you the same person you are now that you were 10 years ago? People claim that Qrow was somehow cool in beacon…because he’s cool now. But Taiyang, who raises two kids, and holds a job and a house…cannot be ruby’s father…because he’s not cool? And that somehow he was never cool? I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had to be cool to be a parent. I also had no idea people were only allowed to be in one relationship per lifetime. Raven freaking abandoned Tai for the tribe. Summer chose Taiyang over Qrow. People literally make Qrow out to be either an OC in a shipping fanfic, or a Naruto fanfic where Naruto is written to be fawned over by a girl whose canonical spouse, boyfriend, or male friend is somehow rewritten as evil.

1 year…..in 1 year since Raven abandoned Taiyang and Yang, Summer Rose the friend of Taiyang’s who he had known for 4 years, became more than a friend.

So no….Taiyang is not a two-timer…he moved on from Raven.

 22. “Why can’t Taiyang talk about Summer?” To WHO? He’s barely got 15 minutes of screentime, and the writers did NOT do him any favors when they had Qrow demand he leave so Qrow could tell Ruby a secret Ozpin trusted him with, before telling Ruby to run away from home leaving only a freaking note. Terrible daughter. Even Yang was prepared to do the same! To a man whose first wife abandoned him! At least Weiss has a legit reason for acting as she does against Jacques, several at least. Ruby? No. Now why would Taiyang talk about Summer’s fighting style to Yang when trying to get her to stop acting like Raven in her fighting style and semblance? Sure if there was more time…but RT at the end of the day isn’t some money-hungry political entity, it’s a startup at the end of the day, they don’t have the ability to do a full anime episode. Also, Taiyang cannot go out on these active missions…he was a schoolteacher who did not do missions until only recently…he was retired, remember.

 23. “These fanworks make more sense to me”

Qrow fans have tried using fanworks to justify their theory or ship, the same way Blacksun fans or Adam apologists make similar claims, and even Raven fans try to claim Raven is somehow a good mother. What do these fanworks do? Hate on Taiyang. Dismiss Ruby and Yang being half-blood siblings. Ignore multiple elements of the show or scenes. Occasionally shit-talk the writers.

Every time somebody tries to make a “rwby rewrite” or “rwby alt” or “Qrow is ruby’s father au” they cannot do it without completely rewriting the characters in so many forms and even the show, till Qrow, Raven, Taiyang, and Summer are NOTHING like they are in the show…And ONLY how a shipper wants qrow to be.

Or rewriting qrow to be nothing like he is in the show.

Most Alt or Rewrite consists of making Taiyang abusive, a cheater, or refusing to allow him to interact with Summer, while regularly pushing qrowxsummer at each other.

So no…it’s not that it makes sense to them through some fanart….a headcanon that has been debunked is no longer headcanon. A theory that is shut down is no longer a theory. There’s a reason anti-vaxxers and flat-earthers still exist. Because to them, their theories make more sense than reality. Which is why people still believe Qrow is Ruby’s father the same way people believe vaccines cause autism. Neither are true, and no amount of facts will shut them down, but they’re both popular theories.

 24. “Qrow Rings and Cross”

People claim that Qrow was married to Summer or that his cross represents him mourning Summer. Did the STRQ photo, in v3, the same volume as his appearance, not show Qrow with his rings, his cross, and angrily scowling, while Summer was right next to Taiyang?

 25. “What about Summer Rose’s choice?”

Remember how I said making Qrow’s character based on solely Ruby and Summer, ignoring everything regarding the tribe and ozpin giving him hope, and the grimm reaper…was bad writing? There’s a reason people hated v5. Raven was proven to be the deadbeat, Qrow was shown to have friends, and that Taiyang knew about Salem, and of course it was confirmed that Yang and Ruby again were sisters by Raven.

Now how about Summer? Team leader….took a man and a daughter who were abandoned by her friend…and made them her own. Yang calls Summer Rose “Supermom” and “Her Hero”…was literally willing to storm a bandit camp so Raven could use her portal to take Yang to Qrow, so she could get to Ruby. And yeah, I know the RWBY critics scream “why didn’t Yang just look for Ruby in Mistral?” It’s a bloody kingdom, and Yang was pursuing a lead, that Tai had given her, and Qrow told Yang he’d look after her sister. Remember that? Oh wait, RWBY Critics forget, my bad. Anyway, she’s more of a sister to Qrow than his blood sister Raven, she’s more of a mother to Yang than Raven, and she’s more of a spouse to Tai than Raven. Good Stepmother. Non-married couple. Relationship built on trust. Blood is not the same as family. (Example Weiss’s remark to her father) (Or Dom Toretto)

So making Summer into a throw-away character who dies so that a brooding jerk of an alcoholic can claim character development? Making a woman nothing except a throw-away for a man to get development is BAD WRITING. For God’s Sakes, even Pyrrha was written better than that! She interacted with team rwby, nora was always helping her out, and so was Ren (though those shakes are a crime against humanity” But when Qrow fans try to demand he’s ruby’s father? Their fanworks make Summer as much of a flat character as Preston Harvey from Fallout 4, where they make Summer unable to do anything but be obsessed with Qrow and having his child, similar to how Preston cannot think of anything other than “Another settlement needs your help, I’ll mark it on your pip-boy”

 26. Finally, the accusations that CRWBY are lying.

“You have to be ****** if you believe CRWBY when they say Qrow isn’t Ruby’s father” “CRWBY is lying, it’s what writers do” “It’s okay for writers to lie, it’s good for plot” “I’d prefer it if CRWBY was lying to us” “Monty is dead, the writers should change it now” “Monty is dead, nothing else in the writing matters” “Monty was hiding the truth from us” “CRWBY is hiding the truth about Qrow being Ruby’s father” “It makes sense for CRWBY to lie to us” Look at this…Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, instagram…. The first quote? Was a woman who was using an anti-autism anti-disability slur defending the theory. Never have I ever seen people so obsessed with a  theory that they would deny reality and be rude to the very writers and original creator. But the QrowxSummer and Qrow is Ruby’s Father fandom group has made countless cases of this. THIS is how they defend their theory? And people upvote, like and support these remarks? SHAME SHAME SHAME

 Conclusion:

I get how people desire qrow to be Ruby’s father for ships or fanfics.

Even to where they make Taiyang a hated character just for the sake of making sure nobody disagrees with them.

But the attacking of RWBY and CRWBY, claiming that “this needs to be fixed”, or getting angry at RT for not giving you the non-canon ship you want? Claiming that just because you want it to be so, that somehow your ship/theory has “validity?”

That reflects poorly on the fandom and critics.

But then again…. It’s easy to ignore what’s real and what’s a fact that when theorists and ship-pushers and CRWBY Haters on youtube tells you to stop listening to monty and the writers, and instead believe whatever you want and claim whatever you want, Because surely you know what’s better for the show than the people who worked on it, right? Ha ha ha, no. THAT is the ULTIMATE disrespect somebody calling themselves a fan could ever give. And if you think or agree with that type of logic, you should look in the mirror.

I looked for backup sources to defend CRWBY and RWBY, you’ll find them below.

Backup sources include:

 https://aminoapps.com/c/rwby/page/blog/qrow-is-not-rubys-dad/422o_0rbCYuoXj36VoB7obK3MXPZRbPKkz5

 https://aminoapps.com/c/rwby/page/blog/why-the-qrow-is-rubys-father-theory-is-wrong/z668_nQlIxu0dmRdRpEPxqE3qlWlZEmoE2

 https://aminoapps.com/c/rwby/page/blog/qrow-cant-possibly-be-rubys-and-heres-why/8BB5_LPVCmu2bonkw8eEP3Yokg8m8zJlgNV

 https://aminoapps.com/c/rwby/page/blog/why-qrow-isnt-rubys-father/lXXx_5QoUQuPVGo3Wgko3wJ52mMBl7644P

 https://aminoapps.com/c/rwby/page/blog/is-qrow-rubys-father-short-answer-no/422o_0rbCYupDKezxPxpdje7dRn3nB8YvZ

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPbft3KJd6o

https://aminoapps.com/c/rwby/page/blog/qrow-is-rubys-dad-theory-debunk/d33g_pQEcbu1NKQoMEv0kmDpP6N8bmowkkq

[blackbat05]

I need a break

Shangqi x Reader (Platonic) 

A/N: I feel like I’m loosing steam towards the end of my placement and wow I have never needed a break this badly before. Perhaps a short Shangqi x Reader imagine where they are both University students. Seriously at this rate I’ll just be solely a Shangqi writer HAHAHA. Doing this on my phone because I don’t want to open my work computer. Let’s see where this impromptu idea takes me to. Hope you enjoy it and as always like and comment if you wish!

Genre: PG-13

Warnings: None really, just friends supporting each other! I guess there’s an inaccurate timeline if you look at the MCU but hey this is an imagine plus if you look at some of the wiki pages, Shangqi is actually born in 1998/1999. So appreciate if you’re kind enough to go with the flow to read this comfort fic! 

‘Y/N!’ Shangqi rushes to catch up with you after class. You made an effort to conceal your tiredness but he saw it right through. ‘Gosh…you alright?’

You think to yourself. Were you really alright? The answer was pretty obvious. You were ten weeks into your placement and your emotions were a jumbled up mess. Having to deal with work responsibilities was one problem, school assignments were another issue all together. At this point, you felt like you were just getting through each week for the sake of it.

At first, you believed that what you were going through was simply a transition to becoming an adult. You thought that naturally, you would be able to persevere through the stressful periods by yourself. But of course, it has been hard.

You were a social work intern at a neighborhood youth centre, thirty minutes away if you took the train and bus. The work was fulfilling in it’s own ways, but recently there were self-doubts filling your brain, if you were really cut out for the job in the future. If you weren’t, what else could you do?

As you sat with Shangqi in the school’s student-ran cafe, you found yourself pouring out the exact same concerns to him. Credit to him, Shangqi never interrupted your monologue, he just simply listened. That’s what best friends were for. That’s what you did for him to when he ran into issues with his family.

Even then, he couldn’t deny that hearing you doubt yourself broke his heart. He had known you since high school. You mostly kept to yourself and one or two close friends. Despite joining the school’s athletic team where you were one of the main athletes, you preferred to stay in the shadows unlike some of your teammates. That didn’t stop you from going out of your way to help other students in need; like helping the girl who was in an arm cast to copy the social studies notes, even if it meant you had to do it twice. Or maybe just talking to a friend who was stressed out about their results.

Basically, you had studied your ass off to get a secured spot at this university who were only one of the few that offered the degree. He remembers you telling him the moment you got your offer, ‘I’m finally good at something. I don’t have to worry anymore!’

Shangqi wasn’t stupid. The pandemic had done some crazy things. And by crazy, it affected the self-esteem that you had been working so hard on by participating in various projects and events, with you being in charge of a drama production that was promoting on mental health. That was a big deal considering that you were a major introvert.

Online engagement was never easy. In fact he has heard some of your struggles that you’ve shared with him regarding this and it only makes him admire you even more. For someone who preferred to keep to themselves, stepping out of one’s comfort zone, to take on a role that wasn’t just simply about helping people - that took guts.

‘I’m sorry I’m just loading you with all this. I just feel…’ You trailed off, suddenly becoming emotional again. Again, Shangqi does not pry. ‘That I can’t do anything right.’ You emphasize that you had ended the statement for you were unsure that you could keep your cool if you had tried to continue on.

‘If I hear you saying sorry another time,’ he chides, ‘you’re paying for our meal later.’ Your lips curved upwards slightly before returning to its somber position. Shangqi decides that a meal won’t cut it. He needs to deploy ‘Operation Y/N’. Standing up with your buzzer to collect the food, Shangqi whips out his phone. There will be a few changes for today.

Food was definitely a cure in this situation, but it was only a part of the solution. After inhaling your ramen at light speed, Shangqi tells you that today will be a different Friday. ‘And you can’t complain! It’ll be a weekend tmr,’ he tells you. So why not? You figured that even if you went back home early, your head wouldn’t be in the right place to complete the essay for your English module.

‘Hold up! The VR studio that Katy was talking about?’ You look at the tickets inside the taxi that was taking you and Shangqi to the location. ‘How did you even, it was so hard to get these tickets!’ From the time Shangqi met you outside the classroom, he had yet to see you so ecstatic. Until now.

‘Well,’ Shangqi gives his best shrug. ‘I called in a favor from a friend. Said that it was for emergency purposes.’ He raised his fingers to make connotations in the air much to your amusement.

‘Wow… just how much do I not know about you Mr Popular?’ You teased. Shangqi decides to leave the fact on him having to persuade the Wakandan Princess in giving him free tickets.

‘Please! I swear whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it! It’s for Y/N!’

‘Ey well why didn’t you say so? If it’s for that nice friend, of course!’ Shuri leaves the entrance of the compound, an exasperated Shangqi trailing behind.

Yeah, the VR studio that Katy told them about was also funded by King T’Challa himself. With stunning life like visuals thanks to Wakandan technology, the VR studio was located in a middle class neighborhood. T’Challa believed that no matter where kids came from, they should have the right to enjoy and to explore the world. For now, he wasn’t ready to share that he was on the way on becoming a full-fledged Avenger yet - you just had too much on your plate. He’ll just have to settle with this white lie.

‘Is Katy coming?’ You were on the verge of vibrating off your seat. ‘She would love this place!’ Even when you were struggling, Y/N still manages to think about other people. Today, Y/N will put her needs first.

As if to answer your previous question, you can see an equally excited Katy waiting for the two of you at the roundabout. ‘HEL-LO EVERYONE! LET’S GET OUR FRIDAY STARTED IN PROPER SHALL WE?’ Her loud voice had attracted stares, some very displeased looks too but at this point in time, you didn’t give a damn. Katy was right, it was time to enjoy!

You wished that you could slow down time, or even replay it continuously when you needed cheering up because the only thing you felt was pure happiness - euphoria even. Your stomach was in knots for laughing hysterically together with Katy when Shangqi jumped in shock from a surprise scare from a zombie. ‘I’m keeping that for leverage,’ she tells you, quietly slipping her phone into her fanny pack. 

The Wakandans had really outdone themselves this time. Your favorite VR was the paradise VR. Slipping the headgear, you say goodbye to the smiles of Katy and Shangqi, whisking away to a beach that oddly reminded you of your dream destination - Hawaii. From where you were standing, you were surrounded by green and majestic islands. Despite their sheer size, you weren’t intimidated. In fact, you were healing. 

Your mind was no longer in the room of the VR studio. How could it when the sun kissed your skin, giving you the much needed energy that you were lacking for so long? In the room, the two sees you kick your shoes to the side, going barefoot. It may have seem strange, but with the monitor beside you, your actions were perfectly logical. 

As a kid, you used to despise the prickly feeling of sand in between your toes. But now, you grew to love the sensation that each grain of sand had on your skin. It made you feel grounded, that everything was going to be ok. You raise your virtual hand to touch your face - were you crying? 

‘She must have been really stressed huh?’ Katy whispers to Shangqi who nods in return. How he hated the fact that you were giving so much to your work but still felt underappreciated. Forget the Avengers with superhuman abilities, you were the true MVP. The VR ends and you remove your headgear. ‘I’m ok,’ you automatically reassure them despite the dry tears left on both cheeks. You step down the platform slowly, trying to regain sense of the real world. 

What you didn’t expect was the two embracing you in a hug, squishing you in between them. Maybe that had set off the waterworks. For someone like Katy, she had sage advice.

‘Life can be pretty shitty right? But I’m so proud of you fighting it Y/N. Just remember that it’s ok to be weak. I mean, I’ve seen worse from Shangqi,’ she jabs her finger towards his direction, earning a glare from him. That’s Katy, always trying to add a bit of humor to this grey world. Calming down, you let go of the both of them. ‘Thanks guys, for everything.’ 

‘Hey,’ Shangqi responds, slinging his arm over your shoulder. ‘We’re friends, so we don’t leave each other behind.’ Phone beeping, he retrieves it to check the message. ‘And look at that, nice timing. Who wants Korean BBQ?’ 

Trailing behind them, you get an amusing view of Shangqi bickering with Katy on how many Soju bottles she’s allowed to order later. As San Francisco welcomed the night, you were just thankful that you had the two of them to walk through this crazy maze called life. 

‘Last one to the shop is paying!’ 

‘Oh you’re on Mister!’  

A/N: I really just think that this was also an imagine for me to cope too. So I can only hope to finish my placement/assignments/exams well! To anyone who does studies and work simultaneously, I fucking respect you (allow me to use expletives for now, these people deserve the respect). If you’re going through a stressful time, I hope this brings the slightest comfort for you and remember… YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Again, thank you for reading! 

[lynkhart]

MAJOR spoilers for the C2 finale of Critical Role so read at your own risk of you haven’t caught up!

I have so many feelings regarding Caleb and Essek’s intertwining character arcs I needed to explore, so strap in folks, you’re in for a bit of a ride! (But seriously though, this is like 4000 words long, I basically wrote an essay 😂)

At the start of the campaign, Caleb Widogast was dripping in guilt and self loathing and refused to believe he could ever absolve himself of his sins. Essek Thelyss was a cold, aloof individual who betrayed his people for selfish goals, and their differing yet mirrored narratives have been an absolute delight to watch unfold.

In the beginning Caleb truly hated himself. He shot down any attempt at a compliment, described himself as a ‘disgusting person’, outright rejected the idea that he was worthy of love, and never let the blame shift from him for what he’d done. When Beauregard and Veth/Nott pointed out that he was coerced and manipulated into killing his parents, he reacts in an incredibly visceral way, and I’ve seen several comments likening it to a victim of child abuse who was groomed into believing they were as responsible as their abuser, and I think that’s exactly how it was meant to be read. He doesn’t see himself as a victim, only a murderer, and punishes himself for it every day. We see this in the way he presents himself, dirty and unkempt because in his mind he doesn’t deserve to feel good about himself in any way. Other than Nott/Veth and Beau to a certain degree, he purposefully isolates himself from the rest of the group and it’s a long time until he feels relaxed enough in their company to drop his defences a little.

(Speaking from a purely meta point of view, Liam did an absolutely phenomenal job of showing this through body language and I’d love to see someone do a compilation video of it. He starts off very hunched and guarded, leaning his body away from the closest person to him and avoiding eye contact and physical touch; but by the end stands tall and sure of himself.)

Early on there were a few moments where he had the option to do some pretty dark shit, and I’m sure there’s a possible timeline where he gave into his desire for revenge and really lost his way, but I’m glad he stuck it out and worked through his trauma in the way he did. His PTSD and disassociation when casting with fire was tragic, but over time he was able to work through it thanks to the constant love and support of his friends who kept him from going off at the deep end.

Molly’s death was the catalyst for change in a lot of the party, and Caleb is no exception. On the verge of leaving the group prior to his death, the grief they shared, combined with their frantic attempt to rescue the other half of their party put things in perspective and gradually he learned how to be a person again, to care.

Altering time to save his family had been Caleb’s only goal in life, and so when Essek and by extension, dunamancy was introduced, you could see his eyes light up at the possibilities.

A huge turning point for him is aligned so closely with Essek’s redemption arc which feels quite apt I think. When Essek confesses to his crimes, Caleb delivers a beautifully iconic piece of dialogue where he acknowledges their similarities and how much he himself has changed as a person since meeting the Mighty Nein. (Source - CR wiki)

‘You listen to me. I know what you are talking about. I know. And the difference between you and I is thinner than a razor. I know what it means to have other people complicate your desires and wishes. And I was like you. Was. I know what a fool I have been for years. You didn't account for us. Good. That is life. Shit hits you sideways in life and no one is prepared. No one is ready. These people changed me. These people can change you. You were not born with venom in your veins. You learned it. You learned it. You have a rare opportunity here, Thelyss. One chance to save yourself, and we are offering it.’

This is not the same Caleb we met back in the Nestled Nook inn way back in the first episode. While not yet fulfilled or entirely convinced of his own worth, he knows he’s on the right path. That alone is progress enough, but that he uses his own experiences to help another escape those same chains of guilt says such a lot for his development. When he tells Essek that his ‘venom’ was learned, he’s also talking about himself and his own history of being manipulated and gaslit, with the implication being that it can be un-learned just as efficiently.

Caleb Widogast is selfish no more, or at the very least, doesn’t let his goals undermine anyone else’s anymore. Contrary to what he himself might still think, he is in no way a bad person. He loves fiercely and cannot abide seeing those he cares about in pain.

Early game Essek is what Caleb could have been if he’d rejected his friends and focused solely on his own selfish goal to undo his mistakes. Both are impassive at first and see the Mighty Nein as means to an end...until they get to know them and then their fate is sealed. The Power of Friendship wins once again!

At the beginning Caleb said he wanted to ‘bend reality to my will’ (sic) and in the end he does just that, though not in the way he originally intended. Destroying the T-Dock, and by extension the one thing he’d been building towards from the start, the chance to go back and change time, for me personally was the absolute peak of his journey. I rewatched the scene where Caleb revealed the truth about his parents death today, and it was really jarring to see just how far he’d come since then. It made me oddly proud actually.

I always felt like his plan to save his parents was the one thing holding him back from truly accepting their deaths, which is why the final scene of him in the cemetery with the letters for them hit so hard. He never truly gave up hope that they’d be reunited, but ultimately he realised he was merely postponing the inevitable and never allowing himself to live his own life. While time travel shenanigans would have been incredibly interesting to explore in game, choosing to let the past lie and not go back for them finally allows him to grieve and move on, and perhaps most importantly of all, to forgive himself at last.

I know some people were annoyed by Caleb’s decision in the finale to spend the rest of his life teaching rather than continuing to adventure, but I see it as the natural conclusion to his whole arc and his own personal victory.

He looked Trent Ikithon in the eyes, a man who he’d spent years wanting to kill and run from in equal measure, stripped him of his power and his voice (and ultimately his ability to harm anyone else) and finally spared his life so he had to live with the indignity of his defeat for the rest of his miserable existence. You couldn’t have asked for a more damning rejection of everything he’d been brainwashed into believing as a child. His dismissal of Trent’s position in the Assembly played into that as well. He never really wanted power for the sake of it; he had no desire for politics, he just wanted his family back, and while he didn’t get the one he started with, he made a new one for himself in the end.

As Caduceus once very wisely said:

‘Pain doesn’t make people; it's love that makes people. The pain is inconsequential; it's love that saves them.’

Caleb gets to break the cycle of abuse and teach a new generation of mages the way he should have been, with kindness and respect, and I’m pretty sure he’d have introduced a handsome drow as a guest lecturer from time to time. 😉

Speaking of...

Essek described himself as selfish and as a coward, forever putting his own wants and desires first, yet over the course of his journey with the Nein we see his priorities change drastically.

Having friends gives him people to care about, something he’s never had before, and it changes his outlook on life completely. For me, the first time we really see this is when he joins them for dinner in the Xorhaus and stops levitating. It’s a subtle thing, but meaningful. He explains that it had become an expectation of him, a quirk he’s known for, and so to feel comfortable enough around the Nein to drop that pretence is quite bold I think.

Much later, when he chooses to destroy the mini beacon they discover in Aeor in order to give everyone a long rest before the final confrontation with Lucian, he’s essentially giving up everything he betrayed his people for, just to keep his friends safe. The existence and context of that single artefact could have had an earthshattering impact on the Dynasty’s entire culture, forcing them to reevaluate their entire belief system and attitude to the Luxon, something he’d wanted from the start, something he helped start a war for, but he offered it up as a sacrifice without a second thought.

I’d say that’s a pretty big morality shift, and I’m super interested to see if Matt reveals if his alignment changed in the post campaign Q&A. I have a feeling he set him up as a potential BBEG but the party was like ‘no, you can’t have him, he’s ours now’ and that was the end of that. 😂

I think it says so much about the other characters too, that they befriended this person they barely knew, and when he was revealed to have done such terrible things, their first reaction was to give him comfort and an opportunity to atone. Jester held his hand while he confessed, and afterwards, while they didn’t immediately forgive him, they saw the good in him and wanted him to be better, which ultimately feels like what the entire campaign was about, leaving places (and people) better than they found them. It’s obvious that he’s never really had many friends before and has therefore never had the opportunity to be emotionally open with anyone, so seeing him gradually warm up to the Nein and allow himself to soften around them was really lovely to watch.

(Obviously, from a realistic moral perspective, he still fucked up big time. He’s still a godsdamned war criminal and really should have been put on trial for what he did, but I think from a narrative and personal point of view, his redemption arc was far more satisfying, so I’m glad it happened the way it did. (And not to derail but the rest of the gang have done some pretty horrific stuff as well, though perhaps not quite on the same scale)

He has a few moments towards the end that I absolutely love because they show that beneath the guilt and anguish, there’s an incredibly sweet and sensitive soul in there, just wanting acceptance. His dry jokes which often don’t quite hit, (the ‘I will punish the bakery’ line is such an under-appreciated one 😂) his simple joy at learning to garden in the Blooming Grove, and realising that he’d never been asked what his favourite food was before was actually kind of heartbreaking, because it highlighted how lonely his life must have been until that time. There was a moment pretty early on I think when he cast disguise on the party and Jester asked if he could cast it again to change the look of her outfit a bit and while he seemed to find it amusing, he refused, not wanting to waste a spell on such a frivolous request. Cut to their time in Aeor where he burns a fly spell just so he and Caleb can flirtatiously swoop around each other for a couple of minutes, all the while trying to beat Lucian to the city.

His breakdown when Molly’s resurrection failed really cemented to me how much he’d grown as a character. He never met Molly, his only knowledge of him was secondhand, through the eyes of his friends, but seeing it fail just broke him because he knew how much it hurt them to go through it all over again.

His comment to Caleb about not admitting defeat and wishing he could do more did get me wondering at the time if he was going to try and do something crazy, perhaps sacrificing himself via the Temporal Dock to make amends or somehow forcing another reroll, but I’m glad he didn’t. The conversation following that with Fjord was one of my favourites- he shows him acceptance and belief in his potential for the future, something he’s lacked for a long time, and when Caleb bluntly affirms afterwards that he is indeed an official member of the Mighty Nein, it’s the start of the rest of his life, and something he’s exceptionally grateful for.

It all leads to that final moment in Aeor with Caleb, when, presented with the opportunity to alter time and undo everything, he chooses to accept his decisions and carry the weight of his sins for the rest of his long life. That’s...huge.

He’s essentially choosing to live the rest of his existence as a fugitive, forever on the run, with no guaranteed peace or safety. He chooses to spend his life making up for his deeds, rather than looking for an easy way out.

I think that may have had a big impact on why Caleb ultimately made the same decision, as if Essek had been up for altering his timeline I think he’d have struggled to resist it himself. The conversation they had earlier in Aeor about their priorities and resisting temptation really comes to mind as well.

Now, to the relationship.

It was subtle, and not as ‘in your face’ obvious as the other characters, but I’ve been watching and hoping for a long time and I must say, it feels good to be vindicated.

(And if you have any doubt, both Matt and Liam confirmed on Twitter that their post finale relationship was 100% romantic)

I’d been hoping that Shadowgast would be a canon endgame relationship for a while, so the finale, and the aforementioned T-Dock scene in particular had me quite literally shaking with emotion as I watched live. Here you have two men, both damaged and guilt-stricken in their own ways, who find in each other a kindred spirit and a path to redemption.

They’re both very guarded and closed off people, but Essek in particular has a definite shift in the last arc of the campaign especially when it came to his interactions with Caleb. At the start he was quite aloof and stoic, though charming, and they had an instant connection through their shared love of the arcane, (anyone who couldn’t see them making heart eyes at each other when Essek was describing the different types of magic he could teach Caleb was clearly blind) but by the end he was incredibly open to showing his vulnerabilities and that takes a lot, especially for someone whose primary focus was to stay in control of every aspect of his life. The ‘Caleb, I’m scared’ moment during the Trent fight in particular made my heart ache.

No, we didn’t get a dramatic declaration of love or a cinematic mid-battle kiss, but I’d argue that their relationship was just as, if not more intimate than any of the other main characters were. They understood each other in a way the others didn’t, their shared guilt, feelings of inadequacy and their obsession with magic forged a deep connection from the get-go. Neither of them are big fans of PDA I think, though Caleb is tactile as hell (forehead touches and kisses, oh man, I’m so weak for those 😩👌) and some of their most iconic moments have them putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the other. Essek shaking off his forced guilt trip immediately after the now infamous forehead touch in ep140 was beautifully poetic, as was using his fortune’s favour to pull Caleb out of the rubble moments before. Caleb trying to include him in his Sphere of Invulnerability in the finale and Essek staying close to him the whole fight despite being obviously terrified of Trent was the icing on the cake. It’s clear that they care for each other a great deal; whether by the finale they’d consider it love is up for debate, but we know that’s eventually where it ended up and honestly, I love that. I deeply appreciated the fact Matt and Liam both emphasised that they took their time with their relationship, letting each other heal in their own way before they took the next step. All too often in media, and real life too sadly, a romantic relationship is seen as some kind of quick fix, and that a lover will somehow complete you or make all your problems vanish. They knew this wasn’t the case here, and that made it all the better.

While I would have *loved* to have seen them together as a couple right to the very end, the change in their relationship felt right, if bittersweet. I doubt they ever stopped loving each other, and if anything, choosing to shift to a deep and lifelong friendship over a romance that would cause them both so much pain is one of the kindest things you could do for someone you love. After all, friendship isn’t a downgrade, just another way of experiencing that same love, and it wasn’t as though they broke up and never saw each other again, it was pretty strongly implied that they remained a major feature in each other’s lives, they just changed their label slightly. Caleb would hate to have forced Essek to watch him wither away, and although his eventual passing would hurt Essek regardless, incompatible lifespans being what they are, having a period of time to adjust to it, to give them a buffer between the inevitable heartbreak was actually really sweet.

Their romance was no accident, they knew going in that it had a time limit, that it wasn’t going to be forever for one of them, and the fact they did it anyway says so much. They began their adventure wholeheartedly believing that they were both, in their own way incapable of love, only to later find it with each other. Whether their relationship lasted for a couple of years or multiple decades is irrelevant, what matters is that while it did they had a happy and fulfilled life together.

I know some folk wanted Caleb to use the transmogrification spell on himself so he could live on with Essek as another elf, or make him human instead, but that would have been way out of character for both I think. If they could have backwards engineered one of the rejuvenation stations in Aeor and used it to extend Caleb’s life by a hundred years or so, so he’d have a similar lifespan to Veth, now, I could have seen him possibly doing that, so he could spend more time with his best friend too, but nothing further I think. He longed to be reunited with his parents too much to postpone death unnaturally like that.

That both Caleb and Essek ultimately chose to live with their mistakes and make peace with themselves was incredibly cathartic, and I couldn’t imagine it playing out any better.

The fact Matt has explicitly stated Essek is Demi too means so much to me personally because the latter is a label I’ve been identifying with a lot recently, and it’s so rare for aspec relationships to get any representation! It has honestly given me a lot to think about over the last few days, and I really appreciate it.

To conclude, here’s a bit of shameless self promotion. I wrote this after watching the finale and honestly feel like it sums up my feelings on the nature of their relationship pretty well.

‘A casual hand on a shoulder, a waist, a wrist; a gentle kiss placed on a forehead is common between them now, an intimacy born of trust and mutual affection. Over time it grows, like a fire born of seasoned timber; gradual and steady, no spluttering kindling that flares and sparks, but a slow burn, one which lasts.

Their love is embroidered into every aspect of their lives together. Acts of service, of comfort, of understanding.

Sometimes a kiss leads to more than a kiss, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way they are content.‘

So yeah, I love these two wizard boys so very much and I couldn’t be happier with the conclusion of their stories. ❤️

[imaginethathaikyuu]

 kneel to pray. 

sakusa (佐久早) - 'forever early,’ kiyoomi (聖臣) - 'holy minister' 

-

very loosely inspired by false god by taylor swift as well as the translations of the characters of sakusa’s name seen above (which are taken from the haikyuu wiki.)

also, no, this does not mean i’m taking requests for sakusa now. still not super sure i know him well enough yet. 

there are some very minor religious references in this smutty work. if that makes you uncomfortable, i’d recommend not reading. 

nsfw warning featuring: cunnilingus, body worship, dominant sakusa, submissive reader, porn without plot fem reader

-

You could kiss this man forever, you were so sure of it. It was rushed and rough but if he pulled away, you felt like you would die, you’d stop breathing, so you grabbed his face and held him there with his lips against yours and you knew he’d get frustrated - angry, even - but you didn’t care. 

But he pulled your hands away easily - your grip on his hair wasn’t strong enough, apparently. And he ended the kiss as if he didn’t even care how badly you needed it.

“I have to go.” 

“You always have to go.” 

“Yeah, because you choose the worst times to be clingy.” 

Kiyoomi doesn’t like pouting. He especially doesn’t like begging. But you didn’t care. 

“I can’t help when I want you.” Your bottom lip stuck out, and Kiyoomi gave you the slightest scowl. Your hands trailed the length of his firm chest, but your touch seemed to have no affect on him. “Are you sure you can’t stay?” 

Sakusa took your face between his hands, “If I could stay,” he started, ignoring any look of need he could see in your eyes, “I would stay.” 

“I need you.” 

“I have to go.” 

“But I need you.” 

Kiyoomi closed his eyes and sighed. His hands still hadn’t left your face. It was annoying when you were like this, he couldn’t stand when you got so clingy - because he just couldn’t tell you no. He never could.

“Please, Kiyoomi,” your nose followed the cutting edge of his jaw; the sharp scent of his aftershave burned in the best way; you were getting more and more needy and he could tell. 

His large hands slid down to rest on the sides of your neck - he’d made his decision. It wasn’t a tough choice to make. He was close so the gruff sound of his voice didn’t have to travel far to your ear as he said, “I need you, too.” 

Those simple words alone gave you a wave of pleasure that you couldn’t have seen coming. 

“Go lie on the bed.” 

As much as he hated being away from you, your obedience made him lose his breath - it was the little things. 

Kiyoomi ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at his watch - if he made this quick, the city’s traffic would be a viable excuse for how late he’d be. If you let him make it quick. 

He was sure he’d have to think of another excuse - that is, if he didn’t want to walk into his friend’s house announcing, “Hey guys, sorry for being late - I was busy fucking my girlfriend, so, as you can guess, I was a little held up.” 

Sometimes lying is more polite than being honest - Sakusa had learned that early in life. But, honestly, he’d be surprised if he even made it to the volleyball game watch party he’d been invited to. 

You were almost glad he was in such a time crunch, because it meant he wouldn’t make you wait. A lot of the time when he gives you those demanding words, ‘go lie on the bed,’ he’ll take any length of time to follow you. But today, he was basically right behind you. 

You knew better than to take your clothes off yourself. Even in a hurry, Kiyoomi wanted to be the one to strip you. And one wrong move today would make him turn and go and leave you needy. 

But you were ready to be out of your clothes. You were ready for him. 

“Come here,” you said from the bed, reaching out toward him, dying for him to take your hand and lead you to where you needed to go. 

He’d comply, simply because he didn’t have time to deny you. 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he tutted, a joke that you knew he meant. You grinned. 

“Sorry, Omi.” 

“You better be.” 

The man towered over you and he was far too powerful for this to be fair; you were already squirming and the only thing that had touched you was his strong gaze. 

He popped the button of your pants open with a quick flick of his fingers. 

“And that better be the last time I hear that nickname.” 

“I only said it out of habit.” 

“I don’t care.” 

He didn’t listen to any reply you had, instead he pulled at your jeans, attempting to be quick and swift but only making you squeal as your entire body was pulled down the bed - Kiyoomi had to hold back his laugh. “Raise your hips,” he told you, like it was obvious, maybe because it was, and you would’ve been embarrassed by being laughed at if you weren’t so enamored by Kiyoomi’s pretty grin. 

You raised your hips and he tugged again, successfully this time, and as he pulled your pants down the length of your legs, he followed them. Before you knew it, your pants were on the floor and so were Sakusa’s knees. 

“Come closer.” 

“Oh, you mean business today, don’t you?” 

“I always mean business.” He helped pull you down the bed until your hips were almost dangling off the edge - your scooting just wasn’t quick enough for him. “I don’t have the time for your games right now, Y/N.” 

“What games?” 

“Don’t act dumb.” 

“I’m not playing any games -”

“Stop talking.” He was eyeing your underwear - for a second he wanted to literally rip them off. Those pesky sex hormones of his were ever present, but so was his logic. So instead of ripping your perfectly good underwear, “lift up,” he pulled them down, like the sensible man he was.  One day, though, he’d give in to the urge and let himself tear them to pieces. 

Hopefully on that day he’ll have more than nine minutes to get this done. 

He ducked his head and his lips fell to rest on your knee - maybe it was a weird place to kiss, but it’s where he always started. And his lips would kiss the same trail he’d created time and time again; this time there was a messy line of hickeys - ten of them, he’d counted - that followed the curve of your inner thigh to guide him where he was meant to go. They weren’t his best work, they were left in a daze just last night, but there was no time to clean them up. He’d love to leave more marks, but right now that wasn’t what he was meant to be doing, so he spread your legs apart and let his tongue do all the work. 

The feeling of Sakusa’s mouth absolutely devouring you, while familiar and at this point routine, was one you could never get used to. It was magic - this man’s tongue was pure magic. He was precise and determined and oh so shameless; he knew just what he was doing and he always had the upper hand. 

He hated rushing things, so even though he didn’t have the time for it, he took things slow. It was a pace you had learned to appreciate - Kiyoomi always did his best work when he took his time, after all. He put your clit between his lips and tugged - “fuck, Kiyoomi!” - and his tongue lapped at your walls like he was dying to get a taste of you, which was true - “Oh my god!” - and his hands held your hips like they were locked onto them. His hold was tight and controlling; he was pushing and pulling your entire body at his will just with his grip on your hips, and he wouldn’t let go for anything. 

Sakusa didn’t care if he was meant to be anywhere else in the world - nothing was more important to him than having his mouth attached to you. You were sweet and dripping and so soft; he was addicted to giving this to you. 

He looked up and watched you. You were still wearing a shirt - his mistake - and he wanted it gone. He couldn’t enjoy this unless he could see all of you. 

He pulled his mouth free and ignored your annoying whines. “Take your shirt off,” he instructed, and his tongue trailed along your sex lazily as he watched you strip the shirt away, with only a bit of struggle. Your bra was quick to follow and even though he hadn’t given you that instruction, he was glad he didn’t need to. 

Your hair was his favorite kind of mess because of how much you’d been running your hands through it, and your body was squirming in every direction it could move in - he assumed you were trying to loosen his grip on your hips. It wouldn’t work. 

“Fuck, Kiyoomi, right there, please -”

He rolled his eyes. I know, that’s what he wanted to say, if his mouth wasn’t busy. Do you really think you need to tell him where your clit is? 

“ - don’t stop, Kiyoomi, right there, right there!” 

“I know.” 

“Kiyoomi -”

His eyes flicked to his watch - he now had five minutes until he was meant to meet his friends. He didn’t care about those plans anymore, though. 

“Be quiet,” he told you. The way you whined in response made Sakusa feel like he was going to go crazy. “Those moans are for me. Not the entire neighborhood. Be quiet.”

“I’m just offering you some encouragement, Omi.”

“I don’t need it,” he deadpanned. “You think I don’t know what I’m doing?” 

You shook your head, not really knowing how to reply - you only wanted him to get back to it. You had learned your lesson, you’d be quiet, your moans would be loud enough for only him to hear. You were done trying to take any control of this situation. 

And Sakusa was done talking his time. 

He sang prayers into your sex while he held onto your hips like they were his altar. Like you were the god he was on his knees praying to. Like he’d found heaven between your legs and it was dripping right out of you. He pulled you closer, you didn’t even realize you could be closer to him, and you knew if he wasn’t there holding you up you’d fall right off the bed. You thought you might fall anyway. 

He especially doesn’t like begging, but sometimes, the situation called for it. And in that moment, Kiyoomi was begging you. Silently, wordlessly, beautifully begging you to give him his salvation and let go for him. He wanted it bad. He was moaning, whimpering as he kept lapping into your cunt, shamelessly letting you soak his chin and make a mess out of him. 

His knees were aching, his jaw was cramping, his cock was throbbing, yet all he could think about was how badly he needed you to cum for him. And he didn’t care how long it took. He’d get you there. 

He was thrilled that it only took another few moments, though. He watched your face as you came and he took a breath of relief as he kept you cumming; finally. 

Nothing felt better than bringing you to your peak. Sakusa could bring you places you never even knew existed - both of you knew that. He was arrogant. You were thankful. 

He pushed you up so you were no longer hanging off the bed, his mouth followed and his knees finally got a break, and he was waiting for that familiar whimper to tell him to pull away. He made sure to leave a few kisses as a bit of a farewell because he just couldn’t resist.

His hands felt stuck in their position gripping your hips but he forced them off; with your previously discarded shirt he wiped away the wetness you’d created on his chin and then he moved up to tend to you. 

He brushed your messy hair out of your face and placed exact kisses along your cheekbone - eight times - as he settled on top of you. “How was that?” he asked, cradling your face. You were still catching your breath as you wrapped your arms around him and tucked your face into his neck. 

“I love you,” you mumbled, and he grinned. 

“Are you satisfied?” He pulled you out of hiding, looking you in the eye. “Hm? Was that what you needed?” 

He needed to hear you say it, even though he already knew he had given you more than what you desired. 

“Yeah,” you replied, whispers of an elated giggle trailing the word. “Yeah.” 

He kissed you. “I love you, too.” He kissed you again. “Even though you made me late.” One more. “Inexcusably late, actually.” Twice more. “But I don't mind.” Three more times, just to make sure. “It was well worth it.” 

“Are you still going?” 

Sakusa bit his lip. “I’m debating.” 

“I’d love for you to stay,” you hummed, resting your hand on his cheek, and he fell into the touch. 

“Yeah?” You nodded. Kiyoomi took a second to think about it. 

Nobody would question why he hadn’t shown up. He was sure they didn’t expect him to, anyway. Not that he was flaky - just that Kiyoomi didn’t care much for that type of interaction. His friends knew that. And they were understanding. 

Besides, it was too late now. Even if he wanted to go, he refused to show up late and with a raging boner. There was only one thing Kiyoomi wanted to do tonight, and it was you. 

“Go get in the shower,” he told you. And as you rolled out of bed and listened to his command, he looked down at his watch. He got you to finish a minute early.

[kitkatopinions]

You know, despite having read and loved most Sherlock Holmes stories and having once upon a time been interested in one of those bad Sherlock Holmes adaptations, I didn’t realize Arthur Watts was meant to allude to John Watson (my favorite character) until I read someone else’s post about how stupid the allusions in RWBY are and I think that’s telling.

In hindsight, his name alone is a dead give away, and I guess… Gun, fancy clothes with the three piece suit, moustache… The gimmicks were all there. But he was so far removed from anything to do with Watson’s character or story that I had literally never thought of it. This is one of my problems with RWBY’s Fairy Tale inspiration, they took away anything that made Watson Watson, left a couple of gimmicks, and thought that was good.

I read on the RWBY wiki that Watts was meant to be ‘John Watson if he’d connected with Moriarty instead of Holmes.’ Even if Watson had connected with Moriarty, he’d still be nothing like Watts. Watts acts like a twisted version of Holmes, with all of Holmes’s bad tendencies - showing off, being flippant, believing himself superior, prioritizing his work over others’ feelings, etc - and none of Holmes’s redeeming qualities of justice and righteousness. A Holmes without his better traits (and without his better half in Watson) is easy to imagine falling into jealousy, cold-heartedness, and violence in pursuit of recognition and in pursuit of his interests. Instead of using his skills to aid the world and stop the person responsible for the criminal underground, he uses them to attack the world and aid the person responsible for the criminal underground, staying where his skills are appreciated. Watts shows only a vague interest in Salem’s group and her end goals (if I recall correctly,) and it seems he’s only there to be able to better do what he wants, and has rivalries with other members of Salem’s circle, which is kind of reflective of Holmes’ interactions with Scotland Yard and its members, only without growth into respect and comradery. Watts even faked his own death and fell off the map, hiding out until the time was right and then making his return in a secretive way and even revealing himself to a friend before really getting started. Like…

And then they say he’s Watson? Are they trying to trick us? Watson, the military man? Watson, the loyal follower? The more social one? The ordinary one? Watson, who spent years of his life documenting others’ successes with little regard for his own fame? The one who balanced out Holmes because he was humble, at least partially understood and cared about physical and mental health, and wasn’t as gray, so was able to be a moral sounding board?  Watson lacked real brilliance, and his true qualities had to do with the depths of his emotions, like his bravery and love. He was open and honest and countered Holmes’ more secretive and sly tendencies (which are also more in line with Watts.) Watson was the one with a grounded life and stability. The only real reason Watson ever did anything criminal was either because he thought it was the morally right thing to do or because he was simply following and supporting Holmes. Watson thought it would be worth it to be wounded over and over again just because he saw that Holmes loved him during a time where he got injured. He was quite literally just an army doctor, who dearly loved and was there for his friend, and took it upon himself to document their adventures in pursuit of making that friends’ brilliance known to the world. There’s interesting things you could do to alter this kind of character into an evil villain role, but instead, Watts doesn’t connect with any of it.

Could you argue that Watts is a completely flipped version of Watson, where basically all of his traits are turned into the opposite? Yes, I guess you could, but it makes him seem pretty not Watson. Instead of being a military man and war vet, he hates the most military and war vet coded character in the series. Instead of having to mourn a death and continue his life, he faked his own death. Instead of being grounded and kind hearted, he’s an overly dramatic, remorseless killer. Instead of being humble and open, he’s arrogant and crafty. Instead of being a supportive, loving friend, he has no real friends, uses everyone, and is very selfish. Instead of being based on loyalty and what he could do for others (which might actually be doable, with Salem,) he seems only out for himself, and only seems to submits to Salem because it’ll get him what he wants. Most importantly, instead of being an everyman who lacks the talent of the people around him but makes up for it in other ways, Watts is a total genius who actually seems better than Pietro, who was just overlooked. 

Watts has no allusions to writing, no friend to help, no military background, no quality of character, seemingly no recognition of his flaws, no humility, not even Watson’s dumb ‘ladies man’ title, and he’s the opposite of anything Watson was. You could say he's the anti-Watson, but an anti-Watson actually isn't Watson at all. An anti-Watson is basically just an evil Holmes.

Even then, the 'Watson if he'd connected with Moriarty' line makes it seem like 'anti-Watson' wasn't what they were going for, either, so I don’t feel like I can even give them credit for that. Are they saying that if Watson hadn’t had Holmes, he’d have been an evil crafty mega-genius? It doesn’t connect to me.

Personally, I'd usually think that Watts not being like Watson at all was just unintended, and that they either did think they were doing something clever without taking away from the Watson allusion or they just gave their Watson allusion a couple of Watson gimmicks and then just built their own character around it. Except that Watts faked his own death, one of the most iconic Sherlock Holmes storyline things. I'm being totally genuine when I ask if they just said he was meant to represent Watson for some reason when really, he was meant to be Holmes with a dark twist, or maybe Moriarty, who already is basically Holmes with a dark twist. 

I mean, I’m not pretending to be an expert on the Sherlock Holmes works, I just don’t get how Watts is inspired by Watson.

[japaneseadventures]

“National Tournament Report” Tezuka and Fuji Version Part V

INDEX: [Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Part IV] Audio commentary from Prince of Tennis OVA: National Tournament Arc, FAN DISK White heat Remix, translated by me. It's finally the last part!! Part V is Tezuka and Fuji’s commentary on Echizen vs Atobe match. Audio linked in the Content Source below.

Fuji: It’s finally the last match. Tezuka: Yeah. Fuji: I was convinced that you wanted to have another match with Atobe. Tezuka: Atobe and I know each other’s cards too well. That’s why I wanted to try placing my bet on Echizen’s potential. Fuji: Hmm... Tezuka: What? Fuji: That’s not the only reason you chose to have him play Atobe though, is it.  Tezuka: Hm? Fuji: If you get him to play against Atobe, Echizen’s skills would definitely grow. Wasn’t that why you placed him in Singles 1? Tezuka: Ngh. Fuji: Right on the mark, huh. I can tell how big your expectations are for him from that. Tezuka: I think of this year’s tournament first and foremost, of course. But this year isn’t the end of Seigaku Tennis Club. I’m the captain. I have a responsibility to make sure the club 2-3 years from now will be strong. Fuji: *laughs* Tezuka: What? Did I say something funny? Fuji: No. I just thought of how I liked that part of you. I’m really glad you are the Seigaku Tennis Club’s captain.

Tezuka: Is that so? Fuji: But to be honest, it’s not the club’s future I’m interested in; I just want to see Echizen climb higher and higher. That’s it, really. Tezuka: I too want to see where Echizen will end up. Fuji: *laughs* So that really is the reason you had him play against Atobe. Tezuka: Developing one’s skills is best done in real matches. There’s no better way to learn than fighting someone strong. Fuji: That reminds me, Inui said something similar in his memo. He wrote that there’s no better training than playing matches with someone strong. According to one of Inui’s sources, before the tournament, Atobe apparently went to Rikkai  Dai Fuzoku alone to have a match against Sanada and the others. Tezuka: Did he really? Fuji: He got the info from Yanagi of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, so it must be true. Tezuka: Inui’s childhood friend of sorts. Fuji: How surprising. Atobe seems like a cool-headed guy at a glance, but he’s actually pretty passionate. Tezuka: Atobe is the passionate type. Fuji: Oh? You really understand Atobe very well, don’t you. Tezuka: No, I don’t. That’s just the feeling he managed to convey when we played. Fuji: I see. Speaking of which, was Atobe not offended when you told him you’d be absent from today’s meeting?  Tezuka: No. He called to talk about how the meeting would progress, and when I told him I wouldn’t be coming, he said, “You weren’t invited in the first place.” And quickly hung up.  Fuji: I think you should be more concerned about that... Tezuka: Why? Fuji: He’ll resent you for that.

[Atobe in video: Even here you’re still getting in my way, Tezuka?!]

Fuji: *laughs* Look! He’s mad. Tezuka: But that was clearly a move Echizen pulled off with State of Self Actualization. There’s no reason for him to blame it on me. Fuji: I guess that’s just how much everyone is affected by you. Tezuka: I still don’t see how it’s my fault. Fuji: Around this part, they started pulling out all their skills, and it became more of a battle between their stamina and mental strength. Tezuka: They were very evenly matched. Fuji: When one side gains a point advantage, the other side is quick to change the tide. Neither of them yielded, did they. Tezuka: Mm. Fuji: Your match with Atobe was pretty fierce too, but this was also a great match. Even just rewatching it in video gives me chills.

[Lights fall during Atobe-Echizen match]

Fuji: Oh, this moment unsurprisingly made my blood run cold. Tezuka: Mm.

[Atobe: Tezuka! Seigaku’s going to lose because you let a little first year become Seigaku’s pillar!! Tezuka: He's not the pillar yet.]

Fuji: But you always give a proper reaction to what Atobe says, don’t you Tezuka. Tezuka: Mm. Fuji: Tezuka? Tezuka: Mm. Huh? Oh, I was… I apologize. Fuji: You were thinking of something else again. Tezuka: I can have-- Fuji: 10 different thoughts at the same time. Tezuka: You have a good memory, Fuji. Fuji: Out of curiosity, what exactly is going through your mind right now? Tezuka: Listening to you. Fuji: And? Tezuka: Analyzing the video. Fuji: And? Tezuka: Whether Oishi is holding up well. Fuji: And? Tezuka: Having to collect the club budget by tomorrow. Fuji: And? Tezuka: Needing to get the book I reserved at the library. Fuji: Get it then. Tezuka: This year’s sweetfish fishing season started early. Fuji: Is that really relevant right now? Tezuka: I’m planning on climbing the Southern Alps next. Fuji: Shall I lend you a map? Tezuka: loga aᵇ=? Fuji: b. Tezuka: Ich liebe dich. Fuji: When exactly do you plan on using that line? Tezuka: Lastly, answering your question. Fuji: *laughs* I see. Tezuka: Mm. Fuji: Say, I tried to be like Inui and collected some data. Tezuka: Oh? Fuji: The truth is, the real reason I called you out here today was to show you this. Tezuka: How intriguing. Fuji: Look at this. Tezuka: What is this piece of paper? Hm? I see a lot of tally marks. Fuji: I tried my best to count it all while watching the whole video. Tezuka: Sounds tough. But what for? Fuji: What do you think? Tezuka: I’m sorry, but I have no idea. Fuji: It’s the number of times you ignored someone else’s comment. Tezuka: Ignored? Fuji: When you watch people’s matches, you only ever listen with half an ear, even when someone’s talking to you, don’t you. Though you may not be conscious you’re doing it. Tezuka: What’re you talking about? Don’t tell me this is the problem you mentioned earlier? Fuji: Honestly, it’s just like you, not to notice. Oh, right! There’s something I need to do after this. Tezuka: You’re leaving? So did you find a solution for your problem in the end? Fuji: Sorry, but I have to leave the cleanup and lockup to you, Tezuka. See ya! Tezuka: Oi, Fuji! Fuji! Fuji! He left… But what exactly did Fuji want to say? I don’t understand. I’ll at the very least clean up and lock up before I leave… But what exactly did Fuji… What…. Need to lock up... Fuji: Tezuka sure is interesting!

♔ Tezuka, after Fuji presents him a tally of the times he ignored someone: So what was the problem????       Gee man, I wonder what.😂 ♔ It’s been more than a decade since I studied about logarithms, and I didn’t even study how to do math in Japanese, so this was interesting to say the least lmao. I had to read about log identities on Wiki and double check with a similar question on Quora, no big deal I guess.🙃🤣 (It’s correct, right? Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong😂) Honestly I had to look up wild plants, mushrooms and fish for Dokidoki Survival and that was funner than this lmao. I kind of hate Tezuka now for making relearn math and science (in Part I).😂 ♔ I wonder if Tezuka meant the Southern Alps in New Zealand, or the Southern Alps in Yamanishi prefecture, which is also the second highest mountain in Japan. I guess its more likely the latter tho, since that’s what first comes up when searched in Japanese. ♔ Every time Atobe addresses Tezuka while he’s having a match with Echizen, everyone’s just like... who exactly is he having a match against?😂

[itsclydebitches]

Welcome back, everyone!

A quick note before we begin: after the previous recap a couple of lovely friends and anons explained to me some discrepancies in my work, mainly about how Fox's semblance functions and how much info we’ve gotten on that previously. They're worth a read if (like me) you haven't read After the Fall and would like a more accurate picture of this whole project. However, I have to admit that sadly past!me didn’t think through the usefulness of those posts and tag them appropriately... so they’re just somewhere in the mess that is the “rwby” and “mymetas” tags. Still, I wanted to acknowledge their existence, both for your potential use and as another disclaimer along the lines of, “I’m reading what amounts to a sequel and recapping as I go. Prepare for a bumpy ride.” 

We're on chapter five now (of twenty-two! Holy god I’m slow!!) and truth be told I actually enjoyed this opening. We're in Yatsuhashi's head this time around and he's likewise enjoying Vacuo's Meeting Spot, an "artificial oasis" that reminds him of his mother's healing gardens. I wonder what "healing" means in this particular context. A generalized benefit to your body, mind, and spirit in the form of meditation? Or a more literal, magic-based healing with its roots in aura use? In a world with RWBY's possibilities, a healing garden that someone like Ozpin might run—let's take time to settle ourselves and reflect—vs. one that someone like Jaune would create—let me use my semblance to literally heal your wounds—are rather different things. I'd be interested to know which category (or another) Yatsuhashi's mother falls under.

Regardless, it's a satisfyingly quiet scene. Yatsuhashi comments on both the beauty of the oasis as well as how that beauty, in turn, raises the desert in his eyes. Nothing like not having to deal with a hard landscape to make that landscape seem more bearable, alluring even, and this moment managed to capture that feeling rather well. The only downside is that, in a recurring theme, I once again got whiplash upon realizing that Yatsuhashi is not standing alone in the peace of the early morning, like the description had led me to believe. Apparently Velvet is there. As well as the whole freaking student body! Myers* has this strange habit of writing one kind of scene only to suddenly reveal that the scene is actually radically different from what his writing had encouraged you to imagine. Yatsuhashi is going on about healing, natural beauty, and the peace of an early morning. What's peaceful about dozens of students speculating beside him? Have you ever met a school of sleep deprived young adults dealing with a surprise announcement before breakfast? That’s as far from peaceful as humanly possible. 

Mood, kid. 

(*Also yes, we're working to write Myers' name correctly this chapter. If I'm going to drag his work so much the least I can do is not add an additional 'e' to his name lol.)

Along with the entirety of Shade Academy to break the peace, Yatsuhashi tells us about dromedons and mole crabs. The former, according to the wiki, is a "camel-like Grimm that can spit acidic venom" and also sports an armored hump. Fun! The latter, according to Yatsuhashi, is a "horrifying" creature that "slept just below the sand and could cut a person in two with their massive claws." And they're the normal, non-grimm animals! Screw Salem. Humanity needs huntsmen just to keep people safe from the everyday wildlife. Crabs cut people in two, Zwei is capable of being set on fire and launched at a mech... it's a miracle that anyone ever steps outside their home. 

I do write this with full knowledge that Australia exists, but still.

As Yatsuhashi moves away from thoughts of killer crabs, we begin what is easily the strangest bit of repetition this chapter. Yatsuhashi's shoulder is sore from having tried to break down the hideout door and I'm going, "Wait no, you used your sword” and frantically flipping back through my PDF. To Myers' credit, there is a detail that suggests Yatsuhashi uh... rammed the door? I think? Last chapter he "Stepped forward and Fox heard him grunt with exertion." That's the only thing I can think of that would explain his shoulder unexpectedly being sore hours later: if he'd charged it instead of doing something insane like, oh, I don't know, trying the doorknob first. Odd choice of continuity, but okay. What's super weird though is that Myers repeats the detail again:

Yatsuhashi crossed his arms, then grimaced as a fresh pain shot through his shoulder. Come on, Aura, he thought. Do your thing.

I'm sorry, how badly did you hurt your shoulder? Why does a supposedly intelligent student immediately resort to what is apparently somewhat serious self-harm when faced with a closed door? Why is Myers choosing this of all things to tell us about? Is this incredibly random shoulder injury going to hinder Yatsuhashi during the test? Spoilers: I don't think it does considering that I searched for "shoulder" in my PDF and there's just a lot of hands on shoulders coming up, but nothing that, at first glance, seems to make this kind of set up necessary. So I say again: weird.

Meanwhile, weirdness doesn’t even acknowledge the continued inconsistencies with aura. Jaune heals a cut on his cheek instantaneously, but hours later Yatsuhashi needs to gripe at his aura to hop-to already? So either Jaune’s aura is far more powerful than the average person’s (never established outside of Pyrrha’s “You have a lot of it” comment), or Yatsuhashi really hurt his shoulder that badly. Hard enough that with the rest of the night and early morning to heal him, his aura is still working overtime. 

Alrighty then. 

So the whole student body is just kind of hanging out, striking up casual conversations. Velvet asks how Yatsuhashi is doing and he says he's fine, "Thanks to you." Wait... what did Velvet do? I mean yeah, she was there last night and she's here now, but so is the rest of the team. I don't really recall her helping Yatsuhashi in any specific way. As is the norm now, I remain mildly, endlessly confused by this novel.

But we don’t have time to delve into the gratitude attached to events I’m not actually sure happened. There’s more chit chat going on as everyone tries to figure out why they've been summoned so early in the morning. "It's not always about us," Velvet says and I nod along in agreement even though I know, as a reader, that it's absolutely about them. "As I'm often reminding Coco."

Coco fires back with how it "could be about us," noting that it would be pretty coincidental if something else was going on right now, plus Rumpole may have realized they were out last night. (Remember, Yatsuhashi wasn't subtle about trying to break down that door). This is one of those moments where I agree wholeheartedly with Coco's logic, but kind of hate to encourage the 'It's all about us' attitude. Velvet might be smiling, but as previously established this is an ongoing theme within RWBY's characterization that it could really stand to do without.

Yatsuhashi then offers some "unsolicited advice" about how Rumpole could afford to slow down some and "let things come at their own pace," to which I respond, "Huh?" Where in the world did this come from? Previously the whole group—including Yatsuhashi, considering he didn't speak out against it—was concerned that Rumpole wasn't doing enough to track down the Crown. That is, do more, move faster, get it done already. You haven’t gotten it done? Okay, we’ll do it instead. Now he's providing this subtle criticism in response to a meeting, as if that's an inherently odd or bad thing for a headmistress to do. You want the woman to do extra work faster but slow down when it comes to her actual job? 

It reads to me like Myers is trying to put a lot of wise-sounding dialogue into Yatsuhashi's mouth—you know, the Asian character who keeps bringing up things like meditation and mindfulness—but hasn't bothered to think about whether that dialogue makes any sense. Of course, we then immediately backtrack to reveal that his comment was really about Coco not pushing the team too hard, but... that's not what he said? And Coco clearly didn't get the message. And the hidden meaning of the words didn't come across too well if your reader is squinting at what was said until the author has to straight up go, 'This is what Yatsuhashi actually meant.' Maybe just... have him say that? Give us some significant looks towards Coco, at the very least. Something to clue us in here that Yatsuhashi is (weirdly) blaming Rumpole for Coco's flaw.

Then he just ruins the whole scene further by mentally commenting that if all this extra work was hard on them, "what would it do to SSSN?" Ugh, look. I don't even like SSSN very much. I didn't shed a tear when they left the main series and would shrug if they ever came back, so you know the story is ragging on them too much when I'm standing up for the group at the bottom of my Character Adoration list. The duality of 'SSSN is so incompetent I don't even know how they're alive' and 'That, in comparison, makes us the best team ever' got old forty pages ago, yet I have the distinct feeling it won't be letting up any time soon.

Headmaster Theodore finally arrives to break up this thrilling conversation and the students erupt into thunderous applause. "It was what [he] expected. It was what he inspired whenever he appeared." That... is absolutely hilarious. This guy is so much of a showman, so insanely over the top, that he expects people to treat his everyday appearance as a spectacle worthy of praise and they agree. You know who he reminds me of?

The king himself, Alex Louis Armstrong. I'm digging this already. It's absurd and I will forever question RWBY's ability to balance comedy with its darker tones... but I'm counting this one as a win so far. There's got to be something to praise about this book.

Just as important, we get a description of Theodore's positively insane outfit. I immediately googled to see if someone had drawn him and the fandom did not disappoint. I'm not going to include the image here in case the artist, Edisu, doesn't want their work reposted like that, but I highly recommend you check out the link and get a visual.

The only thing left to say about this fashion monstrosity is that he has a "flowing gray-blue cape, the color of a stormy sky." I'll let our favorite textile engineer make my point for me:

Honestly, between Ruby's cape and Weiss' hair someone is going to end up in trouble one of these days.

In this world free of horrific cape tragedies, we've segued into a flashback which is, frankly, kind of boring compared to the others we’ve gotten. It's just the group meeting Theodore, information and characterization that could have easily been distributed to the audience in the present. It's starting to feel like the structure of including a flashback each chapter is hindering Myers somewhat, just because every chapter doesn’t necessarily need one, but that’s far from the biggest issue to tackle. 

We learn that Theodore (really Rumpole) did a bunch of research on all the students involved in the Vytal Festival and they're very pleased that Team CFVY has joined them now, despite the horrific circumstances. We again hear about how judgmental Coco can be, that her judgements are rarely wrong... but if they are wrong she's the last to admit it. So really that's less of a 'This character has good instincts about other people' and more 'This character is just, as said, judgmental and then stubborn about it when she’s wrong.' Theodore, however, seems like a cool dude:

“Ah, she speaks!” Theodore strode toward Velvet. His voice softened. “You didn’t fail, my dear. You fought. You stayed, far longer than anyone would have asked or expected of a student. And now you’re here. Do you want to be here? Will you fight for Shade the way you did for Beacon, Velvet Scarlatina?”

This is great. This is the kind of reassurance I would expect from a headmaster who, thus far, has received a fair amount of praise. Unlike his students, Theodore understands the risks Beacon students took and when it was time for them to make a life-saving retreat. He's inspiring while also being empathetic and honestly? That's the most I've had that 'You're a good person' sense from RWBY in a very long time.

Now watch Theodore turn out to be evil lol.

He cuts the tension of the serious conversation by proclaiming that if any of them doubt whether they should be here, they should take it up with him via a fight. Theodore announces this while striking a pose. I say again:

We then get some more reflection on how Theodore compares to Ozpin: 

Ozpin had believed in you before you did, almost like he knew your true potential, despite what your transcripts or fighting abilities looked like. Theodore believed you had potential, but you had to earn it and prove yourself to him first.

I agree with that and I'm pleased to see that this time the comparison didn't involve criticizing Ozpin in an effort to build Theodore up. It’s likewise a useful description and I think it provides us with at least one interpretation of why the RWBYJNR group has discarded Ozpin so thoroughly. The addition "despite what your transcripts or fighting abilities looked like" implies that Ozpin sees potential in everyone. It doesn't matter how presumably flawed you might be—in physical strength, like Jaune; in morals, like Lionheart— Ozpin will see the good in you and give that good a fighting chance. That's why he's the one tasked with doing something as crazy as uniting the whole world because he's the one person capable of seeing that potential in literally everyone. That much is true. But the flipside of this is that, unlike when in interacting with someone like Theodore, no one expects to have to work for Ozpin's faith, his praise... his trust. With Theodore you have to "earn" the respect he gives you right from the start. With Ozpin it's free! So surely that means such faith extends to every possible situation, right? 

Which is when you run into trouble. When the situation is no longer "I'll give you a chance in my school" but something much more serious like "I'm risking the whole world on your character." Ozpin is an optimist, but he's also cautious as hell (with good reason), so though he sees the potential in everyone he knows he can't let his own hope for humanity blind him to reality. That person might betray you. They might turn on you. They might give up and hurt you in the process... even if you want to believe that people are simply better than that. Wanting doesn’t make it so. 

If someone who had as little interaction with Ozpin as Team CFVY did nevertheless developed such a strong sense of, "Yeah, he believes in everyone!" then it seems likely that Team RWBY, already sporting a special connection with him, thought they were shoe-ins for every possible secret and task they might ask of him. Their time at Beacon was defined largely by both intentional favoritism and coincidences that could arguably be read as such. Ruby gets to go to Beacon two years early. She gets to be team leader. The sisters stay together despite teams supposedly being random. Team RWBY goes on missions not meant for first years. Team RWBY is given a nudge-nudge-wink-wink about The White Fang so that they can do what they’re able to help. Team RWBY was friends with Pyrrha, next in line for the Maiden powers. They got used to Ozpin simultaneously solving all the real problems that showed up and letting them play at being important, all while the rest of the school had to follow normal rules. They’re special. But then Beacon falls, the game is over, and they're blindsided by having to earn trust and privileges in the real world. Playing at huntresses in the safety of your headmaster’s school is over and Ruby in particular never got that there was a massive difference between that and a real war where the fate of the world hangs on your trustworthiness and ability to keep it together. It’s why she announces to the Argus guards that she is a huntress while attacking the people she’s meant to protect. 

Which would be a fantastic arc to give them if the show ever had someone sit the group down and tell them how childish and selfish they're being. Instead, they're still being handed that trust and privilege—you can go into Atlas despite stealing from the military, you get your licenses years early, you get to carry an incalculably valuable relic around—while likewise still getting mad that the adults around them don't give them more. This comparison here, though realistically just a throwaway passage in a novel rather iffily connected to its original series, starts to highlight the excellent situation RT set up... and then didn't do anything with.

But I've gone on about this long enough. There are just two other things I'd like to point out about this flashback. The first is that it may help us get a handle on Ozpin's age (if we're willing to accept these books as canon, despite their other inconsistencies). Earlier we're told that "Headmaster Theodore’s whole style should have been ridiculous for a man likely in his forties, maybe older" and here, in describing their different approaches, we get "Headmaster Ozpin, who had been younger but seemed much older." So that could potentially put Ozpin his his late 30s if he's noticeably younger than Theodore in his 40s. Or, in his 40s if the "maybe older" part is right and Theodore is in his 50s. I can’t imagine that Theodore is in his 60s. Not much to go on, admittedly, but I'll take whatever I can get. The interesting thing is that if Ozpin really is that young and Qrow is now (presumably) in his early 40s, wouldn't that have made them basically the same age during his Beacon days? Perhaps even giving us an Ozpin who was younger than his oldest students? I don't know. It's really less of a definitive piece of information and more messy speculation to add to the pile—which is par the course for RWBY nowadays. 

The second detail I wanted to point out was that despite all their supposed differences, Headmaster Theodore and Professor Rumpole have a very Ozpin-Glynda relationship going on. For all the cosmetic changes it boils down to the same dynamic. Both headmasters are powerful, quirky men who at first glance appear to be rather useless at their jobs, requiring the confident headmistress to swoop in and manage the daily running of a school. Those two do the heavy lifting while their bosses work wonders from behind the scenes (a la The Wizard). When I read Rumpole chastising Theodore for claiming he investigated the students, or when she reminds him that there isn't time to have an impromptu duel with his students, I couldn't help but think about Glynda reluctantly letting Ozpin invite Ruby to Beacon early, or cleaning up the cafeteria while he shrugs off the mess. To be clear, I don't necessarily mean this as a criticism, just an observation. In truth I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it adds to the overall sense that Shade is just Beacon with a slightly different coat of paint. As I've mentioned previously, for all the text's insistence that Shade isn't like the other schools, the story hasn't done a good job of demonstrating that cultural difference in any meaningful way and similarities like this only add to the feeling that this isn't really a unique Kingdom—or at least not one with a firm enough identity to be persuasively unique. Same rule breaking team sneaking out on their own mission. Same secondary team who’s talented, but not as special as the protagonists. Same strange man with his responsible woman running the school. The details differ, obviously, but the structure feels largely the same. 

As mentioned above, once the flashback ends Theodore tries to spar with one of the students but is quickly shut down by Rumpole because, you know, they have a meeting to hold. Apparently there have been complaints lately from the local security about Shade students interfering with official huntsmen business.

“I told you it was about us,” Coco muttered.

Coco, when you hear that people are pissed that you, an unlicensed student, are disrupting the careers of professionals every night the takeaway should not be, 'Aha! I knew it was all about me.'

Yatsuhashi at least provides a more nuanced perspective. "This wasn’t right, though. If they hadn’t interfered, those Huntsmen would have kidnapped an innocent person." He's right. They did help someone, but what they've failed to learn is that an individual good deed does not excuse the unlawful steps they took in getting there. If Team CFVY had just been out on the town and happened to spot some shady characters pulling shit, then put a stop to their kidnapping, that's fine. That's heroic. What is not heroic is them going out with the express purpose of fixing a situation that trained professionals told them they should not be trying to fix—key word being “trying,” given that they all understand Rumpole’s worry that they’ll make things worse. It was enough to send them back home last night... after Yatsuhashi failed to break into the hideout. The problem is not the "I helped someone who needed it" part but rather the "I'm arrogant enough to think that my presence is necessary" bit. 

If having students conducting investigations was wanted or necessary, it would be a part of the curriculum: acknowledged or otherwise. AKA yes, Ruby. It would be very helpful if you'd head on off to Mountain Glenn, under the observation of a seasoned huntsmen, and report back if there's any dubious activity going on over there. Ozpin said, 'Yes please' to the extra (highly controlled) help while these professionals are saying, 'No thanks.' The fact that Team CFVY acts is if they're justified in continuing this investigation—and worse, that the story keeps validating those feelings—undermines their otherwise heroic actions. RWBY really is a series that struggles with giving its protagonists compelling reasons for getting involved in the fight. ‘Because I want to help’ might be a noble motivation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. The Mountain Glenn mission was like a chef allowing a talented, aspiring teen to help them with a dish, all of it done under their tutelage. Team CFVY’s investigation is like the teen sneaking into the kitchen after dark to doctor all the prep for the next day’s cooking under the assumption that they’ll make it even better. Hell, maybe they will! But that’s not the point. Your help was not invited — explicitly denied, actually —and there’s a very good chance you’ll mess something up.

So because this group of eight continually insists that they know best, the whole school is required to stay on campus after nightfall. Huzzah! 

It’s just too bad these consequences hurt others just as much as Team CFVY. The other students are pissed about this. I would be too! Team CFVY remains adamant though that they did the right thing, no guilt here, relying on the reader inaccurately comparing ‘saving lives’ with ‘losing free time off campus’ in order to come out on Team CFVY's side. They still fail to understand that helping people is not the reason they’re being punished. 

Theodore and Rumpole reiterate that they are working on a solution and that no one else should be getting involved. Team CVFY is no more persuaded by this speech than they were the previous ones. The announcement then segues into discussion of the former Haven students which produces... boos from the audience?? My god, what is wrong with this school? I mean I get it, school is brutal—both in real life and fiction—especially when the social dynamics of your school are written much more like a high school than a college, but usually if characters are going to drag new students it's in the semi-privacy of a bathroom or an empty hall. Groaning over the existence of war survivors in front of your headmaster is a level of confident cruelty I didn't expect.

Then again, RWBY is the show that gave us Cardin pulling on Velvet's ears in the middle of the cafeteria, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.

Theodore quickly bypasses the whole 'A decent number of my students hate these other students' issue and instead acknowledges that it is "difficult to adjust to a new school, an entirely new group of classmates, and most of all to life in Vacuo. Yet some of you have been separated from your original training teams.” Which is a nice way of saying that a good number of these teammates are dead. So what's the solution here?

Reinitiation Ceremony!

I'm sarcastic, but in all honesty I don't hate this idea. Far from it. Partly because I have a strong love of competitions in shonen-esque stories. Tests, trials, the obligatory tournament arc... they've always been some of my favorite parts of a series, largely because they allow the author to develop whacky and creative challenges that show off important characterization. See: Killua using a skateboard during the tunnel run before deciding that if Gon can manage running it, he can too; or Izuku using the mines and a piece of scrap to blast himself ahead of Bakugo and Todoroki. The structure of such tests forces characters to demonstrate creativity and critical thinking skills alongside strength, and that in turn reminds us of why they're our heroes. RWBY managed this a little bit with the Vytal Festival, but overall I don’t think the teams did anything particularly impressive to win. Team RWBY worked together, Nora hit people really hard with her hammer, Weiss' injury pissed off Yang enough to tap into more power... it was all stuff we had seen before and very little of it required planning or creativity. The Vytal Festival functioned more to set up the plot developments of Volume 3, which is fine, though for a while I had hoped that we would get a huntsmen license exam to do this sort of work... which obviously didn’t happen. Disappointing, but we’re at least getting something like that here. 

So I love the concept. I even love the general reasoning behind holding the ceremony at all. Anyone who had spent five minutes on this blog knows that I think the groups need to learn to play well with others. Yet I also can't deny that the team dynamics provide stability for these characters, even if they've come to rely on that stability to an unhealthy degree. We've got students whose teams were presented to them not just as a professional tool, but their primary support system. You live with these people, attend all the same classes, spend your free time together, and survive life-threatening situations on a fairly regular basis. It's work, family, and friendship all rolled into one, so if the headmaster suddenly says that you get a new team, that's a whole lot more devastating than just learning that you've got a new project group to deal with. It shouldn't have come to that—a school looking to teach a profession that requires working with a wide variety of individuals should never have told four students to rely one each other and each other alone—but now that we're here you can't just break them apart with no notice. Especially with a traumatic war going on. It's hard to come to a new school, meet new people, learn a new culture... so let me rip away the one piece of familiarity you have left.

Of course, I don't really think that the teams will be broken up irrevocably, if at all. Rather, I simply want to acknowledge that despite my appreciation for these kinds of stories and despite my desire that the teams get some distance... it shouldn't be done like this. Even more-so when it’s abundantly clear—to us if not the instructors—that this little stunt is causing their students to re-live a whole bucket load of trauma. Yatsuhashi thinks about how this feels like an “out of body experience” and “It reminded [him] uncomfortably of the evacuation of Beacon Academy… He felt his breath catch in his throat.” Coco’s order to stick together “[brought] him back to the moment,” re-emphasizing that he was lost in the past for a while there. He’s clearly struggling. 

Now, to be fair, this could all fall under the category of flawed characters. Meaning, anytime something awful happens in fiction we can interpret that as a skill on the part of the author: they wanted to write a scenario where the teachers are screwing up and unintentionally hurting their students. Or they know they’re hurting their students and consider that to be an acceptable sacrifice under the justification of ‘They have to get over Beacon at some point!’ There are lots of ways to paint this as Myers/RT writing complex, human characters who make ambiguous choices—a testament to their ability to write “realistically.” But to be frank I don’t really buy it. Simply because I’ve had a lot of experience now with how RWBY handles subjects like trauma and it’s only rarely been written respectfully and engagingly. I could be proven wrong as the novel continues, but it seems more likely that Myers wrote the instructors coming up with this test, wrote Yatsuhashi panicking over it, and intends to continually imply that these two things are separate plot points. Bringing both together in a narratively useful way would require acknowledging the instructors’ motivations—Why this test? Why now? Do they realize the harm they’re causing? If so, do they think it’s worth it?—and then coming to some sort of resolution, either via some recovery on CFVY’s part due to the instructors’ choices (this test did help us move past Beacon), or the instructors learning something about empathy and trauma via CFVY’s reaction (we never should have done this). I highly doubt we’ll get either.  

Thus, everyone is (justifiably) horrified. The teams are gone and either the shock of that made Team CFVY prioritize feelings of safety over strategy, or they're just not going to demonstrate any of the intelligence I look for in this kind of arc, because they immediately start obsessing over staying together. 

He needed to keep his team close to him. Especially Velvet. If they weren’t separated, they couldn’t be assigned to different teams.

Yatsuhashi, that is not at all what Rumpole told you:

“It’s already begun,” Rumpole said. “Everything you do from this moment forward will factor into your evaluations for new teams.”

Where in the world did you get the idea that you wouldn't be assigned a new team so long as you stuck with your old one? If I were one of the instructors here that choice would make me more likely to separate them. "Everything you do from this moment," Rumpole says, meaning that how they respond to this information is a part of the test. The team that panics and refuses to separate is the team that either can't function without one another, or at the very least believes that they can't. They're not willing to work with others and thus they're precisely the type that needs to learn this skillset. You're the ones they'll want to give new teammates to.

Of course, fate has different ideas about how things should go down. And by "fate" I mean "A completely ridiculous plot device." Team CFVY is separated because... the crowd is large I guess? It’s ridiculous. Four fighters already standing beside one another and who are now hyper-focused on staying together are not going to get swept away by a Shade size crowd who probably also want to stick with their own teammates. There are far better, far more convincing ways to keep them apart. Ozpin shot students one-by-one into the forest! Literally anything other than what we got, really.  

Still, that’s what we wound up with. Yatsuhashi and Coco both try to keep the team together only for the immense power of other people existing putting a stop to their plan. Alrighty then. Before they’re dramatically swept away on different ships, however, we do get two other noteworthy bits of information that I'd like to end on. The first is Rumpole’s announcement that “When you reach your destination, your goal will be to locate a gold figurine and bring it back to the school” to which Fox replies, “Great. Glad this is fair for everyone. Who can see.” And you know what? He's right. Maybe Fox and I will both be proven wrong (I feel like I'm writing that a lot this chapter...) but unless there's some miscommunication here or a surprise in store, a goal of "locat[ing] a gold figurine" is indeed a sight based challenge and, when placed in a test that is deliberately separating Fox from his team, puts him at a severe disadvantage.

The second is simply that the year levels of the students will not be a factor in the creation of new teams. “What year we are? Yatsu thought. This can’t be right. How could a first-year keep up with fourth-years?” to which I respond, "Um... that's the entire show?" The webseries RWBY is about how Team RWBY, starting out as first years, has surpassed everyone around them, to the point where they're now beating the best team in Atlas. Time-wise they're still second years—far as I can figure out, anyway—so if second years can beat elite military operations, a first year can stand toe-to-toe with second, third, and fourth years. More crucial to Yatsuhashi's thought process—because as an in-world character he doesn't necessarily know what Team RWBY has been up to post-Volume 3—he's still seen how well first years did at Beacon. Ruby was let in two years early. Pyrrha is such a phenomenally talented fighter her face is on their cereal boxes. A first year, Yang, went on to compete in the Vytal Tournament final (even if it was rigged. Yatsuhashi doesn't know that), and Team CFVY fought beside a number of first years at the Battle of Beacon. Now, you all know that I think education and experience are damn important. I'm not saying Yatsuhashi is flat-out wrong to question whether there would be any issues attached to slamming, say, a first year, two second years, and a fourth year into one team (especially when you consider practical questions like going to classes), but the general takeaway of "How could they keep up?" seems a tad strange. You know first years can keep up. You watched it happen, both in your former school's curriculum—first years get to go on an upper-level mission—and in real life battle. This knee-jerk response reads as even worse after five chapters of looking down on Team SSSN. Team CFVY really thinks highly of themselves, huh. 

Honestly, it feels like our authors didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the implications of the dialogue/thoughts they’re giving to the characters which is, again, par for the course at this point. Like the questions attached to the test, this feels less like giving Yatsuhashi a flaw (he, as an in-world character, hasn't bothered to think through whether his knee-jerk assumption about first years is supported by his experiences) and more like a flaw of the creators. That sounds like a legitimate concern—in the same way that Yatsuhashi's advice to Rumpole sounds generically wise—but poke at it a bit and you start finding a number of cracks. An author who is well aware of the world they've built and strives to adhere to it might have had Yatsuhashi acknowledge some of the amazing things he's seen first years do and still conclude that there are problems with this decision. That's legit. As it stands, Yatsuhashi just sounds ignorant and (again) overly confident, which I don't trust to be a moment of character insight as opposed to an authorial blip.

Which is about where we end. The team is split on different airships, no one is happy about it, and we're left with this somewhat unsettling image:

Headmaster Theodore was waving and whooping, like it was all some terrific game, while Professor Rumpole watched silently, her hair whipping around in the wind and an unsettling grin on her face.

This gives me some hope that the story will treat the problems attached to this test respectfully. The description of Theodore acting "like it was all some terrific game" is a mark against his character and Rumpole straight up has an "unsettling grin on her face." Is she one of the baddies? Potentially. Will I ever again get adult characters who aren't depicted as inept, traitorous, or just so flawed that they unwittingly cause great damage to their students? Probably not. These two desires remain constantly at war with one another. RWBY introduces issues that the story should tackle, but the only issues it acknowledges are those attached to the adults. So we have everyone doing a range of iffy things, but only the elders are likely to be punished or (better yet) learn something over the course of the tale. The double standard remains so strong across the franchise that at this point I just want to raise a THE ADULTS DID NOTHING WRONG banner and call it a day. Not because they're actually free of mistakes or even, at times, downright cruelty, but because if our protagonists constantly get that free pass I'm not sure why everyone else can't too.

Anyone for a spot of denial? 

But I've now written nearly twice as much as the actual chapter in question. It's time to stop! At this rate I’ll have written the equivalent of five Before the Dawns in my attempt to recap just one. #yikes

Until Chapter Six 💜

[meetveronicablack]

Keep your Lamps trimmed and Burning

Today, I ask all of you to burn a candle. Set the wick on fire and say prayers or whatever you do to connect with God or the universe. Yesterday, the Wright family lost their son. A baby boy lost his father. Siblings lost their brother. Friends lost a friend.

I need you all to find the will and energy to understand the situations at hand. A young man, lost his life at a traffic stop. Daunte Wright was pulled over for having an air freshener dangling from his review mirror. Everyone will argue that he shouldn’t have resisted. Well, let me ask you this: are you going to step out of the car when police officers tell you “you’re under arrest and we’ll tell you when you get out?” How is that professional?

Are you actually going to step out of the car when law enforcement doesn’t give you ANY reason or explanation as to why you are being arrested?! I’m pretty sure you all will say no. I’m pretty sure you all will ask for a reason until it’s “acceptable” but even then. Do you know how many people are placed in jail for crime they didn’t commit? But that’s another point for another day.

A study made by NYC and the Stanford Open Policing Project that black drivers were about 20% were more likely to be stopped than white drivers “relative to their share of the residential population.” It was also discovered that once black drivers were stopped, they were also searched 1.5 to 2 times as often as white drivers.

Numbers never lie. Unless you change them. So you tell me in light of the events of yesterday, how isn’t this a systemic problem?

I come to the conclusion that media will always lie to make the victims look like criminals. I watched a video of Daunte Wright’s mother explaining her experience of when he was pulled over. It was heart breaking to hear his parents talk about the LAST time they saw their son. Mind you, all of this happening during the trial of George Floyd. Do you see the red wound opening up again for the black community?

How can we can sit here and watch these wounds bleed, when we have the power and resources to make change possible. Yes, change and progress take time. But THIS is history. Black HISTORY has always been sidelined so that white history can prevail and be the “prosperous people of the future”.

They didn’t do shit but rape and pillage land. All Europeans SHOULD acknowledge and repair the damage done on history. Do you think anything has changed over the last few generations? No. It hasn’t changed because people, especially white racist people don’t want to take responsibility. They don’t want to acknowledge the past because they’re scared of losing power and not being in control. Racist white folk want to keep on being the powerhouses. And that’s just not it.

It’s all an illusion. White lies. To pretend that history is behind us. Yeah, tell that to Daunte Wright, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Abrery, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Tamar Rice, Atatiana Jefferson, Rekia Boyd and the countless others. How many lives could still be breathing today if the system wasn’t against them.

Do you know or understand the deep mistrust with law enforcement and the black community. It wasn’t long ago, during the Jim Crow Laws, towns claimed themselves to be “sundown towns”. This meant that towns could use any means necessary to intimidate and harass black people who stayed in their town after sunset. Most of the time it ended in the death of black civilians. Half these harassments and intimidation tactics were made by white police officers. Killing for sport.

Black lives aren’t animals to be hunted. Yet, that is what history did. There are articles and archives with this documentation. You can look it up or learn about it in Lovecraft Country. So don’t sit here and tell me that racism doesn’t exist.

You have all the tools available for you. Books, documents, archives, movies, music, shows and people’s experiences to tell you about black life in America. So don’t say you didn’t know, because you do, but you choose to see what information is good enough for you.

No, this shit is rough. It’s beyond upsetting. It’s infuriating. It even makes you feel powerless at times. BUT ITS FUCKING IMPORTANT because black lives are at stake. Their lives matter! You use them and abuse them and them kill them without question or thought. White America is nothing but white lies and bloodshed.

America Strived to be the “land of the free” and advertised this to the WHOLE world. This land was never yours. And yet, you expect the rest of the world to bow and kiss your stinky gross white ass feet. No. Don’t get mad because you so called claim to be the all mighty. This is your consequence. People will make it clear how wrong you are, White America.

People aren’t stealing your jobs. You’re lazy and entitled and can’t do absolutely NOTHING for yourself without help. You complain about every foreigner and culture and yet YOU TAKE ASPECTS of all these cultures and say you did it.

Yeah, and what about the Native Americans? What about every population you forced out with diseases and religious conversion? Huh? You still have outcasted indigenous folk. You’ve done absolutely nothing but take from them and black people.

LIARS and MURDERS that’s what history is and it’s people. You can get away with murder and rape. You can storm through the capital without a scratch or bullet. YET all you do is cry like a child when you don’t get your way.

Don’t expect compassion for your sad attempts of understanding. YOU have the resources. DO THE WORK. If it actually fucking matters to you, THEN DO IT. Stop asking your friends in the black community about what to do or how they feel. Pay attention to yourself and make this place better.

As for the Wright Family: I am so very sorry you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to your son. I am so sorry you had hear your son last words through the phone. I am so sorry that no matter how hard you try to live a happy life, the system continues to be against you.

Your son deserves to be alive. He deserves to be with his son. He deserves joy and happiness and it was taken from him far too quickly. I know that words are never enough to take away your pain. But my heart is with you. My prayers are with you. I will send you all my forces and strength for this difficult time. I will continue to fight for every black life. I will continue to stand against hate. I will make sure people are educated and learn about the racism against black life.

To every black souls lost due racism and violence, may you find ever lasting peace above. 🕊

Links:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundown_town

https://www.gofundme.com/f/dauntewright

https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2020/may/black-drivers-more-likely-to-be-stopped-by-police.htm

[teaveetamer]

Looking at Edelgards wiki page, and aside from all the spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and horrible sentence structure, dear LORD is it filled with such vague, unspecific language to make her look better. Saying in "some endings" she passes on the role of Emperor to someone else while in others she "rules for an unspecified time" to support she steps down after the war, completely ignoring Lysitheas ending where she rules for the rest of her life and not clarifying the specific (1/3)

numbers of endings where she retires (I counted, its two, and even then only in her later years). Crimson Flower apparently ends "much faster" than the other routes instead of directly stating its three months faster. Saying she only spoke so harshly to Dimitri before executing him to allow him to "hate her" until the end (how compassionate of her /s, also I cannot find any proof of this in the script so either I'm missing something or the editor is just posting headcanons). (2/3)

All in all, Edelgards entire personality wiki section is a complete joke. The person that wrote it should have their editing priviledges removed. (3/3)

I mean we know who is making all of those edits. It’s our resident contrarian that people were sending a dozen asks about yesterday. It just comes off as another of many poorly thought out arguments, since they keep pointing to specific supports or text in the game when that’s... Not really necessary. We all played the game, you only do that shit when you’re trying to win an argument.

Honestly if I were in control of the page it’d look more like this:

Edelgard holds herself with a dignified air, but full of melancholy and solemn wistfulness. which can make her appear outwardly cold. As heir of the Adrestian Empire, she is an exemplary student and a natural leader. She keeps a modest stoic front. rarely cutting loose and maintains formality. She rarely cuts loose and maintains formality at all times. Her colleagues classmates (who the fuck calls the people they went to school with “colleagues”?) express great surprise whenever she does relax. While She is generally a private person, she does recognize the importance of her duties and expresses confidence and faith in the abilities of her allies. and she is rarely shown opening up to other people.(the previous line did not make sense, her recognizing the importance of duty has no relationship to being a private person).

She is a capable dancer, having taught Dimitri at a young age and has a talent for drawing portraits, though she is embarrassed to show them to others. (These really belong in a separate “skills” section but whatever the wiki doesn’t appear to have that category for this game). She has a personal nickname, El, of whom which she only allows very close individuals, namely her family, to call her.

Though she tries to keep it a secret, Edelgard is deathly afraid of rats, as they remind her of a past she is uncomfortable with. Edelgard is deathly afraid of rats since they remind her of a past she is uncomfortable with, though she tries to keep this fact a secret. She is also fears afraid of the ocean since because she cannot swim.

Edelgard is far more complex than she initially appears, as she had been scheming to dismantle the corrupt systems of Fódlan, namely the influence of the Church of Seiros, the oppression of the Crest systems, and the hidden machinations of the Agarthans. Driven by her desire to remove these influences, she is willing to sacrifice both her life and reputation as she believes that the only means of achieving her goals is through war and sometimes underhanded tactics. (Such unnecessary fluff). Edelgard will use whatever it takes to achieve her goals, using all three of the aforementioned systems begrudgingly as they are the current means for her to amass any sort of power and influence in order to instigate meaningful change in them. Edelgard is extremely driven, and she is willing to use whatever it takes to achieve her goals. This is evidenced by her willingness to work with Those Who Slither in the Dark, as she believes they are the only ones who can help her amass enough power to achieve her ends.

Edelgard strongly believes that the ends will justify the means if she were to win the war, as she despises the structure of Fódlan society and believes it has to be replaced by a more just system under which humanity can flourish. In the Azure Moon route she states she went to war after weighing all options and determined that it would be much faster with far fewer casualties than to continue on in the continent's current state. This is reflected through the Crimson Flower route that ends much sooner than the other two, albeit a later war is impending against the remaining Agarthians, where she manages to wipe them all out, compared to the other routes where the Agarthans survive to return at a later time. As a result, she does realize the gravity of her orders but chooses to remain steadfast in her belief in improving society for everyone. She also does not desire to remain Emperor for too long as according to a tea time conversation with her, Edelgard states she has no intention of handing the throne to any children she might have, instead planning to pass it on to someone brilliant and kind, which a few endings do, while others she rules for an unspecified time. (Literally this entire paragraph is unnecessary fluff.)

Dimitri has had a significant impact on her life as the two are step-siblings when her mother Anselma married King Lambert under the name "Patricia." In their childhood, neither were aware of their relationship to each other, but they were close nonetheless, with Dimitri affectionately calling her "El" which only those particularly close to her are allowed to call her. Dimitri gifted her a dagger which she held well into the present, which was symbolically meant to tell her to carve out her own ideals and face the numerous hardships she had to endure up until the present. If met at the Goddess Tower during the Academy Phase, she admits that her first love was a Faerghus noble who she cannot recall, implied to be Dimitri. Despite her past feelings towards him, it is heavily implied for most of the game that Edelgard no longer remembers Dimitri nor that he gifted her the dagger, possibly as a result of her trauma from the experiments. In the Azure Moon route, she accepts Dimitri's invitation to parley on a whim. Despite failing to come to an understanding with one another to end the war peacefully, she is nonetheless able to express her gratitude to him for the dagger and the strength it provided her when he reminds her that it was a parting gift from him. (Everything in this paragraph would really be more at home in a separate “relationships” subcategory, which this wiki also does not feature.)

Edelgard's personality and ambitions are a result of tragedies that painted her view of the world. The traumatic imprisonment of her siblings and herself due to the experiments of Those Who Slither in the Dark created her hatred of Crests.  Edelgard’s personality and ambitions are a direct result of the suffering she faced at the hands of TWSITD. Her imprisonment and the subsequent experimentation on herself and her family were a key factor in her disillusionment with Fódlan and the Church of Seiros. (Don’t ask me how she got to that conclusion. Also take a shot for every time this dude uses the word “tragic”.) She also despises most nobility, especially the Adrestian Nobles, as they are partially responsible for the circumstances leading to said experiments, but also due to the fact that Crests are used as societal leverage by most nobles as a sign of their prestige. She even shows sympathy and pity to Miklan, whom she praises for becoming a leader despite being disowned and leading a group of bandits, calling his death "a waste". One of her main goals is to dismantle the current nobility system and having the people earn their position by merit rather than birthright, which she achieves in her ending in the Crimson Flower path. (More fluff.)

Edelgard has a complex view of the current Church of Seiros as her tragic history with the Insurrection of the Seven along with the knowledge given by her father regarding the truth of the War of Heroes paints her radical opinion. She bears a large distrust of Rhea due to her withholding of knowledge and context behind the history of the church, even pointing out some of the Church's hypocrisy of remaining neutral across Fódlan, yet allowing the Crest system to flourish that Edelgard despises. She does not fully dismiss the concept of faith however, even allowing it to continue to exist in her rule, though heavily monitored by the Empire. (Oh hey Edelstan is acknowledging her state run religion at least) She even tries to learn more about it from Manuela but does not plan on ever becoming a devout follower by any means. When as an enemy, however, she will cause those who are faithful to be afraid for their lives and flee the Empire. However, during Crimson Flower, several Knights of Seiros that have become unnerved by Rhea flee to the Empire, while those involved with the Church in the Empire flee for the Eastern, but then flee to Faerghus due to lack of a military. (Fluff.)

Despite this, Edelgard expresses fear and anxiety over the consequences of her actions her chosen path should Byleth side with her in Crimson Flower, as she understands that she would be her actions make her responsible for the deaths loss of countless lives. (lmao “the deaths of countless lives”) This is proven further when Randolph and Ladislava die defending Garreg Mach from the Church, and how she laments that another life is lost in the war because of her choices. She mourned Dimitri's death, letting herself be hated by Dimitri to the end by speaking harshly to him to let his perception of her remain, lamenting how she could not save him from Thales's manipulation. (wut) Dimitri's death struck her to the point that Byleth questioned if Edelgard was crying, which she denied, claiming that the Edelgard who cried had perished years ago.

Edelgard's relationship with Byleth greatly affects her personality and fate in the war. Edelgard admits in her support that she feared expresses fear that she would have become "a harsh ruler with a heart of ice" if she had to walk her path alone. In the other routes where she is not taught by them or where Byleth sides with the church against her, this becomes a reality and ultimately leads to her early demise. This is likely expressed in the conversation with Dimitri, where, in the Japanese version, she retorts Dimitri's statement over the lessons he learned with his friends and Byleth with her stating that he can understand that because he has what she lacks, referencing how Edelgard felt Byleth was the only one she could consider an equal that is not bound by status but simply as Edelgard. As her enemy, Edelgard will express regret that the two did not walk the same path and even find some semblance of closure falling to Byleth's sword in the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind paths. Should they choose to support her, she has a far easier time expressing kindness and regret over her actions over the course of the game herself. She will opt to force her enemies to surrender instead of wiping them out, where she even offered to spare Rhea and the Church followers if they surrendered, while the former was willing to sacrifice the city the final battle takes place in. (This doesn’t even make sense, she never forced Rhea to surrender she just half heartedly gave her the option of surrender). She also has several fleeting moments of peace and happiness, such as when she takes to drawing portraits of Byleth, which she is self conscious about due to their lack of quality in her eyes.

That attachment towards Byleth is even perhaps stronger than that of the other house leaders. When they teach the Black Eagles, she makes several attempts to get Byleth to understand her world view, even though Hubert advised her it would not be wise and personally invited Byleth to her coronation. In the Crimson Flower route, Dorothea notes that among the Black Eagles, Edelgard was the most emotionally affected by Byleth's disappearance. Edelgard's fondness for Byleth goes so far as to encourage Byleth to call her El and even let Byleth give her orders on the battlefield despite her dislike of not being in control. Despite her earlier statement that she does not cry, she openly cries at the end of the Crimson Flower route when Byleth supposedly dies after slaying Rhea, but is overjoyed when they are revived. Edelgard's bond with Byleth can ultimately result in the marriage of the two, regardless of their gender. It is in her proposal to them at this level where she asks that they stay close to her and that she will need them for the rest of her life. Regardless of her relationship status with Byleth, in the Crimson Flower route, it is through their influence that she ultimately achieves her goals and is remembered far more kindly than in the other routes where she perishes. (Again, would be more at home in a separate relationships section since it says almost nothing about Edelgard as an individual. You could maybe keep the bit about her disliking not being in control, but I’d combine it with an earlier paragraph since it doesn’t make much sense as its own thing.)

[rosaguard]

summer waxes poetically about her favorite aeris gainsborough ships:

i never reblogged that five ships meme because...well i don’t have five aeris ships i care about lol. however, i was challenged(tm) so here is something close to it. i do feel like it is fitting to make this post on here since aeris was actually the first muse i truly started writing a ship on after asking someone first ( and i had been writing on tumblr for like...5 years on and off before that for context. anything before that was just..maybe flirting - nothing i felt invested in ).

aeris & happiness.

   the most important ship. the OTP. no other can compare. i think the biggest tragedy of aeris’ death is that so much was taken from her. she had so much to live for, so much to do, and her life was brutally and suddenly ripped away when she was finally getting the chance to figure herself out and rise to her full potential. i don’t want to aeris to die in the remake ( especially because everything about the whispers would’ve felt like a waste of time if nothing significant changes and aeris living is probably as significant as you can get ) but if it happens, it happens - i’ll just be really sad and disappointed by it lol. i’ve always been very clear that aeris’ death is not a bad one despite my blog canon essentially retconning it. there’s a reason she dies and it’s not to further cloud’s man pain ( he had enough of his own trauma already ); she dies because she’s a legitimate threat to sephiroth’s plans. she’s actually an example of a character death, especially a female one, done incredibly well, especially compared to SE’s recent output ( serah, luna, etc. ). also anyone who says she was created just to die is also wrong. barret was originally written to die first and they decided to change it.

    anyway, the point of me bringing all of this up is that i didn’t decide to do away with her death because i think SE sucks and they hate women. i did away with it because a lot of aeris’ character development ( her learning about the cetra at cosmo canyon, figuring out what the white materia does, etc ) is implied / off-screen since we never know her point of view and then well...she dies. i wanted to explore what her feelings would be if she woke up alive after being attacked while meteor is slowly drawing closer to the planet. how would she handle that? how would she feel? would she feel like a failure? would she be angry? what would she do after meteor is destroyed? would she travel the world? join the w.r.o? tell everyone to fuck off and then move to a cottage in the middle of nowhere and live the rest of her life in peace? these are the questions i wanted answered when i thought about aeris living. i don’t care if she ends up with cloud, or zack, or whoever because they don’t matter: aeris matters. she’s her own person with goals, desires, wishes, and more. no one talks about what she would want and do if she had lived. all people care about is what ‘man’ she belongs to as if she’s a prize to be exchanged between them.

   the second reason is simple that she fucking deserves it. she deserves it after living in a lab for 7 years and watching her mother die just trying to get her out. she deserves after having to deal with being stalked by the same company responsible for a lot of her suffering. she deserves to finally be around friends that make her feel loved, accepted, and cared for. she deserves to not feel alone, or like an outcast, or a freak because of her powers. she deserves to be able to go to icicle inn too and see footage of her father for the first time. she deserves to be able to go back to kalm and see her mom again. she deserves to live happily just like everyone else gets to do. her life has been filled with so much tragedy and pain yet she never lets it define her. she blooms in the face of adversity. she keeps smiling even up until the end of her life. she deserves happiness as her end-game and if i don’t get it in canon, i’m going to create it here myself.

aeris & cloud.

    i disliked this ship for a long time. it actually wasn’t because of the ship itself but due to some of my experiences with the shippers. i won’t go into my fandom experiences but i ran an account dedicated to ti.fa for almost six years so i’ve seen how...unpretty both sides of the 'ship war’ can get and it turned me off. a lot. when i decided to write aeris, i immediately started a replay of the the original game with an ‘aeris-lens’ ( analyzing her character, her relationships, making sure i got her date, etc. ). it made me look at her relationship with cloud in a different light since i had never really paid attention to it as heavily before since i avoided the ship tbh. i ended up enjoying their dynamic a lot. they have a natural chemistry with each other but there’s also this unspoken distance between them which is fully intentional - she has her own walls up and he has his. 

    they have a very ‘tragic love’ since well...she dies before anything can fully go to the next level. their relationship in canon is a very ‘what if’ and as a result, i often see people who don’t like the ship claim that they wouldn’t work because aeris wouldn’t be able to ‘deal’ with cloud and would’ve left. to be blunt, this a bad take considering supporting one another is prevalent throughout their relationship: 

aeris: i learned a lot. the elders taught me many things. about the cetra... and the promised land... i'm...... alone... i'm all alone now... cloud: but i'm...... we're here for you, right? aeris: i know. i know, but... i am the only...... cetra. cloud: does that mean we can't help?

cloud: ...i gave the black materia to sephiroth...? wha... what did I do... tell me, aeris. aeris: cloud... be strong, ok? He writhes and clutches his head. cloud urrrrrrgh... what have I done!? aeris: cloud... you haven't done anything. it's not your fault.

cloud: yeah, I hear you. sorry for what happened. aeris: don't worry about it. cloud: ...i can't help it... aeris: oh... then, why don't you REALLY worry about it? and let me handle sephiroth. and cloud, you take care of yourself. so you don't have a breakdown, okay?

    the remake only reinforces everything i like about their relationship: their banter is great, aeris gently takes his hand during one of his ‘moments’ and supports him, she confides in him about talking to her flowers, and he never treats her differently ( which is a big deal when just two nights before, he told someone to ‘get help’ when they claimed they could hear the planet lol ). they have so much in common as well: they both have struggled with loneliness, being an outcast, and not having a lot of friends. i’ll always find it incredibly interesting how cloud is repeatedly not invited to be apart of group functions in the remake ( he wasn’t allowed to celebrate with avalanche and had to sit outside jessie’s house as the others ate pizza ) until he met aeris and she invited him to have dinner with her and her mom. despite the ‘bodyguard’ dynamic to their relationship, they always feel like equals to me.

aeris: today’s special!!! cloud: why? aeris: because i met you, you dumb binch!!!

aeris: *says cryptic stuff and tells him that they can’t fall in love* ( i’m saying they because apparently in japanese / other languages she says ‘we can’t fall in love’, not just ‘you can’t fall in love with me’. ) cloud: uh....how about i do anyway??? also i’m saving you so...see you tomorrow at 11. bye.

me: their relationship never gets to a serious level because the opportunity was taken away from them de to unfortunate circumstances. 

also me: they’re just just...dumb and in love!!!! i’m sorry, that’s just the way it is!!!! she literally tells him that meeting him again was special to her and the silly boi doesn’t get it!!!! one of the composers of the game even said a tracks that plays with them is meant to have a romantic vibe!! when she pulls away from him, he reaches out for her because he doesn’t want her to let go!! the lyrics of hollow is literally ‘this time i’ll never LET YOU GO’ AAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!

    anyway, i’ve also noticed this weird trend in the fandom where it feels like cloud is never allowed to just has his own dedicated feelings about aeris - and i’m not even talking about romantic feelings. i feel like whenever there is talk about cloud’s relationship with za.ck or ti.fa, no one inserts aeris into it. they’re allowed to have their individual relationships with him yet with aeris it feels like you cannot talk about how much she meant to him and vice versa without other characters being thrown in. i don’t know if it’s because of shipping and people don’t want to acknowledge that like...characters can have feelings for multiple people or what but the reality is that cloud did feel something for her. she did mean a lot to him; so much so that he slept in her church two years after she was dead and went to her burial place alone. he missed her.  maybe it was just as a friend, maybe it was because of something more but i really dislike how their relationship and importance to each other, regardless of whether it’s platonic or romantic, is constantly invalidated.

aeris & gene.

     when kas / @castershot first created channels for gene and aeris in our rp server last year, i honestly did not think these two would have a serious relationship at all. i figured maybe they would have a fling or something at best / aeris would be the equivalent of a filler character in a few episodes of the show and then they would go their separate ways. ...that didn’t happen but i’m glad it didn’t! i didn’t know a gosh diddly darn thing about outlaw star but i’m very good at researching and aggressively reading wikis so i was able to whip up a verse ( and someone who watched the show thought i had actually watched it after reading my verse so i guess i did a darn good job! ). anyway, i feel like when writing aeris it’s very easy to...hmm...fall into very certain dynamics and considering gene’s line of work ( doing odd jobs, being a bodyguard for hire, a general jack of all trades ), i didn’t want it to be the ‘he’s a bodyguard, she gets protected, blah blah blah’ dynamic but in space. so their relationship ( at least in my head - there’s a lot going on in there tbh!!! ) basically became somewhat of a deconstruction of cl.erith + ( bad ) stereotypes about aeris in general:

      what if the helpless flower girl that needs saving from the big bad corporation is actually a liar who works for said corporation and was sent by them to retrieve something important(tm) and eliminate anyone that gets in her way? what if aeris, a secret member of the turks, has become so desensitized when interacting with other people since she is constantly wearing a mask and she can’t tell if she’s genuinely falling for someone or if her acting is just so good that even she can’t tell what’s real or fake anymore? what if i took all those bad takes about aeris knowing she would die, flip it, and actually make it so that she does know and still goes alone anyway because she wants to save lives for once instead of being the person who takes them away!!

me: imagine the drama!!! the angst!!! kas, casually: [redacted name b/c of spoilers] would just bring her back to life. me: WHAT?! >:(

apparently one character in the show is casually just GOD and can revive people so they can come back like:

    my bubble was BURST. dreams DASHED. plans CRUSHED. dramatics aside, i still kept the idea of her dying because i do like the take of a more secretly jaded / not as ‘pure’ aeris that works for shinra and has to basically relearn how to trust / care about others again + i live to attack kas and all of her muses. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.  anyway, the point is that i love them and they’re a dynamic i’m very invested in the more times passes. they’re both so stupid and passionate and loud ( the first in character thing i wrote when i remade this blog was them screaming at each other in an argument ) but they’re also sensitive, don’t open up to others easily, and have trauma!! oof x 100.

me: this ship won’t be serious lol the ship, months later: may or may not have a thread with them going on a date. may or may not have gone to ti.fa and cloud’s wedding together ( where kissafist’s tif.a may or may not threaten to smash his balls in if he doesn’t treat aeris right. *smash em, rip em plays in the distance as aeris aggressively laughs nervously* ), they may or may not get married and have twins that may or may not be named ren and rose. me: clown putting on make up.png

so yea, they’ve come a long way(tm).

the end.

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Hate Rhaegar Targaryen? Here's why you're wrong.

Re: “Fuck Rhaegar Targaryen”: A lesson on how to read between the lines in fiction to learn the truth.

On George R. R. Martin:

“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there's going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have, they find out as it grows. And I'm much more a gardener than an architect.”

On Elia Martell: Considering GRRM's self-described gardening style, Dorne and its culture were almost certainly built around Elia Martell. Rhaegar's wife was polyamorous, and the author needed a way to tell us that, thus the culture of Dorne was given this attribute.

Further, while Rhaegar crowning Lyanna queen of love and beauty is known as the moment all the smiles died - it's emphasized that “Elia’s reaction to the event remains unknown” ...Well isn’t that convenient?

On House Martell: Do even the Martells blame the Targaryens for what happened to Elia and her children? Here’s what it says in the wiki:

“During the Sack of King's Landing, Ser Gregor Clegane raped and murdered Elia and also killed her son, Prince Aegon Targaryen. Another Lannister knight, Ser Amory Lorch killed her daughter, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. After hearing of these deaths, Oberyn attempted to raise Dorne for the exiled Prince Viserys Targaryen.

Oberyn and his brother Doran worked in secret for years planning on bringing an end to the reign of King Robert I Baratheon and destroying House Lannister. Oberyn traveled to Braavos, where Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen were living with Ser Willem Darry. Oberyn and Willem signed a secret marriage pact, with the Sealord of Braavos as witness, promising Viserys the hand of Princess Arianne Martell in marriage, in return for Dorne's help in reclaiming the Iron Throne from House Baratheon.”

If Rhaegar was solely responsible for Elia’s death, why would Oberyn work to align Dorne with the Targaryens once again, to put them back in power? Because he only wants revenge on the guilty parties: Lannister and Clegane.

On Aegon and his sister wives: Aegon had two wives. A first wife married out of duty, and a second wife married out of desire. Sound familiar? Good. It's supposed to. GRRM uses historical parallels like this as hints all the time, and Rhaegar’s obsession with the three heads of the dragon and naming his children after these historical relatives is a way to link them in our minds.

The fact that Rhaegar likely believed he needed three children to fulfill a prophecy - Aegon, Rhaenys and presumably Visenya... is also a hint that Elia, who could not bear him a third child, might've even encouraged Rhaegar to take another wife.

Sound absurd? Rhaegar tells his wife, as she holds his newborn son, that there must be one more, as is seen in Daenerys' vision in the House of the Undying:

“There must be one more. The dragon has three heads.”

                    "History is written by the victors."

On Robert Baratheon: Virtually everyone had a good opinion of Rhaegar expect for Robert Baratheon. The victor. This man harbored a negative opinion of the prince based on jealousy and a personal vendetta.

Ned says to Robert:

“You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert. You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath.”

Think Lyanna is just some silly trollop? Try again. The woman who would run away with an already-married man had this to say about Robert:

“Robert will never keep to one bed. I hear he has gotten a child on some girl in the Vale. Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature.”

Again, Rhaegar and Robert seem to be complete opposites in every way. So if Robert is the type to whore around on his wife, perhaps that's yet another hint that Rhaegar didn't, wouldn't, and wasn't. Rhaegar's reputation as a villain stems from this man alone, Robert Baratheon, who was not a good person.

Even on the show, Bran confirms that the Rebellion was built on a lie - so, why do so many opt to believe Robert Baratheon, a terrible king, husband, father and person - over three of the noblest men in the series - Barristan Selmy, Ned Stark, and Arthur Dayne?

On Rhaegar Targaryen: Arthur Dayne, one of the most chivalrous and noble knights, was Rhaegar's oldest friend.

Ned Stark never once has a negative thought about Rhaegar, even letting us know that he didn’t think Rhaegar the type of man to cheat on his wife:

“For the first time in years, he found himself remembering Rhaegar Targaryen. He wondered if Rhaegar had frequented brothels; somehow he thought not.”

Even Jorah understands who Rhaegar was, time and again telling Daenerys how different her brother Viserys is to Rhaegar, that Rhaegar was the last dragon and Viserys is “less than the shadow of a snake”. (...and I really should not have to recount why Viserys is a terrible person. That shit ain’t subtle at all.)

When Daenerys saves the life of a lamb girl, she says:

“I will not have her harmed. I claim her. Do as I command you, or Khal Drogo will know the reason why.”

She and Jorah then have this exchange:

“You are your brother's sister, in truth.” “Viserys?” “No. Rhaegar.”

Lastly, Barristan Selmy, who watched Rhaegar grow up, has this to say:

“Even as a child, your brother Viserys oft seemed to be his father's son, in ways that Rhaegar never did.”

So we've got two people now, telling us Rhaegar and Viserys were different. Viserys is directly compared to Aerys, whereas Daenerys is compared to Rhaegar after she saves someone's life and helps them.

When Daenerys asks Barristan whether there was any good to be said of her father, he replies:

“There is, your Grace. Of him, and those who came before him. Your grandfather Jaehaerys and his brother, their father Aegon, your mother... and Rhaegar. Him most of all.”

Barristan also confirms Rhaegar’s feelings toward Elia:

“Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her.”

On the show, Barristan tells Daenerys of Rhaegar's character. Confirming that Rhaegar found joy in singing, not killing. Recounting tales about how Rhaegar would sing to the common folk, giving his money away to them, to orphanages, or taking his lifelong friend and guard out for drinks.

On who is actually to blame for Elia's death:

Aerys Targaryen, Tywin Lannister & Gregor Clegane (Duh)

It's not Rhaegar’s fault for neglecting to assume a lifelong House Targaryen ally would betray him and his family. If you think this, you are victim blaming.

(Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm that befell them.)

Tywin waited until he knew which side would win the Rebellion before picking either. Fuck, Tywin wasn't even certain he'd betray the Targaryens!

Was Rhaegar aware of all the ways his father offended Tywin Lannister? Oh, absolutely. Which is part of the reason he was almost certainly conspiring to de-throne his father, for offending the entire damned realm left and right!

“When this battle’s done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but... well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken.”

Jaime tells us that it was not Rhaegar who forbade Elia’s escape, but Aerys:

“Rhaegar met Robert on the Trident, and you know what happened there. When the word reached court, Aerys packed the queen off to Dragonstone with Prince Viserys. Princess Elia would have gone as well, but he forbade it. Somehow he had gotten it in his head that Prince Lewyn must have betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident, but he thought he could keep Dorne loyal so long as he kept Elia and Aegon by his side.”

Jaime feels immense guilt that lingers for not protecting Rhaegar's family. He blames himself, not the prince, even defending himself to the ghost of Rhaegar, who tells him:

“I left my wife and children in your hands.” “I never thought he'd hurt them. I was with the king...”

Even Jaime Lannister never thought the children would be hurt. Tywin’s fucking son. You'd have to be pretty daft, at this point, if you think Rhaegar is the one responsible for the murder of his children. Further, note that Jaime’s internal characterization of Rhaegar cares about his wife, Elia, and their children.

On Jon Snow: Love Jon Snow but hate Rhaegar Targaryen? Too bad. Boy was written to be just like his daddy, and no, I don’t mean Ned.

Like his father, he was “born in grief” and is described as sullen, and his father, melancholy. They've got similar lean builds, dark-hued eyes, both observant and good fighters, described as noble, honorable and good (and ‘comely’). Even the way Jon died echoes Rhaegar’s death:

“Jon fell to his knees. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. 'Ghost,' he whispered.”

“Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman's name...”

Lastly, in the show, when Jon meets Daenerys, she says, “We all enjoy what we’re good at” and Jon replies, “I don’t.”

Just like Rhaegar. Because, after all, Barristan told Daenerys that Rhaegar “never liked killing”. Jon Snow is his father’s son.

To any Rhaegar Targaryen haters out there who managed to pick up on literally zero of the above clues - You badly need to work on your deductive reasoning skills.

Also, please never write a book.

[ralfstrashcan]

3x13 Reaction / Commentary

Yeah I'm aware, stop judging X___X

I feel the need to point this out. Apparently it's common practice for the Praetor to just, kill off their more troublesome charges. Interesting. But Jordan has a different work ethic which is a) apparently not usual for praetors and b) something at least Nick attributes to his past and not, idk, common decency. Just how savage is the Praetor exactly?? (Also let me add this to the list of things why 3x15 makes no sense at all.)

Okay, so they found another mundane dead by Heidi's hand...... why exactly don't they call the Shadowhunters? Aren't they obliged to? I mean?

True, but it sure as hell is her responsibility how she handles them. But we established already that she has a serious perception problem and always sees herself as the victim.

I mean, prime example, if she could have made that smooth exit through the vent where the werewolves couldn't follow, why didn't she just do that from the start instead of attacking Nick? Because she wants to cause trouble and not just “live her life in peace” as she's pretending to.

More like, he didn't have the guts to face Alec like that. Also does that mean he draped Izzy on the couch like that in that cliché sleeping pose with one hand under the head? At least he took off her boots like a sane person.

“I'm just drained.”

Haha it seems Alec isn't the only Lightwood sibling with a shitty sense of humor.

“I don't have the same preexisting condition.” “You mean my addiction?”

No, Izzy, he obviously means your fashion sense, keep up. Seriously, who wrote that stupid ass line of dialogue.

I found it pretty hilarious that Simon, Clary's literally oldest and bestest friend since kindergarten, feels the need to apologize to Izzy for taking up so much time with his Clary-reunion and blocking the path for her. The Clizzy Energy is Strong.

“Hmmmm hot hot hot Clary, please show me more.”

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY HAHAHAHA PERFECT

Also, Morningstar.... didn't Val name his dumbass tanker ship in S1/S2 Morningstar? Guy really has it with name repetitions, first Jonathan 1 and 2, now Morningstar Ship and Morningstar Sword... I bet he named all his stuffed teddys Mr Snuffels 1, Mr Snuffels 2, Mr Snuffels 3.....

The way he delivers this line me might've as well said “Please cut out the emotional disgusting bullshit my skin is crawling already from this I can't take any more mushiness PLEASE GO AWAY.” Gotta love Alec.

MAGNUS RAGE PUNCHING THE KEYBOARD IS THE MOST RELATABLE THING I HAVE EVER SEEN

Magnus opening up about missing his magic MY HEART OH MY GOD

(Sidenote though: No wonder he got frustrated with the pretentious Shadowhunter Technology, I mean, look at it. There are only runes. Runes may be called runes, but they don't actually make up an alphabet. Why the heck is there a flexibility rune on the screen? It makes no sense.)

This whole scene (and Izzy's lipstick lol) is absolutely perfect. I love everything about it, especially Magnus and especially Izzy. I'd be really surprised if Magnus didn't find a way to get her that weird root thingy anyway, because he surely doesn't buy the “feeling a lot better now” line.

(Edit: Now thinking about it I realized two things, a) she probably didn't take him up on his offer to go to another warlock because she felt like that was unnecessarily rubbing in that he can't do it himself anymore* and b) with that line she probably meant she feels lighter already for sharing what happened and just <3<3<3<3<3)

*The only think that would have made this scene more perfect is if Izzy hadn't skimmed over his magic comment without acknowledging it in any way. Though with this thought in mind, that she rejected his offer to spare his feelings, I find myself placated.

Also I love how Magnus pretends he's going to look for pen and paper when really he's running straight to Alec to tell him all about this (and to prevent a repetition of 2x09 form happening.... and now I made myself sad again).

#effortless (Also reminds me of that post about fire message mechanics that I still owe a certain someone. Where is the time.)

HAHAHAHA

???????????? How do they know that? More importantly, does Alec know? Will he hear through the Shadow World grapevine??? So many questions.

I mean, I have sympathy for her. But like, she's too smart for me to buy that she genuinely can't see any other course of action. She just does this because it's the least effort for her, not because she's truly clueless what alternatives are there for here (aka not running around, killing mundanes, starting a fight with everyone). She just thrives on chaos.

Also “Wolves don't just attack without cause. Not in New York” ? Seems like all Institute except the NY one do a shit job since supposedly keeping peace between the Downworld factions is part of their responsibility. Yes, I am still salty about 3x15. (Also, if anyone's confused by this weird foreshadowing, I wrote notes for this reaction post while watching 3x13 when it first aired, but only got to finish it now after 3x19 aired and I can't keep my chronology-screwing bitterness to myself while finishing up the post. But mostly these are my thoughts from then.)

Yeah something tells me she's not gonna be totally uninvolved in that.

This and the fact that Russel wants to stop Bat from even leaving the Jade Wolf are the final proofs that all the werewolves actually live at the Jade Wolf and pile up in a giant snuggle pile in the kitchen at night. This is further cemented by the fact that Luke and Maia claim to have flats of their own but we never actually see them. Clearly they're both dirty liars that just wanted to mislead.

*late Jocelyn's late friend Eliot #rude #whatever

.......why the hell would Elias code that shit in Circle short hand? So other Circle members, who Jocelyn was hiding from, could easily open that super important safe? So smart! Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Luke in the Circle as well? Shouldn't he be able to read that, too?

1) Eliot is such a loser and a showoff for ostentatiously writing that J in Jocelyn 2) His hint is seriously “Don't open with brute force.” Wtf kind of hint is that man are you even real.

I'm sorry, okay, but everytime I see / hear Bellicosi I think Maxi-Cosi XD

*glares at 3x15* Will I ever tire of raging about that episode? Unlikely.

Why.....? Since he didn't have any problem 100% blaming Raphael for everything Heidi did (not unjustified, but I'm just saying he's suddenly changed his mind). I mean, if he'd said she's dangerous to him and his family that would've been another matter.

These are all runes that I don't remember seeing on the Shadowhunters' Wiki Rune Page. Please tell me more.

Jace: “Clary, you've been going nonstop since you came back. You need to take a minute.”

lol if only Jace would implement the same advice himself.

“Wow I suddeny remember I had a life before I was 10.”

German Dubbing: Yeah, the ones Consul Penhallow categorically ignored. Honestly. Who dubbs this shit. Wtf.

Listen I love everything about this scene. (Fun Fact: In the German Dubbing she says vampire addiction, not venom addiction lol as if she was addicted to vampires XD)

Alec Lightwood, best brother of the year. Btw he's been holding that title since birth. I also don't think Alec would ever judge Izzy for her addiction / look at her as if she's weak, so the fact that she thinks that says a lot about how the addiction affected her self-image.

Too bad Alec forgets this for the next few episodes and acts like a total tool in that Clave Investigation Thing, smh.

Good to know.

Haha that was witty.

Oooooh why don't they ask another warlock then? For example one who's actually always the smartest person in the room?? Who's also willing to work on this??? Just a thought tho, don't let me interrupt the Maruke Bonding. No, you know what? I hate the shipname Maruke, it's shit, so I'm calling it Luryse as it should have been called. Then again, when am I even gonna talk about that pairing? We shall see.

“Outrageous, just because people around me keep turning up dead! It's ridiculous, really, that they'd think I could have something to do with that. It's as if they're not aware this is a TV show and supporting characters die because *Moriarty Voice* THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO!”

“That what the kids call it these days when they get kicked out on their ass?” She literally says “From one exiled to another” so she clearly realized he's full of shit.

“And that's why in two episodes Imma get myself arrested by behaving like a dumbass and then chill in prison as if it's my greatest accomplishment.” Honestly Luke, so many No-s. I can't even.

“Wow I can't believe I have to see this Luryse bs up close.” Hah, now I used the right shipname and can move the f on from bashing that pairing. Sorry about that. I'm sleep deprived. That always makes me extra salty.

“When you're alpha you need to make the pack your first priority. Your personal life needs to take a back seat. And mine never did.” I applaud Luke for admitting he was a shit alpha because he didn't proritize the pack. Hindsight is 20/20.

Wow Luke so helpful <3<3<3 Just like I know and love you.

I also love how nobody questions that Heidi bit that mundane and then chilledly made a phone call at the scene of her Accords-violating crime. How frakking convenient.

But their runes aren't on the same side. Sloppy work. Also, if the illustrator obviouly takes artistic liberties, then the rune missing on the second pic doesn't have to mean anything. Maybe they just forgot to draw it. Then again this isn't even the most flimsy conclusion-making I've wittnessed on this show so I'll let it slide.

lol Jace and Jonathan are basically playing tug of war with Clary: Jonathan burning himself, Jace activating her healing rune XD

Ooooh brainless S1 Clary, how I have not missed you. Srsly now? Carve it out? That didn't work for Simon so why should it now? lol she should ask the seelie queen if she has some handy floor mosaic thingy in her courtyard to help with that.

In his defense, he moved.

It's not gonna work is what it is. Srsly how dumb are they? Why the hell does she think something so powerful can just be carved out?? Wtf.

Woooow they're using a rune removing device, color me impressed. I really thought they'd just put a scalpel to it. So, at least points for trying.

Uuuuh get some morphin, try again. I mean. But anyway.

*break up

......didn't she just break up with him because pack reasons? Where is that not a Shadow World Reason? Please explain. (Also choosing an unflattering screen cap of Simon because he annoys me? Absolutely. I am petty like that.) The easy way Simon accepts their break up really makes me wonder. If Maia hadn't said anything, would he have broken up with her? Since apparently things “changed” and they could “both” “feel” it. Honestly. He literally calls her his girlfriend at the start of the scene as if to draw attention to how ridiculous this is.

You know what, I don't even have the energy to rage about this. Their relationship was so great, they were so supportive of each other, they had great chemistry, great communication, they always stood by each other. And just because Sizzy has to be endgame there were suddenly weird-ass tension between them for no real reason – none that 3A Saia wouldn't have worked through like pros anyway – just so this break up wouldn't come out of absolutely nowhere. It's shit treatment of both their characters and their relationship and I'm just so exasperated with it all. (Also not the way to endear me to Sizzy. But at this point I feel like a broken record.)

Discount? It was free. Which I'm still finding super hard to believe by the way, that a werewolf establishment would just give out free food to vampires who don't even work there. But what do I know, right, I mean it's not like they just mentioned a few minutes ago how werewolves and vampires hate each other? Right?? Hahaha.

Wow. This actually takes the time to highlight that this break up wasn't as amicable as Simon thought. Maybe he thought that they were breaking up for human reasons, but Maia clearly feels she threw her relationship away for the pack and it's hard for her. And Simon's tirade wasn't really encouraging her to let him know that. I really appreciate that detail.

Other things I want to say: 1) I didn't like that Maia just flat out broke up with him. She should have informed him that she was going to step up for the pack and would have to prioritize that over their relationship and then leave it up to him if he wants to put up with that or not. By breaking up she made the choice for him. Her course of action is ic, I'm not critizising that, but from like, a personal stand point I don't like it. 2) Foreshadowing: Since her whole pack gets slaughtered, if that would have been the only reason to break up with Simon she coulda just gotten back together with him lol. Haha sorry I'm trash. I know.

Wow he's really dumb. He knows Heidi's brand of crazy and still he doesn't realize this was a trap. He said himself that Heidi must have done something for the Preator to be after her, and when the Praetor tells him she's been leaving copses left and right he...... takes this as his cue to ally himself with Heidi??? Wtf?????? Does he not believe what Jordan said? Again, he suspected something like that himself and since the Praetor are playing at being the Downworlder Police they wouldn't just make something like that up with no proof. The heck. I don't get you, Boss Vampire Guy.

Also, thumbs down for the Praetor, if they'd just told them their source was Heidi herself (on the phone) this could have been prevented. But, ugh. With how things are I can at least kinda buy that no working communication between vampire clan and Praetor exists.

Still, if the Praetor wants to be accepted as some kind of Shadow World Institution they should really work on their manners.

.................................................

I I don-- I can't. *sigh* I can't believe I just had to watch this with my own two eyes. Have they not been trained for a case like this? A fellow shadowhunter injured in the field? That activating the healing rune should be the first thing you do? Before lovingly prying information from the dying person?? I mean, if that's not Plot Convenience then I don't know what is. Sure, he needs to give them a snippet of info, but not too much. But please, please, couldn't writers have found a way for this that didn't make them look like the stupidest of idiots in the entire frikkin world?! Wtf. WTF. I can't believe it.

Uuuuuuh how did she know how to turn those things if all she had to work with was Don't use brute force?? Do I have to understand that?

“You brought coffee, after all.”

Look she's so ashamed she even turned away from the screen haha. Also it's so refreshing to see grown ass people approach a relationship like idiotic teens. (Yeah, that was sarcastic.)

“And right now I wanna do you.” Hahahaha sorry, too good to pass up, you can bet your ass imma turn this into a dumb comic XD

“I love you, Clary. And I'll love you until I die. And if there's a life after this I'll love you then, too.”

Okay, I wanted to roll my eyes at their love confession, but what Jace said was actually really sweet <3

Alec: All our people were accounted for at the time of the murder. Izzy: We think it was a Clave hit.

Oh couldn't have been one of the millions of Shadowhunters from another Institute? No, I'm sure Alec checked that on their neat little Shadowhunter Intranet, that all other Shadowhunters all over the workd were accounted for as well. Honestly.

Also, Maryse says “By the angel,” but in the German Dubbing she says “What the angel” which makes it seem as if Shadowhunters curse by replacing dirty words with “angel” and just... what the angel XD

Why the hell are they all so obsessed with Latin? Ugh. Exhausting hobby.

Btw lol, please rewatch that scene, the background music is weirdly reminiscent of the Stranger Things Theme hahahaha. (Also omg I'm peeking into the German dubbing and it doesn't even make SENSE hahaha what the shit.)

LOL that's like the soulmate trope but in painful XD basically the creepy incest edition XD But honestly can we appreciate what a nice hand Jonathan has with a knife and with his left hand?? Prodigy.

This is it, the final proof that they actually all live at the Jade Wolf hahahha.

...................................? Why the f is she happy to see Jordan? Last time they saw each other she clearly stated she hated him?? Do I need to understand?? Oh right. In the books Maia and Jordan get back together. Right. Stupid, why am I even surprised by this??

Wtf isn't he the clan leader? Why the hell is he acting so submissively to Heidi all of a sudden? Literally half a day ago he threw her out of his clan, knowing his place. And now he's like a puppet on her strings. Wtf. But I guess that happens when you treat characters as plot devices. They get inconsistent even if they only have two scenes. *sigh*

Awwww would you look at that, werewolves and vampires fighting with fists like mundanes. (Okay some of them had like, daggers, but where are the fangs and the claws? Honestly.)

Okay I did her injustice in my trailer reaction since this is a vamp and a legitimate fight situation.

Wow that actually surprised me. But Jordan also dies in the books so, oops. Just didn't think they'd skip the getting together.

WOW that really surprised me. I thought Maia would challenge him and they'd have an epic fight to the death or something. (Also wtf Griffin guy, what's with that creeper face.)

To be honest I find it hard to believe that Maia acts like this. Scared out of her mind, yeah sure. But she acts helpless, and she's never been that. When she got that pipe thing I thought she'd use it as a stake. Using it to block the door is smart, too, but why didn't she get another to have a stake? Her whole posture, uselessly hangig over Jordan screams damsel in distress and I don't like it at all.

Edit: I had certain fears how this plotline would be developed in 3x14 which thankfully didn't come true, but my conflicted opinion on this ending scene remains.

Anyway let’s take a moment and appreciate Maia’s Killer Boots.

BTW watched the 3x14 trailer and just.... what. Why the f would Magnus ask Lorenzo of all people for help? He can't be trusted. As if he wouldn't use that opportunity to break Magnus even further! WTF! Where's Catarina? Oh, let me guess, another Drunk Doctor Conference *epic eyeroll*

[erebosnyxart]

Submitted on June 17, 2018

Loyalty - Harumi and Garmadon

  Garumi - Garmadon x Harumi ___________________________ sorry for my bad english ^^" STORY: Harumi walked slowly along the forest near the Ninjago City Palace. Usually she liked to be alone, but something in her heart didn't give her peace. She looked up at the sky where the moon was shining brightly. His glow always drew her eyes and helped her to gather her thoughts.Since she joined the Garmadon army, she knew her life would change, but she didn't think that it turns so much. When she met Lloyd, she thought he was a man who would meet her expectations and fill her emptiness heart, but being evil and being with someone who fights for good doesn't go hand in hand. Girl admired her master very much. Garmadon was powerful and ruthless, which impressed her very much, but his indifference towards her was painful for Harumi. She leaned against the tree trunk and put her arms around her and then lowered her head. - I don't know what to do, that he finally notice me... She whispered to herself, although specifically she didn't know to which of the men she felt more love. There was no concrete answer to this statement. She closed her eyes and sighed but soon realized that she was not alone. She opened her eyes and looked around. Forest was dark but not enough not to see someone around. Stranger moved quickly and almost noiselessly. Harumi put her hand on the trunk of a tree and frowned. She was fed up with this game, so she screamed. - I know you're here! If you think I will not find you and kill you, you are wrong! In response, she heard mocking laught, the laught she knew well. Her eyes widened and she felt hands on her shoulders. She turned to attack, but the hands of the person behind her caught her hands in her wrists and squeezed tightly. Harumi felt that embrace even through thick leather bracelets. She was surprised that someone who was just holding his hands on her arms was able to catch her hands so quickly. At last she saw that the stranger had four hands. -Brave as always ... However, I don't think you would be able to kill me heh! Stranger said and Harumi realised who it is. It was Garmadon. Girl blushed and looked into her master's eyes. She didn't know if she was blushing or not, but it was not important to her. When she wanted to turn back her hands she felt stubborn and a strong squeeze of Garmadon hand's didn't weaken. -Emperor Garmadon. I would never hurt you! You are necessary for Ninjago City because without you this city will never know how it should work. Harumi almost said it in one breath. Garmadon released her hands and, laughing. He turned his back to her and he put one pair of hands behind his back and took a few steps forward. When Harumi wanted to follow him, Garmadon turned his head and said firmly. - Not everyone thinks like that Harumi. It makes me worried. I'm disappointed that I have to fight my son and I don't want to hurt him. After all, he is a good boy but my brother has lost count of what is important and he taught him absurd values. Garmadon visibly saddened and looked ahead. For a moment there was silence, which Harumi interrupted, hugging a little to Garmadon's back. The evil ruler knew that his words gained even more approval from Harumi, which he decided to use somehow. -My lord, Lloyd is wonderful, but don't worry because your power is greater. Lloyd takes care of his friends and people in the city, but he can't defend everyone. He has a great character and if only he was evil... I... Garmadon frowned and turned abruptly. He looked at Harumi with contempt. -I thought I was important to you! I'm the master of this world and I categorically forbid you contacting with Lloyd !! Harumi was a little bit scared and she retreated from Garmadon. She didn't want to let him know that she was afraid of him, but the respect which she had for him and the admiration made her stunned. - Master, Lloyd means nothing to me ... I promised my loyalty to you and you don't have to worry about anything ... And now I'm sorry but I'm going to rest. Harumi bowed and turned her back to Garmadon. When she wanted to leave Garmadon grabbed her by the shoulders and moved to her. He bent down to her ear and said. -Harumi ... you are my refuge and the biggest weapon I have. Your loyalty is valuable but your heart belongs to someone else ... Harumi pressed her lips for a moment and then answered with nervous in her voice -Master Garmadon ... You are my greatest love, but I was not sure if I'm worthy to admit it. Lloyd is a person whom I like but because he carries your surname. Please, don't be angry at me... Garmadon grinned in a smile that meant satisfaction and contentment. Now he was sure that he had everything he needed for happiness. Naive loyalty and love from Harumi was the biggest weapon for him to defeat Lloyd. Only what left is to implement one of the plans into life. If you read this - thank you! _______________________________________ DESCRIPTION ABOUT ART! PLEASE READ!!! About this ship: AGE GAP! Before I want to draw it, I just wonder what people will think about it cuz I dont want to be hypocrite. I wrote once in another fandom that I hate and dont support pedophilia so I have mixed feelings but after all I read on wiki that "Garmadon is several hundreds of years old." so I dunno if its count on pedo xD I think only carbon could be in his age category so don't say shit and if you dont like it just close this artwork xDDD I saw a lot of weird ships so its nothing special I think  (?)   and also: this was rlly weird about when Lloyd was born/was kid okay in series he become like teenager after tea and he find Misako and shes like emm 50? xD for me she looks like 70-80? If she is same age or similar like Wu (cuz they still flirting with eachother xD) so wtf?! Lloyd before used tea was like...8? or max 10? so when Misako was pregnant..at her 50-60 years old? xDD its impossible! xDD in that age she could only have deformed kid or with some dunno down syndrome? (Lloyd sometimes behive like that so I think he could have xDD) okay anyway I think this all is weird xD Thx for reading!