#but Harriet had to shoot solve people too

[ambelle]

Watching Trump and MAGA grow over the years is wild whe. You think about it because this is exactly how it happened with Hitler. It was a slow rise to power with support of a cult that didn’t see reason. Watching a friend get drawn into the MAGA cult was disturbing. Seeing people I know become Tankies was disheartening…but we move.

I’m hopeful that Kamala will save our Democracy but I know there will be violence either way. I’ll be on the side not endorsed by the KKK Nazis domestic terrorists and Dictators. I will always hold my ground and protect the people I love.

I casted my vote today and I hope you did too.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

Rebecca Ferguson sits across from me before her photo shoot with The Envelope. Her sandy blond hair is loosely tied back and she’s wearing an oversize comfy flannel shirt with dark trousers. Between us, two laptops — a virtual setting — but the accomplished actor makes it feel as though you are in the room with her. The same can be said for Juliette Nichols, the emotionally conflicted character she portrays in the gripping Apple TV+ dystopian drama “Silo,” where civilization has migrated to a massive underground bunker.

“Her vulnerability was the most important moments for me because the strengths of the character are uninteresting — they are already shaped,” she says. “What I found interesting is why she is uncomfortable with people, why is she scared when people are too close.”

Ferguson, who also serves as an executive producer of “Silo,” found her answer in Juliette’s heartbreaking childhood. At 13, she loses her mother and younger brother before running away from her father (Iain Glen) to the down deep of the bunker to apprentice in the mechanical department. “I studied a lot of grief and trauma because she loses her mom at an early age. When we understand this character, she is very lonely,” says the Swedish native. “Her trauma, it’s nearly claustrophobic and weighs you down, which I tried to embody in her when people get too close. It’s like this injection of fear.”

Juliette’s discomfort around others is put in the spotlight when she’s plucked by the powers that be to fill the role of sheriff following the death of the former top officer (David Oyelowo). She accepts, on the condition that she can fix the failing generator down below before something catastrophic occurs. The sequence that unfolds in the third episode, directed by Morten Tyldum, is a master class in edge-of-your-seat drama that culminates in a character-defining moment — one that sees Juliette standing alone in thought after the successful repair. “There is so much layered in that moment. All these juxtapositions of ‘I need to fix this, but if I fix this, it means I will also have to leave my people, and if I hadn’t fixed it everyone could have died.’ And all the trauma she’s gone through, it’s all compartmentalized into a moment of now what?” 

Sheriff Juliette steps in wanting to find the truth behind the death of her boyfriend, George Wilkins, an unsanctioned anthropologist of ancient artifacts — such as a Pez dispenser. “The contrast was so important to find,” Ferguson says of the series showing them in happy times in flashbacks. “For me, it was important to find the quirks and the fear. She is worried about him going on his extravagant journeys because she’s afraid to lose him. There’s this child in her, a vulnerability; her hair is different, her clothes are different, there’s a softness. The dynamics are so real — we practiced them a lot. Those scenes are the moments that defibrillate another feeling where you can slow your heart rate and you can fall in love with two people.”

As Juliette investigates George’s death, labeled a suicide though she suspects otherwise, she begins to uncover bigger mysteries within the silo and its leadership. “What I love about this show is that the audience is figuring it out with the character,” Ferguson says. “There are secrets and astronomical complexities in this world, but you’re getting to unravel them one-on-one with a character who is trying to solve one murder that leads into bigger questions and bigger lies. That’s what’s so exciting.”

When the pressure of the new uniform begins to mount, Juliette contemplates returning home to the depths of mechanical. But longtime friend Walker (Harriet Walter) persuades her otherwise, saying, “Love had you doing the right thing and now anger is making you give up.” Ferguson remembers first reading the scene and thinking it was too sentimental. “Something can read differently on the page, but then we sat down and someone said this is one of the most pivotal, most important moments for Juliette’s journey. It’s the change in realizing this is not a story just for her selfish needs. This is a moment where it’s about the bigger picture. It’s about doing the right thing. It’s really a beautiful and powerful moment for her.”

When asked if she thought of Juliette as a savior, Ferguson demurs, saying, “I don’t think I was supposed to look at her that way. It would have made her a hero in her journey and that’s not interesting. She doesn’t start off as a hero. She’s powerful and a bit of a badass, but she has vulnerabilities, grief and fear. That’s what’s interesting. Juliette is constantly faced with hinders, and every time she solves something, another hinder, it’s like building a bridge and it falls and you have to build another one and another one. She doesn’t give up.”

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 11 Review/Remix

Not the most action packed chapter we’ve ever had, and certainly not as dramatic as Chapter 11s from past Volumes. But this week had some wonderful surprises and existential dread and depression in equal measure and I think that’s a formula for a pretty damn good watch.

Despite the devastating energy bomb Oscar delivered last episode, we open with the city of Atlas overrun with tons of Grimm. The people are still hiding in the subway, fearing for their lives twice over now that Ironwood’s monologue is playing and showing just how off his rocker he is. Those in the crater mines take it far worse, though we see some of the humans and faunus who had previously seemed on edge with each other holding one another in solidarity and comfort. Fiona breaks down in tears and is pulled into a Happy Huntress group hug by Joanna and May, so it’s a small comfort to see they’re all still alive.

Ironwood and Winter walk the halls of Atlas command together, and Winter can’t help but notice the fearful reverence the general’s presence instills in lesser officers. The Ace Ops are talking things over in the wake of their boss’ ultimatum, and Elm is of the belief that Ironwood was just bluffing about nuking Mantle if he doesn’t get what he wants. Vine agrees it may very well be the kick in the pants Team RWBY and the others will need to finally see the right path, but we the audience are getting pretty sick of hearing this shtick. Marrow thinks Ironwood is taking this too far, and Harriet is just angrily indifferent about the whole thing. Ironwood rounds the corner and addresses the squad with their new orders: get some drones ready to drop the bomb. Winter asks why exactly they need to actually make those kind of preparations, and he makes it clear that he really does intend to remove Mantle from the equation if he is prompted to. He actually thinks committing this massacre, nay genocide, will make Penny more willing to return to his command if she no longer has an alternative job. No, dumbass, she’ll only want to defy and even kill you more! This is how he believes they will save Atlas, but Marrow has had more than enough and calls him on his shit for a line like that. All this is doing is helping Salem in her mission to divide and destroy the world, and it’s spitting in the face of everything Marrow thought the Atlas military stood for. Harriet threatens to clean his clock if he doesn’t shut up, and Vine again suggests that this would be a necessary sacrifice for the good of the Kingdom. Elm tries to agree, to say that this should be their top priority whether they like it or not, but Marrow has more to say. He can’t believe any of them actually buy the nonsense they’re spouting, and wants to know if there’s anything his teammates actually believe in anymore. With so many moral compromises, where do they draw the line of patriotism vs fascism? The faunus man gives a pretty good clincher to his tirade by calling his badge and rank nothing more than a collar. Say what you want about the writing of the faunus discrimination subplots in the prior volumes, I think this was pretty good. Ironwood isn’t about to let Marrow walk away from a rant like that without consequences and we can hear his cocking his gun. Marrow hears it too, but before he can react Winter comes in from his right with a sucker punch that knocks him to the floor. As she drops a knee on Marrow’s back to cuff him for insubordination we see Ironwood was a second away from shooting this man, one of his few trusted elite soldiers left, in the back of the head for an execution without mercy or hesitation. She just saved his goddamn life and that makes her an MVP for this Volume. The other Ace Ops realize this close encounter with death too, and they all share the same expression of shock fear dread and confusion. Not even Vine can hide how much he doesn’t like what could have just occurred. Winter says she’s going to take this “traitor” to the brig where he belongs and Ironwood allows her to leave and do so, only taking his finger off the trigger once they’ve walked past him. Those with a better understanding of trigger discipline than I could probably make something poignant out of that, so have at it if you can. What is abundantly clear to us is that Winter will be taking Marrow no such place. She has absolutely had enough and she’s about to desert with him in tow. The remaining three have to get back in line and spend a little time rethinking their positions on this job. Well, at least one of them will be, I don’t think Harriet is gonna change course after what she’s already done.

From one tense situation to another, we go to the Schnee manor dining room where Team RWBY are trying to figure out their next moves with Oscar and Emerald. They know they don’t want Ironwood getting his hands on Penny, but they don’t know what to do instead that won’t result in mass casualties. They don’t know that Robyn and Qrow have flown the coop and might come to their aid soon, and under Ironwood’s watch there’s no way to try and evacuate the people in the crater before he drops the bomb. It’s a real bad situation with no clear solutions or backup plans. Emerald can’t help but be snarky and say if the perpetual optimism engine that is Ruby can’t think of what to do then there’s no right answer at all. Weiss is annoyed that Em is giving them sass when they really don’t need any, but Yang is downright furious and her to GTFO if she doesn’t like trying to help them solve this. Emerald tenses up when Yang stomps towards her with clenched fists, and her hands go to her weapons in case she needs to defend herself. We know Yang wouldn’t actually throw a punch even if she’s mad like this, but Em doesn’t. Probably because the most substantial thing connecting the two of them was the time Emerald used her semblance to make Yang look like a heartless brute who would break a leg for no reason on live TV. Also Emerald doesn’t have the best role models for how to handle frustration... Oscar continues to insist they all just take a deep breath and remember the big picture rather than lose it over small disagreements, and reminds them that Em is going to be staying on their side cuz Salem won’t let her safely be anywhere else. But when he tries to reassure the group with a reminder that Oz is back to offer help too it just tenses the situation further. Ruby’s got her head in her arms on the table, and she’s really having a hard time of it all. Oscar muses about all the negative personal energies keeping them from a productive cohesion, and Ruby pops off. A day’s worth of their best efforts, hard fought battles and painful consequences, and nothing has gotten better. Just like at the start of the Volume, all they’ve been able to do is argue over what to try and do while Atlas heads towards its demise. Yang tries to put an encouraging hand on her shoulder but she brushes it off and runs out of the room in a huff. Everyone silently realizes how much they’ve fucked this up if Ruby is so hopeless and desperate, and Yang follows her sister out of the room.

Upstairs, Jaune is doing his best to boost Nora’s Aura and help her heal faster, but it’s not doing anything about her lightning scars. Those babies are here to stay, and I don’t mind it. It shows history, survival and a damn good story about what she’s been able to power through. Ren is sitting at the foot of the bed, and the best he’s able to offer is how glad he is Nora is okay. She seems indifferent and even passive aggressive at the diagnosis on her scars, claiming it’s just another example of her being classic dumb Nora. Ren tries to object that this wasn’t her being stupid or foolhardy, but she bites back at him with all the resentment she seems to have been holding in since they split ways yesterday. He’s got no right to say what it was or wasn’t, he wasn’t there to see it. He pushed away from her when things went wrong because he didn’t want to have to feel anything he thought would be too hard to deal with. Ren makes no effort to argue, he knows she’s right and he apologizes profusely for how he wronged both her and Jaune. He regrets the things he said to them, or more likely the things he said to Jaune out on the tundra since he and Nora haven’t exactly talked much. He admits he’s been mad at himself for not measuring up to their mentor figures in the Ace Ops, for how little he could help when Tyrian came a’ slashing at Robyn’s election rally, and for slipping up and letting Neo get away with the Lamp. Mentioning the rally of course gets Nora’s attention away from her pissed off brooding, and she does start to listen a little more sympathetically. Ren says that he tried to tunnel vision on getting stronger in the hopes it would mean he wouldn’t fail again and bring the team down with him. We know from Ironwood how bad tunnel vision is, so I’m glad Ren is realizing it was a bad choice. Ren has realized now that by doing all that he failed the worst of all, that being in his role as a member of this team and as a partner to Nora. The two of them lock eyes, and Jaune notices the deeper meaning behind this prolonged eye contact and knows he should make himself scarce for now so they can have this more important conversation sans his third wheeling ass. Good boy, but a bit over the top excusing himself.

All Nora can find the words to ask is why Ren hadn’t said anything about these personal doubts sooner so they could try and deal with it and grow as a team, and he says he wanted to try and solve it himself because it was his problem and he was the one dragging the group down because of it. She disagrees on the grounds of her own perceived failings, being silly of mind and strong of muscle and little else of value. Ren won’t hear that kind of self depreciation sitting down, so he moves further up the bed to sit by her lap. He tries his best to give her affirmations by rephrasing her qualities as great things but she’s just not willing to hear it... until he gets a little more passionate about it than he may have meant to. These are the things he loves about her. Because he loves her. Lie Ren tells Nora Valkyrie “I love you”. Nora knows in her heart he really means that, but she has some things she wants to get off her chest. In the single sentence of backstory we get, her mom apparently abandoned her and fled from a Grimm attack before she ended up in Kuroyuri meeting Ren. SInce then they’ve always been an inseparable pair, and she wouldn’t give up a day of that for anything. But now she realizes she needs some time to really learn who she is as her own person and fighter, and going back to being as close as they were wouldn’t allow that kind of growth. Because Nora loves Ren too, always has. And she can tell their separate missions have done him some good too, but she needs a little more time before she’s ready to be the partner a great guy like him deserves. She just wants to know if that kind of request is okay with him. He puts a hand against her cheek and lovingly wipes away the tear she had shed. Of course that’s okay. He’s proud of her for being mindful of her own happiness and growth, and is willing to put the relationship they both very much look forward to having on hold while she grows as a person. This is a very healthy dynamic and all meming aside we really love to see it portrayed so naturally and acceptably in media. And for good wholesome measure, Ren Boops Nora. They laugh and smile and press their foreheads together because Rooster Teeth loves showing us that as a sign of proximity and intimate comfort.

Cutting to something far less happy, Qrow is retrieving Harbinger and Robyn’s gauntlet crossbow from a locker in what I assume might be evidence lockup. He asks Robyn if she’s got the security cameras running on loop, presumably so they can sneak through the halls undetected, but she is currently distracted. At least one screen is feeding audio of Ironwood’s threat to Mantle, and others are showing he really is gearing up to do so. Qrow tries to reassure her by resolutely saying they’ll stop him before he has the chance to, but she doesn’t seem to pleased with that plan. Regardless, they make their way through the halls and head for an elevator to take them up to the Academy. After avoiding being spotted by guards, they make it to the elevator but Robyn stops Qrow before he can hit the call button. She tries to advocate for a better way to solve this, he insists there isn’t one. Robyn says it’s not just about Qrow so it isn’t his choice alone to make what is or isn’t the only solution. Qrow just keeps insisting that this is what he’s gonna do and when he does it’ll all be safe and over with, but Robyn tries to suggest success isn’t guaranteed and if they fail it’ll only doom hundreds more than if they try something else. Qrow doesn’t give a damn, he just yells that Ironwood deserves to be killed, because in case the pronoun game was too hard Qrow is dead set on doing a murder. Robyn claps a hand over Qrow’s mouth and pushes him against the wall because they ARE still trying not to get caught remember? I really have to admit on my first watch I thought this was gonna be an eruption of some kind of romantic tension I just hadn’t noticed til now and she was going to shut him up with a kiss. But no, thank god they didn’t pull that tired trick. After making sure the coast really is clear, she gets to the heart of things. She can tell Qrow is in pain, he’s mourning, and its a shroud he’s well accustomed to. But don’t act like this is righteous justice for the people at large, Qrow wants blood on his hands purely for personal vengeance. She acknowledges that Clover had a lot of qualities worth looking up to the way Qrow had, but she thinks that at the end of the day Qrow has proven to be the better man and the better Huntsman. I feel like she could have phrased that a touch better so as to not speak quite so ill of the recently deceased, but the pep talk is there. He’s got the will to fight for what he believes is the right course of action rather than just what a higher up says he needs to, and that is the sort of strength of character that’s worth a whole lot in this world, so she hopes he won’t go abandoning it now that the going is even rougher. He seems to be calmed and inspired by this, but before any more words are said the elevator pings that it’s stopping on this floor so the two ready their weapons to fight whoever emerges. The doors open, but we have the perspective of whoever is inside looking out to see the two hunters drop their guard in confusion. As that is the end of that scene we will not be finding out who they saw for at least another week, but I think it’s most likely to be Winter and Marrow and the four of them will form an unlikely alliance.

Back in Schnee manor, Yang reaches the foyer to see Ruby sitting on the stairs clutching a banister. Instead of going right up to her Yang goes past to take a look at the collapsed suit of armor. She’s heard by now how Ruby and the others managed to kill the Hound, and tries to give her little sis amused props for doing what the elder sibling couldn’t. Instead Ruby just asks if Yang knows what they saw inside the Grimm. Yang says she does, and tenses up like she wants to brush past this very depressing topic Ruby is hinting at. Ruby is having none of that and just says what we’ve all been thinking. Summer Rose was most certainly turned into a Grimm too. Fearing the possibility in her head was one thing, but to hear Ruby say it aloud with a voice so hollow and hopeless is too much and Yang falls to her knees sobbing in a second flat. Yang tries to wipe the tears away, to be calm and strong like always, but Ruby isn’t stopping. They know Salem used to want Silver Eyed Warriors dead because of Maria’s brush with death years ago, but now Salem wants Ruby brought in alive and it seems obvious why. So why wouldn’t it be the case that Summer was the turning point, that fighting her was when Salem realized she could do so much more with her mortal foes? Ruby has had enough of lying to themselves for the sake of optimistic hope, her hope that Amity could get a message out got them nowhere but further failure and she blames herself for being childish. Yang takes her hand and assures her that it wasn’t childishness but rather optimism and hope. Those are things they desperately need in this struggle, but to be blindly optimistic can certainly be bad so they need to be smart about which risks they take. Ruby still isn’t about to concede this point because the risk she took was a failure and their message didn’t bring any help. I should like to remind the reader/viewer that it took about a week for Team RWBY to get from Mistral to Atlas and this message went out... 12 hours ago? Maybe 16? You’re giving up the ghost a little soon there sweetie, though they do need that help ASAP so better late than never isn’t really a viable option. Yang reminds Ruby that her plan was a bust too, but she kept trying to do good things that weren’t part of the plan and they did some good there. Summer took a risk too, by leaving for the mission she never came back from. And there’s little question that went according to plan either, but she still did her best and Yang still considers Summer her hero. As she embraces her little sister, I get the strong feeling that Summer isn’t the only Rose she considers her hero either... and by the tears that start welling up in Ruby’s eyes she clearly knows that.

Their sweet moment is shattered by the sound of equally shattered glass, and Jaune comes rushing down the stairs to tell them to get outside immediately. Penny woke up and the virus is in control again to make her head for the Vault without delay. Ruby bursts into her path to beg her to stop, and it does get her to start struggling against her digital orders. She begs to be stopped, and Ruby wraps her arms around her because honestly she’s just trying her best and with a weapon like Crescent Rose she’s gotta have some upper body strength. But that’s pretty meaningless against Penny’s rocket boots as she takes off with Ruby in tow. Blake and Ren use Gambol Shroud and Storm Flower (thank god for the grappling hook upgrade last Volume) to try and pull her down by each arm with the rest of their teams providing tug of war style support. Weiss uses a black glyph to really hold her in place once her feet are on the ground again. Before anyone can figure out what to do to properly subdue her Penny uses her magic to summon a cold vortex and blow them all off guard so she can start flying away again, still repeating her orders to open the Vault and self-terminate, though now she sounds emotional and conflicted about it due to her mental struggle. Before she can get any farther, a new set of chains grab her shoulders. Emerald has joined in, and even if it was a small gesture I found myself very enthusiastic to see her pitching in for the rescue. She yells for someone to do something already, and Jaune lets go of Blake’s side of the struggle (guess it would have been off balance if him Nora and Oscar were all helping Ren) to boost Weiss’ Aura so she can make a stronger inertia glyph. Back on the ground, Ruby hugs Penny again and asks how she can help her friend. And Penny says Ruby should kill her. If she does, Penny guarantees Ruby will be the one she gives the Winter Maiden powers to. None of the group like hearing this idea one little bit, but she thinks it’s the only way since she can’t fight the virus. But once again Nora swoops in with the sage words about it only being a part of you and not letting that be the end of it. Penny’s more than just a robot receiving orders, she’s got human spirit and willpower that’s been resisting for so long. This gets the gears in Ruby’s head turning and she realizes the human part can be what saves her. Jaune needs to boost her Aura, which he rushes over to do immediately. It seems to do the trick, and her soul is doing a much better job of keeping the virus contained, though it’s not gone forever. Everyone comes in for a happy group huddle, and she is assured that she is far more than a machine and that humanity is what will keep her going in spite of the remaining virus. It’s a very soft and touching moment. 

Then Emerald has something to say. They’re wrong... about being in the same place they started yesterday. They’ve made progress even though they can’t quite see it right now. They’ve taken some hits, and she admits some of that has been her fault, but that’s war so you gotta roll with the punches and fight on. She just really won’t like it if they give up the moment she decides she’ll fight by their side, okay?! It’s not like she likes these friendly, kind, understanding and emotionally complex fellow teens that are willing to take her in, baka!!! Oscar points out that she’s admitted she wants to stay with them and they all have a happy laugh realizing she’s got a softer side after all. Oscar helps her back to her feet, then addresses the group. Ozpin has some things he wants to say to them all, if they’re willing to hear it. They all share a look and decide that yes, they will listen. Oz comes forth and immediately launches into a speech about a fairy tale. Typical. We can presume these are further details about “The Girl who Fell Through the World”, and he says that girl took her grand trip to run away from consequences of a choice she has to make. But her problems only grow because the initial issue was never resolved. That’s the very thing he’s done here, his problem being the consequences of the truth and his past coming to light. He regrets not trusting them with the whole story and he regrets retreating into Oscar’s mind when he was found out. The group decides they understand where he was coming from a bit since in that interim they had to make some impossible choices about trust too. Trusting in someone is a risk, and they decide they’ll take that risk on him one more time. From the look of things, that second chance is going to Emerald too, and I hope she makes them proud. Penny winces again and it’s clear that one way or the other they will need to take her to the Vault. Ruby thinks on that for a second and realizes that’s actually worth a shot considering who they have at their disposal and the likelihood of it not going exactly how Ironwood thinks it will. To that end we see Ironwood down in the Vault receiving a call from Ruby saying Penny will be there. He sets the stipulation that Penny meet him at the entrance of the Academy and she has to come alone. I’m sure no green haired illusionist will play a hand in whether or not she really is alone... But either way there will be unexpected company because Watts hooked up a broken Scroll to the wiring of an Atlas robot to listen in on Ironwood’s call and know where the meeting will be. Neo arrives in the alley where the doctor and Cinder waiting, and it seems miss Fall has a scheme to get the ice cream psycho precisely what she’s demanding of them.

But what exactly these carefully laid plans will be has to wait a little while, cuz that’s the end for this week. Great job all around for this well balanced episode with many kinds of scenes and many ways to make my heart hurt...

[thesoulspulse]

Danny Phantom Random Episode Thoughts (Part 3)

Note: Sorry I haven’t responded to the theories I’ve seen you guys share, it’s so annoying that I can’t respond to them as THIS profile and not my general art one. But they were really interesting to read and I’m surprised a lot of you kept bringing up Poindexter’s ghost version of Casper High and wondering if the ghosts there were even real or just manifestations of his torment from when he was alive. Anyway, I still need to type out what I have left in my notes down but for now here’s part 3!

Part 3

Harriet was right next to Danny while he was invisible and trying to drive the Fenton RV so either ghosts talk in a frequency humans can't hear while invisible or selective hearing strikes again!

When Vlad agrees to the truce with Danny after their confrontation when he possessed Jack, he purposefully says “until next time, son” putting extra emphasis on “son” to hint that he fully intended on making that new dream come true of winning over Maddie AND getting Danny to become his new half-ghost son.

Danny says “wow, you are the smart one” to Jazz when he's all cranky about seeing a guidance councilor meaning he does feel annoyed sometimes being compared to her all the time and people assume he's not just as smart even though his grades suck. Danny is smart in different ways like problem solving and thinking on his feet.

Danny used his ecto-shield for the first time against Spectra's lackey (too lazy to spell his name)

I seriously wonder how Spectra managed to convince Danny to put on the baby suit, I mean even if he was in trouble and sent to counseling he was within his rights to say no to something that sketchy.

Yeah, even normal scientist parents shouldn't talk about dissecting specimen in front of their kids, even if they're talking about ghosts.

Kwan didn't look like he actually wanted to beat up Danny, but Valerie made him go after Danny with a dirty look. Also, I guess they used to date too.

Axion Labs eluded to putting down their security dogs when they upgraded to a newer high tech system, aka, Cujo’s ghost was one of them.

Vlad signed his note to Valerie when he sent her ghost hunting gear, he didn't leave a last name but it seems like a bad call if you ask me unless he planned to introduce himself knowing she was at least aware of someone named Vlad. That sly fox!

Some random ghosts asked what Tucker's “ghostly wail” was when they heard his horrible singing in the Ghost Zone. Kinda ironic since Danny ends up with an actual power with that name later in the series. So there must be other ghosts with a similar power.

I don't even know why Jack and Maddie built a Fenton Stockades decked out with medieval devices so I'm assuming it was for ghostly research on Jack's ghost hunting ancestors we hear about later in the series.

In middle school Sam had a buzz cut, guess that was her at her most rebellious!

Sam openly admitted that she might want to end up dating Danny, but he doesn't seem to remember her saying that in front of him since he was under Embers love spell.

I wonder how Ember got her TV crew and other staff members, maybe she had other ghostly band members possess them or used hypnosis that worked on adults even then? Not really sure...

Ember is seen shooting energy from her hands so her guitar must be an amplifier for her ghost powers.

Part 1: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/615851196776890368/danny-phantom-random-episode-thoughts-part-1

Part 2: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/615988186874888192/danny-phantom-random-episode-thoughts-part-2

[psyga315]

Sometimes It's Worth It All to Risk the Fall... A Rewrite of Volume 8, Finale

This part is going to be the most heavily overhauled part of the Volume, since we’re going to be moving the two final episodes over to Volume 9. As such, we get two full episodes worth of content that will be wholly original. For right now, however, let us begin with…

Trial

We open with Ironwood greeting Qrow, knowing full well they are done being friends.

“Qrow. I’m only going to ask this once. Stand. Down.” He stands up, getting a hold of one of his guns.

“No. You’ve done some stupid things in the past, but this… this takes the cake.” Qrow slowly approaches him.

“I’m not the one who ran through someone with a blade. You’re a madman, Branwen.” Ironwood said.

“I’m not the one who killed him, genius. But go ahead, keep being a bone-head. Worked wonders for you in Beacon, and I’m sure it’s doing wonders right now.” Qrow knows this is a deep wound and he salts it.

“I have done nothing but my hardest to pick up the pieces Ozpin left behind. If he were here right now, he would see the work I’ve done and marvel.” Ironwood clearly doesn’t want to fight Qrow and tries to delay this as much as he can.

“And yet, here you are, leaving behind pieces for us to pick up. Oz would be really proud of you, James… No… Friends call you James. To me, you’re nothing but a bloodthirsty general.” He then opens fire as Ironwood dodges out of the way. The two have a rather intense gunfight set to a rock song. It’d be a Quarreling Song between Qrow and Ironwood, sung for by Jeff Williams and Caleb Hyles respectively, in which it argues whether sacrifices are necessary. Ironwood argues that sacrifices are indeed necessary for a better future while Qrow argues that no one needs to sacrifice their life if it’s going to be in vain. For this hypothetical song’s title, something like “No Heart, No Brain” or something that ties into them being the Tinman and Scarecrow. That or if you want to be cheeky, “Sacrifice, Pt. 2”.

We have to remember their characters up to this point, especially for the rewrite. Ironwood believes sacrifices need to be made, thanks in large part to learning under Ozpin and getting the wrong ideas from him. Mettle kicks in to stop him from worrying about sacrificing things like Mantle or his army. Qrow, on the other hand, has a crisis of faith with Ozpin and believed that every sacrifice made was for nothing. Ironwood only served to bolster that reminder and have him realize that every Headmaster has sacrificed only for their own personal gains. What makes it worse is that the people sacrificed were almost always his close friends: Clover sacrificed by Ironwood, Shiro (and others) sacrificed by Lionheart, and Summer sacrificed by Ozpin.

This sets up an interesting crossroads where both Ironwood and Qrow, who would otherwise be heroes given optimal circumstances, are villains or close to being one. Ironwood’s office gets shredded as Qrow pulls out all the stops, transforming into a bird to disorientate Ironwood, using his bad luck to cause Ironwood to fall over or run out of bullets, and using his weapon to cut into Ironwood. In the middle of this, Qrow brings up how he sacrificed nothing, only for Ironwood to reveal his broken body and reveal that he has indeed sacrificed himself. He just has the misfortune of living through it and not dying like the rest of the heroes, not to mention the curse of knowing your sacrifices were for nothing.

The battle ends with Qrow breaking a window and having Ironwood on the ropes, Palpatine vs. Windu style. He holds Ironwood at sword point. Ironwood’s aura breaks and his Semblance goes with it. He is stuck in a pile of remorse and regret. He looks up to Qrow and tells him to finish it. Qrow, however, just says:

“You don’t get to rush this.” Just before he hits, though, an arrow whizzes past him.

“That was a warning shot.” Robyn said.

“I didn’t realize idiocy is a disease. This monster’s too dangerous to be kept alive!” Qrow said.

To make a long chat short, Robyn tries to argue with Qrow that killing Ironwood isn’t the answer, that it won’t bring Clover back, the usual ‘if you kill him, you’ll be like him’ bullshit. Qrow brings up that every moment Ironwood is alive is a chance for Atlas and Mantle to fall in flames. They could change it for the better, but it has to start by killing Ironwood. Just as he’s about to pull the trigger, we hear two clicks. One is from Qrow’s gun, the other is from Mettle.

“So… What you’re saying is that I’m the sacrifice needed for Mantle’s future?” Qrow’s eyes widened as he gets up and points his gun at Qrow’s head. “Do it then. Shoot me like I am one of your soldiers. You’ll realize then just how easy it is to shoot anyone who poses as a threat…” He aims his second gun at Robyn. “Or a hinderance.” There’s a tense moment as either person is just moments away from killing someone. Then…

Ironwood puts his guns away and calmly walks off. “You don’t have the resolve to finish what you’ve started.” His Aura gives way yet again, having only recovered enough just to use Mettle one last time. Qrow is left there to ponder if he was about to do the right thing. Robyn comes over to comfort him.

We cut to the whale. We see Weiss and Winter do a sisterly team up to fight the Grimm armies as the Ace Ops wonder what to do about the bomb. Harriet votes to have Ironwood arm it anyways, knowing that, chances are, it will blow up while Marrow votes not to. However, they don’t need to wait for long as they see that the bomb is armed and ready to go off in an hour. They turn to see Watts holding a phone and smirking.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that Watts had hacked into the bomb using the credentials from Ironwood to activate it. The reason for the time delay is so that they can take the bomb and bring it to Mantle, blowing it up and making it look like Ironwood did it to force its people to comply. Before the Ace Ops can rush him, Neo and Cinder leap in and make short work of them. However, they are the Ace Ops for a reason. Marrow Stays Cinder and holds her in place long enough for Harriet to rush over and kick her.

Vine holds Neo in place while Elm smashes her. Basically, the two pairs mess up Cinder and Neo until Watts hacks into their weapons and makes them work against them. Fast Knuckles freezes up and locks Harriet’s upper body in place, Fetch flies back to Marrow and smacks him, and Timber refuses to come out of the inappropriate launcher mode. In an effort to get it unstuck, Elm smacks it and accidentally causes a missile to launch, with Watts guiding it towards Marrow. Vine uses his Semblance to block the missile but it blows up and drains his aura, right as his throwing star comes back and stabs him in the chest.

The Ace Ops have no time to even say goodbye to their mortally wounded friend as they are stuck right where the villains want them. Despite this, they manage to have one final stand. Harriet gets so pissed that she breaks her own weapons and runs over, smacking Neo with a Gravity Bolas. Elm uses the blunt end of the launcher to attack Watts and get him to relinquish his phone. And, of course, Marrow uses Stay one last time on Cinder and Neo, freezing them in place. However, he’s drained and is about to lose control at any second.

Harriet comes in clutch, however, fastening the bolas around Cinder’s neck and trying to choke her out with it. This triggers Cinder’s memories of when she had the collar and it’s a baaaaad move on Harriet’s part. She bursts into flames, knocking Harriet’s aura out just as Marrow’s runs out too. Cinder rips the bolas from her throat and, wanting to get revenge, is about to grab Harriet’s neck with the Grimm hand. However, Marrow runs in and takes a mortal wound. Harriet becomes distraught and sees as Marrow dies without any sort of last words. Vine had expired a few minutes prior. With them dead, the two remaining Ace Ops are at the villains’ mercy when suddenly Cinder gets sniper rifled. Cinder turns to see Ruby and co arrive, now having finally evened the odds.

But then, Cinder sees Emerald and the true title of Trial comes in as Cinder tempts Emerald to return to her side. This is Emerald’s trial. Is she truly remorseful for what she’s done or does she only care for Cinder?

That’s when we cut to black…

Midnight

Ooooooh yes. Yes, we are doing this.

We open with Qrow, slinking through the Atlas halls. Everyone is noticeably gone from their posts. He realizes that Salem’s forces are causing the priorities to shift to her. Otherwise, he would have been gunned down. All he has for opponents are robots that have gone haywire from Watts’s hacking and engage in kamikaze attacks. Unlike in the original, though, Qrow doesn’t just fire once then give up, but rather apathetically cleaves through each of them. He drops his weapon and lets the last one finish him off, but Robyn comes in and shoots down the robot before it can explode.

She confronts him for his suicidal behavior and Qrow admits that killing Ironwood to save Atlas and Mantle would fall under the logic of sacrifice that he loathes so much. Not to mention the unrest that would come from his death as he experienced first hand with Lionheart and Ozpin. He asks Robyn if people would cheer for his death, to which Robyn instantly rejects. His death will not solve anything. Yes, he needs to answer for his crimes, but a summary execution will only make their situation worse.

What they need is a revolution. Something to upend the system of an Atlas council overlooking Mantle and neglecting their needs. She briefly mentions how this was a problem with Mantle even before Ironwood took his two seats, since Mantle has been stigmatized heavily for causing the Great War. Maybe even hint to that idea I had written a year ago where the Mantle that actually caused the Great War became Atlas, left the rest of Mantle to take the fall, and that Ozma was well aware of this but let it happen anyways because “we are in a time of peace”. Qrow seems to be moved by Robyn’s words and promptly joins her side. We’ll see them commandeer an aircraft that’ll get them to Mantle later in the episode.

Another scene that will be later in the episode will be Jacques and the Councilmen figuring out how to restore the heating to Mantle. Not a huge scene, but just to catch us up on where Pietro and Maria have been, as they find themselves also working with Jacques to fix the problem. We can even have a funny quip from Jacques where he wants to go down as the man remembered for saving Mantle and everyone being like “bruh, you put it in this situation in the first place.”

Emerald and Cinder stare each other down. Ruby goes up and tries to Silver Eyes the problem away, but Neo rushes her, with Yang rushing to her defense. We get a good look at Ruby & Yang vs. Neo while Watts takes on Blake and Yang. Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Oscar rush up to Emerald as Cinder taunts Oscar about how he lost the last time. Oscar retorts that he won’t be fighting alone this time.

As Team ALPN/ORNJ/JNPR2 fight Cinder, Emerald is frozen in fear. On one hand, she doesn’t want to fight for a Grimm commander seeking to destroy the world. On the other, she really wants to stand by her waifu’s side. Unfortunately for her, Cinder begins to gaslight her or whatever abusive partner trick this is:

“Come now, Emerald… You remember how poor and desolate you were before I found you… I picked you up from the gutters and gave you a life you could have only dreamed of.” For the first time, though, Cinder sounds incredibly genuine with what she says. As she does, we cut…

To a younger Cinder. This is where the flashback kicks in. However, we’ll be expanding on this quite a bit. For one, we can see Rhodes try to get Cinder out of her confinement, only for someone (tempted to make it a younger Ozpin, as though Cinder killing him back in Volume 3 would be some form of karma but might be too dark) to stop and tell him that “we live in a time of peace.” This sets Cinder off something fierce, since people would rather turn away from uncomfortable subject matter. The story continues as normal until Cinder kills Rhodes.

We get a montage of Cinder trying (and failing) to adapt to her life of freedom, ironically proving Rhodes right that she’ll never stop running. I’m thinking a few montages where she goes from town to town, working for a bit before either her past catches up to her (wanted posters, most likely) or she is reminded of her painful experiences, in which case, she runs more.

We’ll see her meeting with Salem, though my idea of how, admittedly, would be too fanservicey. Something “she ends up seeing what Salem’s old team used to be like and it was filled with people who are clear counterparts to the team she’s currently with, like Merlot is Watts, Tock is Tyrian, and this big buff girl based off Helios is Hazel.” Realistically, I’d see the classic WTCH set up. The long story short of it, though, is that Salem asks Cinder a question:

“You keep running from a society that is filled with problems but you never stopped to ask yourself… What do you want most of all?”

And that’s when we get Cinder saying her desires that she said in V3.

Cut back to the battle at hand as Cinder offers Emerald to join her side. And, shock of shocks…

She accepts. She immediately backstabs Oscar and Jaune, allowing Cinder to rush past Nora and Ren to grab the bomb and commence the bombing of Mantle, ranting about how Atlas had ignored the people in pain for far too long and that now it’s time to pay for their actions. However, just she is about to gloat about having power, she notices that Jaune and Oscar… weren’t really there. She realizes what just happened as she sees Emerald joining Ruby and Yang’s battle against Neo, just long enough to grab the Relic of Knowledge.

“What are you doing!?” Cinder asks her.

“Before I work with you and take even more lives… There’s something I want to know… Jinn!” Emerald shouts into it as Jinn appears. Without any hesitation (knowing that Cinder or someone else can easily steal the final question from her), she asks: “Does Cinder… truly care for me?”

Jinn looks to Emerald and pouts. Her power could be used for anything… And yet, like before, she is used to air out dirty laundry.

But, she complies and gives her a look back at her past. We see the scene in Volume 3 where Cinder meets Emerald unfold, this time in Maya, where we see things from Cinder’s perspective. When she cornered Emerald and noticed how desperate she was, she was reminded of herself. She thought about how Rhodes took her under his wing. She offered to do the same, almost genuinely. It seems as though Emerald got her answer…

Then we see her interact with Emerald on different occasions, including when she slaps her. We get deep into Cinder’s thoughts about how she viewed Emerald as the weak self she discarded long ago and thus, she treats her like shit because of her past. Not even taking her recent action to defend her at Amity with the slightest amount of gratitude.

Jinn concludes the flashback by telling her “yes, she did truly care for you… But that has long since went away. I hope it was worth it.” Jinn then returns to the Lamp as it dims. A moment of silence later and Cinder is furious. Not just at the fact that Emerald wasted a question, but that her past was revealed to all of her worst enemies at once. She rushes to kill Emerald, Emerald freezes and flinches in shock… And then…

STAB!

Cinder finds herself impaled on Crocea Mors. She coughs up blood as she sees Jaune in front of Emerald.

“So… that’s how broken you truly are… I have nothing left for you… but pity.” Jaune takes the sword out, refusing to kill her. Though, it looks to be a mortal wound. Emerald’s eyes widen as Cinder begins to writhe at her wound. Her arm goes out of control, and she begins to hyperventilate.

“No… I won’t die… to a mere insect like yourself! Do you realize who I am!? I am strong! I am feared! I’m…”

“Weak.” Ruby tells this to Cinder. Her eyes then begin to glow as Cinder goes “oh shit”. With nowhere to go, she takes the full blast of Ruby’s silver eyes, which also turns the immediate area inside of Monstra into stone. Cinder notices her arm begin to shrivel but still trying to stretch to its length. Cinder’s on her last legs and she knows it. She desperately tries to find some way to linger on…

And that’s when it dawned upon her.

Immediately, she cheap shots Ruby with a fireball and flies off. Neo holds off Ruby and Yang to distract them. Cinder sees Salem, still on fire (though the embers and stasis seem to be dying down) and, clutching to her wound, tells Salem that, yes… Without her, she is nothing. But, because of her…

She will be powerful.

Her Grimm hand impales Salem’s chest and begins to absorb the magic from her. Salem can do nothing but watch as her magic is being drained. However, it became fortunate that Cinder doesn’t steal her magic. As she sees the stab wound close on Cinder, Salem realizes that Cinder is robbing her immortality and lust for destruction. Though, not entirely.

See, they were curses from the Gods and not directly magic. As such, trying to absorb or otherwise destroy them wouldn’t exactly work. Not even Maidens can hope to replicate it, so the most it gives Cinder is a healing factor and, as the Brother of Darkness’s curse came from the Grimm Liquid… Oh yeah.

Cinder’s arm begins to grow more onto her body and she cackles in a maddening fit of laughter as the Grimm part over takes her, almost like a certain black goo. It then engulfs her head, creating a sort of Grimm helmet. We are introduced to the Hound 2.0: Cinder Fall.

One immediate difference is that she retains not just her Maiden powers, but also her intellect (‘haha, Cinder is dumb though!’, I meant as in she’s not as brainwashed as the previous Hound). She thanks Salem for the gift as Salem glares at her. Obviously, this moment has become Cinder’s “letter of resignation”. Now she goes back into the fray with her new powers in tow. I don’t want to say she goes all Mortal Kombat 9!Sindel on their asses, but… It’s a new power upgrade for Cinder and her big W for this volume. Try as they might, they can’t land a decisive blow against her. Winter is the closest, but she’s also the one that almost gets mortally wounded.

Cinder takes the bomb, with only ten minutes left on it, and flies out with flaming Nevermore wings. That’s when Penny interferes and the two have your boring superhero dogfight you’ve probably seen Nerdstalgic take the piss out of. Look, not all fights can be winners and you need at least one bad fight for this rewrite. However, visually, it is pleasing to see with Cinder and Penny blasting fire and ice at each other, utterly decimating both Atleasan and Grimm armies.

Meanwhile, RWBY manage to beat their foes now that ALPNE joined up as back up. Now all that’s left is to take on Cinder and get the bomb back. Weiss and Winter dual summoned a Nevermore and they try to rush out, but unfortunately, Salem’s timer has just run out and she is free to curbstomb them. Ruby tries to get her Silver Eyes to work on Salem, believing that, since she’s part Grimm, maybe that could stop her in some way, but Salem immediately goes right for her and smirks.

“You will be a fine addition…” She drags Ruby, shrugging off any and all attacks on her, while she finds a pool of Grimm Liquid. Ruby knows what she is planning to do… But, just then…

Boom!

Harriet and Elm come in and knock Salem by surprise. Harriet says that this changes nothing about them wanting to arrest RWBY, just that they have a bigger fish to fry. Salem goes for a 1v12 and… well, if people insist that Adam and Ironwood wouldn’t be able to solo half that, it shouldn’t come as no surprise that Salem finds herself on the losing end of the battle. This was the outcome she wanted to avoid for so long: unity. Despite the division she gave onto Atlas and RWBY, they still manage to work together to overcome her. Worse still, Neo and Watts decide to join the winning side and defect to Cinder.

However, the battle, now that everyone else is getting involved, becomes chaotic. In the chaos, Harriet takes the phone from Watts and renders him useless in battle while Yang finally beats Neo and sends her flying. During this battle, Cinder finds a weak spot and exploits it, mortally wounding Watts and sending him falling to his death to the city of Mantle.

Cinder, now edging to the brink of insanity, takes the bomb in her hands and rushes to detonate the bomb at Mantle. However, Ruby stuns her long enough for Penny to take the bomb. Realizing what must be done, Ruby and Penny look at each other. Of course, Ruby insists she drops the bomb and gets out of there, but Penny tells her like it is.

“I’m tired of letting people decide for me… All it’s done is make this situation worse. So, please… Let me make my own choice.” Penny hands Ruby her Floating Array and flies off to the whale. After a few moments… boom. The bomb goes off and destroys the whale. Cinder is furious at having lost the opportunity to obtain her powers, but then she gets a big surprise when she gets stabbed in the back by Winter. Making matters worse is that Ruby’s eyes go off and clear away some of the Hound armor on Cinder, forcing her to retreat. Still, a massive win on Cinder’s part as she gets away with a lot more power than what she started the volume off on.

We end with everyone gazing at total awe at the explosion going off. We see that Penny had sacrificed herself to hold the bomb in place so that it destroys only the whale and makes Salem’s regeneration time the longest it’s been. About twelve to twenty-four hours.

Which brings us to our final episode:

Creation

It has been an hour since the bomb went off. The heat on Mantle begins to be turned on again, however the Mantleans are still afraid of Atlas for their willy nilly neglect. They do not trust Jacques as the person who restored the heat, but they’re not going to tear him limb from limb when he comes on to announce his role in saving Mantle. However, that’s when the civilians point out his ships that rescued people were destroyed by Grimm. As a result, they blame him for killing more Mantleans and they shun him. I want his comeuppance to not be some sort of “lol, boom” and then he’s dead. Give him consequences that are inherently tied to his character.

Just before things get into a riot, Robyn and Qrow arrive to try and calm down the situation, reminding them that the Grimm will only make their situation worse. Robyn doesn’t make a rousing speech (since the episode will be pretty long already) but she asks whoever would be willing to finally stick it to Ironwood and the Atlasian Council to come with her. People comply, with Qrow slinking away into the background.

We then cut to RWBY and the rest at Pietro’s shop where he learns the unfortunate news. Despite knowing he can bring her back, he’s still upset because he doesn’t really know if he’s able to split his aura again. The despair he feels causes Emerald to be remorseful at the fact that she killed Penny and made it look like Pyrrha did it. Ren then notices some aura petals coming from the Floating Array. He realizes that Pietro may not even need to split his aura, then asks Ruby, since she was the last person Penny spoke to, if she had received the Maiden powers. She shakes her head and Winter can confirm that it hasn’t gone to her either.

Ren then confirms his suspicions. Penny is still alive, since she would have otherwise clearly had Ruby or Winter in her mind when she died. There’s a short scene that confirms that, yes, she had backed up her aura in the Floating Array. Now comes the solution of rebuilding her and transferring the aura over. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done, as the Grimm invasion left Pietro’s shop ravaged and Atlas is still engaged in battle with the Grimm (albeit now at a reduced level than when Salem was invading). Not to mention that Pietro is branded as a criminal. Penny is stuck in this state of being and knowing that causes Ruby to have a breakdown.

She realized that this was the massive consequence to betraying Ironwood’s trust and trying to win a battle with just their group. This is followed with a brief bit where both sides talk about how they basically failed what they set out to do. However, Oscar brings up that even though they have failed, they also succeeded. Salem’s suffering the greatest setback she’s ever had, they made Ironwood’s dream a reality, and they managed to Mantle. He admits the chances someone will come to Atlas’s rescue are slim to none, but what matters is that they had the truth come out.

He pauses.

“Speaking of the truth…” He closes his eyes and lets Ozpin take over.

Immediately, RWBY, Jaune, and Nora turn their weapons on him. Ozpin calmly addresses his people.

“I know you have a reason to despise me. I also know that you’ve walked a day in my shoes and have learned the painful lesson I had learned. However, you confronted the consequences of your actions instead of running away like I have been doing all my life. This past day has taught me just as it had taught you. And I feel like I should share with you what I know about the Relic of Creation.” We’re not gonna drag with lengthy exposition, so after that, Harriet, Elm, and Winter arrive. They were told by Ironwood to take them to the Vault. Not as criminals…

But as challengers.

We cut to the Vault where Ironwood is standing by the door. His posture is relaxed, yet there’s tensed shoulders. He sees some guards enter the room and allowing RWBYALPNE in. He’s surprised that Emerald’s with them, but he nonetheless lets her in.

“What is this about? If you still want to levitate Atlas into the sky…” As Ruby was about to bitch at him, Ironwood shakes his head.

“This entire kingdom will crumble if we continue to bicker. I’ve seen you lot risk everything to save everyone. I’ve also heard of Penny’s… sacrifice.” He frowns a bit before he continues. “However, Salem will not stay dead for long. However, with the Relic, we can ensure that she can.” Oscar seems perplexed with the idea.

“You know that Salem can’t be killed. Many have tried, even herself. What makes you different?” Ozpin asks.

“…” He acknowledges Ozpin’s return for a moment before he talks. “I will use the Staff to recreate the bomb, then merge it with Salem’s remains. When she reforms, the bomb will be fused to her and will be detonated, restarting the process over and over. The Staff can’t destroy her, but what it can make will.”

“But… then Atlas will…” Weiss said.

“I know. But that’s a sacrifice I am willing to make. Or… at least that’s what I want to believe.” As he says this, Ren can see the purple petals of fear and he is the first to step up.

“But you don’t, do you? You don’t want to commit to it and take responsibility.” Ren said.

“I have always taken responsibility for my actions. And this is just another one.” He then holds his arms out and tells them the reason he called them here. “It’s time for you to take your responsibility. Fight me for the right to use the Staff.” As he says that, guards flank the door leading to the Vault, making a simple B-line impossible without getting shot. Harriet, Elm, and Winter join his side, even when Ironwood insists that they stay out of it. However, he can’t fault them for doing what their heart desires. He steps forward, guns drawn as we hear the Mettle click. The petals on him turn white. Ren calmly closes his eyes.

“You can’t be serious… We’re going to trounce you!” Jaune chuckles only for Ren to tap his shoulder.

“This isn’t a test of strength… This… is a question that must be answered: ‘can you match my resolve?’” With that, “Be Strong, Hit Stuff” plays as the group engage in battle against Ironwood. As stated before, Ironwood is fighting a losing battle, but it gets dragged out on the merit that both of them have run ragged. It breaks down to some smaller scale fights: Winter vs. Weiss and Emerald (ironic given how the Openings always had the two fight each other), Elm vs. Ren and Nora, Harriet vs. Jaune and Blake, and lastly Ironwood vs. RBY.

These become more philosophical debates in the form of battle. The Schneebowl ft. Emerald is about devotion to your savior, as Winter and Emerald were pulled out of shitty lives but placed in the care only for their use to their plans. Elm vs. Renora could have the hotly debated “was Mantle more important than Atlas” discussion. Harriet is lashing out about her loss of her friends to Jaune, who just goes “yeah, I know that feel, bra” throughout the whole fight. Harriet, mid-fight, reveals Marrow’s motivation to join the Ace-Ops was to better the relationship between Humans and Faunus. She even reveals that she was a Faunus herself, but that she took a more drastic measure to hide her Faunus traits and removed the rabbit ears she had.

However, it’s Ironwood vs. Ruby, Oscar, and Yang that gets the most focus. We have Yang and Ironwood trade punches as we finally hear Yang thank him for the prosthetic. He apologizes if he ends up breaking it during the fight and that, regardless of outcome, he knows Pietro will make Yang a new one.

Finally, we have Ruby and Oscar’s fight with Ironwood which will no doubt fan the flames of Rose Garden shipping and cause a delicious flame war to follow. They come to blows with the fact that they trusted so little in each other, Ruby calling him out for expecting people to follow his orders exactly and Ironwood calling Ruby out for being exactly like Ozpin and asking him when she would have told him the whole truth if Mantle wasn’t at risk.

By this point, Harriet, Elm, and Winter lose, with Weiss and Winter having a badass final strike. At the same time, Qrow and Robyn come onto Atlas with the HH in tow. I’d say that RT would have had an entire army of rioters accompany them, but because of recent events, they decided to nix that idea and just have the HH.

Ironwood manages to take Yang out, predictably breaking her arm. Oscar is tired out because he and Ozpin just took hours of torture at Salem’s hands. It’s down to him and Ruby, but they’re both tired out. Ruby uses the last of her Aura to boost herself to Ironwood and, using Penny’s sword, chops off Ironwood’s robot arm, literally disarming him. Ironwood’s Aura is turned off and he realizes his path, his resolve, couldn’t match that of Ruby’s. Instead of blubbering or ranting, he calmly tells Ruby that whatever she plans to do with the Staff, she must take note that she will endure the consequences. He’ll probably instruct her that the genie inside the Staff will want blueprints. With that, the gang head over to the gate to open it using Penny’s swords as a sort of key.

Yang stays behind and tells Ironwood that they apologize for omitting the truth, but before she could finish

Ironwood turns to Winter, Harriet, and Elm and is about to calmly give them his last order as general, when suddenly…

STAB!

Qrow impales Ironwood from the back.

“I made a promise that you’d take the fall… No matter what.” Qrow coldly whispers to Ironwood. He lets Ironwood bleed out as he faces the remaining Ace Ops. Holding onto Clover’s charm, he taps into his Semblance and causes each of them to fumble and lose their weapons. Robyn comes in and yells at Qrow.

“DAMN IT! THIS ISN’T WHAT WE AGREED ON!” Robyn loaded her gun, but notices it jammed… Another use of his Semblance.

“Sorry, tuts, but in a revolution, the tyrant often loses his head.” Qrow smirks and is about to behead Ironwood, only to see Yang from afar. She had witnessed him stab Ironwood. Ruby comes back to check up on Yang and sees the bloodied general. Yang calls him out on betraying them, believing Harriet to be right, only for Qrow to retort that she betrayed them all, then asks her a simple question:

“When you were in the Vault, you knew your mother was the Spring Maiden, right?” With that, the other shoe finally drops as Ruby looks over to Yang and realizes this mini-betrayal. “You talk a big game about having people tell you the full story but when it’s your turn, you decide to omit crucial facts.”

Ruby, having been personally betrayed by her own sister, hurries off into the vault and proceeds to shut the rest out. Not even Oscar can break through the door. Harriet loses it and believes the gang was in on this, but seeing how they betrayed they feel, she quickly assumes that, no, they didn’t know Qrow turned traitor despite her warning. Qrow smirks and flies away via bird transformation. Robyn finally gets her weapon ready and fires at Qrow, only for bad luck to activate again, ricochet and stab Harriet right in the chest. Her fate is left ambiguous.

Ruby activates Ambrosius and the scene goes pretty unaltered except for the choice in music. It’s now a more dark, sinister song, almost in tune to Salem’s theme or even the song used when she begs the God of Darkness to bring Ozma back. This is to play into the awareness that, like what Salem did long ago, Ruby is going to indirectly doom Remnant to bring back a loved one. And that there are going to be consequences for her trying to fight for every life.

As Penny is “revived” and given her human form, Atlas begins to fall and everyone can see and feel it. Ironwood chuckles and in his last words, he gives everyone his final order: Save yourselves. We end with Penny asking Ruby what she had done as Cinder looks at the falling Kingdom and chuckles to herself, giving us the final word:

“In the end… Chaos wins.”

Stinger

Qrow witnesses the fall of Atlas for himself, but looks to a list he has written down. On it are two people: Tyrian and Theodore. He smirks, then flies off.

Conclusion

And that was how I would rewrite Volume 8. Honestly, this was a bit of a work to give every arc a pay-off and I feel like it might have been better off if a few were excised. There are obviously still problems, such as this still not being Weiss’s story like it was hyped to be. However, the overall point is to fix some major problems with Volume 8 and obviously, the piss poor fight with Ironwood was what motivated me to do this rewrite.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Let me know your thoughts down in the description below.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Jenny’s Belated Live Blogging - 20th February 2020

- The Liam and Leyla stuff was very fun today. I just adore Liam. He’s great. And I really like what they’ve been doing with his and Leanna’s relationship lately too. 

- Paddy is the worst. I just...I don’t know how he’s gotten soooo bad lately. Like even more intolerable than before. Just the whole thing with Marlon and Eve and guilting him into being her godfather like that was just going to make everything all better. I mean...I know it’s not these babys’ faults but god are Chas and Paddy annoying about them with people who are struggling. I need the show to stop writing them like this. It’s so painful. Like, I’m glad you had a healthy baby but like....stop making everything about yourselves and your wonder child. It’s obnoxious. And baby’s do not solve everyone’s problems. 

- I’d rather watch Sam eat eggs than listen to Paddy get all high pitched about Eve. I mean...the egg plot was a bit dumb but I like that it got the village involved and I liked that we heard about it in several of the plots. Especially Pierce giving Vanessa the updates. The connectivity worked well. I also like that Brenda is some kind of internet savant.

- I wonder if Aaron was watching with Zak and Debs...

- It’s interesting watching Kim deal with police questioning and Rhona confronting her because she still really believes that this is her fault. Not that we saw much guilt tonight from her but still, I like that she believes he’s dead because she asked Al to do it. 

- They really should have used that money for the Free Marlon campaign. 

- Pierce really continues to be fantastically deluded. The Jonny thing was a lot but it was effective to have Vanessa overhear it. And having the calendar in view. 

- I’m glad Rhona finally found the card. Hopefully now it gets even more interesting. 

- I mostly tuned out the Will/Harriet gun drama today because it’s just so random and dumb and already repetitive as hell and it’s only been like three days. And it’s only going to get worse I’m sure. Over it. Free Billy from this plot. 

- And of course it was all plot to get Cain a gun so he could accidentally shoot Nate. Sigh...couldn’t he just actually die. I mean I know that would mean Cain killed his own son but like...it’s fine. 

- Though I think Jurell had his best performance today...lying in the hospital bed unconscious while Cara talked to him. 

- I’m less than thrilled about the idea of this being a catalyst for Cain to try and be Nate’s dad. Because....blah. Maybe if he could act, the way he was introduced could be slowly forgotten about but he’s just such a wooden terrible actor that I can’t deal with it. I mean, the writing absolutely does him no favors either but his line delivery is still painful. Also..I just hate that Cain has valid reasons for not getting to know him and they’re just going to push all that aside because he’s family. Sigh...

- That said, this was the most I’ve enjoyed Coira in months. I liked them walking around with their guns defending the farm together. I liked Moira having Cain’s back about everything and trying to cover it up for him. But she did it because she cares, not out of desperation and that’s what made it work better than her behavior the last couple of months. So maybe there is still hope for them one day. 

[skyler10fic]

K, so what if (big if) the reason the Doctor was so upset with Harriet in TCI was because he knew the Sycorax couldn't do much to harm the human race? He points out that he hasn't seen blood-control used for *years*, they fought using swords (ancient weaponry?) & were looking for a cheap power source & cheap laborers (the Doctor's regeneration energy & the human race as slaves). Even the leader's whip was stopped by the Doctor rather easily. Granted they did kill several people, though, so...??

meh, I do think both sides had a point here. Harriet isn’t so much afraid of the Sycorax at the end of the episode as what they represent. She’s afraid of the Sycorax spreading the word that Earth was relatively easy to mind control and ruled by fragile little fleshy humans who don’t even have exoskeletons! So tbh, I kind of get where Harriet is coming from with shooting the messengers as they run away in defeat. No survivors to tell the tale. And she’s right, as we learn more and more throughout RTD’s era and the Torchwood TV show after this, that the Doctor isn’t always around to solve things. So he can shout “it is defended!” all he wants but also can’t guarantee that he will be the one always here defending it.

Of course, the Doctor has a point too, that humans aren’t immune from becoming merciless monsters ourselves. I think that’s an important point that Doctor Who makes by having an alien protagonist. He (and now she) is all about defending the earth, but also not above judging the humans that occupy it. I think he/she really does want to believe the best about humans, sometimes to his/her detriment because sometimes humans are horrible, but we also can’t forget the Doctor is not one of us. I think that moment where Harriet makes a very human decision (prevent the spread of information to enemies to minimize risk) disappoints the Doctor because Harriet sees all aliens as potential enemies (which, again, she has a point), but the Doctor has seen and known so much more of the universe, and trusts that the warning not to come back will serve as a better warning to the rest of the species out there than no word of warning at all. 

It is curious because it is often during a society’s “Golden Age” that it becomes self-protective and xenophobic, realizing how much it has to lose and how desirable it is becoming in the eyes of its neighbors. I think Harriet goes through that awakening here. Where before it was maybe “we’re sending a probe to celebrate peace throughout the universe!” now it’s “no one can know we’re here, and if they do, we will shoot them down if they trespass on our property.” It’s a very human instinct. But one that separates the Doctor from humans. That’s just not how he thinks. He’s always after the hope and exploration and doesn’t place much value in ownership of places and things, outside the TARDIS. So the ruthless pragmatism of Harriet, even good ol’ backbencher-turned-PM Harriet, breaks his heart and he knows he has to stop it before it gets out of hand. Maybe he fears her plans would go on the offensive against other species. Maybe he fears exactly what Torchwood became in the end anyway. Maybe he was arrogant and still carrying around the supreme-being-complex of the Time Lords. He always knows best, and it is his place to pass judgment on the humans he defends. Dangerously close to seeing them as children he loves but must reprimand. (Even though we do act like it sometimes.)

It’s a complicated scene, but I think there’s a lot more here than the humans unnecessarily fearing the Sycorax.   

[fcrgedstrcngth]

John Watson

Face-claim: Martin Freeman

Status: active

Biography:

John Hamish Watson (Martin Freeman) is Sherlock’s best friend and former flatmate. He is often a foil to Sherlock in both appearance and personality. Unlike Sherlock, Watson is short with blond hair. He is friendly, compassionate, patient and ‘human’ compared to Sherlock’s aloof, cold-hearted tendencies. He gets on better with the police and takes care of practical matters at their flat, apparently doing most of the shopping. Sherlock has called him “the wisest, warmest human being [he] knows”, and has stated that “the warmth and constancy of [Watson’s] friendship” can redeem even a “rude, ignorant, all-around obnoxious arsehole like [Sherlock].”

Watson seems to behave as Sherlock’s advocate, helping strangers to understand what they should expect from Sherlock as he helps Sherlock to behave in socially acceptable ways. He calmly but sternly corrects Sherlock when he is brash and helps “translate” sarcasm and “typical” human emotions, which Sherlock snidely refers to as “sentiment”, to him. John is very tolerant; as Sherlock’s flatmate he has to deal with everything from coming home to find Sherlock shooting holes in the wall to opening the refrigerator to discover a severed human head. He is shown to, in general, be very protective of Sherlock and his neurological differences; when, at the beginning of “The Hounds of Baskerville”, Sherlock is angrily pacing the sitting room of their flat, desperate for a case, John politely and respectfully encourages him and tries to help him find something to do, although, after Sherlock’s deduction of Mrs. Hudson proves extremely insulting, John tells him off and insists he apologize. One thing John will not do with Sherlock, however, is play the game Cluedo; Sherlock’s frustration that the inflexible rules of the game do not allow for scenarios that resemble realistic cases has apparently ruined the game for John. After he becomes engaged to Mary Morstan in Series Three, John develops a code with Mary that they use when one of them realizes that they need to privately discuss an issue Sherlock is having.

At the start of the series, John is recently invalided home from Afghanistan after serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps as part of Britain’s role in the 2001-2014 Afghanistan war. He was honourably discharged as a Captain. Prior to his military period, John read medicine at King’s College, London as seen on his CV. He is in possession of a pistol, with which he is highly proficient, being described as a “crack shot” by Sherlock.

At the beginning of the series, John has several medical issues: a psychosomatic limp in his right leg, a bullet wound in his left shoulder, and an “intermittent tremor” in his left hand. John’s therapist notes he has “trust issues” and PTSD, but Sherlock’s brother Mycroft says that far from being “haunted by the war” John actually misses the thrill of battle. Following a chase around London with Sherlock, in which he forgets his cane at a restaurant, John’s limp disappears, and Mycroft observes that in a stressful situation John has no sign of a hand tremor. When asked by Sherlock, on their first case together, whether he wants to see more horrible deaths, John responds, “Oh God, yes!” In the 3rd series, it is further elaborated that John is subconsciously addicted to danger. Sherlock explains that this is why John chose to put his trust in him, a sociopath who solves dangerous cases as an alternative to getting high, and fell in love with Mary, a former secret agent and assassin.

John is shown to be dependable and brave, with a strong sense of personal integrity. He refuses Mycroft’s offer to pay him to spy on Sherlock, despite only having just met Sherlock; however, Series 3 shows John informing Mycroft of anything wrong Sherlock has done, showing he will inform others of Sherlock’s actions if they are family. He is willing to use deadly force, but is only ever seen doing so when someone else’s life is in immediate danger. John also shows impressive physical strength; in the episode A Scandal in Belgravia, when a confused Sherlock, who has been rendered ill by Irene Adler’s poison, gets out of bed to search for her and falls, John is able to lift him from the floor to return him to bed.

In the first series John gets a locum job at a nearby general practice to supplement his pension. In the second series, John is referred to as Sherlock’s P.A. and is not shown working any other job. John writes about Sherlock’s cases on his blog, which attracts clients to them. He also gives the cases names he deems appropriate. Much to John’s constant annoyance, he is often mistaken for a gay man because of the time he spends around Sherlock. He is indicated to have had a number of short-lived relationships with women – one of whom is shown breaking up with him due to John’s commitment to Sherlock, saying, that “[Sherlock] is a very lucky man.” When he tells Mrs. Hudson that he is engaged, in season 3, her first question is “So, what’s his name?”

The only member of John’s family who has been alluded to thus far is his sister, Harriet (aka Harry), with whom he has an estranged relationship due to her being a heavy drinker. During their first case together, Sherlock deduces that John had refused to accept help from Harry after being invalided out of the army, even though the fact that she gave John her old phone is an indication that she wants to stay in touch with her brother. John was not too surprised when she didn’t show up to his wedding, noting a free bar would have been a bad mix with Harry around. Sherlock also guesses that John’s extended family is not very close to him.

Verses:

The Army Doctor: pre-series

The Flatmate: series one and two

The Family Man: series three to Mary’s death

The Forgotten Blogger: post-Mary’s death to the end of series four

The Friend: post-series four

Alternatively 1885: Victorian-era verse across all of my Sherlock muses. John, nor his interactions, are much different in this verse. His backstory is a bit different, as shown in TAB, and he is much more self-aware. He knows he’s a bit daft for adoring these adventures that he and Holmes go on, but he accepts the part of himself that craves them. He is less likely to consider any woman to be capable of anything having to do with the world that he delves into with Sherlock’s cases. He is still a soldier and an adrenaline addict, but now more than ever he is a product of his time. Until he isn’t. Because working with Sherlock Holmes has shown him just how far out of the norm of the days seemingly “normal” people can go, and that is why he has never and will never knowingly or willingly reveal Dr. Hooper’s secret. It’s why he noticed the truth about her in the first place. And it’s why, in this verse, he’s much more accepting of the spy that his wife revealed herself to be.

Road Less Traveled: any other AU

AUs:

So Many Ways To Be: (Descendants) the attending doctor to the Royal Family

Ever Ever After: (Fairytale) a healer employed by the military

Borrowed Babies: (Foster Care) foster father

I Solemnly Swear That I’m Up To No Good: (Harry Potter) Gryffindor seventh-year

There Was an Idea: (MCU) the army doctor twin brother of Everett Ross 

Alternatively 1902: (Victorian) army doctor  

Grow Up With the Land: (Wild West) doctor who fought in the Civil War

Forward To Victory: (World War II) army doctor

Starter Call

[fcrgedstrength]

John Watson

Face-claim: Martin Freeman

Status: active

Biography:

John Hamish Watson (Martin Freeman) is Sherlock’s best friend and former flatmate. He is often a foil to Sherlock in both appearance and personality. Unlike Sherlock, Watson is short with blond hair. He is friendly, compassionate, patient and ‘human’ compared to Sherlock’s aloof, cold-hearted tendencies. He gets on better with the police and takes care of practical matters at their flat, apparently doing most of the shopping. Sherlock has called him “the wisest, warmest human being [he] knows”, and has stated that “the warmth and constancy of [Watson’s] friendship” can redeem even a “rude, ignorant, all-around obnoxious arsehole like [Sherlock].”

Watson seems to behave as Sherlock’s advocate, helping strangers to understand what they should expect from Sherlock as he helps Sherlock to behave in socially acceptable ways. He calmly but sternly corrects Sherlock when he is brash and helps "translate” sarcasm and “typical” human emotions, which Sherlock snidely refers to as “sentiment”, to him. John is very tolerant; as Sherlock’s flatmate he has to deal with everything from coming home to find Sherlock shooting holes in the wall to opening the refrigerator to discover a severed human head. He is shown to, in general, be very protective of Sherlock and his neurological differences; when, at the beginning of “The Hounds of Baskerville”, Sherlock is angrily pacing the sitting room of their flat, desperate for a case, John politely and respectfully encourages him and tries to help him find something to do, although, after Sherlock’s deduction of Mrs. Hudson proves extremely insulting, John tells him off and insists he apologize. One thing John will not do with Sherlock, however, is play the game Cluedo; Sherlock’s frustration that the inflexible rules of the game do not allow for scenarios that resemble realistic cases has apparently ruined the game for John. After he becomes engaged to Mary Morstan in Series Three, John develops a code with Mary that they use when one of them realizes that they need to privately discuss an issue Sherlock is having.

At the start of the series, John is recently invalided home from Afghanistan after serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps as part of Britain’s role in the 2001-2014 Afghanistan war. He was honourably discharged as a Captain. Prior to his military period, John read medicine at King’s College, London as seen on his CV. He is in possession of a pistol, with which he is highly proficient, being described as a “crack shot” by Sherlock.

At the beginning of the series, John has several medical issues: a psychosomatic limp in his right leg, a bullet wound in his left shoulder, and an “intermittent tremor” in his left hand. John’s therapist notes he has “trust issues” and PTSD, but Sherlock’s brother Mycroft says that far from being “haunted by the war” John actually misses the thrill of battle. Following a chase around London with Sherlock, in which he forgets his cane at a restaurant, John’s limp disappears, and Mycroft observes that in a stressful situation John has no sign of a hand tremor. When asked by Sherlock, on their first case together, whether he wants to see more horrible deaths, John responds, “Oh God, yes!” In the 3rd series, it is further elaborated that John is subconsciously addicted to danger. Sherlock explains that this is why John chose to put his trust in him, a sociopath who solves dangerous cases as an alternative to getting high, and fell in love with Mary, a former secret agent and assassin.

John is shown to be dependable and brave, with a strong sense of personal integrity. He refuses Mycroft’s offer to pay him to spy on Sherlock, despite only having just met Sherlock; however, Series 3 shows John informing Mycroft of anything wrong Sherlock has done, showing he will inform others of Sherlock’s actions if they are family. He is willing to use deadly force, but is only ever seen doing so when someone else’s life is in immediate danger. John also shows impressive physical strength; in the episode A Scandal in Belgravia, when a confused Sherlock, who has been rendered ill by Irene Adler’s poison, gets out of bed to search for her and falls, John is able to lift him from the floor to return him to bed.

In the first series John gets a locum job at a nearby general practice to supplement his pension. In the second series, John is referred to as Sherlock’s P.A. and is not shown working any other job. John writes about Sherlock’s cases on his blog, which attracts clients to them. He also gives the cases names he deems appropriate. Much to John’s constant annoyance, he is often mistaken for a gay man because of the time he spends around Sherlock. He is indicated to have had a number of short-lived relationships with women – one of whom is shown breaking up with him due to John’s commitment to Sherlock, saying, that “[Sherlock] is a very lucky man.” When he tells Mrs. Hudson that he is engaged, in season 3, her first question is “So, what’s his name?”

The only member of John’s family who has been alluded to thus far is his sister, Harriet (aka Harry), with whom he has an estranged relationship due to her being a heavy drinker. During their first case together, Sherlock deduces that John had refused to accept help from Harry after being invalided out of the army, even though the fact that she gave John her old phone is an indication that she wants to stay in touch with her brother. John was not too surprised when she didn’t show up to his wedding, noting a free bar would have been a bad mix with Harry around. Sherlock also guesses that John’s extended family is not very close to him.

Verses:

The Army Doctor: pre-series

The Flatmate: series one and two

The Family Man: series three to Mary’s death

The Forgotten Blogger: post-Mary’s death to the end of series four

The Friend: post-series four

Alternatively 1885: Victorian-era verse across all of my Sherlock muses. John, nor his interactions, are much different in this verse. His backstory is a bit different, as shown in TAB, and he is much more self-aware. He knows he’s a bit daft for adoring these adventures that he and Holmes go on, but he accepts the part of himself that craves them. He is less likely to consider any woman to be capable of anything having to do with the world that he delves into with Sherlock’s cases. He is still a soldier and an adrenaline addict, but now more than ever he is a product of his time. Until he isn’t. Because working with Sherlock Holmes has shown him just how far out of the norm of the days seemingly “normal” people can go, and that is why he has never and will never knowingly or willingly reveal Dr. Hooper’s secret. It’s why he noticed the truth about her in the first place. And it’s why, in this verse, he’s much more accepting of the spy that his wife revealed herself to be.

Down a Winding Road: any other AU