#but maybe i'm just bad at reading facial expressions idk

[catboy-cabin]

this post reminded me of something that's been rattling around in my brain since the first time i watch vol 2 & i still have yet to see anyone else really talk about this so i guess i have to now before it makes me insane:

the way that el not being able to find max in the void is revealed.

she finds the empty coke bottle she & max used to decide who to spy on in s3 under her old bed in the cabin, and when she spins it, it transitions to her alone in the void (or something like that, it's been a while since i last watched this scene).

the fact that she spins the bottle always really stuck out to me, even the first time i watched this scene. like idk it feels more significant than just a cool transition. it feels like el is making a decision here.

obviously, when she looks for max in the void, she's trying to make sure that max is okay. but i can't help but think that there's something more to it, that maybe el was looking for max to bc she wanted reassurance that it's okay for her to break up with mike (just like mike tries to get from will throughout s4, as the post i linked earlier points out).

it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that max will give her that reassurance, but if el can't get to max, then spinning that old coke bottle might just be the next best thing.

[silviakundera]

Does it feel like they're trying to redeem the dickless bore? idk if he's doing a con on her or they're showing he has real feelings for her wasn't the novel different?

One thing I'm really noticing in the Princess Royal (Grand Princess) adaption is that they will 'play it straight' with characters like Su Rongqing and the Emperor: giving the character similar dialogue and facial expressions as they would have in the novel -- except without PWX or LR's internal dialogue of 🙄 why u lying???

🙄 lol ok sure

😒 oh i see, back on your bullshit again

😤 the AUDACITY

😬 oh shit oh shit danger BE COOL

The consequence is that if you take everything at face value, the Emperor seems like a reasonable guy and not up for The Absolute Worst Dad award. Under the surface, the novel reader knows he is acting out a play and coldly calculating every interaction with Li Rong, the Crown Prince, and Consort Ruo. Every single scene with him, Li Rong is in peril and she knows it. She's pretending to be his sweet, obedient 19 year old daughter who believes in him and is following Pei Wenxuan's direction and acting as a puppet, making moves that he has already approved PWX to make. The Emperor's pretending that this play isn't supposed to end with LR and the Crown Prince taken down & the power transferred into Consort Ruo and the other prince's hands.

The viewer can just interpret all the words coming out of a character's mouth as facts & just believe everything they claim about their motives/real agenda as true. Or they recall the implied horrorshow of Life 1 and view all of these interactions with a cynical eye, questioning what else could be under the surface.

With SRQ, that guy is so fucking complicated. I think actually he's portrayed in character. Nothing we have seen isn't .... him. At least so far, as of ep 19 he aligns with the novel.

But 3 different factors: A) The music is romantizing him; B) The audience is given a couple internal-thought voice overs from him, which other antagonists don't get; C) With those voice-overs, the screenwriter has chosen to affirm his love for his brother and LR way earlier than the reader has it confirmed in the novel (where he is intentionally kept a total mystery for far longer, while the reader is the math lady meme, trying to piece together clues to figure him out).

And ultimately, when in SRQ's PoV in the drama, we have to deal with him being the hero of his own story. He is absolutely sincere about himself and, as has been revealed, in his own way he's sincere about wanting LR and his brother to have a good life this time around.

So does that mean the writer intends to do a swerve in the narrative arc and redeem him in the end? It's totally possible. Maybe?

However, not necessarily.

#1 There is a certain refrain from many of the great cnovel/drama villians: I had no choice! You all forced me to this!

We saw it from Shen Yurong in The Double, we saw it from Meng Yao/JGY in The Untamed, and in the novel (and I presume in the drama), we're gonna see it from Su Rongqing.

And it's the reason why they become villians who can't be saved. Because so many people suffer in life or experience unfairness. But they don't turn around and use this as an excuse to enact horrible cruelties on others.

Out of the billions of people in the world, few have no problems but so many of them actively chose to do good, or are willing at least to turn back and be better.

#2 imo the reason LR has historically been bad at reading people's hearts but has an exquisite read of SRQ, his flaws & darkness, is THAT'S HER FUCKING MOM. And I do think ep 16-18 put that out there in the text, if you're looking for it. He and the empress are the same sophisticated aristocrat who is clever & educated but with a narrow perspective limited by their privilege and desperate need to maintain the status quo. So sorry bro, but no wonder she might have settled for marrying you in the first life if you wanted to, but she was never gonna fall in love with you 💀.

PWX can see that SRQ loves her and he thinks that matters, so it scares him. LR has tender nostalgia for her empress mother and her former companion but she's all too aware that their love for her will not necessarily get in the way of stepping on her to protect the social structure of a powerful aristocracy class operating at a higher level above the peasants and restraining the throne. To them, this is safety and stability that guards the realm.

(ofc both those characters are complex and when it comes to LR's life & death we can't be confident on what they will always choose. that's part of what made all the palace drama aspects of the novel incredibly suspenseful. So many of the suppporting characters are layered and tho everything they do makes sense when it happens, you can't often predict people's hard choices when their back is up against the wall)

Story of Kunning Palace and The Grand Princess say that caring about people and trying your best to understand them, wanting what's best for them by listening to what's best for them, can make a huge difference. But not everyone is willing to change.

[scarthefangirl]

Giving to the poor

Hobie brown x G/N!reader

Request: hobie with a ballerina reader who is also a HUGE bookworm-dont ask me where the idea came from because idk either lol- I kinda just wanted to see how that would maybe look?

Warnings: none? Mentions of theft

Story type: Headcannons

A/N: Not my best but please read my other fics!!

Masterlist | REQUESTS OPEN

You and Hobie don't have a ton in common

You are graceful, very sweet, and a little more awkward

Hobie is a little more- bold and rough

But you two couldn't be a better pair

He loves your smooth and sophisticated fighting style, thanks to your ballet

He thinks its hot how you almost make fighting into a dance, and can whoop anyone in heartbeat

You encourage him constantly to take up ballet, insisting that it'll do him good

"Football players do it! It helps balance and control, and you'd look fine in a leotard." You always plead

"I don't need help, I'm doin' just fine love. But I certainly would look good," He always says

In secret he'd probably watch ballet tutorials to see if its for him, to make you happy

He is FLOORED when he finds out how often you have to replace ballet slippers

"Every 6 months? That has to be so expensive!"

Just wait till he hears that you also have pointe shoes that get replaced every few months...

He will start to time out when you buy shoes and buy them for you

He listens to you rant about your terrible dance teacher and fellow ballerinas for as long as you want, nodding in agreement about how horrible they are

He'll do yoga with you (although he's not very bendy) to keep you flexible and let you laugh at how bad he is

As for your reading addiction, Hobie finds it adorable

The way you gasp and yell at your books as you read, your facial expressions that convey the emotion of the chapters, your particularity for how books should be handled, everything

He isn't the biggest reader but if you hype up a book he'll definitely check it out

You guys bond over ones you both like

"I like hunger games. We need more katniss's in the world to stick it to the man!" He says after finishing the series

Dystopian books make him mad and go on lectures about how the real government is just as bad and deteriorating and loves the wah you'll go off with him and agree and listen

Sometimes he loses you around headquarters and looks EVERYWHERE for you

Loses trust in everyone

"Have you seen them? Come on, think would ya? Yes you have, I know you have!"

Only to find you in an empty room either reading or practicing your ballet

Either way, he leans on the door frame and admire you until you notice him

"If you're gonna sneak away darlin' you could at least tell me, I worry." He scolds but smiles and sits next to you.

Hobie LOVES making people uncomfortable

He'll admire you fighting and just yell out how hot you are or how turned on he is, not caring who hears

He'll make out with you in front of anyone, anytime.

On a different note, when you obsessively buy books he wants to stop you but he can't because you look so cute with the way your face lights up at each cover

"I've been wanting this one!" Or, "I have this one but this is a different cover!"

He isn't all for traditional gender roles but he will pay for your stuff, just because he loves you. He lets you pay for him sometimes if you offer

He sometimes sneaks a book out, stealing it just because he hates the way you insist on following rules

"Here, I took this one for ya," he says

"Hobart Brown!" You scold but can't help being happy for the book

"What? I'm stealing from the rich," he gestures to the book store. "And giving to the poor," he ends, gesturing at you.

He gives to 'the poor' a lot

If you ever talk about a book to him that you want, it randomly appears on you bookshelf

~

Sorry for the abrupt ending lmao

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[angy-grrr]

I keep seeing people worried abt potential Iz/ch but like. We know that he probably wanted to talk about the same thing they did at the cliff, and she will keep thinking about Toga.

Yeah, for a second I also got slightly worried -bc yk, heterosexuality can just happen at any moment-, but after reading it all it doesn't look romantic at all. At least to me.

I am going to use this ask as an excuse to discuss the leaks under the cut, elaborating on this too

This chapter, to me, looks like Izuku is considering what means for him to be a hero himself, and if he even gets to be called that.

He is really... reflecting, if we pay attention to his facial expressions. After that student who used to had Aizawa-sensei as her teacher says she realized she really wants to be a hero after dealing with his "pranks", he is contemplative, maybe thinking about what he believes a hero should do -and if he fulfilled that role.

Ochako is the person who opened up about her complicated feelings towards a villain -while keeping to herself her admiration for certain things-, and probably he wanted to know more about her fight/confrontation. Because Uraraka interrupts him to comment on his hair, they probably haven't talked during their time in the hospital -idk about medical stuff, but im pretty sure he already went thru the operation and had his head shaved in chapter 424, that's why im guessing they were more focused on healing physically than meeting each other.

Because of this, I believe Izuku doesn't know what happened between her and Himiko, and because she probably isn't as relevant for the public as AFO, the end could also be unknown to him, including Ochako's thoughts. But after seeing how she is all okay apparently, chatting like nothing happened just like most of them... he probably felt more alone.

I can't confirm what he feels bc, well, he doesnt say it. Izuku just looks to me like he is looking for someone who could understand his goal of saving a villain, and how it could hurt failing, even if you are glad everyone is okay, but the only people who were open about it -Ochako, who also was focused on stopping and saving a villain who is "not related" to her, and Shoto, who wanted to save his villain brother- don't seem to want to talk about it with him. Like they can move on into other things.

Uraraka seems fine, idk what that says about Himiko's fate -I'm hoping she is okay and we'll get to see it later-, and Todoroki directly says it... is he alone in this? Is he a bad hero bc he couldn't save Shigaraki fully, or because he's stuck in that moment?

This chapter doesnt go against the idea I expressed here -it was a promise to themselves, and he expected Ochako to tell him about the aftermath and the internal conflict of being a hero that saves villains, just like before. But now, Ochako isn't opening up to him, she is keeping it light, and he doesnt want to be a burden.

Izuku rn is isolating himself bc he isn't being vulnerable with others first -the only people he is like that is All Might, and slightly Katsuki because he can't just lie to their faces. Before, both Shoto and Ochako were the ones who would spill their feelings to him, and he expected to be able to also be honest in return -but not being the first one. If he starts it, he risks making others feel sad, angry or down for things they might not even think about, so he prefers to shut up and keep it to himself.

Him and Katsuki... is complicated, because with his feelings he ends up pushing Izuku to places he might not be comfortable with -for example, expressing his admiration and closeness to the point of being nasty and inappropriate, and not hating it bc they are parts of Kacchan. He doesn't feel like he can say that, yet Katsuki makes him see those sides of him instead of focusing on other practical things.

Izuku is a clueless character, who prefers to put others' happiness over his own, and feels conflicted over his fight with Shigaraki. He is the definition of the bad at feelings tag. When he looks for support in the people he knows could be in the same position, and start the conversation for him -give him permission to express his thoughts- he finds they are doing okay. They are not lost, confused, or stuck. They look... fine.

But he is not okay.

Making that moment just an izu///ocha moment... idk, I think that takes a lot from their characters and from Shigaraki and Himiko, like the villains are just tools to make them a couple.

[redtail-lol]

I'm not gonna be doing a lot of helluva boss or hazbin hotel posting but:

Emberlynn Pinkle did nothing wrong

It's not her fault that Blitzø was uncomfortable for so long. Despite his facial expressions and tone conveying his discomfort, Ember didn't pick up on them. That's not her fault! It is not her fault that she doesn't read tone or facial expressions. His words were either not there or playing into it so he could kill her like he was paid to, so she took that as confirmation of her fantasy and was never corrected. Blitzø made the decision to not say anything about Emberlynn making him uncomfortable because he wanted to get his job done and just bear through it.

Idk maybe it's just because I'm of the opinion that, if a neurodivergent person upsets a neurotypical person accidentally because they missed a social cue, it's the *neurotypical* who needs to apologize for using a social cue instead of communicating in a way the neurodivergent person could understand. But I just don't see how Emberlynn is in the wrong for simply being oblivious

Also, she's a monster fucker who was just watching romance anime and is clearly horny of course she's gonna encounter a real demon and start thinking about her fantasies that she didn't think were possible.

Plus I think people are overreacting saying she's a stalker. She found Blitzø's billboard and decided to stop by and say hello, once. Because she put herself under the impression he loved her and she wasn't corrected. That's not that bad

[fisheito]

fisheito sama one of the things i love about your art is the way you simplify forms and designs — something i struggle a lot to do so i try to learn with your art to focus more in the full picture than the tiny details that make me go nowhere because i get so lost ar the middle- anyways- if you were a youkai master i would love to be your pupil. your yakumo art makes me see sparkles. youre so cool. i will work hard to be as cool as you are. i would be more than happy to call you my master. my master in the art of making nu carnival art. thank you master 🙇‍♂️

who the heck in my inbox callin me -sama?!?!!?? maybe i am -senpai on my strongest most radiant day. MAYBE.

but yes i feel your sentiment and am very pleased to see you having fun with *gestures vaguely* whatever it is i'm doing here

reading this reminds me of my own struggle with drawing details... long thoughts ahead😦💭💭

every time i draw that angy dissatisfied voice From Within is shaaaaaaaming me going, "this is nuca. you know the art, RIGHT? you've seen the intricacies of the designs. part of its beauty is in its details. if you don't honour that, then how can you REALLY stay true to its spirit????"

and yes the art is HELLA cool and i really like it and it's got insane details that make things even more fun for the analysts in the crowd

even more impressive is the FANART because whOO seeing all these artists matching the skill of the source material?! hobbyists or whatevs drawin these fantastical gayboys in elaborate outfits and poses and everything you could dream of and more?? the anatomy! the colours! the careful attention to EVERYTHING! the hair strands and?? ALL FOR FREE? they are letting me see this for FREE ?????

so i can't help but feel a little inadequacy when i try to pull off the same thing

occasionally i'll try to draw.. idk. something similar to those magneefeecent elaborate fanarts,, or just as detailed as the original game art. ya know, the anime aesthetic really baked in there, but mixed with technical prowess!

i'll draw a pose. i'll try to draw several sections of hair according to actual gravity rules. i'll really focus on what they're wearing, and try to add the details of the shirt and-- oops, i forgot the 12-pointed necklace thing-- just put that in.. oh, shieb,it's connecte d to some sort of cascading sash -=um-- how is that fabric supposed to fold again? better look it up;; WAIT it's not actually fabric? it's ... A BUNCH OF TINY BEADS? what material are they. are they translucent? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REP{LIICATE THAT. p..pointillism? but then i...

[SEVERAL HOURS LATER. FAR MORE HOURS THAN I WOULD USUALLY SPEND] > me, not even finished the torso, slumped on the floor in defeat because every gem on the necklace looks too flat and i've forgotten the original intent of the drawing

sometimes, days later, i'll compare these attempts with my other drawings done in less time (the ones where i don't think too hard and don't bother with the details). and i'll find that i enjoy the simpler result anyway. ya think with all the EFFORT i put into the detailed one... wouldn't i jump thru mental hoops to justify my invested time? shouldn't i think, "oh yeah, i REALLY worked on this. it's not the best but i'm still happy with it. the time was worth it."

.NO???! I end up thinking, "that time was NOT worth it. i feel more fulfillment and joy from the simpler drawing. if i can accomplish that with less effort, why would i bother with the extra stuff?"

i'm no workaholic. lower-effort doesn't necessarily mean bad,..... right? just.. incorporating all those jingly bits and WOWEE TEXTURE WITH THE BEAUTIFUL AMBIENT LIGHTING AND COLOURSs takes a LOT outta me. then, am i willing to put in the extra effort to really improve those areas and make em as nice as those top tier taiwanese artists on THAT section of birdsite?!?! ...... not realy.... it's not... worth it. for me at least.. i'd rather focus on facial expressions . and silly interactions.

(yes of course there are ppl who can do the silly AND the technical moodlighting extreme magnifico detailtastic everything else. MAD RESPECT!!! TO THEM!! FOR WORKING UP TO THAT!!!! but my goal is not so ambitious. i am but here for a laugh...)

so maybe i'm not the best knight for the job, if the job is Dick Fight Island-tier anatomy and environments (seriously if you haven't read that manga , you should. it is wild and truly respectable)!

but for MOI? wittle floppy ME? if i don't draw what i like, i won't have the energy to complete anything. You want me to put that extreme improvement-journey-effort into every drawing?

.Do y'all want aborted torso sketches with 62% of a necklace??? cuz that's how u get aborted torso sketches with 61% of a necklace.

anyway, if i helped you realise that maaaaaaybe you don't wanna focus on certain things in yo art ? and you'd rather put ur energy into an aspect u care about more? sounds good! i hope it leads u to increased-enjoy Creating 😎

[toothpastecanyon]

Hi! I’d like to start with the fact that your writing is PHENOMENAL, the way every first chapter is designed to grab the readers attention, with a mystery or a cozy little opening, establishing where the character is in life and their motives, or a sneak peek at the problem the characters must overcome.

I’m really bad at articulating my thoughts, but ur characters are really well written and I’d like to make more fanart of them, but I’m not quite sure what they look like.

(The only fics of your la that i KNOW you wrote are Unto Dust, and The Comfort of Agony (both of which are really good btw, I also love how you write existing characters, and your portrayal of them(especially Lucy Ann))

Anyway, because there are so many interpretations of species used in TAU, I got a little mixed up on what the non-human characters look like.

Darceus- in Lucy Ann and the Lunch Bunch, there is a Kitsune named Felicity, who is described as “looking a kind of like a human, and kind of like a fox” which my interpretation of is shown below. I forgot that that isn’t typical for kitsune characters in tau (even though she’s the only one since yours) and drew her in a similar way. ( also, are there any distinctive features on her nieces?) btw the LION idea is phenomenal, also do you think she has a mane? They’re fun to draw.

June- how big is she? I assumed she was the size of a human based on her interactions, but then I realized she might be looking down of people because she can fly. But then I remembered that it says she walks around. So then I confused myself. Also, skin tone, hair color/texture, eyes?

Beatrice- SHE IS SO WELL WRITTEN I felt genuinely angry while reading her meeting with Lucy Ann (in a good way) and she seems like someone you would meet in real life, totally obnoxious! Also, I don’t really know how TAU elves usually look so, idk anything about her skin tone or hair or eyes.

Here are pictures of my doodles in case you want to take a look, try to ignore the paper texture please.

Also, an old picture of Felicity:

Sorry if any of this is worded weird, im not that good at talking, but could you please give a solid description of the major/cool characters in Unto Dust?

(And in case I didn’t say it before, the Comfort of Agony is SO WELL WRITTEN there is too much for me to say about it!)

Oh wow, this is all so kind of you to say! Thank you so much - I'm so glad to hear you enjoy my writing, and I love the sketches you've done! You already have a lot of great designs and the characters look super expressive!

It's really exciting to be asked more of what my characters look like and I'll give you the best description I can, but I do want to note I often don't have a clear idea of what my characters look like - I like that writing lets a reader come up with their own spins on what a character looks like! So while I'm adding my own interpretation of my characters here, if you have a different idea you think works better or just looks cooler to you, I say go for it!

I'll organise my thoughts by each character:

Darceus: I was definitely inspired by @feferipeixes' character Felicity to make a kitsune character! I really like the mane idea you have going in your sketches, and female lions do occasionally grow manes! I like the way you've drawn her formal attire, with the nine tails spread out behind her like a sort of cape! You really brought her to life!

I probably still imagine her with a fox's colouration - I liked the lion imagery to evoke the broader facial features and just overall stockier build than an average kitsune.

The nieces: They're probably both young adults of average height. I don't have a clear idea of what they look like, but it might be fun to draw them as a different type or species of fox - silver foxes look really pretty with distinctive markings! They probably have less tails than Darceus, maybe three or so.

June: I definitely had the idea of her being average sized - I think writing it from Lucy Ann's perspective makes her seem taller as a lot of characters have to look down on her (sorry Lucy Ann!). I really like the wings you drew for her! She's a middle-aged lady with a little grey in her red hair, and probably likes wearing a lot of running gear - gotta train for that 10K!

Beatrice: I really like the long ears you've given her, that looks super distinctive! The loose t-shirt is really good. I probably imagine her with more of a pear shaped build with dark brown eyes and hair. If she does magic like in her appearances with Noie I like to think it'd look a lot how Mod V's elf OC Florian does it.

Also I definitely am looking for Lucy Ann to start wearing a glove! I'm not sure whether it would be fun to have it be a red glove to match the rest of her outfit, or if it's black or some other clashing colour to illustrate how she sees it as something unwanted and forced upon her.

That's all I can think of, but if you'd like anything more specific I'd be more than happy to help! Thank you again for this ask and your awesome sketches - if you end up drawing anything else I'd really love to see it!

Have a great day! :D

[destinygoldenstar]

Disventure Camp Character Impressions *Compilation* (Part 3)

<< Part 2

***

DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT CAUSING JAKE'S ELIMINATION THIS EPISODE. (I hope)

I'm pretty certain it's not him this episode. He's not a target for anybody, at least for now. That and I think it's gonna be Lilly this episode, so...

Yeah. I'm playing my heading card smart this time. King deserves it from last episode.

...oh god what if I DID cause his elimination?

"Goddammit Golden! Why'd you put me in the heading, huh?!"

Okay, okay, I'm calming down, I'm calming down...

GOD. DAMN. IT. ME.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE PUT JAKE IN THE HEADING!

I KILLED HIS GRANDMA!!

I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!

Jake, if you hate me for this, I understand. I deserve it.

"Why won't you take the slay pass?!"

"Because slaying killed my grandma, okay?!"

(I'm sorry)

Also YEAH, they DIDN'T send the smartest spy.

Cause hum diddly hum, I wonder which one among the cast is the impostor? Maybe it's the one guy who never shows his face.

ALSO, he SAW Tom running.

"He didn't see me! I was wearing black! And I was out in the night! I was practically Batman!" (Tom)

"Yeah but you stick out like a sore thumb during the day and in the sun." (Jake)

"BUT IT'S THE SUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN" (Tom)

"And if your team wins, you can do the same."

"You can save me from Fiore using the pen! And I'll be free! It'll be a glorious victory!"

In dream land where everything works out perfectly, that's what happens.

Even Fiore is like "I'm glad I'm not your child!"

Gabby's the representative, as we established.

"I wanted to use the slay pass you gave me last episode, Golden!"

I'll give it to you sweetie. Use it for whoever. If you want to slay Fiore with it, go right ahead.

"How did this happen? I went from being in the worst position to deciding the vote! It feels good to have this power."

Ellie... this is gonna sound really bad, but... I can't trust you with a slay pass.

"What do you mean Golden isn't on my side?!"

"Remember when you vote me out at the first day?!"

"AND HERE I AM. REVENGE IS MINE."

"Gabby has a red marker. She will write the name of one of you and when I read the name of that one unlucky contestant, that person is immediately out!"

"It was a slay pass granted from Golden to Gabby because whoever Gabby hates probably deserves it."

Why does she look so evil?

"See, that's why you have bad taste Golden. All the favs you picked are evil and/or have serious issues!"

I feel like it would be hilarious if Gabby wrote Fiore's name.

Ellie would be like, "See, that's what makes me the swing vote! Good or Evil? I choose NEITHER."

"Not to throw a hissy fit, but this is seriously unfair!"

I feel like Ashley is saying that to ME specifically.

"GOLDEN YOU LUNATIC REACTIONARY! WHY WOULD YOU GIVE ANYONE A SLAY PASS WILLY NILLY?! AND IT CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF ME!"

"It had some cool stuff that we can apply to the game!"

"It mentioned this 'Heather' person, who betrayed her alliances, abused her alliance members, and sabotaged a relationship!"

"Then there's 'Alejandro', who flirted with everybody and betrayed everybody, and also sabotaged relationships!"

"...I'm seeing a pattern."

"I'm here if you need anything."

I can't imagine how it's like for Tom. I don't think he was imagining getting close with someone just cause of the spy profession.

"I like this boy, I want to be around him and help him out."

"Now don't worry about getting us breakfast today, I will get us the usual."

Idk how I like the sound of that tbh. XD

I just imagine Tom coming back and calling everyone to the meal. "BREAKFAST IS READY!!!"

...and it's just char XD

No not Grett changing her facial expression from that!

"I smell gay! I didn't ask for that in my coffee this morning!"

"Do you like him?"

*Covers mouth to hold back the giddy noise from my mouth*

*Failing*

Oh my god she's actually going there! I did not expect that.

"Uh... maybe. He's just really good as a person towards me and I feel like we're really opening up to each other, you know? It's not that deep... maybe we'd go out for Chinese sometime. Maybe we'd catch a movie together."

"But it's only a matter of time before her little cry-baby bonding session turns into an alliance."

"Oh boo hoo, my loves ones died! Who gives a shit?! UGH, people who mourn the dead are SO ANNOYING!!"

He really is not subtle, is he?

"I don't want to be in a relationship or push it further, but I didn't say I can't crush!" (Jake)

Tom's like "Why you pressing your hands like that?" (Tom)

"I'm a wittle scawed of the bullets..." (Jake)

Oh shit here we go...

"Golden told be awhile back to tell you something very important!"

This is gonna be so ugly. Jake is gonna be HURT.

"I get hurt and traumatized by my ex! I lose my grandma! AND NOW THIS SHIT. I CAN'T CATCH A BREAK!"

"She said you were the one who voted Drew because, get this, he found out you were a spy?!"

NO TOM YOU CAN'T ACT?!?!

I mean I don't think he should lie any further, but...

"I can explain!! It's not what you think!!!"

"Yeah... just one of the rafts broke my bamboo."

"And also hit me in the face. I was lucky not to drown."

"No I'm fine. I think tonight's decision will be an easy one."

ELLIE YOU'RE GONE.

"Golden put me in the heading! That MUST mean I'm safe!"

They're STILL pissed.

Miriam is gonna come to me like, "Golden, you're having Toxic Yaoi for dinner tonight."

XD

DEAR GOD JAKE.

"THIS IS MY DIVORCE PAPER!"

Dammit, why'd he have to be an asshole, huh?

XD

NO SHOT THEY BOTH THREW JUST CAUSE THEY WERE SO PISSED WITH EACH OTHER

XD

"AND NOW YOU VOTE FOR ME?! WHAT'D YOU SAY TO ME?!"

Continued In Part 4 >>

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap ep 4: Trademark Owner

FINALLY got around to watching this, let's GO! incoherent rambles and squee incoming

NO GLOVES?! MIN IS2G

OH MY GOD Q doing the tying is not something I expected

Look at Min's FACE

Oh! Oh, this went differently from what happened in the book, but I like it.

Min, for someone who's hard on cash, airpods are a bad investment. Just saying.

Spoiled kid 😆 idk who first said "gmmtv said any moment can be a BL moment, and they were right", but -- yes. that.

See THIS is where I believe Min is a stuntman, making falls look dramatic and hits look painful

Oh! Seua calling?

That FACE

Dang, he looks good.

The difference between fake and real guns is the weight ...

Omg, this flashback -- I don't think it's intended to be as funny as it is to me

Men and Q tag-teaming others is my favourite thing

I really like how this is different from the book. I mean, I know the show came first, but. Still.

Okay that transition was less smooth than in the book. I wonder whether they cut the scene under the bridge, or whether that was added for the novel.

Oh! They moved it!

The fight is sorta less intense than in the book, and I think that's mostly down to Leng's acting -- this was one of his weaker scenes so far. But it's fine, especially considering this was apparently the very first scene they shot (cf. the xwitter space that ran after the episode)

Man, Ohm does caring eyes SO well. We all know that, we've known for ages, and it hits me again every single time.

The pacing of this episode feels kind of off, I'm not sure I'm a fan

I never get why they don't let folks wipe themselves down in these, like, how I'll ARE you? But I guess it's a kind of caring thing

Blushingggg

can we stop with the day clothes on the bed? I'm not a germaphobe, but these shows could convince me otherwise

They're so SOFT here, holy shit

Is the tone off for the situation? Maybe. Do I care? Not really.

Will you turn off the lightsssss holy fuck

I love Men so much

Dhdhhs we gotta work on your facial expressions, kiddo, but it works, whatever.

I thought the novel was bad, but WOW, this is WORSE 😂 these two is2g

Oh! The flashback alluded to in Ch 3, finally? nope, still no detail

Also I'd like to know when this was/is because we got the 3y ago and now this and I can't place the clothes

Oh this FUCKER I cannot (but also phew, so he does care)

Is this where I admit I bought a pack of choco pie the other day because I'm a sucker for tie-ins?

I love Men so much. Younger siblings of BL are the MVP always

This wasn't in the chapter of the book, but I'm here for it

Also I wonder what show that referenced

Men is gonna interrupt that kiss, isn't he

Oh my goodness, that preview. shit's gonna hit the fan, huh.

I'm off to read the next chapter now, aaaah.

[dysiver]

Tbh i like pretty gojo but meh there are just some scenes of him where he looks so insane and unhinged that they really bring out more of his character but somehow mappa keeps just not doing that and I'm kinda salty 🤧 I prefer it more if my fave characters look feral and unhinged when they're in their feral mood. I feel like in the recent ep, gojo just looks kinda bland and not crazy at all lol. Wish mappa would stop making gojo look boring ಥ⁠_⁠ಥ

Some people are legit praising this episode like it was good and I'm like damn, y'all really blind or only watch shit anime cuz mappa been legit dropping the ball during this season compared to other anime they got like Chainsaw man, hell's paradise, to some extent snk etc and even compared to other anime.

We are at a point that shit like this isn't impressive, it truly isn't. Like anime has come too far for me to say that this episode was great unless you compare it to filler episode 3440 of boruto.

Basically season 2 of JJK doesn't feel up to bar with what mappa has done before so far. The dramatic angles, the neat animation, the over the top scenes that they show in other anime. JJK and Chainsaw man have a pretty close level of gore and body horror to some extent, same with crazy/wacky facial expressions but for some reason Mappa had no issues animating Chainsaw man properly, with maybe the exception of Makima, I think she's creepier in the manga but fails to do so with JJK, especially Gojo.

It could be that the rest of season 2 is what's gonna be super impressive but is still not gonna stop the disappointing sour taste of the beginning of the season.

Mappa's biggest issue this season is the fact that they wanna sell off Gojo so bad cuz idk a bunch of people are wet for him that they make him look cheap and take away how crazy he can be.

This episode was supposed to highlight how unhinged Gojo can be but the voice acting, the animation, and the scenes were just not it. They weren't. I remember when I read this in the manga, it even made me WONDER if maybe Gojo was going to turn bad in the future, because Gojo became something that didn't feel human that moment, not in a "I am a god" kind of way that mappa so desperately tried to showcase with the golden light and him floating like a weirdo, but in a "some of my humanity was lost thru the power I gained" and it further highlighted that when he said he didn't even feel bad that Riko died. Which was ironic when he also said that "throughout heavens and earth, I alone am the honored one." as if his ideas, thoughts and actions were justified because of his enlighten in battle. Which also is further fortified by Sukuna in recent chapters trying to continue to say that Gojo isn't the honored one cuz he lacks that enlighten that Gojo affirms to have found during that battle when nothing else mattered but that high and power.

[danydarkly]

Hi! I just wanted to say, thank you so much for making the Red & Wolf comic. I just found it by accident and read through the whole thing in one night, I am seriously loving it so far. I'm autistic and I've always had a strong interest in wolves, specifically Little Red Riding Hood versions of wolves, and always wanted to read a story about the wolf having a sort of redemption or it being more than just "big bad wolf is evil and wants to eat the girl". There's hardly any content for me to dive into in regards of even just the fairytale itself, most stories are very gruesome, the short films online are incredibly dark and uncomfortable since those are the adaptations of the original grimm telling, or all of the red riding hood movies are horror films instead of fairytale adaptations. Or some sort of like... idk love triangle thing where it's all modernized or something for televesion where Red is wearing jeans and the Wolf isn't even a real wolf? But yours... this is like finding gold. I was hooked immediately and I couldn't stop reading.

Your story of Scarlett and Leikos... it's just so gorgeous, your art work has such clean lines and the way you draw eyes and hands especially is so beautiful. The design for Leikos' hair is my favorite!! And the panel you made where Scarlett is lying down on the grass/tree stump and she's blushing while Leikos is talking with her, oh my gosh, that's my favorite panel out of every chapter so far. Just... the vulnerability of these two growing closer, like... augh clutching my heart when Leikos is like "no don't cross the path you're gonna get hurt :(" and she's like "but I want to dance with you :)" like!!! she trusts him and he refuses to hurt her even when instincts kick in!! HIS BACKSTORY? BRO? I'M IN SHAMBLES?? Ugh your art is so GOOD and this STORY is so GOOD and I am just so thankful to be able to dive into a Wolf/Red story that has action, romance, suspense, all the good stuff. It's so perfect.

Thank you for working so so hard to make this comic. I'm an artist as well and I could never have the patience to upload one comic page, let alone several. Laying out panels is difficult and time consuming and not to mention you're shading and coloring the entire thing. Your poses are always fluid, never stiff, you have good perspective and composition, most ppl who make comics can easily just draw one single pose and one facial expression for 20 panels, but you've always had the expressions and body language shift and change and the camera view as well... and you gotta draw all those damn trees omfg. The flower meadow in the first chapter must have taken forever to draw too! Your hard work really shows in your art and I am so happy to have stumbled upon your comic. If you make any more merch for Red & Wolf on your Etsy, whether it's prints or charms or stickers or really anything, I would be more than willing to throw some money your way. Or if you open commissions as well someday, ahh, I love your stuff so much I would totally pay you to doodle Leikos hehe. Please have a wonderful day and take care! <3

AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa

What a lovely message! Thank you so much, Anon! I really needed to read this today <3 I'm truly at a loss for words, like you basically complimented me on everything I'm mad-insecure about?? It's really nice, like maybe I really am too hard on myself?? Whenever I look back on my old panels (which I've been doing a lot lately since reformatting Red & Wolf for print), I always feel like I put way too much effort and kind of only see what I did wrong, but if you and others recognize the effort and like what I did - then maybe it wasn't a waste of time after all. That makes me feel way better about it, thank you :' ) Also, your favorite panel is one of my favorite panels too, where I felt "dang, I kind of nailed it here" - which is SUPER rare for me, haha. I should read this lovely message whenever the impostor syndrome kicks in, it really lifted my spirits <3

[heystephen]

Hi I just want to tell someone what I'm going through

A few years ago a friendship ended very suddenly. But maybe it wasnt sudden for her? The song exile haunts me. "I couldn't turn things around because you never gave a warning sign" <- me

"I gave so many signs" <- maybe her? Idk she wouldnt talk to me about it.

I know i was sometimes a bad listener so maybe it was my fault. But she wasnt always a great communicator. But lately I've been realizing I might have autism. I'm super bad at reading facial expressions and body language and I'm oblivious to things that are obvious to other people. So....maybe autism is the reason I missed signs that my friend was unhappy with me. And it's not my fault. Not her fault either. How could she know how much I genuinely struggle with these things? Part of me wants to talk to her about it but it's been years and I mostly want to move on. I've mostly moved on but I saw some posts about friendship breakups and that's why I started thinking about her again. And realizing I might have autism has me reflecting on a lot of past events.

hi honey, im so sorry i missed this message earlier!! i promise i didn’t intentionally brush you aside, it just somehow slipped by in my activity.

i understand completely both sides of what you’re talking about. it can be hard to navigate friendships where you aren’t sure what’s needed of you and your friend doesn’t know that they need to communicate these things directly. learning to be direct and to ask people to be direct with you can go a long way tbh, my friends know that i don’t exactly ~get~ unspoken cues and that if they feel a certain way or need something from me, they should tell me in the most direct way they can. it’s worth trying to reopen that friendship and explaining what you need and offering to learn how to communicate as well

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

i think aside from demonizing ppl who lack empathy, the proof that ppl really dont understand that empathy isnt exactly smth that can be controlled at will is the fact that ppl get demonized for empathizing with bad ppl. i wont go into specifics, but i remember an instance where a very well known shitty person looks sad and ppl immediately accuse anyone who feel any empathy towards him as "forgetting the atrocious stuff he's done just bc of some sob story". it's kind of wild to me, because i remember feeling sad over seeing his facial expression, but it doesnt translate to me justifying his actions at all? like, well maybe the ppl who doesnt hide the fact that they feel empathetic towards him can be said as not being able to read the room (the person in question is someone in power and his actions have led people to death, so i personally never told anyone i felt a shred of empathy at seeing his sad face, bc i deem it inappropriate to tell the world given his past actions)

but my point is basically... i dont really get people who are like "why would u feel empathy towards such a person" because... it's not like i can control it? and also, empathy doesnt immediately translate to action? i'm not gonna go around and try to change people's perception of him for the better? heck, my own personal opinion of him is still super negative? idk why ppl find it hard to believe that someone can feel empathy towards a person they hate with all their guts? obviously im not saying ppl who lack empathy are the assholes here, i know the lack of empathy is similarly out of control as hyperempathy. i'm also not saying hypoempathy towards nice ppl has more acceptance compared to hyperempathy towards bad ppl, bc both are different stuff that isnt exactly appropriate to compare. but it frustrates me that ppl think i can control my empathy just by knowing who is nice person and who is bad person, when it doesnt work that way at all

like, maybe i was just being reactive, and those criticisms were targeted at the very people who *do* broadcast their empathy at that person, but like... maybe it could have been worded as criticism towards the justification of his bad actions instead of being mad at ppl who feel empathy (without knowing whether these ppl also justify his wrongdoings or not). but also, at the same time i also kinda understand that the ppl who are angry might do so bc they've suffered greatly under his power, so anyone who show any shred of sympathy seems like the enemy. idk, at one hand i'm a bit frustrated that ppl doesn understand that empathy ≠ enabling shitty behavior, but on the other hand i do understand that my nitpicking can come across as tone policing

Hi anon,

You make a very good point. Empathy is complicated and sometimes we cannot help but feel bad for someone who is sad or suffering, regardless of who they are as a person. It's important to remember that you can feel for someone without condoning their actions. I think a lot of people don't care to make the effort to see the nuance between empathy and support, and often carelessly conflate the two. Anyone reading is more than welcome to voice their thoughts on this as well.

We're here if you need anything.

-Bun

[randomblack-girl]

Hey! could you tell me a little about my placements? Thank you very much <3

scorpio sun, 11th, 2°

Sagittarius rising, 26°

Sagittarius moon, 12th, 21°

scorpio Mercury, 12th, 24°

Scorpio Venus, 11th, 2°

Scorpio mars, 11th, 1°

Scorpio jupiter, 12th, 23°

Leo saturn, 9th, 23°

pisces uranus, 3rd, 11°

aquarius neptune, 3rd, 17°

Sagittarius pluto, 12th, 24°

aquarius Chiron, 2nd, 4°

libra lilith, 10th, 0°

Aquarius part of fortune, 2nd, 14°

virgo MC, 14°

I'm not the best at this but I'll try

Scorpio sun, 11th house could mean you are an intense, loyal, and deep person with your sun being in the 11th house it could mean that your friends/social life is very important to you and your loyal and protective of them you may be an activist or passionate about social issues

Sagittarius rising- you may come off as very adventurous, wise, free spirited, and fun you may be spiritual or the life of the party you may have a thicker body or big facial features maybe you look "exotic" or different

I'm ngl I suck at explaining the 12th house so I'll try my hardest

With Sagittarius moon in the 12th house I feel this could show you hide your emotions/have a hard time expressing them you may put on a fake smile but be depressed

Scorpio mercury 12th house may be very intelligent but again have a hard time expressing that maybe people think your dumb because of this but a very deep and analytical thinker might not talk often though

Scorpio venus 11th house- when it comes to love, beauty, and self expression your intense and passionate its all or nothing when it comes to love interests you may want someone who will love you deeply and you may want intimacy but at the same time be scared of it people may find you really attractive and may get obsessed with you or you get obsessed with them (especially with that sun, venus, mars conjunction- damn!) You may end up in relationships with your friends or want to be friends before getting into a relationship your social life must be good are you popular? Maybe even online

Scorpio mars 11th house- Most of your energy is used to chase your dreams, to network, and your social life and you may be very determined to accomplish those things

Scorpio jupiter 12th house- Idk how to interpret this so this is just a guess but maybe you have a lot of luck but secretly because I noticed 12th house placements aren't seen for example venus in the 12th house might be seen as very beautiful but may not see it or get told it often and when they do get complimented it's through other ppl. Ex. Jane said you looked nice today. I feel like the term "rejection is protection" is very true for you, you experience a lot of luck you're just not aware of it

Leo Saturn 9th house- GIRL this is crazy because I got this placement I actually talked about it in one of my posts but this can indicate being stagnant when it comes to your views on the world you may be more pessimistic you may also not be religious or higher education was hard or you just never went with Saturn being in leo self expression may be very hard for you you may have learned from a very young age that you're not allowed to be yourself maybe you learned this from elders or from school

Pisces Uranus 3rd house- Maybe you like to write or read, a sign of intelligence maybe you moved schools a lot? Idk how to interpret this really generational planets scare me 😭

Aquarius Neptune 3rd- You might even been more quiet in school might have a tendency to lie or a bad memory

Sagittarius pluto 12th house- Most of your power comes from your internal world people might mistake you for weak and a lot of change goes on internally in your subconscious mind

Aquarius chiron 2nd- May have grown up poor and struggled with confidence/self worth especially with it being the 4th degree this is a deep wound that's been there since childhood maybe you grew up in a house that made you feel unsafe may have money problems the type to be poor and when they get money they spend it all (not smart with money) material things may be important to you

Libra lilith 10th house- may have a need to be liked especially in the workplace you may be sexualized in the workplace or do something stand for work like sex work or at least considered it/don't judge women who do it maybe you find it empowering however sex is your image could indicate a bad reputation

Aquarius part of fortune 2nd house- I have this placement just in sagittarius and I'm not sure how to interpret this maybe it can show that you will become fortunate in wealth/things/self love/self confidence

Virgo mc- Can indicate joining a career in the medical field or a job where you have to be analytical might be known as critical, intelligent, and put together

Overall you're definitely introverted maybe an ambivert but with your chart ruler (jupiter) being in the 12th house it's giving introvert you may have a lot of pisces traits or come off like one also you might be tired a lot? But people underestimate you, they might think you're dumb or naive you might even be invisible to people this gives the energy of the quiet girl who draws in the back of the class remember though that other things in the chart can affect this like the houses, aspects, etc hope this helps, I tried! <3 oh and sorry for the bad grammar I was rushing because I already felt bad for responding kinda late and I'm kinda busy

[changelingsandothernonsense]

15 Questions for 15

Hey @mareenavee and @friend-of-giants thanks for the tag. I am lazy so idk who else to tag XD

1. are you named after anyone?

Nope, mum found my name in an Irish name book and liked it. Though technically my name is the Irish spelling of her name which has the Irish pronunciation. My mum is named after her Aunt who didn't make it through WWII. Fun.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Maybe about 3 years ago... I ah, do not have a strong crying ability. I get more of a nausea reaction in place of it. It takes a lot for it to be more than like a few sobs either...I just lost the ability a very long time ago.

3. do you have kids?

Nope, not sure I want them tbh.

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

It's my first language. ;)

5. what sports do you play/have you played?

I am unco to the point of it being dangerous. So I was never very good at sports, with a few exceptions. I danced as a kid and wasn't too bad at it. I also took up archery for a bit but got sick and stopped doing it.

6. what's the first thing you notice about other people?

Eyes and facial expressions, I over analyse a bit.

7. eye colour?

Blue, on the cornflower spectrum.

8. scary movies or happy endings?

Depends on my mood, to be honest. I won't turn down a corny horror movie or an even cornier comedy horror. I love zombie movies. I don't like sappy, so I'm not big into romance that lays it on thick, that weird nauseous reaction. Happy endings can be boring for me, I like satisfying endings. Sometimes I want terror so...

9. any special talents?

Outside of the crap I peddle here? I'm pretty good at baking, geography and I can twist my feet inward to a weird angle XD

10. where were you born?

Australia, not in the same state I currently live in.

11. what are your hobbies?

Art and Archaeology were kinda things that started as hobbies but I earn money from those now. I'm an amateur astronomer, which I would have pursued if I could do maths XD. Obviously, I like playing video games...a lot. I use to read more but I'm dealing with a lot of research fatigue so it's been hard for me to keep focus on anything because the words have been moving around the page again XD. I watch birds.

12. do you have any pets?

I have a dog, Lenny, a chicken, Cecily, a budgie, Sam and two fish, Sybil and Skeletor.

13. how tall are you?

5'8, if my spine wasn't a spring I'd be 5'9 but S-shaped spine's a bitch.

14. fave subject in school?

I was the art kid, I took all the art classes. I was also good at HSIE (History and Geography basically) and most of the Sciences, I wasn't too bad at English either outside of spelling and grammar issues XD

Of course, I also stopped showing up to school so technically my favourite subject was wagging (skipping class). (How I got out with top marks is a goddamn mystery to me XD)

15. dream job?

Archaeologist, heading digs, or teaching the stuff that I found on digs :D

I'm doing my masters in it now and I do a bit of historical consulting. Most of my money is from freelance illustration but I'd love to just make my own art without worrying about money. I just don't think I could carry a Patreon tbh.

[kitkatopinions]

Okay, I've watched the first episode of volume 7. This isn't a review or anything, but I'm just gonna put my general thoughts below the keep reading. Spoilers obviously and also RWBY criticism up ahead

So I think I'm gonna give this episode a 3 out of 10 ranking. It's... Worse than I had hoped, but it wasn't a complete flop and there's some stuff that I did like, so let's get into it.

Praise:

Ruby's voice acting is for the most part good. Her voice actor doesn't do so well on the gasping and crying, but as for the rest of it, I find it much improved and enjoy that Ruby is starting to sound a bit more mature, and more subdued. Her squeaky voice gets to be a little much, so I was pleasantly surprised at her performance.

In times of quiet, Little is cute. Some of how they're animated is charming, like when they sniffed at Ruby's hand or moved their little paws over their face. Of course Little looks the cutest when they're on four legs or are all curled up. But it really seems like the animators tried their best to make Little look as good as they could manage and it paid off. They're not Reepicheep from the Prince Caspian movie quality, but they get the job done.

I like that they had Ruby not ask Little about Weiss, because Ruby doesn't know yet that Weiss fell too.

I could be wrong, but I think this is the first time that a weapon that wasn't Ruby's was actually named in show. It's about ten years too late to make 'the weapons have names' a convincing part of the world of RWBY, but at least it's here at all, we now have a weapon other than Crescent Rose that fans might know the name of without doing online homework.

"Blake... I'm really glad you're okay." "...I'm really glad you are too." Am I so starved for closeness between these characters that I saw that and I was like "Monochrome? Monochrome in 2023? Do I ship post-volume-five-Blake with post-volume-five-Weiss?" Um, Blake's expression is so cute??

There might not be a lot that the animators can do to save that hair, but they're doing their darnedest with her facial expressions and it paid off.

I also kind of like Weiss shutting down stuff and trying to be more action focused instead of breaking down about everything, it seems like a good way to characterize her.

The voice of the new creeper Jabberwocky is good! It was so well done, super striking, it reminded me of the Cyclops in Epic the Musical the Concept Album which is a good thing. A very good job there.

Yang's voice acting is also good so far (though I dislike BDunks so it pains me to admit it.) The delivery of her 'dammit, you weren't supposed to be here' was well done and made me feel for Yang emotionally.

Blake coming up with plans and being a bit more optimistic - while not what I would choose for her character - is in line with the past couple of volumes and could be a good thing, and at this point is the best direction I think they could take with her character after how they've done her lately.

Criticism

First things first: Do you guys remember how I said that the first look we got awhile ago was jerky and seemed really off and Ruby's facial expressions were really lacking in much emotion, but that since it was a 'first look' it was likely an unfinished product and so I didn't wanna judge the finished product on it and said 'maybe it will change and get better?' ...Whelp it didn't. The first like seven minutes of this fifteen minute episode is all just the stuff from the first look.

So just to reiterate, I don't like first person POV stuff. I just think it never manages to look good and RWBY is no exception. They did their best with the combat I think, but idk, to me it just felt clunky and it looked bad. And Ruby's reaction to seemingly dying after her sister died, along with her friend Blake, and getting attacked midair by Neo, and then waking up on an island with giant shells is this

No grabbing her scroll to see if she can call anyone, no verbally calling for Blake or Yang, no immediate panicking or immediate reaction outside of :/ Okay. And her reaction to getting squawked at by a giant multicolored bird is

And look I know people are gonna be like "she's a trained huntress, you think she's gonna react to the presence of a bird?" And it's like... yes, actually, because as a trained fighter who fights giant birds, don't you think she should've jerked and reached for her (not there) weapon when there was squawking in her ear? And either way, most people even trained soldiers would at least glance at the thing suddenly making loud noises at them. And then Ruby goes from non-reaction to comedic grumbling as she finds herself in a loop, and then straight to tears, which is... Kind of hard to take seriously because of how things have been framed so far. It doesn't feel like Ruby is close to snapping and trying not to breakdown when she's crying, because she looked pretty emotionless three seconds ago and it comes right after a comedy bit about how a mouse watches Ruby struggle with a loop. And there's also zero urgency involved. Ruby felt more panicked in the scene in Volume 2 when Penny was pulling her away from guards during a time of peace. Ruby felt more sad and desperate when Weiss was being mean because Ruby was made a leader in volume 1, and when she was sad that Blake wasn't coming to the prom.

Also, I'm gonna point out that while I really like the fact that Ruby stopped her crying to help a mouse and it kind of cheered her up a little bit, I kind of think it throws off the messages of kindness that it's immediately followed by "if only you could help me." I don't think it doesn't make sense from a character point of view because she doesn't even know the mouse talks. But if the point of that is for us to see that Ruby is kind and selfless and goes out of her way to help with no expectations or strings attached, I think that the writers could've not had it followed up with Ruby expressing the desire for a return on her kindness. I think they could've easily had Little just be like 'Thanks!' and then offer to help her escape the loop or something. I just don't get that line, from a writing point of view.

I also think Little's voice and Little themself is annoying, which I've already gotten into, so I don't need to say it again. But the 'Little and the mice have identities based on 'what they do' and only then do they know who they are or even get names is... I'm gonna give it the benefit of the doubt that it won't be used to hammer in themes of identity and Ruby's role and job as a Huntress, you know, past this early already hammering it in, but... Yeah, let's hope from here on in, it isn't emphasized too much. Let's go for a little bit of subtlety.

Also please compare the scene with Little and Ruby to the movie Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe when Lucy meets Tumnas

You'll notice that Mr. Tumnas reacts to Lucy with every bit of confusion that she reacts to him, because he's never seen a human before the same way that she's never seen a faun. Little just acts like there's nothing weird at all about this thing that she's never once seen before, until Ruby starts screaming because Little spoke. And also Tumnas and Lucy both react with confusion and are startled that the other doesn't know what they are, but even Little who is seemingly very young and doesn't know yet that Ruby is from another world just takes it in their stride that Ruby doesn't know animals can talk without even a pause.

Also here's what I'm gonna say about the jokes about the mice and Blake being a faunus. First off, one of my medium case scenarios of 'pretty expected but still annoying' things has come true already

Two or more jokes about Blake being a cat Faunus (counting the one where Little is afraid when Ruby says Blake has cat ears)

And second off, how can they even tell she's a cat, for one. 'She has cat ears.' Yeah, they do resemble a cat. Does Blake have any other feature that even sort of resembles a cat? And her ears are easily missed at first sight. So why is it that the mice are like 'forgive us for trying to capture you and your friend, but you'll understand, we don't like cats.' Like why would they assume she's a cat? They don't know what faunus are or what human beings are, it'd be like someone seeing a fox and being like 'their ears are pointy like a cat they must be a cat' except even stupider because foxes at least walk on four legs and have fur over their body and are small-ish enough and have tails. And third off, what was this choice, from a writer angle. Blake is a member of a marginalized minority group and it's bad to treat her like an animal, but the writers write a story where 'cute' little mice assume she's a cat or freak out at the mention of her faunus traits, and also none of the mains seem that uncomfortable about it? Ruby is just like 'I shouldn't have mentioned Blake's faunus traits, I've seen cartoons, so I should know that cats and mice don't get along' (insert audience laughter here.) And when the mouse is like 'you understand we don't get along with cats' Blake is just like "yeah it's fine" instead of saying something like "I'm not a cat" or "just so you know I don't like being treated like a cat" and she doesn't even like, look vaguely uncomfortable? It's just weird. It feels like the writers just don't want to engage with Blake being a Faunus in any sort of significant way at all and instead just make jokes about it all the time.

Blake and Weiss's reunion getting completely skipped over and Ruby's reunion with them getting side-stepped is dumb and annoying. I mean I already know that the writers don't care much about their dynamics with each other these last couple seasons, except for an obligatory 'they're friends' here and there and a couple shallow conversations maybe, but it's just frustrating. We don't get to see Blake upset that Weiss fell, or Ruby upset that Weiss fell, or them hugging or anything. "It happened off screen!" That's part of the problem, I don't want emotional moments that will increase my belief in friendships and my interest in dynamics to happen off screen, I want to actually see them.

Weiss and Blake not being able to reach Blake's weapon doesn't make sense. Look, I know Blake doesn't have her weapon and Weiss is low on dust, but they're basically superheroes who have always hopped and jumped around with little effort in the past. Like, we're talking about these kids, right?

Also, Weiss has fundamentally changed as a character because her being a cheerleader and going 'woo, yeah!' while jumping in the air with a big beaming grin on her face made sense to me and I'm honestly sad about it. People can say whatever they want about 'character growth' or whatever, but I liked the idea of Weiss being not Nora 2.0 thanks. I already had Nora, I already had Ruby, I already had Little, I already had Neon Katt, I don't need Weiss to be the same type of character who would do that kind of thing. Other people liked cheerleader Weiss and good for them, but I didn't like it.

The design and movement of the Jabberwocky thing is - imo - overrated. It didn't really seem very creepy to me, or very interesting aesthetically. Also, I'm sorry, but the first 'fight' of the season is Blake swinging her blade at something, Weiss getting ready to fight, and then Yang hurling a rock at the monster, and then that's it? That was such a let down.

Ruby at Yang: "If you thought we wouldn't come for you, then you must've forgotten who raised me." Me: "What does this have to do with Tai? Oh, does she mean Qrow, since Qrow was in the habit of following them and saving them - Ohhh she means Yang!" Tbh, this line would've been so much more emotional if that had ever seemed to impact their relationship with each other or Tai or Qrow, instead of Tai seeming like a great and loving father and Ruby clearly modeling herself after Qrow and the writers being like 'omg isn't Ruby so connected to Summer' in seasons seven and eight. I honestly forget that it's even part of their story, because Ruby never talks about or acts like she had a neglectful father, Yang doesn't fill a maternal role for her, Ruby has a perfectly fine good relationship with Tai... It just could've been treated more significantly, and as it is, it doesn't feel emotional to me because of how little they've done with it. No, not everything needs to be gone into and explored (though after ten years, ehhh,) but it just makes lines like this fall flat when they aren't.

Also, Ruby at Yang: "If you thought we wouldn't come for you, then you must've' forgotten who raised me." Me: "None of them came for Yang, they were thrown in. None of them tried to jump in, they all fell in while they were trying not to. None of them even said something like 'to be honest I'm glad we're here, so Yang won't be alone' or something." This line would've been more impactful if Ruby at the very least had a chance to get through to Vacuo and chose to jump down instead, and especially if they had actually fought back Cinder enough to have a conversation and decide to go in after Yang. As it is, Yang is like "you weren't supposed to be here" and Ruby kind of leads her to believe that they came in after her on purpose, which just isn't true. Also, I feel like that would've been more impactful if Yang had protested it, like Yang thought she was dead and Ruby essentially tells her "you should've known I'd follow you to my death." Yang should be like "No, Ruby, that's messed up! You don't have to risk your life just because I happened to go down! We're Hunters, but if one of us dies, the rest of us can't just up and die too!"

Also, last thing I'm gonna say about this, I swear, but as Ruby and co are set up as leaders and saviors of the world on a quest to save the world, it kind of feels... Irresponsible, to have the mentality of 'if one of us gets into a horrible bad situation the others will too it's all of us or none of us!" Because they have a bigger responsibility than that. It's very in character and it makes sense and is very sympathetic and could be done well, but it isn't necessarily a good mentality to have, so I hope that's not just treated like a good given.

The bees reunion was lackluster tbh, but what else was I supposed to expect at this point? I hope this is the last time I hear the term 'beeunion' from here on in. It's gotten old. At least we got to see it though.

Also, someone else pointed this out, but them not showing Weiss's face and just having her kind of quip at Yang and then the next second already be in tears felt lackluster too when we could've watched her face fall as she struggles to hold back tears. And the tone problems for this episode are really off the charts. Instead of letting this be a completely serious moment, it's like "Yang is sad that Ruby and the others are in her mind, dead - Omg guys isn't Little so funny and quirky lol talking mouse! - Awww what a sweet soft moment between Yang and Blake - Weiss is crying! She's recounting the traumatic experience from the last volume!

And I'm sorry, I know I might be in the minority on this even in rwde circles, but I did not like Ruby fainting. First of all, because the set up to Ruby fainting is not super great. She's comedically frustrated by being in a loop, now she's crying but not for long, now she has a little friend who is making her happier, now she's reacting to the wacky hijinks of the mice, now she's seriously asking what happened but with zero urgency, now she's kind of happy to see Yang and trying to encourage her, now she's FAINTING! This, coupled with the fact that she, Weiss, and Blake arguably got a lot more rest than anybody else in the last volume except for like Whitley makes this reaction not super convincing to me - especially since Ruby's reaction to Penny being alive was so lackluster. I suppose it makes sense from a character standpoint that even though she didn't seem particularly happy to see Penny when she got resurrected, she did try really hard to save her and hasn't responded well to hard situations in volumes, so yeah hearing that someone she tried to save just died anyway might make Ruby the character faint I guess. But again, the emotional weight of it wasn't there for me as a viewer. Especially because Ruby fainting and then us cutting to her waking up was a convenient way for the writers to skip over 1. anyone else reacting to the news about Penny's death 2. anyone comforting Weiss. 3. Weiss pulling herself together. 4. Actually recounting what happened. It just felt like a way for them to be like "actually it doesn't matter, don't worry about that." They instantly move on.

"Clearly they're gonna come back to it!" Okay, cool, but that doesn't mean it isn't annoying to me that it got shuffled to the side now. There was just no real emotional weight to the moment for me.

Blake being the one to say "we're in a fairytale" makes sense since - outside of Ruby - she's the one that actually knows fairy tales, but it is a little weird to me. If I fell off a magical bridge and landed in some weird strange place, I would come to a lot of conclusions before I was like "what if we're in books written for children?" Even if it looked like it. I don't know. Maybe it works because of how fairy tales are framed as 'ringing with truths' in RWBY, but even then, I feel like the more realistic not-made-for-a-trailer line would be like "I read about a place like this in a fairy tale" or "this reminds me of a fairy tale" or "this seems like the place a fairy tale I know was based off of." They're not - as far as they or we know - "in a fairy tale" the way people get read into Inkheart the book in the book Inkheart, they're just in a place that fairy tales might potentially be based off of. Just a weird line imo.

Anyway, those were my thoughts about the new ep.