#hazel does not go on to spill any government secrets

[livwritesstuff]

so those following my steddie-dads series may know that Steve and Eddie named their daughters after important people in their life. Moe (or Lucy Maureen) gets her middle name from Eddie’s mom. Robbie (Amelia Robin) is named after Robin, obviously. Their third and final baby Hazel’s middle name is James, after Hopper.

In the aftermath of all the shit they went through in Hawkins, it didn’t take long for Jim to add Steve to his collection of “kids who pretend to be punching bags for people they care about” (his words). By the time Steve was stepping into adulthood, Hop was Steve’s dad in everything but blood and legal title (and that was even before Steve’s estrangement from his actual father), and when Hazel was born in 2007, he and Joyce were Steve’s second call (Robin being the first, obviously). 

Two days later, their plane touched down in Boston.

Hazel was asleep when they arrived, and didn’t stir even while Steve passed her into Hopper’s arms

“Christ, she’s small,” Jim says quietly, looking down at the little baby.

“She’s actually bigger than Robbie was,” Steve replies, “Crazy different from the older two now though.”

For a second, Steve just watches, watches as Hopper adjusts the sleeping baby, watches him run a finger over her little cheek.

“Did you see her name, hon?” Joyce asks him, gesturing to the name embroidered on Hazel’s little hat (Steve had told her the name in advance, learning from experience that it wasn’t wise to catch them both off-guard at once).

Steve watches Jim squint to read the pink stitching, holding back a dumb comment about how he needed his glasses.

“Hazel…James,” Hop mumbles. He pauses, clears his throat, “That’s…what a name. Where’d you guys come up with that one.”

“After you,” Steve tells him, “In case that wasn’t clear.”

Jim is quiet for a long time, and Steve couldn’t say anything else around the tightness in his throat even if he wanted to, so he stays quiet too while Ed wraps an arm around his waist and presses a firm kiss to the side of his head. 

“It’s a big honor,” Hopper finally says, his voice wrecked, not taking his eyes off the baby.

Steve can only nod.

“Well deserved,” Eddie tells him seriously, “She’s got big shoes to fill.”

Then, because he can’t help himself, he adds, “And if she starts spilling classified government secrets, we’ll know who to blame.”

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Vol. 5 "Dread in the Air"

This is a re-posting from Oct. 21st, 2017 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

Seeing the intro for the first time as an intro in Episode 2 is always exciting, especially since RWBY has a history of hinting at things to come in their openings. Though it is a little reminiscent of an Instagram filter, I do enjoy the grainy texture given to each of the girls' introduction shots--a move from pure, bright coloring to a darker texture reflective of the show's darker themes. The fact that we have house shenanigans alongside a passing silhouette of Ozpin, an intense fight against a literally larger than life Salem while Ruby still finds reasons to smile... it's looking like Volume 5 is finding its balance.

Indeed, in the name of balance this is one of the rare episodes where Ruby never shows up. "Rare" doesn't even cover it really, considering that in previous episodes focusing on others she at least appeared in the background: attending class, cheering on her teammates in the tournament, etc. However, as the stakes and cast grow, we should expect more time to be devoted to the other players in this game. "Dread in the Air" pays particular attention to its villains.

Any lingering doubts about Lionheart's loyalty are laid to rest as Watts visits him personally, escorting him to one of Salem's jellyfish grimm that's... just hanging out in the middle of the school somewhere? Alright then. We see partly now why Lionheart got rid of all his security. Not easy to keep your duplicity a secret if you're housing stuff like that next to the broom closet. Regardless, it's clear that he's being threatened or blackmailed and is caving under that pressure pretty quick. For a long time the fandom considered Qrow/Tai/Ironwood/Ozpin as the scarecrow/cowardly lion/tin man/wizard representatives, but with the introduction of Lionheart as a cowardly figure and an obviously lion-ish look/name, we might eventually be getting a third school headmaster in need of a brain...

Now that jellyfish thing is certainly creepy--remember Mercury and Emerald's first reactions?--but here we get to see that even the creepiest grimm become a thousand times worse in Salem's hands. Lionheart makes the mistake of trying to order her around, telling Salem to hurry and get the Spring Maiden before Qrow does, and his outburst is rewarded by tentacles snapping out to choke him, one threatening to put out an eye. The fact that Salem can control her grimm from such a distance lends credence to the theory that she's the other "brother" from Qrow's story, capable of manipulating all her creations. Or at least she’s connected to them somehow. She is, in short, their god. Does that mean then Ozpin can do similar things with life as her opposite? Regardless, this moment also implies that these jellyfish grimm aren't inherently weird scroll replacements, but rather that this communication is an ability that Salem is bestowing on them. After all, we haven't seen any of the other creatures being used as tools yet.  

As Lionheart reports that he's found the Spring Maiden we learn that Cinder has finally recovered, at least enough to tell Watts to shut up and argue with Salem about murdering children. (Didn't you miss her?). I'm always pretty attuned to when people use names vs. epithets, and Cinder's move from "the silver eyed girl" to "Ruby" when she begs Salem to kill her shows just how personal this fight has become. Salem also warns Cinder that Ruby's powers--once she harnesses them--are a real threat to the Maiden's. Jury’s still out on whether that’s because of their magic or something else intrinsic to the Maidens. 

After Salem asks to speak with Tyrion (appearing highly displeased) and Watts is tasked with somehow getting him a new tail, we cut to Weiss where my reading of last's week's conflict (and Weiss' character) rings true. They are still near the ship that sent out the distress call and after another one crashes Weiss says enough is enough. She's going to help, "What we should have done in the first place." We're then treated to what are, in my humble opinion, the most god awful grimm to ever grace the RWBY screen.

Wasps.

Or lancers, as they're called, with stingers that act like grappling hooks--isn't that wonderful?

A lot of people have complained about the fight sequences since Monty's death, but there's still a wonderful wealth of creativity here. Flexible magic structures aside, from a purely fight standpoint I've always appreciated the ways that Weiss utilizes her glyphs, in this case to steady herself on a moving airship, shoot volleys at a number of moving targets, slow their descent, and lift an entire cargo hold of dust to turn it into a bomb. (Seriously... she can do anything with that semblance.) When that doesn’t work we get what we all knew was coming: that knight. For the first time we really get to see it in action and learn that these summoned creatures aren't just mindless minions, but rather avatars that Weiss can control. While she closes her eyes in concentration the knight fights with her style: using glyphs as launching points to attack, the exact move we first got in her trailer.

It's also worth noting Weiss' little smirk while they're getting attacked by freaking wasps that shoot spikes and have a queen that is impervious to dust. It doesn't matter how hard things get. Like Ruby, Weiss just loves the challenge.

Meanwhile RWBY is once again showing that they have a very iffy handle on race issues. People have voiced numerous grievances over the years, from the small (that the racism against faunus is never actually shown--Cardin doesn't count when he's a bully to everyone), to the large (turning the group demanding equality into one of the series' main villains is...not good.) These problems are even more overt with the introduction of Sienna Khan, a tiger faunus who is murdered after just a few minutes of screen time. Her opinion that attacking the schools "crosses a line" and her speech that she wants respect from the humans sets her apart from Adam's radicalism. Yet at the same time including "fear" in what she wants and the implication that she's only refraining from going to war because she might not win... it adds complexity to her motives, complexity that we rarely see in so short a scene. Not that it matters, considering Adam runs her through with his sword seconds later. The fact that Sienna is one of the very few PoCs in RWBY (and a woman to boot) just makes her sudden death all the more cringe-worthy. It wasn't impactful and it hardly seemed necessary. Was I really the only one who thought Adam was already in charge of the White Fang? RWBY's wiki assures me Salem mentioned Sienna once, but it was hardly emphasized. Her loss of power means little when at least some of us didn't realize she had that power to begin with.

Admittedly some fans are already theorizing that Sienna survived (A single stabbing couldn't kill her, right? What's her semblance? Where’s her aura? They didn't have to mention that burial...) but we'll have to wait to find out if Sienna pops back up and spills some blood when they try to put her in the ground. For now Adam lounges on the throne, dreaming of the humans serving him, and Hazel laments that, "Nobody needed to die today." Despite my interest in Hazel and his connection to Oscar, I can't overlook the fact that this is two white men seizing power (and the scene) through violence. It's apt, but not exactly refreshing.

Luckily we don't end with these two. Poor Weiss takes a beating in that crash and the final scene is her waking up, begging two shady-looking men for help. Who should walk over then but Raven. See? Groups are already coming together! Just... not how we wanted.

First the Spring Maiden and now the (former) Schnee heiress. Raven sure does like kidnapping important young women. Sadly we'll have to wait until next week to see how Weiss gets out of this one.

Until then,

<3

Other Details of Note

Watts - "A little birdie told us." You're hilarious, asshole. Please stick around.

Nice change in audio as Salem speaks through the grimm. Her voice echoes a great deal, making her appear even more powerful and threatening than usual.

I appreciated the pilot's skill helping to save Weiss' ass. It's incredibly rare for us to see non-Huntsmen making a difference in combat.

We learn that the White Fang will execute its members if needed. They're no longer just an "activist" organization, but truly creating their own government and rule. Salem is, in many ways, no longer the biggest threat.

Can't help but think that Adam's choice to blame Sienna's death on a human huntsmen will cause serious trouble down the road (as is his intention). The kingdoms are already divided on the huntsman's place within society and having the White Fang hyper-focused on them (as an embodiment of the worst of humanity) certainly won't help.