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thephoenixdescendant · 4 years ago

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I knew this would happen. I accidently deleted an ask. Thank god I took a screenshot of it before deleting it...🙏🙏🙏

Whoever asked this, I'm praying that they will see this post.

WORD COUNT: 2,824

Vert x Reader x Alternative Vert

You settled in handler corners about a year ago and made friends with the people who work at spectre motors. But, one day you became awestruck for the fact that you saw them coming out of a portal. That's when you knew what they really do. You have been nagging them to bring you with them but Vert refused. The reason why is because he's afraid you might get hurt and also, you tried to ride the saber the other day. But, what happened was you drove it to the maximum speed limit. And you crashed his car on a giant rock. You hit your head on the glass real hard and ever since then, he's been treating you like a kid. So, you kept annoying Vert to the point where he gave up and said yes. But he told you to not walk around the battle zone and instead, stay with Stanford.

You were with them on the training tracks watching the solar eclipse through those special glasses that allows you to look at the sun, until Sage announced through their coms that a stormshock was detected, with a warning. Those solar flares could damage their vehicles. Vert turned to you with a serious expression. "Don't get out of the reverb. If you do, then it'll be the last time I'm taking you to a battlezone". You nodded in agreement. You hopped on the reverb and they all took off.

"Stay double frosty guys. Sage said those solar flares could do nasty stuff to our instruments." Vert warned. "Solar activity peak level coinciding with portal entry" Sage announced through the coms as Stanford kept touching a button on the touch screen of his reverb. "Might explain why my rear axle telemetry a bit dodgy." Stanford said.

"Caution. Battlezone may also be affected."

Everyone got inside the portal and arrived on a planet that looks really fimiliar. Like the ones they show on science fiction movies. "Looks like a standard alien desert to me." Spinner said. "Everybody make some dust. Find me a key!" Vert said as he went to the other direction. "As soon as I find out what's wrong my axle. Catch up with you." Stanford parked his car on an area near a mountain. You got annoyed because you couldn't see the rest of the zone for a bit.

Stanford got out of the reverb with a socket wrench that he carries with him. He crossed your arms as you watched him open the bonet. "First rule of a manual servo repair. Never need one." Stanford started to twist and turn some of the parts with the socket wrench. You grunted in annoyance. "Hey Stan. Can I get out and watch the view. I wanna walk around a bit." You asked. "No. Vert told me to make sure your inside the Reverb at all cost." Stanford replied. Not looking in your direction. "Come on! I don't wanna sit here! I just wanna walk!!!" You whined. But, he just ignored you. You looked outside and sighed. Then you got an idea. "Hey stan. I'll make a promise to you if you let me out." You said. He looked at you, a brow raised. "What promise?" He asked. "If you let me out, I'll tell Grace how amazing you are! I know you like her and I'm sure she'll listen to me. That way, she'll ask you out!" You said, with a big smile. He rubbed his chin and thought about it for a second. A smile formed on his face. "Okay! You can come out!" He said. You felt really happy and when you got out of the reverb, you gave Stanford a big hug. "Thank you!!!" You said, before going to the other side, enjoying the view.

You kept walking around until you saw something coming from the distance. It looked like a gold chariot... And it was coming towards you. You ran to Stanford and hid behind him. He gasped when he saw one of his enemies right in front of him. He dropped his socket wrench as the mutant like creature aimed his crossbow at him.

"Go on then! What are you waiting for fang face?!" Stanford said with pure hate. "Even though you humans want to destroy my world, I cannot attack an unarmed man." Kalus said. Stanford looked at him, confused. "Who are you? And what have you done with Kalus?" Stanford asked. "And you, are not acting like a member of the evil battle force 5!" Kallus exclaimed. "Evil battle force 5?" You whispered. Stanford looked at you, indicating he was confused, just as you.

"Mount your vehicle and let us battle as honour dictates." Kalus said. Stanford took a step back, almost stepping on your feet. "Uhh.... One moment..." He said before he spoke through his com. "Guys! Kalus has me in his crosshairs, but he's being... Honourable. Please advice." "On our way!" Vert replied as he and the others went to where Stanford stood.

You saw the team coming towards them from the distance. The tension was relieved.

"Huh! Typical Battle Force 5. Refusing to choose the Vandal code to settle our differences like gentleman!" Kalus spat.

"A vandal gentleman? Huh! In what world?" Sherman asked. "Maybe in this world. Sage said the battlezone could be affected. Captain Kalus! Wait! Please." Vert stopped the Saber infront of him. You and Stanford quickly got inside the Reverb and he aimed the sonic canons at Kalus. "Captain Kalus!" Vert called as he got out, without bringing his double edged sword. Kalus aimed his crossbow at him. "I'd like to speak with you! I've come unarmed." He walked towards him. "Vert! We've got him surrounded. What are you doing?!" Agura questioned. "Playing a hunch I'm about to wish I never had. Cover me but stay back." Vert said. Kalus got out of his chariot. "What kind of trickery is this?!" He questioned. Vert held out his arm, motioning Stanford to turn off the sonic canons.

"You... Ordered your team to stay back..." Kalus said. "I did. So, where is yours?" Vert asked. "Ugh! You know very well what happened to them!" Kalus said before sniffing Vert's uniform. "Or do you?" Kalus got surprised of the scent Vert had. It wasn't the same scent he was fimiliar with.

"It's not Kalus!" Vert turned around to the team. "Uhh... How many talking lions with crossbows are there riding around in gold chariots?" Agura was confused. Zoom came and stopped the chopper beside the tangler. "Just did a flyby on the battle key!" He said before turning to Vert. Surprised to see Kalus standing next to him. "Whoa! And we're not whipping lion butt why?" "Somehow those solar flares must of connected us to a dimention exactly opposite our own." Sherman explained. You gasped in surprise. "Am I gonna see the opposite version of the team?" You thought. "With good Vandals! (Idk what word he said after that... lol)" Stanford said, confused and surprised at the same time. "So where's the rest of your team?" Vert asked. "My good friends Hatch, Xever and Crocomodo were elimimated... Long ago...." Kalus said sadly. His face drooped down. You looked at him with pity. "By who?" Vert asked. "By.... Them...." Kalus pointed to the distance, as he heard a team of cars racing towards them. The whole team looked at the distance and saw their opposites. "Those look just like our rides!" Sherman exclaimed. "Normally it's between me and that battle force 5. Which exists only to conquer peacefull worlds..." Kalus said.

"Well... Look what we have here?" The alternative vert's voice was heard through the com. You gasped at how his tone was so.... Evil... "They look like us, but they're so... Clean." "Not after I'm done with them." "I wanna smash them. Into teeny tiny bits!" "Wow Sherm! That was nearly a complete sentence!" "Oh, you boys are like soooo immature!" "Shut your traps. First we get the key. Then we play...." A fit of evil laughter sent chills down your spine. Anti-Vert noticed you sitting with Stanford. He looked at you and winked. "Uhhh...." You had no words to say. "Whoa. Doppleganger dudes really got their fight on!" Spinner said. "Can't let 'em get the key. What do you need Zoom?" Vert asked. "Battle key is in the side of a mini mountain. Gonna need Agura!" Zoom replied. "Nothings out of my reach!" Agura said. "Agura go for the key. Everyone else on defense. Let's go!" The team charged towards their opposites. They looked at each other in pure hate. You gripped on your seat because of how fast the Reverb was going.

"Looks like those goodie goodies are gonna get in our way!" Anti-Spinner said. "Split up. Take 'em one on one." Anti-Vert ordered. The Saber's blades collided with each other. Anti-Vert's blade scraped past the Saber. Vert grunted in anger.

Anti-Vert's Saber got near the Reverb and he came to your side of the car. "Hey sexy! He thinks he's better than me. Let me show you what I can do." He said before charging towards Vert's Saber. Vert got really angry when his alternarive self called you "sexy". God, he wanted to punch his anti-self's perfect teeth. "If you are trying to challenge me, you're doing a terrible mistake! I'm gonna kick your butt!" Vert said. "That will be in your dreams. The woman/man is mine!" Anti-Vert said. "No, mine!" Vert muttered. "She/he is mine!"

You were watching the entire thing. Each time Vert gets pushed back by his anti self, Anti-Vert has a grin on his face. He knows you are still watching the fight. But, you suddenly can't see them because the Reverb has gone away from them. "Stanford. Follow the girl/boy and try to wreck their Reverb." Anti-Vert said. "Consider it done!" He said. You saw Anti-Stanford following the Reverb really tightly. "Ohmygosh. Please go faster!" You said. "I am!" Stanford swerved the car left and right. Trying to avoid the sonic attacks. His anti self got to your side and you gasped when he made his car push the Reverb to the side. Both Stanford and his evil self pushed each other back and forth. "Coming here was a bad idea..." You regreted annoying Vert. This is what Vert has been warning you about. Something like this always happen. Suddenly, Anti-Stanford pushed his vehicle too hard on the Reverb. Causing the mirror on your side to break. Shards of glasses fell onto your arm. It's sharp sides grazed your skin. Causing a cut on the thin layer of skin. But enough to bleed. It stinged a little. "We'll get away from.... Me..." Stanford somehow managed to turn the Reverb, making it face his anti self. They both sonic blasted each other. Stanford and his anti self took the hit, causing the Reverb to be pushed back. You hit your head really hard on the back and on the side..... The glass shards cut the side of your cheek. It started to bleed and your head hurts fr om hitting the back too hard. "(Y/N)!!! You're bleeding!!!" Stanford gasped in horror. "I'm... I'm okay... Just go!" You said. The Reverb took off, leaving Anti-Stanford alone. You started to feel nauseous and a splitting headache took place. "I... I don't feel so good..." You said, covering your mouth. Trying not to vomit because of how the Reverb's movement is. "I'll take you somewhere that'll keep you safe!" Stanford said.

Stanford parked the Reverb on a small cave. A cave where it's not clearly seen. Both you and Stanford got out. You sat on the floor, leaning onto the wall, as Stanford inspected your injuries. "I don't have an emergency kit. Sorry about that..." Stanford apologized. "N-no it's okay." You said, as you took out your handkerchief from your pocket. You placed it on your cheek, hoping the bleeding will stop. "I should be the onr who's sorry. I shouldn't have come here." You said sadly. "It's okay (Y/N)." Stanford smiled. "You stay here. The Reverb is already damaged. If you're in it, then it'll cause more injuries to you. Our opposites won't find you." Stanford said as he got inside the Reverb. He disappeared into the distance and you sighed. "I shouldn't have come here..."

Vert and his anti-self kept pushing their vehicles on each other, causing a lot of damage. He chuckled. "You already know that soon, the woman/man that you have brought with you on your mission will be mine! I already know it. You're weak!" He said. "Not gonna happen!" Vert shouted. Then Anti-Vert saw the Reverb coming out from the side of a mountain, but you weren't there with him. "Are you sure Vert?" Anti-Vert asked before violenly pushing Vert's Saber with his blades. Vert's vehicle flipped over and Anti-Vert went to where Stanford came.

You started to feel lightheaded and your head was throbbing and you placed your hand on the back of your head. You felt warm liquid covering your palm. It was blood. You sighed, praying the team will come back to get you. You laid down and curled up like a ball, trying to fall asleep. After a few minutes, you heard a vehicle coming towards you. It sounded like the Saber. You felt relieved for Vert being here and you got up... Only to see his alternative self staring at you. He chuckled. "Are you trying to rest my love?" He asked. "I'm not your love! Leave me alone!" You said, as you stood up. "You don't know what I am capable of. I'm way better than the Vert from your homeworld." He said. "Oh no no no. You are just a freak. I don't like men like you!" You shouted. He looked at you with no emotion. He took a step towards you and you took a step back. "Me? A freak? Ha! You don't know me well dear." Vert said. "And you don't know me as well. I'm capable of fighting you off. I have a black belt in karate!" You exclaimed. Suddenly, Anti-Vert just burst out into laughter. "Do you really expect me to believe that?! You don't look like the type to be violent." He said. "Oh, But I am. Don't mess with me!" You said. He took a step forward and you lunged at him, ready to punch his face. But, he grabbed both of your wrist. "Hm... A black belt in karate, huh?" He said, mockingly. "I-I just went e-easy on you!" You said, as you tried to pull yourself out of his grip. But, he was too strong. "Don't even try. You're weak!" He said. You mentally slapped yourself from doing that stupid move. The amount of energy you took to get out of his grip made you feel as if the world was spinning around you. Your legs became weak and you almost fell down, but Anti-Vert caught you. He grazed his fingers on the cut on your cheek. "Looks like Stanford got a little harsh on you...". "I'm very sorry about that..." He suddenly pinned you against a wall.

He looked at how vulnerable you are. It didn't take long to smash his lips onto yours. You couldn't protest as your body felt like jelly. He stopped kissing you as you bit his tongue harshly. "Gah!" He hissed in pain. You fell down on the floor. "D-don't do i-it a-again...." You spoke. Your voice was weak. The blood from his tongue starts to drip down from his mouth. "I would love my woman/man to be a little more compliant. I don't mind playful biting.... But, not in a way it'll stop someone from kissing you..." He said. "Go... To... Hell!" You spat. He just laughed. "You will be under my control when I take you away from them!" He said, with a wicked smile.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER YOU SACK OF SH*T!!!" Someone shouted from the distance. You both looked at who it was. It was Vert. Your Vert. He ran towards his anti-self and kicked him in the guts. Anti-Vert grunted in pain. "You will seriously gonna regret doing that!" He said. "YOU WILL SERIOUSLY GONNA REGRET TAKING MY WOMAN/MAN AWAY FROM ME!!!!" Vert shouted. Then, both Vert and his alternative self started to have a fist fight. You couldn't move or speak, and you laid down almost unconscious.

Vert somehow beaten his anti-self down. He ran to you and picked you up. "You're bleeding!!!" He gasped as he felt the warm liquid from your head. He ran out of the cave and placed you inside the Reverb. "Get her/him home! Now!" He ordered. Stanford nodded and he took you to the hub. He went back to the Saber and looked at his anti-self. "You and I are gonna have a fight. With our vehicles..." He said.

Part 2 (Coming Soon)

#hot wheels #hot wheels battle force 5 #battle force 5 #bf5 #hwbf5 #vert wheeler #agura ibaden #zoom takazeumi #sherman cortez #spinner cortez #stanford isaac rhodes iv #sage #evil vert #vert x reader #(y/n) (l/n)#i accidently deleted the ask

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envys-stories · 1 year ago

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There are some people that would freak out if they could see what I do. Every person gives off a slight electrical field, animals too, because of the way our bodies are able to conduct electricity so damn well. I can even see them in pictures and videos, though a little more fuzzy. It makes me really good at picking out the "before" of anything digitally edited because people can't see the electric fields and don't know to edit them, too. At first I thought everyone could see them, especially with so many people that talk about "seeing people's auras" and all those sorts of magics. I quickly realized that even if they really could see something, it most definitely was not what I was seeing. I learned to tune it out, most people don't like hearing how well they conduct electricity. It's served me well though, working as a doctor, letting me see the way the energy flows through a person's body and being able to order just the right tests at the right time. I'm sure I've saved dozens of lives that way, though nobody can really explain how I do what I do. It was two months ago I treated the men on trial. They had been involved in some sort of gang violence, most likely some sort of dispute of territory, and had come in with a hell of a lot of injuries. One had a bullet in his thigh, a knife in his arm, and a concussion, and the other, well, let's just say I didn't expect him to still be alive. But here I am, testifying in court of the injuries they received and the nature of how they had to have been inflicted.

I was sitting on the stand, testifying to the court of the injuries, fairly routine when you've been doing this sort of thing for far too long. As my eyes wandered, trying to stay alert and not get bored out of my mind by the words coming out of my mouth, I noticed the juror. They were sitting right in the middle of the juror's stand, watching the scene and nodding along cheerfully like I wasn't describing morbid injuries. That wasn't the most unusual thing about them, though. As I watched them writing, I noticed their field was growing and shrinking rapidly, swelling to twice their body size and then shrinking so small I couldn't even see it anymore. Then it stopped changing, shrunken down and (i presumed) completely hidden by their body. In most people I would expect them to start displaying signs of a heart attack, or even a stroke if they were unlucky, but the juror was completely unbothered. I started to trail off mid-sentence, prompting a displeased look from the lawyers and judge, before shaking my head and looking away, trying to focus on the testimony I was giving.

It was like someone knew that humans were supposed to have an electrical field, but didn't quite know how to replicate it. I couldn't even puzzle out how someone so blatantly wrong could exist, let alone do something like serve on a jury. That meant that whatever they were, they were good enough to fool the government into thinking they were a real person. The possibilities were racing through my head. A robot? Unlikely, they would have a stronger field then. Maybe and alien? A corpse brought back to a convincing semblance of life? I knew I would have to talk to them once the court adjourned.

Everyone slowly filed out of the courtroom, and I raced around the corner. Where were they? I had to find them before I left for the day, it was the only day I was going to be here and I needed to know why their field was so wonky. I caught a glimpse of them across the room, and pushed through the small crowd of people to reach them.

I finally caught them, tapping them on the shoulder and introducing myself. "Hello. I'm Dr. Calchas, I was testifying earlier, and I, well, I couldn't help but notice you seem different than the rest of the jury."

They smiled at me with a grin that seemed to have too many teeth, but it wasn't like I had time to count. "What a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, doctor. Why don't you walk with me a while, and we can find somewhere more...secluded to chat."

I paused, considering my options, and decided I wanted to know this "person's" deal more than I was worried about my own safety. Without another word, we walked through the hallways until we found an empty corridor full of benches to sit down on.

I opened my mouth to ask questions, but before I could get a word out they began speaking. "It is apparent you can see me for what I truly am. I don't know how you managed to tell, but I would rather tell my truth and ask for your discretion than risk you poking around on your own. You seem a nosy sort." I turned slightly red in the face, annoyed they had read me so accurately. They continued "I am a high elf, and we live among you. Ichor flows through our veins, sustaining us for a dozen human lifetimes. We are called uncanny, unnerving, freaks of nature, but we are as natural as humanity is. We live among you, nearly identical to an unfamiliar eye, rarely betrayed. Those who know of us protect our secret, knowing that humanity seeks to destroy what it cannot understand and fearing that which outlasts it. Our numbers are in the millions, living among humanity and serving to better the world. We value our laws and our ideals. We are bound by secrecy for our safety. The simplest distinction lies in our vision, we see the unseen, the forces that move through a body, and we notice the uncanny as though it were the plainest thing in the room." They paused, looking at me as though expecting me to speak.

"Do you mean the electric fields? Is that what you can see?"

"Indeed."

"Well, I might as well keep your secret, seeing as I can see the same. I guess I have some questions to ask my parents later."

The extra cones and rods in your eyes make it easy to identify fake photos and videos. One day when you’re testifying in court, you notice one of the jurors is “fake”

#writers #writers on tumblr #writing prompts #writeblr #writing inspiration #magic #uncanny valley

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red-the-dragon-writes · 4 years ago

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Today's post is not on the usual "writer blog fare" side. Instead I am going to introduce you to several fun facts about various animals on our planet and then talk about worldbuilding.

1. Lampreys are a kind of "living fossil"- a not-really-so-scientific term for a creature that has lived unchanged for a very long time, so long that we have fossils of them looking the same way they do now. They don't have proper jaws, just a circular sucking mouth with teeth set into it and a tongue designed to strip flesh off of what it touches. They're finless fish, look quite a bit like eels, and have this really alien, uncanny vibe to them.

[id: a long, slender bluish-silver lamprey sitting among rocks. It has a long snout, an eye, and then six small perforations in its side arranged at an even interval sitting behind the eye. The environment it is sitting in is very yellow and green in comparison. end id]

[id: an image of a lamprey from below. The snout ends in a round, flat mouth which is studded with teeth in four concentric circles. The teeth are smallest near the outer edge and largest in the middle, and look like very sharp round points. In the center of this ring is another, smaller circle, where the pointed, tooth-like tongue can be seen, as well as a hole for the lamprey to actually ingest food with. Its eye is visible, as are some of the perforations on its side. This one is a more mottled gray than the first one was, and less shiny. end id]

Sea lampreys, which are the kind i've sort of not really kinda researched, are a major pest in the Great Lakes, where they regularly attack fish. They can get up to two feet in length. Despite this, they are not particularly dangerous towards humans.

2. Horseshoe crabs are also "living fossils." They've been around and virtually unchanged for millions of years. They're not true crabs, and are more closely related to chelicerata species, like spiders and scorpions (and many more). There are a lot of cool features of horseshoe crabs, but one of their most extremely cool, to me, is their blood.

I'm not going to post any images of what I consider to be animal cruelty, so you'll have to take me at my word here, but this is a bottle of horseshoe crab blood. If you're sensitive to images of animal cruelty, I don't recommend looking for proof, but if you aren't, there are plenty of images of the blood coming out of the creature for you to verify this with.

E[id: a bottle of slightly frothy, opaque blue liquid. It is sitting in a row with several other bottles of the same material. end id]

I am a sucker for blue blood, I just think it's neat, so that's all I'd need as an excuse to slam some horseshoe-crab-inspired nonsense in my exceptionally gory and fucked up wips, and if you've been reading along with WiB you may have noticed that blue blood does come into play at some point! But that's not all that's neat about horseshoe crab blood. Unfortunately for the horseshoe crabs, but fortunately for us, their blood is literally the only source of an important compound used for detecting the presence of dangerous bacteria in certain pharmaceutical drugs. (Fortunately, there are replacements that will hopefully become more popular in coming years.)

Now that we've gone over all that, onto the worldbuilding!

I worldbuild by Rule of Cool. Let's just get that out of the way. Every so often people will ask me how my worlds get so expansive (not WiB, WiB i made up on the fly by cribbing from fanfic and like... BBC Merlin. Assume very little of this holds true for WiB) and the answer is largely that I take every interest I have ever had in anything and smash it all together and throw it at my wip to see what sticks. and then I just... like... reasonably attempt to figure out what the natural conclusions will be.

So: we have lampreys. We have blue-blooded ancient sea creatures with spectacularly important and valueable blood. We are writing this into a story that takes place on land, somehow.

- The first option, and the one I'm going to talk about most because I did it, is just to rule-of-cool it into a character. (Or a place, or an item, or whatever, but largely I do rule-of-cool on living creatures and think harder about the world around them.) If you've been keeping up with WiB, you may have noticed that (spoilers) Zero Point is some kind of fucked up magician with a lamprey mouth in their hand who shapeshifts and bleeds blue. This is where I got those inspirations from (along with, like, some other stuff. I promise there are no lamprey assassins, but- continuing in the trend of stealing from sea creatures- the bobbin worm is a spectacularly beautiful, spectacularly deadly creature if you're within its weight range. which is like, goldfish size, but. And cuttlefish are known to disguise themselves as other animals, and can change sexes if the male:female ratio where they are isn't ideal.)

So you can take the elements you like, and just kind of slam them together haphazardly, which is what I did with Zero Point. The trick to this kind of worldbuilding is just to avoid looking too closely at it. The magical assassin has a fucked up mouth in their hand? Yeah, okay, that seems kind of fucked up and creepy. What do they do at all times? They hide it under a glove. So the protags Just Straight Up Never Ask. And voila; it never gets explained, and it never has to.

Same with the blue blood. It shows up, it functions as a plot device because only Zero Point has blue blood; it is never explained or even delved into with much detail. And if it were, it would fall apart instantly, because the justification is literally just "i thought it was neat. No, no one else is like that. I don't even know why they are. i just felt like it"

- The second option is to consider the effects of the things that you're working with, and then work off of that.

Let's take Zero Point again. Strip them of their context (weird assassin with magical powers) and just like, consider the fact that this is a creature with blood that regularly retails for over $10,000 USD, is intelligent as fuck, shapeshifts, has a mouth in their hand that may or may not be their actual mouth, and can exist on land so long as they have suitable access to water. What does that mean for our setting? Surely they're not the only person like that; so you have a whole species of people who are sort of but not really amphibious, shapeshift, and maybe have magical powers, who knows. They can't shapeshift their fucked up lamprey mouths, maybe. That seems like a reasonable limit. So their blood is highly valuable- what does that mean for their relations with other people, or their culture? What kind of foods do they eat? How do they create a sense of culture as shapeshifters; is there even a way that they represent themselves in art? How do they interact with the world? Do they have a "true form" or not? Every one of these questions will spawn new questions. If you answer all of them you'll lose your mind, but if you answer at least ten you'll spawn a much more background-heavy world that can help to shape your story much more effectively than trying to just craft a narrative will. Sometimes it works very well for a story. Sometimes it gets you lost in the weeds.

- The third option is to reference something else, and build off that. Again, let's use Zero Point as the example.

In the original story that the WiB ensemble is from, Closerverse, which may have some mentions on this blog but honestly I have no idea, there is a city that I've done quite a bit of worldbuilding on. This city is called Hudson, and one of the major important features of it is that it is partially underground. (This is a reference to the DFZ of Rachel Aaron's Heartstrikers series). Hudson is intentionally run to be the worst, most unpleasant city in the world, and one of its features are its wildly intelligent, dangerous forms of aquatic life. The lowest level of this city is partially submerged, and all of these creatures plague the people who live down there.

Closerverse was also set during a period of early industrialization, and Hudson heavily referenced US history, especially 1900s-1920s labor history. Tenements, pollution, zero protections for workers, et cetera. Hudson is a nasty, miserable place, and everyone who lives there can feel the jaws closing in on them.

Anyway, in Closerverse you got these fucked up massive eel-like creatures (lampreys, but with extra features) that due to some rather significant meddling wound up growing legs and then got really massive and started eating people. They have blue blood, glow in the dark, and make fairly decent eating as long as they aren't eating you. And they're intelligent. Given the whole "mutual eating each other" thing, the eels and the people of Hudson have some pretty major animosity going on.

Most of Zero Point's stuff is really just me referencing the Hudson Eels, because I fucking love those. They're some of my favorite worldbuilding elements ever. But given that no one else in WiB has ever seen a Hudson Eel, let alone seen their blood get dry on things, or whatever, everything about Zero Point is wildly out of context. And that almost makes it better, because the whole deal with them is that they're mysterious and weird, and having them be a mysterious and weird reference to something no one but I know about most likely is like, fun and neat.

There are, of course, other modes of worldbuilding as well, but I typically aim to stick to the first two as much as possible. The cooler you make something, the more possible questions it raises; the more questions something raises, the deeper your world gets.

Although, a word of advice: sometimes animals just do things. Sometimes bodies just have features. Who would invent fingernails? But having them is mighty convenient, isn't it? For that matter, who would come up with a deeply logical and reasoned explanation for eyebrows- but not having those would be very strange, to us. You can get away with doing a lot by just having that be how it is, and not having the characters comment on it.

Also, the more "shaped" a thing should be, the more you'll want to take the second approach. For house design, something intentionally built, you'll want to know why it was built, and what purpose is this and that room, and why is it painted such and such colors. But if you're talking about adding a second moon, like... fuck dude, who needs to know why there's a second moon? Maybe if you have sailors you have to know what it'll do to your oceans, but that's the kind of thing you can kind of just say exists and move on. You'll figure it out; it gets pretty intuitive.

Anyway, happy worldbuilding!

#writing advice #long post #worldbuilding

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nightshadeshadow123 · 5 years ago

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Paw prints on the Agent's heart🐾part 5:

Part 5 guys. Honestly didn't expect to write this far but to be honest I've had so much fun with writing this whole fic series. Thanks for all the love and support guys! Love ya'll💜💙💚

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@retro-aesthe @blackluthxr @samustar @aznblossom @ibe-anne @lezzzbehonesthere

🐺🐾🐺🐾🐺🐾🐺🐾🐺🐾🐺🐾🐺🐾🐺🐾

Alex jumped at the sound of loud bangs, yelling and gun fire, blinking the fogginess from her eyes and letting out a groan, trying to move her hands to try and rub at her head but found them tied up behind her with a rope that is digging into the soft skin of her palms uncomfortably

"What?" Alex asked confusedly, taking in her surrounding for a moment, having forgotten where she was for a moment.

"Oh." Alex let out after it dawned on her like a slap in the face.

"WHO INVITED YOU TWO?! Not that I'm complaining, Miss Luthor will be ecstatic to get her hands on such prized aliens." A guard yelled out, firing his gun again as Alex tried to look but couldn't.

"Oh I doubt that even a dick can get her ecstatic, not than anyone would even touch her with a 10 feet pole in the first place." You said smuggly, arms crossed over the silver wolf head logo on your chests matted black armored suit.

Kara eyes widened at your words, thinking to herself 'Yep, sarcastic, foul mouted and dirty just like before.'

The guard almost let out a snort at your choice of words but immediately regained his composure, firing at you again.

"What's it with ya mortals? Bullets can't harm us." You said amusedly as the bullets bounced off of you and Kara.

More guards came streaming in, firing away at the both of you.

You gave Kara a smirk, making her roll her blue eyes at you but give a smile back. "Let's get em'."

"Just don't kill anyone." Kara chuckled, watching you.

"Can't make any promises dearie." You winked before swinging at the nearest guard, punching away at any guards.

"Figured you'd say something like that." Kara said them join in on taking the guards out.

Alex huffed, strands of her hair flying out of her face. "Damn Kryptonians." She said amusedly after hearing the conversations.

You turned into wolf form, running past Alex before stopping and looking at her and give her a wolfish grin.

Alex rolled her brown eyes at you but a tiny smile tug at her plum lips none the less.

You watched her for a moment further with glowing red eyes before jumping at the guard that came running from the front inbetween the rusted containers, a loud bang being created by the impact, making Alex cringe, only imaging how that impact must have felt.

Kara spared a glance at Alex while hovering in the air slightly, a struggling guard held by his armors collar in a iron grip. Kard give her a hint of a smile, glad that her sister is okay before throwing the guard in hand against another two's backs that went to try and take a blow at you making them groan in both pain and shock.

You shook your head out of the daze, nodding your head at Kara in a silent thanks and respect, Kara giving you two thumps up in reply before using x-ray vision to make sure there aren't anymore guards around, landing next to her sister when seeying that all the guards are unconscious around them save for the three groaning guards that are in too much pain to even move.

"Whoops, maybe I threw that one a little too hard." Kara chuckled nervously, figeting with the sleeve of her armor suit.

"Just a tad maybe. But hardly I could've done it better." You motioned with your fingers teasingly as you stepped up to them in human form now, (e/c) eyes shimmering in amusment.

"Is that a challenge?" Kara folded her arms over her chest, eyebrow raised.

"Maybe." You smirked.

"What are the two of you doing here? Not that I mind but how did you manage to get her on our side? And I thought she refused to go near any CADMUS buildings and people." Alex looked up at Kara.

"I only came because she promised good food." You crossed your arms over your chest once again, half covering the wolf head logo again, taking note of how Alex subtly tries to eye it, only causing you to grin more.

"Oh just admit that you do care and are going soft." Kara elbowed you, grinning amusedly as you pretend to be hurt by her.

"Ugh, whatever blondie."

"As much as I love seeying you guys bonding can you first get me out of this ropes and out of here before CADMUS backup arrive." Alex pipped in, impatiently struggling against the restraints again, gritting her teeth at the pain it cause in her now raw wrists.

"Aww but it's kinda kinky seeying you like that. All tied up-"

"Shut it wolf." Alex glared.

"Make me Princessa." You smirked at the red haired woman.

Alex only glared more making you laugh as you untie her.

"Thanks." Alex huffed, rubbing at her wrists.

You only winked at her, standing next to Kara.

"Thanks for the help. You have a great nose to sniff people out." Kara thanked you, pating you on the shoulder as you began to make your way outside with Alex.

"It was no biggie Kar. Was kinda fun." You smiled at the blonde kryptonian.

"Will we see you again?" Alex suddenly asked, grabbing at your armored clad arm as you three stood outside, taking careful steps to not step on more unconscious guards that layed around the place.

You looked down at her hand on your arm for a moment before looking back up into her eyes.

"Of course you will. I'll meet ya both back at the DEO base, gotta take care of a few things first though." You explained, smiling at Alex.

Alex could feel a small blush brusing at her cheecks as she think 'Woah, she have such seductively pretty (e/c) eyes.'

"Better watch yourself out there then and get to the DEO so I can test you to see if you are really that tough." Alex removed her arm and watch as you walked past Kara.

"We can do a lot more than just testing Agent Danvers. We can-Ouch!" You yelped as Kara smacked you in the back of the head.

"Don't talk dirty in front of me about my sister." Kara teased, grinning as you glare at her.

"Pussy blocker." You snort but continued walking, giving them one last glance before dissapearing into the forest.

Alex tried to hide her blush but Kara end up teasingly raising and eyebrow at her. "I ship this."

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Let's get back to the base." Alex tugged her by the elbow.

"I'm going to help plan the wedding! No questions asked!"

"Kara!"

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It was the next day when you showed up at the DEO, (e/c) eyes taking in everything in awe as agents went on with their work.

"Glad to see you've finally showed up here." A male voice said from your left, making you spun and face the person, seeying Hank Henshaw stand there.

"Hank." You greeted the martian, earning a tiny smile from him as he gestured you to follow him.

"What is your name? Haven't gotten it because we were in a hurry to save agent Danvers." Hank looked at you, allowing you to step into the elegant elevator first, following behind soon after.

"How about you tell me your real name first martian, then I'll tell you mine."

He looked shocked for a moment.

"Wait how do you know I'm a-" He began but you pointed at your nose before he could even finish his question.

"I can identify any alien species from humans. I have a good nose." You explained.

"I like even more already." He smiled at you.

"My real name is J'onn J'onzz." He held out a hand to you.

"Nice to meet ya, names (Y/N)." You shook his hand firmly, suprising him even more.

"You have great strength." J'onn aknowledge respectfully.

"Oh that's nothing, you should see the metal container I tackled that guards against last night, I doubt the guy will ever wake up and be removed intact from it." You mused out, stepping out onto the floor when the elevator doors opened.

"You are full of surprises." J'onn chuckled under his breath.

"What's live without a little surprises?" You followed him as he lead you towards what seem to be a big office, allowing you to enter first then closing the door behind the both of you.

Taking in the office you spotted Kara sitting in chair and flipping through a file, curiously looking up when you and J'onn entered, a bright smile immediately crossing her face upon seeying you, throwing the file to the side without a care as she jumped up.

"You came!" Kara pulled you into a hug.

"Of course. I had nothing else better to do anyways. And I guess it wouldn't hurt to give a shot at the DEO, maybe I can be of better help here." You returned her hug before taking a seat where J'onn have gestured in front of his desk after he sat down too, Kara taking her seat too again after picking up the file she have thrown.

J'onn turned his attention back to you, hands folded on the desk as he eye you curiously.

"I have a few questoins to ask you if you don't mind."

"Ask away." You said.

"We want to know what powers and abilities you have." He explained, hoping he doesn't seem like an enemy to you.

"Well aside from shape shifting into a huge wolf and super strength, I have better smelling and seeying senses than humans, super speed and can endure both extremely cold and hot tempretures, Illusion, psychokinesis, and have x-ray vision, laser vision and also hell-fire breath that can melt through anything and pretty much bullet proof like Kara and can sometimes mimic others powers if I concentrate hard enough."

"Interesting. I'd like to spar with you to test those abilities." J'onn said, intrigued by this.

Kara looked intrigued by this too. "Wait. What? That is cool. I don't have all those."

"Jealous?" You teased the blonde, folding your arms against the chairs top and leaning against them.

Kara glared playfully. "Maybe."

"Trust me, these powers are fun and all but the getting them was not so fun with CADMUS. It was extremely painfull and I had to suffer everyday for a few years. The old hag even managed to take away my flight ability with an expiriment gone wrong."

Both J'onn and Kara looked at you in sympathy.

"I'm a sorry we couldn't have rescued you." J'onn said truthfully.

You gave them both a comforting smile. "Hey it's okay. You didn't know and they are a shady but dangerous corperation. I'm just glad I've met someone there that have helped me escape. We still are best friends. Never could really loose contact and that was all fine with us both."

J'onn studied you. "Who helped you escape? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

You pursed your lips, hesitating for a moment. "Well, believe it or not, it was their little black sheep of the family, Lena Luthor."

With that said a memory flew through Kara's mind with her and Lena's talk on the balcony.

"I know that she was my mothers best expiriment and weapon to use against her enemies. And for who helped her escape, I don't know who it was. Maybe it was someone with a death wish."

That rang throug her head a few times. "Lena you genuis sneaky little vixen. Only you would go against your own mother."

You chuckeld at the blonde kryptonian. "Lena told me that you've asked about me. I arrived at her office right after you've left."

"Oh you two are sneaky little vixens. I should've know she was half lying."

"She only did it to protect us both. She is a protective friend ya know. We'd do anything to keep each other safe, we only had each other. And besides, she didn't know that we used to be childhood besties." You explained.

"Good. Now you have me too then." Kara said truthfully.

J'onn softly smile at the two of you. "I'm glad she've helped you. She's a good woman that are full of surprises just like you."

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You walked next to Kara as J'onn walked at the front, leading you through the DEO, showing you around the place.

"Sir!" A guy came running towards J'onn.

"Winn." He greeted, coming to a stop and looking down at him. "What is it?"

Winn's eyes immediately lit up when seeying you, pushing Kara aside earning a startled 'Hey!' from the blonde Kryptonian as he stood by you bubbling with excitement.

"It's such an honor to finally meet you." He akwardly greeted, holding a hand out. "I'm Winn."

You smiled at the akward man, shaking his hand firmly just like you did with J'onn, amused at his shock and excitiment. "I'm (Y/N)."

"I know this a probably to soon to ask but...can I please desing you a suit?"

"Winn!" J'onn glared, making you laugh.

"Woah dude. Thanks for the offer but a Luthor already beated ya to it."

Winn tried to hide a pout. "Ah man, Lena's good with designing. But...if you ever want new suits keep me in mind please."

"I will keep that in mind Winn, thanks." You watched as he bubbled up with excitiment before rushing away again after J'onn dismissed him.

You and Kara began to follow him again for awhile until he led you into what seems to be a huge impressive training room.

"Very nice." You said more to yourself before you spotted Alex sparring with another agent.

"Loving the view." You mused, arms crossed as you lean against a wall, head tilted to the side when Alex lost her focus and the other agent kicked her legs and knocking her over as she cuss under her breath, making you and J'onn give each other a cheecky smile at the red haired agents fail.

Alex got back up, not exceptting the agent hao that wanted to help her up. "I'm fine, you are dismissed Agent Lopez." Watching as the lacky man scurry away before turning to see you, Kara and J'onn chuckling at her.

"Well would you look at that, I have to get back to CatCo. Miss Grant wants me to do....something." Kara slipped away before Alex could send her her famous cold glare.

Alex shot you both a 'not amused' look, making you and J'onn stop, playfully holding your hands up.

"You are late." Alex finally spoke up, moving closer.

"Oh, honey, no. I'm never late. I arrive exactly when I have to. And I had to take care of other things too before I came here."

"And what other things might that have been?" Alex prod.

"Nothing bad, was just helping out a lady."

Alex gave you a look. "Helping out a lady?"

You smirked even more. "Yep." You said popping the p and looking around the room again as J'onn sneakily leave the room.

"Interesting. Good to see you came." Alex said, watching as your (e/c) eyes scan the room curiously before you ran to the salmon ladder in the room.

"Awesome! I love this workout." You threw off your shirt, revealing a black training bra as Alex watched.

You immediately got started, ignoring the agent that is watching you.

"Enjoying the view Princesa?" You teased when feeling her eyes heavily scanning over you

"Shut up." Alex scoffed, looking away briefly and muttering "maybe." under her breath before looking back up at you again as you sent her a wink before concentrating again.

"I can't wait to kick your smug ass." Alex said.

"Ya wish Danvers."

"Where did you learn this workout session? It looks like you've been doing it for years." Alex sneaked a glance at your flexing abs and well built arms, bitting her lower lip to try and keep away her not so innocent thoughts.

You've didn't fail to notice her subtle glance, smuggly smiling at her again.

"I've learned this and much more by CADMUS. They've always made their best train and workout everyday. Can't say I mind the workouts from them but the expirimenting not at all. I kept working out even after Lena have helped me escape that place. She have an epic gym at her place I we both use." You explained, still focused.

"Lena helped you? Woah, who would've though that. You two seem close if you two keep in contact."

"Yeah, we are good friends. We tend to work together on projects at times and hang out when she's free which aren't that often. The poor woman overwork herself too much. Have told her to take breaks often but she's a stuborn one." You looked at Alex once you were back on the ground.

"Sure does sound like her." Alex watched you again as you went for another round on the salmon ladder.

"I've heard Lena mentoined you and Kara by her. She said she goes to the game nights. Does she know that you are an agent and that Kara is Supergirl? She've never mentioned that."

"No, she doesn't know that. It's best that way." Alex explained.

"Yikes." You spared another glance at her. "Don't wanna be there if the secret gets found out."

Alex pursed her lips, arms folded. "You won't tell her right?"

"I'm against keeping secrets from my friend but it's not my place to tell. So, No, I won't tell her."

Alex let's out a relieved sigh. "Thanks."

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Man I'm obsessed with salmon ladder workout way too much. Sorry for the long wait, had to wait for insperation to smack me first and drag myself out of my depressed state I was in. Don't know when the next part will be posted or if it will be posted. Welp hope ye guys like this part, stay safe my peeps.

#alex danvers x reader #alex danvers imagines #kara danvers x reader #kara danvers imagines #supergirl imagine

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itsclydebitches · 5 years ago

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(1/?) I'm curious as to your thoughts: was there a good way to write Ironwood as CRWBY intended him, 'fundamentally good person shows signs of instability and a worrying commitment to the idea that everyone should be willing to make a sacrifice as long as he is, takes this to unacceptable extremes when a great sacrifice is called for'? I've been reading all these posts that actually make it seem like a coherent character arc, and I don't consider myself a 'bootlicker' or someone who

Always happy to explain my thoughts! Though Ironwood’s situation is incredibly complicated and I’m tired as hell right now, so apologies if this attempt at working through things is more than a little messy…

You’re right that Salem herself fundamentally changes the heart of the “well-meaning but ultimately misguided general” setup. Meaning, normally when we see a character like Ironwood, someone military-minded and driven by pragmatism, whoever it is they’re fighting against is us. It’s a war against other humans, or at least another intelligent (and sympathetic) form of life. Ironwood’s attempted archetype here relies heavily on the assumption that he’s taking things too far when there are better, more peaceful options open to him. No, general, don’t nuke all those people even though we’re at war with them because they’re still people. No, general, don’t blow up the alien ship even though you perceive them as a threat because they feel just like we do and I, the protagonist, believe that I can make peace with them. Though RWBY doesn’t have quite that same conflict—everyone agrees that Salem needs to go—it’s nevertheless worth acknowledging that his archetype is built on a history of unsympathetic characters… who are unsympathetic because they’re choosing to harm others for needless reasons. The hardened military general is an antagonist because he takes the violent route either due to greed or a lust for power. He makes sacrifices not because they are truly necessary, but because they’re easier or better for him. He believes that this violence/sacrifice is the only answer when the audience can clearly see another, better route. Think characters like Miles Quaritch from Avatar whose goal is, ultimately, to force a peaceful people out of their home/outright kill them in order to gain access to a natural resource on their world. Even if there is, broadly speaking, a “good” reason for doing this (humanity needs that resource to solve their energy crisis) there’s no confusion that his reasons are far from justified and that he’s taken things way too far. Not only because gaining resources is, you know, not a reason to kill people, but also because Jake Sully, our hero, provides him with alternative routes that he then rejects. These people are peaceful. We can negotiate with them… but Quaritch says no.

So this is, broadly speaking, the archetype Ironwood and Team RWBY are thrust into. He’s the general supposedly taking things too far and they’re the heroes standing in his way. Problem is, RWBY’s enemy isn’t a sympathetic, potential victim. The grimm are literally mindless beasts and Salem is a classic Big Bad. She might have a tragic backstory now, but that hasn’t impacted how we read her as a threat. She isn’t another group of humans we should be making peace with. She’s not an alien race who we just have to extend a hand to. Defeating her—in a literal way—is thus far the only possible route and that undermines the archetype Rooster Teeth wants to chuck Ironwood into. He can’t be the cold-hearted military man choosing violence over peace when peace is simply not an option.

So we have a setup where every single one of Ironwood’s decisions is automatically both sane and justified because there is an immortal grimm queen trying to kill them. And she cannot be reasoned with. Extra security? No duh you want that. Suspicious of others? No shit Beacon fell precisely because it was infiltrated. Making sacrifices? What else is there to do except roll over and let Salem win? The options presented to him were “make sacrifice” or “everyone absolutely dies” so no, in this case the sacrifice is not deemed “unnecessary” and therefore something that we can criticize him for. Ironwood is not fighting a powerful but also potentially sympathetic enemy, inviting a perspective that his actions may be too severe in the face of that threat. Salem isn’t a Darth Vader who is going to turn back to the light when she sees her child. She isn’t a Sauron with a convenient Achille’s heel (as of yet anyway) thereby inviting an easy solution that doesn’t risk too many lives. The grimm are not the Klingons who, if you just take the time to know their culture, you can find common ground with. They and Salem are more akin to the Borg: a relentless, unreachable, immortal force that seeks only to destroy everything. She is RWBY’s devil and thus by default any question along the lines of, “But should Ironwood really have..?” is answered with an emphatic “Yes.” Because the only other option is total annihilation for the entire world, not just the one city you’re worried about. RWBY’s villain is such a massive, unarguable threat that the setup doesn’t allow debate in regards to what’s going “too far.” By having Team RWBY and Oscar parrot those views from other stories they just come off as sounding naive, foolish, and arrogant. Salem is not an enemy that you just need to try really hard to beat in battle. She is currently immortal. She is not someone you just need to talk down. She will annihilate you and laugh while doing it. “Unnecessary sacrifice” only exists in a world where you have a chance of taking another route with success. RWBY hasn’t provided that route yet.

Thus, most military archetypes don’t have to face the level of threat that Ironwood does. In fact, their status as antagonists largely relies on the belief that the threat isn’t severe enough to warrant whatever horrific order they’re giving. Rooster Teeth has written a character based on tropes that do not work within the scenario they’ve set up… and a good chunk of the fandom aren’t critical enough viewers to see the disconnect. They just watch that collection of tropes and characteristics and fill in the blank based on what they know from the rest of popular culture. Like a really messed up Mad Lib. “Ah! I recognize this character! He’s a military man. He’s strict at times. He’s taking control of a situation and achieving that with an army. This is all a Bad Thing and I know that because I’ve seen it a thousand times before in a thousand different stories. The powerful military man is the antagonist and the heroes are the ones who fight for the marginalized!” And thus the viewer is encouraged to prioritize that assumed reading over the actual context of this particular story. Few are willing to admit that “Leaving marginalized people behind because otherwise we will all be slaughtered” is not the same situation as something like “Outright attacking a marginalized people because I want something from them. Or abandoning them because I just don’t care.” They see the basic, surface characteristics and think they know the answer to this story. Team RWBY = good and Ironwood = bad.

That’s only the tip of the problem though. It’s a big problem, but literally every step of the way Rooster Teeth would need to change things if they actually wanted to give Ironwood this arc in a way that made any sense:

They would need to change how they portray Mantle going all the way back to Volume 4 because we knew straight out of the Fall that Mantle has had a lot of problems for a very long time. That’s not all on Ironwood—it’s not possible for it all to be on Ironwood—and thus it’s neither correct nor fair to paint Mantle’s dystopian-like state as his doing, as we saw at the beginning of Volume 7.

They would need to convince us that Ironwood is actually paranoid/being overly cautious, rather than what we actually have which is… completely logical safety measures against everything that has done them in up until now. Everything Ironwood implements is in direct response to something that killed people or felled a school.

The story would need to give Ironwood better solutions that he then rejects. Obviously this is crucial for the leaving Mantle situation. As I’ve said numerous times before, you can’t paint Ironwood as a horrific person for following the only plan they had. “Stay to die” is not a plan. If they wanted him to read as in the wrong for leaving, Team RWBY needed to give him a good reason to stay, one that doesn’t automatically equal everyone dying, especially when Ironwood’s own solution is “save at least some.” However, this also needed to happen in regards to Amity. The fandom keeps pointing out that Ironwood took resources from Mantle, painting it as this cruel and awful thing… without acknowledging the necessity of that. Or that our heroes likewise demanded that he finish. Ruby is equally responsible for taking those resources. Again, if they want to paint Ironwood as unhinged and cruel in his decision, they need to provide him with alternatives: “Hey, general! Why don’t we just use these other resources instead?” “No. They must come from Mantle.” or “Hey, general! We’re just going to let you know that finishing Amity is fundamentally useless because you can’t defeat Salem with a giant army. Maybe stop taking resources now.” “No. I don’t believe you. I’m going to forge ahead with my own plans, ignoring this new information.” Neither of these things happened. We weren’t told that there was another way to build Amity and Ironwood wasn’t told that his plan was flawed… making his decision both necessary and justified, given what he knew. To my mind, Team RWBY is far more responsible for Mantle’s state since they encouraged that drain on the resources while knowing the use of those resources wouldn’t achieve what Ironwood assumed it would. Which, while failing to paint them as heroic, likewise undermines Ironwood’s supposed villainy. Why do we hate him for this again…. when Ruby is doing the exact same thing…?

They would need to have established, all the way back in Volume 2 and onward, a personality that allows for him to go to certain extremes, such as shooting Oscar. I don’t have the energy to dive into this one in great detail right now, but suffice to say the fandom has decided to horrendously miss-characterize Ironwood in an effort to justify an illogical action based on what we know about him. I’ve seen the “He once said he would shoot Qrow!” so often I’m literally astounded by the reach there, but I’m also seeing a lot of “Ironwood has never shown any sympathy towards children!” Which… okay. The absence of interaction is not proof of hatred. Meaning, having watched seven volumes in which Ironwood doesn’t interact with kids only tells us we don’t know how he feels about kids, not that he obviously despises them. A lack of scenes wherein Ironwood expresses his adoration for everyone under the age of twenty is not evidence for dislike, nor more than making a claim like, “Well Ruby obviously hates pears” would be. Why would she hate pears? Because we’ve never once, ever, heard her say that she likes them. She’s never spoken positively about them. Never stood up for them! So clearly they’re her least favorite food. Sound ridiculous? Same situation here. To say nothing of the fact that we do see Ironwood interacting positively with kids, if we define “kids” as “characters significantly younger than him.” We watched him desperately protect large groups of students at Beacon. Stand up for Weiss at the party despite how much that threatened his political situation with Jacques (as seen in Volume 7). Send Yang an expensive new arm purely because he knows what it’s like to lose a limb. The narrative has gone out of its way to demonstrate how kind and compassionate Ironwood is, all of which would need to be changed—if not outright erased—to give us someone capable of shooting Oscar like that.

The fact that the fandom chooses to ignore characterization doesn’t mean it’s not there and that characterization, at its core, fundamentally hinders the “military man goes off the deep end” archetype. Because Ironwood is nothing like his parallels in popular culture. His situation is not one that he can resolve peacefully. He was not given better options that he then rejected. He has never been a cold, manipulative, cruel person. Honestly, if they wanted to write this arc then they needed someone other than James Ironwood living in the world of RWBY. We’d need a different kind of war and a different character introduced all those volumes ago. Because as it is, the story Rooster Teeth wanted to tell simply isn’t a story fit for the Ironwood and the Remnant they created.

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #mymetas #smallerthanzer0

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