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itsclydebitches · 4 years ago

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Strings”

Happy Saturday, RWBY friends! I am, quite obviously, going to dive into the recap in just a moment, but first I wanted to take a short detour to discuss the elephant in the tumblr room. Namely, Supernatural.

For those of you out of the loop, the tl;dr is that a fifteen year, beloved show ended with a truly horrendous finale. Specifically, the finale rejected everything that the show had been building towards: the logical conclusion to character arcs, the theme that “family don’t end in blood,” the potential for a queer romantic relationship… I could go on. The point I want to make is that the fandom had every reason to believe we’d be getting these things. This isn’t a case of fans upset that the finale didn’t go the way they wanted as an individual viewer, but rather that the finale didn’t go the way the show clearly and explicitly said it would. It’s not an exaggeration to say that in many respects, viewers were straight up lied to.

(I recommend reading the reviews.)

What does this all have to do with RWBY? Well, I can’t help but think that history is repeating itself. Certainly there are some notable similarities between the two series. Both have long, meandering plotlines with no clear end in sight (though I hope RWBY doesn’t reach the 15 Volume mark…). Both began with a small, core cast, but quickly expanded—generating the expectation that these now equally important characters will be given their due. Both have moved from the small conflict of fighting everyday monsters to a god-based mythology. Both have a popular queer relationship dangled in front of the viewers, featuring scenes where they’re “obviously” in love… but will it ever be confirmed? Both have a fanbase that says loudly and confidently that the writers know what they’re doing. Just wait! It’s all been planned! We’ll be rewarded for our patience and soon all the naysayers will be proven wrong.

Thing is, the Supernatural fandom wasn’t rewarded. Right up until a week ago those fans—myself included—had faith that the writers knew what they were doing because they can’t really be that out of touch with their own story...right? It’s not possible. Yet they were, it was, and now that I’ve gotten solid proof of precisely how far a show can go to reject its own logic, themes, and premise, that just makes me more wary of RWBY’s mistakes. Before I had a solid faith that things couldn’t possibly get that bad, that no matter how much RWBY might be messing up in the short term, it will undoubtedly pull it together overall, because what show wouldn’t? Especially a show with such promise and, at times, wonderful storytelling. Well, Supernatural didn’t manage it and frankly I’m not sure what to do with that information.

Seriously. I don’t have any grand conclusion here. It’s not my intention to suggest that anyone should stop watching RWBY, or to claim that it will absolutely fail because Supernatural did. Obviously, we don’t know what will happen until we get to see it in the show. I only want to acknowledge these parallels and the similar journey I see both fanbases on. I can’t help but wonder if, a couple years from now, RWBY fans will be making incredibly optimistic posts about how it’s all coming together, just have some faith, everyone who says that the group won’t get a satisfying ending, or Blake and Yang won’t be confirmed are just mean trolls… only to wake up that Saturday morning and get another metaphorical slap in the face.

It’s something to think about.

But here I’ve spent a page talking about the wrong show. Let’s get into the episode!

We open on a black screen with lots of ambiguous noises. At first I thought this was Oscar struggling in the Hound’s grip or something, but then I remembered that RWBY likes to insert an episode between cliffhangers. I watched Ironwood (presumably) shoot a guy and he only came back this week (though that question still isn’t answered. At this point I kind of wonder if it will be). Oscar was kidnapped last week, which means we won’t get to see him until next week. Or… two weeks from now? RT skips the week of Thanksgiving, don’t they? Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Something horrible happens to Oscar and we need to wait two weeks to find out how it’s resolved.

Watch him escape the Hound off screen and return to the group with a new outfit 😂

So it’s not Oscar we hear, but Ruby, the last one coming out of the tube. Weiss is in the process of pulling Nora’s ear for that stunt… with a frankly strange looking hand. What’s up with RWBY animating weird hands lately? I’m pretty sure that’s not how anatomy works.

Anyway, Nora counters that this was a “Once in a lifetime experience,” but they were all going to go through the tubes regardless. Weiss isn’t pissed that you sent her through, she’s pissed that you did it unexpectedly when she was alone, heading into enemy territory. But of course, there’s no one in the room to hinder them, so the mistake is meaningless.

We’re setting the tone again though. For the first half of this episode everything is sunshine and giddy adventure, which doesn’t fit the situation at all. It also creates emotional whiplash when I’m suddenly supposed to be super worried about things later on. This sort of about-face works once in a blue moon, as an emotional punch, like we see in Mulan:

But RWBY does it every other episode, which makes the overall tone of the series confusing instead. Half the time RWBY feels like two different stories—the cartoony tale of girls going on fun adventures, and the traumatic tale of a fantasy war—that have been badly spliced together.

“Alight, Robo-Girl, which way?” May asks and Penny demonstrates why she’s the best for sneaking into a facility. She’s able to map out the whole place, including seeing where everyone is so they can avoid detection. Kudos to RT for going this route. I was worried that they would have Ruby and the others straight up attacking Atlas grunts, knocking them out/potentially even killing them because who cares, right? They’re the bad guys! So I’m glad they’re working to get in and out undetected. Granted, we see in some places that they’re clearly willing to fight the soldiers if it comes to that—they’re reaching for their weapons when Penny opens the final door, expecting the room to be full of people. They were going to attack—but at least they’re trying to lessen that conflict as much as possible. That’s the sort of choice I expect to see from heroes and I’m glad we got it here.

After scouting the area Penny corrects May: “And my name is Penny,” to which Ruby gives a satisfied “Heh.” I’ve got no problem with Penny rejecting nicknames, even potentially well-meaning ones, because she’s always struggled with her status as a real girl and her name is her own. She gets to decide what others call her. I do, however, have a problem with making the presumed trans character the one who is corrected. Granted yes, we haven’t gotten confirmation in the show that May is trans, but RT doesn’t get to cash in on that rep without likewise suffering the consequences for how the character is treated. You’re telling me that a trans woman is going to roll her eyes when someone asks her to use a specific name? Please give May flaws, yes, she’s a person, but out of all the millions of flaws across the human spectrum, this is the one we’re shown?

Not to mention Ruby’s continued attitude. It’s like, ‘Yeah, May. Stop being a horrible person who draws attention to the fact that Penny is a robot. I never did that.’ Except when Ruby first met her she didn’t know Penny was a robot. Just like she didn’t know Blake was a faunus—something we’re reminded of this episode. We might assume Ruby wouldn’t have ever made any missteps at the beginning of these relationships, but the fact remains that she got to know both girls before their minority status was ever revealed. Ruby loved them before she ever had to grapple with their differences.

Put in her place, May then demonstrates that she can make lots of people invisible, not just herself. That’s handy. She creates an invisibility bubble that reminds me of Harry’s invisibility cloak. In the sense that others might not be able to see you, but they can still hear and touch you, which makes sneaking around still pretty challenging.

No sooner have I thought that then two guards get into the elevator with them. The group keeps quiet as the duo discusses how no one can get close to Salem’s storm without “getting shocked right out of the air.” Interesting. And frankly one hell of a roadblock if the Hound escapes into the clouds. Oscar may be gone for a while if he doesn’t escape on his own... The woman also comments about how creepy it is that all the grimm are just hanging out, waiting. It’s “worse than if they’d attacked.”

No it’s not! RT, stop trying to implement the idea that Salem withholding her forces is some epically cool choice. She should have decimated everyone by now and the fact that she hasn’t just shows how transparent the problem is: you’ve created a villain that’s too powerful and now you don’t know what to do with her.

As the group sneaks out of the elevator Nora grins and presses all the buttons, which is, as expected, a dumb move. They’re supposed to be sneaking into this base. If they’re caught they’re going to be thrown in jail at best, killed at worst, but Nora wants to risk that for a practical joke? Again and again we see this insistence on incorporating comedy where it’s not only unnecessary, but actively interferes with other aspects of the scene.

Reaching a terminal, Penny inserts her finger and gains access via Pietro’s credentials. She’s really demonstrating this episode why she’s… pretty terrifying? I mean, Penny is an incredibly powerful fighter with a computer’s view of the world, access to everything in the most powerful Kingdom alongside its information, and she now has Maiden powers to boot. Which, I should add, it took her one fight to master (because remember, the heroes are now always as strong as they need to be to win…). Now that Watts is planning to hack her, I expect her to be an incredibly formidable enemy, just given the amount she could potentially do. I think Penny herself is too kind to exploit all that potential and as we’ll see via Pietro briefly taking control, she doesn’t always have the knowledge to use the tools at her disposal. But in the hands of someone like Watts? He’ll turn Penny into the ultimate weapon.

Access granted, they learn that they have to go “Right through central command!” Of course, Penny makes it sound like a fun game and the spy-movie music/cartoon lecture doesn’t help. Again, tone. It’s adorable! It just doesn’t fit sneaking into a military base with your lives on the line while Salem waits outside. That was a RWBY Chibi moment.

Penny explains—twice—that Ruby can use her semblance to fly them all through central command and it’s treated like a revelation. At first, I was pretty confused because Ruby has been dong this for ages? She carried Weiss in “Argus Limited” and Nora during the Geist fight. But upon close inspection, what Penny seems to have “figured out” is that Ruby can carry multiple people at once because the “mass doesn’t matter.” Okay. Not a contradiction then, though I think RT could have made it a little more clear that Ruby was shocked at the idea of carrying multiple people, not carrying someone at all.

What I do take issue with though is Ruby mastering this skill instantaneously. I mean, why is Ruby being forced to try this on the fly (pun not intended)—Penny has known the layout of the building since they made this plan. She knew they had to get past central control and that it would be packed with people. She’s obviously thought about Ruby’s semblance a great deal—and why is she succeeding? Give me a Volume 7 where Ruby actually trains in this technique, set up via Harriet’s comment early on about her semblance, and then she’s victorious here when it finally matters. Or give me Ruby assuming she can pull off this incredibly difficult skill only to fall out of her semblance halfway through, a roomful of Atlas personnel staring at them. Then what?

Not this.

This is a character who does everything perfectly on the first try without ever having to fail. Ruby is boring like this.

Crisis averted, we transfer to Ironwood who is… working with Watts.

What else is there to say? I’ve already laid out all the reasons why this is stupid and makes no sense. Others keep coming onto my posts to explain to me how Ironwood’s awful deeds up until now fully show his decent into villainy, conveniently ignoring the numerous limitations he was under and his choice to do what he thought was best for the world using inaccurate information. Ironwood was always a divisive character and many are happy to ignore the years’ worth of deconstruction done—a man who looks like the Evil Military General but actually isn’t—because they never liked him to begin with. Not liking him is fine, no one has to like any character, but I’m honestly shocked by the number of viewers who refuse to acknowledge how bad the writing is, even if it means defending a character they hate a teensy tiny bit (#SupernaturalVibes). As a friend put it, Ironwood now feels like a caricature of his former self, a Pure Evil Ironwood who appeared out of nowhere and is now here to stay. He shoots kids. He shoots unarmed civilians. He teams up with Salem’s men and tries to hack Penny. These are undeniably horrible acts, they’ve just been given to a character who never would have done them until RT randomly flipped the Evil switch.

The “RWBY” tag, alongside all the fluff moments of this episode, is now filled with posts encouraging Marrow to turn, yelling at the Ace Ops for being “bootlickers,” and capslock screaming at anyone who dared to speak up for Ironwood. It still sucks to have bad writing twisted into an attack on the fans and it’s going to continue to suck until at least the rest of Volume 8. I’d like to again remind everyone that Qrow teamed up with Tyrian a few episodes, yet because he’s again in Ruby’s graces, that was twisted into a ‘not that bad’ situation. The issue isn’t really that Ironwood is teaming up with one of Salem’s subordinates, but that he’s doing it to go against RWBYJNOR… the second a character teams up with Salem to get what Ruby wants (to not have her team in jail) then that’s totally fine… but that’s a wrinkle a lot of people are happy to ignore.

So yeah, Ironwood is an idiot now too. Like Qrow also was last Volume. He really thinks Watts isn’t going to betray him somehow? Although, I do wonder if the chance to ruin Pietro’s creation outweighs his loyalty to Salem, but the point is that Ironwood can’t be sure of that either. At least he’s smart enough to keep Watts under continuous guard. He puts his hand on Watts’ shoulders and goes, “I’d hate for us to have to try motivating you. Again.”

So he tortures people too now? Like I said, caricature. This was Ironwood and we were given no clear idea of where he disappeared to.

RIP a great character.

Watts notices though that Pietro has apparently accessed a secure area and alerts Ironwood to it. I laugh that the information is just ¡EMERGENCY! In large, red letters. Ironwood immediately makes an announcement for everyone to be on guard. It’s a level 3 lockdown — that won’t impede the group leaving via airship! — and they’re to use “lethal force” if necessary. Weiss is disgusted.

As much as I disagree with making Ironwood into a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy — he’s definitely wrong to be doing this — I also find myself rolling my eyes at reactions like that. Yes, Weiss. You attacked four operatives until they were knocked unconscious. Prevented an entire city from escaping Salem’s wrath, endangering them all. Now you’re breaking into the most classified room in the Kingdom to steal an equally qualified project and use it for your own means. There’s no reason why Ironwood would level his might against you. Is death still an extreme response? Yes. Should Weiss be acting like Ironwood is crazy for responding to them in an extreme manner? No. Her remark makes it sound like Ironwood is attacking her poor, innocent, defenseless team… not the team that’s been lying to him, betraying him, attacking him, and stealing from him. Not the team carrying deadly weapons into a facility to take what they want at any cost.

With their presence known, May wants to go grab an airship. That’s the series now.

Meanwhile, Penny insists that they can still complete their mission and we see Nora come up with some sort of plan.

Except, what plan was this?? What did she say to the group? ‘Hey, let’s wait around until some guy conveniently walks by with a full cup of coffee. Then we can trip him and the mug will fly alllll the way across this gap to land on a terminal, startling at least two workers. Except this guy will be hated by the whole room because he’s always messing things up—his coffee mug has been changed from #1 Dad to #1 Dud—so that this little mishap will create a ruckus that gets everyone involved, giving us the opportunity to slip by them all.’

Seriously, what? This kind of “plan” only works with someone like Clover, where we know he has a good luck semblance and thus all these unlikely pieces fall into place. I could absolutely buy Clover smiling smugly, working under the knowledge that he just has to wait around a few minutes and something will come along that works entirely in his favor. But Nora? How did she know any of this would happen? Obviously she couldn’t have, so what exactly was their intention if this coffee carrying, hated guy didn’t show up? RWBY, your contrived plots are showing.

I do, however, love the grimm Jaws poster. Jaws is an absolute favorite of mine, so seeing a reference to it in RWBY? A funny one at that? It almost makes up for how bad this episode is lol.

Because frankly I’m bored. The group sneaks around, criticizes May and Ironwood, briefly confuses me about Ruby’s semblance knowledge, and gets through tons of Atlas personnel in the stupidest way possible. I have to watch this guy running out of the room with coffee on his pants screaming, “WHHHYYY???” and he doesn’t notice the five girls standing right next to him. It’s silly. It’s boring. Luckily for RWBY, things are about to pick up in the second half.

After Ruby gets them upstairs and the final room is also conveniently devoid of people, Pietro takes control of Penny—including yellow possession eyes like Oscar has with Ozpin—and he...gets Amity started. That’s it. After a whole volume of ‘It’s not finished yet’ and ‘We barely have the resources’ and ‘Robyn stole what we were using to do idek what with’ he presses buttons for a while and they’re in. How good for them!

I do love that Penny calls Pietro “Dad” though. I’m here for the android-father relationship.

While Pietro works we turn to Blake, Weiss, and Nora. Blake tries to convince the audience that Ruby and Yang had an actual fight with, “I’ve never seen Yang and Ruby fight like this.” Yeah, because no one in this group has ever said the sliiiiightest thing against Ruby, so you all read the tinniest disagreement as a “fight” to be worried about. I mean, doesn’t RT have friends to draw inspiration from? They’ve never disagreed about Huge and Complex Questions before? Never gotten pissed and then shrugged it off the next time you want to text? RWBY’s idea of a diverse friend group feels like many other writers’ idea of a sibling relationship: anyone with an actual sibling goes, “What is this?” Speaking of, Weiss explains that sisters often have “very different ideas about what’s right” as if, again, people don’t have different ideas? Just in general? Why is this suddenly a sister thing? She’s clearly thinking about Winter, but doesn’t actually bring it up, so all we’re left with is the same situation we had last Volume. Weiss thinks she’s right, Winter is wrong, and they’re just going down their separate roads because there’s definitely no reason to re-examine any choices here. It’s all static.

Until Winter betrays Ironwood, of course.

Nora tries to reassure Blake that the group will be fine (ha) even though they’ve split, the irony being that we, the audience, know they just got wrecked by the Hound. Jaune is a great leader though, Oscar has grown so much, Yang could defend them all in a fight, and Ren… well, she can’t think of anything to say about Ren. I hate the Nora is acting like Ren has drawn away from her for no reason, after she chose to kiss him—without consent—rather than listening to what was bothering him, then proceeded to pretend that this mystery problem never existed. What does she expect? I do, however, like the general acknowledgement that she doesn’t know who she is without Ren. Who is Nora? Someone who is “strong and hit[s] stuff?”

See, this feels like RT writing self-consciously because Nora doesn’t have much of a personality. Oh, on a surface level she’s bursting with it, but past the bubbly exterior? That single layer? We can add maybe one thing to this “Likes Ren, is strong, hits stuff” list: she’s funny. That’s it. Anything else we might add like “she’s loyal” or “she’s kind” is just a generic characteristic of this entire team. They’re all meant to be crazy talented good guys and even the “is strong” aspect is suspect when others frequently pull off attacks as showy as Nora’s hammer hits. So who is she? What are Nora’s dreams? What are her hobbies? Her fears? Her history? We’ve seen a single flashback of her on the streets and one scene back at Beacon where she listens to music and reads a magazine. Seven years worth of material and that’s it. There’s a reason why the go-to, non-combat action for Nora in fics is “makes pancakes.” We know so little about her still.

So I was excited for a brief, shining moment. Yes! Explore who Nora is outside of being strong and hitting stuff! … and then her big action this episode is, as she says, being strong and hitting something. Don’t get me wrong, outside of that setup it’s pretty epic. I like Nora going to those lengths to save Penny and I absolutely love the repercussions of the choice: a broken aura, passing out, and badass lightning scars all over her arms and neck (especially when women often aren’t allowed to accumulate scars in visual media). That’s pretty damn awesome. It’s just that it comes on the heels of the story insisting that Nora is more than this, that we’ll learn something new about her… and we haven’t. This is indeed cool, but we already knew that Nora was willing to crazy lengths by hitting things really hard. That’s already her established norm.

At least this moment has some really nice characterization alongside the stupidity. The conversation between Ruby and Penny is just plain stupid. Penny wants to stay to help with the evacuations, but Pietro says she should come with him in Amity. Why? As Ruby says, because then she’ll be up in the sky and Salem won’t be able to access the relic.

That’s what Ironwood wanted to do! We could have had this conflict episodes ago with you all working with him! I really can’t with this cast. Also, the rest of this is still confusing. I thought pretty much everyone was in the slums by now, so what evacuation are they talking about? Do they plan to evacuate everyone in Mantle out of the kingdom somehow… like Ironwood wanted to do with Atlas? And why are they acting like Amity is evacuating some people too? I thought they were just using it as a communication device? To add insult to injury, Ruby then contradicts herself a minute later when she tells Harriet that Ironwood can’t have the relic because “Salem will find her way to the relic no matter where you go.” Ruby, if Salem can access the relic high in the sky she can also access Penny in the sky. If you believe that literally nowhere is safe then why are you sending Penny away under the claim that she—and via her the Relic—will be safer? If you want Penny in Amity to lessen the chance of Salem getting the Relic, why can’t Penny be in Atlas while simultaneously (hopefully) getting a whole slew of people to safety?

I’m continually confused by this “plan” of theirs. Their claims just flip-flop according to what (supposedly) contrasts them with Ironwood. Even though that’s not actually the case.

Penny is me, sad while watching this train wreck of a scene.

So yeah, the Ace Ops are here. I’ve wondered since the trailer why Weiss looked smug while everyone else was startled. Turns out it’s because of her line, “So, your first time losing to us wasn’t enough?” I can’t express how much I dislike all the girls’ personalities now. I want to shake some compassion and humility into them. Plus, they never should have won that fight in the first place. Marrow yells, “We were holding back!” but coming from the team’s weakest member it reads as defensive. Like we’re supposed to go, ‘Lol yeah right, Marrow. Just admit you got your ass kicked,’ even tough the Ace Ops should have wiped the floor with them, holding back or not. That’s my biggest takeaway from this fight: it’s the reverse of what we should have gotten. The Ace Ops should have beaten Team RWBY with ease and struggled greatly against an android Maiden, not falling before a bunch of teens and succeeding against Penny if not for Nora’s timely breakthrough. Your half-trained cast of growing heroes should not come across as more powerful than an intelligently designed weapon now wielding magic.

Before the fight starts we get a whole lot of lines that are, frankly, frustrating. Vine tells Penny, “I thought you were supposed to protect the people, not hurt them” which is true enough. Penny is taking action that is putting a lot of people in danger, regardless of the fact that Ruby is at the helm. Problem is, the Ace Ops then blame her for Winter’s injuries and “stealing” the power? That’s not the issue here. The issue is Penny’s blind loyalty to Ruby, but by having the Ace Ops back a stance that is clearly inaccurate—Penny didn’t cause Winter’s injuries, Cinder did; Penny didn’t steal the powers, she was encouraged to take them—it makes them come across as Very Evil people who will twist things to make poor Penny look like the villain. Even if this is a case of Ace Ops having bad intel (which seems unlikely. Wouldn’t Winter have told them what happened?) RT has avoided letting the Ace Ops take a justified stance here because that would make them look too sympathetic… even though they do have multiple justified stances to take. Like, ‘Hey, stop keeping half a kingdom here where Salem can easily kill them all’ or, ‘Hey, why did you spend months betraying Ironwood and then turn on us instead of trying to find a compromise?’ Even, ‘Why did your uncle help kill our leader?’ There’s plenty that the Ace Ops should be rightfully pissed about, so choosing Penny and Winter out of everything feels like RT is firmly backing them into Ironwood’s corner: you’re just bad now and bad people blame innocent girls, rather than acknowledging the actual wrongs done against them.

So we have Ruby contradicting herself and the Ace Ops backing warped ideas that make them look worse than they actually are. Adding to the stupidity is the fact that Elm mentions that Winter is in “critical condition” and Weiss… doesn’t care. Harriet then tells Ruby that she’s “throwing [her] in jail right next to your uncle, runt” and... Ruby doesn’t care. Qrow is missing and Ruby just found out he’s been captured by Ironwood, yet there’s no reaction whatsoever. This show continues to go hard on the ‘screw adults’ mentality, huh? Ozpin needs to keep quiet and is horrible for coming back. Ironwood is now a cartoon villain. Winter made the wrong choice so no one cares about her anymore, not even her sister. The Ace Ops remain enemies despite trying to talk things out. Qrow? Barely know him. Who’s he? This is a Ruby loves Penny episode. There isn’t enough emotional nuance for her to care about him too.

The sad thing is I adore Nuts&Dolts. In a different context these moments would be a goldmine for me.

If anything, this episode feels worse than the majority of last week’s because there are good things here that have been thrown into a bad setup. I can’t get excited for the group’s battles when I see who they’re attacking. It’s hard to squee over Ruby hugging Penny when she doesn’t react to Qrow. Watching Nora go all Thor feels like it only has half its potential when it’s coming out of a very messing, ‘I’m more than just being strong and hitting things… which is why I’ll continue being strong and hitting things.’ RWBY has excellent moments set into a terrible story.

The fight, at least, is exciting. The Ace Ops goad Penny into stepping away so they can trap the rest of Ruby’s team—smart—and she’s forced to hold her own while Weiss tries to break through with her knight, then Nora overloads the system. To be frank, I’m not great at analyzing combat. Not unless I’m looking for something specific like whether a win is justified. I’ve already mentioned above the broad issue of the Ace Ops very nearly beating the most powerful fighter next to Salem herself, yet failing so spectacularly against Team RWBY. Outside of that context though? I really enjoyed this. Lots of tight action, creative attacks, teamwork, some emotional pauses throughout… it feels like a pretty solid battle. Put it on Youtube as a clip, outside of the rest of the story’s messiness, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic watch.

We can’t stay in the combat forever though. During all this Weiss calls the Ace Ops “cowards” for making it four vs. one. You know, RWBY should really just do away with dialogue and make the show purely action because the cast frequently sounds so stupid when they speak. Like her comment about Ironwood’s lockdown… really Weiss? ‘Yes, we might be wanted criminals who betrayed this group in the worst possible way, but how dare they not do the honorable thing and have three of their teammates sit out while trying to capture us? Even though the girl they’re trying to capture has magic. I mean, the nerve of them!’

Weiss, at this point I’m not sure how to explain to you that the people you’ve made into your enemies do not owe you a fair fight.

Another detail: we get to see Ruby fall off the edge of the walkway and this time she remembers she can fly! A definite improvement from Volume 6.

Finally: by the time Penny’s eyes go full Maiden in Elm’s grip, I think we’ve seen everything from our trailer. Episode 4 will truly be a mystery.

Ironwood has, of course, been watching the fight this whole time. When it looks like the Ace Ops will lose against the team he means to send in reinforcements, but Watts says he has “a message for your operatives.” Instead of capturing Penny they steal one of her swords instead, ending with a shot on Marrow looking conflicted.

Because remember, there’s no actual moral grayness in this story. The protagonists are right and everyone else is wrong. It’s (supposedly) black and white. Which means that if the Ace Ops have any hope of surviving this Volume and being seen as anything other than evil bootlickers, they have to join with Ruby. Marrow seems primed to do that.

Am I surprised? No. Disappointed? Always lol.

May has the airship ready to go and they fly off… despite the shields. And the lockdown. Consistency? Who’s she? Nora is said to be “in bad shape” and after another hug Penny leaves to hide in Amity, even though Ruby thinks that hiding is a useless, cowardly choice. Just not when she and her allies choose to do it.

We end the episode with Watts receiving Penny’s sword and making the statement, “If you can’t beat them… then make them join you.” I have to say, his cheesy villainy is something I continue to enjoy, even if it’s heavy handed at times. Watts is just fun. I do have to say though: if Penny is hacked, what does that say about her agency? We double-downed on the ‘real girl’ narrative by giving her the Maiden powers, but she’s simultaneously synthetic enough that a single piece of her can remove all autonomy? It once again feels like RT isn’t sure what point they’re trying to make, they’re just chucking a lot of themes at the wall and seeing what sticks. Still, we’ll have to let it all play out before making any judgements.

And that’s it for this week. It seems like this is a slightly shorter recap than normal, though that may be because I struggle with discussing pure action sequences, which made up a decent chunk of this episode. I’ll no doubt return to the Ace Ops vs. Penny fight when I’m not on a self-imposed, one day deadline for posting. The only thing left is to update the Bingo Card, but I don’t think we made any headway this week. So... good job, RWBY?

I’m still going to hold off on the civilian’s square until Salem’s army actually attacks, as well as the two day timeline square.

No Winter this episode

Watts is teaming up with Ironwood which is… so much worse than him teaming up with Jacques again. Does a square get an X if the canon is even worse than what you assumed it would be??

Maria was mentioned this episode. Jury’s out on whether she’ll actually do anything.

Atlas is still standing, we knew Penny was heading towards a hack so it’s not much of a cliffhanger, no Qrow, no Ozpin, no Neo or Cinder.

It certainly looks like we can check off “The team gets Amity up and running,” but let’s just see if there are any problems next episode. If the problem is only ‘We would have launched it if not for Salem’s attack’ or something, I’m checking it off. The point is it would have worked.

I’m also leaning towards “More obvious Blake/Yang implications without confirming a relationship” given Blake’s heart-to-heart with Nora… but let’s see if the Volume does anything more egregious.

All in all (and perhaps despite what I’ve written above), I don’t think it’s fair to totally drag this episode. As said, this feels like a strong episode in a bad story, something that I would have LOVED if a) Salem weren’t here and b) the ‘ethical dilemma’ wasn’t boiled down to a ‘Team Ruby is good’ and ‘Ironwood and everyone associated with him is evil’ situation. It’s an episode whose tone and character action belong in a different version of RWBY. If you gave us this fun episode in an earlier Volume against a Pure Evil antagonist? It would have been great.

Ah well. It is what it is. Expect more emotional whiplash when we come back and everyone learns that Oscar has been kidnapped by Salem’s talking pooch 🙃

See you then! 💜

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby strings #mymetas #rwby recaps #apologies if this Recap is messier than normal #I have a zoom meeting in five minutes lol #gotta go fast!

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mittens-220 · 4 years ago

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Hataraku Maou-sama! Volume 21 Detailed Chinese Summary Part 6

Detailed preview summary: Read here

Detailed summary part 1: Read here

Detailed summary part 2: Read here

Detailed summary part 3: Read here

Detailed summary part 4: Read here

Detailed summary part 5: Read here

Demon King and Hero Defeat God

Scene returns to Heaven. Everyone saw that Ignora forcefully put almost all the angels who were still alive to sleep, Ignora said this was done was because Nuxe needed it, and a long time was needed before everything could be settled, so just let them sleep first. Everyone could not accept it, at this time, Maou and Kamael were fighting and crashed into the room again, the scene was chaotic. Emi said to Ignora, let’s forget about those big matters first, I only know that with how Nuxe and Lucifer are, if we listen to you completely and cause this type of children to increase, the world will get destroyed! Then it was likely Lucifer who said all of you suddenly barged in and caused trouble, then lecture others about family relationships. Emi asked, could it be that he was missing home now? Lucifer said how is that possible, but your states are too consistent compared to normal, right? And the enemy boss is this calm for some reason, she is clearly at a disadvantage. Emi asked Ignora, your goal has been achieved? You really do not wish to resist anymore? Ignora said, all of do not wish to kill people unnecessarily, isn’t that right, Emilia-chan? (By the way, she calls herself Obaa-san when talking to Emi) Look, that Daath looks like my son, he chose Lucifer, as a mother, there is nothing which will make me any happier than this.

Ignora said perhaps it was especially easy for her to miss her child at an older age, we were exiled by our home planet, but we were recognised as the true humans of this world, the proof is mine and that person’s cute child. I know you “Ente Isla people” are very angry at us and the Tree of Life, but we do not wish to eradicate all of you, we want to use our power to monitor the whole of Ente Isla and manage the Tree of Life, creating a planet and humans which will definitely not be destroyed. Therefore, we need to show that we are the highest ranked existence in this planet. I want to protect this planet and humans, and have been fighting for this the whole time. Even though Sataniel denied me, but look, in the end, the Tree of Life judged that we were correct, and because of this, manifested using Lucifer’s appearance.

Emi asked Utsushihara, is this the case? Utsushihara said that is also that kind of situation, that’s why Amane was very anxious that I actually did not choose the native people, but the aliens instead. With this, there might be a conflict between Sephirah, what Ignora said is basically true. When they were chatting, Maou and Kamael were still fighting.

Utsushihara said, but to be more accurate, we chose Lucifer, the son of Ignora and Sataniel, but we did not choose the “angels”. Then he produced a small piece of metal in his hand, and said it was easy since Yesod and Malkuth are in your brain, then passed the ring to Emi, saying that with this, you are the strongest in the universe. Emi understood everything after putting on the ring, and Utsushihara became another consciousness in her head. The holy sword appeared in her hand, it was made up of light. Utsushihara said that I was only a Yesod which was coincidentally born from a Yesod fragment, for me, who is Daath and Yesod, I am the judge of the Tree of Life’s future, I yearn for a peaceful life for the hosts of the planet more than anyone else, and the correct Tree of Life and the Sephirah children have to…�� he controlled Emi’s movements and rushed towards Kamael, and with one cut, split the armour after the merger between Kamael and Malkuth, then a white explosion of holy magic was produced from Kamael’s whole body and dissipated, he turned back into a burly man with purple hair and fainted.

Once Kamael collapsed, Eros also had a huge reduction in battle ability. Maou remembered this was similar to the arrow which Chiho shot at Raguel when she was controlled by Lailah in volume 5, which was known as “falling”, the effect from Yesod, Sariel likely had a Yesod fragment in his eye. Seeing Emi was already used to the new method of fighting, Utsushihara hugged Nuxe and separated, that’s right, we chose them, which means that we only acknowledged that they want to protect humans. Therefore, the “Ente Isla humans” who we acknowledge will lose all the power of miracles one day. Ignora was stunned. Emi asked if they would lose their immortality, Utsushihara said he was not sure, because their immortality was researched via science and not via a miracle power like spells and magic, so they could only see and wait.

Ignora was still in shock, not expecting such a result from being selected. She called out for Lucifer helplessly and Lucifer had already came up behind her during an unknown time and hugged her from behind. Lucifer said that he actually really liked his own life, but once he thought about the past, he realised that he had never been loved. His mother was obsessed with research, his father was very ambitious, these two people treated him as a tool to prove that they were correct and always locked him in a chamber, no matter what kind of grand reason that had, this was just abuse. Lucifer said, I agreed to help Olba to return to Heaven in the past, thinking about it now, I only wanted to resolve my confusion from when I was young. Then he hugged Ignora tightly, telling Alas=Ramus, this is your enemy, you deal with her.

Emi pointed the tip of her sword towards Ignora, Ignora did not struggle at all, but she could not do it at all, this stalemate went on for a while, Maou and Ashiya who finally arrived pull them apart. Ashiya said that if even they did not kill her, allowing her to lose her power now is not a good move, they can still make use of her in many ways. Maou said, you don’t want to kill her, right? Your killing aura when you seriously want to kill someone, I know it the best. Emi reverted to her original self, but Alas=Ramus jumped out on her own, putting Ignora’s hand on her head, Ignora’s hair also turned back to purple. Lucifer let go of his mother and said I thought you would definitely kill her, I didn’t expect you to become soft-hearted. Emi said do not use me for your own grudge. For the hatred in your life, use your own power to fulfil it. What is left is just the clean up after the battle.

Scene changed to three years later, Emerada brought over a bunch of Ente Isla currently to exchange to Japanese yen from the landlady, and even went to enjoy MgRonalds’ air conditioning with Alberto. Libicocco in formal wear was very handsome. He was participating in the full time employee training and would be able to take up a post next year if he passes. The Sephirah came to Earth because in the summit meeting, the holy sword was taken out to threaten others and frightened the humans, so they chased the Sephirah over to “recuperate/rehabilitate”. Lucifer is in charge of managing them. Everyone knows that Ignora was Maou’s neighbour. During summer this year, the Landlady barged in forcefully to install air conditioning, but from the compressor outside, it seemed like the air conditioning was rarely used. The others were all very worried, but Lucifer nonchalantly said that she was the type of person who was very stubborn about staying alive, and her heart would not die that easily. Maou, you should watch her closely, do not allow her to interfere with my current job. Maou said, that is your mother, why aren’t you taking responsibility. Lucifer said that he did not raise me, why do I have to provide for her, she should be thanking me for the fact that I am taking care of these Sephirah. Then it was mentioned that three years ago, they captured Ignora and locked her in Suzuno’s room in the Theocracy, she knocked on the wall for a long time, but she stopped doing that in the end.

#hataraku maou-sama!#hataraku maou-sama #the devil is a part timer

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monika-red-diary · 4 years ago

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Hold Me (Chapter 1)

First story, so don't crucify me on grammar. It's gonna be a few chapters before we get the M rating from the story we all deserve. I don't own Naruto or these characters. I forgot what else you're supposed to put in these intros. Leave a review. Help me grow, enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: A Foreign Chess Match

We've finally started. We had built it together, and it's something beautiful. It's a spectacle Hashirama and I dreamed of when we were just children. And it was, for me, what I had dreamed of and envisioned during the war, what I desperately hung onto and strived for. I'll miss that wide view filled with trees, forage, and general greenery dearly. But happiness overtakes the imminent nostalgia. Building like this, after years of searching for an end, a peaceful resolution, extremely gratifying.

Can't help but reflect. It's all I ever wanted. And I'm glad that instead of just words, we were actual able to see it all within our lifetime. As much as our lives depend on passing things down to generations after us, history upon history, building and growing and evolving over time, I'm glad it's finally coming to an end. This difficult chapter of bloodshed can come to a close. I do wonder when the next time conflict will arise; but for now, I will enjoy peace. Hopefully. The feel, the sight, overbearing. Crisp leaves, the sun's light only slightly dimming as it partially touches the horizon.

And the sound of happy families everywhere we look. It's almost paradise. And the most wonderful part, I'm allowed to have my mind is at ease. I feel I can relax myself for the first time since Hashirama and I met. I turned to my left to see that man, whom I shared this dream with. The optimism, the pure life and exuberance, the very radiation of joy that emanates from the man currently at my side. I look at him with immense adoration.

Both of us played an equal role in an equal part in creating this, yet I can't help but feel like I'm basking in his shadow. A glowing picture of light incarnate. I'm shocked that I was able to move past my feelings for him. The only man I gave my adoration in this world of Shinobi. Wanting to give more, I couldn't show any. Hashirama's the only one I can claim to be a true friend of mine. I've lost all my brothers to this war.

Struggling to keep hold of my sanity, to keep my joy, to hold my peace and to be there for others all at once. Being the leader of the Uchiha clan, it's kind of a daunting task; I'm not a socialite like he is. But I'll manage.

Hopefully…

With all the fighting, with everything I've had to endure in my life, I've never stopped to consider what or who I am. And what I truly want after peace comes about.

It may have been made obvious by this point; I think a little too much about my surroundings. I just overthink in general. Hashirama sees it as a strength, but I have trouble seeing his point as I now realize that I've been too distracted with my thoughts to notice him almost yelling at me.

"Hey… Madara!" Almost patronizing, and had it been anyone else, it's highly plausible that I would have just torn them apart to save myself the embarrassment of the situation. One look at his concerned face however and my defensive auto pilot calmed itself down.

"Don't take that tone with me Hashirama," I bit back, maybe a bit harsher than I intended. Okay… It may be very slightly possible that I still need to work on my anger. I wouldn't say I have anger issues. I'm just a grown man who feels that when people step on me, I need to have the last word so they know not to do it again. Is that too much to ask? I still have some growing to do.

A truly discontent and apologetic look lied in Hashi's eyes, and his face, and his entire demeanor, very telling. I clearly brought him down. Yep, there are definitively some issues of mine that need sorting out. A pang of guilt washes over me.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you Madara."

"You think you can scare me?"

As soon as the offending bit of intended banter leaves my lips, I felt idiotic for letting it slip out. It probably came off as insecure too. Why can't I be a normal person? Why is small talk only outlandish fantasy for me?

"No, and it wasn't my intention to try and scare you either. But I did have to speak loud considering this is the third time that I've called your name. What are you thinking about?" Suddenly too embarrassed to speak, a retort becomes far too difficult to muster. Not only had I managed to miss Hashirama calling me while staring directly at him, but now the very rare occurrence of my cheeks flaring is giving me away.

I quickly look back to the front of me, the back Village in view; very caught off guard and flustered, it feels impossible to think of something to say.

"Never mind that, just tell me what you had to say," is all I could blurt out in my failed attempt to save face. Out of the corner of my eye, I witness Hashirama's face jump from puzzled to annoyed to inquisitive, before he internally drops the matter entirely and settles on bored of all things. Am I boring you Hashirama? But before I could blurt out anymore, Hashirama interrupts my train of thought a second time.

"Madara, the people need someone, and I want that to be you. During this war, while both of our clans payed dearly, you've had to suffer more than I. And while we've both wanted this for the same amount of time, you clearly have more passion for the role. What I am saying is, I would like you to be appointed the leader of this Village."

My unconscious reaction was to fully face my body towards him, paralyzed in shock. What. The. Hell. I've never heard anything so scripted. I know Hashirama likes to sound stoic in his speech when he's trying to command a room, but he's really putting me on the spot here. How does he expect me to react to all of that? Facing me, sternly looking me dead in the eye, it's clear that he expects an answer right this moment. Got to buy myself some time to read the situation.

"Do you have a name for that yet?"

"What?"

"For the leader of the village. Am I stuttering?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking of the Hidden Leaves Village Leader. You like it?" I almost fucking cackled in front of him. And while I did a good job of not reacting to the name, somehow, I think he could take a wild guess about what was going through my head. It was plain obvious that I didn't like the so-called "name" he came up with.

"Oh-oh wait! What aboooouuuuttt…. Hidden Leaf Village Elder? Hehhh? What about that?" He was gleaming in pride as he said it too. I couldn't stop it; I was already holding my sides before he could finish his sentence. Choked air pushed past my nostrils after a botched attempt to keep my chuckles to myself. Why does he do this? This would not be the first time he's pitched an idea this poorly and acted like it was a legitimate award-winning gem. Oh my god.

"That's an awful name. Why are you so bad at these things?" A genuine question I, to this day, cannot find an answer to. Maybe he shouldn't be trusted to run a village.

"I know…"

Hashirama now in his depressed manic state. Meanwhile, a burst of full out laughter erupts out of me. You know, one could call it evil to shoot down his friend's ego. I would call it mission complete, considering I now have Hashirama distracted for 30 seconds to ponder his initial offer before he questions me again. And I like to believe that I'm a quick enough thinker. Okay, what do we know?

Hashirama doesn't want the position himself. Of course, this is rooted in general concern for the Village and his genuine belief in me. However, I can't ignore that there are likely some ulterior motives. Nothing too grand or evil. But we do know that as tired as I am with fighting and war, Hashirama is just as tired with the bonus of being naturally lazy, all things considered. And with the obvious lack of introspection and critical thinking shown in things like his naming ability, you can see why he lacks confidence in his ability to lead the Village. But above all else, the most incriminating piece of the puzzle is that we all know Hashirama to be a HUGE COMPULSIVE—

"GAMBLER!" I shout directly at him all the while pointing my finger to the accused person of interest. Clearly confused and still depressed, fake tears continue rolling down his face as it finally dawns on me what his motives are.

"You're MEAN!" A grown man, I almost want to laugh, but I've got a mystery to solve.

"Oh no, don't try to change the subject now. I see what you're up to Hashi! You want me to be the leader so that you don't have to be responsible for anything! In fact, you're probably hoping I'd peddle money to you in complacency with your damn gambling issues and alcohol problems!"

*Intense gasp*

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?" The once mirroring streams of crocodile weeping are now two matching lakes. He thinks his puppy dog eyes are going to get him out of this one.

After turning back to the village and giving him half a minute to collect himself and clean up his bad acting, I receive a pull on my right shoulder. As I'm turning back to face him, I'm taken aback at how close he got. I wanted to walk back a foot or two to put space between us, but somehow, he's got me stunned and locked in place, lost in his brown pools of light. A moment of silence is held between us, both of us still thinking, not fully knowing what to say. At least I don't feel so lost. It's in these moments that I feel saved by him.

As typical and casual as this conversation (in my mind at least) may seem, I feel very honored that he would bring this all to my attention. That he acknowledges me as a possible suitor for that role, let alone his sole choice. Not only that, but thinking more about it, I can guess with full confidence that I'm the first and only person he's talked to about it.

However, I want to share that role with him. I believe that people could respect him if he did it on his own. I wouldn't get that same respect though. I wouldn't be able to do it alone. I wouldn't even want to do it alone, and while I may have been able to cast aside my feelings for him, I objectively would need his help for something like this. Sometimes, in my mind, I imagine my life without him. And I imagined the scenario that people would not have taken my declaration of a peace treaty seriously in such a universe without Hashirama. I need his help.

"Hashirama, let me ask you something. Why would you assume that I am the better person for this role rather than yourself? It seems to me that you just want to seem humble. How am I to suspect that you don't actually want to do it? Maybe you're just trying to use reverse psychology so that I urge YOU to do the role, with no further competition from me." I proceed to cross my arms in a defensive stance. The accusation itself wasn't so baseless and out there that I regret saying it; it wasn't that great of a case to build in the long run. And it also takes away from what I want to know.

"No, Madara it's nothing like that. You know me. And I know you. And I've seen what's in your heart. I'm not willing to call myself stupid, I do have to admit though, you are the more tactful and careful one out of us two. You would not leave this Village astray. Whereas I wouldn't be what the Village needs to be most. I couldn't do it on my own."

"Then we could do it together. Did you ever consider that Hashirama? Why haven't you considered there being multiple leaders?"

"No, it must be one, this is the first time any Village has been established ever, and before others follow suit, the system needs to be done correctly. We can't tinker with the idea of multiple leaders the first time around, especially when we're the leaders of our respective clans. It could lead to conflict down the road over which clan is more powerful."

He does have a point; he's clearly thought about all of this before talking with me. Something I do tend to forget is that he clearly does exhibit critical thinking about things he cares about. There is an overwhelming effort towards fighting for his goals, unlike any other.

"The last thing I would want is to bring more turbulence to the great people of this land, Uchiha or Senju; we've all given a lot just to be a part of this. We've done it all together, and we'll all be in this together. And as I said, I feel like you suffered, more than I have. It's also my way of thanking you for not attacking Tobirama. You may still hold contempt for him, but it was you who had announced an end to the war. Whether it be because you didn't want to see me die, or because you didn't want to see anymore people you care about die, I thank you."

He's been thinking hard about this hasn't he. He's been worried. Something about this makes me want to cry. I haven't cried since the first time I lost a brother. I can tell Hashirama feels my discomfort because he then grabs both my shoulders while looking like he's about to cry himself.

"We've both lost our parents and brothers to this war. Unlike me, you lost all of them, and I know you don't like talking about it… and I'm sorry."

I see him starting to shake continue to unravel right in front of me; we're still locked in fierce eye contact. I almost can't bare all of it, everything he's telling me, how much he's trying to get me to see what he sees. I lay my hand on his chest to try and console him. As he starts to relax, I resist the urge to caress his pecs. I partially try to console him as to keep him from hugging me at random, it happens a lot, and I always stuck in a position of trying to escape before unwanted erections embarrass me and ruin our relationship forever. I find the best way to avoid unwanted physical contact is to give partial physical contact. It works with him anyway.

"I'm not fully sure what to say."

"You get what I'm saying, though? I really would like you to consider the position."

I thought it all over quickly. But when I think about the Village accepting me in general, let alone as their leader, I imagine massive hatred and fear in response. A full on rebuke of my character. Not saying I'm fragile to critiques, I'm just aware that I'm not... popular... enough...

Hashirama was born to be universally loved. Everyone loves him. He's even made me see light and it's not something anyone can do. If it had been anyone else at that pivotal point in the war, I would have taken their lives. Especially Tobirama's for killing my brother in front of me. Hashirama is the only one in my mind that can reunite this land and recreate the Shinobi world. I don't believe I have that power. And that's not even to knock me down as I don't think anyone else around me has that power either. I'm not even fully respected in my own Clan. I've been called weak just for creating the truce with the Senju in the first place.

I'm not even sure…

If I'd be good in any role…

Or what I'm supposed to do…

This is all happening so quickly. And it took a long time filled with mindless fighting and endless battles. It has all lead up to this. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. And it's not something I can talk to Hashirama about either. He'd obviously win the people's vote anyway. And then there won't be any time left for me to be with him like this.

"Well, what do you say? Do you accept the bid the nomination for Leader of The Village hidden in the leaves?"

I take one last moment to think it over. And with the facts that I just laid out. It becomes a resounding answer in my mind, all too clear in fact.

"No Hashirama, the position is clearly yours. There is no way the people of the Village would accept me as their leader. And besides you're clearly the one of us to that everyone loves; that everyone adores, that everyone roots for. Everyone sees this Village as yours anyway. In any case, it would not be in my power to accept the nomination. Nor is it yours to give. It's the people's. Whether or not I accept your personal nomination isn't too much of a factor. It all depends on whether people see me as a good fit. When we get to that point, I might consider it. But until then, I must be acknowledged by the people of this Village first and foremost. So, I guess my answer for now is technically no on the grounds that I wouldn't win anyway." Whew. A bit winded after that. At least I didn't stutter this time.

Hashirama's face scrunches and puffs with annoyance and disappointment.

"But I really would like to thank you. I appreciate the offer and I'm glad you still are trying to think of a way to make me useful." Nearly grumbled that last sentence. Instant regret as now we're about re-argue the legitimacy of my nomination. Can't I catch a break with him?

A defiant stern look rises upon Hashirama's face, he raises one finger and-

"Hey, what are you two wasting time up here for?"

A powerful voice filled with spite and clear bitterness cuts through the tension. Whipping our attention to the other side of the mountain, we immediately distance ourselves from each other out of shock and embarrassment, a mutual silent agreement to drop the current discussion for now.

As we turn around, we see none other than the expected white hairand scarred face bearing red eyes that could challenge even my Sharingan.

While he is making it a point to yell at both of us, he's very obviously glaring directly at me with those eyes. And I, of course, return the glare in full. As much disdain that we clearly have for each other, he's the only other man that's really given me any purpose, other than Hashirama. In this time of peace, I shouldn't want to create more conflict. However, avenging Izuna will probably end up being my purpose in the far-far-far future. If anything, he's the one who'll end up ruining the peace that we all worked so hard to achieve.

I can't help it. I can't help but feel angry when I look at those eyes. It's like God's playing a sick cruel joke against me. Why is it always me? The man I'm glaring at. The man who took away my last brother and yet still standing. Has the audacity to glare at me? Worsened by the fact that I didn't start this. Something about him has always put me on edge. Partially it's the mutual distaste for each other. He's never liked me. Not when we were children. Not now. Not even after I put aside my anger for him and declared an end to the war, after directly establishing peace. When I see him glaring at me, I see how the village looks at me, although the people don't want to admit it. We're still outcasts in our own village. Tobirama is just more upfront with his hatred of the Uchiha than others. Especially with me.

When I look at Tobirama, I lose faith that we will ever truly be equals in terms of respect; that our clans will ever truly be united.

And most of all, pride be damned, I feel like I'm hopeless. When I look at Tobirama, I do feel like a weak leader. Like I truly should have killed him before he ever laid a finger on Izuna, and I definitely should have done so after. And me letting him go was a slap in the face to all the Uchiha clan members who had died before.

I'm so tired of feeling this way.

I'm so tired of looking at the Senju clan and feeling this way. But something that can topples this hatred, something that keeps me in line, something that may be deemed as a weakness.

I just can't help it.

I don't know what Hashirama has done to me.

Why do Senju men have to be so. fucking. hot…?

Part of me feels stupid for glaring at him. Part of me knows it's just an excuse to ogle him while he wastes his time glaring. Glaring at him is clearly not going to make any situation better. It's obvious that if we were to fight that I would win and if at any given point I wanted to kill him, I could. I'd have to deal with Hashirama's wrath, and I'd probably die from that. But that doesn't take away from the huge gap in power between me and his younger brother.

Words may seem meaningless in the Shinobi world, holding pointless hatred and animosity towards each other is even worse though. Feeling very complex emotions in one hand because I feel like I've been made the scapegoat for a lot of people's hatred. And I must do it in the name of the Village's happiness. In the name of ending that hatred and dying with that hatred. it's becoming painful and I don't know who to talk to.

But we've been staring at each other long enough, so I turn to face the village for the last time. As in, I'm finally ready to move forward. I'm ready to move past hatred, with or without people like Tobirama. Clearly Hashirama sees this; he sees how his own brother doesn't like me. How much he clearly despises me being in his vicinity or even having to see me at all. As if on cue, He beckons Hashirama to come back to the village with him. But before Hashirama decided to leave me here alone, he walks over to me and he hugs me as a goodbye.

"I know something's on your mind… other than what we were talking about… something really painful. You've been like this all day. I'm worried about you. And if you ever want or need to talk about anything. Please reach out to me. Please be kind to yourself. Don't suffer."

"I'm fine Hashirama. I promise. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I am fine. Don't worry." Maybe I should've sounded more confident. He was making me nervous. And I needed to get him off me before our unwanted visitor gets any ideas. I also wanted to keep MY unwanted visitor from doing the same. Again, I am confronted with the disappointed distraught look on his face. It's all real this time though, which is so much worse. It rips me apart on the inside to lie to him like this. And his response alone is shutting me down. He's not stupid, as much as I tease him. He's astounding with human emotions. It's one of many reasons why people like him so much. It feels like there's nothing he can't do. Maybe that's why he's always trying to lend a hand. If I let him into more of my world. Things won't be the same with him. I'm not sure I can ever give him my full honesty.

And then I was struck by a revelation, did he just offer me the position because he knew I was depressed? The pieces are all there. It may be an audacious thing to assume that Hashirama is putting me on a pedestal, but that look in his eyes told me that there was nothing of higher concern than my well-being. I want to scream. Intense agony writhes through my body. Why do I always bring people down? There's no other word for it. I'm heartbroken.

After awkwardly looking back at Tobirama, Hashirama finally decides, it's time to go. He waves me off with a goodbye and both proceed to exit the Mountainside and I'm left here with my depressing thoughts. But before they are gone, I can feel Tobirama's eyes wandering back to me.

So anyway tell me what you like/don't like in the review section. Do you think Madara should take the position? Do you think a duo Hokage shared position could work. Or is Hashirama doomed to the chair? I'm still working on the story so let me know what you think would be interesting.

You can follow updates on this fanfic at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13772524/1/Hold-Me

And you can follow what I’m doing at monikareddiary.com

#madara #tobirama #gay #naruto #narutoau #yaoi #anime #naruto shippuden #gay fanfiction #madara-x-tobirama #lemon

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breadhyunn · 7 years ago

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No Harm 1/?

Characters: Youngjae, Himchan, Zelo, Yongguk, Daehyun

Relationships: Daehyun/Youngjae, Youngjae/Himchan, Yongguk/Himchan

Setting/Genre: Criminals!AU, Bank Robbery, Roommates!Himjae, Humour, Utter Confusion, Youngjae’s been thrown into a mess, Past Relationships,

Length: 2.7k

Summary: Youngjae inadvertently stops a bank robbery, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Alternatively: Some heart breaks never heal.

Read on AO3 or below!

If there’s one thing Youngjae has learnt in the past hour, it’s that time was not on his side. It’d been an hour, waiting in line at the bank, and it seemed like he was as close to the clerk’s desk as when he had entered.

His tendency towards frustration only made the situation worse. He couldn’t even bite his nails and relieve himself; the lady behind had chided him once already. She had the same expression his roommate did during his complaints about the habit, and that was enough to scare him.

As he unwillingly relived those moments, his phone buzzed with the name “Himchan” flashing on the screen. Speak of the devil.

Youngjae held the phone away from his ear as he answered.

“You said you’d be here thirty minutes ago! I only had measly toast for breakfast, and I am incredibly hungry and you, sir, are testing my patience. How long are you going to keep me waiting?” screamed the husky voice from the phone.

“Hello to you too,” Youngjae said, glad about the precautions he’d taken.

“I don’t have time for your pleasantries, just tell me where you are or I’m eating without you.” Himchan’s no-nonsense tone wasn’t supposed to amuse Youngjae, but it did anyway.

“I’m still at the bank, this line just won’t move.”

“That’s what you get for being lazy and going in the afternoon. I’ve told you a million times that this bank is empty in the morning but you just won’t list-”

“I don’t have time for your nagging, Himchan.”

“First you ditch me for lunch and now you interrupt me? You’re becoming more of a bother than a brother. I’m hurt.”

Youngjae could hear Himchan’s smile. He reciprocated the smile as he replied, “Go on and eat, I don’t think I’ll be done anytime soon.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah. Even if there was a gun pointed at these people, they probably wouldn’t hurry up- “

It was Youngjae’s turn to be cut off mid sentence, but the perpetrator wasn’t a voice. It was a sound. A loud bang which could only be one thing. A gunshot. His phone fell to the ground, the natural response to the jolt sent through his body.

“PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND. ALL OF YOU. NOW.”

Everyone at the bank did as asked. 5 fully armed men weren’t a matter to be trifled with. Youngjae’s heart was thumping as if trying to burst forth from his chest. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. His eyes gave away that sharp, clenching feeling of fear building up in his stomach. He could hear faint traces of Himchan’s anxious voice from the phone. How did a monotonous day at the bank turn into this?

The men, who Youngjae presumed were robbers had stationed themselves at different corners. The one that was looming over his head also seemed to notice muffled sounds coming from a discarded phone. He immediately lifted it off the ground and asked, “Whose stupid phone is this?”

Youngjae was in conflict: should he claim it as his? Should he remain silent? However, this crisis was soon resolved with the robber’s next statement. “If no one owns up, I start shooting.”

He couldn’t risk others’ safety. “It-It’s mine,” he croaked out, his voice faltering.

“Get up,” came another imposing command.

Youngjae complied, slowly standing up, arms still raised. His hands mimicked the throbbing of his heart.

“Who were you tryin’ to call? The Police?”

Youngjae lifted his head instantly and quirked out a “No!” The terror on his face suddenly turned into an expression of confusion- the eyes he was dreading to meet didn’t look cold or rowdy. In fact, they looked scared. He hadn’t thought he couldn’t sense more fear than already present in the room, but here in front of him, stood a man shaking in his boots.

The robber’s grip on his gun became weaker as he wriggled backwards. His gaze was fixed on Youngjae’s face, as if slowly becoming cognizant of every single feature. His mind seemed to be assembling some sort of puzzle. “Yo, Tiger, you gotta come here man,” the man called for his associate, his voice getting increasingly nervous with every syllable.

‘Tiger’ walked up to them. He was the one who had announced the troop’s grand arrival. Though the robber who was (somewhat, at this point) holding a gun to Youngjae's head was far taller, Tiger had the more commanding presence. He looked stone cold and emotion less. Well, that was, until he saw Youngjae.

The same expressions of fright were now plastered on Tiger’s face. But he betrayed his iciness only for a couple of seconds before regaining composure. He immediately turned around and gave a firm command, “We’ve gotta get out of here. NOW. MOVE.” His deep voice resonated.

The other associates didn’t seem to question him, and they promptly stopped everything they were doing and made for the door with supreme haste. As they headed out, Tiger gave Youngjae one last look, and with that, they were gone.

Each person in the room was reeling from shock at what suddenly turned into an attempted robbery. Youngjae still hadn’t put his hands down. What just happened? Why were they so nervous the moment they saw him? How did they know him? They sure didn’t look familiar to him. Why did they flee? A thousand more questions plagued Youngjae and his thoughts raced at the speed of light. His heart was still thumping, now more erratic.

He was pulled back to the real world when a thundering applause broke out as people rejoiced in their safety. Some applause looked like it was directed towards him. Youngjae had absolutely no clue what he’d done to deserve it. He left the bank in a trance.

Well, at least the line did move.

“I’m telling you, they ran away after seeing my face!” repeated Youngjae, for what was probably the twentieth time that evening.

He’d come home to an extremely hassled Himchan who’d ditched work to look after him. Youngjae would be lying if he said that he hadn’t thoroughly enjoyed all the attention. He was tense, and having that support calmed him down, probably a little too much, considering how funny the day's events now seemed to him. But that surge of love and care had fizzled out about an hour ago. They were in the kitchen, leaning against opposite sides of the counter.

Himchan questioningly eyed his friend from head to toe. “No offence, but you’re the fluffiest looking twenty-four-year-old I’ve ever seen. There’s no way they were scared of you.”

Youngjae smiled, but it was more like a grimace. “Good looks can be scary to anyone,” he said. His reply was met with a derisive yet somehow loving snort.

“Your life was in danger today, so I’ll give your shameless self-praise a pass.”

Youngjae chuckled and left his spot to grab a drink from the fridge. “So who’s driving us to work tomorrow?” he said, tossing a beer to Himchan.

Himchan furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re going to work tomorrow? Don’t you need some time off after what happened today?”

“Of course not, I was a hero. Heroes don’t take days off.” Youngjae wasted no time with his clever remarks.

“God if it was any other day I would’ve punched you by now,” said Himchan laughing. “Are you sure it’s safe though?”

Before Youngjae could reply, the doorbell sounded. He smirked at Himchan as he walked towards the door of their rather lavish two-bedroom apartment. “I guess?” he said opening the door. “I mean, it’s not like the robbers are going to show up at my door or someth- “

He stopped midsentence. He really needs to work on his choice of words.

Tiger and his tall friend were standing at the door. “Can we come in?” asked the unnamed one as they simply stepped inside. Youngjae had no time to react and his jaw just hung wide open as he stared at them walk past him.

Both were brown haired, but Tiger’s hair was longer and curly, almost covering his eyes. They were dressed expensively, different from the attire they’d worn during the robbery. There was a bulge in their shirts, it was either a gun or a disfigured burrito. Youngjae’s bets were on the former. Crying out for help would just create more trouble. There goes his one true skill during crisis.

“We feel like we have some explaining to do, about earlier,” said the tall boy. Boy, because Youngjae had just realized how young he looked. Tiger seemed like he was around Himchan’s age, and that reminded him. “Uh, my roommate is home,” was all Youngjae managed to say. He was beyond worried.

Tiger spoke now, “We mean no harm to either of you, Mr. Yoo.” His deep voice was far more impactful in smaller quarters. “You can bring him here too, if you like.” His tone didn’t really imply that he was giving an option.

Youngjae took doubtful steps backward till he was almost running to the kitchen. He entered to find Himchan armed.

“Really? A frying pan? T-That’s going to work against their guns?” he asked, flailing his limbs about in impatience.

“Well, you’ve got nothing!” hissed Himchan.

“I have my face.” This prompted a soul piercing frown from Himchan. “Oh come on, I don’t want to mess with them. Besides they say they mean us no harm.”

“Are you really taking a robber’s word? Do they look any bit trustworthy to you?” questioned Himchan, as he peeked out of the kitchen door. His eye spotted Tiger running his hand through his hair. “Oh mama.”

Youngjae couldn’t believe what he’d heard. He also couldn’t believe what happened next. Himchan set his ‘weapon’ down on the counter and headed out. Unabashedly walking up to Tiger, he extended a hand. “It’s Himchan. Kim Himchan.”

Tiger looked up to meet a smouldering gaze. He looked more confused than Youngjae did, who by now had come out to behold this bizarre event. Tiger took Himchan’s hand and shook it formally, not reciprocating the introduction.

Youngjae pulled Himchan back, giving him a glare. Are you seriously flirting with a criminal?

Himchan simply shrugged in return, his flirt-smile never leaving his face. The heart wants what the heart wants.

Youngjae’s emotions were going through an utter rollercoaster at this point. He didn’t know what he felt about the situation anymore. One moment he was laughing, the next terrified, and now he was just, stunned.

“So, about today afternoon.”

Youngjae snapped out of his thoughts at the Tiger’s words. “Yeah,” he said, weakly.

“We’d like you to come with us,” said Tiger. Again, this wasn’t really a proposition presenting options, but a command.

Youngjae’s eyes widened. “Why?”

Himchan butted in. “I’d go wherever you take me.” There was a weird air of silence around the room. Ignoring him, Tiger continued, “Our leader wants to meet you.”

That didn’t sound very good. Before Youngjae could question him further, the tall boy clapped his hands together and said “Well it’s settled then! I’m gonna take Youngjae to meet our leader, and Tiger here will wait back to ensure your roommate doesn’t call the cops or anything.”

Youngjae seemed to be the sole person distressed by this turn of events. He looked at the three faces around him - unbothered. His varied feelings decided to bubble to the surface all at once. “AM I THE ONLY SANE ONE HERE? I’M NOT LEAVING THIS PLACE UNLESS SOMEBODY TELLS ME WHAT’S GOING ON!!”

As Youngjae continued to ramble (read scream), Tiger looked at his companion with a hint of exasperation and said, “We can ignore the list, slightly. Just this once.”

The tall boy nodded gleefully and within the next few seconds, Youngjae was forcefully carried out the door, into the elevator and before he knew it he was being driven off somewhere.

They’d been driving for around twenty minutes. Youngjae shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat. He knew not to protest now, but he was worried about Himchan. The tall boy seemed to sense that.

“I told you we won’t hurt you. Don’t worry about your roommate,” he said, taking a sharp left turn.

Youngjae nodded curtly. There were a few seconds of silence before he spoke again. “So do you have a name or something?”

“Lil’ Runner.”

Youngjae snorted at the irony. “I meant a human name.”

He looked at Youngjae briefly, and after discerning what he could about his standing, nature and reliability, he replied, “Junhong.”

Youngjae hummed in approval at getting some information out of him. Hoping to develop a streak, he asked, “where are we going?”

“You’ll know when you get there.”

This response sent a wave of comfort through Youngjae. Here he was, in a car with someone who’d attempted a robbery, and he was feeling at ease? Youngjae didn’t know if this was better than crippling fear. Nevertheless, he decided that if he was going to settle in, he would truly settle in.

Thus, much to Junhong’s dismay, Youngjae commented on whatever he saw – the traffic, the night sky, the pleasing lack of bondage items used on his body. Junhong half wished he’d tied the seat belt around Youngjae’s mouth too. He entertained his captive as patiently as he could – he had no choice, he was given explicit instructions to not stuff him in the trunk. Thus Junhong sat through unmitigated chuckles and plenty of quips about the world and all it contains.

“So why’s your name Lil’ Runner?” Youngjae asked, still reeling from the humour of his last joke.

Though Junhong was slightly taken aback at the question, he grudgingly answered, “I ran from home when I was little.”

Youngjae looked disappointed, he was half expecting some sort of badass story. “Whoever gave you that name doesn’t seem very creative.”

“Tiger did.” Youngjae swore he saw a twinkle in Junhong’s eyes as he said that.

"Ah well, stupid of me to expect something great from a man called 'Tiger', isn't it?"

Junhong was offended and his tone didn't mask that. “He lets me call him Yongguk when we’re not doing business.”

“You really look up to him, don’t you? I can see some unresolved issues between you two.”

Junhong’s face tightened, but his eyes didn’t leave the road. “Why do you say so?”

Youngjae rested his elbow on the ledge of the car’s window. “I took a Behavioral Psychology class in my 2nd year of college.” This was met with a light hearted chuckle. “What?”

“No, I was just thinking of how I’d probably have punched you by now if not for the list.”

Youngjae frowned. Why did everyone want to punch him today? But the latter half of Junhong’s statement made the stronger case for his attention. “What list?”

“Our leader has something called the ‘No harm’ list. Basically, a set of people we are not allowed to cause any hurt or damage to, whatever the case may be. Mostly his family and friends.”

“And I’m on that list?” Junhong nodded in response, not looking very happy about it.

“That’s why we had to leave the bank today. If our leader would’ve found out we robbed a place and you were there, he would have skinned us alive.”

Youngjae sunk a bit lower into his seat, wondering how he ever got on the good side of some criminal. His life flashed before his eyes, as he ran through the names of everyone he’d known in this short life. He turned to the window to continue his contemplation, when he noticed the very familiar surroundings.

“Hey, my parents live in this area! This is where I grew up!” Oh god, were his parents criminals? Surely he’d have known, right?

Junhong complacently answered, “I don’t know about all that man. Mr. Jung asked me to bring you to the High School in this neighbourhood, and I’m doing just that.”

High School. Mr. Jung. Youngjae’s mind raced to put together this puzzle as Junhong pulled into the parking lot of the very school he’d attended for four years. Suddenly, it clicked. “DAEHYUN? JUNG DAEHYUN?”

“Yep,” said Junhong, unfastening his seatbelt.

“B-But the last I heard he was in some sort of business producing chemicals?”

Junhong eyed him comically as Youngjae’s brain clicked again. “OH.” Youngjae sunk lower into his seat. So, he was about to meet a criminal. A criminal who, apparently, is some drug lord. A criminal he knows, and worst of all, a criminal he had dumped.

That line in the bank didn’t seem too bad right now.

A/N: HELLO I AM INCREDIBLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS THOUGH I HAVE 0 SENSE OF DIRECTION. I cant wait to write crime lord Jung Daehyun. If you have an AO3, please leave kudos/comments! I’d love to know what all of you thought. Like, reblog, share ^^

#b.a.p #bap #bapnet #baplibrary #b.a.p scenarios #daejae #youngjae #daehyun #himchan #yongguk #zelo #my fic #pls pls pls tell me what you think!!!

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anodyne-sunflower · 7 years ago

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Love me like you do (Part 28)-Balem series

A/N: 28! I’ll shut up, but know this one is long!! Like…it’s 7,879 words long. Lol

MOOD MUSIC: Walk through the fire by Zayde Wolf

***

That point in time made itself known by the rhythmic ticking of the clock. Each swing of the pendulum making you realize how critical your decision was. You could’ve backed out, you still could you supposed, but somehow defying any of the Abrasax family seemed a dangerous game to play. There was very little power left in your hands, and you resigned yourself to accepting that. “Okay…” You mumbled to yourself, trying to calm your nerves from kicking in. Your eyes glanced out the chamber windows, watching a number of clippers go by. For such a large and endless universe, you somehow felt entirely alone in it. You wondered if Balem was out there, trying to search for you through all this mess. In your bones, you had to believe that he was. No matter what point you were in your relationship with him now…all you felt was this desire to be near him. Although, somewhere in the deep corners of your mind you weren’t even sure you could face him anymore. It was like a potent mix of emotions boiling inside you, causing conflict within your heart. What would you say to him? How could you explain the decision you were making? At this point, there was plenty of questions, but only one constant answer. You didn’t know.

As you let out a shaky breath, the doors slid open, revealing Famulus in her gold dress. She seemed ready for a royal wedding, but that smirk on her lips implied otherwise. “Titus is ready for you.”

You hesitated in your spot, one hand pressed against the glass. The apprehension kept you in place for a second, but regardless of your choices, if you didn’t move, someone would gladly retrieve you for their lord. “Yeah…” You nodded at her, giving the view one last glance before following after her. You prayed to whatever gods there were that he’d be out there looking for you right now.

“This way.” His assistant smiled, moving aside and holding her arm out. You merely stared at her in contempt, brushing passed her rudely and following the few guards down the hall. They made it seem a big deal, this wedding, and you could scarcely believe Titus would blow such an amount on an arranged marriage. But, knowing the wealth he was rumored to squander, it shouldn’t have been that shocking an action. The Abrasax clan enjoyed flaunting their power and wealth to whoever would pay attention.

“And there she is! My blushing bride.” Titus spoke with an excitement in his tone, finding more to be proud of in this arrangement than you did. He stood there at the end of the hallway, large smile plastered on his lips as he held his hand out to you. You paused next to him, glaring down at it like he was extending an insult your way. It took all your willpower to ignore the urge to yell, but you did it. With a scowl upon your face you turned away from him, and kept walking.

“Charming.” He chuckled, nodding for his guards to follow closely at his side while he caught up with you. “You made the right choice.” Titus whispered, leaning down and brushing a strand of hair from your face. You pulled away from him in frustration, trying to keep this walk in a state of silence. He kept on speaking, sometimes letting his hand linger too long on your shoulder or side. By now, you began to drown out his words, focusing on the sound of your heels to the floor and the footsteps of the guards. It was all you could do to remain sane, but as your eyes drifted around the area you chanced upon the soldier next to you, his gloved hand resting cautiously over his gun. At the ready should any attack occur.

It was a choice that would appear asinine to most, but that alarm in you would not shut off. Of all the options fate would place in your hands, this one seemed the most plausible. You could end this, but the cost seemed incredibly high. You knew even if you managed to get your hands on it, the soldiers would kill you where you stood. No matter how many times you ran the outcomes, it was never in your favor. Right now though, you didn’t truly care. You looked towards Titus, his mouth still moving with mindless chatter and with a steady hand you began to reach over, hoping you could get to it in time.

“Here we are.”

His voice broke your movement, your heart now pounding wildly in your chest. You could only count yourself lucky your foolish attempt hadn’t been noticed by anyone. “What?” You mumbled, senses coming back to you.

Titus gestured for his entourage to open the doors, and as soon as he did the white light of the church blinded you, making you squint and look away. An orchestra accompanied the glorious view, and applause greeted you both as you waltzed in. As the view became more distinguishable, the nerves kicked in again, your eyes darting over the numerous guests that gazed at you like a queen already. “What is all this?”

“A formality. Most of them are sims, a usual for a royal wedding, pay them no mind. Now, come.” He gave your back a soft push, your body heading forward as the crowd gossiped below in joy. It was a strange feeling, being the center of attention amongst those you knew nothing of. Had Titus already announced you as his equal? It seemed an unlikely thing to do, but the the gaze of the crowd told otherwise. “Why are they-“

“I told you, pay them no mind.” Titus motioned for his guards to meet him down below, his hand still stationed at your back protectively. Though you guessed it was for insurance on his part, after all why risk losing his key to success.

“Right.” You spoke, still hesitating to move forward until the platform rose for you both. He took your hand and climbed atop the device, still smiling smugly with the pride of his future. You wanted to fight back, to rescind on your offer, but there was hope for you yet. As you placed one heel on the platform, a vision of luck attracted you to the window.

“It can’t be…” It was a faint whisper, so low no one could hear it through the cheers and applause of the Sims down below. But, you were aware of its meaning, and the dark of space tore open, the many hues of a portal opening up as a large black ship fabricated within it. With every foot that was revealed of its grand entrance, you felt your heart quicken. You would know that clipper anywhere, because nothing had ever quite taken your breath away as that beautiful and ominous technology.

“A smile? Are you almost happy for us?” Titus teased you, not realizing the cause of your joy. You were thankful for that, because your little slip up would’ve bought the pompous man time for a defense strategy. Now was not the time for snide remarks though, and you willed away the smile, nodding over at him.

“We’re all full of surprises…” You responded, hoping his assistant hadn’t become privy of Balem’s arrival. Not that the First Primary would find fault in that. He did adore making an entrance, grander than anything anyone could come up with. “Shall we then?” You feigned excitement now, probably coming on too strong, but Titus hardly cared anymore. He was already enamored with the idea of getting all he ever wanted.

“You read my mind, my dear.” He tugged you near him, the platform now floating down towards the long and heavily decorated aisle. Flowers flourished along the pews, each red and white and equally beautiful. If only this was an actual wedding, where two people loved each other, you’d likely appreciate the decorum more.

With a newly discovered energy, you followed him to the pulpit, the priest awaiting you both at the end. He had a smile on his face, likely unaware of the schemes the youngest Abrasax had formulated.

“Are you both ready?” The priest inquired, looking you over with interest before directing his question to Titus. By this point they had begun talking, every word now being drowned out by your thoughts. Your hope was placed in Balem now, and as Titus released your hand from his, you glanced over at the large stained glass windows again. In a few minutes, he’d likely be here, and that would be the end of this nightmare.

***

The Primary gazed ahead at the commonwealth ministry, watching as the church floated beautifully over the city. He had not bothered returning to this planet for a long time, it was almost a reminder of his family. Each member more pathetic than the last. He couldn’t begin to state the extent of his loathing for them all, but witnessing this mess Titus had created first hand…it destroyed any form of mercy he held within him.

“Have they received the signifying bonds?” He questioned bitterly, leaning back on his throne while the advisor scurried around him in worry. Mr. Night had tried to keep the ferocious leader at bay, but the longer this journey took, the angrier Balem became.

“I-“

“Do you have anything of WORTH,” Balem’s voice rose towards the end, his eyes becoming wild with rage as Mr. Night attempted to deflect his questions. “To say!” He slammed his fist on the arm of his throne, jaw tight as he tried to will his anger away. Every second they grew closer to you, to Titus, he felt that control loosen inside him. Nothing would satisfy him until he had his brother’s head on a pike. “Mr. Night…” Balem’s tone wavered, eyes narrowing dangerously towards the church as he awaited an answer.

“W-We’ve not heard any word, my lord. It would seem the ceremony is barely starting.” The advisor refilled the cup of wine near his lord, constantly stealing glances at him. He knew Balem was beyond pacification now, but he could only hope the Primary didn’t take everyone down along his war path. “Shall we make communication with Titus, Lord Balem?”

The Primary never tore his eyes from the church, his fingertips tapping along his chin as he contemplated his move. But, there was no other way around this situation now. Calm endings was never his forte, and he wasn’t planning on showing mercy anymore. “Defense shields up.”

The captain never hesitated in his commands, and he ordered the crew members around before taking his seat at the front. The glow of the shields began to form around the clipper, ready to take the brunt of any blasts or impacts they may encounter. “Shields are up, Lord Balem.”

Balem scowled deeply, ready to bring this foolish plan of his brother’s to an end.

“Take him down.”

His advisor’s eyes widened, nearly spilling the wine he held in his concern for their safety. “My lord, I strongly-“

“If you are so frightened, Mr. Night, I suggest you scurry away like the rat you are. Otherwise, you will provide me with nothing but silence.”

The most frightening thing of his career, was the days Balem held a calm rage to him. Where the ferocity in his eyes was so evident it could still the breath in you, but the demeanor he held betrayed that. Mr. Night had learned long ago to never approach or try to steer him from his decisions in this state, and so he shut his mouth, taking a seat and bracing himself instead.

“Prepare for impact.” The captain warned, and within seconds the head of the clipper collided with the church.

***

Titus held his hand up to the crowd, the constant cheers finally clawing at your nerves. He seemed annoyingly proud of it, that signifying bond upon his finger, as if that tiny detail alone would award him the very secrets of the universe. He turned to you after gaining the affection of the guests, and smiled in a very eerily happy manner. “Your turn.”

You chewed nervously at your lip, watching him closely for any sign of refusal. But, you knew better than to expect his sudden disgust with you. With a meek nod you turned to the priest, and parted your lips to recite the vows of his world. “I, Y/N…enter into this union…” You paused, eyes drifting anxiously to the large stained glass windows above. He was here, your salvation, he was right outside and you couldn’t stall this for much longer. You felt the apprehension again, the vows now hard to preach when the thought of Balem being outside hung in your mind. Trying to pretend everything alright was becoming difficult, because somehow his presence made you want to break down.

Unfortunately, your facade was well documented by the very people Titus put in place to protect him. Without being aware, Famulus had noticed your slip, and her suspicious gaze followed in your direction. There wasn’t much she could see through the stained glass, but her instincts were good enough to take action. She lifted her wrist to her lips, speaking softly into the device she had while you remained in the dark.

It was Titus’ cough that alerted you, his eyebrows lifting as if to rush you into continuing the ceremony. You pursed your lips, and shoved the doubt in your mind away now, hoping you could buy just a little more time. “Being of sound mind and…and…” It couldn’t happen, even with Balem just outside you didn’t have it in you anymore to complete this foolish plan. Maybe it was the proof of his affections for you, coming to your rescue like this, or maybe you just couldn’t betray him even in jest.

Titus narrowed his eyes at you, his expression drifting from worried to angry. It wasn’t until you saw Famulus lean over to him and whisper that those cold, dark eyes grew impossibly vengeful. “You conniving little-“

The glass along the walls shattered into nothing, the shards looking dangerously beautiful as they fell in a glow of colors. It was hard to appreciate such a sight, when the screams of the guests followed suit. You had to duck your head, barely escaping Titus’ reach when he screamed at you and his guards. “Get my bloody army! Start firing you fools.” He reached for you again, missing a step and finding purchase on the pulpit. He tried desperately to remain dignified, but the crash that rocked the church left the building tilting onto its side. “Famulus!”

His assistant slid down the steps, barely keeping herself safe as the pillars began to fall onto the pews. You crawled your way along the aisle, knowing if you even tried to stand it wouldn’t end well. You wondered why Balem chose such a way to attack, but you figured that entitled fury wouldn’t stay caged for long.

The groan of the archways resounded along the church, the marble and stone cracking rather pathetically as the clipper curved against the walls. It came to a halt on the pathway above, the ramp of Balem’s ship finally descending onto the debris. You had to watch in awe of the whole ordeal, heart ready to just see his face again. But, as you waited for his arrival, Titus’ soldiers came rushing from the back, already shooting their guns to the many soldiers coming from the clipper. In the panic you began moving away, taking shelter behind a pew as lasers flew passed your head. If it wasn’t for the cries of the priest falling dead next to you, you would’ve sat silently with your head in your hands. Trying to pretend you were anywhere else but here. Somewhere in the distance you could hear Titus, still trying to bark orders to the men around him. You didn’t dare listen, placing your focus on surviving instead. But, the scream of agony that came next was hard to ignore.

With a gasp, you looked over the bench, eyes widening when you saw Titus on the floor. He was cradling his leg, blood dripping violently from the wound, and judging by the look on his face he was terrified. You almost pitied him, but the darker side of you reveled in the knowledge he finally felt pain. Even if it was a simple gunshot wound, he was now victim to the same feelings he caused everyone else.

“TITUS!”

You froze, fingertips digging into the bench when his voice rang down from above. It wasn’t that long since you last saw him, or even had the pleasure of hearing his voice…but it certainly felt that way. The fact that he was actually here, it wasn’t fully clear to you still, and as childish as it was you couldn’t bring yourself to turn just yet. That lingering fear of not seeing him again was still alive and well in your turmoil.

“Well there you are, dear brother!” Titus choked out between gasps of pain, crawling his way up the steps and towards the broken pulpit. Even with that vindictive tone, you could plainly see the fear in his eyes. Yet he still tried to escape his brother’s clutches, and ordered his soldiers to continue their advance on him. “I didn’t think you’d make it, Balem.” He laughed, wincing when he attempted to pull himself up.

It took a fool’s courage to continue that instigating, especially towards a man of Balem’s status. You had to admire Titus for that, even if it meant punishment. But, you grew sick of looking at him, now realizing just how pathetic a man he really was. And you couldn’t put off seeing Balem anymore, you had to fight your anxiety about it eventually. “Balem…” You sucked in a breath, exhaling softly as you slowly drew yourself to set your eyes on him.

What a contrast, was your first thought, because nobody in the world would ever be capable of emitting the power of the man standing above the pathway. Looking down at his injured brother with a gaze that spoke volumes of his lifelong hatred. It nearly took your breath away, seeing that authority of his striking in the air. And amidst the lights of the soldier’s guns around him, he looked ready to exact the revenge he had thirsted for. The sentimental half of you longed to call to him, to put aside the dangers and run into his arms, but you stayed frozen there…simply staring at this person you considered closer than anybody in your life.

Then his eyes fell upon you, making you forget all reservations you held if only for a moment. There was nothing like it, that feeling, like neither of you were prepared to accept the reality of your proximity. But, the second his eyes softened…you knew it was very real. Though no smile would grace his features, as always, his eyes were the expressive part and you knew immediately that there was relief in them. Time wasn’t on your side, however, and instead of a grand reunion you simply nodded at him. Needing him to know that you were safe at the very least.

Balem stared down at you, calmly releasing the breath he had been holding. Even meeting your gaze tore him apart, knowing that he still had to attend to pressing matters before taking you in his arms and bringing those lips he adored into a desperate kiss. But, until he had the privilege, he’d settle for destroying his brother and ripping him of everything he held dear. His gaze fell to Titus once more, his boots connecting with the platform as he descended into the pandemonium below. It’s like every foot he grew closer the world around stopped for him, the lasers ceasing, the screams lessening, he had a presence that could freeze the heavens if he willed it.

Balem gracefully got off the platform, his rhythmic strides taking him down the aisle towards his brother. He passed numerous injured soldiers along the way, some his, some Titus’. But, he barely paid their death throes any mind. In his opinion, they were all expendable, merely a means to an end.

You stood back against the pews, trying to summon the energy to fully stand as he grew close to you. But, the adrenaline coursing through your veins made it difficult to keep still. With a quick brush of your hands you removed the debris from your dress, and snagged the gaudy headpiece Titus made you wear off. You tossed it unceremoniously to the side of the church, the sound of the beads and silver bending against the dilapidated pillars. You felt Balem’s presence looming closer and while you expected the Primary to simply pass you by and head towards his weakened brother he seemed interested in other plans. The second you turned, you found him next to you, his green gaze mapping every inch of your body for any sign of harm. It took everything not to cry, even more not to succumb to the desire to be held. All you could do was let out a shaky breath and hope that would somehow be enough to placate him.

“My little bird…” Balem’s eyes grew relieved at the sight of you, his hand coming up to cup your cheek. But, he didn’t touch you, not at first. He held it there against your cheek, the proximity enough to produce an effect on you. It was like electricity lingering, the heat coming from his palm begging you to cease all other rational thought. And then he caressed you, his fingertips barely stroking over your skin before he finally closed the distance. You held in your gasp, lips parting slightly to fit against his own. Balem kissed you hard, desperately, and it was like he stole your breath from your body and only demanded you focus on him and you. And how could you not? There were hardly any words to describe it, it was like an equal sense of joy and worry that you couldn’t shake. But, you craved it, yearned for it always. A simple moment in time when nothing in the world mattered but the sensation of his kiss.

You placed a trembling hand on his chest, releasing a labored breath as he peeled his lips from yours. He allowed himself a minute to linger there, that desirous look in his eyes making you flush red in front of him. He could not waste further time though, and with one soft press of his lips to your forehead he moved on to take care of Titus. All you could do was kneel down to the pew again, taking shelter behind it while you hoped the Primary would be safe.

“If you had just prostrated before me,” Balem smirked wickedly, his pride thoroughly entertained by Titus crawling fearfully away. His brother was too injured to stand, and there was nothing more poetic than finding the one person who wanted him down on his knees, now pathetically on his own. He reached him easily, keeping his strides shortened just to stall next to Titus. Balem enjoyed the power play, even more when he slammed his boot over the wound on his brother’s leg and elicited a murderous scream. “We wouldn’t be here, Titus.”

“Always the dramatic one, Balem…” Titus gritted his teeth, trying to reach for his wound only for Balem to stop him.

The Primary gripped his wrist hard, twisting his arm back as he leaned dangerously close to him. “Now look at you, my little brother.” He pulled roughly on Titus, bringing him up to look him in the eye. “Pathetically clinging to this idea of hope, well, I think you’ll find-“ He applied pressure to the leg wound, finding pleasure in how his brother cried out. He had to admire his refusal to beg, but he honestly wished for nothing more than that. “There is none left for you.”

Balem shoved Titus back to the ground, the sound of the glass crunching under Titus’ head. It was sickening how easily the mighty could fall, and Balem watched delightedly as the blood seeped from his brother’s face. He could hear Titus groaning in pain, desperately trying to reach back towards him to gain some upper hand in this fight. Unfortunately for him, Balem was in no mood for childish games anymore. He would end this here, and he’d make sure of it this time.

Balem lowered himself to his level, fingers curling in his brother’s hair before he promptly slammed his face harder into the shards on the floor. He could hear them tear into Titus’ skin, destroying that handsome face he seemed so proud of. “You have defied me for the last time, Titus!” He flipped his brother over, the glass embedded into his skin now stained red from his blood. It was a beautiful sight to him, something only he could be fond of. Yet, Titus still laughed through his agony…that same frustrating laugh that made Balem go mad with rage.

“I didn’t think,” Titus choked, spitting out blood as he smirked up at Balem. “It was possible to find hatred deeper than the one I felt for mother…”He spat directly into his older brother’s face, chuckling when the flecks of blood splattered over those prominent cheekbones of his. But, Balem kept his composure, merely clutching Titus’ hair tighter as he continued to speak. “You just love proving me wrong, Balem.”

The Primary clicked his tongue in annoyance, tugging Titus back to his feet and aiding him up the steps to the pulpit. He settled him against it, keeping him there while he retrieved a large shard of stained glass from the ground. He didn’t even care when it cut into his own palm, his anger was enough to quell the pain.

“I’ve heard enough from you, Ti-“

“Let him go!”

Balem quickly pulled Titus into his hold, turning around and using his brother as a shield from the potential threat. There was something eerily familiar about this situation, once again finding himself furious at another for holding something he held dear. And seeing Titus’ assistant, her dainty arm tangled around your neck like that, he was seeing red.

Famulus was shaking uncontrollably against you, holding you in the same position Titus was in. You offered Balem an apologetic look, knowing you should’ve ran for it when you had the chance. But, it was more than fear leaving you paralyzed. You mouthed a ‘sorry’ to him, holding onto Famulus’ arm as she pushed the barrel of the gun into your temple.

She looked absolutely destroyed standing there, barely holding onto her captive as blood dripped down her forehead from a scrape. Needless to say, Balem wasn’t impressed with her display of loyalty towards his brother. “Let her go. Now.” He seethed, clutching the glass harder in his hand and cutting through his own skin. He held it threateningly towards Titus’ throat, inwardly cheering as his brother stiffened in fear against him.

“No…” Famulus muttered weakly, darting her eyes from you to Balem over and over until she drove herself half mad.

“This isn’t a game.” Balem’s eyes grew deadly, his hair falling into his face from the struggle of keeping Titus still. He didn’t like when his plans were interrupted, least of all when someone of no status was the cause of it. “If you have any hope of leaving this deplorable church alive,” He pressed the tip of the glass into Titus’ neck, barely listening as his brother gasped in pain when the shard pierced his skin slowly. “You’ll release her. NOW!”

“I will not!” She stumbled through her words, trying to resist the overwhelming need to cry out for her master. She tugged you tighter into her, almost like she found comfort in your unwilling embrace. “Release him first…go on!” Famulus gestured towards Balem with the gun, obviously unstable with her plan.

With a shake of your head, you willed Balem not to do anything. Call it the courage of a fool, but you knew even if he was idiotic enough to release Titus, Famulus could still turn against you. In this moment, you weren’t sure of what to do, because wishing for the death of another was not like you. It was instinct to simply let them have you instead. “Balem, don’t.”

“Stop talking!” Famulus nudged the gun harder into you, causing you to wince in slight discomfort of the metal. If she pulled that trigger, the blast from the laser would be the end of you. And as panicked as she was, you were already thinking over all your life regrets.

Balem caught your eyes, a mixture of fury and doubt on his features. It didn’t help with your situation, but it was that silent plea behind them that made you listen. He was begging you to save yourself from harm’s way this time. Because, just like you, he was aware letting Titus go would do neither of you any good. He began to lift the glass away from Titus, attempting to disarm himself so Famulus would let you go. And every inch he withdrew his weapon, she did as well.

The pressure against your temple softened, and that was the second you took your chance at freedom. As her arm drifted away, you reached for it, pushing hard and watching as she shot the gun and a laser barely missed Balem and Titus. You heard the Primary darkly chuckle, his smug reply being the last thing Titus would ever hear. He pulled him closer, whispering casually into his ear. “Farewell then, dear little brother.” And as you fell to the ground in a heap along with Famulus, you heard the shard sink deeply into Titus’ throat. The gurgling is what made you look away, shutting your eyes tight as to forget that image forever. But, the sound of his body hitting the floor made sure to keep you perfectly alert to the damage already done as he bled out.

“NO!!” You turned to see Famulus crying, sunk down to her knees and fighting back her anguished sobs. You felt for her, you truly did, regardless of her wrong doing…she was just another piece in this terrible game.

“Pathetic.” Balem scoffed down at his brother, mentally taking a picture of this moment. He would never forget the exhaustion Titus had caused him, and he would make sure his name disappeared from the records of Abrasax forever. He gracefully walked over Titus’ body, cape drifting over him like he was merely a commoner in the streets. It was a strange thing to think, but after that chaotic display…it’s like you barely knew Balem. Until now, every violent act had been kept from you, it was like meeting him all over again in a darker light.

“Balem-“

He ignored your call, his gaze stopping on the splice who would dare to interfere with his family matters. He had no remorse for her loss, and as she sat crying on the floor, he took up her gun and held it inches away from her head.

“Balem, do-!” You sat there in a stunned silence, eyes widening when you saw her body fall forward onto the broken pews. It was one thing to have hatred for a man who constantly deprived you of joy in life. It was another to waste a life that only blindly followed the powerful. “Wha-…” You couldn’t believe he had just taken Famulus’ life like nothing. Even if she had wronged him by listening to Titus…you didn’t believe she deserved it. It was unreal, too harsh a situation to fathom, but by the time you recognized how awful this all was Balem was by your side again.

“Little bird.”

“N-No…” You had no control of your words or body, and your denial was said in temporary shock. All you could manage was a weak gasp and a panicked look to him. “I-“

Balem sighed heavily, watching as your hand shook over your mouth in distress. There was little he could do to comfort your fear, but he cupped your cheek gently, brow furrowing when you backed away from him. He respected the space you needed, knowing this sort of trial was not one you were accustomed to just yet. But, his hand lingered over your skin, caressing you from centimeters away while keeping the respectful distance you required. His hand was covered in blood, he could not completely drown you in such atrocities for today. “Come.” He brushed his knuckles over your cheek, gripping your arms and pulling you up with him before leading you away. “This church will not hold up much longer, we have to go. Now.”

You obeyed him quietly, stumbling forward when he gave your lower back a soft nudge. In the back of your mind, you knew this place could potentially explode, but all your body wanted was to fall down and stay there for days. And traversing the piles of bodies lying around was the horrid part of it.

“Y/N…”

You heard your name, but it sounded so far away now, and you barely registered who said it but you were sure it was Balem. His hands were still cradling you against him, cape enveloping you slightly as he met his advisor at the entrance his clipper had created. Their conversation was muddled by the weak cries for help from those who appeared to survive the first battle, but they would go unanswered.

“Right away, my lord!”

There was shuffling around, Balem’s soldiers rushing back up the ramp and both of you following suit. But, even in the safety of his arms, you felt impossibly broken.

***

You sat silently on the edge of the bed, bloodied fingers digging anxiously into the sheets. You couldn’t shake the sound of their screams from your head, nor the scenes of chaos caused by the Abrasax family. It was almost impossible to comprehend how two people could be the cause of so much pain in the world. You didn’t want to believe it, but the reality was plain as day.

“Any pain?” The medic dabbed gently at your minor injuries, the healing spray they used sealing the cuts right up. You nodded solemnly at him, barely registering what he even said. He nodded anyway, clearly uncomfortable with the silence you had provided him. He was in no position to argue though, and the last thing he wanted was for his lord to find fault in him. So with one last look over he let you be, his expression concerned before walking out the doors.

You could hear voices coming from the other side, one immediately capturing your attention. You could pick that tone out anywhere, and as you prepared yourself to meet with him, the doors slid open once more.

Balem wandered into the ship’s chambers, his eyes settling upon you in your pitiful state. He had never seen you look so crestfallen before, even during the early days of your courtship. He would take anything above your constant silence, even the attitude you so willfully gave him on most occasions. “Little bird…” He cooed softly, taking a seat next to you on the bed.

You barely glanced up at him, noticing the fine golden armor he was clad in now. He was completely washed of the blood and the guilt, if he felt that at all, and for some reason it distressed you. However, some part of you was aware that he had also considered you when changing. It was clear to see that the tattered state of his outfit had shaken you.

Without a word, he reached forward, taking a strand of your hair and brushing it away from your sweaty forehead. There was a scowl etched onto his features and you guessed it was due to your lack of conversation. But you couldn’t think of much to say now, your thoughts were too muddled for any proper sentences to form. “Here.” He cautiously spoke, not wanting to disturb whatever peace you may have settled into. He leaned over to the small table next to the bed, grabbing the bowl of water the medic had left behind. You watched curiously as he wrung the cloth out, the water sloshing over the edge of the bowl when he placed it between you both.

You expected him to hand you the towel, to walk away and demand you clean yourself up. It would appear there was a human inside him after all though, and with the most tender of touches he gripped your hands and held them gently over the bowl as he began to wash the blood away. You would’ve been enamored with him, but as the water turned a soft pink with all the blood caked onto your nails and hands you grew disgusted.

This felt so wrong deep down, and there was a repulsion inside you unlike anything before. Perhaps to men like Balem, all this horror was a regular occurrence, but you had never faced such chaos. Whatever traumas you held in life, they would never compare to the daily rituals of the elite in the universe. The truth was, it was just too much to register. Up until now, you had assumed he orchestrated numerous deadly plots against his family and those he deemed unworthy. But you always figured he kept that side of his world a secret from you. Far away where the negative aspects couldn’t do you harm. But, it would appear no matter how thorough he was, it still reached you. With a soft cry you fell forward into him, laying your head against his shoulder and releasing the sobs you had tried hiding away. You felt him stiffen, his hands still supporting yours. He stayed silent through your crying, unsure of how to proceed from here.

“I can’t…” You shook your head dejectedly. “This is…I-“ No matter how hard you pushed through, the words would not come forth. They remained stuck in your heart where the conflict you faced weighed it down. “I just…” Perhaps you did love him, with every fiber of your being, so much so it nearly hurt. But, in all the splendor of your romance you had forgotten the world around you and all this hell that came with it. It would be the words of Titus that stuck with you now, knowing he was right in saying you had become blind to his brother’s ways.

“You need rest, my beauty.” Balem comforted you, as best as he was able, and while you stilled in your sobs he slowly pulled free of you. With a compassionate nature he lifted your chin, his thumb sweeping along your bottom lip. You could see he intended to speak, to woo you into another bout of sweet nothings. But, you couldn’t stomach it right now.

“I want to go home.”

“We are-“

“No!” In your sorrow you shoved him aside, moving from the bed and pacing around the room. To an outsider you must’ve looked insane, but you had grown weary of the self pity and doubt you felt. “Earth, Balem!” You tore the worn gown from your body, quickly changing into the new clothes he had supplied you with. “My home.” You pulled the black top over your head, smoothing the material out before pointing at yourself for emphasis. “Your life is-“ There it was again, the doubt that clawed at your conscience, keeping you from spilling the necessary words to him. You couldn’t even bear to look at him. “I fell into your world, I wanted to resist it…but, I-“ You turned from him, hugging yourself as you carefully formed your thoughts. “I can’t keep watching you almost die, to watch others die…to nearly lose my own life!” You choked back your tears, immediately wiping the few that escaped. “This is too much.”

You heard the rustle of his clothing behind you, that familiar growl behind his words capturing your attention. “Enough of this talk.” His hands grabbed your shoulders, turning you around to look him in the eye as you denied him. The misery behind his stare was painful to take in, but even through his despondency he kept his demeanor in check like any king would. “Little bird.” There was a torture behind his tone, a sliver of forgiveness that he sought, and while you had no intention to analyze every detail of his emotions the minute his forehead touched yours you froze. “You’ve no idea what you mean to me…” his palms cradled around your cheeks, the corner of his lip twitching in discomfort of your admission.

This was the man you fell in love with, the softer side of his being that lulled you dangerously into a larger trap. There wasn’t a single part of him you hated, but there were aspects of his personality that were so cruel you weren’t sure you could ignore it any longer. The worst of it was you wanted to lean forward, to kiss him and pretend everything would go back to some semblance of normal. But, that wasn’t likely to occur anymore. You reached for his wrists, holding onto them weakly as you fought your heartache. “Take me home, Balem. Please.” He was a man who was capable of a deep caring, unconditional love. But, above that was someone who thrived on taking empires for himself, using human lives on earth for his financial gain…he couldn’t possibly change enough to be yours, or you his. “Take me home.”

Balem pressed his forehead harder into yours, his jaw trembling with an uncontrolled anger. You felt his grip on your arms tighten, but there was still that reluctance to ever lay harm to you. So he pulled away roughly, letting out a scream that could strike fear into anyone. His fist connected with the table, tossing the object on its side as he tried desperately to control himself. He could barely handle looking at you anymore, knowing all he ever wanted and wished for was slipping from his fingers. He loathed that vulnerability in him. “I did not cross the vastness of space to destroy all those lives…!”

You stared silently at his back, watching guiltily as he ran his hands through his hair. “Tell me you had no intention of killing Titus, or Famulus…or all those other innocent people…” The truth was, somewhere deep down you were elated he killed his brother, and that’s what caused such a struggle in you. There was a little bit of you vanishing every day you spent here, and no matter how hard you tried to deny it the evidence was there in the way you felt. Rooting for the death of another because it made your life easier. “Tell me, Balem.” No matter how bad you wanted to believe otherwise, you knew he went into that church intending for him and you to be the only ones walking out.

Balem’s head lifted slowly, but he still kept himself from gazing upon you. “I would drive that shard into his wretched throat a thousand times over…”

You could feel the disappointment growing, knowing all along what his motives were. Of course you were grateful for his interference, because without him you wouldn’t be alive or worse, married to a cold and callous man. That didn’t excuse the apprehension you had for his execution of those intentions.

“If it meant saving your life.” He continued on, trying to convey just how deep his care for you went. He wasn’t a fool though, and he knew when the battle was lost. “I will take you back to earth…” Balem could’ve forced his hand, asserted his authority and demanded you stay by his side until fate took him. Truth be told, he wanted to, because letting you go was not the outcome he had needed. In his mind this would’ve been the end of life’s interferences. Titus was dead, Kalique was no longer a threat, and the very power of his name was all his again. All he required was you by his side, forever. Yet, there was a point in someone’s heart where they realized the one they loved meant more than their own desires. He loved you, so unconditionally it conflicted with all his values. It was a foreign concept to him, but what he truly wished was for you to be happy. Anything to see that smile that could lift his spirits, and if he could grant you that…he would. “If that is what you desire.” He would give you anything in this universe, even if it meant his pain.

You could fight that feeling for years, but you were certain no amount of internal forgiveness could satiate the void. There was a conflict within you, one you weren’t ready to accept fully. How could you possibly just walk away from him, when all you wanted was to be in his arms at the same time? It was like a dread weighing heavy on your heart, and looking at him just made it worse. “I…” There wasn’t anything of worth to say anymore, at least not in his eyes, of that you were sure. You wondered if he hated you, perhaps loathed the heartache you had caused him. Perhaps that notion hurt even more than leaving. “I love you.” It was all you could think to say, because in this moment you felt it so deeply in spite of the choice you were making. He was everything for you, but his life, you weren’t capable of handling it. You convinced yourself of that.

With nothing else to say, you backed away from him, the need to reach out and comfort him so strong you had to physically hold your hand down. You wished he’d say something, you’d take anything at this point even a scream or punishment. Something besides the silence he permitted you with. “Well,” You bit down on your quivering lip, giving him one last look and hoping he’d turn around. It wasn’t a fair request to be sure, but you still selfishly wished for it. “I’ll be in the lower levels.” You turned on your heel, and almost made your way out the chamber doors before his strong grip imprisoned your wrist.

Balem held you like that, his grip trembling just slightly you almost missed it. He didn’t speak, he barely even breathed, but you knew him well enough to gauge what his gesture meant. He didn’t want you to go.

“Balem, I-“

Before you could finish, he dropped your hand, the small caress of his fingertips causing that familiar pain to take you. You had to fight back the tears, that same conflict coming back to you. But, he still remained silent as ever, and the last thing you heard was the fall of his footsteps heading away.

*** A/N: I humbly beg for feedback on this one. I wrote and edited this over 2 weeks, so…please? Lol This time I reallllly would appreciate it.

#balem abrasax x reader #balem x reader #balem abrasax #balem abrasax x you #balem x you #jupiter ascending #eddie redmayne #lmlyd

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nogodinvolvedsblog · 4 years ago

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From the author of the book “Islam Dismantled: The Mental Illness of Prophet Muhammad” :«After much delay, ultimately my book “Islam Dismantled: The Mental Illness of Prophet Muhammad” is published and available for online purchase and in various book stores. In this article, I intend to introduce the book to you and to discuss few salient features of the book. In the market there is no shortage of books critical to Islam, but why should the readers purchase this particular book? What is there in this book that makes this book unique? As the author of this book I am answerable to each one of you.This book dismantles Islam by exposing the imposture of Muhammad. The historical Muhammad is too privileged to be formally evaluated in the fashion a clinical psychologist would like. But given certain of his well-known and highly documented behaviors, it is certain that he had a conflict-ridden psychological dependence on others. He equated love with weakness and feared intimacy. He inflicted pain and abuse on others as his second nature. He was unable to give his followers a reason to live, so he gave them enough reasons to die – die in Allah’s name to enter paradise. He could not convince the Arabs to choose his religion based upon its merits, so he threatened them with damnation, and the religion he preached was more about fantasy less about proof. Any person who, among other atrocities, orders and watches 800 innocent people beheaded and beds the wife of a man whom he had tortured to death that very night cannot be considered psychologically normal. Common sense alone tells us that a fifty-one years old man who marries a six year old girl is abnormal. The notion that a godly revelation would focus on the sexual desires of a lecherous man is really disgusting. No religion in the world has ever destroyed family ties as Muhammad has done in Islam.Muhammad had shown all the symptoms of his lunacy and his prophetic claim was based on the quicksand of grand delusion. But the irony is that the entire religion of Islam is based on the truth claim of such a man who could easily swing back and forth between the two extremes – reality and fantasy.Muslims believe that Muhammad was the noblest person who ever walked on Earth. In the Qur’an, Allah praises Muhammad as the best of the creation, an excellent example (Q: 33.21), exalted above other Prophets in degrees (Q: 2.253), the preferred one (Q: 17.55), a mercy to the worlds (Q: 21.107), and the one who has risen to a praised estate (Q: 17.79). But the five oldest and most trusted Islamic sources do not portray Muhammad a superior being or any kind of mercy of God among mankind. The sources reveal that he was a thief, a liar, an assassin, a pedophile, a shameless womanizer, a promiscuous husband, a rapist, a mass-murderer, a desert pirate, a warmonger, a spineless coward and a calculating and ruthless tyrant. It is certainly not the character profile of the founder of a true religion.Religion was just a cause for Muhammad. He actually worshipped his own image – not God. He had created Allah in his own image and attributed to that God the qualities of his own self. Allah was a plastic entity that Muhammad shaped to meet his needs. That is why Allah seems a multidimensional entity in the Qur’an, an obedient servant that Muhammad used for any occasion from managing the harem affairs of his wives to swearing to punish mercilessly whosoever disagrees with His beloved messenger.In his religious endeavor, Muhammad made mistakes and was defeated many times, but he did not give up. He corrected himself and moved ahead by abrogating verses with suitable additions. No one can deny that on several occasions he intentionally did harm knowing perfectly well that he was obeying his own will and not an inspiration from God. He talked much about paradise, hell, virtue and sin; but his actions did not show that he had really believed whatever he was saying. He lied on several occasions and encouraged lying to propagate his religion. No doubt, Muhammad had mastered the art of deception. He never gave a second thought to compromise morality for political gain. In his mind there was no other determinant. So he raged when confronted with disagreement or opposition, or, anything that threatened his worldview.Muhammad was not capable of introspection, i.e., he was not capable to judge his actions from the outside. His critics made him realize that there was a “grandiosity gap” (between his self-image and reality) which made him helpless. Since he could not win in a scholarly debate with the critics, he deceitfully got them assassinated. This was his only way to deal with all his intellectual opponents.Critics often ask one question; was Muhammad a knowing fraud or he genuinely believed that the revelations were coming from a God? No matter whatever is the truth, it simply does not make much sense. Even if he was sincere, it does not relieve him from the criminal charges that are put on him. If a racially prejudiced white man “sincerely” believes that blacks should not get equal rights in the civilized society, his “sincerity” does not affect our moral condemnation of his belief. For the same reason we condemn those Hindus who still believe in untouchability. In the same way, Muhammad cannot get away in any case. If he was not a knowing fraud, then we can say that he was capable of self-deception. He used to bring messages freely from his God to justify political murders, assassinations, raid, booty, pedophilia, abundant sex even to solve his domestic problems which are clear evidences that he was an absolute fake; his sincerity means nothing. Secondly, he was perfectly capable of distinguishing right from wrong and anticipating the results of his actions and their influence on the society. Though he caused great misery to others, he hardly felt responsible for them. Therefore, he should be held liable for his deeds and exploits.Muhammad had used Islam to pervade Muslim psyche, and possessed their mind. Muslims are not slaves of Allah; they are slaves of Muhammad. For the Muslims, Muhammad is their drug, their addiction. Without Muhammad, it is a world of black and white. With Muhammad it is a colorful show complete with drama, thrills, fun and full of excitement. While offering five obligatory prayers, Muslims think that they are praying to God, but actually their prayers go to Muhammad. Muhammad is the real God of Islam, not Allah. Muslims simply cannot dare to cross the narrow limits specified by Qur’an and ahadith. They can view the world only through the eyes of Muhammad, and it continues throughout their lives. Once belief systems are rigidly instilled – they are virtually impossible to modify belatedly. The sad part is that Muslims are not even aware of it as we read in the science fictions of alien snatching the human bodies. Muhammad had invaded and modified the minds of Muslims and brought them to his bubble universe to serve him. This way, when the Muslims adopt Muhammad’s way of thinking, they become as destructive as Muhammad.Muhammad obsessively believed in his own infallibility, brilliance, heroism, and perfection. He gave the Qur’an as the only evidence of his prophethood. At the same time, deep inside in his mind he knew that unlike the Biblical Prophets he could not perform miracles. He knew that his Qur’an could not stand criticism. He knew that his religion could not be morally and spiritually at par with other established religions of Arabia, like, Christianity and Judaism; but he did not dare confront the truth. In fact he even could not admit the truth to himself. He only imagined that he was on a divine mission, a messenger of Allah. This is how he failed the “reality test” – he was simply unable to distinguish the actual (external world) from the imagined (the internal world of thoughts and feelings) by making logical analysis of the religion he was preaching or allowing others to do this. For him the reality became shadow and the shadow became reality.Islam is an extremely defenseless religion and hence vulnerable to collapse. “Defenseless” in the sense, there is not a single atom of truth in it to support. This failed religion, originated from the grand delusion of a malignant Narcissist, is the biggest hoax humanity has ever seen. It is like a house of cards – looks tall, big, mighty and gigantic but the base is very weak. The day when criticism will have dismantled piece by piece this enormous falsehood of Islam, the whole edifice will come crumbling down. Then the Muslims will ask themselves how this enormous falsehood could have forced acceptance for such a long time. I can already see some cracks in this gigantic structure.Muhammad’s actions and commands in Allah’s name are immortalized in Qur’an and Hadith collections. These are not only shocking in the standard of our time, but many Meccans during those days were equally shocked by seeing his brutal performance in the name of God. Muhammad succeeded in his prophetic mission because there was no powerful Government to stop him. If Muhammad had been living under Roman rule, surely his mission would have resulted in losing his life and his religion would have been stamped out by strong military action.Probably, the most terrible legacy of Muhammad was his rigid firmness that the Qur’anic revelations were the literal word of God and the significance of these verses are eternal. The irony is that in the entire history of Islam, Qur’an fails to give one solid argument at its favor that cannot be successfully refuted. A nation might read the Qur’an and explain minutely every word for centuries without advancing one step on the road to progress. In the tiresome repetition of the mindless blabbering of a mentally deranged illiterate person, the human mind loses its elasticity, its sagacity, its constructivism and its curiosity. Through Freudian analysis, it can be shown that the prohibition of critical thinking at one point leads to an impoverishment of a person’s critical ability in other spheres of thought and thereby obstructs the power of reason. Consequently, the intellect becomes atrophied and incapable of an original effort. This is the cause of intellectual bankruptcy of the Muslim nations.The self-serving messages of an illiterate seventh century malignant Narcissist passed down to the Muslims generation after generation as unquestionable word of Allah, and as time passed, men were found to take up these words and make them into weapons to cause injustice, oppression, domination, and for conversion by force. Islam is a bankrupt ideology from the standpoint of humanism. The early Arab invaders were no way better than controlled mass-murderers. They were hard-wired to cheat, kill and loot, and had transformed Islam from a religion into an organized crime. In general, they were brainwashed by Muhammad’s teaching to inflict great suffering on other humans without feeling any remorse. The prodigious success of the Arab conquest proves nothing. Attila the Hun, Genseric the Vandal king, Gengis Khan and Alexander the Great brought many nations into subjection; yet civilization owes them absolutely nothing. A conquering people only exercise a civilizing influence when it itself is more civilized than the people conquered.In this book I have no intention of testing God. I just want to test Muhammad’s claim to the title of messenger of God because I refuse to accept his claim blindly. Throughout the recorded history of humankind, many imposters have posed as “god-man” with well-packaged gimmickry and fooled us. Anyone who claims to be a Prophet must be prepared to have his prophecy tested. The aim of this book is to diagnose Muhammad by making use of biographical data and through the application of psychological theory and research. This psychobiography is all about the “why” – the question of motives. I don’t want to tell the story of Muhammad, but unveil the story behind the story. My intention is to uncover the private motives behind his public acts. This book presents two theses – Muhammad suffered from malignant narcissism, and was also affected by neurotic disorder which caused regular psychiatric delusions.I wrote this book after three years of hard research. I have analyzed the Prophet of Islam from a perspective by delving into the psychological impulses that controlled Muhammad and made him the phenomenon that he became. For writing this book, I took references from various well known psychoanalysts; e.g., Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, James Masterson, Sandy Hotchkiss, Sam Vaknin, Martha Stout, a combined work by Cynthia Zayn & Kevin Dibble, just to mention a few. In this process, I have solved many mysteries of Islam which remained mystery ever since the birth of Islam. Therefore there are many details in this book which are my original findings; these are not explained by any critic so far in the history of Islam. Only for this reason, I request the readers to read my book. Even if you have read hundreds of books on Islam, this book will always offer you something more.I have not written the book to make profit. This is absolutely a non-profit making project. The pre-publication formalities, as example; manuscript preparation, tracing, formatting, and proof-reading were done at Calcutta (India). All the expenditures were borne by me. It means the purchase cost of this book is even less than the production cost of each copy. I have taken every step to keep the cost of the book as low as possible. This book is also available as kindle edition. This e-version of the book is even cheaper. Those who live in Islamic countries should purchase the kindle version of the book. It is available at Amazon kindle.While promoting the book on Facebook, I have already received a death threat from a pro-Islam group for insulting their Prophet. What makes me sad is that some Christians and Hindus are also accusing me of offending Muslim sensibilities. They want me to withdraw the book from the market. I understand, objective historical research on Muhammad has long been severely handicapped both by the resistance of the Muslim societies to Western analysis of their sacred traditions and by the apologetic approaches of many Western scholars who had compromised their investigation for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities. Therefore, most of the books today tell us about Muhammad of faith not the Muhammad of history.Many freethinkers and scholars have endangered their lives by revealing to the public information about Muhammad and Islam that public had never heard before. For this reason; Theo Van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death in Netherlands and his associate Ayaan Hirsi Ali had to live with bodyguards and armored cars, Taslima Nasrin has been living in exile since 1994, Faraj Foda was shot dead in front of his office in Cairo, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd fled out of Egypt to escape the death penalty, and Sayyid Mahmoud al-Qimni was forced to recant all his writings. Unfortunately, before the outside world would get a chance to read their works, these writers were silenced through murder, terrorization, and death-threat, and their writings were banned in the Muslim world. I understand that by writing this book I am putting myself in a very dangerous situation, but at any cost I will not fall back, not even at the cost of my life. I will never withdraw the book from the market. Let the fanatics do whatever they can do. It is my birth-right to tell the truth and stand against the evil. How can I forget the sufferings of millions of innocent victims of Islamic jihad worldwide?Even if the Muslim clerics issue a fatwa on my head and eventually the fanatics kill me, still they will not be able to stop the truth from spreading. Truth is a fact and not a judgment. Muslims can discredit me the way they like, they can kill me but they cannot stop the truth from spreading. The hard fact is that Muhammad was not a Prophet of any God, he was a mental patient. Islam is the grand delusion of Muhammad. Muhammad was not the first person who claimed to have received messages from God. Throughout the recorded history of mankind, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people who declared themselves as a spokesman of God. Even today, in the mental hospitals and in the cult scene, we can find many mentally disordered and strange people who, likewise, believe to be regular recipients of messages from some unknown divine sources. They are “honest” in their claim and “sincere” in their declaration. Often those people manage to make others believe in their claims too. Many of them set themselves up as cult leaders, revered by a group of followers as their direct “telephone line” to God or the spirit world.Though as the author I hold the copyright of this book, the fact is that this book is out of my control. I have no regret for this; this book is a gift to you and I don’t want to have a control over this book. In fact I consider myself a very insignificant person. The truth and the new explanations that I put forward through this book are more important. When a researcher gives new explanations or critically analyzes something from a different perspective, the new ideas should not be the personal property of the author. In fact the author becomes a bond-servant of his creation. If, after reading the book, you have some further questions, I am directly responsible to give you reply. This book is a small gift to humanity from my side. That’s why this book is yours, not mine. Please purchase a copy and encourage others to purchase. Please promote this book – not for the author but for the sake of humanity.Lastly, I wish to have an intimate talk with the Muslims. I have absolutely no hate for you, my dearest Muslim brethren – let me be very clear on this matter. In fact many of my close friends are Muslims. How can I hate you, you are the first victims of Islam. Every Muslim is an abductee from the civilization in which he once belonged and put into a mental slavery. Same diagnosis is applicable to the Arabs also. Though they did not have to adopt foreign customs and language, which made the transition to Islam less disruptive, they too were cut off from their original pagan culture. Just break the myth of Muhammad and try to analyze the Muhammad of history, and then you will see the obvious falsehood of Islam. I have absolutely no intention to offend anyone; I just want to tell the truth. But, sorry, I cannot compromise my investigation for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities. Your beloved Prophet was a real devil who used religion to deceive you. Muhammad separated you from the real God of human race, the real Creator. The deception, death, and damnation of men were Muhammad’s life ambition. Your beloved Prophet was a vulgar imposter in a divine robe. He had valued you when he found that you could advance his religion, but devalued you at the next moment if you did not comply with his whims and wishes. He treated you as lifeless objects, and manipulated you so cunningly as if he had conquered you, “chained” you, conditioned you and moulded you. He exploited you as if he “knew” that he could do anything he wanted them to do. Throughout his prophetic endeavor, he derived his self-worth from you, as if he would collapse and self-annihilate without them. As long you practice Islam, you are a slave of Muhammad.According to me, most of the Muslims know virtually nothing about the Prophet of Islam because an honest biography of Muhammad was never written for them. There are enough pious and totally unobjective traditions of Muhammad preserved by the Muslim religious community, but what is lacking in these sources is honesty. Even today, numerous works in Arabic and other Muslim majority languages appear each year. These books try to portray Muhammad as a holy man, a seer, visionary and miracle worker; which are far away from truth. The reason, Muslims cannot write an honest biography of their Prophet, is that the biography of Muhammad is a subject that is taboo. That’s why Muslims learn about the Muhammad of faith, not the Muhammad of history. My book will help the Muslims to see the truth about the Prophet.I hate the ideology which enslaves the Muslims and make them terrorists. My stanch enemy is Islam and not the Muslims. I want to dismantle this doctrine of hate and murder. My intention is not only to confront Islamic jihad but at the same time to rescue the Muslims from the evil grip of Islam. I want to see the Muslims returning back within the fold of humanity by rejecting Islam.»freedomofspeech

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dzismycity · 6 years ago

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The Misconception of Political Unrest and Safety Issues Is The Reason Behind Algeria’s Decline In The Tourism Sector!

The Grand Mosque of Algiers, Algeria.

There has been a huge decline in the tourism sector in Algeria for many years now, and when asked what is the reason behind so, the number one answer that comes to thought without a doubt; is the security and the political unrest that is within Africa’s largest nation. Which explains why the number of tourists from abroad hasn’t exceeded beyond 3,000+ per year for the last 22 years now. The fear that has driven many potential tourists from exploring this culturally , historically and naturally rich nation is due to the media’s labeling that the country does not pass a day without terrorist attacks and civil conflict!

There is no denial that safety has pushed back the development of the tourism sector in Algeria, which dates back to the 1990’s Civil War, known as the Black decade ( العشرية السوداء ) that has affected the statistics of tourists visiting ever since. It broke out as a result of tension between two political parties; The Front Liberation National (FLN) who pushed to remain in power after Algeria's Independence in 1962, and The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) wanting to have a say in power and push for Islamization, that it believed was lacking because of the post-colonization affect. Many explosions and massacres of citizens, journalists and governments officials were taking place, and many families were left torn apart. This period of turmoil has been engraved in the archives and news bulletins of the Media, that has managed to brainwash it’s audience that Algeria has been unsafe ever since. Which doesn’t do justice to the tourism sector and the route to development in a country with high potential in achieving the utmost. With the incidents happening down south between the borders of Libya and Mali in 2005, this has added tremendous fuel to a fire that won’t be tamed.

Despite the safety measures that have improved in the country and the security that has strengthened with high regards in the borders between Algeria’s neighbors, the fear is still in the atmosphere and many western countries’ governments, such as the US, UK and Australian discourage their people from traveling to Algeria. Especially to the Sahara Desert “classify[ing] [it] as [a] red zone”. Places such as Timimoun, Tamanrasset, down south are considered as top tier adventure travel destinations that are highly requested, however, many western tourism agencies don’t organize tours there because the “safety of their customers and legal responsibility is their policy”! Not all agencies have the same policy though, they believe that it is vital to hold on to their partnerships with local guides and agencies as they see that “they have nothing to lose or to gain by taking the slightest risk” if these places were to actually be dangerous and a hot spot for terrorists. Therefore, their tours continue to be offered to their potential tourists. Not to forget to mention these states haven’t “historically represented known risks” but the media created imaginary ones to drawback tourists.

However, is the issue of safety the only reason behind the decline of the tourism sector in Algeria tho? The answer is simply no! There are many other factors that have affected this phenomenon. The country is described to be in a “Paradox situation”, as a result of a number of issues that explain this confusing decline despite the country’s exceptional potential.

Obtaining a visa to Algeria is the first obstacle that interested tourists face. All nationalities should apply for a visa, no matter how privileged their passport is. It is known to be the most challenging visa to get, and only after several rejected applications you might get your final approval. Many individuals wish to travel without a travel agency, and this is what may put them on the brink of getting rejected by the immigration bureau too. Unlike traveling with an agency, your visa is secured because of the agreement made by the agency and Immigrations. Because it is a costly and long procedure, it discourages many people wanting to visit Algeria for numerous reasons, whether it be for leisure, work, research etc. and end up choosing other destinations.The availability and condition of infrastructure would be another obstacle in the face of a flourishing tourism sector. Hotel services and housing is inadequate for tourists, especially down the south where the state doesn’t pay much attention in developing projects and sites. This is a huge problem as most destinations that attract travelers are down south in the Sahara Desert of Algeria.

Another issue would be in regards to the Promotion & Campaign aspect. As mentioned earlier there are many travelers wishing to visit Algeria, yet they find it hard to gather enough information about where to visit and what to do, despite the numerous opportunities available. Many sources have stated that they turn to facebook pages that aren’t of high quality to make their research, which may not be reliable most of the time. Public institution sites such as the Ministry of Tourism, is a great credible source to learn all about Algeria and what it offers, however, the dilemma at hand in this situation is that it’s available in only ; Arabic and French, the two accustomed languages to the Algerian people! English, a universal language isn’t included, which may as well throw off many potential tourists! Unlike its neighbors; Morocco and Tunisia , that have information in more than 4 languages! As the Algerian proverb says, “there’s good after every delay (كل عطلة فيها خير) ; and with that being said, the Government; “though slow to react to changes in the tourism markets” have constituted plans and reforms to improve the tourism sector that will boost the Algerian economy and be of great significance to it.

The number of tourists was estimated to be between 2.3 million and 2.7 million per year, more than one million of those are nationals living abroad, who have returned to Algeria to visit family, me being one of those nationals. This number is extremely low and understandable seeing the issues on the surface of this decline, despite the high potential, and the many places to visit with great scenery in Algeria, therefore it has to increase.

Moreover, the establishment of the National Tourism and Development Plan (Schéma Directeur d'Aménagement Touristique, SDAT) in 2008 is paving the way for a bright future for this underrated sector. It’s main aim is “set to become a motor for development, diversifying the economy, attracting foreign direct investment..and stimulating employment…The vision is to transform Algeria into a key destination by 2025. The Plan aims to attract 2.5m tourists by 2015, and 20m by 2025”.

The Government has added to it’s agenda in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization, the aim to draw the attention of foreign investors about the prosperous tourism opportunities in the country, which will bring in many clients from around the globe to the adventure holidays and programs set around Algeria, with high regards to the Sahara Desert. This will strengthen the promotional issue that has affected the tourism sector, as it is a vital concept in the world of business. Not to forget, with the wide access to technology nowadays, the birth of websites and blogs in regards to Tourism in Algeria have acceptably and satisfyingly increased, and social media platforms such as Instagram have played a huge role in informing what Algeria is blessed with, by posting photographs of breathtaking destinations that have received large worldwide recognition in a shocking way.

With the vast amount of travelers expected to visit the country, it is only logical to increase the reception capacity of airports too. Airports in major cities such as Algiers and Oran were set for an expansion, that will strengthen its capacity to receive international carriers from 2.5 million to 3.5 million passengers. Just recently last month, the new Algiers Airport was inaugurated. On the other hand, The Ministry of tourism announced that it is working to expand on hotel services. At the moment, 1,812 hotel infrastructure projects were approved by the ministry, which will result in 240,000 beds in contrast to the current 100,000, and create 99,000 jobs, that will decrease the problem of unemployment, especially among the youth. The greater news is that they are all expected to be up and running by the end of this year! This will benefit the sector in many ways, and most importantly it will lower the prices and diversify the hotel offerings which will increase the competition in the market as it will boost and attract many customers. The tourism sector contributes a tiny 1% of the countries GDP, but with these plans and reforms mentioned above, I am confident that it will be of great significance to the country’s economy as a whole, and Algeria won’t just rely on it’s Natural Resources such as Gas, Oil and Petroleum as a source of income.

Hotel Gourara, Timimoun, Algeria

It is important to be aware that Algeria’s potential in growing in the tourism industry is without a doubt high. The natural beauty, rich culture, fascinating history and warm hospitality offered by this North African country is extraordinary. It’s only a matter of time that Algeria will become increasingly popular international tourist destination.

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limejuicer1862 · 5 years ago

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Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Roger Stevens

has published forty books for children. He is a National Poetry Day Ambassador, a founding member of the Able Writers scheme with Brian Moses and runs the award-winning website www.poetryzone.co.uk for children and teachers, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. His book Apes to Zebras – an A to Z of shape poems (Bloomsbury) won the prestigious NSTB award. Recent books include I Am a Jigsaw; puzzling poems to baffle your brain (Bloomsbury); Moonstruck; an anthology of moon poems (Otter-Barry) and Be the Change; poems about sustainability (Macmillan). Roger spends his time between the Loire, in France, and Brighton, where he lives with his wife and a very shy dog called Jasper.

The Interview

1. When and why did you start writing poetry?

I can’t remember the first poem I wrote, but I was probably around 12 or 13. I was at secondary school. This would have been in the mid 1960s. I do remember making books of my poems. I would fill hard-covered exercise books with poems and then ask my cousin, who had a typewriter, to type out the best ones. At school we had two English teachers and I guess I was lucky as they were both brilliant. ‘Old Nick’, as we used to call him, looked stern and quite frightening with a shock of black hair, was a strict disciplinarian – woe betide anyone who answered him back – and taught us about classic and traditional poetry. We studied Shakespeare, Chaucer, Byron… he taught with a passion and made poetry exciting and understandable. ‘Flossie’ was more laid back. He was fun and interested in contemporary literature. It was in his lessons that I first met e. e .cummings, whom I still love. Later, the poems of Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri, published in The Mersey Sound in 1967, had a great influence on me. In a way they were Britain’s answer to America’s beat poets. They showed me that poems could be about anything – girlfriends, a visit to the chip shop, anything at all. Roger McGough is still one of my favourite poets. The other big influence in my teens was Bob Dylan. I was in a band (a beat group we called it back then) and he showed me that song lyrics could be so much more than rhymes about the moon and June. I always thought his lyrics were poetry, something recognised recently of course, by the Nobel Prize people.

1.1. Why do you still love e.e.cummings?

That’s a good question. I think I probably liked him as a teenager because I don’t think I’d ever read anything quite like him. I think it was his sheer audacity – writing WITHOUT USING CAPITAL LETTERS? Wow! Flossie also introduced the class to the novel Tristram Shandy by Laurence Stearn. Written in the mid 1700s – it was a novel way ahead of its time. As a teenager “experimental” writing, as I saw it then, was very appealing. After school I went to art college and became fascinated with all things avant garde. John Cage… the Fluxus school… and that was all reflected in my writing and poems at the time. None of which would be good enough to find a publisher now. And now, when I read ee cummings – it’s not just the cleverness of the style, the content means more too. Which, I guess, speaks to me as a grown-up.

1.2. What other poets do you like to read?

I write mainly for children, and so I read a lot of poetry written for children. My favourite is probably Roger McGough. He writes for children, of course, but also for adults. He writes poems that are accessible, that anyone can read. But that have so much more to them. He can do that thing where you read a poem and he tells you something that’s true – but that you’ve never thought of before. And you think – Ah yes! Of course. I love Billy Collins as well, for similar reasons. It’s a phrase you often see on the backs of poetry books – deceptively simple. But sums them both up. I like Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy… and for children’s writing Michael Rosen. I’m currently reading Stephen Dobyns, a poet that I’ve only just discovered. And enjoying his writing very much.

2. What is your daily writing routine?

I don’t really have a daily routine. I keep a notebook with me at all times and write in that most days, whenever I think of something worth noting or see something that could inspire a poem. I have been known to wake up in the middle of the night to write in my notebook, too! Now and again I’ll look back at my notes, dig out any ideas that still seem sensible and work at turning them into a poem or a piece of prose.

But usually writing comes in clusters, when I need to spend concentrated bouts on a particular project, for example if a publisher has commissioned a book from me. When I have a deadline ahead, I will set aside a few hours each day, usually in the mornings, to work exclusively on that book. My time won’t be spent only on writing, because projects often involve research. When Brian Moses and I wrote What Are We Fighting For? for Macmillan, it involved a lot of reading about the two world wars and researching the roles played by people and animals at home and abroad. For that book I spent several weeks working all day creating the 60 or so poems that were my contribution.

I am currently working on a ‘best of’ my poetry collection, but the poems for that are already written and so at the moment I spend an afternoon or two every week trying to choose the best hundred from the thousand or so poems that I’ve had published over the years.

I have two writing projects planned for next year. One is an autobiography which will document what life was like for me and my family in the 1950s onwards. I hope my grandchildren, grand nephews and nieces and those who come after them will find this interesting. I will probably self-publish this. I am also going to write an adult crime thriller, which I hope will interest a mainstream publisher. That definitely will involve a daily routine and I will probably sit down to write immediately after breakfast, take a short break for lunch and continue until mid afternoon. The joy of writing for a living is that you can create a routine that suits you – and you’re not tied to being in one place. I can write wherever I am and, in fact, when I’m working on a big project I find I like to be at our house in France, where distractions are fewer than in England, or even away from it all in our camper van, at home or abroad.

3. What was the motivation behind What Are We Fighting For?

Well, firstly I should explain that I have to write, or make music, or create art. I don’t why this is, but I do! So the main motivation for all my work comes from within. I have written novels and poetry since my teens and have always written songs and played in bands.

But in the late 1980s I had an idea for a children’s book, which proved commercially successful. It was published in 1993 by Penguin. That was The Howen. Another novel followed, Creeper, and writing for children seemed it could be a viable career. I was teaching at a primary school at the time.

It was not until poet Brian Moses visited my school that I thought about writing poems for children. His spirited performance and the workshop that he ran made me realise this was something I wanted to do. So I wrote some children’s poems, sent them to Brian and my first poem was published in an anthology, My First Has Gone Bonkers, in 1993. That was a good year for me. From then on I had lots of poems published in anthologies, I started visiting schools to perform and run workshops for children and teachers and in 2002 my first solo collection, I Did Not Eat the Goldfish, was published by Macmillan.

By then Brian and I had become good friends. We collaborated on a book which was published to coincide with the 2012 Olympic Games and then looked for another project we could share. The reason our Olympic Games book was so successful was because the Games were held in London and the whole sport thing was really topical. Publishers like to know there will be a market for a book.

We thought there would be a lot of publicity around the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War which we could utilise and our publisher thought so too. Thus, What Are We Fighting For? was born. But it would be wrong to say our motivation was just to cash in on an event. That might have been where the idea for the book came from, but the motivation behind the poems was to convey the evils of this war while acknowledging the bravery of those who were forced to fight in it. Brian and I both had grandparents and parents who’d fought in the two world wars. As children we were keenly aware of the fallout from these conflicts.

There are, of course, some brilliant poets who served in and wrote of both these wars, but their poems are not always easily accessible for children. So we were also motivated by the desire to show the futility of war in a way that children could understand. We wanted to write poems about sadness but with humour and which gave hope for the future. I think we managed it. This was a difficult book to write – to get the tone right – and I also needed to do a lot of research, much more than for most books of poems. It’s a book I’m very proud of.

4. What do you think is the difference between writing for adults and writing for children?

They are the same in so many ways because one writes for the same reasons, no matter what the audience – to communicate ideas. There are some obvious differences, of course: When writing for children I don’t use swear words, sexual or overly violent imagery. The main differences, however, are content and place. I remember being a child quite clearly. This helps, but I was young some while ago! A children’s writer needs to enter the world of children in order to know what matters to them, what will grab them, what will mean something to them. Visiting schools, having children and grandchildren, talking to children helps me keep up to date with the zeitgeist. I also place my writing in a world that is familiar to children. Of course, a poem can be set in a forest and that context can be understood by both adults and children. But a poem about an office, for example, would not work in the same way. Poems can be set in places that are unfamiliar to children, but the situation has to be manipulated to be meaningful to a young audience. It’s common sense really. What a children’s writer does not have to do, despite a common misconception, is to over simplify the vocabulary used. Children are generally good with words and actually enjoy learning new words. Sometimes you need to keep the syntax straightforward but, in general, when writing for both children and adults the most important thing is that what you’ve written will resonate with those you’ve written it for!

5. Have you any tips or advice for anyone wanting to write children’s poetry?

When writing, remember what I’ve said about relating to children and their world. And always try out your work on a child who will give you honest criticism. If it’s poems you’re writing and you’d like to have them published, probably the best way to start is to submit them for inclusion in anthologies. But do your research first and find out what the editors are looking for. This year, I compiled Moonstruck for Otter-Barry Books, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon-landing. I was sent a lot of poems, as you can imagine. I am constantly amazed at how many poems seem to have no relation whatsoever to the brief. I had to discard quite a few that were nothing to do with the moon! I always strive for variety. So submit long poems, short poems; haiku, ballads, rhyming poems; silly poems, sad poems, serious poems. Lastly, as an anthologist I search for originality. I was sent lots of poems about the moon being made of cheese and quite a few about the moon being like a balloon – they didn’t make it into the book. I would also suggest that would-be children’s poets read some modern children’s poetry, to get a feel for what children read nowadays, and what publishers publish.

6. Do you write for adults then?

Yes I do. I’ve one adult poetry collection published as a book and two others are available as e-books. I also have a novel e-book and I’m working on a new book at the moment, which I hope will be published in 2020. Next year I’m planning to write a crime novel for adults. I am a musician and singer/songwriter as well as a writer and have three albums on Irregular Records and this year (2019) made a jazz album. I perform in acoustic venues and folk clubs.

7. Have you any more books for children planned?

Yes! Over the years, I have had three novels and 35 of my own poetry books published, some solo collections, some collaborations and some anthologies, and my poems have appeared in about 400 books. I sometimes think about slowing down, but I have had six books published in the last two years – The Waggiest Tails (Otter-Barry ) with Brian Moses, The Same Inside (Macmillan) with Liz Brownlee and Matt Goodfellow and the award-winning Apes to Zebras (Bloomsbury), a book of shape poems, with Liz Brownlee and Sue Hardy-Dawson in 2018 and I Am a Jigsaw (Bloomsbury), Moonstruck (Otter-Barry) and Be the Change, Poems to Help You Save the World (Macmillan) with Liz Brownlee and Matt Goodfellow in 2019. So slowing down seems to be just an idea at the moment! I have only two books for children scheduled for next year – my ‘best-of’ collection, which hasn’t yet found a title, and a book of poems about robots. And I will continue to run The Poetry Zone (www.poetryzone.co.uk) where children can publish their own poetry. The thing about being a poet is that it’s sometimes challenging and can take up all your time, but it’s also incredibly rewarding and fun. So I find it difficult to call it work. And I don’t really want to stop – ever!

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Roger Stevens Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

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milenasanchezmk · 8 years ago

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10 Actions for an Anti-Stress Protocol

It almost goes without saying: Stress is at an all-time high. Not the kind of major traumatic stress we see elsewhere, sure. At least in the Western world, there aren’t any horrific sectarian conflicts scouring the landscape and generations to come. Our infrastructure is built to withstand most natural disasters. Our world is safe and predictable and sterile. But we’re stressed out just the same, afflicted with the kind of pernicious, low-level, unending stress that drives people into substance abuse, that promotes depression and suicide and broken relationships. The type that never quits. The kind you just want to drown out with Netflix and Facebook and anything at all to take your mind off the churning within.

Most people address stress in one of two ways. Either you build up your resistance to stress, so that it doesn’t hurt you so much, or you play triage, developing tools, tricks, and strategies for countering stress and dealing with it when it occurs. This assumes that stress is a given. I tend to agree. Stressors arise; it’s what they do. The most effective way to minimize the impact of stress on our health and wellness is to engage both perspectives—to establish baseline health practices and life management that build resilience and to equip oneself with tools to fight stress when it strikes.

Before anything, get the basics down. Good sleep, good food, regular exercise, and steady exposure to nature are all prerequisites for healthy relationships to stress. They’re necessary, but rarely sufficient.

What, for instance, can we do to pause and hit reset when under duress, when the furnace just conked out, the oldest child barfed at breakfast, and a looming work project is suddenly due today? And what can we do so those crises either don’t happen as often or hit us quite as hard?

Seek Meaning, Not Happiness

Happiness is a real thing, but it’s fleeting. You can’t grab it for long—it’ll just flit away. It’s part of the journey. If your goal is to get back in shape, happiness happens along the way—when you hit a squat PR, when you plop down on the couch with a good book and a bowl of meat and sweet potatoes after a tough sprint workout. You don’t hit a specific point of fitness, attain happiness, and remain there in a state of bliss. Happiness emerges from the pursuit of meaning. Think ongoing instead of endpoint.

What does this have to do with stress? Chasing something that’s impossible to catch is inherently stressful, if not defeating. You’ll be wondering why “you’re not happy.” Find meaning, find purpose, and that existential stress will melt away. You’ll know what to do and, most importantly, why to do it.

It seems to work for residents in Tamil Nadu, where having a well-defined purpose to life reduces psychosocial stress.

Stay Uninformed

Being informed about the world at large is overrated. And impossible. I’m not advocating putting your head in the sand, but there’s only so much a person can effectively absorb (let alone process and act on). The 24/7 news cycle means the news (bad or good) never stops. It’s always plowing ahead, and if you want to stay apprised, you can’t ever stop checking the updates. Being informed is a full-time job. What good does it do to know the nuances of every mishap, outrage, and tragedy that plays out in the world? A politician’s every social media post? Every dismal statistic? Every horrifying image of war and calamity?

That sounds cold and callous. But it’s just reality: We’re not built to worry about billions of people, or even the tens and hundreds of thousands of strangers living nearby. And we stress (and often suffer) as a result.

In a recent survey of people who reported feeling stressed out on a regular basis, one of the most common triggers for their stress was consuming the news.

If this is anathema to you and you honestly enjoy reading about current events, pick up some history books. Instead of obsessing over the 24-hour news cycle, read up on the history of Syria, the Sudan, and the American Civil War. Read a biography of Lincoln. Study Venezuelan history. The lesson may be more than informative. It may give your nerves a break.

Rethink Stress

The stress response isn’t trying to kill you. It’s not trying to make you miserable and unable to function. The stress response is preparing you to do battle, to act, to perform. Those nerves? The flutter in your stomach? That’s your nervous system impressing upon you the monumental nature of the task at hand. It wants you to step up, and it’s increasing the heart rate to promote better blood flow so your tissues can perform.

Understand that and the stress becomes an ally, not a hindrance. One recent study suggests this, finding that although high amounts of stress increase the risk of dying, it does so only in individuals who perceive stress to be harmful. In people who don’t see stress as a health threat, stress does not appear to increase mortality.

Take a Relaxing Lunch

Lunch is rarely lunch anymore. At lunchtime in offices around the world, people scuttle off to procure/heat their food, rush back to the desk, and wolf it down while continuing to work. What if you did things differently?

According to a new study, taking an actual lunch break outdoors that includes a short walk or a 15-minute relaxation exercise session reduces workplace stress, improves fatigue, and increases well-being. Consider it a wise buffer for every work day.

Stop Taking Everything for Granted

We ignore the predictable. We don’t appreciate the dependable. On paper, things are great these days. The lights work, we have hot water, the streets are mostly safe. We can communicate instantly with people halfway across the world. Access to all the world’s knowledge rests in our pockets. Everything is amazing. Yet, we don’t notice it.

Instead, we focus on everything that’s going wrong. It’s understandable. That’s how we’re built—to detect novelty. But it makes the world a very stressful place.

Force yourself to take in the good. You can call this showing gratitude. Or being thankful. Or maybe just opening your eyes and taking stock of your life as objectively as possible. Life isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s great in many respects. Start acknowledging that!

Live a Life That Embodies Your Full Personality (as well as Potential)

I’ve written before about the value of knowing yourself and the sabotage inherent to comparison. Whether it’s following your passion, your introversion/extroversion, your personal values, or other identity-based facets, living who you are fully and authentically matters in the grand scheme. Feeling like you have to “stuff” or shrink your individuality throughout your day may be more than just a drag on joy—but a genuine threat to health.

What matters is what’s natural to you—in your work, your relationships, your daily routine. Be honest with yourself about what you really need from life, or risk fragmentation. There’s nothing more stressful than a civil war inside one’s identity each day.

You have to dig down deep, sift through the layers of conditioning, and build a life that’s congruent with what matters to you. Discover what that is. Then go be that.

Drop Everything and Get out into Nature

We need to get out of the habit of white-knuckling life and calling it discipline. If the proverbial stress typhoon has touched down—the kids are screaming, the pressure of a deadline is mounting, your brain is churning with indecision and confusion—drop everything, grab what/whom you need, and get the hell out of there. Go to the nearest green/blue space: a park, a forest, the beach, the desert, the meadow.

You can take your work with you. Bring your laptop, turn a rock or tree stump into a standup workstation, and finish the work. If it’s dinnertime, have a picnic; let the kids run around and tire themselves out. Just go!

Work It out on Paper (or Keyboard)

A lot of stress is ridiculous and unfounded. We often don’t even know why we’re stressed out. If that’s the case—if your stress takes the form of a swirling amorphous cloud of racing thoughts you can’t parse—sit down with a pad of paper or other writing tool and figure out what’s vexing you. Ask yourself: “Why the hell are you so stressed out?” Get specific. Once you discover the culprit or culprits, determine why those stressors are affecting you.

Talking yourself through the timeline can help you discover if it’s worth stressing over. It may just melt away with exposure.

Introduce an Acute Stressor

Step outside into the bracing cold. Splash cold water on your face or hop in the cold shower. Do as many bodyweight squats and pushups as you can manage. Drop and give me 20 burpees.

These acts shock you into focusing on the present moment. They take you out of your mind and away from whatever swill might be currently occupying it. You can’t ignore cold water on your skin.

The stress may still be there after the shock, but having that break can give you a foothold back in reality.

Take an Anti-Stress Supplement or Herb

I honestly created Primal Calm for those times I just needed a fast-acting damper on the rising stress that was getting to me. I wanted an easy to swallow capsule of all the best stuff out there, so I made it. It’s got L-theanine, magnolia bark, phosphatadylserine, rhodiola rosea, and beta sitosterol. The L-theanine reduces anxiety and attenuates the rise in blood pressure in adults subjected to psychological and physical stress. The magnolia bark enhances the activity of soothing GABA receptors in the brain. The phosphatadylserine works on both mental and physical stress, improving mood and blunting cortisol after physical exercise. The rhodiola rosea lowers cortisol, increases mental performance, and lowers fatigue in stress-related fatigue. And when it’s incorporated into cellular membranes, beta sitosterol protects against oxidative stress.

It’s certainly not the only option. You can find any of the constituent ingredients as separate supplements, or you can check out the various pieces I’ve done on other anti-stress supplements and herbs. My point? Keep something on hand you can immediately administer.

Stress is a many-headed beast. You can’t beat or eliminate it, nor would you want to, as it’s through overcoming stress that we improve and get stronger. We can’t let it beat us either, or walk all over us. After reading today’s post, you should have at least a few more strategies for devising your own potent anti-stress protocol.

How do you handle stress or cultivate resiliency? If you could add to this post, what would you contribute?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

0 notes

watsonrodriquezie · 8 years ago

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10 Actions for an Anti-Stress Protocol

Seek Meaning, Not Happiness

It seems to work for residents in Tamil Nadu, where having a well-defined purpose to life reduces psychosocial stress.

Stay Uninformed

In a recent survey of people who reported feeling stressed out on a regular basis, one of the most common triggers for their stress was consuming the news.

Rethink Stress

Take a Relaxing Lunch

Stop Taking Everything for Granted

Instead, we focus on everything that’s going wrong. It’s understandable. That’s how we’re built—to detect novelty. But it makes the world a very stressful place.

Live a Life That Embodies Your Full Personality (as well as Potential)

You have to dig down deep, sift through the layers of conditioning, and build a life that’s congruent with what matters to you. Discover what that is. Then go be that.

Drop Everything and Get out into Nature

Work It out on Paper (or Keyboard)

Talking yourself through the timeline can help you discover if it’s worth stressing over. It may just melt away with exposure.

Introduce an Acute Stressor

Step outside into the bracing cold. Splash cold water on your face or hop in the cold shower. Do as many bodyweight squats and pushups as you can manage. Drop and give me 20 burpees.

These acts shock you into focusing on the present moment. They take you out of your mind and away from whatever swill might be currently occupying it. You can’t ignore cold water on your skin.

The stress may still be there after the shock, but having that break can give you a foothold back in reality.

Take an Anti-Stress Supplement or Herb

How do you handle stress or cultivate resiliency? If you could add to this post, what would you contribute?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

0 notes

itsclydebitches · 5 years ago

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RWBY Recap: “As Above, So Below”

Welcome back, everyone. So. Last Saturday I was actually feeling pretty good about RWBY. Not as a whole, but for that particular episode because, as I explained to a lovely anon, not much happened. Sure, there were some semi-important bits in the form of meeting Willow and Weiss discovering the recording, but compared to everything else we’ve gotten this volume it was all around a tame fifteen minutes. Which meant there wasn’t much space for RWBY to mess things up. There simply weren’t any stakes last episode. You don’t like how the group gets past Whitley or the exact words Ironwood says to Jacques? It’s ultimately whatever in the grand scheme of things. Last episode was mostly details.

“As Above, So Below” is not that kind of episode. So much happens and I’m once again left metaphorically banging my head against the wall, not regarding the writing choices themselves per se, but rather at how they’re used and portrayed. There is so much that I want to enjoy about this episode but Rooster Teeth continually ignores aspects of a situation in order to highlight one very narrow, very biased viewpoint. The scenes throughout demand that we conveniently forget or outright ignore certain things in order to immerse ourselves in whatever emotion the writing has decided we should be feeling right now ... and I simply can’t do that. RWBY is a show based on the claim that it’s a bright sunny day, so pay no mind to the rain clouds hovering above your head. It’s the animated equivalent of a Jedi mind trick. These are not the interpretations you’re looking for.

Secrets are finally revealed, folks, and oh boy. It’s a hot mess.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Undermining my assumption last recap that Watts had dismantled something that was regulating just a portion of Mantle’s temperature---something specific to maintaining rain over snow---we learn that all heating has been lost across the city. Which, if you know anything about temperature and the fragile human body, is really fucking bad. Here RWBY actually did a good job of introducing Weiss’ comment early in the volume about how people can freeze to death within an hour or so. We were still left with a few detail-oriented questions like how useful aura is in combating that, why Ruby was still so cold with her, why no one was showing symptoms back during the walk to the farm... but at least the setup is clear here. Civilians don’t have aura so that’s that. They’re dead if they don’t find some way to keep warm (riot fires help...) or aren’t evacuated somewhere else. It’s a big deal, though how exactly this fits into the rest of Watts’ plan and the other bits of chaos he’s accomplished is still unclear. More on that in a bit.

We see Pietro and Maria, but they don’t actually do anything this episode. They just stand around looking scared as people get violent and the city is covered in ominous red lights. At least the show remembers that they exist, but we don’t get to see the brilliant scientist specializing in creating weaponry and the former Grimm Reaper doing something to help. So... B grade on that one?

There’s no time skip this episode so with Mantle unraveling we segue right back to the dinner at the Schnee’s. Ironwood is still getting called out for having too much power. He pushes back that there are checks and balances in place to keep everyone, including him, from abusing that power. This is countered with a broad and not very persuasive claim that they simply haven’t worked. Ironwood comes back with a line about intentions and the nameless (?) council guy goes, “What people intend and what people do are not always the same thing!” Well no shit. If that were the case everyone’s lives would be staggeringly easier. You intend to find the madman who dismantled your army at Beacon? Boom, done. Intend to find the murderer responsible for attacking Robyn’s supporters? Congratulations, you did it. RWBY now has a habit of throwing out lines to remind us that the evil men in power---notably Ozpin and Ironwood---might intend to do good, but look! They haven’t managed it! Which... yes? Sometimes intentions fail, but that leaves the unanswered question of what these characters (and the writing) want them to do instead. No one has the luxury of changing their situation and everyone continues to ignore the fact that there are only bad options all around. I’d rather have someone with good intentions at the helm than, you know, Jacques. It also speaks volumes that as much as the council and RWBYJNR has been criticizing Ironwood lately, everyone still expects him to make the hard call himself. They don’t want that responsibility; they want a scapegoat if and when things go wrong. Just like the group was happy to scream at Ozpin and then get pissed that he left, leaving them to make the hard decisions themselves for once, everyone is screaming at Ironwood and then two minutes later turn about with, “So what should we do, General? What’s your plan? How are you going to fix this?” Though I don’t think any of it is intentional, RWBY has a lot to say about how only good and lucky leaders get to come out of their role unscathed. No matter what you do someone hates you for it and even choosing to abstain isn’t an option, as we saw clearly with Ozpin.

At this point the meeting is briefly interrupted by a waiter who tells Jacques about the heating issue. He responds with a, “My authorization?” before trying to cover things up, awkwardly agreeing with the conversation he just missed. Robyn announces that she’s not done with Ironwood yet though and accuses him of more failures, ending with, “yet you won’t let your own council help you?” which... honestly? Just hammers home how not useful this “Ironwood should trust everyone!” mindset is. Because is Robyn really that dense? The council is Jacques and two of his lackeys. You know, the guy who is about to be arrested for treason and as an accomplice to murder. Even though that hasn’t been revealed yet, Robyn is very well aware of what a corrupt, dangerous individual he is. Remember that she herself is not the council. She was given a “seat at the table” because Jacques wanted to use her against Ironwood. Robyn is sitting here symbolically pointing to Jacques and the two members he has wrapped around his finger going, “Why aren’t you trusting them?” like that’s in any way a sound suggestion. Sometimes the answer to, “Why are you doing Bad Things like keeping secrets?” is “Because people can be unimaginably stupid.” This is an example of that. Robyn wants to know everything and right now she’s willing to risk that information falling into an enemy’s hands to get it.

(Also, that picture in the background? Says a lot that Jacques has a picture of him, his obedient son, and his terrified wife in the room where he conducts business. No Weiss or Winter in sight.)

Ironwood, of course, tells a straight out lie with an excellent poker face. “I’m not hiding anything.” Which inspires Robyn to use her semblance. Oh no! An insanely convenient ability that would undo every conflict we’ve set up for this season! However will we avoid this? Timing, obviously. Weiss, also conveniently, barges in right when Robyn has put Ironwood on the spot. I said it as soon as Robyn’s semblance was introduced: if you give someone that level of power---something that can too easily solve all the problems you’ve set up---then you have to keep coming up with semi-contrived ways of keeping them from using it.

Also, does she need skin-on-skin contact for her semblance to work? I wonder if that’s why she’s got that one random finger missing on her glove.

Wiess plays the recording of Watts and Jacques, giving us the rest of their conversation. We don’t learn anything new. Watts promised Jacques a seat on the council and he in turn (supposedly) would get the satisfaction of ruining Ironwood’s life. Jacques handed over his login information, including what he gained post-election, and now Watts has access to everything he built and then some. To say that’s bad is an understatement. You might be distracted from your worry though by hearing that cake line again as well as the men’s villainous laughs. RWBY really went full cartoon for that conversation.

A detail I really love though? Ironwood’s rhythmic footsteps as he walks around the table. Super ominous and intimidating. Meanwhile, a hilarious detail is how awkward Jacques gets when he’s finally lost that precious control. This isn’t a confident man capable of denying the accusations against him in anything like a persuasive manner. He doesn’t have Ironwood’s poker face. Jacques is a coward who looks like a schoolboy seated in the principal’s office once caught.

He attempts to escape only to find Weiss’ knight blocking the exit, the one we now know was the possessed armor that belonged to her grandfather. In a thoroughly satisfying moment she declares that Jacques is under arrest... and then turns around to ask Ironwood if she can actually do that. I’m on the fence about this. Normally I don’t mind a bit of humor lightening the mood, but in this case we have three things that I don’t think are improving the situation. The first is the sheer emotional impact that should be accompanying this arrest. This is Weiss’ abuser. The man we’ve known about (incidentally anyway) since Volume 1 and who has driven nearly the entirety of her character development from working to escape him pre-RWBY to coming back as a huntress. Provided that Jacques doesn’t pull a Torchwick and escape himself somehow, this is the culmination of nearly seven volumes worth of heartbreaking struggle. There are some things that I think should be allowed to shoulder their weight without undercutting it with a joke and this is 100% one of them. Just like finding out that a friend you thought had been permanently torn to pieces in front of you should generate heartfelt shock and joy, reaching the moment where you finally arrest one of the show’s biggest personal villains should be treated seriously. Let Weiss have this and put the joke later if you still want it. Weiss could be staring hollow-eyed at her father being put in handcuffs and Ruby could try to cheer her up. “So...” she says. “Can we arrest people?” Weiss blinks, coming out of her stupor, and gives a tentative smile. “Don’t know, actually. But it’s working in this case.” There. Serious moment leading to a bit of comedy-bonding. Humor is a wonderful tool, but it also lessens the other emotions of a scene if not used properly.

Potential issues #2 and #3 are smaller. On a personal note, hearing Weiss’ question simply reminded me, again, that RWBY has failed to establish hard rules for its world, including what a huntsmen’s job entails. A few weeks ago fans were arguing over whether Blake and Yang should feel anything in regards to killing Adam because, according to some, it’s already a part of a huntsmen’s responsibilities to arrest and if necessary kill people. Why would they flinch at something they knew they were signing up for? Others (myself included) pointed out that although we see the students sparing with one another at school, no one says anything about them taking out human and faunus criminals. RWBYJNR’s adventures---from Ruby stopping the robbery in her trailer to tracking down the White Fang---are presented as outliers. This is not the sort of stuff huntsmen are meant to get up to. They fight grimm first and foremost. Everything else is a case-by-case surprise. Note, for example, that Ironwood expects his army to keep the peace and presumably the police when things aren’t quite so dangerous. He’s not sending huntsmen out to track down everyday criminals because that’s not their job. Killing grimm is. Weiss’ comment reinforces that. Can I arrest someone? Is that within my power as a huntress? And Ironwood... doesn’t answer. Because it’s meant to be a joke, not a legitimate bit of world building.

And then the third... is just how Rooster Teeth is using humor throughout the entirety of this episode. AKA not well, which makes me less inclined to give this particular moment the benefit of the doubt. We’ll get to that in just a second though. For now I’ve written way to much on a two second scene.

While Jacques’ plans unravel the rioting in Mantle is getting worse and worse. “Atlas killed the heat on purpose! They’ll do anything to control us!” which is very much a conclusion born of panic. It feels like every other episode Mantle is on the verge of collapse and, by extension, all of these moments feel anti-climactic. We’ve watched Mantle rioting over the embargo, and then Penny, and then the election, and now the heat... none of it feels like it has weight anymore. Rioting is just the way we’re ending most episodes now. It also (again) raises that question of what exactly Watts is trying to accomplish, and not in a “Still to be revealed!” kind of way. We do still have an element of that, but at this point there’s also just a, “Literally what was the point?” aspect too. Why is Mantle rioting most episodes? Shouldn’t that be something to build to? More importantly---as I’ve said before---WHY did they frame Penny? We see in the next scene that Jacques’ guilt likewise reveals Penny’s innocence... even though everyone important knew that two seconds after she was accused. There were no consequences attached to blaming her and, as just established, we clearly didn’t need the loss of a city defender to bring that city to the brink. Mantle has been going over the edge for a variety of reasons and the people were at that point before the group even arrived. When Penny was first framed that seemed like a brilliant setup. Now we see definitively that it led nowhere. Why did Watts bother and why did the writers? It’s another case of RWBY chucking in things they think are “cool” without bothering to follow up on them.

So yeah. The Penny situation is done. We didn’t even get any development out of her from it. That really is disappointing.

With everything Jacques did on the table the situation looks bleaker by the minute. What can Watts do with this control? “With enough time… whatever he wants.” The group finds out that the first thing he did with this power is shut off the heat and Weiss has the most dramatic reaction, which makes sense given that she’s the one who best understands the risks here. And then... then.

Oh dear god.

Ironwood realizes that Watts may eventually have access to the Amity info, if he stumbles across it or actively goes looking for things to uncover. This revelation on its own is good. That’s something Ironwood needs to try and prevent, so it would have been an excellent moment of storytelling to show us Ironwood’s moment of revelation, perhaps with a bit of dramatic music to hammer things home. Except that instead of keeping this issue between the people who know about it---Ironwood and Ruby could have exchanged knowing glances like Blake and Yang did when they first started keeping their secrets---Rooster Teeth has Ironwood talk about loud to himself about the major secret he’s keeping. He literally calls it a secret! “No. The secret is safe for now. But if he learns about Amity…” Hello?? I understand that this episode is all about things coming to light, but that moment was an absolute insult to Ironwood’s character. We just saw this man claim with a perfectly straight face that he had nothing to hide. Five minutes later he’s apparently lost so much intelligence he stands in front of four people he’s keeping secrets from, including Jacques Schnee, and starts soliloquizing about said secrets. That is the most stupid and contrived way to get caught in a lie. Oh no! I totally forgot a bunch of people were standing beside me! Now everyone has heard that I’m keeping a secret since I felt the need to state that out loud...

And in case anyone thought this is a case where I’m reading too much into things, Robyn literally laughs and goes, “Yep! Still here, everyone!” Reminding them that someone who is not supposed to know about this stuff is standing... right there... listening in... The writing draws attention to it.

This trumps all other former stupidity. Like the group loudly announcing their attempts to avoid getting arrested in the city covered with surveillance. This is so stupid I want to turn it into a meme. Cleanse this scene somehow.

Anyway. More rioting. More anger. Shock, surprise, that draws a ton of grimm. Take note of the fact that Ironwood’s army is almost useless against this barrage. The missiles from the airships don’t seem to take the horde out. Nor do the guns. Two other soldiers are forced to cower when some pterodactyl-type grimm flies overhead.

I say this not to bash the army itself (they’re doing their best while up against horrible odds), but rather to re-emphasize how not good telling the whole world about Salem is. Everyone seems to forget that, first and foremost, this is the concern that Ozpin dealt with. Even if he was 100% wrong on every other count---no one would lose hope, no one would ever betray him---it is impossible to hear about Salem and not experience negative emotions and those negative emotions draw grimm that kill everyone. Ironwood’s primary justification was that he’ll use his army to protect the people when that happens and (ignoring that his army can’t possibly be everywhere at once) we see here that it’s all but useless. His soldiers may have been able to handle the grunt grimm seen at the breach and the Battle of Beacon, but they’re helpless in the face of anything stronger, the exact sort of stuff that world-wide panic over an immortal woman would draw. Clover makes it clear when he arrives that only huntsmen stand a real chance and huntsmen are few and far between nowadays. They lost an entire school. Lionheart made sure nearly all the huntsmen in Mistral were killed. They’ve reached a point where teens are given licenses at least two years early, without full training, because they need the help that badly. Ironwood cannot protect the people if their fear grows stronger. That’s not his fault, but it also means he can’t afford to deliberately stoke that fear. Telling the world about Salem, whether she’s immortal or not, is a 100% death wish for lots and lots and lots of people.

That’s why I can’t get behind an idealistic view of, “But they deserve to know.” Maybe they do, but if given the choice I’d rather keep people in the dark and let them live their lives than tell them for the sake of the moral high-ground and risk the very likely possibility that they’ll die a horrible, bloody death.

Then, finally... we come back to the group’s secrets.

As established, Robyn is calling Ironwood out on his own secret keeping because he just admitted aloud to having a secret. 100% dodged her suspicion by Weiss’ timely arrival and Jacques getting outed as a traitor, then went ahead and shot himself in the foot. Sorry. I just really can’t stress that enough. Anyway, she’s homing in like a bloodhound, backing him into another corner, and this is the animation they decide to give us.

This is why I haven’t liked the group since mid-Volume 5. Because they’ve become reckless, hypocritical, often incredibly cruel people. Animation is a drawing. Someone had to decide and design this moment. Nothing is left to chance. So Rooster Teeth made a conscious decision to have Ruby almost-smiling in this moment. Looking pleased and happy at the very least. She’s still keeping her own secrets and is taking pleasure in the fact that Ironwood’s are coming to light. This is the exactly the same behavior we saw with Ozpin and (to a lesser extent) Cordovin. The satisfaction this group derives from either seeing or handing out what they perceive as another’s just desserts while they themselves are committing the same or worse sins. Ruby should not look happy here in the same way that she should not have pushed for Ironwood to sacrifice Mantle in the name of finishing a doomed project. And as we’ll see in a moment, she shouldn’t be giggling with Oscar over the shared damage they’ve caused.

At this point everyone is ganging up on Ironwood. Yes, including Oscar. As a preface to all this, I love my farm boy. Just not how Rooster Teeth has been writing my farm boy. Because this is what I meant at the very start of this recap. Oscar and Ruby’s speeches here are only inspiring if you choose to ignore the fact that, in this moment, they’re still keeping their own secrets. I honestly thought Oscar was going to come clean when he approached Ironwood leaning against the wall. Instead he offers his advice which is, straight up, to just stop keeping secrets. Says the kid who is still keeping secrets. Oscar even goes so far as to say that “You already knew that wasn’t the right course” which is the biggest load of BS I’ve heard on this show so far. No! No one agreed that was the wrong path. You all explicitly decided that keeping secrets was the right thing to do. They’re telling him he was wrong to choose the thing they benefited from and continue to use to their advantage in this scene.“Tell the truth,” Oscar insists, still not telling the truth. “You’re not alone,” Ruby adds when she hasn’t trusted Ironwood once this season. This moment is manipulation because Oscar and Ruby both are trying to convince Ironwood to do something using false personas. Ironwood believes that he should listen to them precisely because he thinks they’ve achieved the very thing they’re demanding of him: sharing all their secrets. He thinks they’re models to look up to. When in fact Ironwood is the only one who has ever managed this demand by sharing his plan with them, completely of his own volition.

The fact that they decide to tell him a few minutes later doesn’t matter. They already got what they wanted and the damage is done. I mean that literally. By manipulating Ironwood into spilling the beans, they’ve created a situation where Ironwood revealed the Salem secret to the council and Robyn but not her immortality. Ironwood himself only learns of that afterward, back in the dining room, and you can see the utter devastation on his face.

Is it still a good idea to tell two highly suspect council members and a woman who has been his semi-enemy about Salem given that she can’t be killed? Who knows. We don’t get to tackle that question because Ironwood wasn’t given a choice. It’s too late. He was pressured and manipulated into a making a huge decision without all the necessary information (which, for the record, is still not the same thing as the group deciding to help people and do the job they signed up for without knowing about Salem). Even if nothing horrible results from these three people now knowing about Salem, Oscar and Ruby have created more problems. We hear the council woman ask fearfully whether Ironwood can defeat Salem. The only thing holding them together is the hope that they can still win with their army... but they can’t. What’s Ironwood going to do with that expectation now? Will he tell them about her immortality too? Risk what they might do in response? Don’t you think this is something he should have known about weeks ago, Ruby? “You should know before you make any… sacrifices” Oscar tells Ironwood, completely ignoring the fact that he already made sacrifices. Mantle was a sacrifice. Those resources were a sacrifice. Telling the council was a sacrifice. Ironwood’s ongoing hope that he could finally end this, stretched out far longer than it had to be, was a sacrifice.

What kills me is the casual nature of it all. There was no catalyst here. Nothing new happened to convince the group that they can suddenly trust Ironwood. If they’re willing to trust him now that means they trusted him before and just didn’t tell him because... they didn’t. The defense of “He’s unstable, who knows what he might do to them and Mantle once he finds out the truth!” was a smokescreen the whole time. Because nothing changed. Ironwood said and did nothing in the last fifteen minutes to suddenly cause the revelation of, “Oh my god. We can trust him. Now we finally know we’re safe to reveal this secret.” They could have done it on day two and avoided so much strife. Like, you know, the situation in Mantle that Nora felt the need to scream at Ironwood about. Maybe if you’d told him his plan was doomed he might not have taken so many resources from the people, given that he’d have known there was no longer a justification for that. You had the power to fix the problems you blamed him for from the get-go.

Combine this with Oscar and Ruby’s horrible conversation. Sure, the rosegarden shippers are thrilled, but beyond the fact that I’m personally not shipping Ruby with a boy housing her 1,000 year old headmaster, that (once again) was not the correct emotion to apply to this moment. They both come across as horrendously callous by laughing and giggling through the decision to finally tell Ironwood. It’s not like these secrets have driven this entire volume and are about to absolutely devastate him or anything. Why would you have a serious conversation about this? Why express even an ounce of sympathy and regret for what you’ve done? Nah, better to jump around and give each other thumbs up. Act so proud that you’ve randomly decided to come clean, like you deserve praise for this. Kids, am I right, Marrow?

Seriously. This is how these two treat the situation vs. what the situation actually is.

Which in a horrible way is fitting because there are zero consequences for all this. (Cue my shock...) Ironwood isn’t mad about any of this. He jokes with Oscar! “No more surprises, alright?” Given that RWBY releases weekly and thus there’s plenty of time between episodes, I feel like people forget the expectations they developed months back. The more optimistic side of the fandom (god bless you all, you’ve got more hope than me) keeps insisting that eventually the group’s new behavior will lead to repercussions, but time and time again Rooster Teeth tells us they won’t. Not for putting Argus in danger. Not for stealing an airship. Not for keeping the secrets Ozpin was crucified over a whole volume for. And that’s still going. Alongside Qrow’s talk with Ruby, Ironwood is given the space to blame Ozpin again---“Why? Why would Oz keep this from us?”---and has no desire to blame the group for doing the exact same thing. Oscar is allowed to go, “Sorry! We just didn’t trust you” but the same justification out of Ozpin’s mouth doesn’t fly, despite the fact that he had a hundred more reasons not to trust a bunch of teens. The level of hypocrisy in this episode is just staggering. We all watched Ruby tell Ozpin’s lies and went, “Oh yeah. This is going to come back to bite them” and it didn’t.

There is nothing the group can do to get in trouble, or even a reprimand for. Anything and everything is twisted to praise them:

Destroyed precious military equipment (which this episode’s attack shows that the world desperately needs) and nearly get people killed by attacking an ally? You get a free ride to Atlas.

Broke Atlas’ laws by stealing their property and then avoiding the police? You get hugs from your sister and early huntsmen licenses.

You tell the exact same lies you demonized your headmaster for? You’re so much better than he is and I’m so proud of you.

Keep secrets from Ironwood, making a horrible situation even worse? Haha no more surprises in the future please!

And yes, this also includes: Going behind everyone’s back to spill information to Robyn? No one will even find out you did that. I’ve seen a post going around with people expressing how pleased they are that Robyn didn’t rat Blake and Yang out. That’s the level of bias the fandom and the writers are working under. The group gets away with everything because they’re the protagonists. Everyone adores them unconditionally. At this point I think they could join with Salem and people would insist that it’s the smartest and most badass move they could possibly make. Fans and the writing would praise them for that too.

Ugh. Sorry for the level of salt in this recap. For the record I am glad that others are able to enjoy all of these moments. I just can’t. Oh boy I can’t.

Alright. Close to wrapping up now. A series of smaller things: Oscar has another moment where he draws on Ozpin’s memories of Atlas being built. “You say that like you were there---” Ironwood says. We’ve spent a lot of time theorizing about the merge but in light of this episode... are we really expecting an explanation? RWBY hasn’t adequately explained dust vs. magic, or Qrow’s semblance, or why we should be rooting for heroes who do everything their perceived opponents do. Why would we expect them to explain something as complicated as this merge either? I think we should just expect a continually wishy-washy situation that changes based on the whims of the plot.

Ren and Nora have a moment on the airship that sparks another charged look between Blake and Yang. Are we ever going to tackle the huge concerns Ren had a few episodes back before they were silenced with a kiss? Does he or anyone else know that Oscar spilled the beans? For that matter, did Oscar admit that there’s still a question left in the relic? Does Ironwood actually want to lock it up now like they should have from the start? Did he explain precisely why Ozpin ran off? These answers remain lost to the void.

Jaune looks like he’s going to be sick after the airship is attacked. Nice throwback to episode one.

Whitley is devastated by his father’s arrest, truly alone now. He slinks off with Willow watching him go. Hopefully with Jacques out of the way she and Weiss (and possibly Winter) can start helping him. Show him how to connect with others in ways besides cruelty.

The group then jumps out of the destroyed ship... but not before Elm and Harriet tease each other a bit. In a kind way. One might almost say... a friendly way...

Yeah these people aren’t friends. No way. What an absurd assumption. Will the show ever come back to that assertion, or will it remain another illogical way of insisting that the group is intrinsically better than everyone else they come into contact with? I’m betting on the latter.

Finally, we catch glimpses of a disguised Neo infiltrating the Schnee manor. After everyone leaves she returns to Cinder who says, “Oh, you’re back early. Tell me you’ve found what we’ve been looking for” and Neo gives an affirmative gesture. To which I respond with no emotion whatsoever because this episode has scorched me from the inside out.

1/10 with the 1 given because yay arresting Jacques. Everything else I’d happily put through a paper shredded. I’m gonna go cleanse my mind with more Witcher 3 now.

Until next week! Everyone start praying...

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #rwby recaps #mymetas

84 notes · View notes

fishermariawo · 8 years ago

Text

10 Actions for an Anti-Stress Protocol

Seek Meaning, Not Happiness

It seems to work for residents in Tamil Nadu, where having a well-defined purpose to life reduces psychosocial stress.

Stay Uninformed

In a recent survey of people who reported feeling stressed out on a regular basis, one of the most common triggers for their stress was consuming the news.

Rethink Stress

Take a Relaxing Lunch

Stop Taking Everything for Granted

Instead, we focus on everything that’s going wrong. It’s understandable. That’s how we’re built—to detect novelty. But it makes the world a very stressful place.

Live a Life That Embodies Your Full Personality (as well as Potential)

You have to dig down deep, sift through the layers of conditioning, and build a life that’s congruent with what matters to you. Discover what that is. Then go be that.

Drop Everything and Get out into Nature

Work It out on Paper (or Keyboard)

Talking yourself through the timeline can help you discover if it’s worth stressing over. It may just melt away with exposure.

Introduce an Acute Stressor

Step outside into the bracing cold. Splash cold water on your face or hop in the cold shower. Do as many bodyweight squats and pushups as you can manage. Drop and give me 20 burpees.

These acts shock you into focusing on the present moment. They take you out of your mind and away from whatever swill might be currently occupying it. You can’t ignore cold water on your skin.

The stress may still be there after the shock, but having that break can give you a foothold back in reality.

Take an Anti-Stress Supplement or Herb

How do you handle stress or cultivate resiliency? If you could add to this post, what would you contribute?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

0 notes

cristinajourdanqp · 8 years ago

Text

10 Actions for an Anti-Stress Protocol

Seek Meaning, Not Happiness

It seems to work for residents in Tamil Nadu, where having a well-defined purpose to life reduces psychosocial stress.

Stay Uninformed

In a recent survey of people who reported feeling stressed out on a regular basis, one of the most common triggers for their stress was consuming the news.

Rethink Stress

Take a Relaxing Lunch

Stop Taking Everything for Granted

Instead, we focus on everything that’s going wrong. It’s understandable. That’s how we’re built—to detect novelty. But it makes the world a very stressful place.

Live a Life That Embodies Your Full Personality (as well as Potential)

You have to dig down deep, sift through the layers of conditioning, and build a life that’s congruent with what matters to you. Discover what that is. Then go be that.

Drop Everything and Get out into Nature

Work It out on Paper (or Keyboard)

Talking yourself through the timeline can help you discover if it’s worth stressing over. It may just melt away with exposure.

Introduce an Acute Stressor

Step outside into the bracing cold. Splash cold water on your face or hop in the cold shower. Do as many bodyweight squats and pushups as you can manage. Drop and give me 20 burpees.

These acts shock you into focusing on the present moment. They take you out of your mind and away from whatever swill might be currently occupying it. You can’t ignore cold water on your skin.

The stress may still be there after the shock, but having that break can give you a foothold back in reality.

Take an Anti-Stress Supplement or Herb

How do you handle stress or cultivate resiliency? If you could add to this post, what would you contribute?

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care.

0 notes