#meanwhile the oz ones will fuck you up

[katatonicimpression]

(I've been told this is a more realistic October activity in australia)

[homunculus-argument]

I've got a book draft project that I call Book I Am Not Working On that I probably haven't touched for like four years now. I originally wrote the first draft of the first book like 10 years ago, didn't like the ending, and decided to write a Next Generation Reboot with the previous cast's offspring and niblings as the main characters. Skipping the world ahead 20 years, and having the new protagonists be Standard Fantasy Book Protagonist Aged, in their late teens and early 20s, they learn about the past book's events in glimpses, as almost mythical legends.

The new story's main protagonist is the niece of a character I originally wrote into the first book as a gag - a naive Farmboy Hero. In this one he's taken up the role of a Grim Mysterous Mentor, who tags along on the protagonist's misguided quest because he knows that he can't stop her, so the best he can do is help. And he mentions that there is this wise man that he used to know in his youth, who lived in this specific city - he is wise in the ways of the world, and if he is still alive, he should be able to help them.

The protagonist agrees to go find the man, and for the first quarter of the book, this Wise Man that Old Uncle Hiram Knew In His Youth is this grand and surely legendary Wonderful Wizard of Oz kind of a figure, who is surely all-powerful and could fix anything. After all, old uncle Hiram would trust him with his life, and uncle Hiram doesn't trust anybody.

And then they finally make it to The City, and find The Old Friend. Who is a completely normal-looking middle-aged guy in an apron, kind of fat and slightly balding, busy with five kids and a grandbaby. And he's just as surprised to see the protagonist and her uncle at his door.

So the protagonist's uncle and his friend retire into a more quiet room to discuss the problem at hand while the protagonist and the friend's eldest daughter head out to find new, additional problms, fully trusting that these Adultier Adults will know what to do.

Meanwhile, the two old friends sit down, and the Old Friend looks at the protagonist's uncle, just going "dude for fuck's sake. Twenty years and you haven't changed at all. All these years I thought you were dead and then you show up at my doorstep, plop a felony level problem on my lap like 'hey lol this wasn't even my problem before I decided to get involved, pls help lol' and expect me to fix it."

And Old Uncle Hiram, who in fact is only in his early 40s and suddenly doesn't seem all that old and wise at all, just shrugs like "yeah I kinda gambled my life (and my niece's life btw) on hoping that you wouldn't have changed at all, either. That you would agree to help us, while calling me a fucking idiot the whole time."

And the old friend goes "yeah no shit of course I'll fucking help. You fucking idiot."

[nightmare-foundation]

Genuinely hate how people routinely excuse salems actions in The Lost Fable tbh. Specifically regarding their kids.

Like, I'm sorry, but Salem NEVER cared about them. They were collateral damage. She used her own daughters silhouettes to taunt Oz, and she was the one who attacked first.

"Those kids would've lived if Oz hadn't tried sneaking them out!" So we're agreeing that Salem was an active danger to both Oz and their daughters? She shot first, and Oz HAD to retaliate to protect them, and unfortunately failed.

And she used their kids silhouettes to TAUNT Oz and Oscar. There's never anything that so much as IMPLIES Salem grieved for their children. Even IF she grieved and moved on, no SANE mother uses her dead children to taunt her ex. And Salem isn't the type to just... move on; that isn't in her character. The only answer is that she NEVER grieved nor cared.

Meanwhile it's full on said that Oz grieved, for several LIVES, while drowning himself in alcohol in an attempt to forget what happened, possibly killing himself several times via alcohol poisoning. Any good father would react badly to losing his children in a horrible accident like that.

Also did we just... forget that Salem caused EVERYTHING in the show?? She indirectly killed Pyrrha, Penny, destroyed Beacon, destroyed Atlas, wrecked Haven, and has killed COUNTLESS innocent people including actual CHILDREN, regardless of if they were in the Academies or not. She tortured and manipulated Cinder when Cinder disobeyed her, tried the same with Emerald when she defected, tried killing hazel when he did the same. Not only that but she experimented on innocent SEWs, turning them into monsters. Plus she tortured an actual 15 year old. And that's not even getting into the sheer amount of manipulation that goes into Tyrian.

And what has Oz done?

Uh... leave out that Salem was immortal to a bunch of kids, gave them an out and told them the war was dangerous, and blamed himself for the Fall of Beacon and Pyrrhas death. The only thing that's pretty bad was the fact he lied to his inner circle, but even then just about one thing.

He could've taken Ravens shape shifting magic at any time. Oz is an immortal wizard, he could've absolutely tracked her down and taken back his magic. But he didn't, as a show of TRUST, despite the fact that she'd use her magic to hurt people. Oz left a metaphorical door open for her if Raven ever wanted to return.

If this were Salem? If he were anything like her?

Raven would be DEAD.

But Oz is actually a good person so... she's not.

The Academies were made to give people the tools and resources to protect themselves from Grimm, while also effectively helping push Salem back. People going into the Academies KNOW what they're signing up for. The Grimm aren't just gonna sit back, they're ALWAYS going to inevitably attack. It's better if people actually, yknow, know how to fight and protect others. And the youngest people normally go into them is 17 years old. And they have training missions, so if they want to back out, they can at ANY time.

Anyways Salem fucking sucks, Oz is nothing like her, and yall need to quit sucking her metaphorical dick. She's a good character, very interesting and complex, but she's genuinely horrible. If you still agree with Salem after knowing what she's done... please don't have kids.

[bestworstcase]

slowly points at tai. and glynda.

when glinda lays siege to the emerald city, she demands that mombi be delivered into her custody lest she take the city by force. mombi’s first trick is to cast a spell on herself and jellia jamb to switch their appearances, and jellia in the guise of mombi is handed over to glinda. the trick is soon discovered and glinda performs a counterspell, revealing jellia’s true appearance (and mombi’s as well, within the emerald city).

mombi’s second trick is to transform herself into a red rose, hiding in the palace gardens. jinjur invites glinda and her allies into the emerald city to search for mombi, under the condition that if they do not find her by nightfall, they must leave in peace. mombi is, in the end, discovered by accident: the tin woodsman plucks the rose on a whim and carries her out with him.

mombi is a bad sorceress from the northern country of gillikins, whose color is. purple. rwby’s ozian narrative doesn’t track the color-coding exactly (atlas, winkie country, is white) but it’s close enough for glynda being Conspicuously Purple to stand out—good witch of the north, and her name is both a nod to the conflation of these two characters in pop culture and a misdirection away from glinda. witch of the north. mombi.

the key players in vale right now are:

salem (glinda)

cinder (???)

summer (jinjur)

taiyang (jellia)

glynda (witch of the north)

with the twist of course being that this jinjur is working for glinda (and she might be doubling the role of woodsman for this final leg of the story, given that ironwood is dead and summer has an axe and the obvious connection to a certain red rose). and glinda isn’t looking for a witch, she’s looking for a crown. but the particulars are the same; we have a witch advancing on the fortress in pursuit of her goal and another witch standing in her way.

now. obviously

glynda isn’t an illusionist. and it remains to be seen whether this misdirection plays out narratively versus just being a more meta red herring. but. it does seem to me that the narrative choice to emphasize that we don’t know what “things” tai is “looking after” in vale while at the same time providing enough details about what glynda has been doing in vale to look like a completed picture, is priming the audience to jump to a certain conclusion (tai must be guarding the crown) that masks what’s really going on (glynda is the crown’s guardian and tai is up to summer rose related things).

i.e., the jellia <=> mombi swap.

with summer/jinjur being on salem’s side, if this red herring unfolds narratively, the obvious way to do it is for summer to believe that tai knows where the vault is hidden (and that raises the very juicy possibility that she might be, er, stringing him along in hope of cajoling the location out of him, which would be very ozmacore of her). meanwhile glynda is the one who removed it from beacon and buried it under that “ruined temple” after summer disappeared, and glynda wisely disappears herself after salem razes vale.

THEN… sooner or later salem wrings the truth out of tai that he doesn’t fucking know anything and by then glynda has reconvened with ruby rose et al in vacuo: you get glinda’s pursuit of mombi to the desert at the end of oz and the woodsman jinjur finding the red rose roles neatly into one plot point, and straight up not being able to find the vault gives team salem an incentive to try… or well, keep trying new things, because salem is already at a point where she found out the lamp wasn’t out of questions and immediately tried to pry the "password" out of oz/oscar.

like it does… all track quite well except for the rather thorny question of how cinder figures in all this. if summer isn’t doubling up on jinjur + the woodsman, then the intuitive character to step into that role is cinder—and that might be setting up either a cinder vs glynda rematch in vale (if the red rose is a plot beat) or a reckoning between cinder and ruby in vacuo (if the red rose is ruby learning, from glynda, where the vault is hidden). which is also interesting. but cinder’s also an odd fit for the woodsman across the board, whereas summer clicks neatly into the role.

it’s possible that cinder just Doesn’t Have a part in the ozian narrative, period—she’s tied very, very strongly to the maiden-in-tower narrative because that’s what the cinderella narrative is repeating, and for salem the ozian narrative is the tower. so it makes a certain narrative sense for cinder to not be in the tower, because she’s instrumental in getting salem out of it; she holds the key to the door.

(i do really seriously wonder if the choice spirit won’t be an old woman—like mombi, like the maiden’s mother-captor, and also because it would be hysterical for the contrast to jinn and ambrosius. choice as persinette’s fairy + part of mombi in particular is sort of compelling, given her inevitable connection to cinder and the probable importance of choice in liberating ozma from oscar)

but it’s also odd and leaves cinder with a lack of things to do in vale, which is another reason i think she might bounce and then return.

[girl4music]

Okay, so hear me out right…. I never really payed that much attention to Cordelia’s arc in ‘BtVS’ but one episode and one scene did really stand out with her and Buffy when they were relating to each other on feeling lonely and how isolation keeps them cut off from true love and true connection in ‘Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight’. We all know that Buffy is the loneliest and most isolated female character in the entire Buffyverse simply because she can’t find the balance between being the Slayer and being a woman. But then there’s Cordy who clings to any semblance of meaning or purpose through being the popular girl but yet never really having a true love or true connection because her friends treat her as the Queen Bee only and everybody else pretty much hates her for that.

Later on she becomes part of the Scooby Gang by becoming Xander’s girlfriend but then breaks up with Xander and therefore her ties to the Scooby Gang end pretty much immediately because - like Oz - she was just a Plus One and not actually a core member of the Scooby Gang. Then she moves to LA and bumps into Angel - literally - and becomes part of what he and Doyle do straight away without a requirement of being anyone’s Plus One. And she becomes so much a part of it that she practically ends up running the whole thing single-handedly. Sure, she can’t do the fighting parts but she is the instigator and manager and CEO of the whole business venture that is Angel Investigations because nobody else wants to take on that responsibility of actually making them money. Then she gets Doyle’s visions when he passes away and passes them on to her because he loved and respected her enough to know that she was CRUCIAL to giving Angel the best chance for redemption and to support him in receiving it. And she does that seamlessly, easily, effortlessly and naturally by caring enough about him and sincerely believing in his capability to be the hero - the Champion. In other words: the man over the monster. The actual PERSON.

But it’s not all about Angel, you see, because in the meanwhile she relieves herself of loneliness and isolation because she begins to care less about herself and her needs and more about other people. Namely Angel because he is really the only character in the entire Buffyverse who is lonely and isolated because he is forced to be because he isn’t allowed to be happy and any step in the direction of true happiness would lead to taking 100 steps back everywhere else.

So I think the striking difference between Cordelia and Buffy (and therefore between Cangel and Bangel) is that Cordelia turns the fucking lights on around Angel rather than allows the both of them to just live in the darkness where it’s most “comfortable” or “familiar” because it’s all they know how to live in. You know, she actually tries to make things better for them and their shared predicament of mutual misery by taking the initiative to walk them out of the shadows in a way where it will not destroy either of them. It’s almost a 100% switch. Like Bangel was torment and torture and trauma 24/7. Constant pain is not fun to watch. They were not good for each other like… at all. It wasn’t their fault. I understand that. But at the same time… something needed to be done about it and of course it had to be the most painful thing possible for the both of them because that’s all their relationship ever consisted of. Constant pain. And so the striking difference really is that Cordy ended up being the person that Angel needed because it’s more like she represented the sun for him. A sun that he didn’t have to be afraid of and cower away from because it burns him. A sun that didn’t hurt him or remind him that he was damned to only live in the dark. A beacon that guided him and told him that there was purpose in what they were doing and why it mattered to continue doing it. Angel might have thought Buffy was that for him but she wasn’t because she only ever lived in the dark too and that was not healthy for either of them.

Maybe for the Bangel shippers there is some kind of appeal in that because they understand and relate to each other’s constant pain. But it’s like I’ve explained about puzzle pieces: you cannot fit together and connect if you both have the same jagged little pieces in the same places. You can only be and do that if you’re the perfect opposites. And yeah, maybe Cordy was dealing with loneliness and isolation too in a much the same way to Angel at the time… but the striking difference is that she didn’t let that restrict or prevent her from being a part of something that needed her and from being with people that she loved and that loved her. She understood and related to constant pain too but didn’t let it eat and swallow them whole.

The whole thing with Buffy is that she intentionally and automatically cuts herself off from people that she loves and that love her because she believes that they’re just targets for her enemies and she can’t be responsible for getting them hurt or killed. And that may be true - but why add to injury by basically forcing them out of her life? I mean she’s always alone because she chooses to be alone. No other reason really. And Angel was the same fucking way when around her because he believed that he was putting HER in danger and being a liability to her because he was a vampire and she wasn’t. They were both like this to the point where - at the end of the day - they were just self-fulfilling their own made-up prophecies. So what was the point? Really, what’s the point in Bangel?

It was Cordy (Cangel) all along and not Buffy (Bangel) and the proof is in how Cordy changed for the better alongside Angel just as much as in how Angel changed for the better alongside Cordy. Instead of just got worse - in themselves and in each other - they got much better. And that’s what a relationship of true love and true connection is supposed to do and be. Angel and Buffy couldn’t call each other their “true loves” or “soulmates” because they were not each others puzzle pieces - perfect opposites. They were mirrors reflecting pain and trauma at each other as if they already didn’t have enough of it in themselves. As if they weren’t already in constant pain and trauma.

You may be able to learn and grow from being in a relationship like that. But you should never stay in one. And as awful as it is to say, let alone believe… I truly think that the best thing Angel ever did for Buffy was leave her and move to LA and fall in love with Cordelia because he was just better as a person AND as a character when he didn’t exacerbate his own sad existence by revolving around Buffy’s sad existence and instead being around someone who wouldn’t let him wallow in his guilt and contempt. That instead of live with him in darkness turned on the fucking lights.

[fanby-fckry]

If Alastor had bird traits, what would bird species would they be?

Ooh, this is a good question. Very much in the spirit of random anons. (This is a compliment, I promise.)

My first thought was that it’d have to be something intelligent, something capable of mimicking human speech. Alastor’s voice is very important to him, so I think if he had traits from an animal in a class where some are extremely good at mimicking human speech and some aren’t, he’d be one of the talking ones.

That narrows it down to mostly parrots and corvids, but I’m willing to throw in Australian Magpies (not corvids, despite the name) because they’re such menaces, and I think swooping season is a fun parallel to the fanon idea of Alastor going through rut.

I like the idea that rut isn’t necessarily sexual for Alastor, that he just gets extra combattive and irritable. It’d be similar for swooping. He wouldn’t be protecting offspring or a mate, he’d just get extra territorial about his radio tower for no apparent reason, snatching up any demons who get too close.

Now, back to corvids and parrots.

For parrots, I narrowed it down to two species based on intelligence and speech, as well as the additional criteria of having some red on them, somewhere. This leaves us with African Grey Parrots (red tail feathers) and Scarlet Macaws (mostly red).

But deer aren’t exactly red, so I don’t think that should exclude our next contestants, the American Crow, the Fish Crow and the Chihuahuan Raven.

One of my favorite things about Alastor being a deer is that the particular species I believe him to be (a White Tailed Deer) is native to Louisiana. Now, you’re not exactly going to find Australian Magpies, African Greys, or Scarlet Macaws flying around in Louisiana unless somebody’s pet got loose.

Meanwhile, American Crows, Fish Crows (the two species of crows most often observed mimicking human speech) and Chihuahuan Ravens are all birds that Alastor would’ve been fairly likely to encounter during his lifetime.

And then, after all that research, I remembered the existence of the shrike…

The Loggerhead Shrike fits none of my original criteria, but is native to Louisiana and is famous for hunting prey that is sometimes as large or larger than they are and impaling them on sticks.

You see this bird?

This bird is a serial killer.

Ok, so that’s anthropomorphizing a bird that’s really just hunting to eat, like most carnivores do, but like. If you know this bird, you know I’m not wrong.

They’re nicknamed the butcherbird, and they’ve fucking earned it.

Bonus points for two of their common prey items being spiders and snakes, for all your RadioDust, RadioApple, and RadioSnake needs, platonic or otherwise.

I have some choice sections from their wikipedia page that I’d like to include, but I’m putting them below the cut in case anyone’s squeamish about details of animal death in a predator-prey context.

Loggerhead shrikes have been repeatedly observed killing prey larger than themselves by spearing the neck or head of the animal and twisting. The speed at which this occurs causes a whiplash injury to the animal. The neck strength of the shrikes compensates, making their talon weakness inconsequential.

Although loggerhead shrikes are passerines, they are a predatory species that hunt during the day. They primarily eat insects, but also consume arachnids, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, bats and small birds. They have even eaten venomous snakes such as the water adder. The size of prey ranges from 0.001 g (3.5×10−5 oz) insects to 25 g (0.88 oz) mice or reptiles.

They are not true birds of prey, as they lack the large, strong talons used to catch and kill prey. Instead, they are sit-and-wait hunters that stalk prey by hawking and diving from elevated perches.

Due to the shrike's small size in proportion to the size of its prey, it must rely on specialized adaptations to facilitate its hunting. The powerful, hooked beak of the loggerhead shrike allows it to sever the neck of a small vertebrate. Larger prey are subjected to impaling, in which they are pushed down into a sharp projection, such as a thorn or barbed wire. The bird can then tear off flesh by using the projection as an anchor. The shrike may also use the thorn to fasten and store its food to return to at a later time.

The motion of impalement appears to be instinctive, as parent shrikes do not demonstrate the behavior to their nestlings.

Yeah, I think we have a winner here, folks.

[throughthejunobush]

I would like to pretty please with a cherry on top hear about all three of your Marshall WIPs and also this Jack “nice guy” to Shawn actual “nice guy” fic????????? PLEASE

SO excited you asked about these! I’ve decided that the chances that I actually complete these is slim to none so I’ll just tell you all about them so they can exist in some way outside of my head.

Marshall fics

The in villa fic and AU fic are centered around the same type of dynamic. MC is bright eyed and bushy tailed and Marshall doesn’t take her seriously at first. But her open nature and kind disposition crack Marshall open in a way he wasn’t expecting so he gets spooked and goes for Amelia because she’s more his type. For the AU, MC is Ozzy’s choreographer, Marshall is still working as Ozzys manager. Oz is dating grace but Marshall can immediately tell that he has it bad for MC. They’re working a Zeph tour so go on a road trip together. Forced proximity —> falling in love with each other. Amelia is not an outright villain but she’s an imperfect character who grows throughout the story. MC and her are genuinely super close but they MC has a habit of bending to Amelia’s whims, forgiving to a fault. And while MC doesn’t really let things bother her, and just shrugs it off, she’s genuinely bothered by his relationship with Marshall.

Marshall cool mom fic is a very indulgent fic where Marshall is taking care of his niece or nephew for an extended period and keeps running into a mom of one of the other kids. She’s very unglamorous but witty and good to her bones and Marshall falls for her.

Jack Shawn Nice Guy fic

Here’s the synopsis I sent to Christy the other night:

I had another idea for a fic that no one would read lol

MC would be really not doing well with the public and the original islanders. She’s unpopular, essentially because the producers decided to make her the seasons fuck up. She’s with Jack and he’s a “nice guy”, where being nice is a part of his personality and brand but he actually does a lot of judgmental belittling of MC. Like he sleeps with her really quickly and then kinda holds it over her head as it being HER red flag that she slept with him so quickly. Stuff like that.

I imagine she’s a Chelsea type (you know this is the mc I’ve been dying to write) but Jack kinda gets in her head and she’s struggling in the villa.

She kisses Tyler and maybe another guy and everyone is mad at her. Public votes Jack to get “dumped”/go on dates with 2 other girls and mc is determined to be loyal and not get anymore shit thrown her way. But then she goes to casa and Shawn is wonderful. She’s so much different than she seemed on the episodes he watched because #editing and she’s trying to be “good” and not stray but it’s clear they’re basically made for each other. But she doesn’t want to be viewed poorly by the public.

Meanwhile Jack is assuming she’s doing the worst and so he ends up hooking up with sienna.

Ultimately she ends up with Shawn. I think they end up getting voted off and they’re so happy to leave together.

Thanks for the ask 😘

[toaarcan]

RWBY isn’t anti-abuse victim, FFS

Still not sure how people ended up reaching the conclusion of “RWBY has a bad message because it makes victims of abuse and neglect into villains.”

Like bruh, okay, I’ll grant you that Salem, Cinder, Mercury, Adam, and Neo were subject to some pretty shitty treatment early in life, and this at least in part made them who they are today.

But all four of the titular protagonists were also victims of abuse and/or neglect.

Ruby and Yang had to fend for themselves after Tai was unable to deal with his grief from losing Raven and Summer in quick succession. While other parts of the show’s lore imply that Tai recovered at some point after Yang’s first attempt to find Raven ended in disaster, or at least he had good days as well as bad ones, Yang still had to step into her parents’ role for a while.

And that’s just what applies to both of them. Yang gets a double-whammy as well, because Remnant’s Third Worst Mum over there decided to dip almost as soon as she was born.

Weiss, meanwhile, gets to deal with an abusive shitheel of a father who decided it was a great idea to say the quiet part out loud and admit that he only married Willow for her name and money on their younger daughter’s birthday. Jacques is both verbally and physically abusive, and remains unassailable due to his wealth, power, and friendship with the kingdom’s ruler, until he got caught doing election fraud.

She’s also got to deal with Willow’s coping mechanism being alcoholism, and how self-destructive she became during her lower days (as seen in the DC comics). Like with Tai, this is more a case of the parent’s (understandable) inability to deal with their own trauma inducing more trauma in the next generation, but it’s still something she had to endure.

And then there’s Blake. Blake who was in the region of 12-14 when she was groomed by an older man, and trapped in an abusive relationship until shortly before she became an adult. And after she escaped, her abuser tracked her down, burned her new life to the ground, stabbed her in the gut and maimed her new partner/lover, before ordering a hit on her parents and subsequently stalking her across Anima and forcing her and Yang into a fight to the death.

Blake had it pretty fuckin’ rough.

And hey, that’s just our four main leads. How about their allies?

Well, let’s start with Nora. She had Remnant’s Second Worst Mum, and presumably also its Second Worst Dad, who abandoned her on the streets of a random village.

And hey, how ‘bout the rest of the Schnee family? Winter and Whitley were in functionally the same situation as Weiss. And Willow obviously also had to deal with being married to Jacques, something that fucked her life up completely. Oh, but let’s go for one more. Oz. Oz, who’s second go-around at life ended with him being burned to death by his own wife, after a battle where he saw all four of their children also die. Oz, who has then spent the following centuries constantly coming back, and occasionally being murdered by his ex-wife’s followers. Oz, the shambling mass of scar tissue, stumbling around in the approximate shape of a man, because he was manipulated into agreeing to a shitty deal by an arrogant god, and he decided that maybe killing all of humanity and replacing them with his and Salem’s kids wasn’t a good idea.

Bonus addition: Emerald. She’s new to our protagonists, and we don’t have a huge amount of information about her backstory compared to the others, but it’s very apparent that she was also an orphan when Cinder found her. Whether that’s in the traditional sense or the “They went out for cigarettes ten years ago” sense, I’m not sure, but if it’s the latter, that’s one more for the list.

RWBY isn’t condemning abuse victims by depicting them as monsters. It has significantly more good-aligned characters who endured abuse. What RWBY does do is make villains of those who perpetuate the cycle.

Salem was abused, but ended up killing her husband and kids. Villain. Cinder was abused, and now gleefully executes teenagers for kicks. Villain. Adam endured horrible treatment under the SDC, and then went on to groom and abuse someone who was still a child when he started. Villain. Mercury and Neo are more up in the air at the moment, but I genuinely think both of them will be redeemed by the end of the series. The same may even happen for Cinder and Salem, but I’m less certain about that. Frankly I can never tell what the writers want Cinder to be.

We have abuse victims who became heroes and abuse victims who became villains, and the difference between them is that the latter category are currently opting to make it everyone else’s problem. But as we’ve seen with Emerald, those choices aren’t set in stone.

To quote something else that gave its hero and villain similar trauma:

“There is a difference between you and me: We both looked into the abyss, but when it looked back, you blinked.”

[ohtobeleah]

Rhett and Fe catch the first flights to Aus that they can to be there for Amilia and Jake and Rhett (the little softie he is) is the first one to bring up Bob and the Baby are probably together

This is so sweet, like you drop everything, the kids and all to go help Amilia through her grief and recovery process. Chelsea goes too, as does Rhett. Bradley and Reuben say back with all the kiddos. Between the two of them they handle four kids plus Phoenix and the twins. So it’s six V’s three.

Rhett goes for Jake more than anything, the guys pretty friendly with grief, he’s lost Bob, his sister in law, his dad. So Rhett has experience in losing loved ones.

“You gotta let yourself feel it man—“ Rhett just sits on the back porch with Jake. “If you try to drown it out that griefs only gonna grow gills and learn to swim after you.”

“It feels weird to mourn someone I never knew.” Is all Jake is able to say. “I’m more concerned about Oz—we wanted kids, now that’s all just up in the air because what if she needs more surgery? Treatment? They don’t even know if they got it all or if it spread and—“ it’s the bottom lip quiver that does it for Rhett before he’s putting his beer down and slinging an arm around Jake.

“It’s all fucked.”

Meanwhile, you and Chelsea are making sure dinners all sorted and Amilia is as comfortable as she can be. She hasn’t spoken since you arrived. You can tell by the look in her eyes she doesn’t have energy. It had all been sucked out of her.

“She’s always been the one obsessed with health.” Chelsea doesn’t even look up from where she’s cutting potatoes. You just listen while you watch Jake and Rhett through the window. “Just goes to show it can happen to the best of us.” Chelsea hasn’t really had a chance to process her sisters diagnosis yet. One minute she was at home and the next she was on a plane.

But it’s ultimate Rhett who gets Amilia to speak first. He takes in some dinner for her and sits on the edge of the bed. The breakfast Jake brought her still sat untouched on the bedside table, so did lunch.

“At least they aren’t alone.” Is all he says in the silence of her bedroom. “Bob always said he’d adopt if he could, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever settle down because of work and the uncertainty of it all.”

“We hadn’t even thought of names yet.” It’s the first thing Amilia says. “Maybe Bobs already picked on out.” And in the dining room, Jake hears a small but audible laugh escape from his wife’s room. He smiles to himself wondering what Rhett was about the say that brought that sound back to life.

“Hopefully it’s better than Bradley Bradshaw, thats for damn sure.”

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

DHIP Day one!

"Okay, so considering I'm one of the hosts here, let's see what has happened now..."

"Yikes, Tear is going to be feeling that for a while...And probably going to have to take her time pulling all those thorns out too. Meanwhile Velderoth found himself a river-- possible landmark to take a note of?"

"Like the crafty fox she is she made use of the things she found from the cornucopia to create a slingshot. Smart choice I'd say!"

"Don't tell me this hatchet is sponsored by RAID: Shadow Legends..?"

"Shizuku always told me that practicing, no matter how skilled you are is always better than just winging when skill is really needed. Meanwhile Hanaka is wise to go higher to be able to see the dangers ahead. But will someone catch her by surprise?--"

"Wait, what do you mean Minori killed her...Surely she's not that bad--"

"OKAY WHAT THE FUCK MINORI!!! WHY DID YOU KILL THE BROTHER OF YOUR FRIEND!?!? WAIT TILL I TELL YOUR MOMMA!"

"Ahem--"

"Speaking of bloodbath, Aran and Paimon sadly perished to Cardin. Man, he's being vicious today-- even moreso than Minori!!"

"Oof, now you've hoped to get something from the cornucopia now, huh?"

"Wait, doesn't the hydro archon have the ability to create water anyway?"

"...Guess the bitch's thirsty, huh?"

"Looks like some people from district 2 are just searching for resources or height advantages, smart choice!"

"Oof, Elven grace ain't helping you with that sprain."

"Do you even need food or water to survive at all...?"

"Something something Seele has the potential to ruin Hu Tao's business something something... Hu Tao is no match for the speed of a herrscher!"

"Wait, isn't Jack, Yamato and Oz friends? Well that explains why they're teaming up with Goku! Guess Velvet gets along with people well? Anyway, hopefully they're successful with the raid before Goku gets back!"

"When in doubt, rock it out!...Uhhh...She's dead, isn't she...?"

"She is for sure dead, rest in peace. I'd probably want to leave this pace too."

"Exploration in a hunger game is always important. Just try not to find the enemy by accident okay?"

"...Is it bad if I am already hearing the benny hills theme in my head?"

"With the outfit you wear? Good luck."

"Student and teacher working together-- ah, it's a good sight to see..."

"Should've kept your stuff with ya, huh?"

"When people say she's hot we didn't mean it literally!!"

"I swear-- I better hope Minori isn't winning this round...Though at the same time I kind of want to cause Minori a part of our idol team..."

[pastafossa]

PASTA'S BURRITO CASSEROLE, ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE I FOUND LIKE 10 YEARS AGO.

You need:

(Optional) One pound fake ground meat or real ground meat if you are an omnivore

2 cans worth refried beans - I use black beans that I turn into refried beans cause it's cheaper, easy to do, and healthier. If you aren't using meat, add 2 more cans (and if you're MAKING refried, invest in some Better Than Bouillon garlic jars, you're welcome) or maybe rice, did that once, not bad

1/2 cup DICED FUCKING WHITE ONIONS OF DELICIOUSNESS, OR USE HOWEVER MUCH MORE YOU LIKE

1/2 cup CORN, I use frozen cause I am LAZY but also like having the exact amount I need

Little 2 oz can of either green chilis or jalapenos depending on what spice level you like

TOOOOOOORTILLAS

1/2 cup SOUR CREAM

1 can of Cream of Whatever. I use cream of mushroom or cream or cheddar, but meat eaters might choose cream of bird

Packet of taco seasoning or equivalent amount in spoonfuls, once again you can measure by taste until your heart sings

SHREDDEEEED CHEEEEEEEESE, TACO CHEEEEEESE

Optional: BELL PEPPERS, SALSA

Instructions:

HEAT YOUR OVEN - I use 400-425*f but temps have varied based on my oven

Throw your meat, onions, corn, and optional bell peppers into a big pan. Cook on medium high till meat is done, OR if meat is absent, add a little oil and cook until onions are see through. I gave you an amount of onions but I measure that shit by heart, the heart knows when you have enough onions

Add your CHOSEN PEPPER OF SPICINESS to the mix and turn down heat to idk low or med low, let the flavors mingle a little

MEANWHILE, mix your sour cream and Cream Of Whatever in a bowl, it will look disgusting but its soul is good

Turn off your heat, mix your REFRIED BEANS into your onion mixture, along with your TACO SEASONING and if you do not ADD SEASONING I will SENSE IT AND COME STARE SILENTLY THROUGH YOUR WINDOW, MY PALE SIBLINGS IN CHRIST SEASON YOUR FOOD, ALSO YOU CAN JUST ADD SEASONING UNTIL IT TASTES NICE

Get a 9×13 pan. Slop half that sour cream mixture in and spread it all pretty

TEAR UP TORTILLAS INTO BITE SIZED PIECES, TASTE TEST THEM GOD I LOVE TORTILLAS and then LAYER your little tortilla bits to cover the slop

Throw in half your ONION MIXTURE, spread all nice

Much like onions, CHEESE IS MEASURED BY HEART, LISTEN TO THE VOICE INSIDE AS YOU SPREAD THE SHREDDED CHEESE, FOR IT WILL TELL YOU WHEN YOU ARE DONE

If you want, throw the salsa in here

REPEAT until the CHEESE LAYER

Lick spoon cause you're done with spoon then eat another tortilla Put in the oven UNCOVERED and cook 20-30 mins until cheese is golden brown

Sit 5 mins

Done, I get like 8 servings of this and it freezes nicely for leftovers

Make whatever changes you want, you can try RICE or add TOMATOES or maybe ENCHILADA SAUCE ON TOP, the possibilities are ENDLESS*

*as long as you season, that is non-negotiable

[shewhowantsmouseears]

Wizard Of Oz Disney AU plotpoints

Unexpected Free Time strikes, and so I decided to do this early.

So before we get started, this isn’t going to be a case of someone flying in from a new world, this is all staying in Oz, so no “it was all a dream” stuff. And there are gunna be skips and gap points because I haven’t gotten this fully fleshed out yet, and not heavily detailed so… ah well. Here we go.

Minnie Mouse is a Munchkin, and Munchkinland kinda sucks

Every day, everyone hands their job to someone else – being Special and Unique and Very Good at something is frowned upon, seen as very rude, why would you WANT to be different???

Minnie wants to learn magic – more specifically, she wants to be a Grand Witch, the ones who govern all of Oz and are the strongest magic-users. She wants to use this power to help people, and to see more of the world than her oppressive and boring Munchkinland

In order to do so, she has to enroll in a special academy all the way in Emerald City, but also needs the Mayor’s permission to do so – which isn’t easy when the Mayor changes every goddamn day

TBF the Mayor, Munchkinland and all of Oz is kinda going through it – The Grand Witch Of The West, Magica De Spell has begun an uprising/invasion/rebellion, attacking other lands, and trying to usurp the Grand Warlock Of The North, Scrooge McDuck. So even people who like Minnie are like “why would you wanna get involved in that?!”

But luckily in a few days they’re expecting a visit from the Grand Witch Of The South, Daisy Duck. Minnie hopes she can leave a good impression on her and maybe get a one-way ticket to Emerald City!

Also she has a dog, Pluto, our Toto

On the day of Daisy’s visit, Minnie keeps trying to meet her but Circumstances prevent it, though she does notice Daisy is Very Tired and kinda moody

That night Minnie sneaks out of her house to try and see Daisy one more time BUT DRAMA

A three-way-witch fight! The Grand Witch Of The East, Magica’s own mother, Evelina, and Daisy are fighting off Magica, lots of hateful accusations being thrown, lots of property damage

Minnie wants to help, and maybe this can prove she’s ready for Emerald City? So she tries some of the magic she’s been practicing in secret, Wind Magic!

It starts small at first but when the other three take notice, suddenly it winds up into a tornado

It picks up an empty house and down goes Evelina

Minnie, of course, is horrified as fuck and begins hysterically sobbing and apologizing, running to the house to see if she can maybe save the squished witch – who is wearing silver slippers

Daisy and Magica seem awfully OK with Evelina being dead

But once she’s close enough, MAGIC HAPPENS and now all of a sudden she’s wearing the slippers, and can’t get them off

Now Magica LOSES HER SHIT and demands the shoes, saying they are meant to be hers, threatening screaming almost crying, but those things ain’t coming off, and Magica finally leaves but not after making some vague warnings

Daisy does her best to comfort Minnie who has been through Some Shit in the last ten minutes, but she can’t get them off either. She suggests the one who can is Scrooge, since his magic is the strongest, and even offers to escort her there

But the shoes ain’t having it, they have a mind of their own, and insist on walking their own path – a golden yellow brick road which forms as Minnie walks

Minnie and Pluto head off, and Minnie swears she can hear a voice in her head thanks to the shoes, but can’t tell who it is

Meanwhile, Magica’s at her Castle, and her Three Familiars offer to snatch Minnie and the slippers, she gives some vague responses

Eventually they come across a scarecrow, but wait, that’s not a scarecrow! It’s a boy tied up to a wooden post with a cloth bad filled with straw stuffed over his head

His name is Mickey and he comes from a local village, he too wants to be a Knight, someone who guards witches and warlocks, but he’s failed the test so many times his schoolyard bullies tied him up like this

He has a short-term memory issue and sucks at testing, and laments he will probably never be able to take the test again since he’s failed it so many times (Brain)

Minnie suggests he come with her, surely if they talk to Scrooge he can give Mickey an exception and he can take the test again

During this entire conversation he’s been stuck with the bag on his head btw, and Minnie’s about to untie him when one of the Three Familiars attacks! The Crow Lady, who commands a small army of crows

Minnie doesn’t want Mickey to get hurt so she intends to shield him with her body, and that’s when the shoes “activate” – whole magical girl transformation sequence – brand new silver look, and she manages to use her wind magic in a more precise way with the “voice” guiding her

As they fight, Mickey frees himself, and he and Minnie get a good first look at each other

Instant dokidokis

But they combine their efforts and send Crow Lady flying, ha ha

They’re off to see the wizard

They arrive at a very technologically advanced city, Mortimer’s there and he hits on Minnie, boo

They meet Ludwig who is fascinated by the silver slippers and invites the two to stay at his place for the night

He shows them his latest project, an android that’s supposed to be as close to a person as possible… but it can also fly and shoot lasers because why not, Ludwig’s a nutter

Then the Next Familiar attacks, Wasp Lady, whose wasp army attacks the city demanding Minnie come out and fight

She does, but during one hit she lands on the button that activates the android, it’s Donald!

Donald and Minnie team up to defeat Wasp Lady, but Donald reveals Minnie “woke him up” before all of his assets could be downloaded. He doesn’t have/understand emotions (Heart), and Ludwig’s out of funding to repair all the stuff that was destroyed during the fight

Minnie suggests maybe Scrooge will give Ludwig funding if they talk to him?

Ludwig is reluctant – once upon a time, Scrooge was Very Cheap and hated to spend even pennies. But he admits ever since Magica’s rebellion he’s been acting super strange and splurging money like there’s no tomorrow

Donald joins the group, we’re off to see the wizard

Check in with Daisy who has been telling Scrooge everything, he’s very cold to her and berates her and even hurts her a little, and Daisy physically cannot make any of this stop for Some Reason

Now they have to pass through a forest/jungle where they get captured by Forest Folk who accuse them of trespassing, but will leave the final judgement for their King

King Goofy isn’t really a king, really, since this isn’t a kingdom, and all the titles are made up, it’s a very silly and lawless land, but since his dad was leader Goofy is expected to be the leader now and make all the big decisions

Everyone’s gunna nutters there too, like Wonderland but with knives

Goofy is too cowardly to make any big decisions, and Minnie suggests maybe if they get Scrooge’s “permission”, he doesn’t have to be King anymore

Attack number three from Flying Monkey Lady, but during this attack it’s revealed Magica used to be adored and revered by the forest folk after she once stopped a deadly forest fire, and they don’t know why everyone hates her now, Flying Monkey calls them all traitors

With Goofy in tow, off to see the wizard

Yay Emerald City! They stop by the Academy, maybe Minnie can enroll after she gets the shoes off? She learns from an instructor that Scrooge and Magica were in the same classes and everything, some people thought of them as friends. Evelina was always interfering in Magica’s school life and was kind of a bitch

Daisy is there to escort them to Scrooge, Donald suddenly grabs her face and goes “Hey did you know you are symmetrically perfect?” because he Does Not Know Social Cues and everyone has to tackle him down to make him stop

Daisy thinks he was hitting on her and she is Very Okay With That

Off they go to see the Wizard. And it turns out he’s kind of a dick? Very condescending and rude and expecting everyone to follow his orders without question.

Can’t get the shoes off, and explains that Minnie has been cursed – it was likely Magica that made Minnie’s wind pick up the Killer House and then cursed the slippers to never come off.

Minnie like “… but she wanted them???” “Yes well Magica’s always been kind of stupid.”

Minnie realizes the voice she’s been hearing in her head/shoes is Scrooge’s! So Something Is Not Adding up

Scrooge says the only way to undo the curse is to kill Magica, so do that and I’ll grant all your wishes

Minnie and the gang DON’T WANT TO COMMIT ACTUAL MURDER WHAT THE FUCK MAN

Well too bad now it’s an imperial order, do it or else

Minnie tries to remain positive, maybe they can just capture Magica or something??? The shoes are leading her on as always

Daisy wants to go with them with Scrooge won’t let her

Off the gang go, and Daisy decides she’ll try to help anyway from the shadows

They encounter the poppy fields, and everyone but Donald falls asleep since, yeah, he’s an android, but he’s frantically trying to wake everyone up

The Three Familiars arrive and scoop up Minnie (and mickey too by accident)

The poppy fields come really alive and try to kill the remaining gang, but Daisy arrives to help them out

She explains she literally can’t tell them everything, but seems very Sure that Minnie and Mickey aren’t in danger

They’ll still go after them anyway obvi

Meanwhile, the mice wake up in Magica’s castle, in a cage, the Three Familiars all gloating and partying woo yeah we did it!!!

Magica arrives and is super pissed off, the fuck did you idiots do, I never said to capture the girl

She sounds all menacing and dangerous, determined to punish the frightened familiars, summoning a huge ton of magic to…

Lock up the fridge “NO DESSERT FOR A WEEK”

The three familiars begin throwing tantrums like small children as Magica goes on AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVEN’T BEEN BRUSHING YOUR TEETH, YOUR TOOTHBRUSHES ARE BONE DRY

Minnie and Mickey are...Very confused

Magica explains that while the Three Familiars have the bodies of adults they have the minds of children, cause magic, they very clearly see her as a mother figure

Magica doesn’t let them out now because figures they’ll just go tell Scrooge and he’ll twist it as something evil, and she’s Exhausted

That night the mice sneak out but Minnie’s shoes lead her to a locked-up room that contains an old diary

The shoes Activate again and suddenly she’s walking through memories of Magica’s life!

Evelina was a real bitch indeed, always trying to control Magica’s life like she was some kind of puppet, not letting her have friends or anyone to rely on. She forced Magica to enroll as a Grand Witch just like mom

It wasn’t until the academy days that she met Scrooge and hey Real Friend! Scrooge encouraged her to stand up for herself, and yes Magica did stop that deadly fire and even used her magic to save three badly burnt babes (the familiars)

Years pass and Daisy enrolls, and becomes biffles with Magica, and senses the UST between her and Scrooge even though they definitely deny it

Evelina wants Magica to steal Scrooge’s staff (Every Grand Witch/Warlock has a Grand Conduit for which their greatest magic is stored) but Magica finally has the stones to say no fuck you

Scrooge is the one who made the silver slippers, to be Magica’s Grand Conduit, to encourage Magica to “walk her own path” and there was definitely some crying and cuddling. But they’re not done yet, after they all become Grand he’ll give them to her, promise

But not too long after they become Grand, Evelina has a meeting with Scrooge and suddenly he’s an asshole, giving the slippers to Evelina, and calling Magica all kinds of terrible things

Magica decides fuck this noise and just leaves, but Scrooge and the others framed her for terrible crimes

The memories end and Minnie is just. Sobbing so hard for Magica, she can feel Scrooge’s genuine love for Magica through the shoes

She finds Magica and begs her to come with them to Emerald City, surely they talk they can all sort this out!

Ugh fine, but Magica and the Familiars have to pretend to be prisoners, off they go

They meet up with Donald/Goofy/Pluto/Daisy and explain things but Daisy goes NO FUCK YOU CAN’T COME BACK TO EMERALD CITY!! DO NOT!! And even fights them, but they win and Daisy flees

They go back to Emerald City anyway, and Scrooge wants to know why is Magica alive, Magica wants to know why he’s being an ass, Minnie approaches and just says “look can we just talk”

All the doors shut, Daisy’s there, and that’s when All The Big Reveals Happen

Evelina’s own special magic is Puppet Magic, all she has to do is slip a string into someone and she has total control over them… and she’s been controlling Scrooge and Daisy all this time

She faked her death (she used Minnie’s wind magic as a cover) because she thought Magica was close to figuring something out

But now she can’t let any of them live, not when world domination is so close at hand! So she sends her strings out to try and control all of them, all out brawl, and only Magica and Minnie are left to fight

Magica gets hit with a string, now it’s everyone versus Minnie, and she’s surrounded by strings

Minnie fights them all off as best she can, and realizes her True Magic wasn’t wind at all, but Gravity

She can make things float and crash back down, and make things heavy or light

Kicks ass, takes names

Frees everyone from the strings and ties Evelina up, making the strings so impossibly heavy she can’t get free

With Scrooge back to normal, the slippers can come off easily, emotional reunion, and Magica gets a fancy new silver outfit when she puts on the slippers

Mickey realizes he doesn’t need some test to be a knight, he can protect people all on his own and vows to never let anything like this happen again

Donald realizes he actually does understand emotions, and will spread the word making sure the truth of what happened is known by all

Goofy realizes it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s better to work as a community than by one person making choices, and wants to have the forest folk work with other lands

Minnie gets to enlist in the academy, and one day take up the mantle that Evelina used to hold

Until then, Scrooge Magica and Daisy will work in unity for that missing piece, and all have great expectations for Minnie

Listen everyone loves Minnie, absolutely everyone, just as it should be

The end

[bestworstcase]

in re: oz understanding what salem meant i do not have the brainpower to go through the whole thing rn but it sort of comes down to,

#1, an “all just a big misunderstanding!” resolution feels pretty cheap and to my mind makes ozma seem just completely pathetic; earlier in the same episode we see him ask salem flat out “what are you saying?” when he doesn’t follow and salem clarifies without the slightest hesitation. the notion that after a decade or more married to this woman, ozma heard her say something this out of pocket, out of fucking nowhere, and didn’t AT LEAST go “…what are you saying?” to confirm that no yeah she really did just abruptly go mask-off on wanting to do genocide, is… pathetic. world’s most pathetic man. i do not believe that ozma has at any point in his lives been the kind of person who wouldn’t blink hard and go “excuse me??” in this scenario.

#2, the only person present during the lost fable who knows the full context of that conversation, aside from jinn, is oz. the only character on team good who has the requisite information to know what she meant. if there’s going to be any proactive motion on the heroes side toward correcting their own misperceptions of salem, ozma is going to have to be the one to provide more information. regardless of what salem herself does to surprise them, i don’t think these kids will be able to get to “let’s try talking to her?” until they have a reason to believe that she doesn’t like. want to massacre humankind.

#3, it makes a ton of sense for there to be a miscommunication on this specific point between ozma and the kids, because a) after the shock of the lost fable nobody was asking follow-up questions aside from “how could you hide all that?” and “what the fuck is your plan to beat her?” and then oz got punched in the face and screamed at and locked himself away for months to reflect on all this. meanwhile the kids focused on the immediate problem of how to beat salem secure in the assumption that they now have all the facts. the question of salem’s motivation never comes up at all until ozpin brings it up with hazel, explicitly in a bid to scare hazel into turning against her, and he misrepresents the nature of salem’s curse in order to make his case. which is to say, ozpin is lying about one thing when he claims salem wants to end the world – it isn’t unlikely that he’s lying about the rest too.

and that’s a recipe for misunderstanding, if ozma knows what salem meant but no one on his side is asking questions about or discussing her intentions – how is he to know they misunderstood something she said until they voice their misconception?

#4, it’s a lot more compelling for the conflict between salem and ozma to be genuinely about what it seems—she believes the gods are fallible tyrants who can be defeated and should be rejected and replaced, he believes that they are absolute cosmic authorities who can only be obeyed and that her defiance is tantamount to a death-wish. they are on the same page about this and before ozpin’s lifetime, both resolutely believed that the other was a) wrong and b) beyond reason, and thus the immovable detente. then ozma experienced the first shattering crisis of faith during the great war (salem was right about what it takes to unite the world) and ozpin spends his whole lifetime reeling while he treads water; and meanwhile salem acts on the presumption that he has not changed, seeming to confirm ozpin’s worst fears (that she despises him, that she will never forgive him, that she’ll burn the world down with her for the sake of defying the gods one last time, and so he is still fated to be her eternal enemy). and there’s the storm.

layered over top of that is all the fairytale propaganda ozma has spent lifetimes meticulously weaving to obscure the true conflict (because he fears she’ll rally people against the gods again if he doesn’t poison the well) – so long that he half-believes it himself, until jinn causes him to relive all of that; the story salem told him that he desperately didn’t want to believe, his lies, her trust, his choice to plug his ears and blame her for the cruelty of his god. not for nothing does he crawl out of this hole with the wistful yearning for reconciliation song playing underneath in the very moment salem arrives in atlas! shattering though it was – it also reminds him of what’s really true, what’s important to him. what he wants.

(#5, it really doesn’t make sense to me for that ^ to happen if ozma is under the impression that salem just wants to kill everybody and/or do grotesque magical eugenics – “the enemy was right” is an odd thought to insinuate that he’s having if he isn’t clear on what salem was right about.)

and #6, i think it makes the reconciliation easier for the conflict to not be predicated on a misunderstanding. consider how salem might feel in the event she asked why ozma did all of this and his answer boiled down to “i assumed you wanted to commit genocide and use our daughters to breed a new race of magically empowered humans and it didn’t occur to me to question that assumption EVEN A LITTLE BIT at any point in our history. forgive me?” like – jesus christ. whereas “i remembered what you told me the gods had done to you and to the world the last time you rebelled against them and i got scared” is so much less awful, and so much more natural to forgive. she’s scared of the gods too. and if there’s any inkling in there of ozma having been scared for her, scared of what the gods might do to her if she failed, all the more so. it just… fits together better with the set up so clearly leading toward a romantic reconciliation.

[fumblingmusings]

oh woah what's nyo ireland and nyo england's relationship like in the modern times? do they try to reach out to each other? and wow the mommy issues that nyo england's kids are gonna inherit

Ahsnfbf I didn't want to say because I've probably already blabbed about it too much at this point but yes absolutely mummy issues abound there. I guess it's up to the individual how far you take it, because it can get pretty dark if left unchecked.

My favourite dynamic in Hetalia is the push and pull for these guys who are nations vs who they are as people. You can't live as long as they do without forming opinions which run contradictory to what your government or even the majority of your people believe in. So for the kids they have that push and pull of 'that's my mum' versus 'my mum is the figurehead of something terrible' versus 'I'm part of something terrible'... so messy.

The kids mum as Alice or Annie or Elizabeth or whatever you wanna call her (I won't lie most Anglo-Saxon names are a mouthful for girls save Edith which yeah okay Ada, Eva, Eddie etc. are nice nicknames, or you go older for Morgan which is a more literal flipping of names pertaining to the Arthur myth... choices choices), is the kind of mum who's indulgent, clingy and melancholic. Which... is definitely not a great mother long term. England as the head of an Empire is a whole other kettle of fish. And yet the woman for the longest time refuses to disentangle them, or ask others to do the hard work for her.

Like... Oh! Not to equate them in any meaningful manner, but in Game of Thrones, the way that Cersei is with her youngest boy? That's how I picture England with the kids. Like this:

Is definitely something she would have done with Alfred at one point. The telling stories as much to comfort herself about what's going on as to reassure her kids whilst looking like she's three steps from stabbing someone's eye out in a fit of pent up anxiety. That story about a lioness and her cubs is definitely a fable she would have passed on whilst they were in the cradle and older, with all the excessive pet names and nervous petting of hair and skin, grasping and kneading them like a literal cat... It's suffocating, even for the kids who are more tactile.

She's good at playing the victim and playing up the fragility too (white womanhood and imperialism are such sinister methods of control), so when the time comes the kids, especially the boys, feel more than duty bound to protect her, not just as a Dominion to the mother country but also in instances like that's their mum piss off you angry German... man...creep... twice over. I don't think they ever quite let that personal relationship go, even when the political does not work that way anymore. She still knits them jumpers at Christmas is what I mean (not that Oz needs it but...) and goshdarn it her patterns really are good... But otherwise they're loyal to the woman, not the country. And yet that still has a somewhat insidious implication about it?

The boys have it worst. I think America and fem!England's relationship would be an absolute hot mess of indescribable intersecting definitions. England is no longer my mother country but she's still my mum actually no wait not like that either fuck her (not like that except...) and actually no wait maybe yes like that to the mum thing and how dare she look at other people the way she used to look at me look at me now look at me! Meanwhile Matthew's more an emotional crutch/white knight archetype - all the ways he was groomed to be heir once Alfred left whilst everyone including England and Canada knew that America was still going to inherit whatever earth was left when England finally fell - and Oz is the replacement baby who knew right from the word go he was a replacement and... Like it would be quite easy to just end tumbling in straight up oedipal complex nonsense with it for sure.

But going back to her and Ireland... I think it's better than it ever has been in some ways, and yet worse in others? I don't think any apologies have been given, and I'm not sure it's expected from the other, even if it is wanted. The kind of thing where if they're both in the room they'll both find the same joke funny, they'll catch each other's eye and the smiles will fade, both will burn red and return their attention elsewhere. Some topics are safe, emotional intimacy... not yet.

I think they both would be much clearer headed now about what happened to them, each other and what the other did and why, and that empathy would lead to understanding, but neither are at the point of talking about it. They don't really argue anymore, so now it's at the stage of 'well we're not fighting so we must be doing better right?' when really all that's happening is pushing the dirt under the carpet. Whereas before they were confronting it - terribly - now it's all avoidance. Again, I think one party (England...) is keener for that approach than the other.

[kob131]

Found an absolutely vile and twisted interpretation of the newest episode. How in God's name do these people actually believe this shit. www(.)reddit(.)com/r/RWBYcritics/comments/12nmww4/comment/jgfb0qb/

Okay, I know the subreddit is real circlejerky but it can't be that ba-

Being one of the critics who absolutely adored seeing Ruby get straight-up obliterated by Ironwood and Ozpin-

... Greeeeat.

"Well, what's the problem with enjoying seeing Ruby taken down? You enjoy it when Raven is taken down a notch!"

Yeah, but I don't carry a consistent vendetta against the show for portraying her as sympathetic. People who took Oz and James' sides like this often do hold a grudge against the show for it. So naturally, you're gonna be biased towards misrepresenting the show. Not helping is this later line-

RWBY's team doesn't care. They might as well be on vacation down here, with Weiss being the comic relief and Blake/Yang itching to hop in bed with each other. And it started to really amp up in Episode 8.

Yeah, why would I think you're at all trustworthy when you take Yang, who has been consistently worried about her sister, as just 'Blake arm candy' because a couple of tender moments and ONE scene? Let alone Weiss, who has cried TWICE at the fall of Atlas, being treated as just 'comic relief'?

No one cares about Ruby. Not a lot, anyway, and nowhere near the amount Ruby cares about them. And the way we can tell this is how they react when other people go through very similar situations. When Ruby is at her lowest, barely anyone notices or cares, to the point where Yang even kneels down next to her when it's impossible to ignore and might as well have told her to shut the fuck up.

"That's how Ironwood thought. You don't mean that." A total dismissal of everything Ruby is feeling.

Behold, the face of dismissal.

In fact, let's see what the conversation was about.

Weiss: We've risked their home to save the Relic... And we failed.

Blake: Getting everyone out has to count for something.

Ruby: (angrily) What good is saving anybody if Salem just destroys the world anyway...

Yang places her arms on her sister's shoulder and leans in.

Yang: That's how Ironwood thought... you don't mean that.

Hm...sounds more like Yang was reassuring Ruby about something she was feeling jaded about. But hey, I'm sure OP won't make this same mistake twice, right?

Meanwhile, when Yang was throwing a fit in V5, Weiss marched on out there, sat down, and had one of the only honest heart-to-heart conversations between the four girls in the entire series. The other one was when Yang noticed Blake was stressing herself out entirely on her own(wisdom that would imply she'd be able to tell when her sister was sad.) Yang can tell when someone is sad. Weiss can tell when someone is sad. Jaune could tell when Ruby was down too in V4, even if it wasn't a full conversation. And yet, even in the OP, the rest of Ruby's team is skipping along while Ruby grows more and more morose with no one noticing or caring. The writers knew that, but it's not the reason you're supposed to feel bad for Ruby.

You know, because Badge and the Burden doesn't exist.

Also, Weiss noticed Yang was sad because she EXPLODED, Yang noticed Blake because she was self isolating and Jaune was literally TOLD by Ruby. Not like, say, a single comment in the middle of nowhere with obvious stress. Or that you completely fucked up in understanding Yang's fucking point.

They almost cared enough to notice that Ruby was feeling down before the Paper Pleaser village was destroyed... but they sure were quick to not only run to Jaune's side, but even ask Ruby for words of encouragement. Because they care about Jaune. Not Ruby.

Or that he was screaming his head off and being far more open about his pain. You know, context.

And when Ruby has her breakdown, while Yang practically growls at Ruby for daring to raise her voice and steps in between her and Blake(what Yang actually cares about), they're more than willing to listen to Jaune's whining. Nobody moves between Jaune and Ruby when he's shouting at her, though.

Ruby is her sister. Also mind showing that 'growling' because you've already demonstrated you didn't pay attention so it's far more logical to assume you misinterpreted the scene.

Also gotta love that Jaune going through THE EXACT SAME SHIT as Ruby is treated 'whining' but Ruby is portrayed sympathetically. Despite them both doing the same shit. Almost like you're trying to sell a narrative or something, hm.

Can you fucking imagine? Ruby's was ranting about positivity and getting snippy about being ignored. She was getting an attitude, and Yang moves to protect Blake. Jaune is actually aggressive in action and tone directed squarely at Ruby with the intent to hurt, Ruby is in tears, and what happens? Concerned, Weiss walks up and calls for JAUNE?. They look heartbroken to hear Jaune's sadness. They're only shocked when Ruby leaves.

She was lashing out at Blake for trying to cheer her up. And Ruby WAS being aggressive. Did you think her comments weren't specifically chosen to HURT everyone? That throwing Weiss' attempts to return back in her face? That attacking Blake for trying to stay positive isn't supposed to be AGGRESSIVE?

SOunds less like you're sympathizing with Ruby and more like you're using her to attack the show. Otherwise you WOULD understand that she is being just AS aggressive as Jaune.

Also-

Look how little they care. As if the shock isn't from how WRONG it is to hear Ruby of all people say this.

In fact, next episode, Yang is pissed that Ruby has left. She is so offended that Ruby would even have the nerve to do so, that without anyone else saying a word she can't help but shout it out and go so far as to say that Ruby could've talked to them when Yang was the one that told Ruby to her face that she doesn't even think what she says she thinks.

Not what that meant but keep providing proof that you're either blind or stupid.

Ruby is bruised and bloodied, and this should be the worst condition her team has ever seen her in(after all, it's the worst condition we've seen her in). And they just... watch.

Gee, what happened to that ability to recongize shock? You were just soooo capable of it before.

Same faces. Same body language. Yet two completely different takes.

Again, almost like you're selling a narrative and can't let pesky things like consistency and the truth get in your way, eh?

Now there's a lot of things wrong with this scene, but let me put it this way:

Hey everyone! The guy who has repeatedly made a fool of himself being incapable of seeing BASIC BODY LANGUAGE, to the point an AUTIST managed to exceed him.

Do you think, by chance, that when Ruby was making direct eye contact with the rest of her team and giving them all the time in the world to stop her, she remembered Blake's reaction when Yang fell into the abyss? Maybe remembered that when Blake was in the same position Ruby was now, wounded, beaten and with the culprit standing over her, that Yang was so quick to act that she lost an arm in the process? Do you think that, in some way, she recognized what it meant when they weren't even willing to lift a finger?

Nope.

Because I have BEEN in Ruby's shoes before and that is NOT what that look meant. That was Ruby saying goodbye, sorry she was going to hurt them but unable to see another way out.

Also-

But okay, sure, it's not the first time the main characters have gotten stunlocked and let something happen they in no way should have. Hell, even one of the examples had Ruby and Weiss stunlocked watching Yang go tumbling off a bridge that looked so bad that they later retconned it to have Ruby hyperventilating and freaking out as if the audience forgot.

I mean, look how well Ruby is taking it!

But also- doesn't this basically KILL your whole shitstorm? Since it's established pattern that the team tends to let shock overwhlem them? Where's Ruby's condemnation for not saying her sister eh?

Oh wait, that's not useful for you. Drat!

There's always the next episode. That'll show their real reactions, since it got cut off by Neo getting dominated by the Curious Cat. You know, as if Ruby's death was nothing more than a footnote, even to the plot at large. But who's judging.

The liar who pretends he cares while ignoring her actual feelings and character?

So basically no one worth considering, fair.

And also-

Just look at how little they react to Ruby. How heartless! Espcially that vindictive and cruel Yang. Look how much joy she takes in her sister's demise.

Jaune: (points Crocea Mors sword at the Cat) Take us to her…

Look how little Jaune cares! How heartless!

But not nearly as much as Yang. Look at how she selfishly tries to protect Blake while ignoring her sister!

... So did I say enough stupid bullshit to get my cock sucked by the subreddit yet?

So, funnily enough, seeing the team with the absence of Ruby is what really created this topic. It showed their 'true self'. And it showed that Team JWBY are just... the worst fucking people imaginable. Because what do they do? Cope. Excuse themselves. Get in a big ol' happy hug(that Ruby didn't get) and assure themselves that hey, it was just a little whoopsie, they're still good. Because that's what matters, right?

Because you were so observant before that my auto correct literally tried inserting 'oblivious' into this sentence.

Even my computer knows you're bullshit.

Being correct. Being "good." That's what really matters to them. We already know that about Yang("So what [that people are going to die because of us]? We give Ironwood what he wants?") but it's different to see the entire group acting that way when their leader has killed herself. Now, I'm very particular when I say that: I'm not pretending to follow RWBY's rules and terminology and call it "ascension" which is how JWBY rationalizes their actions, because it's not. It is ascension in the same way death is reincarnation. You still die. You, the ego, the person, the memories, die.

Even in their justifications about how Ruby can still be alright, it is still in the context of Ruby more than likely not coming back the same person because Ruby didn't want to come back as the same person because she did it to die. It, once again, feels a lot more like they're hardcore coping and trying to come up with reasons why this isn't their fault or shouldn't question themselves. Even though—and I know this sort of language is dangerous when dealing with this particular subject—in this case, it absolutely is their fault for not giving her even a fraction of the care they give each other.

Yang: So what, we should just give Ironwood what he wants? Abandon Mantle? You think Atlas is still gonna be able to float to safety now that she’s here?

You know, this is sadistically hilarious.

The 'so what' part of Yang's comment was dismissing the idea that James' idea was better, not the deaths of people. Made clear through her rhetorical question of 'abandon mantle?' which was a summation of James' plan.

You either cannot understand communication so much that it would logically make YOU incoherent...or you willfully ignored that and misrepresented Yang's point. And consider how you've focused on Yang, already showing that you were misrepresenting what she meant. Or how you focused on Bumbleby and Blake saving Yang. Or how you called Yang's outburst 'throwing a fit'.

Pattern of behavior- You are TRYING to make Yang look as bad as possible. Because once is an accident. Twice is questionable. Four times is confirmation.

And also-

Ruby: Neo’s here too.

Yang: Hey, are you alright?

Ruby doesn’t immediately answer.

Ruby: She attacked me when we were falling.

-

Blake: I've read so many stories. I never thought... (takes a seat on a nearby log)... I'd be the moral of one.

Ruby, still looking down at Penny's sword in her hands, takes a seat next to Blake. Her teammates look at her in concern.

Yang: Ruby?

-

The scene you REFERENCED.

How many times does Yang have to show concern for Ruby before you accept it as fact?

How many?

Let me guess. 'X+1' right?

And as a result, handwaving it as "her choice"? That smacks an awful lot like blaming Ruby for what happened to her(even if they act like it's a good thing), which under no circumstance is the truth, just so they don't have to think too hard. So they don't have to care too much.

Look how little she cares...

Also- how is it blaming her? There is no saying she's at fault or anything of the sort- just that only RUBY can help her.

Just like how Yang could only help herself before her father could help her. Almost like this is a recurring theme or something...

But Jaune needs that hug. He needs that care. He needs that gratification. Team RWBY's big sappy group hug... with a J instead of an R. Their personal pity party. They did good. They're good people. They care for each other soooo much.

You know, considering how you've acted up until now-

What would stop you from just claiming they don't care about Jaune if they had tried to reach out to Ruby? You already contradict yourself here. So what is stopping you?

But Jaune needs that hug. He needs that care. He needs that gratification. Team RWBY's big sappy group hug... with a J instead of an R. Their personal pity party. They did good. They're good people. They care for each other soooo much.

Ruby actively pushed away and ignored any concern shown to her.

If you actually sympathized with her, you would call her out on that. Because she was hurting herself in her pain.

Sprinkle in a little of Yang being perhaps the only person Neo's "turn into a loved one" trick(used by CC now) completely and utterly failed to work on when she used Ruby, alongside a heaping helping of the constantly conflicting tones of V9, and the dish is complete. Then you look back at, say, V3 with Ruby telling Yang that she loved her even after being thoroughly rejected in her attempts to help her feel better. Or how in V5, Ruby's first words to Yang were a tearful apology.

Or Volume 9, Episode 1. Where Yang was crying at the thought that her sister DIED.

Also-

Not only is that NOT Neo's trick since she would do it in response to Yang attacking her by transforming herself into the ACTUAL Ruby, but the Cat's actual trick (to dig into Yang's fear of losing her sister) WORKED, diverting Yang's attention to the obvious Fake Rubys and not her actual opponent.

It hits a very specific chord. The kind like seeing a child alone at a birthday party, or one who is clearly neglected yet still seeks their parent's affection. The puppy left in the rain. The man or woman drinking alone. The clear outsider in a group, who the others talk about behind their back. It's not what you can see, it's what you can't: the implication that someone genuinely cares about other people, but those people don't care about(or even like) them in turn.

Or like the person who says they sympathize with a person's pain while having laughed and delighted while they were in pain, only to pretend to hurt someone else.

No wait, that's significantly worse. You're lucky these are fictional characters.

Ruby's Volume is a story about a girl with a lot of problems falling into a deep depression, calling out for attention only to be rebuked time and time again, and when she makes her final, explicit cry for help, is rejected, then screamed at by a friend her other friends clearly care so much more about. All culminating in that depressed teenage girl killing herself, and then us, the viewer, getting to watch as the only thing her 'friends' care about is how they can spin this to them still being good people and being ever so happy to hug one another.

Not what that was about by the way. It was about the catharsis of knowing their efforts meant something. Ruby wasn't mentioned.

But nice job shitting your pants in public.

It's just so... fucked up. I don't really care about the show that much anymore, despite what the, like, 2k words might say: I've long since written it off as garbage, and this recent episode has only reassured me that once again you can try to predict what happens next based off of what the worst option reasonably possible could be. Yet even then, I can't help but feel bad for Ruby if I think too hard about it. Not because she's sad over her screw-ups or because she doesn't want to be a hero or because she thinks she's failed at everything, but because it's readily apparent that her friends and family could care less about any of that. I feel bad for Ruby because she is completely isolated.

Oh hey, you went so stupid that you looped around to getting the fucking point.

Too bad the whole post basically showcases that this was by accident.

Also, your 2000+ post could have been boiled down to four words (Yang and Jaune bad) and it would have been better.

And I can only imagine what I might've thought, were I in a similar position and watching this Volume. What anyone in Ruby's position might think. The position of depression and subconsciously(even consciously) calling out for help, only to find that their friends and family they love so much are more interested in everyone but them. "What about you," indeed.

Been there, would have attacked you if you tried something like that.

It's easy to prop up a message about how "ooooh you're perfect the way you are, ignore the haters, any criticism is tantamount to telling you to kill yourself and makes them evil," but that can't work for everyone.

Which is why you posted this in the 'RWBY bad' subreddit and not say, the main one where you would have gotten criticism.

Practicing what you preach? What dat?

I'd certainly hate to be in a position to really identify with Ruby, because what RWBY the show would be telling me is... yep! You're right! Your friends wouldn't give a flying hoot if you died: they'll be happy and hugging and looking silly even minutes after your demise. They won't be mad at your killer, they won't be sad they could've stopped it either(not for long anyway), but they will be perfectly fine showing off how much they do care for people that matter, and hint: you're not one of them :)

"I'll also lie about them and reinforce your pain while I delight in your suffering! Look how empathetic I am!"

How disgusting.

Oh cool, you finally found a mirror.

Because this IS disgusting. Like, this is the same shit people pull with Shane and his letter. No one cares about him or his pain and grief- they only cared that they could use him as a bludgeon. The only credit that can be given to you is that Ruby is fictional.

Still repulsive.

[spelviin]

literally no one but me cares about this, but it's Time For Kaleigh To Have An Opinion About Musicals so like. sorry in advance.

but i just - for youtube rabbit hole reasons that are entirely beyond me - watched the olivier awards performance of welcome to the rock and i'm fuckin??? baffled??

for reference, here is the original

and here is the olivier performance

and i'm not talking about the accents (although i am legitimately confused about the fact that the cast from the states managed to do nfl accents miles better than the uk cast), i'm talking abt the fact that they weirdly chopped the song up for no apparent reason, and gutted half the emotional impact of the song in the process

EDIT: upon further research, it looks like the obc did the same goddamned thing for their tony performance, which like. well, at least it explains why they lost to fucking dear evan hansen. anyways, all this to say i no longer blame the uk cast for this travesty, my apologies to them lmao.

ANYWAYS, part of the reason the show works so well is bc the opening number is EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE at reaching out and grabbing the audience by the fucking throat, emotionally speaking. and the way it does that is by perfectly placing the first instance of the "you are here" leitmotif

you've got the scene-setting shit, introducing ppl to like, the concept of newfoundland, and then you meet some of the characters, and meanwhile the music is just building and building and building to the line "and i turn on the radio"

and then the music fucking drops out, and you get this soft, haunting, gorgeously-harmonized "you are here," and the POINT of that, is to underscore what's happening in the minds of every audience member who is old enough to remember 9/11, which is that they're recalling their own experience of seeing the news for the first time, and feeling every feeling they felt in that moment. it's a fucking strategic play on your emotions, and it's incredibly effective

and THEN the music picks up again, gaining speed as bonnie finds oz and tells him to turn on his radio, at which point the energy ramps way the fuck back up to the end of the opening number.

and it's FANTASTIC! the pacing is perfect, the momentum is great, the emotions are there... which is why it's so fuckin weird what the olivier performance did, which is cut and paste the "you are here" section to AFTER "jesus h, oz, turn on your radio" (which, mind you, they didn't say. they changed the line to a whiny little "oz, turn on your radio. oz, turn on your radio!" -because apparently you can say fuck on tv in the uk, but you cant take the lord's name in vain - which i think does a disservice to bonnie as a character, but this is enough of a rant without going into all that.)

ANYWAYS, then it awkwardly moves into the final part of the number, which is a weird frankenstein mashup of the actual end of the opener, and the reprised version in the finale. and i think??? that's the reason they made all these changes in the first place??? like, they wanted the cheerier, major key, finale energy since this is an award show (they do this with promotional performances of ex-wives from six, too), and in the finale, the last part DOES come right after the "you are here" section.

but to me, mashing the two versions up just really emotionally guts the whole performance.

welcome to the rock works because it builds emotion and momentum, and evokes powerful imagery of a historical event. and the reprise works because it takes place 10 years after the fact and provides a sort of closure to those emotions. trying to mix the two in one number just feels... confusing, like it's negating itself.

anyways, there's like 400 comments on the video and literally no one seems to have even noticed the change (or at least cared enough to mention it), so this is clearly just a Me Problem, but like.

IT'S SO WEIRD YOU GUYS IT'S SO FUCKIN WEIRD WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS CHANGE, CFA CREATIVE TEAM? EXPLAIN IT TO ME!!!!