#the Mowgli stories

[elijones94]

🐯 Mowgli and a tiger cub 🐾 #mowgli #sherekhan #tigercub #thejunglebook #rudyardkipling

[yen-sids-tournament]

Original or Remake pt. 2: Summary

The Stories we tackled were: The Lion King, The Jungle Book (2x), Peter Pan, and Mulan.

Thank you to everyone who voted in the polls, shared and liked the polls, and added their own personal accounts! Below is a bit more detailed de-brief (rambling) of the five polls.

We did expect that The Lion King was going to attract more attention than last time's polls. We did not expect for it to leave the Little Mermaid or Alice polls in the dust so quickly! Within 24 hours it was crushing the responses!

Then four days later we were far for expecting Mulan to crush The Lion King's records! In a single day, Mulan had practically caught up to Lion King's vote total from five days! And now she's got the record for votes in this series: 1418

These two also had a lot in common in the response distribution too! Lion King went pretty far without anyone picking "Mostly LA" or "Both." Mulan went half the week before anyone admitted to a preference to the live action, and even then it was only one (1) person by the end. (on a side note, there was a time when all five polls had at least one response at 0 votes.) It is very clear to say that the Animated Mulan is by far the favorite and the Live Action most disliked. We don't even have to consider the fact "did not like either" was the smallest % of all the series polls to date.

This should not surprise us. Mulan and Lilo and Stitch seem to be Tumblr's general Disney faves.

What is interesting about the Lion King is how many of you picked the Musical. It's the first time the Musical has been second! Granted it was only ~4%. but still! The last note on the Lion King: over the week, we watched as the percentage for "Animated!" slowly fall. It was high 90s the first couple days and hit 95% around mid-week but managed to say in the low 90% for the end of day 7.

As for the other three polls....Much more on par with the expectations all around.

We did anticipate having a third Jungle Book poll, where the two more popular movies went against each other. But we're scrapping that idea. Between CGI and Animated we know the winner, and honestly we expect pt. 1 would have been the hardest choice in the end.

And Yet; it was exciting to see "I did not like either" barely lose for the first time. One vote gave the plurality win in pt. 2 to the CGI Jungle Book.

As for Peter Pan: It was closest to fitting the expectations we had. It would slide very nicely in with most of the polls from last round. And we did plan for this comparison as the Fairies were gathering submissions on purpose.

Now for a quick numbers recap: all of 4 Animated won with a majority, and the CGI Jungle Book only with the plurality. The largest range in answers was Mulan, the smallest Jungle Book pt 2.

We have a handful of remaining polls to get through for a part 3. The plan is to have them while collecting the final responses for the Summer Superheroes tournament in about two weeks (June-ish).

[cosmoglass]

My observations playing 'The Last Guardian' for the first time

The stained glass eyes make The Nest like a surveillance prison. Big Brother is watching you. Inspirations for The Nest – I Carceri by Piranesi, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Kung Fu Panda, Avatar.

I showed footage of the game to an art historian and he said the architecture looked like it was inspired by Indian temples, Angkor Wat and Palenque. Piranesi was supposedly inspired by Roman ruins with vines and trees growing over them.

There's a noise the boy makes when he’s climbing that sounds exactly like Link when he lands from too great a height in Ocarina of Time.

Movies Fumito Ueda might have been inspired by -

The Jungle Book – Mowgli is raised by wolves and needs to get back to the man-village, King Louie's lair is an Indian temple ruin. The Neverending Story - Falkor The Rescuers Down Under – the runway scene Kung Fu Panda – the prison Avatar - outdoor areas of The Nest make me think of Pandora, Toruk (the flying creature).

Movies inspired by The Last Guardian -

Jumanji: The Next Level – the apparatus in the scene with the apes. The Last Guardian is also referenced in the first movie when the poster for the game is shown on someone’s wall.

[iris-nonsense]

I finished The jungle book and why no one ever told me it's this good! Mowgli's story in particular is incredible and the descriptions are beautiful and i never heard anyone talking about it

[one-with-the-tree]

Huh so is the sequel to Jon Favreau's live action Jungle Book actually even happening anymore? I think I read an announcement of it a few years back but ever since no news has come out it seems. I thought it was gonna be his next Disney project after Lion King 2019 but apparently not.

[thewanderingbleu]

watch out besties, a new memory just dropped and now I have a badass protag origin story >:)

[bullet-prooflove]

A problem child, I was rough

Tagging: @kmc1989 @yousigned-upforthis @trublu2u @alisbackalleybbq @defnotra3

Companion piece to:

Home - Jamie makes a discovery which leads to him making a home for the two of you.

Final Words - Kayce discovers the truth about Lee

Kayce has always been the problem child, at least that’s what he was told by both his parents. He was the wild one, the feral one, the disappointment. Whilst Lee dedicated himself to the ranch and Jamie studied, he was the one escaping into the trees at night so he could sleep out underneath the stars.

“They used to send a search party out every morning to look for me, Lloyd would always find me stashed under a tree or tucked away in a shelter I’d made. It would drive my parents demented.” He tells you one morning when you’re tangled up in bed together.

You’re propped up on his chest, the sheets draped across your bare skin. Your skin is still flush from your love making, your tangled hair falling across your features.

“You were basically Mowgli for the Jungle Book only with more clothes.” You smile and Kayce tilts his head to one side.

“Except in summer.” He concedes. “Trust me in the warm weather they saw a whole a lot more of me then they wanted to.”

“That still doesn’t explain this.” You say, tapping on the brand seared into his skin.

It’s the first time in the year you’ve been together that you’ve asked about the scar on his chest. Things between the two of you are getting serious. You’re talking about making the move to Montana because Travis has offered you a job on the mini ranch he bought for him and Gina after that nightmare with the Becks.

“One time I rebelled a little too much and my father wanted to remind me of my place.” He says quietly as he brushes a stray strand of hair back behind your ear.

“Your father…” You echo, your eyebrows furrowing into a frown as your fingertip trails over the scar tissue. “I think I’m beginning to understand why you left the Yellowstone and how we ended up living on Jamie’s ranch instead.”

We…

He loves the thought of the two of you living together here. He wants to ask you but he also wants your decision to move to Montana to be your own, not influenced by him or wishful thinking.

“He was trying to turn me into Lee.” Kayce returns to the conversation, his gaze meeting yours. “He was trying to force me into that legacy and I was letting him because I thought it was what Lee would have wanted me to do. Then I found his journals and I…”

He trails off for a second, his thumb chasing over the blush of your cheek. Those journals, they’d changed everything for Kayce, he’d seen a side to Lee that he’d never revealed to anybody else. He’d learned his hopes, his dreams and more importantly his sacrifices, all the things he’d done for Kayce and Jamie to set them free, so they didn’t end up trapped the way he was.

“All he wanted was for me to be happy.” Kayce tells you, his fingers combing through your hair. “And me, being here on Jamie’s ranch with you, that makes me happy.”

“It makes me happy too.” You tell him, your lips brushing over the flourish of the ‘Y’ etched into his skin. “It makes me very happy.”

Love Kayce? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[chinomiko]

HIIII CHINO HOW U ARE?!! 💗💗🫂💗 I also want the interesting things for Leiftan or any thing/fact about Leiftan I’m dying I need content of him 😭😭😭😭🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🫂 mabeibi ma beibi please I beg you sweetie, xoxooo love you sweetie!!

Heya ! I am fine thank you I guess the easiest for me to tell about Leiftan is his all backstory who was actually and unfortunately never correctly exploited and explained in game. Leiftan was a toddler during the time of the Blue Sacrifice. The aengels didn’t want to sacrifice as planned, and for this reason they ended up being persecuted by the other faes. Leiftan’s parents were killed, but before they died they put him in a stasis spell to hide and protect him.

An aengel survivor, Verom, ended up finding him. (Mowgli style XD ) Verom was weak after the persecution and he decided to establish himself at the Fountain of Youth in company of the Naiade nymphe who guarded the fountain. (She is linked to her fountain as hamadryades are with their tree.) She was a good soul and offered her help. They cared for Leiftan, still in stasis at this point.

After some centuries, Leiftan’s soulmate was born and Leiftan not destined to be alone anymore, the freezing spell broke. Toddler Leiftan slowly awoke and started living again.

So he grew up with his adoptive parents. As soon as he could, Verom trained Leiftan into using aengel powers, and taught him about the Blue Sacrifice etc.

When he was still very young, a group of exploring humans found the fountain’s place by pure luck. They ended up trying to steal its water but in the fight they killed the Naiade. The fountain dried immediately and she turned to stone. There was just a little bit of water left, she could rejuvenate with a lot of time and patience, and hope.

And then we arrive when Leiftan was a young teen, some humans found the fountain again, but this time they knew what they were looking for. And these humans happened to be... leaded by Erika's father. He was looking for that youth fountain discovered years ago, Erika was sick and dying from some unknown disease (certainly related to her Fae genes), and that was the only way he knew that could save her. He wanted the remaining water. They fought for it, of course. Charles kills Verom (he is an old man by now) and by taking the last drops of the fountain he also kills the Naiade.

With that bit of magical water with him, he and the soldiers left as he came. Thinking everyone dead.

But Leiftan was not, and he is left as a young daemon, partially trained and able to hide his nature. Full of anger and hate. Hate for both faeries and humans and this is his villain origin story.

(And so, Charles is the person who killed his parents, but also the one who saved his soulmate in doing so. How so tragic hehe.) ———————

Another thing is the potion they make Erika drink later in the story so they would forget about her on Earth.

It was Leiftan’s idea all along, he suggested it to Miiko. With this solution, he was sure Erika would have to stay by their side and he would do anything to keep her close to him. He then acted innocent around her.

And for those who might be mad at this revelation, sorry but don’t forget Leiftan has always been a villain and a good two faced one at this. (Especially in the earlier story)

[elijones94]

🐾🐺 When first introduced to Mowgli in “The Jungle Book”, as Bagheera explains in his narration Mowgli’s popularity with the young wolves, he is seen walking along a path in the jungle. This is of course ten years after being taken in by the wolf pack as a baby. Mowgli puts his hands to his mouth and howls like his fellow wolves. Two of Mowgli’s wolf brothers dash off from the den and enthusiastically greet him by jumping on him and licking his face. The scene of the two wolfs jumping onto Mowgli and licking him is actually some reused animation from a scene in “The Sword In The Stone” from 1963. “The Jungle Book” was released in 1967, about ten months after Walt Disney’s death. 🌴🐾

[sombredancer]

Asian dramas and my favorite types of characters

There are my favorite types of characters as a list. A villain with a fatal weakness

Drama: The Scholar Who Walks the Night /밤을 걷는 선비 Character: Gwi Screentime: Secondary Gwi is an ancient vampire and a master of puppets (and Joseon's king is the main of them). He is merciless, invincible and scheming all the drama long, until he accidentally kills a girl, who was his hostage and recalcitrant puppet from her childhood on and was the only one who could scold him and deny him. Nothing about it is said directly in the drama, but after her death he goes insane, kills all of his puppets and this way causes his own death. So, I suppose, she was his only weakness, and I like this type of a personal drama for a villain. Punch-Clock Villain / the Dragon

Drama: 100 Days My Prince /백일의 낭군님 Character: Moo-yeon Screentime: Secondary Moo-yeon works as an assassin for the killer of his father, who is constantly threatening him with the life of his sister. Moo-yeon is a man of a very ill fate: his family was accused of a treason and executed, his sister became a fugitive, he was forced to sell his conscience for his and sister's lives and, as a cherry on the top of this cake, fell in love with the daughter of his captor. And died trying to save her... His story is sooooo sad, but it makes me feel for this character fully. Also, he is the king of whump because the half of the drama he is injured and suffers from his wounds. The whole sad story of this guy is analyzed by me here, here and here.

Drama: The King Loves /왕은 사랑한다 Character: Moo-suk Screentime: Minor Koreans, obviously, like this type of characters, too, so there is another Dragon of the main villain, Moo-suk. In his free from dirty deeds time he h̶e̶l̶p̶s̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶l̶a̶d̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶c̶r̶o̶s̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶o̶a̶d̶ literally saves cute children and restores self-confidence of young ladies. And then he falls in love, rethinks his life and dies from the hand of his master. Predictable and sad. Still a memorable guy, though. 50 shades of a Byronic Hero

Drama: The Wolf / 狼殿下 Character: Chu Youwen Screentime: Main A Mowgli boy was adopted by a wicked emperor, brought up like a cruel beast and was forced to do some dirty stuff for the emperor. He is mysterious, severe and you never know what's on his mind. As a true Byronic hero. He is some kind of Dragon, too, but it's a Chinese drama and he is a main hero in it, that's why he doesn't really do anything bad during the series. His soul is kind and his heart is pure, but he hides it from his love and deals with all of his problems on his own. It's the reason why all of this drama is a masochistic tango between him and his love. Whump lovers will be happy, too, because he is constantly in chains, pierced by arrows like a hedgehog or works as a slave in mines. As any other Dragon, he has a BE.

Drama: Lost You Forever /长相思 第一季 Character: Xiang Liu Screentime: Secondary A mysterious demon general, whose name makes everyone shake in fear. A former demon slave, who is true to his word enough to fight for his benefactor even if he knows crystal clearly that it's hopeless and he and his army will die in the end. A man who has huge problems with expression of his emotions in a socially approved way. Edward Cullen of Chinese dramaland. He is enigmatic, with thick vibes of a bad guy, yet very loyal to his benefactor as well as his love and very selfless. Because of this loyalty he will die and the love of his life will never-ever find out about anything he has done for her during the story.

Drama: My Journey to You /云之羽 Character: Gong Shangjue Screentime: Secondary A guy was through trauma in his childhood and it made him look intimidating and unfeeling. A tsundere is born! He coped with his trauma by taking extra responsibilities for everything and everyone and turned to be a walking killing machine instead of a man. But an enemy assassin comes to his life and teaches him how to be a human once more. It's a painful experience, but it`s necessary in order to grow up as a character and is beautifully fulfilled. It was a great joy to know that he survives at the end of the story, it's a rare thing for this type of characters, so even if there is season 2 someday, I will not watch it in order not to spoil my impression of the first one. I wrote about him detailed here, here, here and here.

Drama: Princess Agents / 特工皇妃楚乔传 Character: Yan Xun Screentime: Secondary It's the transformation story, too, like a previous one, but this time it's transformation from an ordinary man to a villain. Prince Yan Xun is a hostage colony prince in a metropolis empire, but he enjoys a noble life along with other nobility youth. The society around him is awful, each of these noble youths is a psycho who appreciate human hunt and so on, but cheerful and easy-going Yan Xun doesn't think their bloodthirstiness could turn against him. When relationship between the metropolis and the colony become tense, though, Yan Xun's friends of yesterday are happy to drink his blood. He loses his whole family and, insanely longing for revenge, slowly turns to one of those monsters himself.

Drama: A Journey to Love / 一念关山 Character: Li Tongguang Screentime: Minor This guy has got a very realistic personality and background: he is a bastard who was deprived of mother's love since he was a child. The first circumstance made him power-hungry, scheming and outwardly emotionless, the second one made him longing for mother's love on insanely level. So he is invincible outwardly, but turns into a teary mess when it's about his female tutor, who is a mother figure for him. The contrast between these two personalities is enormous and makes this character very alive and interesting. During the drama he will not cope with his Oedipus complex but circumstances will solve this problem for him.

A pure-hearted hero

Drama: Creation of the Gods Ⅰ / 封神三部曲 Character: Ji Fa Screentime: Main It's maybe strange to find this type of characters in the list of my favorite types, but morality and selflessness of a character is very important for me, too. This story is some kind of King Arthur's legend, but in a Chinese way. The emperor is bewitched by a demon and is bringing the kingdom to it's downfall, the Gods are here to find the savior with the help of a magic scroll that can be opened only by a true king. Ji Fa, a hero of this story, doesn't care about scrolls, but his heart is loyal to his kingdom and to his family (in this very order). He genuinely wants to help his friend-prince to be a king his kingdom deserves and, despite awful things that were done to him and his family, doesn`t harden his soul and betray his ideals. And, I suppose, although he isn't aware of this, he IS the future King Arthur of China. Interesting character decisions

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Jiang Wu Screentime: Minor This character is something like a rival of the male lead. He is a xinmo - an inner demon of some other character and represents the darkest features of a human's soul. He is a ruthless killer, a dark sorcerer without conscience, but what was very unique, being literary the worst part of a human personality, he values his assistants a lot and genuinely cares for them. A villain is usually a lone wolf. He doesn't trust anyone and doesn't value anyone, his loneliness is usually his weakness and a key to his downfall. So I was pleasantly surprised that sometimes a villain is capable of building healthy relationships with his subordinates.

Drama: Sh**ting Stars / 별똥별 Characters: Do Soo-hyuk Screentime: Minor

This guy truly surprised me. Firstly, he is supposed to be something like a third wheel in relationships of the main couple, but he just calmly got a refusal from the female lead, said "OK" and, absolutely relaxed, proceeded to live his life further. It's something unbelievable for me, because I used to see the insanity caused by an unrequited love to be the plot engine of a lot of dramas. Secondly, he is well-written as a character, straightforward, principled and has tsundere-ish or Byronic vibes - all the character features that I like =) Part 3 will be about other interesting types of relationship, mostly between men.

[batrogers]

Civilized Or Not

So there’s some common Zelda fanon I wanna talk about, relating to civilization tropes I think some of y’all haven’t really thought about in detail before, and that’s Hyrule (Zelda 1 &2 Link), Wild (BOTW mostly), and Ravio (LbW).

I’m using the Linked Universe names, because that’s where most of it comes up, because these things happen most often where you can contrast the boys with each other. This is often done, quick and dirty, by people assigning “roles” to each without much thought. Ravio’s unfortunately tends to be extremely pervasive outside LU spaces, too.

But, in brief, there is a trend for people to craft these characters in a framework of innocent vs savagery vs trickery that can have some really unfortunate implications I’m not sure many are even aware of. Hopefully I can explain better where these ideas come from, why they’re so easy and appealing, and why we should try to avoid repeating them for more than just the sake of “easy” but also to stop repeating some really nasty historical tropes.

I would start from what’s probably the simplest one to address: the tendency towards a “feral” personification of Wild. This tends to come from two places: Wild’s amnesia, and the collapse of society around him and his lost place in it.

Now, brain damage is complicated. You can lose a range of things to any given injury because of the way information is encoded differently and in different places. You can lose memory and/or skills and/or coordination and/or balance, etc, because it all depends on what got damaged. But in-game a lot of stuff suggests that Link retains things like speech, reading/writing, coordination, and martial skills. None of the people who knew Link prior to his injury suggest he seems changed in any way not attributed to stress and anxiety...

And, more importantly, real people suffer memory loss just like that in the real world. Treating him like he’s become “feral” due to memory loss is cruel to actual people living with brain damage today, and if you go there you should have a good reason for it.

Social collapse is a wide-spread theme in basically every Zelda game. The threat that the Big Bad poses is almost always the destruction of society as it exists: Malladus literally vanishes the infrastructure of New Hyrule in Spirit Tracks; the Twilight turns people into spirits living lives they don’t realize are questionably real in Twilight Princess; Veran freezes the passage of time to force people to work forever in Oracle of Ages. King Daphnes and Ganondorf under the sea vie over the fate of the world above in Wind Waker: keep what’s been made, or start all over again?

In modern culture, people tell a lot of stories about the fragility of civilization and what happens in its absence. You get the range from Lord of the Flies, in which children wrecked on an island attempt (and fail) to recreate civilization on their own, Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” in which Mowgli is treated as reckless and innocent, and a much more obscure piece from the 18th century “Paul et Virginie” (and likely many more I don’t know offhand.) Essentially all of them play with the question of how do people become civilized, and what happens when they do? In Lord of the Flies, the children were civilized and failed to maintain it; in the Jungle Book, the boy wasn’t civilized and innocently interacts with it. In Paul et Virginie, the children were (relatively) uncivilized on the (French colonized) Mauritius, raised by their mothers but when the girl was sent away, she becomes civilized and dies tragically to preserve it.

The two Links most removed from civilization are Hyrule and Wild. Wild “lost” civilization, losing both his memories of it and the structure of it. Making him feral, without manners, and without a place to belong is that kind of Lord of the Flies savagery mixed with Mowgli’s innocent playfulness: there isn’t a structure to adhere to, so he’s a savage. Whereas Hyrule is more like the Paul eg Virginie side: innocent of civilization, he remains pure and sweet and kind, unable to conceive of big concepts like evil or money or so on. Neither position permits them to interact with the civilization that is right there in front of them! Wild can buy a house; he has people who know and care for him. He has social connections and social rights. The world exists, but the fandom does not seem to want him to interact with it in favour of remaining “wild.” In Zelda 2 – a game explicitly set within a decade of Zelda 1 – there are whole towns with trade and a castle and massive structures with on-going life in them... but very few fans seem to ever reach into that story or relate it back to the first. Hyrule, the character, does not exist within Hyrule, the country.

Strangely, Wind Waker does not fall prey to this, I think because the structures are presented as fait accompli: Link wakes up with his grandmother and his sister, he has a defined home, and a society in which you spend the entire game forced to engage with. Zelda 1 & 2 were not sophisticated enough to waste resources on going as in depth in social terms (although such interactions absolutely exist in Zelda 2!) and BOTW leaves such interactions as optional: you can survive the game with minimal social contact... but it’s a choice to play with it that way, not the default. The ways in which this edges onto the noble savage trope, in which “uncivilized” tribes are either innocent or brutish (rather than complex social systems in their own right) is fairly obvious.

There is one other character in Zelda who gets treated to the question of whether he is an innocent, free of civilization and all its rigour... or something else. Ravio, coming from the devastated world of Lorule, can often wind up slotted into the scared, innocent child trope and unfortunately that’s the better position people frequently take. The worse one evokes the Merchant of Venice: the deceitful, Jewish merchant who values money over people’s lives.

Lorule (and Nintedo’s approach towards their humanoid Zelda villains in general) is near-eastern-coded in many ways, down to the fact that Yuga’s outfit is the spitting image of Ottoman dress. Yuga being a depraved bisexual (a common historical trope about Muslim men towards Christian men and boys), and Hilda being deceitful and conspiring against everyone she was once allied to are a backdrop to the ways in which Ravio is a greedy coward. He’s not an evil character in the game; the mechanic of penalizing death without being too severe is interesting and works well! But that doesn’t take away the stereotype, just like it’s not okay Nabooru is pretty explicitly predatory towards child Link in Ocarina of Time, too.

Arab and Jewish stereotypes often converge, because both people's originate from the same region, and both are hostile "Others" to Christian Europe and Nintendo doesn’t have a great track record of their near-Eastern coding in Zelda. It crosses the whole gamut from harem and amazon tropes with the Gerudo to breath-takingly anti-semitic or anti-black (Ganondorf being green, eg. non-human, in various incarnations), all packaged neatly in the ideal of medieval fantasy Europe. The scale would be impressive if it wasn’t so damn awful, but we can at least stop repeating it in our fanworks.

Wild doesn’t have to be feral to be a playful little shit; Hyrule doesn’t have to be pure and innocent to be kind. Ravio doesn’t need to be innocent or scheming, and he shouldn’t place money over Link’s well-being (If you chose to respawn at home, he is consistently only ever concerned for Link! Once you buy the items outright, he promises he'll still be there to take care of you.)

Do better. It’s more interesting that way, and I want to see that variety grow!

[If any of y'all would like me to dig up better sources on any point, I can do so but I didn't want to bog this post down further. I have largely left the anti-arab stuff alone because it's not the biggest issue with Ravio's fanon presence, which is the focus here.]

[imeanwhynotbruv]

Tuk & Spider

(Mowglie spider au)

First of all, I’m back!!!! Sorry for being away but I had stuff going on and now it’s done✨✨ also now I have a bunch of free time so expect updates again!!

Anyway, I think Tuk would definitely take to Spider very quickly because at first his is kind of just like a baby, very animalistic and doesn’t understand or care about what other ppl think / what’s expect of his age.

This means that, unlike her siblings, Spider doesn’t think she’s a baby and doesn’t want to hang out with her. Like Spiders not stupid, but because of his upbringing he’s not on the emotion level he should be, which means he relates more the Tuks childish attitude to things.

Tuk is also definitely one of Spiders favourite if not favourite, because she’s very straightforward in the way only a child can be and he really appreciates that (the poor baby defiantly has a hard time getting sarcasm social cues and subtext 😂😭)

Also like in he bites (the little short) Tuk is definitely willing to weaponise Spider😂 like she looks like an Angel but is totally mischievous and at the begging spider doesn’t even get what there doing is misbehaving.

Spider does warm up the the other sullys quickly, but even after he’s gotten used to things I think he’ll still see Tuk as a fav, maybe like a little Thanator cub that he wants to protect.

Spider defo likes to be around Tuk a lot

He likes her stories because they’re simple and more fun

He spend more time with her because it’s easier than trying to figure out what older ppl really mean

Her lessons are also easier for him because they’re generally childish

She doesn’t force him to try and use his words when he’s frustrated because she’s just content to do all the talking

He’s defiantly over protective and will stand like a threatening guard dog behind her even if he’s standing up to a navi adult (but don’t get me wrong he’s a sweet heart)

He definitely enjoys when she falls asleep on him bc it’s like when he was sleeping with the animals

Spider defiantly introduces her to all his animal friends even when it gives the rest of the sullys a heart attack

Eywa thinks it’s adorable

There will be more but I thought you might like this❤️ Asks are welcome and I hope you enjoyed

(Sorry again for being MIA😅)

[princess-of-the-corner]

Tried to think of some Miraculous Gaang names! You may want to Google a few of these, fair warning.

Ladybug!Sokka - Captain Harmonia/Harlequin/Beetle

Black Cat!Katara - Painted Jaguar

Turtle!Aang - Lion Turtle, Tortiseshell

Snake!Suki - Pythonic, Tealtime, Naga, Aspen, Tock Viper, Medusa/Stheno/Euryale, Teal Gorgan

Tiger!Toph - The Blind Tiger

Dragon!Zuko - Seiryu 

Fox!Azula - Inari, Kistune, Silver Reynard, Kuma Lisa, Blue Ren (“the tale of Miss Ren”)

Pig!Jin - Babirusa

Bee!Ty Lee - Bumblebee (there is literally a “Dance of the Bumblebee” music score), Honeycomb

Mouse!Mai - Rat Queen (based on the “Rat King” from the Nutcracker Ballet. Kind of as a slide parallel to her canon thing, here, Mai’s parents signed her up for ballet, where she met Ty Lee and Azula.)

Ox!Haru - Oxenfree (all I got right now)

Horse!Teo - got nothing but “Pegasus” which is taken

Rabbit!Yué - Luna Lapine, Luna Angora, Satin Moon, Velvet Moon

Monkey!Kuzon - a bit more explanation here. Mostly, I was trying to fill out the miraculous roster, cause AtLa only has a few “main” characters, I was trying to find some named characters the Gaang is shown being friends with who are roughly their age. I didn’t list Jet or his friends, cause, honestly, what exactly would their story be?? How do they integrate? Like, I’m sure you could do something, I just couldn’t really think of anything at the time. But also, I realized all the friends of the Gaang belong to Katara, Sokka, or Suki, later Zuko - Aang and Toph don’t really have any that are unconnected from them. In Toph’s case, she was raised super sheltered, and never got a chance to meet anyone, while Aang HAD friends, but they’re all mostly dead, except Bumi, because of the 100 years in ice thing. And we already have Bumi here being an old man. The only other friend Aang really mentions is Kuzon, the Fire Nation kid who … I think there’s a short story about the pair of them fighting off poachers? Anyway, I was basically imagining Kuzon as “Le Chien Kim, but Animal Lover and Environmentalist Advocate”. He would have grown up next door to Aang and Gyatso, and that’s how the pair are friends. As for names … I want to say Tarzan or Mowgli, but I feel like, even in universe, those would get him visits from lawyers.

Now, briefly into ships - this is just me spitballing my random headcanons, PLEASE TO ALL READING THIS, WE ARE HAVING FUN, LET’S NOT BRING THE ATLA SHIPWARS HERE! THIS IS JUST ME SPITBALLING! THEY CAN ALL BE CHANGED!

so, Katara/Aang. Aang I see as non-binary - they don’t mind which pronouns you use, but mostly uses he/they when referring to himself. Katara believes she is straight, but is actually bi with a bigger attraction to males.

Sokka is poly-pansexual. His relationships start with Sokka/Yue, until Yué realizes she’s actually AroAce, and they break up. Then later Sokka/Suki, which morphs into Zuko/Sokka & Sokka/Suki, which changes to Zuko/Sokka/Suki. Suki’s bi, while Zuko is … Zuko (demi-pan, but never has the words for it till WAY later).

Toph is Aro, or at least grayromantic, as is Teo. Teo I also see as trans, but that might just be me.

Mai/Ty Lee eventually becomes Mai/Ty Lee/Azula. (Sexuality uncertain, but my cousin does call them the “Deadly Lesbians”.) There’s a brief Mai/Zuko, but only to get Mai’s parents to back off and leave her alone.

Haru is our only totally straight guy, congrats man, you are our cishet+!

Thoughts, Feelings, Opinions, New/Different Ideas?

(Also, side note. We still have Cabbage man, right?)

-

OH SO

Loving the names! I think I’m gonna make a masterpost of the names here once I finalize them.

Totally get the thing on Kuzon. Like yeah I’m trying to think of other characters to fill out the Hero team and other than Jet’s group there aren’t a lot. There’s a reason I dragged Jin into this(other than the fact that I love her)

And yeah I’ve been turning Jet and co over in my head trying to think of what they’d be and I can’t think of anything for them because there’s so many changes to the base setup.

AS FOR SHIPS

I have my ships I like and while I do take suggestions it’s my au and I get the nonsense!

Obvs the Aang/Katara stays.

I see the Zuko/Sokka/Suki and raise you adding Jin in there.

Swinging to Yue: I always have mixed feelings in some AUs because I love her and Sokka in Canon but most AUs they never really work out. And in this one idk why they wouldn’t exactly? Like nothing gets in the way. Maybe if I write Sokka starting the Suki relationship first and then while they’re poly they’re not at a ‘hey how do you think about another person?’ discussion stage when they meet Yue? And then by the time they are at that stage either they’ve moved on or Yue has her own partner?

That said. Yue/Azula. Any time I have the chance for them I take it. Like the equal opposite you see my vision.

I also have this weird soft spot for Toph/Ty Lee. Probably has something to do with that post of ‘Ty Lee teaches Toph to walk on her hands’ thing because as funny as that post is these two are menaces it’s great, the amount of trust involved in it!

Haru is def our token straight though.

My one original thought:

So like. The Gaang has a range of ages. And in atla that’s fine due to the circumstances. But here it’s kind of a question of ‘how do they all meet/become friends/etc if they never really meet’? so I’m gonna make shit up to squish them into the same grade in school. 

Aang and Toph skipped a grade. Homeschooling put them a bit ahead of their peers in public school so they just got placed ahead.

On the flipside, Zuko got held back a grade due to the whole ‘being kicked out and horrifically scarred’ thing. Like between the mental and physical care he’d need he missed a lot of class that year so just. Repeat the year.

[aspoonofsugar]

Blake's Jungle Book

The Jungle Book is Blake's secondary allusion, which is used to describe our Cat Girl's political plotline, her relationship with the White Fang and her interactions in Menagerie (her personal Jungle).

A POLITICAL FAIRY TALE

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book is a metaphor for the author's moral and political beliefs. Unluckily, these ideals are not that good, as Kipling is the author of The White Man's Burden, a famous racist poem. In short, Kipling believed it was the duty of the white man to colonize and educate the "savages" (ugh).

This philosophy appears in The Jungle Book, as well (luckily not as much and together with better themes). Now, RWBY counters this by turning Kipling's premise upside down.

Kipling's works often present the English Colonialism as positive and helpful

Blake's Jungle Book shows a discriminated minority fighting for freedom, conquering violence and helping the world

So, RWBY's Jungle Book becomes an answer to the original tale. It refuses its racism, but keeps intact the vibrating characters and the powerful themes of freedom and self-discovery.

SUMMARY AND KEY ELEMENTS

The Jungle Book is not a novel, but rather an anthology of short stories that often have animals as protagonists. Among these, Mowgli's fables are the most famous and the focus of this meta.

So, here comes a summary of Mowgli's coming of age journey, which is told in several separated tales.

One night, a couple of wolves (in some versions Rama, the father, and Raksha, the mother) find a human cub and adopt him. They call him Mowgli (frog) because he is hairless. Still, the tiger Shere Khan wants to kill the baby. The matter is discussed at the pack's meeting, where Akela (the leader of the wolves), Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther all defend the child. In the end, Mowgli is accepted into the group thanks to Bagheera offering a bull for him.

Mowgli grows like a wolf of the pack and lives several adventures under the mentorship of Bagheera, Baloo and later on Kaa the python. He follows the Law of the Jungle and feels part of the pack (the free people). Meanwhile, though, Akela grows weaker and Shere Khan spreads his influence among the younger wolves. He convinces them to antagonize Akela and Mowgli. One night, Akela fails to kill the prey, which means the other wolves can kill him. Shere Khan wants to use this chance to seize the position of leader and have Mowgli die. However, Mowgli steals a pot of fire (the so called red flower) to use against the tiger, has him run away and saves Akela. Still, the pack is left with no leader and Mowgli himself feels betrayed by the other wolves siding with Shere Khan. So, he leaves the jungle and goes to live with the humans.

In the human village he is adopted by a woman called Messua and starts herding the buffalos. One day, he is reached by one of his wolf brothers who warns him Shere Khan is coming to kill him. Mowgli decides to attack first and has the buffalos run over the tiger, who is stomped to death. A human hunter sees this and enters a fight with Mowgli over the tiger's skin. The hunter turns the other villagers against the boy, who is forced to leave. He goes back to the jungle, where he is now considered a king, as a result of him killing Shere Khan.

However, the humans think of Mowgli as a demon now and lash out against Messua. They have the woman and her husband tied up to be executed. Mowgli frees them and then decides to destroy the village. He asks for the elephants' help and has them stomp over all the fields. In this way, the humans are forced to relocate and the village gets engulfed by the animals and the vegetation.

Some time later, a new wolf pack is born, but they are soon threatened by the red dogs, who are very aggressive and kill everyone in their path. Mowgli decides to fight together with the wolves and asks for Kaa's advice. The python helps Mowgli lead the dogs where the bees live. The insects emerge from their nest and kill half of the group, while the other half is defeated by the wolves. In this fight, Akela finally dies and tells Mowgli to go live with the humans.

Years later in spring, Mowgli follows Akela's advice and goes to another human village, where he finds Messua again. He goes to live with her and says goodbye to the jungle. Bagheera kills a bull just like the one he offered for Mowgli's safety in the beginning. This is the panther's goodbye and he, Baloo and Kaa all bless Mowgli, as he leaves.

Mowgli's story deals with themes key to Blake's arc.

1- Freedom

Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation…

Mowgli's pack is called the free people and Blake's White Fang fights for the faunus's freedom. Not only that, but the jungle animals call each other's brothers and sisters, just like the faunus in Menagerie do.

Bagheera went on, "Open your eyes, Little Brother"

Ghira: It's your brothers and sisters.

So, both Kipling's animals and Blake's faunus explore freedom. On the one hand the jungle animals follow the Law of the Jungle and are noble and free because of it. On the other hand the faunus must decide if giving up their own morality is a price they want to pay for their liberation.

Does being free mean you chain someone else up? Or is there another path to freedom?

2- The animal/human dychotomy

Past Blake: It’s simple, really. You could just be human, or just a cat, if you wanted. Really, it’s up to you. Blake: Why would I do that? Past Blake: Like I said, it’s simple, much simpler than trying to be a bridge between Humans and Faunus. Why struggle with that responsibility?

Mowgli and Blake are both animal and human. This in itself is a double-edged sword. On the one hand they find friends and allies both among the faunus/animals and among the humans. On the other hand they sometimes feel they don't belong anywhere. This conflict is explored by them moving freely between the 2 worlds.

Mowgli goes back and forth between the jungle and the human village:

He grows in the jungle, but leaves after the fight with Shere Khan

He lives in the human village for a while, but things do not work out and he goes back to the jungle after killing the tiger

He becomes an adult in the jungle, where he grows powerful enough to lead his pack against the red dogs

He finally chooses to start a new life among humans

Blake goes back and forth between Menagerie/the White Fang and Remnant/team RWBY:

She grows with the White Fang (her pack), but chooses to leave it after Sienna Khan (Shere Khan) becomes the new leader

She lives at Beacon (the human village), where she hides among humans and tries to conform. Still, things don't work out and Adam and the White Fang (the jungle) catch up to her

She goes back to Menagerie (the jungle) and grows strong enough to lead her people (the wolves) against the White Fang (the red dogs)

She finally leaves Menagerie and the White Fang (the jungle) and starts a new life with her team (humans)

So, Blake's story can really be told through The Jungle Book. Let's see to what extent and how the faunus of Menagerie fit the jungle chatacters.

Before we start, though, here are some metas by @blue-cheeseinmyoffwhites, which explore the Jungle Book allusion:

Ilia as Mowgli

Kali as Raksha

Ghira as Bagheera

I am going to reference several ideas present in these posts, so a big thank you to the OP's contributions!

BAGHEERA VS SHERE KHAN

The Jungle Book starts with a disagreement between Mowgli's parental figures and Shere Khan. They fight over the future of the newfound human cub. Should he live or should he die?

This same conflict is present in RWBY, as well. It is just that here the ideological clash is not about a single human child, but rather on the human race, as a whole. Should faunus try to live peacefully with humans or should they fight them violently?

Two leaders come to opposite answers to this question.

On the one hand there is Ghira (together with his wife Kali):

Kali and Ghira allude to all of Mowgli's parental figures, who are:

Raksha - the mother wolf who finds and adopts Mowgli

Akela - the leader of the wolf pack

Baloo - the bear who teaches the little cubs the Law of the Jungle

Bagheera - the black panther who used to live with humans

Kali is loosely based on Raksha in the sense that she alludes to the Goddess Kali, who is worshipped in some areas (like Bengal) as Raksha Kali (Kali the protector). She is also Blake's proud mama wolf (even if she is a cat :P) and is ready to do anything for her daughter's sake.

Ghira instead shares traits with all 3 of Mowgli's fathers. He is the leader of the White Fang, just like Akela is the head of the pack. He transmits his ideals of peace and equality to Blake, just like Baloo teaches Mowgli the Law of the Jungle. Finally, he is the chieftain of Menagerie, just like Bagheera used to live in the raja's menagerie. This is also why the black panther knows more about humans than the other people of the jungle. Similarly, Gheera wants to co-exist with the human race.

On the other hand there is Sienna Khan:

Sienna obviously alludes to the tiger Shere Khan. She is a tiger faunus, who despises humans, just like Kipling's character. Moreover, her personality is on some level similar to Shere Khan's:

Sienna: I'm starting to doubt either of you fully comprehend what it is that I want. I want humanity to fear the Faunus, to know that we demand respect! I do not want to start a war with the humans that we cannot win!

Here, Sienna basically says she is not gonna start a fight she is gonna lose. This personality trait is confirmed by her semblance Grudge, which lets her grow stronger and faster when facing a weakened enemy. In short, she symbolically grows more aggressive and powerful against an opponent already on their last leg. This is similar to the tiger, as Shere Khan is famous for fighting mostly when he has the advantage.

What's important is that Ghira and Sienna's rivalry mirrors Bagheera/Akela and Shere Khan's. On the one hand Bagheera and Shere Khan are opposites ideologically. The panther respects humans, while the tiger hates them. On the other hand Akela and Shere Khan are political enemies, as they fight over the control of the wolf pack. Similarly, Ghira and Sienna embody opposite ideals and disagree on how to lead the White Fang.

In the end, the 2 characters' stories mirror those of their literary counter-parts.

Bagheera and Akela remain close to Mowgli, who keeps following their teachings. In particular, Akela loses control over the wolves, but he is saved by Mowgli who grows into a leader of his own.

Shere Khan briefly becomes the leader of the wolves, but is defeated twice. First politically, as Mowgli humiliates him in front of the wolves. Secondly physically, as he follows Mowgli to kill him, but ends up dead instead.

Likewise, Ghira gives up the leadership of the White Fang and retires. Still, he gets his daughter back and Blake becomes his political heir. Sienna instead influences the younger generation (Adam, Blake and Ilia), but is killed by Adam, who steps up as her ideological successor. Her death even combines both of Shere Khan's defeats:

Mowgli wins against the tiger by using fire, which the people of the jungle call red flower. Adam is the red flower (cursed red rose) who steals Sienna's support and organizes a coup (political death).

Mowgli kills the tiger by having the oxens run over him. Adam is the bull who stomps Sienna to death and kills her (physical death).

Ghira and Sienna leave behind two opposite political legacies, which are picked up by respectively Blake and Adam. So, the panther and tiger's ideological conflict goes on with the cat and the bull's antagonism.

BLAKE VS ADAM

Blake and Adam's conflict ties with The Jungle Book in 3 different ways:

Blake is Mowgli and Adam is Shere Khan - They fight for survival

In The Jungle Book 2016 movie Shere Khan is blind from one eye. The tiger is said to have lost it to humans and their red flower (fire). This is very similar to Adam's backstory. He was abused by humans and lost an eye to them. As a result, he gets corrupted by a metaphorical red flower (the cursed rose), which turns him into a selfish beast. Both the tiger and Adam are blinded by their hate and are defeated because of this.

Not only that, but Adam's personality is really similar to Kipling's Shere Khan (way more than Sienna's). Both are bullies, which turn a wound (Shere Khan's injured leg and Adam's lost eye) into an excuse to hurt others. Both are short sighted and short lived leaders. Shere Khan's status as chief ends immediately because of Mowgli and Adam's command is lost because of Blake. Finally, both follow Mowgli and Blake to murder them, but are killed instead. The way Adam dies even alludes to the 2 ways Mowgli wins against the tiger:

Adam loses because of his anger blinding him, just like a crazy bull. Mowgli uses the oxens' fear and anger to lead them over Shere Khan.

Adam is defeated by Blake and Yang's combined efforts. In particular, Yang is the fire that helps Blake win against her personal Shere Khan.

So, Adam and Blake's conflict really mirrors Shere Khan and Mowgli's, with Blake gaining two big victories against the tiger/bull. The first political (at Haven) and the second physical (at Argus).

Blake is Bagheera and Adam is Shere Khan - They fight over Mowgli

Blake and Adam inherit Ghira and Sienna's philosophies. Not only that, but they make these ideals more radical:

Ghira: She's learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older: That there is strength in forgiveness.

Adam: We're better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve the Faunus.

Ghira admits that Blake has already surpassed him in terms of inner strength, idealism and ability to forgive. Adam claims that Sienna is not extreme enough in her grudge against humans. Humans should not only fear the faunus, but also serve them.

Blake mobilitates the faunus for peace and love, while Adam invites them to war and hate. So, what was a political disagreement for Ghira and Sienna becomes a full out fight for Blake and Adam. Once again, we have a black cat and a red beast fighting over how to deal with humanity. Symbolically this conflict becomes about one simple soul:

Ilia can be seen as based on Mowgli, especially when it comes to her backstory and chameleon traits:

Blake: Why… why'd you join the White Fang? Ilia: Same reason as you. Blake: But… Ilia: But why fight when I pass for Human?

As Blake highlights, Ilia could pass up as human. In a sense, she is "hairless", just like Mowgli who is jokingly called by his friends "little frog". So, Ilia could easily blend in and this is at the center of her background:

Ilia: We lived in Mantle with the other Faunus working the mines. But my parents wanted something better for me. They managed to enroll me in an Atlas prep school. Imagine that - a little Faunus girl from Mantle going to the city of dreams. I felt like a princess. But I had to follow a set of rules. No bringing friends home, no talking about my parents…and absolutely, under no circumstances, was I allowed to change colors. No one could know I was a Faunus.

Ilia tries to integrate in Atlas (a human village) and perfectly follows her parents' rules (the Law of the Jungle). Still, things eventually do not work out and Ilia leaves Atlas disgusted and heartbroken:

Ilia: I lost control. Every inch of me turned blue as I wept. And suddenly all the girls that I'd laughed and played with… were scared of me. Blake: I'm sorry. Ilia: Don't be. I broke their teeth.

This story parallels and partly inverts Mowgli's. Just like the human cub, she finds herself adopted by people different from her. She feels part of the pack, but a sudden tragedy makes her realize this isn't the case. She is betrayed and leaves to go back to her people. She joins the White Fang, but finds a violent and controlling reality.

So, Ilia herself is the Mowgli Blake and Adam are symbolically fighting for. After all, she is a foil of both.

Just like Blake, Ilia is a young girl who finds herself in a toxic cult. She is confused and manipulated and can't really build up the strength to leave. Her arc also partly inverts Blake's. She starts by hiding her faunus heritage and goes on by joining a violent movement. Blake is initially a terrorist and later on covers her faunus trait. They conceal parts of themselves, both in the White Fang and among humans. Their goal is to be accepted for who they are.

Just like Adam, she is a faunus exploited by Atlas, who grows resentful towards humans because of the Kingdom's racism. They are also parallels when it comes to Blake, as they both fall in love with her. Despite their past feelings, they are also ready to hurt her. In particular, Adam comes up with the plan to kill Blake's family and Ilia takes part in it out of desperation.

In short, Ilia walks a fine line between Blake and Adam and can either turn a new leaf or spiral more:

Blake: That's what worries me about Ilia. She's not like Adam, not yet at least, but I don't know how long that will last.

Luckily, a happy ending awaits our chameleon Mowgli. The conflict between Bagheera and Shere Khan over her destiny is won by the panther and Ilia is happily adopted by the wolf pack:

She finds a sister in Blake and new parents in the Belladonnas. This fits Mowgli's story. Even if he buries his wolf parents in their cave (just like Ilia's die in a cave in), he finds happiness and an adoptive mother in Messua (and Ilia joins Ghira and Kali).

Blake and Adam are two Mowglis - They fight over the Jungle

Mowgli is a character with a duality to him. On the one hand he is honorable, loyal to his people and he refuses to kill humans, even if they treat him poorly. On the other hand he is proud, angers easily and he destroys a village for revenge. He is both respected and feared by his peers:

Blake: We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect… out of fear.

Blake and Adam embody these 2 different sides of Mowgli.

Blake is the Mowgli who fights for her family, her wolf one (Ghira and Kali) and her human one (team RWBY). She is mistreated by both the wolf pack (White Fang) and the human village (society). Still, she doesn't give up on either:

Blake: We're not going to destroy the White Fang. We're going to take it back.

Yang: But you never gave up on them (people). Even when they hurt you. You never give up. You know what matters to you.

Adam is the Mowgli out for revenge, who doesn't forgive either the faunus (the wolves) nor the humans (the villagers). He wants to be on top and relishes his enemies' pain.

Allusion-wise, this difference plays out in the aftermath of Sienna's death, which parallels that of Shere Khan's final defeat. As a matter of fact the tiger's demise marks the beginning of Mowgli's conflict with the humans. This happens because an arrogant hunter wants to take credit for the kill, so he convinces the other villagers Mowgli is a demon.

Well, Adam comes up with a similar lie:

Adam: Give our former leader a proper burial. All who were here tonight will claim that Sienna was murdered by a human Huntsman.

He uses Sienna's death to spread hate towards the humans and the Huntsmen. Not only that, but he manipulates the people of Menagerie into believing the Belladonnas are liars and enemies of the faunus:

Ilia: The Belladonnas are the worse kind of Faunus! They want us to work with the same people that are trying to hold us down! If you truly, truly want to help your people… now is the time to support Adam, not the Belladonnas!

The result of Adam's scheme, though, is that Blake unites the Menagerie faunus (the jungle) by her side.

At the same time, Adam takes up Sienna's mantle as High Leader by killing her. This is how Mowgli gains the other animals' respect after showing them the tiger's skin. By this point, the wolf boy has the jungle antagonize the humans, just like Adam plans a full out attack on Haven.

Both Blake and Adam become the leaders of the jungle and have it advance against their enemy, like Mowgli does. It is just that Blake becomes an inspiration out of love and trust, while Adam grows into a king through hate and violence. So, their collision becomes a clash between 2 opposite ideas of jungle (faunus).

TWO RED FLOWERS

Mowgli's duality is nothing, but humanity's double nature. He can be both a god and a demon. Similarly, people can be both heroes and monsters. This juxtaposition is well conveyed through the red flower aka fire.

On the one hand the red flower gives light and warmth:

Blake uses fire to symbolically draw Ilia into the light and force her to show her "true colors".

On the other hand fire destroys and burns:

Blake: Humans didn't do this. We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves.

Blake chooses light and a loving rose who is hopeful and idealistic:

Adam chooses destruction and a spiteful rose who consumes and burns:

Blake and Adam's different ideologies are well conveyed through their two war songs:

This time The ways of the past we'll get over We'll climb Enlighten a new state of mind And now I'll stand with you shoulder to shoulder Out of the ashes a new flame ignite Rise up from shadows and into the light We'll stand undivided Our futures aligned A new brotherhood This time

I'm here I'm your savior I'll be lionized I am the path to reclamation This world will have no peace til our dream's realized No mercy no compassion our fate's justified Time to turn the table on who's tyrannized

Blake sings together with others. This is a recurring motif with her musical themes. After all, she sings alongside Adam, Sun, Ghira and Yang. When it comes to "This Time", though, the use of "We" shows how much Blake's community means to her. She thinks of the faunus as her brothers and sisters ("A new brotherhood") and considers them as equals ("I'll stand with you shoulder to shoulder"). She sees her pack as a political movement made of free people, ready to fight as one.

Adam sings to others instead. He presents himself as a savior and a hero, some kind of chosen one. By doing so he shows he doesn't consider the people he is supposed to fight for as equals. Everyone is below him. This feeling gets clearly exasperated with time.

He starts his own short with this:

Adam: Now - it's time we got what we deserved.

And he ends it this way:

Adam: It's time I got what I deserved.

He goes from "We" (community/brotherhood) to "I" (individual/savior).

Basically, Blake wants equality ("It's time to save our fate and walk beside the human race"), while Adam wants a new hierarchy ("Time to turn the table on who's tyrannized"):

Blake: I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace! Adam: What you want is impossible!

Blake thinks true freedom is realized when everyone is free and equal. Adam instead believes freedom is simply imprisoning someone else.

These two mentalities tie with the idea of fighting, which is found in both Blake and Adam's rhetoric:

No way to avoid the warfare No way to escape this strife Hear now-listen to me This time retreat Spells our final defeat We must win our life

Lead them to salvation and regain our lives Behold your flaccid leaders Too weak to take the prize Replace them with a warrior It's time we mobilize

It is interesting because Blake and Ghira are seen as pacifists and even criticized for this. Adam and Sienna instead present themselves as fighters who are not scared to spill blood. And yet, the Belladonnas are the ones asking their people to fight:

Ghira: To do this, I think the answer is clear, we must go to Haven and protect it at all costs!

Adam and the White Fang instead claim they will fight in the faunus' place:

Ilia: He (Adam) will bring about the future that you deserve. And if you are unwilling to fight, know that the White Fang will do it for you!

This is addressed in Blake's speech in Menagerie:

Blake: So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! (...) I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake.

To give up one's agency to another is the opposite of freedom. Blake wants her people to be active and to choose their destiny. Adam instead is happy with them being passive, so that he can choose in their stead. Blake inspires the faunus to take their lives in their own hands, while Adam convinces them they do not really need to. Blake truly wants people to be free. Adam instead wants people to be his subjects.

These are Blake and Adam's opposite political manifestos, which are conveyed through two different flags.

Blake's flag mixes the old White Fang's symbol with a new yellow one, as there is continuity between Blake's movement and Ghira's. At the same time, white and especially yellow are two colors linked to light:

Blake symbolically brings Adam into the light and shows his real self to the world.

Adam's flag uses a red symbol, which appears more threatening. Red is linked to blood, as his movement is way more blood-thirsty than the original White Fang:

Adam at Beacon is surrounded by destruction and red flames.

So, Blake and Adam's emblems represent the two different sides of the "red flower". One is a flame which burns gold and sheds light. The other is a flame which burns red and spills blood.

THE RED DOGS

The White Fang's red symbol brings to mind the Red Dogs. They are an aggressive group of dogs, which antagonize Mowgli's wolf pack in the second part of the story. This allusion is hinted at also by the Albain Brothers:

They are literally two red dogs and serve as Adam's most trusted allies.

In general, the short story Red Dogs describes Blake's conflict with Adam very well.

First of all, the war with the Red Dogs is in the second part of Mowgli's story and it marks a reconciliation between Mowgli and the wolf pack. Similarly, Blake and Adam's fight happens after Sienna's death and it ends with Blake mending her relationship with the faunus liberation movement.

Secondly, this story just perfectly fits Blake's plot-wise.

It opens with the arrival of a stranger. He is a lonely wolf (Won-Tolla), who has lost his family and a limb to the Red Dogs. He wants to fight the dogs for revenge, but advises the wolves to leave.

He loosely resembles a certain firecracker:

I am the golden one Who burns just like the sun Next time we meet is your disaster I'll bring the punishment Your song will be lament Revenge, my happy ever after

Luckily, Yang doesn't lose her loved ones to Adam (at least not permanently), but she still gets her arm cut and swears revenge.

Mowgli refuses to leave and urges the pack to fight. He says he is no part of the pack anymore, but that he will join the wolves for this battle. This is similar to Blake's speech to the faunus. She doesn't have to help the humans. Still, she is willing to and invites the other faunus to do the same. They shouldn't run away, but fight with pride:

Now is the time you must fight for your lives The battle is on you're already inside Don't turn back now There's nowhere to hide Nowhere to build a new world Nowhere to start anew Here. Now. Is all that we've got Ready or not There's a war to be fought Only one way through

Still, the real similarities between Kipling's story and Blake's struggle are found in her final confrontation with Adam:

Mowgli defeats the Red Dogs thanks to a well-thought plan, while Blake wins against Adam thanks to her bravery. Still, the two fights follow similar patterns.

Both Mowgli and Blake face their opponents in a forest and lead them to a rocky area above a river:

In The Jungle Book, this is where the murderous bees have their nest. Mowgli runs quickly past them and jumps in the river, where he is helped by Kaa. The dogs are instead killed by the insects and fall in the stream, which leads the survivors to the wolf pack, ready to finish them off.

In RWBY, this bridge over a river is where the bees (Blake + Yang) kill Adam:

Symbolically, bumblebee even falls into the water to show that it is in fact the bees' river.

There are also other similarities. For example, Mowgli cuts the leader of the dogs' tail and uses it to provoke the group and bait them towards the bees. Blake and Yang instead try to take away Adam's sword:

And Yang uses it to lead Adam to where Blake ambushes him.

Finally, Mowgli and the Won-Tolla kill the head of the pack together:

Sure, Won-Tolla dies, while Yang survives. Still, in both situations the emphasis is on the necessity to even the score:

You may have taken the lead but I'll even the score You won the battle you won't win the war Not now and Nevermore

Both the wolf and our golden beauty are able to pay their "blood debt" and find peace.

Kipling's story ends with Akela's death. The wolf is one of Mowgli's parental figures and his passing marks the end of the book and the beginning of Mowgli's new life. After all, he is the one who advises the boy to go back to the humans.

Similarly, Adam's death represents a new beginning for Blake, as it grants her freedom.

FREEDOM IS FINALLY HERE

Nevermore Will I be afraid Nor will I run away It's behind me Freedom is finally here

Throughout her arc, Blake grows close to several faunus, who offer different takes on freedom. It is thanks to them that our cat girl finds "her own liberation".

Initially, Blake wishes for everyone to be free and equal and yet she herself is a prisoner of her own shadows:

Blake: I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I - how can I undo so many years of hate?

She feels obligated to solve all of the faunus' problems on her own. Basically, she is ready to free others at the cost of chaining herself.

Adam is her opposite. He wants no limitations nor boundaries and is willing to enslave others to succeed. He starts with Blake herself:

Adam: What, do you want me to just abandon our cause? Like your parents? Blake: No! I'm not saying that! I… I don't know.

He traps her in an abusive relationship with no way out.

To escape Blake needs the help of a free spirit:

Sun alludes to the bandar-log (monkey people). They don't follow any rules, they often change their mind and they're unpredictable. This description fits our Monkey Boy to a tee. Sun is air-headed and does what he wants with no regards for rules. He is a stowaway who runs from the police and happily steals some food for him and Blake. This is similar to how Kipling's monkeys act.

It is just that in The Jungle Book these characters are framed as negative. They kidnap Mowgli and are eaten by Kaa the python. In RWBY instead, Sun is one of Blake's most trusted allies and the two of them defeat a giant snake together:

More importantly, Sun teaches Blake about freedom:

You're free to do the things you want But listen, so am I I've made my choice And now I'm making mine

Blake is free to make her own choices, but her friends are free to make theirs. She is free to leave, but Sun is free to follow her and to help her.

This mentality eventually gets through to Blake and even helps her save Ilia:

Blake: I'm going to try and help her the way you helped me. You showed me that sometimes you need to be there for a friend even when they don't want you to be. I was drowning in guilt and fear, I tried to push you away, but you didn't give up on me. And I can't give up on Ilia. It's about time I saved my friends for once.

Ilia is really the opposite of Sun. If Sun is free and believes everyone's free, then Ilia is trapped and steals others' freedom away:

Ilia says to a tied up Blake: We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good, no matter how much it hurts. (...) I was always jealous of the way you looked at him (Adam). I wanted you to look at me that way. But we can't always get what we want!

She represents the part of Blake who is a prisoner of the past. This is why Blake eventually frees her in two different ways:

Ilia: I still don't feel like I deserve the freedom you and your family granted me.

Ilia is given both physical freedom (she isn't arrested) and mental freedom (she joins a new liberation movement).

Going back to Sun, he helps Blake free herself and others. This may be why she decides to make the new symbol of the White Fang yellow (Sun's color):

Still, Sun's mentality is not perfect:

And his teammates already had plenty to hold over his head. He wondered when they were going to get over it. So what if Sun had gone off to do his own thing for a while? That was just the kind of guy he was; he had to go where he was needed. The gang had been back together for weeks now, but it still hadn’t blown over. Scarlet was acting bossier than usual, and Sage had been giving Sun the silent treatment. At least Neptune always had his back, but something seemed to be off with him, too, no matter how much he insisted that everything was fine.

Sun's refusal to apply any kind of obligations to both himself and others is healing for Blake, but it doesn't work for long term relationships. If you share a bond with someone, you have responsibilities toward them, like they do toward you. Sun has instead the tendency to run away from these kinds of duties. He is incredibly generous with Blake, but he also leaves his team with no warning.

His relationship with Blake is summarized by this line:

Blake: Be careful. Sun: No promises.

Sun isn't gonna ask Blake to make any promises. She can come and go as she pleases, but Sun himself can and will do the same:

Sun: I go where I'm needed!

This is very similar to how the bandar-log act. They do not follow the Law of the Jungle, which means they are not bounded by it. Still, this also means they can't build strong relationships with the other animals. Mowgli and his friends instead do follow the Law, which makes them truly free.

Sun is a great friend to Blake, but our cat girl's freedom isn't found in the absence of obligations. It lies instead in the choice to share a vow with a person ready to reciprocate it.

I made a vow I'm not alone Not dying now we're protecting our own

BY THE BULL THAT BOUGHT ME

Mowgli's story starts and ends with a bull. Bagheera offers the wolf pack a bull for them to accept Mowgli. This means the boy is forever in debt until another bull is sacrificed. This is why when Mowgli chooses to live with humans, Bagheera kills another bull. The panther is paying the debt, so that his friend can leave the jungle and be free.

Blake's arc starts and ends with Adam, a bull faunus. She is introduced at Adam's side and with time he becomes the main obstacle between Blake and her new life. In particular, Adam reproaches Blake for breaking her promise to him:

Adam: You know, she made a promise to me once. That she'd always be at my side. Heh, and look how well she's kept it.

Like Mowgli, Blake has still a debt to pay, which is addressed and solved in Bumbleby's fight against Adam:

Yang: Did she make that promise to you? Or to the person you were pretending to be?

Yang doesn't dismiss Blake's vow to Adam, but points out it isn't valid because Adam tricked Blake and did not reciprocate her promise. In other words, the relationship between Adam and Blake is unbalanced, which makes it unhealthy.

Blake and Yang's bond is different:

Blake: She's not protecting me, Adam. And I'm not protecting her. We're protecting each other.

It is a pact of mutual trust and love.

The metaphor is very clear. Blake's promise to Adam represents their romantic bond, which needs to be cut, so that our cat girl can start a new relationship with Yang. Bumbleby vs Adam being a chemical wedding just makes this symbolism stronger.

Blake disowns her vow with Adam and takes a new one with Yang:

Blake: I have people who actually care about me, and I promised I'd never leave them again. So I'm not dying now.

Just like Mowgli pays his debt to the jungle with the death of a bull, Blake is fred by her previous vow thanks to Adam's death. In this way, Mowgli can join the other humans in spring and Blake can start her new love story with Yang in Mistral (the Kingdom of spring):

Blake: I… I am not going to break my promise, I swear.

After Adam's fall, Blake affirms her promise to Yang once again. This is Blake's wedding vows to her golden beauty.

The end result is that Blake finds freedom and a new life full of gold and light by integrating with Yang (humanity):

At the same time, she is and will always be a faunus (a child of the jungle) and is not going to betray the spirit and ideals of her people:

Blake: A simple life wouldn’t be my life! My family, my friends, my culture. I belong to them, just as much as they belong to me. To give that all away wouldn’t be simplicity, it would be betrayal.

Just like Mowgli isn't forgetting the Law of the Jungle.

In conclusion, Blake's Jungle Book is a tale of freedom, both political and personal. Blake realizes she can't be free by imprisoning others, but also that she herself needs to be unchained to truly help people. She decides her own path as a bridge between humans and faunus and this choice itself is freedom.

[paxthepuppycat]

Alter humans and furries have a rich history in human mythology, with anthropomorphic creatures often depicted as animals with human-like traits. Ancient Egyptian mythology, Greek mythology, and Middle Ages European folklore all have their roots in these myths. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, authors like Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson wrote stories featuring anthropomorphic animals, such as Mowgli in "The Jungle Book" and Dr. Jekyll's Mr. Hyde, which explored the complexities of human nature, the line between good and evil, and the struggle to maintain control over one's identity.

The modern alter human and furry subcultures emerged in the 20th century, particularly after the 1960s, due to the rise in counterculture movements and the exploration of alternative identities. The first known furry convention, "Anthrocon," was held in 1999, and the furry community has grown in size and influence. Furries identify with or have an interest in anthropomorphic animals, often dressing up in costumes or participating in online forums and social media groups. Alter humans, on the other hand, identify with or have an interest in non-animal, supernatural, or mythical creatures, such as elves, fairies, or demons. The alter human community has also gained traction in recent years, with conventions and events dedicated to celebrating these alternative identities.

This is so interesting