#this is my most favorite scene in fire force anime

[apparently-artless]

While 99% of people would look at this and say it's a weird relationship, for the remaining 1%, it's the best-case scenario.

ENEN NO SHOUBOUTAI: NI NO SHOU EPISODE 17 - BOYS, BE WEAK

[the-crimson]

Aight thoughts on todays bbh lore cuz we got A LOT. Just stay with me through my nerding about trees it’ll be worth it XD

We pretty much got 100% confirmation that he is intentionally hurting Baghera and Forever and that he thinks of himself as expendable. What fascinates me the most is when Bad asked Foolish this

“Is there anything wrong with burning the forest to save the trees?”

At first glance you might think YES if u burn the forest then there won’t be any trees??!! However it is a custom on fire risk zones to create controlled fires that burn up brush and dead trees so that the risk of a natural and far more devastating fire is reduced. Additionally, if a fungus infects a forest, burning the infected trees may be the only way to prevent the spread to the rest of the forest.

On top of that, there is a specific type of tree species that requires fires in order to reproduce. These are often Pine trees that drop pinecones. Pinecones hold seeds inside them that only germinate when immense heat is applied to them: the heat of a forest fire. When they are within these temperatures, the seeds germinate and the pine cones pop, scattering the seeds on the forest floor. These trees adapted to form a symbiotic relationship with fire one of if not the most destructive natural forces on the earth.

Do you know one of the trees that has developed this adaption? Redwoods.

Do you know which tree bbh brought up when giving Jaiden a PINECONE gift for her birthday today? A Redwood.

I’m like actually going insane. This can’t be a coincidence right????? I’m not going crazy right???

The whole reason I noticed this scene is because I live near the redwood forests in California and I know all about the way these trees depend on fires for their survival. It’s something that’s always fascinated me. That’s when I assume Bad was going to ask foolish the above question before Jaiden and Teana cut their conversation short while they were talking on the Titian . He literally had these specific trees on his mind when he was going to ask about burning down the forest.

Let me tell you another thing about Redwood trees. They are ancient. They are massive. They are sturdy. Natural fires are a common phenomenon here and a majority of the redwoods survive with barely a scratch, maybe an inch or two of its outer bark scorched. Nothing it won’t grow past in a year or two when these trees easily live for 500+ years.

(Side note, if there is one place in America you should visit it’s the redwood forests of California. It is literally like entering a portal to another world. These trees are 10-15 ft in diameter easily and you can just feel how ancient the forests are. It’s one of my all time favorite places to go)

So, in the situation Bad is proposing, burning the forest to save the trees, he is actively thinking about Redwoods in this hypothetical. Not only trees that are extremely resistant to fire but trees that depend on fire to survive. That completely changes the way he is approaching this question.

In his hypothetical, the forest will burn. The animals will die. The brush and non redwoods will turn to ash. The land will be scarred and the trees themselves may look dead, branchless and black. But. But. A season will pass and new branches will peel through the charcoal. Seeds deep in the soil will surge forth as the soil is fed nutrients from the ash. Animals will return. Pinecones will shed their fertilized seeds to give birth to a new generation of trees. And by next year, the forest will look just as vibrant as it had before the fire. Trees may bear the scars of the flames but life continues and it continues and it continues always.

I might actually be going crazy bbh makes me crazy cc!bbh makes me crazy I’m losing my mind

[roxygen22]

ABCs

"My Little Cocoa Bean" Series

Summary: 4-year-old Ben (AKA Bean) starts to learn his ABCs

C/W: None that I can think of, 100% tooth-rotting fluff

<><><><>

Willy came home from the factory a little earlier than normal one winter day to hear you and Ben chattering excitedly in the study. Not wanting to interrupt, he quietly tiptoed his way to the door and leaned on the frame to take in the scene.

It was too cold to play outside, so you made the most of being stuck indoors. You and Ben were sitting on the rug in front of the fire, your backs to the door and surrounded by papers with a few large, handwritten letters. "Alright, Benny, let's go over these one more time before Papa gets home." Willy hid himself further behind the door frame so he didn't spoil their practice time.

"What letter is this?" You asked as you held up a paper.

Ben concentrated. After a brief pause, he confidently announced, "A."

"Very good! What sound does it make?"

"Aaaaaapple," he exaggerated. "Nood-uhl, nood-uhl, apple stood-uhl," he sang. "We go see her?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm sure she will love to hear about your progress. Now, what's this?" You held up Ben's favorite letter, never getting enough of the reaction it elicited.

"B is for buh-BEAN!!" Threw up his arms in excitement with such force that he rolled to his back and spotted Willy at the door. "Oh - hi, Papa! You look upside down," Ben giggled as he splayed out on the floor like a starfish.

You looked back to see Willy kneel down with a gleam in his eyes. "Huh, you look upside down, too, Bean. Let's fix that." But instead of helping the boy upright, he picked him up by the legs. "Oh no!" Willy gasped with fake alarm. "Bean is going to see the world upside down for the rest of his life." Now you were giggling, too. You were in love with an overgrown boy, apparently.

Ben laughed and laughed. "No, Papa, you hold me upside down!"

"Oh goodness gracious, my apologies, young sir." Willy flipped Ben upright and set him on his hip. "Is that better?"

"You silly, Papa. Do again!" Willy dipped him backward a couple more times before he sat down in the arm chair with Ben in his lap.

"Alright, back to business. Can you tell me what you learned today?" You handed Willy the sheets of letters.

"A is for aaaapple. B is for BEAN," he shouted.

"And Ben, and Benjamin, and Benny," you reminded. The boy had procured a number of names in his short four years.

"What letter is next, Bean?" Willy asked as he flipped to the next page. You had not yet covered the letter C, so you weren't sure how Ben would respond.

"Umm..." the boy looked at you tentatively. You shook your head at Willy, who tilted his head up in acknowledgment. He decided to continue on with the lesson himself.

"C is for cat! That was one of the first words Aunt Noodle taught me. Want to know what else starts with C? Chocolate!" Willy scooped Ben up with one arm and helped you up with the other. With his family in his arms, he started to waltz and spin around the study singing, "Only Wonka's makes your eyes pop out their sock-elets!"

After a few minutes of dancing, the whole family plopped down on the sofa to catch their breaths. Willy was sandwiched between the two of you, your head on one shoulder and Ben's on the other. He looked down at his two loves and breathed out a contented sigh before kissing Ben on the crown of his head. "You're doing great, Bean. I am very proud of you. Soon you will know how to put those letters together to spell words. I was FIVE TIMES your age before I learned, so you are way ahead of me."

Ben looked up at Willy with wide eyes. "Aunt Nood-uhl teach you?"

"Yes, and it was hard, but it was even harder to go through life without knowing how to read. Which is why I'm glad your mother is teaching you early." Now it was your turn for a kiss on the head.

"Papa, we go to lie-berry tomorrow?"

"Sure, Bean. We'll stop by on our way to the factory. Aunt Noodle said she has a book for you about animals. It even has tigers and giraffes! Two very important words to know how to spell..."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

MASTERLIST

[rebelumbrella46]

HOTD 2x05 - SPOILERS

As a fan of House of the Dragon, I'm disappointed by the characters' lack of depth this season. Their clear motivations and predictable actions make the story drag.

I expected this season to explore moral ambiguity, especially with Team Black versus Team Green. Instead, both sides feel one-dimensional. Aemond and Daemon are becoming cartoon villains, while Rhaenyra is a goody two-shoes. Baela, Corlys, Rhaena, and even Heleana are sidelined.

For example, what was that disappointing five second scenes between Aemond and Heleana, i thought the promo photo meant that we were going to get a scene that hinted at a complex dynamic that's now forgotten. The potential conflict between Heleana and Aemond's relationship that seemed to be hinted at in S1 and Jaehaerys' parentage. Instead we got a unnecesary scene that looked pulled out of a anime, just so we can see Aemond having his villain moment.

The Daemon/Alyssa scene in Harrenhal felt unnecessary. While Game of Thrones had similar moments, what purpose did it serve? Introducing Alyssa Targaryen, one of my favorite targaryen women, in such a way feels like a missed opportunity. The initial shock value quickly fades into absurdity. The hallucinations were intriguing at first, but they've become tedious. Time to move on.

Corlys offering Baela the Driftmark heirdom? Her cool 'I'm blood and fire' moment followed by a swift exit felt forced (and cringy). Yes, she's channeling her inner Daemon, a true Targaryen. Bu there haven't been scenes that convince me Jace and Baela truly desire marriage. They seem closer to friends or cousins (understandably, having grown up together and actually being related). But power, potentially through Driftmark, is so important to have considering that we are fighting for a queen on the Iron Throne.

Sunfyre's death? I sincerely hope Cole simply believed him dead and left him behind. Sunfyre is crucial to the plot. Please don't deviate from Rhaenyra's death in Fire & Blood. It's a pivotal moment for her son, Aegon III, and a fascinatingly horrific demise.

The loss of Rhaenys, arguably the show's most captivating figure, is a significant blow. Daemon and Aemond, who shouldered the narrative last season, are now falling flat as one-dimensional villains. I do have to say, Jace was really good in this episode.

In conclusion, we have a wealth of potentially fascinating characters who could enrich the story, but it's become clear that, sadly, even Rhaenyra isn't compelling enough to carry it alone. Here's hoping, as always, that tonight's episode offers her a chance to truly shine.

House of the Dragon's potential is undeniable, but to truly capture the complexity of Game of Thrones, it needs to delve deeper into its characters (and give them all their own stories beyond the "I want Rhaenyra on the Throne", "I'm team black" or "I'm team green")

Simple good versus evil isn't enough.

[ludinusdaleth]

trent ikithon tbh

First Impression: oh i know this kind of man very well

Impression Now: same sentiment, even more disgust, though i have managed to distance my own experience from him enough to find him a little bit cunty and extremely funny in being a pathetic powerless old man by c3

Favorite Moment: my genuine serious answer is "ive spent my whole life bearing knives. i hope you live as long, caleb widogast", which is the most bone chilling hard as fuck line there ever could be. on a silly note, when jester finds him despite his invisibility and he cackles and goes "eheheheheh- uh"

Idea for a Story: i want to see cerberus novellas/short stories/scenes in animated cr that further establish trent, vess, & luds relationships. i am very curious if trent feels to lud what astrid does to him.

Unpopular Opinion: i think that it was the best decision not to kill him at the end of c2. ludinus absolutely would have been able to utilize that against the m9 and put all of the empires forces out to kill them, framing them for that and vess's death. echoes of the solstice was the perfect end on that.

Favorite Relationship: imagine him having a relationship not sickening with anyone. i like when people act like ludinus & trent explore each others bodies it's extremely funny. worst old man yaoi on planet earth

Favorite Headcanon: what ive kinda said before; that he was a bright youth who did possess a spark in him that was burned to ash & fire by the assembly. part of why caleb bothers him so fundamentally is he cannot concieve of the idea maybe he could have been free of this too.

[kaiowut99]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episodes 108-109 Subbed (Finalized)

(Previously: Episodes 106-107 Subbed [Finalized])

(Check out my Subbed!GX Stream Masterpost!)

TURN-108: Professor Cobra's Assassin

Professor Cobra announces the "Disclosure Duels," a system of publicizing one's skill and performing duels openly. He also provides all of the students with their own Dis-Belts to gauge their fighting spirit through their passion, focus, and decisiveness in those duels. Cobra then orders O'Brien to duel Judai--and to do so in a way that brings forth all of Judai's latent abilities. Putting his strategy into action, O'Brien takes Shou hostage and duels Judai.

TURN-109: Judai and the Fiery O'Brien

O'Brien aims to bring out all of Judai's latent abilities by using Shou as a hostage. As expected, Judai causes a serious battle to unfold, which he responds to using his Fire deck, activating his Firewall Permanent Trap against Judai's direct attacks to negate his attempts to attack him directly. For his part, Judai Contact-Fuses Neos with Flare Scarab, summoning Flare Neos for a counterattack, but...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, didn't mean to leave these two episodes hanging for just over a month~ sorry Shou

Episodes 108 and 109 are now finalized! Professor Cobra comes in and starts up the Dis-Duels, which will play a big role in this early part of the season, and we get more time with O'Brien as he duels with Judai on Cobra's orders and ends up having a little fun with it towards the end. It's a fun duel, O'Brien makes a fiery entrance with his Blaze Cannon/Blaze Cannon Trident cards, and I love the sequence in 109 as Judai uses Flare Neos with probably my favorite use of the "Fervent Duel" OST track. Also, 109 in general is a fun episode because of all the top-notch artwork going on, with some interesting angles or some really good motion frames from the animation team (Judai ordering Featherman to swoop in against O'Brien [which gets reused once or twice] is so good). Also nice character moments with Shou about reconciling his ideal from Ryou about respecting opponents with the need to have all-out heated duels to survive, a nuance that gets lost in the dub for the most part. Though speaking of the dub, I did like Axel's (O'Brien's) dub voice for the most part, though it has a rough spot or two later on when he's cowering from the Supreme King.

Animation error-wise, we mostly have some quality-of-watching touch-ups, as there weren't any card errors I picked up on; 108 had one minor touch-up near the end, while 109 had just over a handful of mostly split-screen touch-ups. Details below the cut for the interested, as always~

Quick housekeeping: in case you missed it, I reuploaded 105-107 after noticing I didn't catch an update to one of the names under the In-Between Animation credits, along with some minor consistency fixes in the rest of the credits; these were reposted over on NAC and updated in the Masterpost linked above, and 108-109'll join them on NAC in the next day or two.

Anywho, enjoy! With these done, I'll probably go back to some fixes I've been working on for episode 1 that I missed, then I'll get a bit more looked over on Tag Force Special stuff (in case you missed that news~) before working on 110 as a quick two-parter break; stay tuned!

Fixes/Edits! (108)

Near the end of the episode, as O'Brien draws for his turn, there's a coloring error with some shading along the bottom of his left shoulder where the shading is lighter like with the lighter spots higher up; it's fixed for a few frames but then goes back to lighter. Fixed this by recoloring that shading spot in the frames during the quick zoom-out that happens using Photoshop, then masked out and held the shading in the last fixed frame for the rest of the shot.

Fixes/Edits! (109)

After the 108 recap but before the OP, we get this quick scene with Cobra watching on and saying that, even if he loses, O'Brien has to bring out all of Judai's Duel Energy (a scene cut from the dub [I wonder if this error is why]), but there's an odd animation error that happens where the line on the upper left of his mouth (his left) and the jaw shading are pixels away from where they should be--this only happens for the frames where he has this fully open lip-flap and his semi-open lip-flap going. Fixed this in Photoshop by redrawing the mouth line and filling in the jaw shading along the shading that was there.

Later, after O'Brien activates his Firewall and asks Judai if he thought weak attacks would work on him, Judai notes that O'Brien didn't summon any Monsters so it wouldn't be any fun not diving right in; a semi-surprised O'Brien slides in on a split-screen acknowledging this, but there's a quick frame as the split-screen is completed where the border flickers into its final position--fixed this in Sony Vegas by just replacing the earlier frame with the latter. Then, as they split off the screen to show Shou behind them, Judai's side takes a frame longer than O'Brien's to fully get offscreen; fixed in Vegas by using the frame after in that frame's place.

Later, Judai grunts after O'Brien uses Burial from a Different Dimension to return three Fire-Type Monsters to his Cemetery, and O'Brien slides in on a split-screen to say that he's removing one from it to activate Firewall against Flare Neos's attack--but Judai starts moving for it a couple of frames before O'Brien actually starts sliding in, and along with that, the border on their split-screen ends up being off-center. Fixed these in Vegas, first by redoing the split so it's timed with Judai moving, then ending the slide-in with the border centered, moving O'Brien's side into place so that his mouth and hand move properly for the rest of the split-screen. Then, a frame before they start splitting apart as Firewall activates, O'Brien's side moves but Judai's stays still; fixed by holding the split-screen still over that frame.

A bit after, once Judai uses Contact Out to de-fuse Flare Neos and attack to make O'Brien run out of Monsters to remove from play, O'Brien grunts as Judai slides in on a split-screen to remind him about Flare Scarab's power-up effect--but like with Judai in #3 above, O'Brien starts moving for the split-screen a couple frames before Judai starts sliding in. Then, as their split ends, there's a quick frame where they start to split apart to show Flare Scarab behind them but don't actually split; this is likely why their splits then end up sliding out unevenly. with Judai's taking an extra frame to fully slide out. Fixed these all in Vegas by first redoing it so that Judai's slide-in is timed with O'Brien moving; then, I masked in part of Flare Scarab from the next frames over them as they start to split, adding a new border to O'Brien and Judai's splits; and then finally, I redid their split-outs so that they were timed evenly.

After the eyecatch, we see more of Cobra watching the duel, and Judai and O'Brien come up on a split-screen with their current LP counts--they start to split apart a frame before their LP counts disappear to show Cobra, with this quick frame having just white behind them, along with O'Brien's split missing its border. Fixed this in Vegas by just holding the previous frame over it so that the split-out starts in the next frame, once the LP counts are gone.

[continued below because of dumb characters-per-"block" limits]

(6) A bit later, after O'Brien lets Shou go, Cobra looks on in surprise, but there are a few quick frames where the shading along his jaw is incomplete; fixed in Photoshop for the lip-flap frames where it happens, then placed them in the footage in Vegas and moved it into place as needed for the panning shot here.

(7) After O'Brien loads his Volcanic Buckshot into his Blaze Cannon Trident and deals 2000 damage to Judai, he starts to explain Trident's role in that, but Judai's betting that there was more to it; O'Brien slides in on a split-screen to say as much as he explains Buckshot's role, but his split-screen's already halfway into the screen in its first before sliding the rest of the way in, and like with #3 above, the border on the split-screen somehow ends up off-center. Fixed these in Vegas by redoing his slide-in so it slides in more fluidly. Then, because of how off-center the split-screen is, as they split apart, O'Brien's side takes longer to slide out; fixed this, after re-centering the split-screen, by redoing their slide-outs to be timed evenly.

[arcielee]

ARCIE 💜 i think i over did it ._. for the writing ask 😘

1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 32, 35, 37, 38, 43, 44, 53, 66, 69, 72, 73, 75, 78, 81, 86, 88, 94, 99 👀

All right, Mrs Hardy. Let's do this. 😈

1. do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

When I first started writing, it was because I had one scene on reply in my brain and I had to get it out of my head (an example of that would be The Sapphire Prince). \

I much prefer my method now, which is word vomit every thought in my head into a doc, which can be events, notes, random conversations the characters we have to whole ass paragraphs.

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Again, The Sapphire Prince. That story was such a cluster fuck and nobody did anything I wanted them too. 😭 I couldn't even have a sweet moment for my boy Ser Erryk in that damn story!

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

First, shout out to my beloved @some-distant-star for telling me yesterday wtf this is. 💜

Probably my Dane!Osferth story that thrums around in my mind. I think it continues to rattle around because I need to figure out how to keep what makes Osferth Osferth, but also have Dane tendencies? I actually started my word vomit doc for it, so we'll see what happens.

9. in an ideal world where you’re already super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work? why or why not?

This is tricky. I have seen situations where the movie did better than the book, but then I am also watching House of the Dragon and have become one of those mouth breathers who say, "But in Fire & Blood...!"

It can be an anime. 🥰

10. at what point in the process do you come up with titles, and how easy or hard is that for you?

Titles are the hardest thing about writing for me. Like, let me shell out 30k+ words for a story and then panic over wtf to even call it. (Dancing in the Dark remained title-less until I finally started going through random Spotify playlists, like a raccoon rummaging through garbage, if you will.)

12. do you ever have trouble focusing on writing? how do you get around that?

If a story keeps escaping me, I will take my dog on long walks and see if it can come to me. By this, I mean I am the crazy lady in a sun hat who is talking to herself while her dog looks confused.

[Image: my dog, who sometimes edits for treats]

If that does not stir my muses, I do not force it and just go wherever they lead me. I have written an entire ass story in the middle of another story so I could clear my head of it and finish on the original.

13. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

Probably my Call It Dreaming series? It was my first ever Reader Insert that my beloved @f4ll-for-you helped me with, and it profoundly changed my writing style.

14. what’s your worst writing habit?

Probably my overuse of semi-colons.

16. where is your favorite place to write?

Anywhere, everywhere. I have my MacBook that I bring with me, I have a notebook brimming with my ideas, and my phone notepad looking a hot mess.

17. what is your favorite line you’ve ever written?

I really love describing Aemond, but this also comes to mind:

They were all moths drawn to his flame, fluttering with their desperation to touch. You pushed through them, determined to be burned. 

All the wild hearted ambition

18. what is your most and least favorite part of writing?

My favorite? The beginning. I love day dreaming, brainstorming, fleshing out a new idea. I love how it repeats in my brain and lulls me to sleep at night.

My least favorite? Saying goodbye. Once it is written, it is gone from my mind.

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

Patricia Highsmith's prose style had a huge impact for me. Also Margaret Mitchell crafted my writing in the sense that I could see everything in her story unfold in front of my eyes and I wanted to pay that forward.

20. what is your favorite trope to write?

Probably mutual pining with a sprinkle of slow burn. 🥰

21. pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about.

A.C. Crispin and it would be a scifi adventure with a ragtag group surviving life after Earth.

32. do characters influence your writing style?

Yes. For myself, I do not enjoy writing for a character that I don't fully understand. My goal, always, is to make it sound like it was pulled from the original content.

35. tell us about a character who’s very different than you who you love a whole lot

This man.

I haven't forgotten. I need you to watch this.

37. when creating characters, what comes first: appearance, backstory, motivation, personality, something else?

It is reactions to the plot shenanigans. This helps me visualize and create a backstory for them.

38. how many stories do you work on at one time?

I have 10 WIPs currently, and 2 which I am actively working on.

43. how did writing change you?

For myself, writing allows that processing time that I need to understand something that happened. It is healing for me. (ex. To Build a Home)

44. any writing advice you want to share?

It is very easy to get swept away with notes and kudos, but if you are not enjoying the process, then what is the point?

Also, the best advice I ever received came from my beloved @sylasthegrim who told me to focus on what they were feeling as opposed to the action that was being done. (Ilysm 💜)

53. when writing, do you have an outline? and do you stick to it?

I do now! And it actually helps me stay on track with the fucking plot, which I definitely need.

66. when have you felt the most confident in your writing?

That is something I still struggle with. Like, I am please with how I have evolved as a write, but then I read someone else's masterpiece and figure it would be best if I unplug my PC and walk myself into the nearest body of water. 😆

69. how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

Their emotions are my emotions, and it can make or break my day.

72. what do you do if a scene gets too serious?

I follow the muses. If it is needed, it is written.

73. how do you visualize scenes? do you see it like a movie in your head, or do the words just flow?

I can see it playing in my head and I narrate it, out loud, to myself. Then I frantically type or write it down before it leaves me.

75. do you know how your story ends before you start writing?

Most of the time, yes. But if I am trying to write out what I outlined and it is not coming together, I will drop the WIP for a while and let it simmer a bit longer.

78. how do you choose where to end a chapter?

This depends: so, sometimes I write out an entire story, look over the work count, and take that into consideration when I am chopping it up. Other times I outline certain events that need to take place before the chapter can end.

81. if you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of writing advice specific to you, what would it be?

"Girl, please, for the love of fuck, end that goddamn sentence."

86. which season best matches the mood of your wip(s)?

The kind of winter you see at the wall.

88. if you could have another author write your wip for you (bc we all dream of this occasionally), who would it be?

Oh my goodness, gather round my talented Tumblr kindred spirits, I would pass these out like Halloween candy. 😆

94. do you prefer dialogue or description?

99. was being a writer a dream of yours when you were little? or did it spring up when your older? or is it just a hobby?

I have been writing since I hit double digits. I still have these ridiculous notebooks with glitter covers that are filled, front to back, with my original attempts at writing.

My husband understands to burn them when I am dead. 🥰

ask game for fanfic writers

[kamehamehamlet]

A teaser for Mayor Lear of Townsville, showcasing a handful of projections which would be used in the show and edited in homage to a then recent trailer for Twin Peaks: The Return.

Play-Dot Archives: Mayor Lear Projections

Early on in development, I knew I wanted to use projections for Mayor Lear and that one of the MN Fringe venues was Intermedia Arts. Intermedia Arts, like many incredible theatre and arts building in the Twin Cities has since shuttered, but in 2017 the theatre's projector could be used to cover the back from floor to ceiling.

In a later scene in the Mayors office, the Townsville Skyline was animated to be on fire. (Emily Rose Duea, Bre'Elle Erickson, Natalie Rae Wass, and Meghan Wolff). Photo by Alex Wohlhueter.

And for the MN Fringe, where all of your props and set needed to be in and out of the theater in a matter of minutes before and after each show, using projections meant we could have near effortless set changes. Well, effortless during the show at least. See on top of writing the script, I also tasked myself with making the projections. Since I was responsible for both, I had no one to blame but myself for needing over 50 projections with a mix of flat images, animations, and one very special video.

A folder containing many of the still images of Mayor Lear of Townsville.

It's also worth noting that many people assumed our images had come from the TV show when in reality they were all created digitally by me. Although many of the popular location were recreated with heavy reference usage. It was really fun to learn the shows art style, and in some cases animation style, and it really can't be overstated how cool it was to be in that theatre with the projections covering the whole wall. Seven years on, it's easy to be nostalgic, having packed the memories of stress at trying to get all of these ready on time somewhere deep deep away.

A longer image which would pan across the backwall, imitating a shot in the TV shows opening. Since this took place years after the show, a few of the villains were aged up and other baddies were added as well. To cap off this longer archival post, I want to share one last stupid choice I made that summer: I became the world's most amateur storm chaser. Throughout June and July, I kept a close eye on the weather and when a Thunderstorm was approaching, I race to a bluff about a 10-minute drive away, trying to catch a recording of lightning alongside the Saint Paul Skyline. All to sell a bit during big Lear storm scene, where the cartoon world would snap away and we see the inner turmoil of The Mayor.

The hills outside of Townsville during the storm, and the opening of Scene Nine. While I did catch the perfect bolt lightning which illuminated the city... my equipment was not made to capture it well. Eventually, I would have to cobble together some of my footage, use some after effects basic vfx, and call it a day. But as meh as I felt my video was, there's a real magic in theatre. After 40 minutes of campy cartoony melodramatic fun, it was absolutely electric watching Natalie shed the hokey outward persona of The Mayor and deliver one of Shakespeare's best monologues. It made every soaking wet, bone chilling minute of my foolish storm chasing task worth it. I had known for years Natalie was an incredible force of nature on stage and we were so lucky to have her as our lead. I choose not to take the easy pun and say as "our Lear" because... did I mention she was double cast?

Come back tomorrow to learn about my other favorite scene in Mayor Lear! Want to see more photos of the projections? Check out yesterday's archival post!

Have questions about Mayor Lear or Kamehamehamlet? Join us during our weekly Rally Stream on YouTube this Saturday.

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA - Episode 1: Aang (2/4)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA. Of course, full spoilers ahead. <previous/next>

A core theme is introduced right off with Gyatzo talking to the council about how young Aang is: He makes the point that Aang doesn't even know who he is yet, and if he's going to have all this power, it's important that he knows who he is before everyone starts telling him who he should be.

We see this come up with the various incarnations of the Avatar telling Aang what they had to be, with the leaders at the Northern Water Tribe expecting him to lead the assault for them, etc

And we see the toll this takes on other children who are forced into expectations before they solidify who they are - namely Zuko, Aang's mirror in the series

The concept that power without understanding core moral foundations is again, seen through the series as children are forced to bear the burden of the war - we see it with Jet, Sokka, Azula, Zuko, etc

They are who they are because their identity was formed by the war, not a safe environment where they could grow and learn in a healthy manner - this is what Gyatzo doesn't want to deprive Aang of - especially since the power of the Avatar can easily overcome the individual core of a person (as we see in the very final battle of the animated series) - Aang needs to be strong in who he is or else the Avatar power could overwhelm him.

On a side note, I think this is why I struggled with Korra so much - her entire identity was being the Avatar - she had no other character purpose. All her self-worth was tied up in being the most powerful, the most influential, the most popular and that all stemmed (I believe) from her finding out she was the Avatar at like, 3 years old. It warped her sense of self so innately that, I believe, it turned her into a really, really bad Avatar

We see Aang verbalize his intentions: he doesn't want power, he doesn't want to be special, he just wants to have fun, hang out with his friends, and be a kid - he's a free spirit.

This carries over from the animated series (and later scenes) with Aang just running off to join other kids playing, pretending he's just like them and not special at all - he never invokes his Avatar status to be over the other children - he just wants to play.

Honestly, I like monologues - characters telling someone else exactly what they're feeling/why they're doing things - they're some of my favorite parts of the Daredevil tv show and who can forget Sam's monologue to Frodo in The Two Towers? - so I love Aang pouring out his fears to Appa. I love his little quip about 'The monks won't even trust me to feed the baby bison, how am I supposed to save the world?' - it really shows the stakes Aang used to have, and the stakes that are now forced on him.

Aang's reason for leaving the temple is slightly altered from the cartoon, but I think the effects on him remain the same: He jumped on Appa because he was afraid and he wanted to clear his head, but he did fly off pretty far - far enough that he didn’t even realize the temple was being attacked. Maybe he was just headed to a surrounding island to cruise around before heading back, but the end result is the same: he wasn't there because he was afraid and looking for some level of escape, so he couldn't help defend the temple against the fire nation.

He does deny his responsibility as the Avatar, but I do think something is lost in that Aang didn't make the conscious decision to fully run away from the role of Avatar, specifically, but his guilt at leaving remains because of the effect it had - guilt that is a constant for him through the animated series as well. (also, a 12 year old running away from home is pretty common and they come back like, the same day, so even if teh animated Aang doesn't realize it at the time, it's likely he would have gone back quickly just to be surrounded by people who cared about his well being - even though that would be all over the world during his training)

Aang is constantly emotionally hurt by the fact that he wasn't there to help the Air Nomads, nor the people of the world for 100 years and how long he intended to stay away when he flew off on Appa doesn't really change that.

Bookending the episode with the Air Nomads - first when they're flourishing, then after the genocide, was a great way to hammer home those stakes: the fire nation isn't just a looming threat, they've already accomplished so much violence and oppression.

I already posted a bit about why I specifically loved the live action starting off with the Air Nomads before the genocide, so here it is if you wanted to read it.

[mycomicbox]

Random thoughts on Persona 4 Golden:

(for context, I'm up to 6/25, and I just rescued Rise)

Going from Persona 3 Portable to this, it was lowkey kinda jarring to suddenly have full 3D exploration during the real-world segments. The more upbeat vibe compared to the previous entry also took some getting used to, though it's a nice change of pace.

EVERYTHING IS YELLOW.

I like Margaret and her customer service-ass voice.

I thought that Yosuke would be more similar to Junpei in personality (since they both fill the same "best bro" archetype), but they do have a lot more differences than I originally thought. Yosuke is more level-headed and better at thinking of plans (most of the time). Just an observation.

I like Chie! She's annoying, but in a kind of charming way?

When I heard Yukiko, I was like "why does her voice sound familiar" and then I found out she has the same English VA as Magnolia from Bravely Second.

Speaking of Yukiko, she's kinda like if you mixed Mitsuru's rich girl background with Fuuka's cooking skills.

SO many gameplay improvements and quality of life features that weren't in Persona 3. Improved Shuffle Time. Faster animations in battle. More benefits from Social Links. Fusion Search. Ability to select which skills get passed down when fusing Personas. Ability to buy skill cards. Ability to accept more than 3 sidequests at a time. Gaining money from battles without needing Shuffle Time. Costumes are now a separate slot.

The soundtrack continues to go hard, though I guess that's a given with Persona games. Heartbeat-Heartbreak, I'll Face Myself -Battle-, and Reach Out to the Truth are some of my current favorites.

Nanako kinda reminds me of myself when I was her age, mainly because of her habit of singing commercial jingles.

I'm very interested in where Marie's Social Link goes, considering that, IIRC, it wasn't in the original Persona 4: it was a new addition to Golden.

Great vegetables.

I can see why fans call Adachi a boyfailure.

...Okay, after Kanji's dungeon and the summer camp segment, I can see why the story has been criticized. Like, it feels like the writers wanted to explore queer themes, but they were forced to cut them mid-development. Why do I have the sinking feeling that it's not going to get any better in that regard?

Speaking of which, Shadow Kanji was the only boss so far that I got a Game Over against. (Tip: Take out his two helper guys first, they're weak to ice and fire respectively.)

The whole motorcycle flirting scene was even more awkward than the "Operation Babe Hunt" from Persona 3. At least you can skip that scene in Portable if you're playing as the female protagonist.

WHY AM I FIGHTING A STRIPPER (Switch's handheld mode is a godsend for this part)

At first, I hated Teddie, but after fighting his Shadow, I have a good feeling that he's going to get better.

Overall, I'm not really liking the story so far (mainly because of the aforementioned homophobic tones), but gameplay is of the utmost importance, and the gameplay is very fun. After this, I'll probably play Persona 5 Royal during the summer months.

[paperandhis-paper]

Arc-V Day 6 and 7

I'm a bit behind. Please @arcvmonth, spare me. Don't turn me into a card.

Anyway, for Understudy Spotlight I wanna briefly talk about Roger. I say briefly, because I'll save most of my thoughts for the Villains Prompt. For now, I gotta say, he's my vote for most underrated Yugioh bad guy. I LOVE villains who think they're hot shit, but turn out to be nothing but smug snakes. Plus, his voice actor NAILS his breakdowns. I was surprised to see so many people disliked him (probably Shōnen fans who can't accept a villain that isn't super-duper powerful). Finally, I love me some Disney Villain Deaths.

Anyway, Day 7: Of Amores, Per the Prophecy

Oh boy, does Arc-V have some banger ships. Some of my faves:

Fruitshipping:

Main-guy with Main-girl ships in most Shōnen anime tend to hit with the force of a wet fart, with Yugioh being no different. This is because they fall under the trap of making the girl be the only one who constantly thinks of protagonist-kun, whereas the MC is usually only thinking about fighting, eating, and their male rival who they're totally-not-gay-with.

Therefore, it's wild that these two idiots enamored the Arc-V so much as they, and it was via the use of a very simple trick: have both parties be clearly interested in one another. Seriously, Arc-V turns into an epic, interdimensional romantic drama from Season 2, and it's so strange for a franchise like Yugioh (even if it already happened in GX). Yuya spends as much time thinking about Yuzu as she does about him, and that's so refreshing.

One thing I love about this ship is how much they emphasize that the distance between them doesn't diminish their bond. In fact, it's the opposite, when they're separated that their feelings are most in display. Yuzu's duel with Chojiro is one such example: despite not being allowed near one another, Yuzu still had her feelings reach him.

Them being enemies in their past lives but lovers in this one also adds an extra element of brainrot for me.

Appleshipping and Fallenangelshipping:

I wanna re-emphasize this: we NEED more F/M ships where the guy is completely, stupidly in love with the girl. This applies more to appleshipping admittedly; seeing Yugo explode with joy from seeing Rin will never stop melting my heart. Male characters in anime are often shy of showing physical affection toward their love interests, but not Banana-boy. Plus, imagining how they grew up in poverty is interesting.

Serenadeshipping:

OMG THIS SHIP IS SO GOOD. LIKE I KNOW I HAVE MASSIVE YURI BIAS BECAUSE LOVE LIVE FAN BUT STILL. Ok so you obviously got badass and serious Serena with ray-of-sunshine Yuzu, so the dynamic is fun from the get-go. But we also have the fact that Yuzu became one of, if not the, first friends Serena's ever had. Plus there's the "changing clothes" scene and I'm sure you could do some gay awakening shit.

Also Yuzu is so happy upon seeing Serena late in the series. Just look at her!

And then when Serena betrays them she's so sad. DAMN IT ARC-V, THIS IS FROM THE FREAKING CAPTAIN SOLO EPISODE, WHY IS MY HEART IN PIECES?!

(Extra angst when you consider this is the last time they spoke before getting thrown into Arc-V)

Finally, I imagine she'd be happy to forever be with Yuzu at the end of the series

Lustershipping:

similar dynamic as Serenade, but with a rival-to-lovers tint. It's just cute, mmkay? Aesthetically, this is one of my favorites, Masumi's design is great

Genesishipping:

Sometimes, ships are more interesting for what they don't tell you than for what they do. The showrunners left the nature of Zarc and Ray's relationship ambiguous, which means there's a lot of possible avenues to take it. Enemies to Lovers? Sure, go ahead. Enemies that become lovers because of their new incarnations' unique souls? Works too.

Plus Zarcray fans make some Fire content.

Honorable Mentions: Guiltshipping, Candyshipping, Emblemshipping, Braceletshipping,

[omgkalyppso]

For the 30 questions ask meme:

5, 9, 11 for étoile!!!

And 4, 5 for whoever is your most recently played bg3 character 👀

Thank you for the ask!! (:

Étoile

5. Describe their idle animations!

Elbows to knee crunches. Meditating cross-legged (+ Mourning Frost laid across their lap after it's reforged). Reading cross-legged. Playing their flute (aaaabcbd. aaaabcbg).

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name?

Étoile is the child of my skyrim dragonborn oc Wylla and the skyrim stolen-npc-now-oc-adjacent Aranea Ienith, who worshipped the Daedric Prince Azura and had a quest to cleanse Azura's Star. It is for this star that Étoile was named in that setting and in my thought process. In Faerûn, Étoile was named for the stars that Aranea would have come to love after having spent her youth in Menzoberranzan in the Underdark.

11. What is your Tav’s go-to comfort food?

You may be interested in the answer to their Favorite Foods from last night.

But I'll say something new.

I think when Étoile is tempted to seek out comfort food that they want something rich in different textures — so it can't be a homogeneous soup or pie. Still, this might be just an excuse for me to say some kind of tacos / taco-like dish, with crisp vegetables and soft fruit, protein and sauce, and something to hold it together.

Inithray

My most recently played Tav is for an ongoing evil multiplayer campaign with some of my usual dnd friends. They can't know about my full concept for him because they haven't even reached Act 2 in their personal playthroughs, but I like to think that Inithray is some manner of undead — and an experiment of Vlaakith's, to see how long such a creation of hers can "live" after an initial interaction of her magic, or how far her influence extends in the Great Wheel cosmology as he's sent to different planes.

He is magically and culturally, her creature. Nothing she could do would shock or shake him.

Inithray has resulted in the deaths of Damays and Nymessa so far. I asked the party if they wanted to save Arabella because if so they didn't want me / Inithray leading the conversation; and they decided that the way their characters want to be evil might extend no further than stealing the idol of Silvanus and killing the druids but not aligning with the Goblins. We'll see.

Anyway!

4. What would your Tav’s romance scenes look like? How many would they have?

A lot of the githyanki specific dialogue options demonstrate their isolation, which will be more appropriate for my solo (probably not evil aligned) Tav, Yar'sul, but don't exactly suit Inithray. I think Inithray would need githyanki player characters to demonstrate their aptitude / knowledge of their own culture at the very least, if not an understanding of the world. He's attracted to power, but he's interested in someone who can carry a conversation with interest or experience, rather than simply charm.

Regardless of player race, Inithray will doubtlessly also come on (too) strong like the other resident githyanki once his interest's been captured. His bluntness will be more about visions / fantasies about what the player character might look like in ecstasy rather than scent.

His Act 1 romance scene would include an observation about how cool / clammy he is, with a question as to whether that's because he's a gith from non-githyanki or if it's because he's from the astral plane from a githyanki. He'll say yes either way, with an Insight check to see that he's lying. If you press into his mind then you do not fully find your answer, but from Inithray's perspective you remember hands burning with the fire-ice of divine energy reaching into your heart. The player character can decide if this kills the mood.

If it doesn't, then I think the player character is given two opportunities to use force in their intimacy; maybe a default choice of pulling his hair / shoving him against the ground and some class specifics. With visible confusion (/disappointment?) if the player character is gentle with him.

His Act 1 romance scene can no longer trigger once the player character has confronted Vlaakith in the crèche.

Inithray's Act 2 romance scene does not trigger if the player character was gentle with him in Act 1 but it opens him up to being willing to reject Vlaakith in Act 3. You cannot use power (or logic) to alter his allegiance / worship while his romance is active.

His Act 2 romance scene includes a(n optional) challenge. I won't step too far on Lae'zel's battle's toes; it can be a race. Either from one landmark and back to the starting point, or up a mountain. If it's to a landmark and back then when you get to the landmark he gets to use his githyanki psionics to jump like a grasshopper back to the starting point, and if you're racing up a mountain then he does the same from the beginning. A Perception check to see that he's about to jump lets you use a spell or a rock on his ankle to set him off balance, or as a githyanki, to do the same.

Making it through the race gets him out of breath and half laughing, reaching out to run his hands up the back of the player character's head (falling to his knees to do so for shorter body types) to share adrenaline high kisses.

One of the options to reject his challenge includes an accusation about how he just wants to show off, and Inithray declares that if he wanted to show off then he would do something altogether darker, and call upon his warlock magic to coalesce in blue-black shapes and smoke around his hand and his temple, and the player character can respond "Show me." to still pursue the night rather than reject him outright.

His Act 3 romance scene would require me thinking up a personal quest / how to account for whatever the player decides to do about Vlaakith, but either it can be tentative and sweet where he confesses that he's confident that Vlaakith need only look at him for him to fall to pieces; or full of dark promises where he will see the player character's power secured and the city razed for its transgressions against them if they wish it.

5. Describe their idle animations!

Reading a book. Reading a slate. Juggling a ball in one hand while counting his fingers up and down on his opposite hand, "It's good for coordination." Dicing ingredients at a little alchemy table at his tent.

[kopw]

top watches for september

from this month:

will ospreay vs naomichi marufuji, noah naomichi marufuji debut 25th anniversary show 09/17 — not only my favorite match of the month but my most anticipated one as well! i think it's always interesting to see ospreay be taken out of his usual pace and perform with more breathing room between spots (even if his snappier sequences are what drew me in initially). there are a lot of quiet moments in this match, mixed with that devoted eagerness that ospreay had while he was a junior. it's also a match that is able to tap into something very special thanks to the emotional padding behind it that i think ospreay's other big match from this month (vs yota tsuji) is unable to match

syuri vs mayu iwatani, stardom 5star grand prix day 14 09/03 — syuri is my favorite joshi to watch currently! she wrestles such a loud, hard-hitting style that still feels fresh in the technical scene and she has great in-ring chemistry with mayu here. mayu's reversal of the syu-sekai though... gah! a relatively short match and one of my favorites from the entire gp

bryan danielson vs ricky starks, no disqualification strap match, aew all out 09/03 — the singular non-puro match on this list, which should already give you an idea of how truly great it is. ricky has been a highlight on collision pretty much since it began airing, and the natural charisma that shined through there is ever-present in his recent matches. bloody, brutal, and better than the follow-up texas death rematch in terms of cohesion

zack sabre jr. vs ryohei oiwa, njpw road to destruction 09/08 — i was ecstatic to have boltin oleg in a high-profile match! ...and then it didn't happen. but worry not! oiwa stole the show. it definitely didn't feel as one-sided as it would've if it was oiwa pre-excursion pitted against zack. excited to see more from him

takayuki ueki vs baliyan akki, baka gaijin + friends vol. 8 09/20 — the mad doctor takes on akki, returning superstar of the show, after mecha mummy fails to drill a hole through harashima and is subsequently defeated. it's as silly as it sounds

back catalogue:

shinsuke nakamura vs the great muta, noah the new year 2023 — positively overwhelming presentation in terms of the entrances. misting as a metaphor for relatedness rather than corruption. unstoppable force meets immovable object, up until the object embraces the force. a sentimental finish that stuck with me

katsuyori shibata vs kazuchika okada, njpw sakura genesis 2017 — a holistically tactile bout full of sweaty contact and undying resolve. okada finds himself in the rare predicament of not being the fan favorite! practically impossible to look away during this one

pheromones (danshoku dieno & yuki iino) & shunma katsumata vs akito, kazuki hirata & yuya koroku, ddt sweet dreams! 2023 tour in shinjuku ~ fire! ~ — a typical pheromones match in that it contains loads of their trademark spots (synchronized striptease routines, dramatic jockstrap reveals, "accidental" ass to mouth action) however! this time shunma is there to act as their pup (which he is very much into). a must-watch for fans of public kink in wrestling

atsushi onita vs hayabusa, no ropes barbed wire current mine explosion time bomb deathmatch, fmw 6th anniversary show 1995 — hayabusa comes off as a trapped animal within onita’s environment, only delaying the inevitable with each move. feels and looks like a horror movie, with the counter droning on in the first half and the smoke wafting through the cage of barbed wire in the second. explosions galore!

shotaro ashino vs koji doi, wrestle-1 grand prix 2018 finals — this was my first exposure to ashino and let me tell you... he's so good. his entrance is fuel by metallica, he's cocky, he goes hard in the ring. i'm genuinely shocked he's not a bigger name internationally. nothing too extravagant aside from a few high-impact spots but worth a watch

[alittlehurtwithyourcomfort]

Kai Whumplist (Ninjago S8-S16)

Character: Kai (voiced by Vincent Tong)

For other characters, click here

For Dragons Rising, click here

Age Rating: TV-Y7 (FV)

Show available on Netflix

Notes: This list is only for seasons 8-16 of Lego Ninjago due to the animation style and voice actor changes that occur starting with season 8.

List Key:

bold = most whump, best whump, or favorite whump scenes

~ = a scene break

-- = an episode i missed/forgot to list, will be filled in at a later date (most of these episodes contain minimal to no whump for the character listed)

THIS LIST CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

sons of garmadon: 

8x01: frozen (comedic), worried

8x02: stressed, caught in explosion blast, thrown, groaning, holding his head ~~ hit with electric blast, 

8x03: falls, tied up

8x04: stressed 

8x05: worried about zane ~~ stabbed in the hand with a fork (comedic), in pain ~~ ship crash

8x06: stressed, at sword point 

8x07: chained up with vengestone ~~ worried about lloyd ~~ thrown around, worried about lloyd 

8x08: worried about lloyd 

8x09: extremely worried about lloyd

8x10: extremely worried about lloyd, almost loses powers ~~  almost crushed, presumed dead

hunted: 

9x01: stressed ~~ captured, chained with vengestone, blindfolded

9x02: chained with vengestone, thrown to the ground ~~ lead in chains ~~ thrown into a cage ~~ made to fight in arena, pretends to pass out 

9x03: outnumbered, dragged in chains ~~ in a cage ~~ chained up, used as bait 

9x04: unconscious in cage ~~ chained up 

9x05: stressed 

9x06: none

9x07: hits his head on a rock (comedic) ~~ stressed

9x08: chained up

9x09: still chained, exhausted ~~ rough landing, groaning 

9x10: stressed, fought ~~ rough landing, stumbles ~~ concern for him, rough landing 

march of the oni: 

10x01: stressed 

10x02: yelling ~~ worried about lloyd

10x03: in shock, grieving, angry, comforted, held ~~ grieving 

10x04: grieving ~~ rough fight, emotional reunion ~~ under rubble, groaning, helped to stand, supported, extremely worried about lloyd, emotional

secrets of the forbidden spinjitzu: 

fire chapter:

11x01: none

11x02: none

11x03: stressed 

11x04: concerned

11x05: rough landing, groaning ~~ blasted back ~~ shocked, powers drained, screaming in pain, passes out, concern for him, falls, unconscious, chained 

11x06: none

11x07: unconscious, chained, limp ~~ still unconscious, dragged, hits head repeatedly ~~ groaning in pain, "why does my face hurt so much?" 

11x08: none

11x09: angst about losing his powers

11x10: captured, thrown

11x11: none

11x12: stressed 

11x13: stressed

11x14: forced to his knees, fought, extremely worried about zane

ice chapter:

11x15: fought 

11x16: crash landing, shivering

11x17: thrown, dazed, saved ~~ cold, guilty, straining powers, in pain, half-collapsed, weak, supported 

11x18: none

11x19: none

11x20: worried about lloyd 

11x21: none 

11x22: none

11x23: none

11x24: none 

11x25: scared, straining powers, thrown, in shock ~~ in shock, concern for him, guilty, comforted 

11x26: none

11x27: none

11x28: stressed 

11x29: crash landing, groaning, stressed 

11x30: knocked out, concern for him, blurry vision, weak, angry, glowing eyes, straining powers, heavy breathing, collapsed, supported ~~ emotional reunion 

prime empire: 

12x01: thrown 

12x02: stressed 

12x03: fought

12x04: fought, no powers ~~ dies, respawns

12x05: none 

12x06: fought

12x07: stressed

12x08: stressed 

12x09: fought 

12x10: stressed

12x11: crashes, loses last life, "dies"

12x12: none

12x13: none 

12x14: none

12x15: none 

12x16: emotional reunion

master of the mountain:

13x01: almost falls 

13x02: stressed

13x03: stressed 

13x04: stressed, fought

13x05: none

13x06: stressed, throwing up (non-graphic), holding his stomach ~~ pushed, rubbing his wrists, falls, thrown around 

13x07: none

13x08: none 

13x09: none

13x10: none 

13x11: hits his head (comedic), scared 

13x12: none

13x13: fought 

13x14: none

13x15: caged, fought

13x16: fought 

the island:

14x01: stressed 

14x02: fought ~~ unconscious, tied up, woken up 

14x03: electroshocked, imprisoned ~~ tied up 

14x04: fought

seabound: 

15x01: fought, worried about nya 

15x02: none

15x03: none 

15x04: none 

15x05: none

15x06: none 

15x07: none 

15x08: none 

15x09: none

15x10: stressed, fought 

15x11: fought, almost drowns, not breathing, unconscious, coughing up water, concern for him 

15x12: fought, tied up, held underwater, coughing 

15x13: stressed

15x14: stressed, fought

15x15: stressed, extremely worried about jay and nya 

15x16: extremely worried about nya ~~ grieving 

crystallized: 

16x01: grieving 

16x02: none 

16x03: fought ~~ extremely angry, fought, sad 

16x04: frozen, carried ~~ shivering ~~ fought

16x05: fought

16x06: rough fight, arrested and put in handcuffs 

16x07: in prison

16x08: fought

16x09: stressed

16x10: stressed

16x11: stressed 

16x12: electrocuted, briefly knocked out 

16x13: worried

16x14: scared, trapped underground, presumed dead 

16x15: still trapped underground, stressed

16x16: ---

16x17: ---

16x18: ---

16x19: ---

16x20: ---

16x21: ---

16x22: ---

16x23: ---

16x24: ---

16x25: ---

16x26: car crash, briefly unconscious, groaning, worried about cole 

16x27: ---

16x28: fought

16x29: rough fights

16x30: rough fights, emotional

[waheelawhisperer]

My (very critical and generally unimpressed) thoughts on RWBY Volume 9 Episode 4 are behind the read more.

Poor Weiss. Her suffering continues.

Don’t worry, Yang, none of this makes sense to me either.

Why is the creature wearing Blake's skin like a suit calling itself a cat isn’t “Faunus aren’t animals” Blegh's whole schtick at this point

Oh wait that’s telling your fellow minorities to protest in a way that makes their oppressors more comfortable and then pining over Yang in the Kingdom most closely associated with Faunus oppression

I agree with you, Weiss. Like every other denizen of the Ever After, the Cat is constantly fucking annoying

Not sure if Yang is making fun of the Cat or Weiss here, but either way the humor actually does land for me for once. I do genuinely enjoy the Freezerburn dynamic. It's arguably my favorite in the show, especially after what the writers have done to the Bees so far this Volume.

Good plan, Blegh. I like the initiative she’s been showing spurts of throughout the Volume so far. It's the one bit of characterization she has left that doesn't revolve around Yang.

Okay they’ve snagged themselves a guide. That’s progress. Maybe soon we can get WBY back to normal size and leave this fucking setting

Love the Bees being visibly fed up with the cat because holy shit so am I

Saw on Twitter that Miles said he really liked this episode. Not hard to see why, given how much this writing team loves the smell of their own farts. This scene reads to me like a middle finger to anyone who's critical of the show, and like, I get it. Some of the people who don't like this show are real jackasses about it, and I completely understand the impulse to say "fuck the haters" at any time and for any reason, and even support it, but, like... bro. You are not good enough at your job to be this arrogant. You're not even good at your job. If you wanna take shots at the people who think your art sucks, you'd better produce better art than this, otherwise you just look like an insecure dumbass with an overinflated ego. Lampshading criticism doesn’t make it less valid. Hate to tell you this, but the shit the Cat mentioned is a set of actual flaws your show has. Sniping at the people who point them out doesn't make them disappear.

At least Weiss is focused on getting back to her normal size, and we get an interesting bit of worldbuilding, comparing the world to toys and explaining how each acre has its own characteristics and inhabitants

Once again, Yang, the bad sister, is the first to pick up on Ruby’s distress

but for the love of God please stop forcing Rubes it feels so out of place if you wanted to make this a thing you needed to do it before the ninth fucking Volume of the show

At first I was annoyed by Blegh saying they shouldn't worry about Remnant yet because dear God do I want someone to actually engage with the events of Volume 8, but after thinking about it I'm not too bothered by it. It makes sense to focus on the immediate problem right now. I just wish I felt like the writers cared about anything beyond the immediate.

I think it’s kind of funny how Yang is the official cat tracker. She’s more responsible than the fandom likes to think...

Little has been downgraded to Emergency Rations again

Let it all out, Weiss. I share your frustrations. Go off, queen. You are rapidly rising in my estimation this Volume.

"I'm getting really tired of that question" So am I, Ruby, so am I.

Keep up the snark Yang and you might fend off Weiss’s challenge to your throne (the coveted position of Heela's Favorite Character)

Looks like we’re getting more of the Ever After’s emphasis on purpose.

The “What is a Huntress?” question has the potential to serve as an interesting callback to the Mountain Glenn conversation around the fire. Let's see what the show does with it.

I like the Herbalist he’s as fed up with all of this as I am

I enjoy seeing the clash of perspectives here. Team RWBY and the Herbalist have fundamentally different approaches. Really drives home how different Remnant and the Ever After are.

Oh boy a magic hookah den. Really don’t like this choice, but not because I think it's inherently bad writing, I just have personal issues with drug use. I don't like it. I don't like being around it, I don't like seeing it depicted on-screen, I don't like it when media presents it as a positive thing... I'm not condemning people who use intoxicants or trying to prevent them from having the autonomy to do so, but I have a very strong negative reaction to it. I don't like this scene.

Having Yang call out for Blegh before Ruby is certainly A Decision and I’m not sure how I feel about it (poor Weiss, guess we all now where she is on Yang’s priority list lmao, baby I’m sorry your dom doesn’t treat you better). I don't really agree with them, but I can see where the people who think Yang isn't concerned enough about Ruby are coming from, even though Yang's been picking up on Ruby's emotional state better than anyone else so far. I can understand how it would be jarring to see Yang go from flinging herself in front of a fatal blow days or hours earlier and then first call out for someone else in a strange situation.

I don't think this bothers me yet. I think what the writers are trying to do here is set up a situation where Yang ends up prioritizing Blegh and misses the fact that Ruby needs her and then things go Very Wrong as a result, so I'll withhold judgment until I see what they do with this. I definitely get why some people are bothered, though.

Okay guess they’re confronting their past selves somehow?

Go back to before, Yang, back when this series still had potential and the cracks in the foundations weren’t tearing down the whole damn house. Go back to when I still had hope that the show would improve Volume over Volume. Do it. You know you want to.

Lmao did we really just offer the minority a chance to not be a minority anymore and compare her to an animal in the same sentence what is with this Volume and comparing Blegh to a cat

Like the writers already stated that the White Fang Arc is a direct analogue for the American Civil Rights Movement and explicitly equated Faunus oppression to black Americans' struggle for equality so the "human" and "Faunus" categories pretty clearly correspond to "white" and "black"

which means they just directly compared black people to animals lmao

This is actually so disgusting ngl but what do I expect from a company that called black employees racial slurs and let their community harass those same employees for years without doing shit about it

Dude MKEK you wrote your racism arc out of the story and still managed to be racist. Amazing.

God I hate this company and these writers

Blegh when have you ever been a bridge between humans and Faunus

Was it when you were blaming your fellow Faunus for their oppression and telling them to be nicer so the humans would like them?

But hey at least Yang's hitting us over the head with the impending change in her relationship status

What culture Blegh we don’t know shit about your culture there’s been close to zero evidence of it onscreen

Not that this is a problem exclusive to Faunus culture. We don’t know shit about any other Kingdom’s culture except maybe Atlas either because this show’s worldbuilding sucks ass. That said, this is egregiously bad. If Blake’s culture matters to her so much maybe make it a part of the show before now

Weiss your grandpa built fucking fantasy Amazon and helped colonize Vacuo but I don’t really hold this against you because to you he is a hero and you haven’t seen any of the effects (and the show really likes insisting that Nicholas was Good and all the Bad started with Jacques). At least you understand your daddy blows. Your magic acid trip sucks the least so far and you're coming very close to toppling Yang from her position as my favorite

Not sure how I feel about Yang’s whole conversation tbh, I feel like they're probably being gross about her disability again somehow but honestly I don't necessarily think offering a disabled person a chance to have their disability "fixed" is a bad thing because that can be a very powerful fantasy. I know that if I could have magic mushrooms take away the need for me to wear contact lenses I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I don't trust this company with this topic so this puts me on edge.

MKEK I hate to tell you this but having your characters turn to the screen and claim they’ve experienced character development doesn’t mean it happened. This is one of those moments where RWBY tries to insist a thing happened without doing a particularly good job of actually showing it on-screen (see: everyone hugging during the Volume 6 reunion despite the Beacon Volumes never taking the time to properly build all those relationships and the insistence that everyone cared about both each other and Pyrrha when fucking Jaune and kind of Ruby are the only ones ever allowed to grieve for her).

We are FINALLY diving into Ruby’s head and feelings. I love this for real. There's some good in this Volume.

We're finally learning a little bit about Summer Rose and how Ruby views her. Maybe this is the Volume she becomes a character instead of a plot device.

Okay it’s starting to look like Ruby’s depression is manifesting as a desire to not be herself/not exist anymore. I wonder what would’ve happened if the cat hadn’t showed up.

Okay so the Cat did the same thing they did for the Red Prince, apparently this can calm/stabilize people?

What the fuck

No seriously wtf just happened to the drug dealer

Shut. The fuck. Up. Little. You aren’t funny, you’re just annoying. MKEK, please stop undermining every serious moment with humor. Not only is the tone inappropriate, you’re not even good at making jokes.

Anyway it was pretty cool to see the V1-3 outfits in the new artstyle, and the crew did a really good job of making the whole series of scenes with the Herbalist feel very creepy, so props to them there.

Still laughing at the way Yang was just like "Weiss who?" during her magic bong hit babygirl really has been getting the short end of the stick ever since she dropped into the Ever After. Treat your sub right, Yang.

Marginally better than the first two episodes, worse than the third. If not for the "fuck the critics" vibes I'm getting and the frankly gross racism, it would've just been bad, but as it is I have to dock it points for that.

Overall rating: Fucking Horrendous/10

[kierrasreads]

Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang Review

Plot

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can't escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he's forced to look after his best friend's sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.

A melt.

A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can't remember.

But despite her broken past, she's never stopped seeing the beauty in the world...including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn't want.

Her brother's best friend.

Her neighbor.

Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen- but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both...and everything they hold dear.

Discussion

Holy mother of god, when they said that the spicy scenes were indeed spicy...they weren't lying. Not to sound like a cringy teenager, I had to down some water to calm myself down! When I was reading this book out in public (I tend to read on my lunch break and when I'm taking the bus home), I seriously needed to use my poker face.

At first, it was a bit hard (pun not intended) for me to get into the book. It almost read just like a fanfiction that either myself or my friend would write- where we would have our original characters interact with our favorite anime boy and make all kinds of crazy headcanons. Once I got to about...halfway, the pace picked up quite a bit and I could hardly put it down.

It is refreshing to have a romance novel take place while most of the characters are in college- most romance novels I encounter have the characters already full-blown adults...or when I was in my young adult phase, high school.

Of course, I realize that if Alex was a real person, he would be a HUGE walking red flag. I would keep far, far, away from him. However, as a fictional character in a fiction novel, he's a solid book boyfriend. I know that this book can be read as a standalone in this series, but I'm curious to see if his character develops/pops up in the other books. I'll have to read the others!

There are some trigger warnings, please let me know if I missed any:

Attempted m*rder

Blood

Child a*use/a*usive parents

Aquaphobia/panic attacks

Death

Stalking

Violence

Mentions of su*cide

Rating

4.7/5