#which is just so obvious because he really said he didn’t care for harriet dead or alive and just thought of her as emma’s friend

[normalgirlatron]

mr elton has a rotten soul i’m serious… everything about him is just so insincere and motivated and it’s honestly so awful to think back on scenes with him from before knowing how he truly acts when he’s no longer trying to impress a woman you know… ugh he irritates me so much him and mrs elton really do deserve one another they’ll bring the other great misery throughout their married lives 🙏

[laulink]

Ok, so, I wasn’t able to watch the episode yesterday, but now I did and BOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYY

I knew it’d be a lot, but that was everything I could have expected and more. 

Let’s break this down :

First, the most obvious : Yang falling. The scene was soooo emotional, because the slow-motion really showed every character’s reaction in detail and it was heartbreaking, really. I’m confident Yang’s fall won’t harm her, especially not kill her, since she’s one of the main characters, but RWB & co don’t know that, and they can’t ask Jinn anymore, nor Oscar/Ozpin, not until they leave the central location, meaning they wouldn’t be able to access it anymore, and Ambrosius himself might not know what exactly happens when someone falls in the void, just like he didn’t know what would happen to Penny if he did as told. So I’m very excited to see what exactly happens when someone falls into that void and what CRWBY will do with the rest of the team. A theory I’ve seen going around is that Yang will reenact the tale Oscar and Ozpin talked about, which is apparently the Remnant version of Alice in Wonderland, and that would be pretty great I think ! The question now is : will Yang go through that journey alone while her team has to try and move forward, thinking she’s dead, or will the three other also fall down into the void ? I’m kinda split on that, because, on one hand, I find it hard to believe that Ruby, Weiss and Blake will fall too, all while Penny is there to help and probably the Happy Huntresses too, but on the other hand, it would certainly be different to make one of the characters only go through such a journey while the others don’t. Like Oz and Oscar said, the girl in the fairy tale came home changed, and it would be weird if Yang was the only one to be changed by such a journey while the others did not experience anything even remotely similar.

Next thing on the list : Ironwood. Two points with him : killing Jacques and fighting Winter. All about the Schnees, huh ? I know it may seem... unnecessary, and anti-climactic, at this point, to kill Jacques off, especially by Ironwood’s hand, but I think it might pay off in the future. Like Winter said, Weiss had opted to save her father : she didn’t forget about him, or decide to let him fare for himself while Atlas was falling, she decided to actively take steps to save his life. And now he’s dead. I don’t expect anyone in the family to mourn him, but I also don’t think anyone will really rejoice in his death. A shitty person is still a person, and normal people don’t actually enjoy learning of the death of someone they knew well, even if they didn’t like them. They might feel relief, but there’s always a hollowness coming with it too. Because that person occupied a piece of their lives and that’s something they are taking with them in death and that will never come back. I don’t know what, exactly, CRWBY intends to do with that, but I expect the news of Jacques’s death to have on impact on the Schnee family members, whatever it is. As for the fight, I found it to be a nice touch to see James cry as he got ready to fight Winter. He still truly believes his course of action is the right one, he can’t see all the harm he’s doing, and it genuinely pains him to fight Winter, because he loves her but he thinks what he wants to do will bring more good and is therefore needed. It’s truly tragic. I fully expect Winter to win this fight, but I don’t know in what state she’ll be left after this, nor what exactly will happen to Ironwood after she beats him. Does Atlas tip and make him or both of them fall off the edge of the path and down to Mantle ? Does Winter try to catch James and fail ? Does she lose a limb in the fight and later has to get a prosthetic and always be reminded of the man she knew who had over half his body replaced by prosthetics ? I’m curious to see what exactly will happen. But I doubt James Ironwood will make it out of the Atlas arc alive.

A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene that I found quite interesting too : Cinder telling Watts, in her softest voice, that he, “Arthur”, deserves this. To end Atlas as he always wished he could. This, coupled with the title of the ep, throw us back to their argument a couple of episodes ago, where Cinder broke down and started crying. I already thought that Watts’s words had gotten to Cinder because of her tears, but her words now make me even more sure of it. Which means that I fully expect her to try and fix the flaws that Watts pointed out, aka the fact that she tends to use brute force to get what she wants instead of using her brain. She already started being smart about things again : she asked Jinn to know what RWBY & co had planned, she gathered intel to determine the best way to make their plan fail. I expect her to have one more trick up her sleeve in her fight against team RWBY. Maybe, oh, I don’t know : stealing the Staff and using it to create something and make the central location disappear while people are still in it. Wouldn’t that be funny now. (also, don’t ask me why, but I have a feeling that Watts will not even try to escape while Atlas falls down. As he told Cinder, he’s got everything he ever wanted, and his life goal was, apparently, to bring Ironwood and his kingdom down for casting him aside, so I can see him being happy going out doing what he always wanted to : tear apart everything Ironwood ever cared about)

Last note of this already long post : the bits with the Ace Ops were great, especially Harriet and Vine. It was good to see two soldiers argue about the values they hold most important as well as their feelings : loyalty (to the General or to the people) and grief (over Clover). Harriet’s semblance doesn’t give her tunnel vision, yet she still doesn’t take a single step to the side of the path Ironwood laid out for her. I’m curious to see how things will go for her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up being the only one being blown up by that bomb, killed by her own stubbornness, just like Clover was killed by his decision to follow orders without question.

[carebooks]

alright i watched the whole third season of House of Anubis

I first have to say how much I enjoyed the leads: Eddie and KT. They have such a good chemistry and they’re honestly hilarious together. As I mentioned before, I did ship them together when I was younger and first watched the show but with watching it again, I would keep them as friends. Best friends. (especially since KT is hella gay I don’t care what anyone says) They totally give me Cloak and Dagger vibes, especially in terms of partnership. At the start of the show, they were alone, they had no one to confide in, no one to be with, Eddie was torn about letting Sibuna know about Nina, still not over Patricia. KT just lost her grandfather and came to England on a quest with some key and vague warnings, she was hella confused but still did so out of loyalty to her grandfather (this baby is too precious and good for this world, i swear). And next thing you know, fate and Osirian visions bring them together. They form a partnership, they snoop around the Gatehouse, they form a bond. And I love it so much. What I love especially, is that at the end, when the sinners are everywhere and even the Sibuna members are taken as sinners, it’s down to Eddie and KT, just like the beginning. Sure, they get help from Willow and Harriet, but they lose Willow pretty quickly, and right at the end, Harriet sacrifices herself so they can get the other key and lock away the evil for good. And together, Eddie and KT join the keys and lock the evil as one. They started together, and they ended it together, and I think that was really poetic. I know that the Osirian and the Chosen One are meant to be the pair and the Ying & Yang, but in this particular case, Eddie and KT were a bond formed by friendship and hardship rather than destinies planned or written in the stars by the gods, yes fate brought them together, but only because they knew they could only accomplish their tasks with each other. I especially loved when they took down Ammut, and Robert tried a last ditch attempt to get KT to feel guilty over doing this, telling her that he would die if Ammut was locked away. It brings in KT’s loyalty to her family, even when it’s bad, but then Eddie yells during the commotion, “Don’t trust him, trust me!” And I think it really brings a full circle what a great partnership and bond they have.

Other than that, it’s really just random stuff I liked

i liked that Willow could sense bad vibes that Robert had whenever he was around Anubis House, as well as sensing the bad vibes that sinner!Victor and sinner!Patricia gave off. I kinda wished they could’ve looked more into that. Like she was naturally sensitive to these things or something.

Her relationship with Alfie was a nice touch, seeing him with someone who liked the same things that he did was real cute. Especially seeing them happy.

Victor and Sweet playing that card game gave me life.

Joy’s new attitude and look were certainly appreciated

While I preferred the Jerome that developed in S2 and won Mara over (especially over the course of the first season and second, i mean talk about a slow burn done right) and rather he didn’t cheat on her and Willow, the Joy+Jerome ship wasn’t terrible. I much prefer the developed S2 Jerome, I’ve said this twice now, but again, it wasn’t terrible. (but real talk? KT and Joy should’ve happened)

Amber being the one to bring Sibuna and the pair Eddie & KT together because *Amber Millington voice* “Hello people! Isn’t it obvious? Work together.”

Like that girl knew what was up. Well, she did invent Sibuna, not surprised.

Alfie was perfection this season, leave him be. Also, highlights of him:

“Crypts are for dead people!” “I’m afraid of everything.” “Guys, go! Get out of here! Sibuna! SIBUNNAAA!!”

I already talked plenty of Eddie and KT being the best, so yeah. But imma do it again anyway.

I have a theory that Eddie focused his primary Osirian instinct of being protective over the Chosen One to being protective over KT. Like he reffocused his powers to someone else for the time being. Nina wasn’t there, and when KT showed up in his vision it was almost like the house was telling him “You need to help her now. Keep her safe.” And I really like that.

It was especially shone a lot through out the season, and the last episodes too. 

When sinner!Patricia and sinner!Fabian had KT and wanted to exchange an artifact that Eddie had discovered, she told him to run and get away, like they did when Alfie told them to leave him behind. And he says, “That was Alfie, this is you.”

And when Eddie, KT, Willow and Harriet went to get the sun key from Caroline, and she managed to take KT and Willow and turn them into sinners, Eddie says, “Not KT,” very worriedly. Later on he’s hard on himself, “I can’t believe they got to KT.”

It was interesting that half the season was awakening the man in the tank and the other half was releasing evil into the world. Like a different feel for half the season, not many shows do that.

I kinda despise the fact that the things I didn’t like are probably going to be longer.

Let’s go paragraph first so, how about that plot? First off, the whole thing is very weird for Sibuna. The first two seasons were about riddles and thinking things through. They were real mysteries. In this, it was more direct, they had an obvious problem, they had to stop the bad guys from waking up a bad guy, and then literal evil converted their own friends against each other. It sounds super interesting for a Vampire Diaries or Teen Wolf or even My Babysitter’s A Vampire plot line (or just one episode) since those shows were more active based. This season barely had any hidden things or riddles, and half of it had Sibuna paranoid and working against each other which I’m sure no one really loved. Not to mention that the action mainly happened at the Gatehouse rather than the actual Anubis House, the center for two of the last mysteries. Now I know, I know, the new season couldn’t just be a copy, and having a third mystery with hidden compartments over the house would certainly be a lot for Robert and Louisa. But I mean, didn’t Het Huis Anubis have four seasons? They couldn’t just do their version of that? I’m guessing that they did something different (I really hope so, because if not, this is embarrassing)

things i did not like at all about this season

the fact that they twisted Mara’s character up in their new ‘messed up girl obsessed with a boy’ like Joy in S2. just- why?

the fact that they undid a bunch of Jerome’s development.

or how about the fact that all Jerome got to do this season was be part of a love triangle cheat fest and then a love drama with Joy. In S1 he shoved himself into Sibuna and Rufus and it was bad for him, but he was involved. And S2, he was just amazing, they managed to connect his family and his family troubles with something that Sibuna would’ve needed for the Mask of Anubis: the Frobisher Gem. It all came together perfectly.

we didn’t get anything of Mr. Sweet telling Eddie about his Osirian thing or their family history.

The way they treated KT when they thought she was evil. It was so messed up, honestly, that poor baby. (though I did appreciate that the other residents noticed, like at breakfast when she sat down and no one looked at her, and he said, “Good morning, KT.” and he just noticed something was wrong. And then Joy and Mara noticed. I just really feel like that was the moment where Jerome and Joy coulda been more involved with Sibuna again- wait what am I saying)

No, when they and Patricia and Alfie were at the Gatehouse and they tried to warn them about the ceremony is when JOY AND JEROME SHOULDA GOTTEN INVOLVED IN SIBUNA AGAIN. Or like, at least be more aware, I mean come on?? Joy, you’re better than this. And Jerome, you’ve seen enough weird stuff to know when it’s Sibuna-related and usually that means deadly-related so you’re whole having two girlfriends thing can wait for a while.

Caroline Denby sucked. (And Caroline Forbes from TVD is a fan favorite of mine and not to mention that MY NAME IS CAROLINE so imagine that).

the fact that we got rid of the real Victor was kinda just wrong for me. I mean, Victor has always been a pain in the ass with the kids, and he’s usually wanted what they were after as well but he’d never resort to murder or anything like that, so when he got turned into a sinner and lost his friggin soul (yes, they said that, this is true) we truly lost Victor and I didn’t like that at all.

Season 1 was all about a mystery but also partly conspiracy, there was a moment between all five of Sibuna where they got proof and realistic statements after Joy lied to them (at the insistence of her dad) they were starting to think that the mystery wasn’t real and almost backed out of the search. Remember? Nina said, “You guys aren’t giving up on me, right?” Anyway, that was that. It was all about finding more information about what really happened and what’s really going on. About finding answers.

Season 2 was darker, it was a race against time because unlike the mystery of the first season, this one was more about saving themselves. Nina’s life and her friends and Gran would’ve died, it’s a great motivator to go through the tunnels. And there were moments where we see just how serious this is, there’s one shot where Nina is in a dream sequence in the house and all her friends are running away from her, terrified. And even when Victor sees her, he backs away in fear and hides himself in his office and then in the mirror it’s revealed Nina’s dressed and appears as Senkhara. And then when Senkhara freezes Vera, Victor knows it’s time to back away, he’s scared, he’s worried, so we see him do what he has to do to get Vera back. And when he’s playing the game? With Sibuna as his game pieces on the huge board? When Alfie disappeared, he backed out, he knew when to stop and almost considered calling Mr. Sweet to do something about it.

Meanwhile, Season 3 was all dark evil stuff, run for your life or your literal soul will be taken. It’s the end of the world if they awaken this sleeping dude, we need heroes to stop the bad team. Oh no, he’s awake, now he’s going to unleash hell and evil and it’s the end of the world, only now everyone’s converted to the evil and it’s real bad, we need heroes desperately. 

This season might’ve been more dark or good vs. evil type of thing but it just didn’t feel right for HOA. The show has always been subtle, it’s quiet and the kids solve the mystery and they do everything very hushed and private, this season sort of felt like WHOAH PIE IN YOUR FACE GUESS WHAT IM A SIBUNA what with turning the whole school into sinners, I just didn’t like the whole school being this active. but that’s me personally. 

Robert Frobisher-Smythe being the one in the tank is ridiculous considering wE SAW HIS FRIGGIN GHOST AT THE END OF S1. And honestly, bringing him in and saying that he’s going to bring forth a darkness to make people evil and bring the apocalypse is just a really bland plot. It’s no mystery, it’s legit good guys vs. a villain. It’s a ‘save the world’ plot, yeah like we’ve never seen that before.

We love the mystery, where was it? oh right, nowhere.

When the four descendants of Robert’s expedition party were revealed: Patricia, Joy, Alfie and Jerome, there could have so much content.

The four of them speaking in unison while they sleep should’ve been used more.

Remember the childhood lullabies they were supposed to use to find a random artifact? Those lullabies were riddles and other than that cylinder that KT opened using her synesthesia, it was the only thing that made it feel like good old days of House of Anubis.

again, making Robert the man in the tank and then evil was just stupid. im not gonna approach the fact that he took the punishment meant for his expedition party and that’s why he’s cursed, and now he’s evil? oh gods

again, seeing the three OG Sibuna gang members evil and not on Sibuna kept killing me.

that ending bugged me

like oh no! everyone’s gone insane, we gotta shut this thing down before it devours more souls. TWO HOURS LATER and now it’s time to enjoy fireworks and Fabian and Mara and flirting and its so unnecessary, whyy??

Leave Mara with Jerome (in which he didnt cheat) and Willow is happy with Alfie and KT and Joy are out there being gay as hell. Those are the ships that shoulda happened.

Honestly, when I think back at S2 and Amber and Nina are there, it just brings back such good vibes. S2 really is the best season, but I stand by my love for Eddie and KT. Friendship goals AF. Like I said before, the third season was in your face, it was loud and it was telling everyone ‘end of the world’ and when you think about it, it’s perfect for the characters they introduced. S1 and S2 fit so well for Nina, because she’s like that, she’s quiet yet badass and is about riddles and mysteries. Meanwhile, Eddie is loud and wants to get this over with, LET’S BREAK INTO OUR TEACHER’S HOUSE BECAUSE I HAVE A HUNCH. YOU WANNA SEE THE SLEEPING MAN’S FACE, FABIAN? LET’S REMOVE THE GLASS. LET’S STEAL THE TANK WITH THE SLEEPING MAN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.  LET ME JUST BARGE INTO VICTOR’S OFFICE TO TAKE YOUR KEY BACK, KT. LET’S DO WHATEVER IMPORTANT TASK OR MISSION WE NEED HAVE TONIGHT. LET ME BANG AGAINST PIPES AND BRICKS REALLY LOUDLY. And let me tell you, it just makes me laugh how into it he gets, like “why not?” it’s just so funny for some reason. Anyway, I think they decided to make this season fit what they wanted Eddie to be and that’s what they did. I loved Eddie’s performance, I loved him so much, I loved KT more. But I just didn’t love this season.

[izcana]

Monster

In response to a prompt by Cactaceae28 in the quoteonlyprompts collection.

Prompt: "Ah...you mean metaphorically, don't you?" "I. Mean. literally ."

If any of you want a sequel (where they're all dead and Thomas forgives Minho), you can request it.

***

I can't sleep tonight,

Wide awake and so confused.

Thomas lies awake in bed, staring at the grass woven hut's ceiling. They had just gotten to paradise and were supposedly safe, though none of them could feel truly "safe" anymore. There was an unspoken truce that everyone was plagued by nightmares, and no one complained if they were woken by fast-paced breathing, a scream, or sobs. It wasn't how the world worked anymore.

Everything's in line,

But I'm bruised.

The inhabitants (the immune) had all mostly settled by then, everyone getting to their assigned jobs quickly. Harriet was in charge as well as Sonya, with the occasional help from the remaining Gladers (which was a very small number). Neither Thomas nor Minho wanted to. They'd had enough of leading for a lifetime. Thomas didn't feel like everything was normal, though, even though everything was. That was the problem. It really wasn't, but they were trying so hard to make it seem like it was. But it wasn't, and nothing would change that but time.

I need a voice to echo,

I need a light to take me home,

I kinda need a hero...

Is it you?

Ever since that devastating event that took Newt's life a year ago, Thomas was weak and broken. Imagine a window that you throw something at. First, spiderweb patterns appear. They might seem cool and artistic, but really, they were dangerous, and they'll keep fracturing. By the time the next ball hit, the window would break into small pieces. Shattered. Broken. Gone. Useless.

That's how Thomas felt. He walked around like a zombie, with slurred and robotic movements and speech. It was obvious he wasn't getting enough sleep. The Gladers, Brenda, Jorge, and Group B (remaining members) all noticed, but they knew better to disturb him. He'll come to them when he was ready.

I never see the forest for the trees,

I could really use your melody,

Baby, I'm a little blind,

I think it's time for you to find me.

Despite what they thought, Thomas had no plans to go to any of them. Now, when he talked, his smiles were forced, his gestures fake, and it showed. They had all been subtly getting closer, he knew, trying to befriend the hero and the one who got them here.

Thomas didn't feel like a hero.

He wasn't a hero for Alby, who was an (unsuccessful) sacrifice. He wasn't a hero for Chuck, who died to save him. He wasn't a hero for Winston, Jack, and the other Gladers that died in the storm and the scorch. He wasn't a hero for the cranks just waiting, no, begging for death. He wasn't a hero for immunes that died from the explosion. He wasn't a hero for Teresa who died in his arms, sacrificing herself for him. He definitely wasn't a hero for Newt, who he had killed with his own hands. Or rather, with that gun. "Please, Tommy, Please." still echoed in his head.

Can you be my nightingale?

Sing to me

I know you're there

You could be my sanity

Minho was the only thing that held Thomas up. And that's why he vowed to never tell Minho that he killed Newt. He knew it was selfish on his part, considering Newt was Minho's best friend and Minho was still coping with the fact that he was a crank, possibly dead from the flare already. And he was. Just not from the flare. Thomas knew Minho would hate him forever if he told him he killed Newt, so he didn't.

But it was getting harder and harder to hide it, each day.

Bring me peace

Sing me to sleep

Say you'll be my nightingale

His friends all noticed that Thomas was getting significantly less sleep as of usual, and that's because it was almost the first anniversary of Newt's death. Thomas' nightmares have become increasingly concerning, and Minho often slept in the same hut as him nowadays.

Somebody speak to me

'Cause I'm feeling like hell

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"You're not okay," Minho said bluntly over the toast the next morning after Thomas had woken him up from yet another nightmare involving Newt last night. "Come on, Tomboy, I need you to tell me what's wrong so I can help you," Minho implored, knowing better to call him Tommy or Tom. It brought back too many sore memories.

Need you to answer me

I'm overwhelmed

"Okay...fine," Thomas hissed, deciding once and for all that he needed to get this off his chest. He was going to tell Minho and who knows? Maybe he'd even forgive Thomas, though that was a blind hope. Thomas could only wish that although Minho would hate him, he would at least get the closure he needed, but knew he didn't deserve. "Meet me at the slope at noon."

The slope was a field close to the dangling rocky cliff with vines, very similar to the maze. Thomas loved the scenery of it but it hit too close to what Newt had told him that day. It was fine, though, as long as they didn't stray too near the cliff.

"Fine," Minho muttered, shoving food into his mouth.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"I killed Newt."

"You mean indirectly, right?" Minho panicked. "Please tell me you mean indirectly."

"I.mean.directly, Minho! He begged for it, Minho! He didn't want to become a crank!" Thomas cried, his whole being shaking furiously at his friend's denial. "I shot him, and he..."

"You killed him?" Minho demanded, pointing a thick finger towards Thomas' chest.

"I'm sorry!" Thomas whimpered, cringing at how pathetic he sounded. "He begged for it! You have to believe me!"

Minho glared and stood up, his face a mask of rage. He swung his fist and it connected with the side of Thomas' jaw, and he went down, his legs buckling underneath him. Minho gave a roar and pinned Thomas' wrist to the rock, and snap it. Thomas gave a wail of pain and his vision blurred around the edges. From what he could hear, his bone had snapped clean in half.

Minho continued to rain punches all over Thomas' face. Black and blue bruises started to form from the red splotches all over Thomas' stomach and face, not that Thomas could see them. Thomas went limp, knowing he deserved it. He deserved it all for killing Newt. His senses went numb and the last thing he could remember was Minho shouting "Kill yourself, Thomas! They think you're a hero but you're nothing more than a lowlife coward!" and then Minho ran.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Thomas came to, his vision still blurry, slowly, he sat up, only to clutch his wrist and shriek in pain. It was clearly snapped in two as the bone was poking out of the wrist tissue. Thomas looked away, the sight upsetting his bruised stomach. He was certain there was a broken rib or two, and his nose was clearly cracked, if not broken.

What was the point? Minho was right. All he was was a lowlife coward. He never thought himself a hero, the contrary, actually, but there were some things that are made crystal clear when it's your best friend who pointed it out. This was one of those instances. Thomas saw it now; he was a traitor. If it wasn't for him, the Gladers wouldn't be dead, Teresa wouldn't be dead, so many innocents wouldn't be dead. But, he just had to be the hero. Newt was right. Minho was right.

It was time for this to end.

Thomas painstakingly dragged himself to the cliff. He stared at the ivy and the jagged rocks underneath. The cliff was tall enough to rival a skyscraper, and Thomas knew he wouldn't make the same miscalculations as Newt – he'd definitely die from this fall. There was no going back once he made his decision. And he had.

Thomas stood up, shaking. The pain in his ankles was uncomfortable but bearable. Especially since he wouldn't feel them soon. Death was numb, after all. Or so he's seen. That's how it was for Newt.

Gathering up all his courage and for once, stopped being the coward, he fell, tumbling down the cliff.

No one witnessed his death except for the rocks down below waiting to swallow him up.

I need a voice to echo

I need a light to take me home

I need a star to follow

I don't know?

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Minho!" Brenda yelled. "Where's Thomas?"

Minho, having just gotten back from his run, was not in the mood to deal with this. "Who cares?"

"What's your problem?" Brenda demanded, her eyes fixing into a scowl. "No one's seen him, that's why! According to Gally, you're the last person to."

Minho thought back to the confrontation that Thomas and he had earlier that day. "That's not a big deal," Minho tried. It wasn't. He killed Newt. Minho shouldn't care about his well being, right? Wrong. As much as he hated it, he cared.

Minho thought about the confrontation again. He wondered if Thomas would talk to him again, now that he was being more level headed. Probably not. The shank was super messed up the last time he saw him. He relapsed every moment, thinking to his actions, then his words. "Kill yourself, Thomas!" The words he had said a few hours ago stuck in his head. Thomas wouldn't really do it...or would he?

Minho imagined the beat-up body he had left on the slope. "Brenda, c'mon, now!"

Without allowing Brenda any time to mull over his words, he dragged her up the slope, the two of them sprinting as fast as they could. He went back to the spot where he and Thomas had their conversation. It wasn't a conversation, really, it was more like him using Thomas as a punching bag to take out his anger. He winced. Forgiveness was definitely not going to happen. Even from Thomas, who was too innocent to know better.

'Cause baby you're my sanity

Minho and Brenda saw the mess of blood on the slope and the trail of it going in the direction of the cliff. They followed it, grasping onto the blind hope that Thomas would be at the end, waiting for them. Only, of course, the reality was cruel, and they were at the edge of the cliff, and all they saw was blood leading all the way to the ledge. And then nothing.

"He...jumped?" Brenda gasped. "Why?"

Minho thought back to the time when Newt tried to commit suicide in–––no. He wasn't going to think about Newt, now. Perhaps only later, he would mourn his friends. Not now.

"I–––" And that was when Minho broke down. He told Brenda everything. Though Brenda was furious, she let it slide for now in favour of comforting Minho. She could be mad at him later.

You bring me peace

Sing me to sleep

Say you'll be my nightingale

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Later that evening, Minho sat all alone on the ledge of the cliff, right next to where the trail of Thomas' blood broke. Dangerously close to the fall.

A part of Minho wondered whether he should act like a coward. Jump off the ledge. Not that Thomas was a coward for doing that. Thomas' fall was brave. Minho's was a selfish escape.

No, Minho would live on. For Thomas and Newt.

Can you be my nightingale?

***

I changed up the wording and meaning of this prompt a little bit and turned it into a songfic whump. I hope this met up to your expectations, Cactaceae28 (and everyone else who's reading)!

Nightingale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkqsqWcdih4

Epilogue

[tonotbelionized]

Volume 7, Episode 3: Ace Operatives

I’ve now resigned to my fate of pushing out reviews a week after the actual episode came out. Still, at least other fans will have watched it before reading, so let’s just jump right in!

It seems that the episodes are gradually declining for me this volume. I didn’t expect the third episode to be as good as the third episode of Volume 6, as that was my favourite out of the entire series. The bar was too high, so I didn’t hold out too much hope to avoid being disappointed, and it seems that I made the right choice.

Onto the positives first, the biggest thing that I liked in this episode was the whole arc surrounding Ozpin and Ruby lying to Ironwood. The girls are moving away from the hive mind they all had in the previous volume, with different sides and views being taken. Yang and Oscar are not all that happy with Ruby lying, while Weiss and Blake acknowledge that they couldn’t trust Ironwood with how far mentally he’s fallen.

Like I said in my previous review, Ruby isn’t really in the right or the wrong for this. It’s certainly hypocritical given that they were quick to demonize Ozpin for lying yet deciding that lying and withholding information is actually a good choice to make, but you can understand why she thought she had to do it. 

Yang is really interesting in this scene. I’m not angry with her, she’s my favourite character, so I’m more intrigued why she was the one to pipe up about Ruby lying. Yang is one who has a secret too, Raven being the Spring Maiden. It’s a serious secret to keep given that Raven is essential to Salem’s plan, and with Cinder still kicking around and knowing Raven’s secret, I’m sure it’ll come up eventually.

Even if the information can’t be used right then and there, it’s not really Yang’s secret to keep, and she can’t get angry at others for lying when she’s lying by omission. Eventually, the group will have to learn that Raven’s the Spring Maiden and that Yang knew, but I’m not mad because this is an interesting flaw for Yang to have.

And Oscar’s question was amazing. Isn’t that exactly what Ozpin did to us?

By Ruby’s reaction, she seems to know that she’s doing what Ozpin did, what the group shouted and derided him for, and this is the perfect thing for Ruby to grow. She can’t be naive anymore, she has to realise that being the leader means that she will have to make choices that aren’t always what’s right, and that she will make mistakes. 

Moving on from that, I can safely say that CRWBY has bumped the Ace Ops in my list of favourite characters. I especially love Marrow, he reminds me more of Louis from The Walking Dead Game, and his and Harriet’s relationship is funny and cute. The fact that the Ace Ops clearly outrank the protagonists very much drives home that, no matter what they did to get there, they still have a long way to go before they can match the older Huntsmen, and Salem’s group. 

A bit of world building in this episode is nice. The implied connection between the mine explosion and the explosion that killed Ilia’s parents make it feel connected, and that Ilia isn’t just thrown into the void now that she’s no longer useful. 

Also, I will admit that some of the outfits don’t look so bad in motion, compared to still images. The first one would be Jaune’s hair. I don’t know what happened, but the person responsible picked the most unflattering angle for him when they first showed the models, but now that he’s moving around and showing it in different angles.

The same could be said for Weiss’ braid. In some angles, it looks fine, but then when you see it when she’s looking straight ahead or showing more of the right side of her face, you can see just how awkward and clumsy it looks. It’s too far from her head, it’s rendered poorly, and I still don’t like it. Overall, they are still my least favourite outfits in the series and CRWBY really dropped the ball on them. 

The final positive I can say is that Tyrian continues to be my favourite villain in the volume. I missed him and was happy when he was in Volume 6, so now that he’s given more screen time and room to move without the surplus of villains bogging the pacing down, he continues to be up there in character and writing.

Onto the negatives, and there were plenty that lowered the overall quality of the episode for me.

On top of her design being my least favourite of the group, Blake’s change being the only one to be acknowledges is... ugh. I actually think that Yang’s flustered attempts to compliment her was cute, but I don’t like that Blake’s change was the only one to be acknowledged, and that Yang was the only one who noticed. Weiss and Ruby changed their hair too, they’ve all changed their looks, it’s stilted and awkwardly done when it could’ve been a nice scene between the girls.

While I enjoyed the dust mine exposition, there were a few things that annoyed me.

Firstly was Weiss blaming herself for what the Schnee Dust Company, and therefore her father, did. This becomes a problem when we’ve had a whole song and dance in Volume 4 about how Weiss isn’t responsible for her father’s crimes, that she isn’t a bad person just because she was born a Schnee, but now she feels complacent in the company’s subjugation of the Faunus when she was just an abused child with no real power?

And Blake just doesn’t say anything. She puts her hand on Weiss’ shoulder and comforts her, but she doesn’t actually say that Weiss isn’t responsible for what the SDC is doing. 

On top of that, the two Faunus that were actively affected by the discrimination and the SDC in Atlas are not there. 

Ilia lost her parents in that dust mine explosion, becoming an orphan, and had to hide who she was in a deeply racist society, even more so than Beacon. Her friends weren’t like Blake’s friends, they actively badmouthed the Faunus, calling them racist slurs that Ilia had to join in on or risk being outed. This is her home, her experience, and she’s not there. She’s instead shoved out of the show because there was no room for her, even when CRWBY continued to add one off characters that ultimately take up space.

Adam was branded. He was enslaved by the SDC from when he was a child, likely has no parents of his own, and it ultimately cost him his sanity. This Volume could've had a villain who was personally connected to the SDC and the Faunus racism, but instead he was killed off just after showing that he was horribly subjugated, and now we’re floating around with no real villain to tie this all together.

All we have is Blake. A Faunus who isn’t from Atlas, who lived on an island surrounded by her own kind, in a mansion, has two loving parents, and has never come into contact with the SDC until she fought them in the White Fang, meaning that she never met them when she was in a position of vulnerability. Her abuse at Adam’s hands had nothing to do with her Faunus heritage, her friends are all understanding, even after Weiss’ racist gremlin tendencies in Volume 1 which she grew out of, and now she’s the only Faunus that’s in Atlas and connected to this arc.

CRWBY really wrote themselves into a corner with this, and it’s telling that Miles and Kerry wrote this one given this wildly out of character moment.

Moving on, the scene with Qrow and Clover was alright. Up until the talk about his Semblance. 

It’s so awkwardly worded and clunky, and it’s strange that Qrow would tell Clover straight away when it took him seventeen years to tell Ruby and Yang. People try to say that it’s because he was on a mission and Clover needed to know, but that’s still wierd given that it paints Qrow as someone who would rather keep his Semblance a secret from his niece, who’s put herself on this dangerous mission because he told her that Cinder was from Haven and that’s where he’s going next, and stay away from her even when she was in danger.

Ruby nearly died when she was attacked by Tyrian, Qrow barely reached her in time, but if he was honest and stayed with her throughout the journey to look out for her, and tell her his secrets like he expects Ozpin to do, then he would’ve been there from the moment Tyrian attacked. 

But he tells Clover immediately. Sure.

On the topic of Clover, I have to say this. I don’t like him. He’s really boring and I find myself caring for the rest of the Ace Ops way more than him. His weapon is dumb, his personality is just meh, but the positive is that his design is pretty cool. He has the Ace Ops uniform to tie him to his team, but with his own twist. I like all the good luck charms on his person, even if it does scream in your face that he’s meant to be lucky.

I’m sure no one was surprised when he said his Semblance was Good Luck. It’s as obvious as Qrow “Bad Luck Charm” Branwen and Leonardo “He’s the Cowardly Fucking Lion” Lionheart.

So that’s it for the episode. It’s certainly my least favourite of the Volume so far, given that it’s full of really annoying scenes that pull down the good, the fight with the Giest was over pretty quickly given how menacing they made it look in the trailer, and character moments that made me roll my eyes to the back of my skull.

Still better than “So That’s How It Is”, though.

Episode Rating: 6 / 10