#just still watch the show. please. even if it is to nitpick at the animation change.
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anyways even if the animation quality drops for season 5 i am BEGGING you guys to still watch the show. protest about the animation quality publicly if you want but still watch the show. there is a full entire chance that the next season could go back to being animated how it was before if they see enough interest in it. please still watch the show.
#Monkie Kid#lego monkie kid#i know a lot of people were HERE for the amazing animation but guys please#honestly i still don't think the animation we were shown is that bad. a little off yes#but the magic spells and effects are Flying Bark Quality#just still watch the show. please. even if it is to nitpick at the animation change.
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Not sure if you've seen the finale of the show yet because I'd love to hear your thoughts on how absolutely useless Charlie was once again
I’ve pretty much all the eps for season 1 so you don’t have worry about the spoilers.
As for the ep, I’mma just immediately rip the bandaid off and say that I had to watch it again to remember what happened, yet my brain is still kinda processing it again so I’mma type this to the best of my ability and if I do miss some parts I do apologize.
To start off with one of the things I didn’t like that included Charlie (mostly a personal nitpick) was her “battle fit” (if you could even call it that)
I feel like it should be self explanatory but I’ll explain anyway; for one, the fact that Charlie wearing what I like to call “the evil star butterfly cosplay” just doesn’t make sense to me. Like even though I don’t like Vicky’s fit either, at least she’s wearing something that could cover her skin to lessen the risk of cuts and injuries.
Charlie however is not only wearing a dress but also HIGH HEELS, which realistically would prob have her dead from the spot because for one, you can’t run in heels and two, like I said before she’s at higher risk to be injured compared to Vicky.
Like I’m honestly shocked that she only got a few rips from her clothing and a few bruises, like I get she’s the princess of hell but damage is still damage.
Not only that since Charlie is a princess then, wouldn’t she have access to wear royal armor??? Assuming she did (because there’s gotta be a reason to where she got that shield from), why didn’t she just wear that???? I feel like it would’ve been the most logical thing to wear since after all, YOUR GOING TO WAR AGAINST DEMONS.
Also speaking of the shield, why does she only have a shield and nothing else? You would think that since she’s the princess of hell she’d have some sort of weaponry but no.
She just guards herself a shield while occasionally throwing up magical fireworks like if that’s gonna do anything. Like, I get all niffty did most of the time was stab already dead angels before she killed adam, but at least she actually tried to do some damage compared to Charlie.
And then Razzle and Dazzle.
Listen, I can understand her not being able to save sir pentious because she was trying to protect Vicky and a lot of stuff was going on but why did she summon them? Isn’t she the daughter of lucifer? Wouldn’t she have transforming powers or something to get up there
I mean we’re shown in this gif that he can transform into different animals as he so pleases and can EVEN GROW WINGS.
Wouldn’t Charlie technically have those abilities? And even if she doesn’t have those abilities, these fuckers have guns and cannons with them that could shoot/blast Adam down.
Also gotta love the fact Charlie just stays on the roof of the hotel and watches the Lucifer and Adam fight happen UNTIL ADAM RAY BEAMS THE HOTEL IN HALF, ONLY FOR HER TO BE SAVED BY LUCIFER was so dumb. Women do SOMETHING WHY WERE YOU JUST STANDING THERE????
then like the ending. Omg the ending…
“Omg guys I lost sir p and the hotel guys, I failed” PENDEJA. YOU DID JUST DICK ALL DURING THAT WAR OTHER THAN WAVE SOME SHIELD AROUND WITH SOME FIREWORKS. CRY HARDER. BOO HOO I GUESS.
And I just gotta say, I doesn’t entirely include Charlie but like these parts of the lyrics
What???? Tf you mean redemption may take a while???? We’re still going with that??? After the war against heaven you guys just had??? Did Charlie forget what happened in episode 6, where like there was some shit about heaven being a lie and this evil place???? Why are you guys still trying to redeem sinners when YOU Charlie, realized heaven is evil???
But don’t worry, they rebuild the hotel guys! They can live happy ever after right?
Even though like… let me check my notes…. Oh right! Angel is still stuck with valentino, husk’s soul is still taken away by alastor! Oh yeah, I guess viv forgot about that part I guess.
I know I’ve already said this to friends of mine but ngl this episode especially just reminded of this one page from sonichu where Chris and his chars execute a guy in an electric chair but make it viv’s characters and Adam/heaven.
But uh, yeah. I don’t like Charlie, I don’t like this episode, I don’t like this series. I don’t know anymore.
#hazbin hotel critique#hazbin critical#hazbin hotel criticism#hazbin hotel charlie#Kat’s ask’s#like seriously who thought this was a good episode besides viv???#this is so bad
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I said it before for pjo and I never thought I’d have to say it again, but watching some of the immediate negative reactions and nitpicking, as a wheel of time fan, who suffered the first botched adaptation and then powered through season 1 and suffered again through season 2:
Yall are so spoilt it’s sickening. This is your second chance a lot of fandoms do not get that. It looks better than the movie don’t yall dare deny that I see some of you clowns trying already it’s embarrassing. Please watch the movie again. The trailer wasn’t terrible. It’s a live action adaptation of an animated story it’s not gonna be perfect. It’s gonna look campy and if it didn’t there would be other people complaining. And while we’re at it give me one adaptation that was perfect, literally one. That’s not how this shit works. Most aren’t even close and this looks close. I see one person complaining it’s too saturated and another person saying it’s too dark they can’t please everyone. It’s a few minutes, how much could you possibly have to criticise? I’m not saying you have to like it but give it a chance to prove itself.
Enjoy the good parts, because there will be good parts I promise you, give feedback, hope the writers take it into consideration. Hope season 2 is better. They saw what happened the first time, they know they’d be insane not to respect the fandom.
Also they’re not ruining the original. Nothing ruins the original. It still exists. You can still watch it. If the adaptation is bad we can give it the movie treatment and pretend it doesn’t exist.
And maybe it’s not relevant, but I’m gonna put it in anyway, just for context, it was obvious from the get go that the wheel of time show was going to be very different from the books. You could tell even from the trailer. The atla trailer? It isnt like that. I know what a trailer looks like for an inaccurate show and this isn’t it. Yes azula has a bow and arrow, no that’s not in the animated show. It’s not the end of the world I promise you. In fact, there’s probably an in show explanation have faith.
I’ll be the first person to criticise the show if it lacks heart, but until then, I’m choosing to hope for the best.
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I’m back.
My discombobulated thoughts now that I have finished Sonic Prime SPOLIERS!!!!!!!
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Okay so I watched season 1 in parts and season 2 when it came out and just watched season 3 today. I binged everything, so if I don’t remember something 100% correctly, that’s why.
Sonic prime is good.
I know, shocker.
Okay, I haven’t watched any of the other shows so I can’t compare it to X or Boom or whatever. But this seemed to have a darker tone than most other sonic media and I enjoyed that a lot. (I know I need to watch SATAM, don’t yell at me.)I’ve dipped in and out of this fandom a lot. And my participation is all over the place (I won’t be posting about Ken spenders anymore, I took my Kenspiracies too far when I had that stupid twitter account yeah, that was me) but ANYWAY
This show was great. Not perfect, the main flaw I found was the pacing is very fact paced and action heavy which is good for a Sonic show and good for a person with ADHD like me. However I found the first season took awhile to get going and was more episodic. I know it was to introduce the characters but I got bored a bit. I’ll say again I liked the episode in Season 1 with Thorn Rose but the Boscage Maze and especially No Place never felt that fleshed out to me. I still wanted them to be saved because I cared about Sonic and his friends, but the worlds weren’t very interesting.
I. Love. New. Yoke. The aesthetic of this place is perfect and VERY Sonic CD bad future-seque which is PERFECT. I only wish we spent more time there. Especially in season 3 which takes place entirely in the Grim after the first two episodes, which I get, I do, but the pacing again, I felt was too fast and too much action and not enough character moments. The he ending felt rushed, because I really wanted to see the rebels rebuild New Yoke after the Egg Council was gone (assuming the other shatterspaces didn’t freeze in time like Green Hill did, but I got the implication that was a unique case.) and I wanted to see the others return home as well. I guess this leaves it open to a sequel or expansion of some kind, comics, some kind of spin off media, I’d even love an animated movie if they fixed the pacing issues, but yeah, that was my only gripe. I guess I wanted more time with Sonic and Nine reconciled too before everything happened but that’s the painful thing in life, sometimes you don’t get that. We know the prism still exists so then interacting again some way in the future might be possible, if they know how to control portals and such, hell with the chaos emerald they might be able to go to other worlds anyway. I wonder where Shadow is keeping the prism. I wonder if Nine stays on the Grim by himself or if he goes back to New Yoke. He deserves friends, and I’m sure some of the others would come around to him given time. renegade Knucks was up there fighting with Sonic after all. It could work. I just want him to be happy :((
I guess those are small nitpicks in the grand scheme of things because I want to say that the tone and storytelling was GREAT, the music was epic and cinematic and fit the tone of the show very well, the contrasting color palettes of different worlds really helped make it pop. The 3D animation was fantastic and felt perfect for a show like this. Characters were VERY expressive. (Hey Sega, can you update your in game models please thanks, you know it’s bad when the SA2 models have more dynamic facial expressions). Anyway, I thought the voice acting was great. Shadow’s voice felt a little wrong but I’m probably just used to Humphrey and Griffith, I don’t like his voice in forces either but I digress. It worked for this. Sonic’s VA was amazing and really able to convey a wide range of emotions and I thought the other characters had good VAs. Nine was great. I do wish maybe he’d had a redemption earlier against a greater threat a la Zuko style but one can dream. Nine is still easily the best version of Tails, ever. I was lukewarm on Tails as a character before and Nine made me appreciate everything about all versions of Tails. Incredible. What I love about Nine is he takes things too far because he has serious trust issues and him and Sonic fail to communicate which as a neurodivergent person is very relatable. I think Tails in general and especially Nine, is very autistic coded, and I love that. I just wish season 3 Nine had more development before the end because his arc was perfect until the end of season 2 but I’m at least glad he did realize and did the right thing. He’s really just a scared kid who wants a safe place, don’t we all? Again I REALLY want to see more material with him in the future and what becomes of him with Sonic gone.
My other favorite side characters were Thorn Rose, Rusty Rose, and Dread, but I thought they were all great. I loved that the roses had a great character moment, as did Dread when he finally realized that saving his friends was more important than treasure. The Egg council was awesome, taking different traits of Eggman and turning them into a squabbling family was PERFECT. The fact that they met their demise because they were arguing over the prism was so real. Great stuff.
I want to talk about Sonic himself because this is one of the best Sonics I’ve seen. I haven’t decided if this is better than Movie Sonic, but I love both a ton along with Adventure. This Sonic is one of the most expressive Sonics with the most emotional range. Yeah, he’s still overly cocky and hilarious, and mostly always optimistic, but I love that he actually learns from his mistakes and comes up with new ideas. The fact he even took inspiration from the Egg Council to never give up was great. I loved the robots of all the main characters as well. Sonic was well written, VERY in character but still serious when he needs to be (unlike Archie Sonic (sometimes) and 06, which is bad).
Speaking of 06, this is the best written Shadow we have gotten since 06. I mentioned very early on in this blog how I love his arc through Shadow 05 and Sonic 06. Sonic is way out of character and the Elise thing is stupid, BUT, Team Dark was perfect in 06. It’s sad we don’t have Team Dark anymore, but Rouge on team sonic was cool, I just like Rouge in general and if they’re gonna make her part of the main cast, good. Okay, back to Shadow. His development in game is that he goes from being angry at the world and wanting revenge, to being emotionally numb and trying to figure out the truth, to finally realizing his purpose and knowing not to give up and kicking the bad guys when it hurts. He’s hard to crack, but he DOES care about his friends, as you can see through subtle actions, rather it be Team Dark, Sonic, whatever. He’d never ADMIT to Sonic that they’re friends, but I do genuinely think he cares for Sonic.
Anyway, Shadow has been stagnant as a character since then, the best writing was in Forces with him vs. Infinite but it didn’t do much to further his character. He hasn’t been in a lot of media lately like Frontiers (although maybe they knew they couldn’t write him well for games and wanted to see how he went over in prime and the upcoming movie). Prime Shadow made me more excited for Movie Shadow, because if we got one of, if not THE best Sonics ever in Prime as well as the movie, I’m expecting good things from Shadow in the movie, considering they really nailed Tails and Knuckles in Sonic 2, imo, and now knowing that Shadow is allowed to have feelings again is so good. He’s very in character, overly serious, and cold, but he is incredibly dedicated to the cause and unquestionably a hero, like 06 Shadow. Prime Shadow reminds me a LOT of 06 Shadow and that’s GOOD. He’s also just great with his subtle nod to Sonic when Sonic talks about his friends, their excellent back and forthing with Sonic cracking jokes “I didn’t know you were a hugger” and Shadow responding with his straight man persona “do you want me to save you or not?” It was great stuff all the way through. I thought he was decent in Season 2, but Season 3 was AWESOME. I guess I had to trade Nine for Shadow, sigh. Nine did come back around in the end which GOOD, if they kept him as a villain the whole time I would’ve been pissed, but I digress. This might be the best Shadow since SA2, he’s SO GOOD YALL and I could keep raving about Prime Shadow all day. I loved when Dr. Deep called him an edge lord, it’s great meta humor, and in character for Deep who actually is an edge lord. Really hope SEGA takes the positive feedback from this and makes Shadow better in upcoming games/comics. LET FLYNN WRITE A GOOD SHADOW FOR GOD’S SAKE!
Ahem.
Anyway, I’m glad I watched Prime, it gave us the best Sonic Shadow and Tails maybe ever and it took the darker tone that Forces tried and really fleshed it out. Good job guys.
#sonic prime#spoilers#sonic prime spoilers#sonic prime season 3#sonic the hedgehog#shadow the hedgehog#ramblings#nitpicks#me raving over Shadow OMG
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Just something I reflected on
The last 2–3 posts I've made have been extremely discouraging and upsetting, and I just wanted to reflect on why I'm so negative suddenly.
Below the cut:
Initially, when I watched the trailer for Kung Fu Panda 4, I was super excited. Sure, I saw Zhen and instantly felt off about her, but the rest was too good to be brought down by her. Though, as I went on Tumblr, I got onto the KFP4 tag to check out some fan art for the Chameleon, but was met with a barrage of negativity. I'm not blaming anyone, but it does affect opinions when there's genuinely good points.
This phenomenon has happened frequently, as I usually wish to see fan art and am met with critique that I end up reading (which is still entirely on me), which in turn makes me wonder if I really should like the media I consume.
The reflection I did today did aid me in coming to a proper conclusion about my stance:
I'll like what I damn please, even if it's literal shit. The jokes can be awful, the story can make little sense, the cinematography can be abysmal. I don't care. I watched through the entirety of The Untamed, for goodness’s sake. Yeah, maybe DreamWorks should do better, and yeah, perhaps it's stupid that they made some new character to take up screen time when we could've had the Furious Five. Yes, DreamWorks, do better, treat the furious five better, make a compelling movie twice in a row challenge impossible.
If I end up loving it based on the few good things in it? Then so be it! I like Hotel Transylvania 3. NO ONE likes Hotel Transylvania 3. But I do. So, people may be critics, but I'm genuinely tired of being a critic and I'm going to be a silly guy and go "ohh. animation prettyy omggg tai lung hiii tai lung wydd <33" even if the story isnt living up to the past movies. I watch movies, shows and consume books and media to feel, not to nitpick and be all professional. I watch stuff to have a good time. So if KFP4 sucks, I hope for it to be bad as an enjoyable time and not a waste of time.
#KFP4#mii talks#films#critique#tags on tumblr#text post#i wanna start living#if something garbage makes me happy then so be it#if that makes me cringe then alright i'll be a little dumb cringe baby#i dont care#<3#anyways TAI LUNG GUYS#TAI LUNG!!!!#I WISH HE HAD A BIGGER ROLE BUT#WE GET ANYTHING AT ALL??!?#TAI LUNG!#kung fu panda 4#serious post i think
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The Forbidden Stacks of the library in TOH puts me in throes. The books inside aren't even preserved if a zombie mouse can have a full-on buffet with them (going slightly off the rails "echo mouse" is a stupid name for something that doesn't absorb sound, I refuse to call it that). What's the point? What other history is lost because you'll let zombie-mice into the section versus employees/volunteers that aren't just gonna float around for the sake of being spooky? Why are they even forbidden when the section is smack-dab in the middle of the library and access-cards are evidently universal, you're just working off an honor system that people won't abuse accessibility? I guess that explains the zombie-mice. Or was it just more important for the writers to have a quick set-up for Lumity no matter how horribly applied the rules are?
The Forbidden Stacks could EASILY be improved if the writers had Amity work the section as a kind of promotion since she already has access, I could see a full burst of character development if her role was to ensure no one gets access to Philip's journal by orders of Belos himself, make her question why the journal itself is forbidden and if blindly following Belos' regime is worth being left in the dark. It would as be GREAT Lumity fuel if both sides had to choose between pleasing the other or preserving their own goals.
Now I've put myself in throes on how quickly all that could be adjusted. A devil's advocate should have been hired for the writing team LMAO.
So the forbidden section of a library in most fantasy media is a pretty common trope. Harry Potter wasn't the first to have something like it and The Owl House won't be the last. But... Well, I actually never gave it that much thought because it very much so does the job of the trope, give characters a place they're not supposed to with clear intentions on forbidden knowledge, but...
I think this post very easily explains why the vibe of The Owl House is wrong for a fantasy show. I talked about this in general as of late but let's interrogate your complaints. Not to say your complaints aren't valid but it's the sort of thing that as a content creator is important to do. When someone tells you they'd rather have seen X thing be done in Y way, what are they really asking for? Tears of the Kingdom's fuse mechanic is a great showing of this as it fixed the breakable weapons for a lot of people while still allowing weaponry and the like to be a reward for exploration and combat, something that just removing the system would have lost. Instead, they made it so you can personalize your arsenal and it's MUCH harder to end a fight with simply a worse inventory than when you began (amongst a BILLION other great things about the fuse mechanic).
So what are the complaints here? A lot of them are what most would consider nitpicks. A story is allowed contrivances so as to FUNCTION and that's where suspension of disbelief comes into play. Something about the forbidden section broke your suspension of disbelief though. What was it?
Well, looking at them, my personal conclusion would be simple: It doesn't feel forbidden. It has a huge ass door that dominates one of the libraries walls, it comes across from how it looks to be SEVERAL times larger than the base library seeing as the base library only has like two floors, and yeah, it's not exactly hard to reach. Lumity go in in BROAD DAYLIGHT. There are also no traps, no detection systems, or... Anything to stop someone who has slipped inside from doing as they please, including animals. Like... While Amity is being scolded, is there just NOTHING watching the forbidden knowledge and only a weak magical lock? That doesn't really give the feeling of it being forbidden, does it?
And this isn't a new problem for The Owl House. They'll present a fantasy trope and then so half ass it that it barely feels like the trope. In fact, just tropes in general, hence the common complaint that Lumity is NOT enemies to lovers despite the setup because they spend almost no time being enemies. That's discarded for what is necessary for the plot point of Lumity.
But some people might yell at me about the Shortening, despite this being S2A which probably got minimal changes due to how production works, so could this have been done better without significant time changes?
...Yes. By making them physically act like they're in a place they're not supposed to be. You don't even really have to change the substance of what the two are talking about (which is hardly about the forbidden section). The two spend almost all their time there just laying or standing around. They effectively seem to be just in a library with bad lighting judging by their actions, posture, etc. like that, not helped by the two mostly focusing on each other than anything to do with the library. This de-emphasizes the library and the danger which is VERY common in The Owl House and is part of why it's such a shit adventure show.
Tweak their tones of voice so that they sound more like they're trying not to focus on how they're breaking the rules. Make their conversation travel while Amity points at places on the floor or the wall and both respectively either avoid or seek out those places. You don't even need to really up the animation here except for having them move at all because you don't need to show the magic traps and the like so long as you get the vibe right.
Better yet, this movement could also allow for more environmental storytelling and foreshadowing. They could pass by archived creatures, kept their for study and school project purposes but too dangerous to have just anyone interacting with, and one cage is broken open. Or the lid is slipped off and a sleeping echo mouse is sleeping within it. That way, the mouse didn't just slip in, it probably broke out recently and you just have to suspend disbelief that it chose the journal for its first meal.
This isn't even only doable in animation. You could do this in writing and have their actions and the background be the flavor that's helping punctuate and break up the conversation. In writing though, that WOULD add time and admittedly part of what gives my stuff a more brisk feeling is that unless it's important, I let the background be filled in with a mood and by the reader much more than vivid description. TOH IS animated though so having the backgrounds and the like help with the storytelling, or even just the movements of the characters, is part of how you tell a story in animation.
And yes, animation is expensive. My counterpoint to that is The Ghost and Molly McGee exists and its animation very commonly blows TOH out of the water with how expressive, dynamic, bizarre and HOW MUCH OF IT there is except for TOH's big ticket fights. I cannot believe that they could not do a simple walking sequence with scrolling backgrounds instead of more anime inspired "Okay, stop, freeze, talk, go," moments, especially in order to actually sell the fact that they're in a fantasy story.
There are other, smaller things like making it a smaller, metal door that requires multiple keys to be opened that are kept in the office that Amity normally would need to check out but isn't so that Luz isn't known to go back there. Admittedly, you could also actually make the librarian scary and rude. Make him more serious as to explain why Amity didn't just talk to the librarian because I've talked before about how it trying to be 'clever' (with the same joke its done how many times even by then of "Oh, you're such a fool to think it was actually dangerous or spooky") kind of makes the episode make no sense in retrospect.
And, most importantly, none of these changes would require a lot of time in the episode. Maybe a little more, just to have Amity have a line about a pressure plate or the like, but not much. The real difference is partially the difference between Amphibia and The Owl House because when the sleepover episode happens, the ghosts aren't the only reason that the place feels forbidden. It feels forgotten and creepy and they walk and talk to help show this in the posture the characters, the tones of voice they have, stuff like that. Amphibia enjoys its genre and concepts though while The Owl House CONSTANTLY feels like it would really rather just be a slice of life school series and so doesn't care about the fantasy or adventure elements.
And, well, Looking Glass Ruins is a good episode to highlight that. They murder illusion magic, they make glyphs EXTREMELY OP in it in ways that make no sense and make you wonder why the whole cast isn't adopting them, magical amplification should still ABSOLUTELY affect illusion magic so as to make it bigger or more believable, etc. like that even if it doesn't have a physical effect, etc. like that. But instead, the magic is warped and twisted and simply used for a trope that probably could have been done without the magic.
But like making the forbidden section incredibly boring and mostly just a background more than anything else and an excuse to get Amity in trouble... It all just feels like justification to make the concept they wanted without having to put in the effort.
Without caring. And an audience can feel when a writer doesn't care about something.
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C2E72 - Clay and Dust - reaction
Alright, let’s see how many months it’s gonna take me to watch THIS episode. I am SO desperate to get to next episode, aka livestream of all time. (not long at all, luckily!)
Matt what the fuck is up with your mic quality??? I’m assuming that’ll get fixed shortly.
I adore this ad bit so much. First of all, Sam pretending that he can’t remember his kids’ names and how many he has??? This guy is the most loving father! But honestly, it’s all Liam’s monologue. We all know it’s all Liam’s monologue! SO GOOD. (I still have not seen the movie, but I think I watched the clip from it)
I’m so hyped for ‘please don’t kill me at a liveshow’ and ‘fuck it I’m a mammoth’ that I legit forgot that this was the episode where Fjord is a badass.
Honestly I’m surprised we still haven’t gotten the new art yet. I keep seeing Fjord without his beard and I’m like – wait that’s wrong. It’s a plus side of the pre-recorded, we get the art pretty much right away.
MAP MAP MAP MAP MAP I will always and forever love this group getting a map they are SO excited! Also it’s so weird that they are sounding out Uthodurn and not recognizing it (until Travis suddenly remembers EVERYTHING without even glancing at his notes). Oh hello little note that says Ruins of Molaesmyr. (….I literally just saw it and already forgot how to spell it. FUCK the name of that place, omg, I get it wrong every time.)
Knowing how this turns out, it’s fun to watch them all get very tense about the ghosts. Even Caduceus goes to ‘punch first’, with his whole aversion to undead. Travis definitely has a point though, C2 definite has a lot more of the ‘spooky’ combats as compared to C1. I also appreciate that Travis/Fjord is the first to point out that the ghosts aren’t messing with the Nein or acting aggressive.
(I just realized this is a very good episode to be watching on October 1st)
Is there ANYTHING more Mighty Nein than them walking along a lake packed full of ghosts and reading Tusk Love to them? I love it so much!
I am surprised that Matt nitpicked that Eagle!Caleb and Eagle!Jester can’t understand each other. I do get where he’s coming from, as Polymorph only changes the form to the animal and who knows if two real world eagles would be able to communicate such complex ideas as ‘take our friend and show her the smoke that we’re seeing so that she can communicate it with our other friends who we can’t currently talk with’, but I also feel like in a magical world where you can become a giant eagle through a magic spell, that intelligent creatures of the same form would be able to communicate with each other.
Sometimes it’s really the small quiet moments that are some of the best RP moments. Nott offers to help Caduceus do something alchemical with her residuum wholeheartedly, Caduceus turns and quietly asks Caleb what alchemical means, and Caleb gives a gentle simplified (maybe not fully accurate) explanation. It’s a small beat and doesn’t take it’s time or distract from the main conversation, just a little additional life for the PCs.
Unsure if Caleb/Liam is reacting to them talking about refined residuum, or if that’s just standard Caleb face. XD
Aaagh, Mom wants to watch CR together, which’ll be the liveshow. Guess I’m doing my rewatch SLIGHTLY out of order, as I still have two hours of this left to go, but I want to watch with her. XD Also means that next episode’s rewatch post is gonna likely be limited, as I won’t be sitting down and constantly pausing to type.
I appreciate that Taliesin/Caduceus asked if Whitestone was the closest place to get the refined residuum and Matt was able to say no. As much as the players clearly would have been down for it, Matt was still trying to keep things more separate. And I really appreciate the fact that, aside from Allura really, C2 is able to stand on it’s own feet. Even Artagan is so entwined into C2 that it doesn’t matter if you don’t know him from C1.
LOL at Marisha’s sheer excitement over Beau being able to read Dwarvish.
CORE ANVIL!!! Unsurprisingly, I was actually able to understand in my first watch through that this was a reference to C1. Knowing now that it’s where VM forged the trammels is a fun shoutout, but again, me not knowing for my first watch really didn’t have impact.
……...look I’m still trying to hold my resolve about not typing anything about C3 during these writeups, but oh it’s so fun to hear all sorts of hints dropped for stuff that we now know from C3.
Love the little tidbits of Jester writing smut and Caleb being so happy from just being able to read something new.
I completely forgot that Fjord asked Jester to message Vandran!
I’m guessing Matt rolled to see either if Vandran would be willing to answer, or rolling insight or something similar.
Travis is such an amazing role player oh my fucking god. Seriously *insert he’s got the range meme here* it is pure chefs kiss. I’ve loved all his PCs, main campaigns or one shots, but the introspective Fjord moments, the moments where he is insecure and freely accepts comfort from Jester (or later from the whole team), it just tugs at all the correct places of my heart. Caleb and Beau might be my favorite PCs (of all three main campaigns, actually), but I think Travis has steadily moved to be my favorite player at the table. (though that’s actually really hard because it’s actually all of them just depending on what moment I’m watching)
HE TOLD JESTER ABOUT HIS LOSS OF POWER!!!! Oh my god I completely forgot about this. This episode, despite being something that you’d think would be 100% Caduceus, is just FILLED with amazing Fjord moments, and we haven’t even reached The Part yet! Travis really made the decision that Fjord would be having a turning point here, with Vandran, sharing his fear, talking about his loss, and then The Part! I forget if we ever find out what triggered the change in behavior.
Fjord’s panic when Jester starts raising her voice when talking about bringing him to the Wildmother being their new mission, and his FACE when she keeps talking and promises to keep it quiet. I can’t pinpoint the moment where he starts to fall for her, but he’s definitely in the thick of it now.
I forgot about the dream too!!! I don’t think Fjord would have broken his pact the way he did if not for that dream, on top of all the conversation he had earlier. It was the exact right impetus to get him moving immediately, versus trying to puzzle out a way. It makes me wonder if Matt was prompted to make the dream because of the conversation Jester and Fjord had, or if Matt already planned for this to happen this night.
YOU. NEED. ME. MORE. THAN. I. NEED. YOU. GIVE. IT. BACK.
ONE OF THE BEST LINES OF THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!
No thoughts, no analysis, just me freaking out over one of the best moments EVER.
Fjord revealing all the truthes to the group, Caduceus being a great support, Nott making the greatest joke about Fjord’s strength EVER.
What an amazing second half of the episode, SO GOOD.
Gonna go watch the live show now with Mom, so who knows how that write up will be.
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One piece live action review #1
There's a lot of good things but also some bad things. In general, I think the live action was really enjoyable, the pacing was good (maybe a little too fast but it's understandable why), almost every change fits good and for what I have seen, I think every main character and side characters feel in character withh their priginal counterparts.
The ost wasn't as great as our dear original ost but it was pretty good as well, the cinematography esencially is the best, not only in the one piece standsrt but in the anime live action standar, I would say it's on the same level of "Erased" cinematography.
Now, I have saiid a lot of good things of tecnical stuff but what about the story?
There wasn't a couple of changes that I pretty much enjoyed while watching it.
1. The way Luffy gets to introduced to Cobh, Alvida en everything.
Obviously, following the anime and manga route and reoolicating the exact movements and things to say would be leas to a cringey failure, we can't replicate anime expressions neither their comedic gags so they have to changed it and adapt it which was a great decision.
The scenes have the same vibe and love as the original but in a more "realistic" way to adapt to real people.
2. Luffy as a kid and his way to eat the gomu gomu no mi.
That kid nailed it completely in every way, he nailed it, did an incredible job replicating Luffy's stubborning and admiration for shanks, he was great and I like the way they made him eat his devil fruit.
Sure the scene is not as iconic as the original but it feels special and magic and also pretty funny.
The red shanks pirates nailed it as well, I think they showed the comfortable vibe that they have in the manga/anime.
3. Coby.
I think the best characterization from the first episode was Coby, the actor did a great job on portraying his fears and insecurities. It's a pity they couldn't show more of his participation.
4. Nami, Zoro and Luffy.
Their dynamic was really funny to see, I was worried at the beginning when I saw the first trailer but now nowing the context I understand why they changed it, still, their sheninigans were really funny and have a great chemistry.
5. Captain Morgan and Helmeppo.
They really adapted them well, in a really good way, I think they did a great job.
6. Buggy.
I don't need to clear nothing, good my hormones are crazy for that clown.
Now, even that I generally emjoyed the episode and adaptation, there were also things I didn't like.
*clearing that I am not taking account things like cgi because they actually did an incredible work with the cgi or stupid nitpickings but more like scenes that I think they could be make but they decide to not do it, as well as some (just one) characterization.
1. Luffy's characterization.
NOT HATE TO IÑAKI HE DID GREAT.
I understand why they couldn't adapt Luffy as the original, it would ended up horrible and cringey and Iñaki did a great job capturing Luffy escence and spirit, there were a few times that I thought:"Wow that's something Luffy would do" but in general, I do think his characterization is pretty oc, nothing that would stop me to watch the series but it something thag I had to say it, hell, even Oda himself admit that there were things Luffy wouldn't say or act but it was alright.
Please send love to Iñaki, it's another fellow mexican actor that I am supporting so this is not hate or anyhing.
2. Hopefully they change Garp's vibe.
I think since the very beginning in the original we knew that Garp wasn't normal lol but here he is so much more serious, I hope this is only a question to hide his relating to Luffy like Oda did in the manga with the whole dog mask.
3. This scenes.
Shanks and the bandit.
I don't think it was a bad scene but I think they could recreat the original scene with no so much problem, they added Zoro's fight with the baroque work member, so I doubt they couldn't recreate Shanks getting humilliation from the bandit.
More because it will become a single during Jaya arc, showing Luffy's grow and understanding towards his pirate life, we all knew this parallel and I think it is important because we really didn't need words to understand how much Luffy's view has changed, it's that subtle message that feels so close and personal to us.
The scene is good but it didn't have a lot of impact.
Zoro and the little girl.
They did a great job, everything is great and this little complain is more like a stupid nitpicking by myself but I think the scene is less impactful in so many ways even if it's the same, I understand why they changed but it's still, I enjoyed in generall but I haave to say this.
4. Haircolor
Sorry but I am actually ranting about this, the haircolors look so bad, it took me completely put, just bad, it looks fake for exception of Coby and maybe Zoro but god, I hate the way they made them look so bright and put of entonation.
Conclusion.
It was a good show, a great anime live action, easily one of the best in the list (sorry but for me Erased is the best LA) but an incredble adaptation, I can see the love and dedication and they did a fantastic work.
*Ps. I started laughing so hard with the den dem mushi.
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Show Review 📺: The Owl House
The Owl House Review: POTENTIAL SPOILERS
(Sooooooooo I haven't done a review in a VERY long time, and even then when I did reviews I did very brief ones. So I decided that I would do more in-depth reviews and this one will be my first. If I'm not good please bear with me, I'm new to this. With all that being said let's start.)
I first heard of The Owl House from social media and was very hesitant to watch it for two big reasons: First off, I'm not a fan of Disney after 2014. Secondly, the only thing I've heard people talk about was the romantic couple and that turned me off to the show. Not because it was an LGBT+ couple but because I thought that if romance was the only thing talked about then the rest of the show must not have anything of merit. Then one day a good friend of mine was raving about it and I decided to give it a shot.
Before I get to anything I want to say at the time of this review there is still 1 episode that has yet to be aired so I will try to avoid as many spoilers as possible but success is not guaranteed. The story follows Luz Noceda, a good-hearted human kid who was struggling to fit in due to her odd interest and inability to control her impulses. After some incidents at school, her mom was pressured to send her to a camp to “cure” her. Instead of going to the camp, she ends up stumbling into another dimension full of magic and demons, finally making friends and seemingly finding a place to belong and Adventures ensue. That's all I'm going to say regarding what the plot is about in case anyone wants to check the show out & if I described the entire story I'd lose my mind and this review would take FOREVER! Now, this might sound like me fanboying but I enjoy the writing of this show & I'm struggling to think of something to criticize without nitpicking. I hear a lot of comparisons to Gravity falls but I haven't seen that show so I can't speak for that. I can say that the show has some darker elements to it especially when you get to the main villain of the series. The characters themselves, by and large, are very likable and well-written, and despite how short the series will inevitably be very well developed my favorite being Amity but all that is very hard to get into without spoiling the entire series. Ironically the relationship is the thing that had me hesitant to see the show and it ended up being one of my favorite things in the entire show. It's so well done and comes across naturally and without feeling rushed or forced which is a thing that animated shows struggle with. All relationships whether they are platonic, romantic, siblings, or rivalries are well-written and well-developed. The characters themselves are great: Luz is very likable and relatable, Eda is a great mentor/mother figure, King is a little gremlin, & Hooty is probably the funniest. The boiling isles are interesting from a story standpoint but aren't anything new conceptually; it's like some you would see in an ideal anime.
Now if you think the characters are the only thing going for this series that is not the case, the presentation is also top-notch. The boiling isles from a design standpoint are very interesting, dangerous, and zany world that the human protagonist gets stuck in. The creature designs are more unique while I struggle to tell what they are most of the time they fit in so naturally in this world. The character designs are SUBLIME but that's a subjective topic also Amity gets the best outfits. The animation is also beautiful and if you want proof of that look no further than the dance scene in season 1 and all the fight scenes I mean as a whole the show is well well-animated but that scene specifically is just amazing.
The voice acting shocked me because when it comes to the main cast I was not familiar with most of these actors & actresses. Eda's actress I recognized immediately it's Wendie Malick who is pretty much just doing her normal voice but it fits the character so well. King and Hooty are bafflingly voiced by Alex Hirsch the creator of Gravity Falls showing his very impressive range (he probably voiced characters in Gravity Falls but again I've never seen it) & Amity is voiced by Mae Whitman a voice actress I'm a huge fan of and very familiar with. Some very high-profile voiced actors play more minor characters: Roger Craig Smith, the late Billy Kametz, and 2 of my absolute favorites Grey DeLisle and Erica Lindbeck. I'm not saying the main cast aren't big actors I'm just not familiar with their work and they all do an amazing job with their respective roles
I wanted to save this last bit for some issues I had with the show, but I have nothing negative to say about it. I guess I can say the soundtrack isnt the most memorable aside from the opening and that lovely end credits theme. The soundtrack as a whole isn't bad but nothing remarkable. The lowest point of the show is episode 2 and even then is pretty good stuff. Honestly, the only issue with the show is something that isn't the show's fault and that's its premature cancellation. Despite being one of their most well-received and highly-rated shows Disney decided to cancel it and not give it a full 3rd season. Disney's reason for this was "It didn't fit the Disney brand".....(ugh). Some say it was because of its darker story elements and Imagery. Some say it's because it was hitting older audiences instead of the intended younger demographic. Some say it's because of the LBGT+ representation although the creator herself seems to think that it wasn't the case and I feel it wouldn't have gotten green-lit in the first place if that was the case. If you ask me I think it simply costs too much to make and the production values reflect that and Disney wanted to make budget cuts. Thankfully it's getting a proper ending unlike another one of my favorite shows (*cough* Teen Titans *cough*).
The Owl House is just a gem; it hits every check mark for me. I have gotten way more into this show than I have any cartoon or anime since 2015 and there is a very passionate and wholesome fan base attached to it. I would put this in the same category as Avatar, Batman TAS, & Teen Titans as one of my top PERSONAL favorite cartoons. Never thought I would be praising a Disney product post-2014 but credit where credit is due. Kudos to Dana Terrace for making such a beautiful show and I'll definitely follow what she works on in the future.
(I might update this review based on the final episode and some other things one I reread it)
Rating: 10/10
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Now that the first season of Bleach TYBW is over, might as well type up my thoughts.
Overall, it was good. Like a solid 8/10, but I can't not get hung up on the things that keep it from being a 9/10 or a 10/10.
The first of which is the pacing.
We really blew through 62 chapters in just 13 episodes, and now we're already 1/3 of the way through the arc. Even if they slow down going forward, I honestly don't know how we're going to reach 52 episodes of this unless Kubo writes extra scenarios for, like, 10 whole episodes.
I get that they wanted to end the season on a dramatic spot, and the Zangetsu twist is the perfect place to do that, but I feel it compromised a bit in doing so.
Some stuff like the bankai thefts and character deaths just kinda came and went because they were speeding through things the way they were. The dramatic tension for a lot of moments just wasn't there because we were already on the next scene.
Not that I want the anime's pacing to be as awful as the Arrancar arc's, where they were fighting Nnoitra for what felt like 20 episodes straight, but this was leaning into Shaman King 2021 territory, which was a great example of what happens when you don't let scenes and character moments breathe. You never want your adaptation to be like Shaman King 2021.
I mean, the fight between Isshin and White was, what, four minutes long? Five?
I just hope they do slow down going forward. Let moments simmer and settle before moving into the next one.
My next small nitpick is the music.
Most of the tracks are just remixes of older songs, and while a few are cool, most of them either felt underwhelming or just weren't noticeable enough to leave an impression. Felt like elevator music part of the time.
Which sucks because Bleach is known for having banger music.
And if we're talking about moments not having the impact they should due to bad pacing, we need to address that moments can also not have the impact the should due to poor music selection as well. There were a few moments were there was a scene that was supposed to hold a lot of weight, but didn't because the music felt wrong for the scene.
Anyway, that's a minor complaint, but sound design is a real thing and shouldn't be overlooked.
And lastly, the art.
This isn't a complaint towards the anime itself, but the fans who've been saying that every episode has been "movie quality" since the start. Like, dudes...it has not. It's pretty, for sure, and has better effects and lighting than the original series, but c'mon. This is still Studio Pierrot, and there are a lot of scenes even in the first episode were characters look super off-model. And I'm not just talking about during quick between frames or when a character's far away, but even moments when a character is the main focus of the shot and the camera lingers on them.
Even the original series, especially towards the end of the Arrancar arc, where the characters tended to consistently look way closer to Kubo's style than what we were getting in parts of TYBW.
Now art =/= animation, and on the animation side of things, they were pretty fuckin good this season. There were a bunch of fantastic sequences, like the entirety of both Yhwach fights, but even then let's not delude ourselves into thinking they were giving us movie quality stuff start to finish. The Genryusai fight? Yeah, sure, THAT'S movie quality. But the stiff animations from Ebern and Quilge in episode 3? No way.
Again, this is mainly a bone I'm picking with fanboys and not the show itself, but I am hoping for future seasons to be more careful with characters staying on model. I never put that much faith in Pierrot, though, I understand they're not ufotable or Mappa lol.
So overall, I'm pleased with what we got, and I'm obviously just happy to have Bleach back in general after all these years, but I want the next batch of episodes to be even better because these are things I can't help but complain about in the back of my head while watching the episodes.
And for my last bit of complaining, let's talk about the dub.
They got a good 2/3rds of the original cast back, which is great, but man do the recast characters just not hit. Chad 3.0 is good -- I never liked Jamieson Price as Chad, and this new guy sounds closer to Marc Worden's [perfect] portrayal, so I'm good there -- but everyone else? Eh.
Shinji just doesn't sound right without Roger Craig Smith, and Ukitake not being Liam O'Brien is a crime.
I'm sure this is just because the show is non-union again, because for some reason they just don't care about Bleach, but a lot of these recasts seem to have been completely avoidable.
And outside of the recasts, we have the translators not knowing how to pronounce stuff, which annoys me personally and I know it's not surprising since they've ALWAYS mispronounced half the characters' names in the dub (Ulquiorra Cifer as "shiffer," Nnoitra Gilga as "noy-tora gill-guh," Sousuke Aizen as "sasuke," etc.). And yeah, most of the time it's just because Kubo hadn't released the proper spellings for a bunch of these characters names so they were [mostly] just going off the katakana directly, but man it hurts to hear Yhwach pronounced as "yuhabaha."
I'm already expecting half the rest of the Quincies' names to be said wrong, but I'll control my anger somehow.
Ignoring all that, it's great to hear JYB as Ichigo again, and I'm glad they picked up on the significance of Zangetsu and Yhwach sharing an actor and getting Richard Epcar back (who's absolutely killing it, btw). Whenever I hear a returning voice actor in an episode, I'm at peace and hit with nostalgia.
Anyway, done complaining.
New season good, but they need to work on the pacing, music, and art. And the dub needs to learn how to pay their actors and pronounce things better.
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The Demon Brothers (Minus Asmo) at Their Worst Pt. 1 (Lucifer, Mammon, Levi)
To the anons who gave me this idea, here it is. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m all that happy to bring it to you, cause yikes this hurt to write. I’m grateful, however, because I believe I’m better for it. You shouldn’t always stay in your comfort zone. I left out Asmodeus for personal reasons. Regardless of my ability, given the nature of this challenge, I don’t feel comfortable with writing nor posting graphic content of sexual violence and chose to refrain from doing so. Please do not ask for this to be written at a later date, I will politely refuse then as I am now.
Check out the Masterlist for more.
Warnings: THEIR SINS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO AN EXTREME (AND ALL THAT IMPLIES), Abusive/Controlling Relationships, Violence, Threat of Human Trafficking, Drowning, Angst, Regret, Suicidal Thoughts
This is all for the purposes of fantasy and in no way an endorsement for these behaviors in real life. Be nice (and smart) with your lives, my friends.
Intro: Maybe the MC should have known better. It should have sunk in a long time ago that they were in incredibly risky territory... They should have remembered that these men, though they call them friends, family, and perhaps even lovers, are still demons at their heart and core. Each of them are the embodiment of some of the worst behaviors man has to offer... MC, there are some people you just shouldn’t date, even if they love you, and now you suffer the consequences...
Lucifer
It’s not difficult to see how Pride can go awry. Self-confidence and dignity are wonderful things, but let them build up unchecked and all manner of petty, vindictive behavior can surface from within a person...
Lucifer is far from immune to these flare ups. In fact, he falls victim to them so often that they may as well be ingrained in his personality. If you do anything that mocks or belittles him, even if it’s small, you’ll get a reaction. One that’s usually more severe than offense calls for...
The MC knew this going into a relationship with him. Supposedly, they knew all the no-go zones, too. Don’t make fun of him or Diavolo, don’t mention the Fall or his back, don’t call him a nag... That sort of thing.
What they hadn’t expected was the full brunt of the expectations suddenly leveled on them.
To say Lucifer was demanding would be an understatement. Everything about him had to be poised, powerful, collected, and perfect. Whether he realized it or not, these expectations bled into their relationship as well.
It started with him nitpicking little details... The way they stood, how they styled their hair, maybe a comment or two on what they ate. But it progressively got worse...
Suddenly he found problems with the way they dressed, what they listened to, what shows they watched, even how they greeted him in the mornings!
Before too long, nothing was right to him… Nothing was good enough. They were his other half, his biggest vulnerability, and in order for him to feel secure about that they had to be perfect… However Lucifer defined it.
They listened to him at first. Though his comments stung, he could be so loving too… He truly made them feel special. Like he wouldn’t be trying so hard if it were anyone but them...
But pretty words and kind actions could only go so far. They couldn’t completely erase the vitriol being tossed at them day after day…
Slowly, with every little change, they could feel themselves start to dwindle… The choices they made felt foreign, the lifestyle they held became draining, and then one day they realized they didn’t even look right anymore… They were no longer the person they wanted to be.
Lucifer was doing what he set out to do: train them, break them, then mold them into something new... So they could be perfect...
Just like him.
One day, however, they just couldn’t take being the person he wanted anymore...
He found them in their bedroom just before a party that Diavolo had been planning for weeks. Their hair wasn’t fixed and their clothes were a mess. His frustration nearly skyrocketed until he saw their face, vacant and broken, staring blankly straight ahead…
He couldn’t rouse them. They wouldn’t move no matter how much he shouted, threatened, or swore...
….they didn’t even budge when he begged…
His brothers eventually noticed something amiss and took them away. Their disgust with him was fairly evident… They probably would have tried something had he not been the strongest.
He had taken something wonderful and squashed it... Hurt someone he truly loved and ruined what they could have had to protect his damn ego…
Lilith, his brothers, and Satan especially… was everyone he tried to care for just bound to end up broken too…?
The MC’s recovery was slow. They had a lot of damage to repair and a whole new identity to build. He stayed out of it as much as he could, burying himself in work and seeing his brothers less and less...
He’d done enough damage to them anyway...
Mammon
The Greedy, Scummy Second-Born… Words to etch on his tombstone. Mammon had heard it all before from all angles: the demons above him, below him, hell even a passersby on the street would know his face and his laundry list of a rap sheet...
The one person who seemed to look past all that was MC.
He truly didn’t know what sort of karma he’d gained or luck he scored to have them in his life. They didn’t just see him at his best side, they made him want to fix his worst...
But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it?
The sad truth is Mammon is a gambler at heart. Oh he loves the money, the riches, fine things, and the bling but what else does he enjoy? The rush.
There’s nothing like that feeling of triumphant when the dice falls your way or the pure exhilaration of a close bet. When all cards are on the table and everything’s stacked against you, eking out that win can cause a head-rush better than any orgasm he’s ever had... The higher the stakes? The better the high.
But maybe he went a little too far…
It’s one thing to bet Grimm, he can make more of that in a night. It’s another to bet items, harder to replace but not impossible. People…? Well. If you want high stakes…
MC was actually with him that night when he made the “great” decision to bet his most valuable treasure on poker match. He was running out of Grimm and thought that the added risk would make him play better…
He thought wrong.
MC hadn’t been at the table at the time he made the deal, but they had come back just in time to see him get his ass handed to him. He lost. Spectacularly.
When the other demons there came over to encircle MC, it already felt like his world was crumbling down around him... The look of confusion, then hurt and betrayal in their eyes forever seared themselves into his memory.
“You bet me in a poker game?!”
It sounds almost comical, but he knew what the demons were planning to do to them wasn't. And just seeing the way his human’s wrist snapped when one of the men wrenched their arm from them confirmed it.
He wouldn’t let them get away with that. When the threats escalated to violence, he took his share of punches but in the end he was left standing.
The MC was furious. He had just whittled their entire existence down to a bargaining chip and one that he tossed away carelessly…
Yeah, he’s truly a scumbag, isn’t he?
They didn’t talk to him for quite a while, despite him begging for forgiveness. There was always a part of him that wondered why he even bothered… He had done it before, and in another gambling-induced high he would probably do it again…
They’d honestly be better off without him...
Leviathan
It’s, frankly, quite difficult to be the Avatar of Envy. Every day Levi feels uncomfortable in his own skin… Like he doesn’t measure up to this or that or like he’s not worthy of being in the meager position afforded to him. He preferred to hide himself away and try not to dwell on it… but then MC came along…
For once, he felt like he had something. Something truly special. Something one of a kind and like no other… He couldn’t point to any of his brothers and say that they had something better, hell, he couldn’t even point to Diavolo and say that he had a finer version.
No. He had them. The one, the only, MC. Better than all the rest. His only great accomplishment in his miserable, pathetic life...
… so why did they keep leaving him…?
It didn’t hurt that badly at first when they’d tell him they couldn’t go watch some new anime with him because they had other plans. Sometimes they’d go off shopping with Mammon or have lunch with Beel… That was fine. Understandable.
At least that’s what he’d tell himself.
After a while though, he started to feel lonely… rejected… Was he not good enough for them? Surely that had to be it, right?? A miserable shut-in otaku with someone like them? What a joke!
Any time he’d voice his insecurities, they’d always say the same things: “No, don’t be silly!” “I really do want to be with you.” “I love you, Levi. Don’t you believe me?”
No. He didn’t. With each passing hour spent away from him, time where he would get shafted for one of his brothers instead, he believed them less and less…
Soon all he heard was lies…
Something possessed him that day. MC had just missed their third live stream in a row in order to be with his brothers instead. Which one was it? It didn’t really matter. He felt the stinging pain of isolation all the same…
When the MC walked into his room they had no way of knowing that the festering hatred and inadequacy that had been stewing in him for months was about to spill over. His anger was so quick to spark and their human body too weak to resist...
It was only once he realized how long he had their head forced under the water of his aquarium that he finally let them up for air.
He was stepping over himself to apologize, stammering incoherently through his tears how he just lost control and didn’t know what came over him!
His brothers weren’t forgiving. Not in the slightest. Each of them seemed to want to beat him within an inch of his life and he didn’t blame them… If he could get away with it, he’d march himself into the sea and let it serve as his rightful prison…
His punishments were severe, but not unending, and soon he was back in his room again. Now he never leaves it and the MC is never allowed back in, even if they want to be.
He now, truly, doesn’t deserve them at all...
Link to Part Two: Satan, Beel, Belphie
#obey me#obey me shall we date#shall-we-date-obey-me#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#ow ow ow ow ow#obey me scenarios#obey me headcanons#crap I have to reread this...#in for pain#sorry levi#went a little hard on you there
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Who are your favorite black girl characters , animated or live action
Ooh! This is a good one!
One of my favorite characters is Cinderella in the 1997 adaptation starring Brandy! It's one of my favorite movies(a lot of my favorite movies star Black girls/girls in general!), since when I was younger it gave me a boost of confidence seeing a Black girl as feminine, beautiful, graceful, and most importantly, a princess! Many young girls dream of being princesses too! Princesses aren't only white!
From my favorite book, Natasha from The Sun is Also a Star! She has a unique personality and also defies stereotypes in many ways: she is logical, is very nerdy, she's not a good singer, she's secretly afraid she'll drown(okay, maybe not EVERY stereotype), she has a hard time opening up to people but eventually she does, her favorite color is pink, and SHE'S JAMAICAN!!!! AND THERE IS PATOIS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK! LIKE HELL YEAH!!!!!(that part legitimately made me smile and excitedly show my mom like I was in 1st grade tho!) What's funny is that at first she assumes her Asian boyfriend will know about nerdy stuff, too, but he doesn't know a thing, and she ends up being surprised and explaining this stuff to him. Just a nice way of subverting stereotypes, I guess.
From an anime: S.AM. from Cannon Busters! She's a really cute robot girl who is sweet, girly, and wants to be friends with everyone. However, she also has a hidden dangerous side which comes out whenever someone threatens her and her friends. My one nitpick about her is that she has blonde hair and blue eyes. Can we please stop setting apart Black and brown characters by giving them white phenotypical features, as if those features are more magical, special, and unique(yeah, I know that Melanesians exist, but let's face it, unless it's explicitly stated in the story, we all know that's not what they're thinking of when they write it.)?! Please?! Though at least her hair is poofy and curly. So I still find her adorable.
And of course, how could I forget Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog? Not only does she stick to working on her career, but she gets a handsome prince and gets to get married and wear beautiful dresses, showing that you don't have to choose between a career and romantic pursuits! And her friendship with Charlotte is also sweet, especially considering the time period she lives in! What I like about Tiana is her ambition and hard work, as well as her kindness, helpfulness, and generosity. And I'm so happy to see a non-whitewashed dark-skinned Black female protagonist in media who is portrayed as attractive. Far more than you can expect from most mainstream media.
One movie I was OBSESSED with as a young Black girl was Annie. No, not the original redhead Annie, although I liked her, too. The 2014 Annie. The BLACK Annie, played by Quvenzhané Wallis. You know the one, because there's only one. The movie itself was great, especially with the energeticness and precociousness that Annie embodied, but Annie being Black gave me the representation I needed and deserved! Because of her I wore my twists out for the first time! I even revolved my entire wardrobe around what I thought Annie would wear. And I obsessively and religiously watched that movie on repeat and listened to all of their songs. I was nine, I was crazy.
There's also Cecile Rey from the American Girl book series. I like her because she's outspoken, bold, and confident, and helps Marie-Grace out of her shell. There's one badass scene where she and Marie-Grace swap places in the Mardi-Gras children's balls, which they can get away with due to wearing matching outfits(this is during segregation.). AND THEY GET AWAY WITH IT. I have a doll of her that I bought for Christmas when I was nine. I saved up my own money to buy it. I can't even kid here. I. Wanted. THAT. DOLL!!!!
Ahem. Anyway. There's this book called One Crazy Summer that details the lives of three sisters: Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern. Vonetta was always my favorite character for her wild enthusiasm and dramatic...just, EVERYTHING. I also was the most invested in her character development tbh. The books follow Delphine, though, and I started to like her and Fern as well. I wanted the next two books to focus on Vonetta and Fern respectively, but they ended up all focusing on Delphine. But I felt a close relationship to all the characters.
The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond. The main character is half-white but I thought I'd include her anyway since the book is all about her learning about and embracing her Black side, and getting to know some of her Black relatives. She also has a really beautiful name!
Zoe from Dork Diaries. A good friend who, like Chloe, always supported Nikki!
Penny Proud from The Proud Family, who is not only the main character but is my favorite character in the entire show! Super relatable and I loved the episode on slut-shaming.
Now, kids shows:
Iridessa was my favorite fairy in Disney Fairies
Nikki in Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse(and any Black Barbie tbh)
Princess Pea in Super Why!
Sasha in Bratz
Orange Blossom in Strawberry Shortcake
Jackie in Cyberchase!
Black girls in webcomics! My favorite is this obscure webcomic I don't know if a lot of people know called Princess Love-Pon! It's Magical Girl, which is my favorite genre ever! And is about a girl named Lia Sagamore who, due to her pure heart, is gifted the ability to become a cute warrior in petticoats named Princess Love-Pon! It's pretty obvious, really, but it's also a heartwarming story that has love, friendship, and romance, femininity as power, and also a diverse cast, with Lia's main friend group composing of an Afro-Latina best friend and a Japanese girl. Also has interracial relationships!
Another Magical Girl webcomic starring Black girls is Adorned By Chi! It takes place in Nigeria and is about a college student named Adaeze Adichie and her group of friends who fight monsters that are plaguing the planet. All of these girls are Black and there is also a Black guy who is the love interest! Adaeze is sweet, soft, sensitive, and feminine, and is prone to anxiety and crying, something which is not only personally relatable to me, but allows for stereotypes to once again be destroyed!
Undine Wells from Sleepless Domain. She has a nice design, a sweet and endearing personality, and has water powers! Her blue hair and eyes remind me of a character I created for one of my stories who, obviously, is also a Black girl. And not only that, but she's a femme lesbian who gets with her best friend Kokoro. So triple representation of a Black, female, AND gay character!
And Talia from LoliRock! I can't even choose which of the three girls is my favorite because I love them all, but this blog is about Black girls so I'm talking about her. She's a very interesting character with a tragic backstory. I won't spoil it, but despite being serious and cold on the outside, she is romantic and affectionate on the inside, and cares deeply about her friends and loved ones. She is also a good leader due to her dispassionate nature, and is the strategic problem-solver among the group.
Zuri from Hair Love, a short film about a little Black girl learning to love her hair, as her dad learns how to style it. One of the few pieces of Black media I've seen in which the mother is darker-skinned than the father. If you haven't seen it, then stop reading this and go see it now.
Young child me was also obsessed with A.N.T. Farm, starring China Anne McClain, so I'm definitely adding China to the list. I wanted to be a singing and musical prodigy because of her. She was such a talented, funny, and larger-than-life character, she CARRIED the show!
Basically any role Zendaya played(minus Zoey in Zapped!), such as Rocky in Shake it Up! and K.C. in K.C. Undercover.
And I can't believe I brought up a Brandy role and neglected to mention Moesha! Moesha is such an admirable character for her confidence and supportiveness of her friends, not to mention her feminism! It's an old show from the 90s, and yet it feels nostalgic even though I didn't watch it when I was younger, but more recently. Weird.
All the girls on The Bernie Mac Show, but especially Vanessa. I loved her character development and how she went from just being a bratty teenage daughter to a mature young woman.
Aaaaaaaand, that's just about it! I never thought I'd have this much! Please check out these works of media, it would mean everything to me! I know I inevitably forgot some but I'll be sure to follow up if I do! Reblog or reply with your own Black female characters whom you love and remember! Black girls are everything!
#black women#black girls in fiction#positivity#black girl shows#black girl books#black girl webcomics#black girl movies#black girl animes#cinderella 1997#cinderella#the sun is also a star#natasha#cannon busters#s.a.m.#the princess and the frog#princess tiana#annie 2014#annie#american girl#cecile rey#one crazy summer#vonetta#delphine vonetta and fern#the blossoming universe of violet diamond#violet diamond#dork diaries#zoeysha ebony franklin#the proud family#penny proud#disney fairies
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ALSO CAN I ASK FOR SOME RANDOM GOM HCS U HAVE? like just random ones u have or if u want like some toxic hcs abt them :D
I’m assuming that I can include their negative traits of their personalities as well 👀 Also including Momoi in this… lots of analyzing for this hc, so I used my brain here pls appreciate AGAIN these are all headcanons/interpretations of possible toxic hcs about them and only a few are canon
[Headcanons]
Kuroko Tetsuya
Kuroko is the hardest person to find a “negative/toxic” trait in, and it doesn’t seem like he has any
kind, understanding, hardworking, and compassionate; he’s everything a good-natured protagonist is
but he’s only like this to people/hobbies he cares about/close with; anything else he’s quite apathetic and also very passive/neutral about
the biggest hint to this is when Akashi criticizes Kuroko for cherry-picking who the GoMs should “go all out against” and who to casually toy with
and Akashi is absolutely correct
most of the series is portrayed through Kuroko’s perspective, and Akashi is the first direct outside perspective who comments on his actions/attitude
it’s obviously not that Kuroko didn’t “notice”... he clearly sees and knows what these GoMs are doing; after all, he had a conversation with Aomine about how observant he is to everything around him
of course, if you were close to him, all your opinions and issues matter to him
it’s the fact that what’s not really important to him is suddenly now important just because someone he knows is involved
just an example: if someone was advocating climate change, he has no opinion on it until someone he knows cares about the issue
in other words, he has a subtle hypocritical view on things, especially when he interacts with others
another clear negative trait could be that he’s too idealistic or perhaps naive, seeing things in a clear black-or-white picture and not necessarily a gray area
WE know, as an audience, that the GoMs honestly needed therapy and a proper adult to guide their out-of-control talents
but Kuroko, in his eyes, had viewed them as “bad” and “evil” in their ways of basketball until they changed after their respective matches
he’s probably someone who doesn’t yield to other opinions once he forms his own, and this may make him unable to consider things in other people’s perspectives
which is again, ironic: someone who doesn’t have generally a strong stance but once they do, it’s very unyielding, which further proves Akashi’s comment about Kuroko’s tendency to nitpick which to care about
a final hc about a potential flaw he might have here in a different ask!
Kise Ryota
y’all… it’s as canon as day that he has a mean side
straight from the author himself, it’s confirmed that Kise is only kind to those who he respects, and to the rest, he’s cold-hearted
in the manga, it’s very clear that he’s super judgmental on every first impression on people he meets, boxing them into categories based on the way they look, act, and speak
only when they surpass his preset expectations (low or high depends on his preliminary judgments of them) is when he opens his mind to the rest of their personality
this is a very close-minded way of thinking, and I hope I don’t need to explain why LOL
this can be interpreted as him being two-faced by the majority of the people in his school
his way of speaking can definitely be very cruel and crass, and to sensitive people, his words can easily shatter hearts
Kise’s negative/toxic traits are pretty straightforward here, so let’s move on
Midorima Shintarou
his harsh words can be considered a “negative” part of his personality, but I think it’s a lot more than just that
it’s confirmed in the series that he’s a bystander and almost always minds his own business
on one hand, one can say he’s self-driven and that he constantly strives for self-improvement
on the other, it can be interpreted as him being very dangerously ambitious and selfish, in which most actions he takes are for the sole reason of self-improvement and not for altruistic reasons
for example, when he helped Kuroko and Kagami in the training camp, it was under the reasoning that them becoming stronger would be a good challenge for himself to test and learn
that’s not to say that he can’t have friends, but most friendships he’s built are with capable people who can potentially provide him with some new beneficial skill/goal to strive towards
after all, he’s only learned to trust Takao as a friend only after seeing him as someone capable
because he’s so focused on himself, he’s extremely likely to turn a blind eye to injustice, most also likely to use Oha Asa to justify their “misfortunes” as he continues on his day
he’s not cold-hearted, but altruism comes by Midorima a lot rarer than the average person
now, we know that his Oha Asa aspect is used to balance his serious side as the “comedic side” of him, but if we really think about it, his obsessions with the horoscopes could be a huge obstacle in the future, where he may refuse to listen/depend on others in favor of his own intuition and the stars; after all, no one knows everything, and depending on the stars as one’s next source of advice and guidance isn’t a sound decision to commit themselves to
he seems like the person who overthinks and jumps to conclusions when it comes to social situations, but instead of confronting the person, he turns to fate and fortune if Takao isn’t near to help
Aomine Daiki
I wouldn’t be surprised if Aomine had a skewed sense of beauty standards from all those magazines he consumed and from being around Momoi for the majority of his life
of course anyone can distinguish pieces of media from reality, but during the most impressionable years of life, without experiencing other types of people and physiques, he would have limited knowledge on what “beauty” is and whatnot
this probably would be more of a problem in his adolescence than adult
a very given negative trait is his short temper plus his tendency to turn to physical violence when someone nags him to a certain point, seen with how he’s treated Wakamatsu in the beginning (though this seems to almost disappear by the end of the series)
what I’ve noticed in every scene he’s in, is that everything seems to revolve around him and his hobbies of basketball and Japanese idols
what I mean is that everytime we see Aomine, it’s always Momoi approaching to Aomine or just him always being the center of attention; never once has he approached Momoi for anything and it’s always been the other way around
in other words, people have to cater to him in order to get along with him/be in good graces (additional example: Imayoshi letting him do as he pleases to get him to be cooperative and participate in the games)
we’ve actually never seen Momoi’s hobbies outside of being a manager for her basketball teams and just anything basketball-related
he can be quite apathetic, choosing to only pay attention and try in things he’s interested in… which is basketball and those magazines
he seems to mature in the Last Game though, so I’m not quite sure to what extent these headcanons would apply to older Aomine (these also don’t really apply to Puremine)
Momoi Satsuki
the author probably also included this type of anime trope as comedy, but belittling another female for her body is definitely a no-go in reality; I feel like this is something most people gloss over really lightly
her body comments on Riko are actually what made me skeptical of her character at first before the show really shows her entire personality
that being said, it seems that she always takes the opportunity to look down on other girls (especially to those she is a stranger to) as a sort of “competition” when there’s boys around
definitely at certain moments, she screams a “pick-me girl” type of person (real phenomenon, you can search this up!)
while Kuroko doesn’t seem to actively mind this, I think she also has no good sense of boundaries and what’s considered appropriate touch and consent; people can chalk this up to “oh it’s just infatuation,” but this definitely isn’t okay if we really think about this
her life also seems to revolve around either Aomine or Kuroko, and based from that, I’d feel like she’d have a difficult time forming her own identity/life separate from her “manager life,” especially once she graduates from Touou
can definitely be interpreted as too clingy at certain moments, while others may think it’s her way of showing that she cares
Murasakibara Atsushi
most people would chalk up Murasakibara as “lazy,” and on the surface level, it does appear to look that way…
I think his true negative trait is that he has a lack of intrinsic motivations to drive him to do things
it’s different from being lazy; someone can be lazy while still having a goal, and certainly someone can be lazy while they’re motivated by thoughts of “I want to learn more,” “I want to get stronger,” etc. (you guys, it’s me right now in college)
and he doesn’t have that
part of this was contributed to the fact that he’s already so gifted with genetics and thus, there’s never been a goal for him to have to work towards to when he’s already at the top
he doesn’t actively seek out, and while that may be a characteristic of sloth, it’s not exactly right either
he willingly does things if people around him give him the motivations/reasons to do so; a person of sloth wouldn’t do anything even with all the motivations and goals handed right to their face
snacks/food are examples of extrinsic motivations that fuel him to carry on daily life
Himuro is always the main motivator for Murasakibara to come out and watch matches, and he also does whatever Akashi orders in both Teiko and present days // a person who can give the giant the motivation to do tasks would get along with him the most
searching out for a challenge against his basketball skills is something that’s never crossed his mind
why? he grew to be like the way he is because of the lack of results from his “search” of a challenge throughout his games
again, it’s only when Murasakibara gets handed a silver-platter of a challenge, Jason Silver, that actively gets him pumped up and raring to go
as such, Murasakibara is equivalent to a rusty machine, extremely difficult to start up and find compatibility with, but very powerful and efficient once he finds that spark
Murasakibara finding any partner or friend in the future would be extremely difficult because he ticks a different tune from the rest
Akashi Seijuro
his entire Bokushi side was a giant-ass red flag for very obvious reasons LOL anyways, moving on…
it’s difficult to pinpoint a negative characteristic for Oreshi because he’s the pinnacle of a gentleman character… but that technically is also his negative trait
for him to maintain that perfect image for himself and others, he has always carried himself in such a way that doesn’t allow for errors or expressions of “weakness”
thus, bottling up his frustrations and emotions to the point of no return is something very familiar to Akashi, and I’d feel like Bokushi is the result of his overflowing emotions left unchecked in the first place
I also predict that if Akashi continues to carry himself without letting himself wind down and feel emotions on the spot rather than locking it up inside him, a day will come when he splits into two halves again with a “new” Bokushi to deal with his current life (and let the current Oreshi take a backseat in his psyche to take a break from the turmoil)
also will tend to overwork himself to manage people’s expectations as well as his own, and he’s not one to depend on people not because he sees them as inferior or incapable, but because he’s doing this out of habit from being in positions of authority and responsibility for much of his life
and so, he may tend to hide important things or just not speak about his problems in general to those close to him because he feels like he can do it all himself and spare everyone the work and stress associated with them (a leader mentality)
throughout the majority of his life being calm and calculated, his emotions would definitely escape from him in forms of uncontrollable lashes of anger… before he would realize what he’s done… that is, assuming that another Bokushi hasn’t form within his subconscious yet
#knb#knb headcanon#knb headcanons#kuroko no basket#generation of miracles#gom#teiko#teiko middle school#knb teiko#kuroko tetsuya#kise ryota#kise ryouta#midorima shintarou#midorima shintaro#aomine daiki#momoi satsuki#murasakibara#murasakibara atsushi#akashi seijuro#akashi seijirou
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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “The Final Word”
Well, we made it to the finale, everyone, and if you're reading this it seems you've survived the watching of it too. Barely. To say that some questionable choices were made across these 20 minutes is... an understatement.
But before we delve into the episode, I want you to cast your mind back to November 7th, 2020. A horrible year that heralded a horrible RWBY volume. There, coming off the shaky writing of Volume 7, I posed a number of questions and concerns that the show needed to tackle, with the promise that we would return to these expectations in four months time. Now, here we are! Let's refresh everyone's memory, yeah?
Taken directly from that recap, what RWBY promised us, through various teasers and Q&As, included:
Emphasis on Ruby’s leadership and how Summer’s death has impacted her
Insight into Ren and Nora’s flaws
May Merigold will supposedly have a larger part
More information about The Long Memory (Ozpin’s cane)
Theme of the volume is that you can respect someone but that doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with them
Very short timeline (supposedly just two days)
Yang in particular is very suspicious and distrustful
And you know what? They did all this. In the spirit of being fair and honest to this show, RWBY succeeded in delivering on everything they promised... it was just our foolishness that expected that these ideas would be delivered well. Ruby's leadership took center stage in the form of her hiding for multiple episodes and then others telling her she's still The Best before the plot dropped a solution into her lap... one she could have used at any point prior to this. Summer's death certainly has an impact, though it's an impact born of a crazy reveal that Summer likely isn't dead, but turned into a horrifying grimm monster. Ren and Nora both delve into their flaws, but heaven forbid either grow from that reflection. Ren learns that if he pushes past his primary flaw of keeping his emotions buried and actually expresses his doubts for once, he'll be yelled at and ignored until he admits how wrong he was. The "real" flaw is being a bad friend, with "bad friend" equaling "Not agreeing with Ruby 100%." Meanwhile, Nora considers that maybe she shouldn't rush in recklessly and hit things with her hammer... which is why she rushes in recklessly, hits something with her hammer, gets grievously injured, and is told that this is just who she truly is. No growth there, not unless we count her sudden desire to figure out who she is without Ren... but that exploration hasn't started yet. Too bad she wasn't the teammate separated at the end of the volume!
Meanwhile, May did indeed have a larger role to play, one I quite liked, it's just that this role — like all the others — inevitably circled back to realizing how wonderful Ruby is. May challenges Ruby to make a decision, but instead of being the catalyst for Ruby's growth, May becomes another forgotten side character who does a sudden about-turn regarding her perspective, leaving the group with the contradictory message that Ruby is actually doing her best, she's just a kid, no need to try any harder... everyone who claimed otherwise up until now was mistaken. May is another Cordovin. She's another Qrow. She's another Maria.
Fun fact: we don't even know if Maria is alive right now. That's how little she means to the show!
Actually, wait... anyone remember this nonsense from Volume 7?
I was too lazy to change the date.
Moving on, Ozpin's cane turned out to be a stakes obliterating bomb that came out of nowhere, makes no sense logistically — how do battles store energy that only hurts grimm? — yet nevertheless seems to have killed Hazel? It's a disaster of unanswered questions. Similar to the disaster of our two day timeline when, I'm fairly sure, we've had an unnatural number of sunrises and sunsets. I'll have to take a look back at the volume as a whole now that it's complete to be sure of that though. As for our themes... did we really explore the idea of respecting someone even if you disagree with them? Because Ironwood wasn't shown any respect. Ren wasn't shown respect. I think the closest we got was Oscar calmly validating Yang's worry about getting buddy-buddy with Emerald, but the whole point there was that Yang was wrong. She wasn't wrong, but that's what the text would have you believe. She is indeed "very suspicious and distrustful," but that's hardly unjustified in these circumstances. I'm still boggling at the fact that it took the group three volumes for forgive Ozpin, even while he was actively working to assist them, yet I-helped-destroy-Beacon-and-tried-to-kill-everyone-you-love Emerald is the group's new BFF after she... ran away with Oscar? She didn't save him, she just went along for the ride. At the very least we might have gotten a scene where Penny was like, "Hey, why are you all laughing with the woman who just tried to kill my dad?"
But oh yeah, the story doesn't remember Pietro exists either. His daughter is DEAD and he hasn't been on screen since Episode Five, let alone there when she passes.
I had my own list going in, including such expectations as "Ozpin bb you got done dirty please acknowledge this" and "Queer baiting, queer baiting… you’re on thin ice at this point, RWBY. Just skate on over to the queer snack bar before you fall straight into the lake." Obviously these needs were not met.
So what, given this mess of expectations, did we end up with?
Our finale — for some reason — breaks the one word title trend with "The Final Word." It's an expression that refers to the final word in an argument or a discussion, the idea of winning by making a last, devastating point. It can also refer to making the final decision on something, which is the best way I'm able to apply the title to this episode (outside of any “final” comparisons). Penny's death is certainly all about choice and making some kind of decision... but on the whole, this title doesn't feel like it fits well. Not like "Worthy" or "Creation" or "Risk." The two latter titles had obvious connections to the episode in question through dialogue and plot, while the former was a deliberate callback to Watts' speech. "The Final Word" feels... less obvious in what it’s trying to say.
That's a minor nitpick though. Let's get into the meat of the episode.
We open on the grimm whale still disappearing, which is weird. I get that it's massively bigger than any other grimm we've seen, but they all turned to dust near instantaneously and it's been, what? At least an hour since Oscar blew it up? Likely longer when we factor in their walk back to the manor, the fight with Ironwood, fixing Penny, and this entire evacuation. It certainly makes for a nice visual, but like so many details in RWBY, it raises unnecessary questions along the way.
The important bit though is that amidst the whale carcass a blob of evil is swirling about. Salem, obviously.
She’s not reforming in time to actually do anything though, don't worry.
Instead, we cut to the Ironwood vs. Winter fight and there's at least some dialogue this time. Ironwood yells that he's sacrificed everything to keep Remnant safe. Winter yells back that he actually sacrificed everyone else. Obviously, Ironwood should be called out for things like, you know, his unprompted murders, but instead they have Winter listing stuff that she was never shown to have a problem with before. The embargo? "Squeezed Mantle until it broke?" She, as Ironwood's second hand, understood and supported both the decision to close the border and the need to collect resources for a plan designed to take out Salem. I hate that no only did she turn without an ounce of hesitation or grief, but now they're having her act as if Ironwood forced these decisions on everyone, rather than everyone supporting him through them. We all remember Volume 7 when Ruby pressured him to finish Amity, right? And in trust RWBY fashion, most of these words are meaningless. Mantle "broke"? What does that mean? The class disparity did not come about through Ironwood: that's been in the works for generations. The lack of resources made things harder, yes, but when they were reclaimed by Robyn nothing improved. Watts is the one who turned off the heat and Salem attacked Atlas, leaving Mantle alone. Now, all the citizens have escaped through magical portals. So how is Mantle "broken" exactly? More importantly, why is Winter upset over this vague, nonsensical dilemma when she could be yelling about Ironwood wanting to bomb Mantle?
Again: this woman watched Ironwood shoot the councilman, shrugged, and continued to believe in him up until she realized his bomb threat was real. That was one of the main reasons why I thought the councilman might be alive, with Ironwood only shooting a warning shot past him. Because this is how you react to a good person unexpectedly killing someone else
whereas this is what we got from Winter and Harriet.
Hell, Weiss has more of a reaction to Yang telling Ruby things aren't super great right now.
So either Ironwood didn't do something that bad, thereby justifying these tame reactions (unlikely, given where his character ended up), or we should believe based on the animation that everyone was super chill with him killing an unarmed civilian. Which is then directly contradicted when they're like, "You're going to shoot Marrow? Bomb a city?? How could you do such horrible things??? 😲" Friends, buddies, fictional pals... you already watched him murder a dude.
The point is, there's a lot for Winter to be upset about, but she's not upset about that. There's a lot that Winter herself believed in, but the writing has forgotten that. This entire arc went off the rails a volume ago.
Also, why is Ironwood fighting with that giant gun? This is his final battle, presumably ever, and he's wielding this awkward, sluggish weapon we saw him randomly pick up two episodes ago? Let him use his regular guns! Give us a fantastic battle like he had with Watts! Instead, RWBY's final showdown consists of him using this no-name weapon as a unwieldy club in some of the most boring choreography we've seen to date. It doesn't help that this fight needs to share time with three others. Instead of an epic showdown, we're given glimpses of the battle before continually cutting away from it.
During that first cut we return to the Team RWBY battle where Penny, doing her best to stay out of Cinder's reach, is whisked away on Weiss' wasp.
Too bad she didn't do that for Yang...
Jaune and Nora watch this horror unfold until Jaune says, "Priority one!" and they split. Except... what is priority one exactly? Helping the civilians? I guess, because they don't enter the fight until the very end of it, when everyone else seems to have made it to Vacuo. And you know what, I like that. For once it feels like the group — or at least the B Team — is acting like huntsmen, putting the needs of the people over their own, personal desires. I'm sure Nora wants to help the group after Yang's (presumed) demise and that Jaune would like nothing more than to get his hands on Cinder, but they put those grievances aside to do the work they signed up for. Good job!
My only real gripe is that we don't really see this struggling in the animation, I'm just assuming it's there. In particular, there's a moment when Jaune sends Nora through the portal for reinforcements — not knowing they can't return — and they seem a little too jovial when, by this point, three friends have died.
There's letting your cast be supportive, and then there's having them ignore that three teammates have perished in an abyss. It really doesn't help to sell the idea that Yang, Ruby, and Blake are in any danger here.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Penny tells Weiss that since Cinder is really just after the Maiden powers, she can buy the rest of the group time to escape. Weiss, obviously, isn't fond of this idea... and then the both of them are blasted off the wasp by Cinder's fire. Which they deserve, frankly. They're just having this casual conversation about sacrifice while in the middle of a battle. Did they somehow forget that Cinder can fly too?
Note that multiple attacks from Cinder, another blast, and a hard landing on the pathway gives their auras a knock, but doesn't break them. The primary defense for Yang's aura shattering in a single, simple hit was that everyone is exhausted and running on little to no power... yet here the rest of the cast is, tanking multiple hits as we've come to expect. There is no explanation for Yang's defeat except that the writers chose to ignore the rules of their world for a dramatic death scene... even though that drama was erased a week later as half our team falls into the void too.
We'll get to that though. For now, Cinder corrects Penny's belief with "I want it all" and proceeds to try to finish them off, only for Blake to arrive, having made her choice from last episode about who to help. It's a legitimately nice attack, but I happened to pause at the bEST MOMENT
Anyway.
We leave that fight to return to Qrow and Harriet who have, off screen, started an entirely different battle. What I mean is, last we saw Qrow had broken through the windshield of the airship, roughly pinned Harriet, and was taunting her about getting the fight she wanted. Now, suddenly, he's going “You’re making a mistake, Harriet, what happened to Clover—” as if he's been trying to talk her down this whole time. It's jarring, especially when we consider that Qrow had a volume long "kill Ironwood" arc that was dropped because... Robyn reminded him that murder is bad? RWBY feels like a storytelling pinball machine. Characters bounce from one personality to the next, one perspective and another, round and round until you don't know where they'll end up.
Harriet screams for Qrow to just shut up already and honestly? Same. I love Qrow, he's one of my favorites, but I can't deny that he's been done dirty like so many others since Volume 6. I love who Qrow was, not the mess RWBY has created the last few years.
Time to delve back into fic after recapping!
Sadly though, this strange dialogue wasn't the only "wtf" moment. Harriet is still trying to drop the bomb — which is its own mess of confusing motivations — when Vine and Elm show up on Harriet's ship. Elm begs Harriet not to do this "because you’re our friend!”
Am I glad that they finally acknowledged that the Ace Ops have always been friends? Sure, but why did we spend two volumes claiming otherwise? They were friends, a fantastic team, then Harriet announces that's a lie and we get a bunch of "Team RWBY is superior because they're actually friends" messages. Except this entire time we're still watching the Ace Ops be kind and playful with one another. But they're not friends, the story says. Not friends as they fight these battles. Not friends as they grieve for Clover. Definitely not friends as they react in horror at Ironwood nearly shooting Marrow. No, there's nothing there... until Elm claims there is! Then Harriet reacts in shock. I have friends?
Except Elm was labeled the one "just following orders" by Yang. Elm is the one who shook off Vine after the whale exploded. This isn't the story of one character, Harriet, thinking she was alone and then realizing that people do care for her, this is a story that, seemingly at random, had this group being BFFs or acting like they hated each other — and at each point the visuals are contradicted by the story's message. When they act like friends, we're told they're not friends. When they don't act like friends, we're told they really have been this whole time. I mean, do any of them even care that Marrow teamed up with Qrow and Robyn to take them out five minutes ago? All three were going along with Ironwood's scheme until they were physically stopped, but now Elm is convinced this is a bad decision she needs to talk Harriet down from with the power of friendship?
None of these characters are characters, they're just slapped together reactions based on whatever the plot needs. Who is Elm? I've got no clue. Her personality changes every episode.
Also, love that Qrow moves to stop the bomb from dropping and Harriet screams at him to "Get out of the way!" rather than just... attacking him? She even throws her hands out like she's having a temper tantrum. This feels like schoolyard bickering, not a life or death struggle.
Even though, you know, the audience is aware that the people of Mantle have already been evacuated and Qrow's group is aware that Atlas is falling on top of Mantle as they speak, so... why does the bomb matter? It's going to, what? Destroy the city thirty seconds before Atlas does? Oh no, the horror.
Things then, if you can believe it, get even worse. The bomb is still about to drop, so instead of doing anything to stop it — I mean seriously, we know it takes four people to shoulder the bomb's weight, but you're telling me Qrow and a reformed Harriet can't snag it in a pinch? — Qrow sits there, looks at Clover's pin... and the bomb careens towards the side of the airship instead, stopping.
Because I guess Qrow has good luck now? Or always did and somehow never noticed it? Or his semblance evolved?? Again, we don't know, but it's a bad moment any way you slice it, imo. Qrow has always been defined as the guy with a bad luck semblance and, much like Penny's android struggles, the allure was in watching him overcome those challenges, not having the show erase the challenge entirely. Especially when we don't even understand how it was erased. Qrow just... stops drinking, stops caring for Ironwood, stops wanting to kill Ironwood, stops causing bad luck, I guess. RWBY takes major character traits and flips them off like a light switch, leaving the audience with no emotional tether. We didn't watch Qrow overcome his drinking, or realize he can't bear to kill Ironwood, or discover a way to live life with the horrible hand he was dealt, he just blinks one day and those things are gone. Why? No one is sure. Not even the writers, I'd wager, because otherwise they would have written explanations into the text.
Many in the fandom insist that any basic information provided by the story amounts to "hand holding" when in fact there is a massive difference between the sort of unnecessary exposition that bogs down a tale, and having facts enough for the audience in its entirety to be on the same page about what is actually happening. For example, recently someone argued strongly that the "Penny is human" take is incorrect because Penny isn't human, she has an inhuman body made entirely of aura... yet where in the world does this exist in the story? Ambrosius may have been unsure about what Penny would be prior to removing her robotic parts, but that ambiguity is gone once her body forms, the equivalent of worrying about that gun only for a flag with 'BANG' to appear instead of a bullet. Worrying about something doesn't mean that something actually occurred. Penny appears human, expresses human sentiments, and then, this episode, dies as a human. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and succumbs to the mortal peril that all ducks face... it's probably a duck. As I said in a recent ask, I implore the fandom to stop writing RWBY's scripts for them. Or rather, do so in some amazing fanfics. Don't do it on critical posts as a means of insisting that your revision is canon.
So Qrow has good luck now, maybe, but this character change doesn't amount to anything because Watts remotely starts the bomb's countdown.
At least he’s entertaining and competent. We had that for a time.
Back to the main battle, Neo is kicking Ruby's ass. Why? Because there's no consistency in power levels in this show. The ancient woman who hasn't fought in decades dances circles around Neo, highlighting how weak she supposedly is, yet now Neo dances circles around our main character. None of us should expect fights to follow the logic of the world, only what drama the plot wants to stir up. Ruby is eventually knocked down from a hard hit — yet her aura's intact! — and is saved at the last second by Weiss tossing Neo into one of the portals.
Far more of a problem than the power leveling is that Ruby gives no indication here that Neo just murdered her sister. Again, that's what the characters are meant to believe, yet Ruby is as stoic as she would be fighting a bunch of White Fang grunts. If you showed this scene to a RWBY fan on its own and asked, "What do you think happened prior to this?" the answer would be, "Uh... nothing? Ruby is just fighting Neo like she did on the airship in Volume 3." Nothing about this scene — from dialogue to animation — sells the idea that Ruby just lost the person most important to her in the world.
When we do finally mention Yang, it's Weiss who goes, “Come on, we have to do this for Yang” and the delivery is... meh. Honestly, I normally don't pay much attention to the voice acting, but I had a problem with most of Weiss' lines this episode. The "Leave her alone!" during this fight and later a "Get back!" as she attacks Cinder both fell really flat for me. Given the devastation and charged emotion that's supposed to be here, we can't give her anything better than generic cries that, again, she’d throw at any grunt? In that later scene the animation absolutely helps sell Weiss' distress, but the dialogue is common and the delivery has no emotional punch, leaving it feeling like Yang is just hanging out in Vacuo and they promised they'd beat the baddies before catching up with her. No one but Blake is acting like Yang died.
In fact, we see more emotion from Ruby when Weiss shoves her back, taking the brunt of Cinder's blast.
Weiss' aura breaks, not that that's a danger or anything. Everyone falls before they're injured, Winter gets the Maiden powers, Ren barely has to fight. Losing aura in this show used to be a moment of peril, where just last volume Winter was bruised, bleeding, and now needs an assistive device because she had to continue a battle with no aura. Now it's a joke. Aura breaks left and right across the volume with no repercussions attached to that.
We see a bit of the Blake and Penny vs. Cinder fight where Cinder blasts Blake off the edge. Penny rushes after her because at least one character remembered that they can fly.
Ruby, meanwhile, remembers that she can fly when it benefits her. After getting hit down onto a lower level and watching Crescent Rose plummet, she taunts Neo into an attack with a move that's actually quite good. I like the confidence with which Ruby riles her up and I like the strategy of darting behind Neo to knock her off the path instead. “Whatever you wanted, I hope it was worth it."
The only thing I don't like is that this speed and ingenuity had to disappear to justify Yang falling.
Cinder breaks Ruby's aura from behind though, sending her over too and grabbing onto Neo's leg. In an obvious moment born of the trope, it looks as if Cinder is reaching to help Neo, only for her to snag the Relic instead. “You should have never threatened me," she tells Neo and to Ruby: "you should have never been born.”
Love that they erased all that cool growth from last episode! And by "love" I mean "hate." As I said last recap, I'm not going to pretend that Cinder's character isn't riddled with problems, but realizing she was stronger by teaming up with Neo and Watts was one of the best things they've ever done for her. It made Cinder dangerous again and showed Watts' speech having a clear impact. It also made her more entertaining, creating a new dynamic among the three villains. Now though, Cinder is just... Cinder. The same boring, stupid Cinder we've had since Volume 4. She betrays Neo and then later betrays Watts.
So Cinder kicks Neo and Ruby both over the edge because why would we want to make her interesting? Neo falls, but Ruby has friends there to catch her! Unlike Yang. Jk. Weiss’ aura is gone and Blake actually tried both times, so major kudos for her. Using momentum supplied by Penny, she snags Ruby and hooks her weapon into one of the pathways... only for Cinder to cut the ribbon. Both plummet and once again Penny has a more believable reaction to all this, just like she did last week
Speaking of reactions, does anyone else find it weird that Cinder finally succeeded in killing Ruby and... doesn’t seem to care?
No? Just me?
At least we get that good animation with Weiss I was talking about before, even if the dialogue is lacking. I love that she snagged Blake's weapon and uses it to try and take out Cinder, shaking the whole time. Those are some great details.
Back to the bomb, Qrow is trying to escape, but Harriet says there isn't enough time to get out of the blast range. "I've killed us all." Vine has the solution though, using his semblance to wrap up the airship, thus containing the blast when it goes off. His final words are to reassure Elm that he can give his life, "if it means saving all of my friends." Just in case you missed the part about the Ace Ops being super close this whole time. Even though they also weren’t. Trying to eat your cake too, RWBY?
Frankly, I didn't feel much of anything during this scene, not when Vine made the sacrifice, nor when Elm and Harriet look on sadly while Robyn pilots them away (that's her contribution this episode).
All I can say is, good on RWBY for not killing one of the three dark skinned characters, or just murdering the Ace Ops as a whole. What the story is going to do with them though, who knows.
Jaune and Nora have that ‘You can do it!’ moment after three of their friends have presumably been killed. I swear, about 80% of Jaune's scenes do not work tonally and oh boy, things only get worse from here.
First though, I like his entrance. He slams into the fight against Cinder and lines up with Penny and Weiss, who is still dual-wielding her and Blake's weapons. That's an epic shot.
It looks as if they stand a decent chance against Cinder — Weiss' lost aura notwithstanding — except then Cinder's arm starts going crazy and she gleefully announces that Salem has returned.
Working on a time limit now, Cinder unleashes a volley of attacks that Penny steps in to protect the other two from. It's here that Cinder grabs hold with her grimm arm.
It's here that Penny dies. Again.
For the third time.
Friends, I am tired. This moment honestly deserves the most epic of rants, but that, in turn, requires energy. Energy? In this economy? Ha! That's hilarious. Taking this seriously though, the problem here can — as usual — be boiled down to a single question: What was the point?
Penny died in a horrible attack that shook the cast and audience both to their core.
That emotional impact was erased through her resurrection.
The resurrection did not create a new emotional impact for our heroes to grapple with.
Penny is given the Maiden powers, solidifying the fact that she's always been a "real girl."
That lesson was erased when the story decided to make her human for unexplained reasons (because no, she never needed to be human to survive the virus).
Penny then dies, passing the power to Winter... who was set to get the power in the first place.
We have, once again, come full circle. You can take Penny out of the story and nothing changes. Does Ruby lose any lessons or emotional growth? No. Does anyone survive who would have otherwise died? No. Does her getting the powers lead to someone unexpected snagging them upon her death? No. Penny's existence was filler. She was put in the story to take up time and, that done, was removed from the story once again. It's a choice that wouldn't be half as horrible if that filler hadn't done so much damage along the way.
First is the obvious: that Penny didn't deserve this. As a character, she didn't deserve to be brought back just to be killed off again, seemingly without narrative purpose, serving only to draw in viewers who RT knew loved the character. Second, keeping her in the story led to her entire arc unraveling. Initially, Penny died as an android in the world's eyes, but those who actually knew her — Ruby and Pietro — mourned the girl she really was. Now we have this horrible message that being a machine isn't real enough, so she has to die as a human being. It's a disservice to her character and, as an allegory for many minorities, downright insulting to the audience. Third, this offensive 'better to die as a human than live as a robot' message is wrapped up in the claim that Penny finally gets to choose something — “Let me choose this one thing. Trust me” — but she already did that when she chose to take the Maiden powers. We already had the better written version of this last volume!
And the fourth issue...well.
Fourth and fifth are the real kickers. Fourth is that Penny's death was an assisted suicide. She explicitly asks Jaune to kill her so she can ensure she's thinking of the right person when she passes (never mind that her thoughts would probably be on Jaune while this is happening) and that's... pretty horrible. Look, I'm no purist. I like a great deal of dark, gritty stories whose plot exists to make us uncomfortable. That's a valuable emotion that fiction can generate. The problem is not that RWBY is tackling a sensitive topic, but that they aren’t tackling it well. Yes, they put in a content warning and (from what I've heard) a suicide helpline as well, but providing the already necessary resources is not the same thing as writing that kind of scene with respect and care. All of the above tells us that, no matter what RT may have intended, that respect and care weren't communicated to the audience. Like Yang, they didn't even bother to keep Penny's death within the rules of their world. Jaune is right there ready to heal her and Penny says no, there's supposedly not time.
Um... since when?
Jaune's aura boost is instantaneous. The second he amplifies aura is the same second the healing starts and their talk could have been spent saving Penny. There was certainly time to save Weiss in Volume 5. To have a character go, 'Nah, it's too late' when the solution is right there is the ultimate cop-out. Suddenly announcing that the solution will no longer work For Reasons is not a legitimate limitation and it's made doubly insulting that RT didn't simply use the limitations already available to them. Jaune has been running low on aura since the whale. He then expended a great deal of aura boosting Penny to keep the virus in check. Every other ally has had their aura broken in this fight so, there. That's your solution. Have Jaune take a few hard hits from Cinder, his aura breaks, and then when Penny is mortally wounded he no longer has a semblance to heal her. It's that easy! Yet instead they had Penny reject help so that she could ask to die. That's what's offensive here.
Finally, reason number five... why is this moment given to Jaune? That's another easy solution: Jaune has gone through the portal and can't get back to heal Penny. There. Done. But logistics aside, this scene should have gone to any other character. Who is Jaune to Penny? Or Penny to Jaune? No one! They don't have a relationship. I get that the writers didn't want any of the girls at her side because then it would be hard to justify Penny not passing the power to them (which I get: making one team member a Maiden changes the show drastically), but you know who should be there instead of Jaune?
Pietro.
Pietro, who built Penny as a weapon and who was never given the chance to apologize for that. Pietro, who told Ruby he could only rebuild her once more, setting up an expectation that he'd sacrifice himself for his daughter (despite the complicated racial issues that would bring up). Pietro, who watched Penny plummet and has no idea what happened to her, let alone that she's been made into a human girl. Pietro should have been at her side, saying goodbye to his child and helping her complete her last wish.
And it would be so very easy to pull off. All it takes is a single line where Penny remembers that her father exists, asking Ruby to ensure a portal opens up in Amity. There's a quick reunion along the pathways before Cinder attacks. We hear a cry of despair as Penny falls and she looks, seeing her father racing towards her, though she thought he'd already made it out. There, you’re done. We open ourselves up to a lot of attacks whenever we say, "Why didn't RWBY just do ____?" because those who vehemently defend the writing like to go, "Oh, you think you could write RWBY better?" and no, I don't. I struggle with long-form storytelling and massive casts. I don't think I could do justice to the sort of show RWBY wants to be, but I do think I'm a decent enough writer to spot when there are major problems like this. The question of "Why doesn't Penny remember that her beloved dad exists?" and "Why, out of that massive cast, is Jaune the one to do this deed?" are both things that a newbie writer can spot, and a sometimes okay writer can figure out how to fix them both simultaneously. A good writer will start thinking about themes — what might it mean for Pietro to kill the creation he made? — and a great writer will find a way to pull that off without having that insulting, discomforting feeling pop up. At this point, our RWBY crew feels less like new writers making mistakes (because they're not new, not at all), but rather just writers who haven't bothered to learn from their mistakes after eight years. That's a lot harder to watch.
Because putting Jaune here doesn't just mess with RWBY's internal rules (not using his semblance) and it's not just useless in terms of Penny's development (she doesn't know him outside of "dude who boosted my aura for an hour"), but it also falls back into a pattern I thought RWBY had finally broken from: making Jaune the story's emotional center. This is not the JAUNE show. It's the RWBY show. Yet here, once again, we have Jaune in the spotlight. Why, after a whole volume of Ruby avoiding making decisions, does Jaune finally make the hard call? Why, after a scene where Penny asked Ruby to kill her, does Jaune do that deed? Why, after a divisive arc where all the grief for Pyrrha went to Jaune, is Jaune now set to shoulder the grief of Penny? At least Jaune had a relationship with Pyrrha, even if Nora and Ren did too. Yet with Penny he seems to be there solely because the writers can't bear to keep him out of that center spot for long. All of Team JNOR make it through to Vacuo... except Jaune. Jaune falls into the abyss too because, if the show goes this route, we apparently can’t have a volume just about Team RWBY, the main characters. The main characters are separated from the rest of the team and it's Jaune, not Oscar and Ozpin with a connection to the lore, not Nora or Ren whose development now hinges on them learning who they are without the other, it's Jaune who follows the title characters into a new dimension.
The issue is not whether Jaune deserves to grieve over the truly traumatic thing he just did now that he’s done it. He obviously does. The issue is the writers setting up a scenario where Jaune is situated to do that emotional work in the first place.
I like Jaune as a character. I don't like how the writing uses him as a character. RWBY is built on the idea that these four girls are the heroes of this tale, not the expected blond, blue-eyed, sword wielding guy we’ve seen in so many other stories. So why does that guy get the most important scene of the finale? Yes, Jaune had much less screen time this volume than he did in the past, that’s a good thing given the number of important characters RWBY has to balance, but that hasn't erased the problem of him being given significant moments that should be going to title characters. Does Ruby’s team rescue Oscar and take on Salem? No, Jaune's team does. Does Ruby's team save Penny? No, Jaune's semblance keeps her grounded and then holds the virus off. Not everything is a problem — we've also got good choices like having Ruby defeat the Hound and Ruby's team take on Cinder for the majority of the fight — but that doesn't erase that Penny’s death wasn’t something Jaune should have been a part of. Not unless he was going to heal her. Doing better than they have in the past doesn't mean that RT isn't still slipping when it comes to giving him undeserved focus.
They took one of the most controversial characters, controversial because of how much emotional focus he's gotten in the past, and had him help a fan favorite commit suicide while he cried about it, showing more emotion for a near stranger than our title character showed for her sister. This is a character who, up until two or three episodes ago, had no connection to the victim and still has no reason to thematically be the one committing this act. That is why the fandom goes, “The crew loves Jaune and does everything they can to put him in the center of the action.” Ruby, as main character and Penny’s first friend, is the obvious choice here. Pietro, as Penny's father, would be a good choice too. Hell, Nora is a better option given their moment in the Schnee manor this volume. Or Winter given their moments in Volume 7! Have her escape Ironwood, find Penny, receive the powers, and then finish him off. Literally anyone would be better than Jaune, not because Jaune is a bad character, but because Jaune has no emotional stakes here and putting him in a position where he could heal Penny but doesn’t is massively stupid. No one should be surprised that a lot of the fandom is upset about this. It was one hell of a reach to give him this moment and, since Jaune's problem has always been getting too much screen time and emotional nuance compared to our main cast, it's no wonder this act brought up a lot of bad memories. RT fell back into an old pattern after two volumes of improvement and they did so at the worst possible time.
The tl;dr is that Penny's third death is a writing travesty, just like her second. I shouldn't be surprised, given that this is the same volume that tortured a kid and the only thing they did with it was have him blindly trust his torturer... yet I find myself surprised nonetheless. Because Penny had such potential as an android Maiden and, as much as I personally hated it, potential as a former android learning to be human too. But why explore any of that when you can kill her off instead? Again.
As a final, far smaller note about this scene, we have the continuing problem of what purpose Cinder's arm is serving. If everyone recalls, its threat comes primarily from the fact that she can "siphon off" power from other Maidens.
She did it to Penny during the Amity battle and now she does it again, a great deal of green energy absorbed into Cinder. So what's left to give to Winter? Why doesn't Cinder become noticeably stronger with each successful theft? Like so much else in RWBY, we're told it exists without actually seeing the impact of that. Winter isn't a weaker Maiden for having lost power and Cinder isn't a stronger Maiden for having snagged it. It's just.. there, hanging out and looking vaguely menacing, I guess.
Outside of this unnatural not-transfer, we get to see how the power normally passes as Penny meets with Winter in some in-between place. It's a soft, heartfelt scene... with the exception that Winter says, “You were always the real Maiden at heart. I was just the machine. Just following orders."
I don't know how any viewer can doubt that RT now believes machinery = evil. Penny's machine body is magicked away so she can be a real-real girl. Yang announces that the arm she worked hard to make a part of herself is just "extra." The man with half a metal body is made this volume's villain and losing his second arm is, by the authors' own admission, a symbol of his lost humanity. Mercury with two metal legs remains a bad guy while Emerald and Hazel are hastily redeemed. Tyrian with his cybernetic tail is the most devoted crazy of the bunch. Maria, blind and in need of assistive lenses, is so forgotten by the story she was left in the tundra nine episode ago and won't be mentioned again until next volume (if then). Pietro, the guy in the wheelchair, is forgotten too, despite it being his daughter who dies on screen.
Now Winter, also bearing an assistive device, says that she's the real "machine" here and tells Penny, now human, that she was always the "real Maiden." I don't know what happened to make RT do a 180 lately, but the disability rep is no longer what it was.
Penny reassures Winter that she'll always be a part of her and then passes on, for good this time.
The rest of the episode feels lackluster, if I'm being honest. Images of Cinder beating Weiss are intercut with Ironwood beating Winter, getting her to a point where her aura breaks.
But then the powers appear and, as we'd expect, she easily turns the tide.
Gorgeous animation there.
But RT once again rewrites earlier scenes by having Ironwood claim that the "destiny" he chose for Winter has finally arrived — isn't that Cinder's MO? — and Winter shoots back that he chose nothing, this was a "gift." Except, it was never about destiny or orders? This was why Weiss' anger in Volume 7 was ridiculous. She acted like Ironwood forced Winter to accept the powers and Winter told her point blank she chose this. Ironwood didn't decide anything, he offered and Winter chose... kind of like how Penny is choosing now. I hate how nearly all of Ironwood's character has been ignored or, during times like this, outright lied about to make him seem super duper evil. He tried to bomb a city! You don't need to make him seem evil anymore, that job is done! Like their sudden change regarding disability, RT now seems to be allergic to nuance. Heaven forbid Ironwood be allowed to have valid points like he did in Volume 3. No, if you've got an antagonist every single thing they've ever said must be twisted into a display of their evilness.
Unless you're Hazel, who Oscar trusts for #reasons. Unless you're Emerald, who the group immediately embraces. Unless you're Cinder, who gets to cry on a rooftop and secures the trust of her allies long enough to betray them again.
But Ironwood? Nah, screw that guy.
Salt aside, the fight is pretty boring. Winter literally just throws up a wall of ice and Ironwood's blast rebounds, taking him out.
Winter flies through the portal and we return to Jaune. His sword is broken by Cinder, so weapons should be quite the problem in Volume 9.
There's a bit of sword vs. sword Maiden battling — this episode really pulled heavily from both Volume 3 and 5's finales — before Cinder gets smart again and attacks Weiss, currently trying to escape with Jaune. Weiss goes right off the edge and Winter isn't able to reach her in time. That's the entirety of Team RWBY, lost to the magical void.
Kudos to Winter's VA and the writing here though. This feels like an appropriate reaction to losing a sister. Screaming, sobbing, falling to her knees and beating the floor... Ruby, take notes.
A roar sounds through all the portals though, the sort of roar a pissed off witch might give. Jaune convinces Winter they need to leave Cinder behind, but before they can escape Cinder... makes a new wish?
Look, it works on all the major fronts. Cinder has the staff, check. We've basically established that Ambrosius can make an unlimited number of things per era, check. We know the previous thing disappears when a new wish is made, check. My only question is the timing. In all honesty, I'll have to re-watch the scene to be sure, but at the time it felt like the portals began disappearing almost the second Cinder left. Did she really have time to summon Ambrosius, deal with his explanatory nonsense, and get him to make a new wish without any fiddly concerns? Sure, fire is just fire, but it still felt like way too much happening too fast off screen.
Either way, the portals are gone and Winter makes it through in time, but Jaune does not. He falls through the void along with Team RWBY. And Neo.
Neo is the only addition I'm looking forward to here.
We get a few shots of our other characters as Winter arrives, saving the day by taking her grief out on the grimm. So glad something came of Ren breaking his aura again! Maybe they'll be more fighting at the beginning of Volume 9? If we see any of this group outside of 9's finale. My worst fear right now is that we'll spend an entire season away from the main action — remember how I said it would be stupid for Team RWBY to go on a side adventure while Salem is attacking the world? — and when they return there will have been some major time skip. Salem has destroyed most of Remnant, only pockets of survivors remain, it's all dark and dystopian... and oh look, every bit of character development happened off screen. How did Nora discover who she is without Ren? She did it while Team RWBY was gone. That merge we've been teasing for five years? That happened while you were gone too and, btw, Ozpin has ceased to exist. So sad, right? Not that anyone will actually mourn. Just take comfort in the fact that his last line was an "Oh no" about Ambrosius and his last major scene was apologizing for how the group treated him. Emerald's redemption? Off screen. Winter's grief? Off screen. Any and every one of these challenging beats to tackle can be waved away with, "We went through that arc while you were lost in the magical realm. Just get to know our new, improved selves now!"
Please, oh writing gods, don't let that happen.
Though I do worry because my last prediction came true.
But we all knew we’d end up here. My current theory? The portal should still be open at the vault. Winter will fight Ironwood, escape through it, and it will close right before he escapes too. He’ll fall with Atlas and everyone will act as if it’s some beautiful, poetic justice for him to perish with the city.
Ironwood didn't make a break for the portal — too busy being unconscious — but we got everything else. Winter left him, he falls with Atlas, and this is some poetic justice, I guess. Really, it's just an undignified death. I'd hoped for a sympathetic kill, something that showed the characters still cared about him even if they knew Ironwood had to be stopped. Baring that, I'd hoped for an epic battle that took him out with style. Instead, no one even bothers to kill him. Ironwood is now beneath the entire cast, not even worth finishing off. Winter casually tosses his blast back at him and leaves. Cinder throws out a "that's checkmate" and leaves. I don't think Salem even looks at him. Ironwood (presumably) dies with no one and nothing, just a casualty of the city Team RWBY made fall. And I say "presumably" because the audience isn't even given the satisfaction of being sure he's passed on. Like Hazel, Ironwood's death is this weird, ambiguous moment that, based on the other character reactions, isn’t meant to be ambiguous. Is he dead? Most likely. Is it possible, based on what we've seen, that he'll pop up two volumes later like
Yes and, memes aside, that sucks. I don't want to be wondering for the next couple years if Ironwood survived and if they'll bring him back just to drag his character through the mud again. Move on.
But no, we don't even get that.
I've spoken at great deal about Ironwood both in these recaps and on my blog more generally. Last week, I said I'd covered it all and there was no need to rehash it all again. I stand by that, so let me just conclude this travesty with a final note: if your bad guy's final moment is using the last of his strength to point a gun at the actual villain of this story, and you don't realize the problem of how this image contrasts everything else the story has insisted about his character? … I just don't know what to do with that.
Oh, actually, final-final note: Ironwood’s semblance is officially a Schrodinger's semblance. It is both canonical and noncanonical simultaneously. Wooo.
Cinder tells Salem she used her wish to "add more flames to the first of Atlas" and we cut to Watts, trapped in a roaring fire, unsuccessfully trying to break his way out. Wow, I hate that too! Next to Tyrian, Watts was our last remaining, entertaining villain. He carried a lot of the last two volumes and, I had hoped, was going to add some bright spots to the coming volumes as well. Apparently not.
Just another waste.
In addition to this casual, second murder of her ally, Cinder successfully convinces Salem that Neo killed Ruby and Ruby used the Lamp's last question, but she's back in her good graces since she snagged the Relics anyway. “You’ve done well, Cinder. Our work here is done" and they leave, blasting off like a less cool Team Rocket as Atlas plummets into Mantle.
Let's spend a second to tally things up then, shall we? What happens if Ruby, instead of throwing a moral fit, says, "You're right and we never should have lied to you, or betrayed you. But we want to help now. You get the Relics and the Maiden to safety in Atlas, if you can, we'll defend the people of Mantle"?
Well, they can still tell the world about Salem and call for help, much more easily now since Ironwood would likely just give them the code rather than them needing to spend an episode stealing it.
The Staff at least may not have ended up in Salem's hands and the group could have actually focused on getting the Lamp back (also solved if they'd been smart and just put it in the vault to begin with).
Mantle would still have been safe because Salem was never interested in Mantle to begin with.
Atlas wouldn't have fallen.
Ironwood wouldn't have died.
Penny wouldn't have died.
Even Vine wouldn't have died!
Our heroes unambiguously made the situation worse. Rather than banding together with their allies to fight the real enemy, Salem, they pushed until they made enemies of Ironwood and the Ace Ops both. Then they asked for help — which a pinch of logic said would never arrive — and twiddled their thumbs waiting for it. When it was clear none would come they...did nothing. They sat around, upset that the people were in danger, but not willing to do anything about it. It's only when one of their own, Penny, is threatened that they kick into high gear, hitting on a solution that they could have posed to Ironwood from the very start if no one liked the fly away plan. Yet instead of taking a few minutes to brainstorm other ideas — doing anything other than denouncing Ironwood to the rest of the group and attacking the Ace Ops — they spent two days sitting around, fixing minor messes they’d helped to create, then rushed through the portal plan, messing up the wish and stranding an entire kingdom in a sandstorm, with only Winter now to protect them from grimm.
Fantastically done, team.
The villains won, yes, but not because the villains were smart and compelling. Watts' hack on Penny and the heat petered out to nothing and Salem... well, she sat around for the whole volume, expending energy only to torture Oscar and try to (unsuccessfully) stop some escapees. Neo and, miraculously, Cinder did the most damage, but only in the final hour, with this "damage" being that our characters fall into a void that we now know looks remarkably like a paradise! Everything bad that happened was a result of our heroes being stupid and stubborn. That's a compelling story to tell... but RT isn't trying to tell it. Our heroes caused so much damage, yet that damage goes unacknowledged — or worse, ignored into silence like with Ren — and everything else is waved away with the magic wand the series claims isn't there. The cold doesn't kill anyone. Oscar has no problems walking off the torture. Nora hops back out of bed. Ruby one-shots the Hound. The civilians lost to the void must have survived too. The entire kingdom successfully makes it to Vacuo... unless you count the massive army we never saw making use of the portals, but who cares about them, right?
The villains won, there was indeed something resembling consequences, but none of it was emotionally satisfying. Not even when the series tries so hard to insist that emotion is there.
Qrow watches Atlas fall, mouthing Ruby and Yang's names, but it's too little, too late. Where was this care for his nieces when he was obsessed with killing Ironwood? When did they care about him? Was it when Ruby shrugged at his arrest, when neither cared that he was missing, or when they were designing an escape plan that didn't include putting a portal where Qrow could reach? RWBY markets itself around the found family-ness of its cast, but they're done a poor job in recent volumes (not others) of convincing me that most of these characters care for one another. We went from Ruby denouncing all adults, to Ruby pulling an Ozpin with Ironwood, to Ruby watching blandly as her sister falls to her presumed death. This is my hero? This is the simple soul we're supposed to rally behind? Ruby doesn't feel like a character who cares about other people anymore and, given that she leads the charge, neither do most of her friends. Or, when that emotion appears, it's jarring and undeserved. Jaune cries over Penny's death? That's tonally and characteristically backwards.
This volume was the culmination of so many mistakes over the past two years. No, Covid couldn't have made things any easier for the crew — the fact that they got a volume out at all is amazing — but the pandemic isn't to blame for the problems in the story. These seeds have existed since Volume 5, with some (like Jaune) going back even farther. I don't think we're ever going to get that flawed, but emotionally fulfilling RWBY back. The show has dug too deep and unless it somehow manages to create a clean slate — those time travel ideas get more and more alluring! — there's nothing they can do but keep on digging. At this point, I can only hope that the series does wrap up within the next two volumes, rather than dragging RWBY to a Supernatural-esque length.
Our final shot of the episode proper feels fitting for what this volume has been. Atlas and Mantle flood rather than exploding, something that makes a certain amount of sense, sure, but definitely wasn't what I was expecting. And after all these shocking images — Penny dying, the grimm attacking, our main characters disappearing in a puff of gold dust — we end it all with bits of random debris. It's strange and underwhelming. Out of everything you could have done with the options you had, you choose to do this?
Of course, RWBY always has an after-credits scene (RIP Raven's, still amounting to nothing). Here, the sounds of water return to show us a beach. Crescent Rose imbedded in the sand, mirroring its classic pose in the snow.
There's a tree. It's a very different kind of tree from what we saw in Volume 6, but the height and shape is nevertheless reminiscent of Light's domain.
A tree of life, anyone? After all, the group has fallen into a dimension created by a Relic, the gift of Light himself. It certainly seems as if RWBY is heading towards another encounter with the Gods, though what that will look like and how narratively satisfying it will be remains to be seen.
As for our bingo board, RWBY certainly pulled its weight! Only three squares got gold stars: Watts and Jacques didn't manage another team up because both are dead, Oscar didn't apologize for getting shot because he was too busy being tortured, and Qrow didn't drink likely because he didn't have access to any alcohol across the whole volume. Can't say that's a stellar result. The final image is something to behold though lol.
What a mess.
And on that less than exciting note... we’re done. This has been the volume of desertion, with a large number of fans telling me that they will no longer watch RWBY, but baring something entirely unexpected in my future, I'll be back next volume, for whatever that's worth. It never ceases to amaze me that even one person would give these nonsense recaps the time of day, so in all seriousness: thank you for reading. You rock.
Now go forth and fill the hiatus with great RWBY content!
✌️
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if requests are open... smthn with edgar and degradation if ur not too overwhelmed pls and ty <3
🖌 edgar degradation hcs . . .
♡ edgar loves you, deep down he truly does, but god does he also love to humiliate and degrade you into oblivion. with consent and a safeword of course❗️
♡ he's called you every name in the book - whore, slut, pig, trash, idiot, property, cumrag, crybaby. if you can name it, edgar has exclaimed it.
♡ "are you my whore, y/n?"
♡ "yes."
♡ "say it."
♡ "i-i'm your whore..."
♡ "i'm afraid i didn't hear you correctly. louder."
♡ "i'm your whore, edgar!"
♡ "ah, so you aren't as clueless as you seem. now get on your knees."
♡ edgar loves to demand you to touch yourself in front of him. it's so shameful and downright mortifying for you to get yourself off but not be able to cum. the deeper or harder you go, the more satisfied edgar's grunts of approval are.
♡ when you look like you're about to reach your climax, edgar will shout at you to stop being such a greedy pig and to be patient for once in your goddamn life.
♡ he folds his hands on his lap to hide the growing tent in his pants while he watches your fingers tease and please yourself. he doesn't want to admit that he enjoys the sight.
♡ he'll go on and on about how needy you are, how you're like an animal in heat. there isn't an ounce of regret when he rains down the insults and curses. you're going too fast. too slow. too sloppy. you aren't moaning loud enough. your moans are too loud. back and forth, edgar nitpicks you to fit his unrealistic view of perfection and to see you snap.
♡ he knows what he's doing to you and he revels in it. this man wants you in your most primal state in order to even show an ounce of fondness for you.
♡ he wants to see you pushed to your limit, writhing around on the floor while he smirks at you from above, his throne on the bed.
♡ edgar isn't shy about reminding you that you will always be below him.
♡ a single toe out of line leads to you having to lick edgar's boots clean. if you cum without his permission, he'll be sure to kick you ever so slightly or squirm around to make things harder for you.
♡ the whole time you spend working your tongue on his shoes, he's spitting poisonous words from his mouth. remarking on how pathetic you are to bend to his every whim, and how you aren't even doing a good job. if he sees that you're getting aroused he'll shame you to hell and back, calling you a disgusting freak with genuine astonishment in his voice.
♡ knock something over or make any sort of mess and edgar will be furious. he never leaves his seat on the bed where he watches you, but he just might have to punish you up close if you ruin the perfectly furnished room he's set up.
♡ loves to hook his fingers in your mouth and stare into your eyes while calling you a repulsive waste of space. some of his insults are so fancy that you don't even know what they mean, but his voice combined with his firm grip on your cheeks still shoots electricity straight to between your legs.
♡ the contrast between his sweet voice and the lethal words he barks really gets you going.
♡ edgar will love to paint on your body. he'll spread your thighs and write "edgar's cum dumpster" so close to your most sensitive areas. quiver as he draws and he'll nudge you, telling you to control your animalistic urges or he'll fuck them out of you. there are so many phrases and words scribbled on your skin once he's satisfied with his work. he'll choose areas hidden by your clothing so they stay on when you play matches or bathe, because you're always going to be property of edgar valden.
♡ if you manage to make your way into his lap, his words will betray his body big time. he insists that you're wretched and could never turn him on while the tip of his cock is burning red and dripping with desire. a string of curses leaves the normally formal artist's mouth as you milk him, all of them denying how good he feels. edge him. i dare you.
♡ when edgar is touched he doesn't last long at all. he saves getting his dick sucked or ridden for last because of this. also because he views his climax as the finale instead of yours. since he's better than you in every way, remember.
♡ ...there's one exception to this. getting to jerk himself off above you (since you're unworthy of his body most of the time) so he can coat you in his spurts of seed. he'll leave you drenched from head to toe.
♡ as much as you ache to be called his latest masterpiece, or to be told you look breathtaking with part of him dripping from your body onto the floor, he still remarks that you're a shabby piece of art and your only saving grace is his release coating you. he'll taunt you for the fact you're bare and sticky to the touch while he's still fully dressed.
♡ maybe, just maybe, he'll make you lick it off. because he sure as hell isn't going to clean it himself and you aren't worth the trouble of getting a cloth for.
♡ if you two have been dating for a long time or you're married, edgar might praise you for how well you took his cock and his venom. compliments don't come easy from the painter, so even at his nicest and most vulnerable he's still reminding you that you should be honoured he's blessing you with his time. he'll wipe some of his juices from your arm or something then call it a day, announcing his work is done and he's exhausted.
♡ if any of the survivors overhear you two, it's game over. you won't be able to look at any of them ever again. little do you know that edgar is proud of the fact others know about the antics you guys get into in the bedroom, perhaps he'd even take it into a semipublic space next time.
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When Our Hands Next Meet
Series summary: Soulmates are given memories of their past lives when their hands touch. For Virgil and Logan, each memory is happier than the last.
This series was created for @analogicalweek and made in collaboration with the lovely @birdsongisland! Please go look at the piece that inspired this work and support them with reblogs so they’re work can be seen!
Credit to birdsongisland for beta reading this work and truly making it so much better with their suggestions. Thank you!
Chapter 1: Did You Forget?
Chapter Summary: Logan plans a surprise for Virgil on their anniversary, only to receive one instead.
Day 1 Prompt: Debate/Anniversary
Warnings: food mention. If there are others please let me know!
WC: 1320
AO3 link
Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @ace-in-a-shopping-cart @janus-is-an-adorable-snek-boi @logans-library @im-an-anxious-wreck @edupunkn00b
Logan adjusted the flowers in the vase one last time, stepping back before he nitpicked the setup to death trying to get every last detail right. Neither of them liked big, fancy occasions so he always tried to get the details right down to the wrinkles in the cloth so it would be special for them regardless. Frowning he stepped forward to wipe a bit of chipped nail polish off the pristine silky tablecloth, wincing as he looked at the state of his nails. Sometimes he hated how much he worked with his hands that polish never seemed to last half as long as it should, but then he thought of Virgil holding his hands while they watched a movie or their current binge show, carefully applying each color and keeping a hold of his hand while it dried even if it wasn’t strictly necessary- the image made him blush right down to his shirt collar and duck his chin against the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. He couldn’t afford to get distracted at the moment- at least not for too long. Everything was set, all he needed was for Virgil to come home.
He’d been surprised coming out to the backyard to set everything up only to find the lawn swept clean of debris and fairy lights strung up, twinkling in the late afternoon sun. He had wondered what Virgil had been doing, running off to the store after dinner. He’d spouted something about an errand, pecking him on the cheek and leaving before Logan could think to ask what he needed to be going out for at six o’clock in the evening.
Admittedly he’d been a bit distracted with his own plans, digging for a lighter he knew they had to light the candle on the cupcake later. Thankfully said cake was holding up perfectly in the back of the fridge where he knew Virgil wouldn’t see it. Standing on the porch he smiled softly as he looked around, the backyard turned into a magical scene thanks to Virgil’s efforts. He hadn’t thought to set the lights up when he had planned his own surprise, so he was glad Virgil had made it even better.
Not a moment too soon he heard the car pull into the driveway, making a giddy sort of happiness settle in the center of his chest. Never had he been so enamored with someone that the mere thought of their presence lit up his nerves with a pleasant hum that left him dizzy and anchored in the same moment. But here he was, shifting anxiously from foot to foot waiting for his soulmate to come through the door. He only had to wait a minute before Virgil stepped out onto the back porch, confusion settling over his features before he shook it away and a somewhat nervous smile took its place. Smiling himself as he drew near, Logan held out his hand which was taken immediately and gently squeezed. The air was similarly squeezed from his lungs when he finally locked eyes with Virgil, his deep brown eyes glittering along with the purple eyeshadow applied underneath them with a darker shade of lipstick painting his smile.
Blushing slightly, he ignored the other's amusement and tugged him towards the table. “Did you forget what day it was?” He teased.
“Considering we ate dinner in suits- hardly. I was just surprised to find you out here, usually we eat dessert inside.”
“You had already set up the fairy lights. I thought it would be an opportunity missed if we didn’t celebrate our anniversary outside on such a lovely night.”
Virgil smiled softly and ran his thumb over his knuckles. “I’m so glad that I have you in my life, this is perfect. So much better than that auditorium where we first met.”
“Debate club was hardly the ideal circumstance for us to meet.” Logan chuckled.
“I don’t even remember what the subject was.”
“I believe it was one of the duller practice ones asking whether or not peanut butter was ethically sourced- to which you argued you were allergic and therefore should get a passing grade regardless because asking you to talk about it was unethical in and of itself.” Laughing at the memory he watched as Virgil only huffed in mock annoyance.
“It was a good argument!” Screwing his mouth to the side Virgil nudged him playfully. “It was a dumb subject anyway no one had any good counterpoints.”
“I did!”
“So did I, that’s not the point Lo.” Laughing outright at the seething look he received, Virgil held his hands up in mock surrender.
“You did, actually. I remember you doing very well for not having prepared anything.” Logan sniffed indignantly. “Mine were just better.”
Smirking, he leaned back into the table as Virgil’s expression morphed into a “challenge accepted” glare, eager to see where this would go. He always loved getting Virgil into debate moods, he became so animated and focused- a far cry from when he first started and thought hissing was a legitimate debate tactic.
“I’ll have you know,” Virgil stepped forward purposefully, petite stature making it not nearly as intimidating as it was meant to be. “I’ve learned much better debate tactics since then anyway.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Logan smiled. “Oh have you-”
He cut himself off with a choked gasp as Virgil was suddenly holding his hand while down on one knee, a small box held open in his palm to reveal a ring with a stone that twinkled gently with the fairy lights behind them. He snapped his mouth shut as Virgil smiled that gentle smile, the same smile that Logan had counted himself the luckiest person in the world to see the first day he had seen the emo teen slouch his way up the stage and behind the podium, nerves clearly telling him to listen to his fight or flight reflex but instead choosing to put those around him at ease any way he could.
“Logan.” He was snapped out of his thoughts with a gentle squeeze to his hand. “Do you remember how we had to shake hands after the debate?”
“I do.” Logan breathed.
“I saw all of you in that moment, every second we’ve spent together since our souls first met. I’ve loved you in every single life before this and in every single one I love you more still. I know it isn’t necessary but- I want to have a day that makes the fact that we’re soulmates everyone else’s problem.” Virgil held Logan’s gaze earnestly as he choked back a laugh. “Logan, will you marry me?”
“Virgil- of course!” Later he wasn’t sure if Virgil had tugged him down by his tie or if he had gripped it when Logan leaned down, but it didn’t matter as their lips connected and Logan could feel his boyfriend’s, no his fiance’s- his soulmate's heart racing underneath his fingers as he placed a hand to his cheek in an attempt to pull him closer.
Pulling away for a moment he laughed gently at the lipstick smeared slightly, reaching forward to try and fix it. “Virgil, that is not a legitimate debate tactic.”
“I’m taking it as a win anyway.” Virgil reached forward as well, pushing his glasses up to rub away a few stray tears Logan hadn’t noticed collecting on his cheeks. He leaned forward to kiss him again, and again, and again while the candles Logan had forgotten he had lit on the cupcake burned themselves out on the icing and the engagement ring was placed on the table in favor of holding each other as close as they could. And as Logan buried his face in the crook of Virgil’s neck and felt the other’s embrace tighten he knew that in all the lifetimes they had and would share, there was nowhere else he would rather be.
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#false writes#analogicalweek#analogical week#analogical#virgil sanders#logan sanders#fluff#tw food mention#food mention#collaboration#logan x virgil#ao3#sanders sides#sanders sides fic
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