#more like a vague blob of a plot at this point but still
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Hey, that's the ring Spamton stole! Could a plot be starting to appear?? :O
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#deltarune#spamton#addisons#defragmentation#z art#z comic#will spamton propose???#more like a vague blob of a plot at this point but still#spamton not in the mood to hear saviour promises when orange left him in the garbage for years#go to bed zar
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Can you do fluffy au ennard concept?
I had this idea written for a few days before my hiatus, so here it is finally!
Yandere! Fluffy AU! Ennard Concept
Pairing: Platonic/Romantic
Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Clingy behavior, Gore, Graphic descriptions, Unethical experimentation, Parasocial companionship, Disturbing dark themes, Forced companionship, Dubious ending, Primarily just horror if I'm being honest.
Ennard is the pinnacle of ambition in this AU.
He (They?) are the result of Afton being drunk on power.
Why should he stop at anthropomorphic mascots?
What's stopping him from making a human/animal hybrid!?
Ennard is the result of an unknown human's DNA mixed with the DNA of Funtime Foxy and Freddy.
In a twisted way that would make him related to the two (as brothers… hopefully… *shutter*).
Ennard may not have any personality issues… but there's a whole lot of physical issues.
The skin visible on him (just his face) is unnaturally pale.
It also has seams like Foxy and Freddy.
Everything else?
A mess of fleshy tendrils and the occasional extra eye.
Ennard, in this AU, is an abomination.
Something that should have never existed.
A reason to not play God.
In all honesty, Ennard should have been put down.
He can barely replicate human speech.
He has little to no protection from the elements.
Yet what happens instead?
He evolves.
Like some creature from Resident Evil, instead of dying Ennard adapts.
The stench of blood announces his presence and he grows.
Soon he grows a protective layer over the exposed muscle he was born with.
Then he grows a set of vocal cords to mimic voices and tones.
The mess of human and animal flesh becomes something new.
A monster that Afton decides to keep alive due to the progress.
Ennard appears to get along with Freddy and Foxy and looks at them fondly.
But there's one person he gets along with the most.
You, an unfortunate scientist, meant to watch the underground layer of the facility.
Your line of work deals with the failures.
Things like Mangle or Funtime Freddy are under your care.
This also includes Ennard, who is kept locked away from all the rest.
He is different, he's highly adaptable and a potential danger.
He probably has a similar ability to Mangle that allows him to form with flesh.
(Which opens up the possibility of Molten Freddy and The Blob later on.)
He is dangerous and unstable.
So the job is to watch and appease him.
There's cameras in the cell, he's fed food, then there's time to socialize with him through a glass window and speaker.
Ennard acts similarly to a child as he develops.
The brain and mind adapt and grow like the rest of his body.
He repeats sign language you teach and when he has vocal cords he repeats words.
It's all very unnerving to you.
Ennard acts very human despite the appearance he takes.
Even then you catch him growling like an animal in frustration at times.
You have to remind yourself he isn't a human, he's a mess of DNA born into flesh.
Ennard listens to your words when you speak to him.
It's as though he has imprinted on you… seeing you as some sort of role model.
He often presses his pale and twitching face to the glass to get a good look at you.
You try to hold back your nausea when it happens.
You wonder how he lives like this.
You are quite thankful you're not allowed in his cell.
This is due to the growth and unknown abilities of Ennard.
Luckily you just have to sit and interact.
Much to Ennard's dismay… the creature really wishes he could be closer to you.
The glass is dumb to him… sadly, you have no idea how much of a bad idea teaching him is.
Your little lessons and interactions make him smarter.
Smart enough to the point he plots escape….
He can't get very far until Golden Freddy breaks out, but when that does happen?
Ennard is free… free to adapt, survive, and find freedom.
Their appearance by this point is vaguely human.
More skin has grown on… yet thick tendrils of muscle still twitch like tentacles around his body.
It's as though if he continues to grow… you may not be able to tell the difference between him and a human.
Except for the height and patches of what looks like white fur, at least.
Ennard's new goal is obviously to look for you.
He knows about the nice scientist in the glass box.
He wants to find you! He wants to finally be close to you!
While you try to evacuate the facility you hear warnings of all sorts of beasts in the underground level breaking out.
You do your best to gather research and prepare to escape.
Only to hear oddly heavy footsteps near you.
You turn… only to be met with the abomination you had tended to.
He's different, he's certainly grown more.
The many eyes he has stares into you with a look of adoration.
In a garbled tone he tries to express his feelings towards you.
You simply shake your head and cry… you scream… you want to leave.
Unfortunately, such a thing is not your fate…
You begin to realize that as the abomination closes in on you.
He can finally be closer to you… as close as he can be.
#yandere five nights at freddy's#yandere fnaf#yandere fnaf sister location#yandere fnaf fluffy au#yandere ennard#yandere fluffy au ennard
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OH hey btw i fixed ivypool and dovewing. don't feel like making a whole lore post about it but summary:
dovewing now has uncontrollable future sight instead of the deus ex machina supersenses because why not and also because i don't think supersenses are going to go well with the story.
ivypool's hatred for dovewing has become concern; the reason she dislikes Lionblaze and Jayfeather is because dovewing's mental health and visions have gotten significantly worse
(which, by the way; ivypool knows about her sister's powers because they had deep trust and her sister's sudden secrecy feels not only like betrayal but it also deeply worries her)
dovewing doesn't trust ivypool as much because she keeps seeing vague visions of them fighting; unfortunately they are fighting at the point she's seeing BECAUSE of the lack of trust which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy
ivypool joins the dark forest when hawkfrost offers her the ability to protect her sister and is in too deep when they begin forcing her to kill people
idk how but uh. goosefeather is probably going to be involved at some point for obvious reasons
dovewing keeps using her powers and straining herself to a burning point up until hollyleaf shows up, telling the others that HEY starclan is genuinely fucked up and evil and we need to stop
there's no longer a fourth cat in the prophecy foretold by starclan because that was a weird plot, BUT the ancients foretell of a fourth cat who will change the path of the clans. which is hollyleaf because come on man.
also considering adding breezepelt to skyclan because i think it'd be interesting to have a cat escape from the dark forest training by fleeing to the tunnels? maybe antpelt could also work but that'd detriment from ivypool's plot? idk really i just want to do something with that idea
also also, i'm considering jayfeather having more interactions with purgatory rather than the weird 'holy shit im in the past and have to make the tribe' thing.
by the way the tribe doesn't exist anymore and has been replaced with a traveling colony because i'm not poking that malformed blob of racism when it very much seems unsalvageable and i don't have enough knowledge on native american culture to even try.
brook is still there but it's short for brooklyn. just because why not. idk what i'm going to do about the rest of the colony but i think brooklyn is funny.
i think that's all the stuff i've recently come up with though. will make a deeper post on ivypool and dovewing another time
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Frosty Ruins The Lord Of The Rings (1978)
This will be my first time ever watching this version of Lord Of The Rings, I didn't even know it existed until fairly recently. So this review is based on total first impressions.
To start with it opens like an old film serial and looks kind of janky. You could tell it was from a time where a lot of people probably didn't even know what Lord Of The Rings was, back when it was a far less mainstream property, back in the days where Robert Plant could slip plot details from the book into a song and expect that nobody would really take notice.
I'm not sure if the opening is live action or is rotoscoped like parts of the rest of the movie but it looks like they just filmed actors but did them all in shadow so they didn't have to design quality costumes. The voice over is classic 70's and is vaguely the same as the opening of Jacksons Fellowship Of The Ring, which becomes a theme.
The movie differs from the books and the Peter Jackson movies because it puts the scene of Smeagle murdering for the ring in with the introduction. However you can also see that Jackson obviously took a lot of inspiration from this version rather than just using the books as source material.
You can also see the ways that Jackson made it better, there are elements of the storytelling that to me are missing in this version. For example in this version as the nature of the ring is being revealed by Gandalf, he knows coming in what the ring is and begins the conversation by saying it is evil. Whereas in the movie there was some additional tension added by Gandalfs uncertainty, and there was a bit of a fake out and a moment of false relief. There's also the way Frodo just casually slips in the line about wishing this wasn't happening in his time…but it hasn't yet been established just how dire the situation is so the line falls flat.
As the animated portion of the movie takes off, you kind of see also that originally the story was marketted more exclusively to kids. The art style is a lot more cartoonish than I would have guessed, it's like studio ghibli crossed with an 80's cartoon like He-man. The voice over also sounds cartooney and is done in that same 80's cartoon manner. While I don't enjoy it as much as the live action which to me was near perfect…it's not terrible. The character design isn't my favourite but the art style is still very good even though the realistic live action animation rotoscoping doesn't mesh well with the cartoonish simpler animation or look all that great, but it is interesting, very well composed. The backgrounds look like they would all make good paintings that I would frame and hang around the house. The movie looks like it's a product of its time so I can see there being a dedicated fanbase for this version but I can also see people saying it's cheesy and dorky.
Speaking of bad character design. I hate what they did to most every character especially Sam, they made him look and sound like a little effeminate homunculus. Saruman the white they for some reason depicted in a red cloak. The Nazgul looked less intimidating and more zombielike, they had the movement of lurchy hunchbacks that would have been reminiscent of old 30's horror movies. Aaragorn also looked so frumpy and plain, almost native american looking. Elrond looked so plain and looked more like Kevin Nealon than the animated Kevin Nealon from 8 Crazy Nights where he played the mayor. The orcs and trolls looked like smudgy incoherent blobs, the only reason you can tell it's supposed to be a creature is the glowing eyes. Even the balrog looked weird and less intimidating…and they didn't really build it up in the Moria scenes like the books and other movies do. Although one interesting thing about the characters is I thought the voice actor for Frodo was excellent and actually sounded a lot like Elijah Wood, to the point I wonder if that effected his casting at all.
There are moments compositionally that seem amateurish, for example they introduce Merry And Pippin by having them simply walking behind the main characters without introduction, and then they threw in dialogue about them agreeing to follow them as far as Bree…but the audio sounded different and it sounded like the voice actor rushed the line to make it fit into the scene before it changed. Seems like they made a last minute change because they had to cut the scene where they introduced the characters or because they realized they forgot to explain who they were. Then it cuts to a shot of them doing a weird little dance and then the scene changed again…very strange and makes the whole thing looks less professional.
One other complaint I have is that the visual depictions of magic use are not well done at all, and if I did not already know what was happening I would have no clue what I was looking at. The duel between Gandalf and Saruman was just flashing lights, and there was a prolonged scene with the black riders where the background kept shifting in and out and it looked like they were in the sky one second and on land the next. And they just held out their hands and Frodo just seemed to stand there watching them point at him for no reason at all. Knowing the story I know what is happening but without the context of the books or the Jackson movies this scene would have been very confusing.
The action is also underwhelming. The way they swing their swords makes them look like less effective weapons than a twig, they hit enemies with a sword like they're using a blunt object, it's hard to describe what I mean but it just looks wrong.
The other main issue I have with the movie is that because it squeezes the whole story into one two hour movie a lot is missing, a lot is glossed over and many of the scene changes seem abrupt. For example they talk about going through Lothlorien and then cut immediately to talking with Galadriel. The biggest problem with this version is that so much is missing. It's only half the story with Return Of The King completely missing because of a cancelled sequel. But even much of the parts they did show were greatly cut down and much was ommitted.
One thing i liked about this version is that they never really explain in the Jackson movies how Frodo kept gollum in line. The idea that he could threaten to use the ring to command him as a thrall was never in the movie but it was in the books. So for all my complaints I can't say it wasn't a faithful adaptation. It was an interesting one time watch and for parts of it I did enjoy it, it is still Lord Of The Rings so it can't be totally bad. I'd certainly rather watch this than anything Amazon shits out. Overall though it wasn't good and it's enjoyablity depends on how much you enjoy anachronistic cartoons about classic fantasy literature.
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was it hard trying to develop certain details for each chapter, plot point by plot point, or did you initially know where you were headed and just fill in as you went (or, ongoing i guess, since youre still writing)? as someone who's writing for a comic i'm curious to see others' creative processes
Hmmm. Well I've known since Ty was created how the story kicks off and how the story ends. All the stuff in the middle is littered with potholes that have been gradually filling themselves in over the last two years. So a lot of stuff is blurry but I know the basic idea of how the next handful of chapters go and a fuzzy haze of all the chapters after that. So I start off with just this vague list of bullet points on what needs to happen and then once I sit down and tackle the process of actually writing a script its like
Like Ty swindling Louie. Set in stone since the very beginning. I consider this the original opening from back when the story was a structureless blob.
The actual chapter one was slipped into the narrative before the Swindling Incident because it was necessary in introducing teenage Louie and establishing his Whole Deal. He's adjusting well to high school, (in his own way) he's still a smooth talking opportunist, and his confidence has grown tremendously since the show to the point where it's bordering on arrogance and he needs a bit of a reality check. This whole chapter was a breeze to write cause it's all about characterization and nothing plot relevant.
I remember being a little stumped on how to establish Louie's interest in finding a boyfriend as this was a comic, not a fic, and I couldn't show the reader everything that was going on inside his head. And then I realized how dumb I was cuz Louie was always intended to shoot his family a quick text, only for them to text back that they couldn't join him for lunch. So the boyfriend exposition could be dropped there too. AND it gave me a chance to write character establishing introductions for Dewey, Webby and Lena. So, what was originally a quick moment of exposition, less than a page at most, evolved into this huge scene. This same thing ends up happening A LOT.
Had no trouble with the Scrooge scene since that was also set in stone since the beginning. You can't just give Louie a Goldie without hearing Scrooge's thoughts on it. It's his God given right to be the first one to comment on the matter. It CAN be quite tricky to write in Scrooge's voice but that's unrelated.
Then with the triplets bit, my basic premise going in was "Louie is pissed. He updates his brothers on the situation. Ty lore explained via Dewey, leading to Kit lore." So the purpose of this scene is completely expositional. But nobody wants to read a scene that is clearly shoehorned in to spoonfeed you information. I want it to be funny and and interesting and dynamic and character-driven.
BOYD was thrown in
1.) To spice things up
2.) To introduce him early on cuz if I didn't, he would not appear for a really really long time.
3.) Because I love him.
And I added the whole scene before Louie barges in to further establish Huey and Dewey as their own people, who aren't just NPCs who T-Pose in their bedroom until Mr Protagonist Louie shows up to give the story a purpose.
And then after he shows up and the plot resumes, I tried very hard to keep all of them in character, even when there were three of them bouncing off each other, which can be very hard to write sometimes.
So like, the plot points weren't the hard part here. I knew what plot points I had to include. It was delivering the plot points in a fun and natural feeling way that got tricky.
And another thing I need to be conscious of in every scene with the ducks is "Does this feel Ducktales-ish?" which is. Very hard. Because obviously the triplets aren't gonna act the exact same as they did in the show. They're older, they've developed a little more. So I need to stray a little further and have them act in ways they probably wouldn't act in the show but also I can't go so far that they're unrecognizable from their canon counterparts, yknow?
So in conclusion: the plot points come naturally cuz they've been decided for years now. Lots of other stuff? Hard. Lots of more hard stuff to come. But we're learning as we go. I do not think this was what you're original question meant but I'm very bad at staying focused so here is a tangent.
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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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Godzilla vs. Kong
From the first rumble in the seats in the Dolby theater, I was so glad I chose to see this movie on the big screen. At times it felt like I was on one of those “4-D” roller coasters where the seats rumble and they spray water on your or pipe smells into the audience. That’s how close I was to the action! As at least a casual fan of the previous entries in the Monsterverse, I was looking forward to Godzilla vs Kong and my goodness, those medium expectations sure were met. How medium was it? Well...
I would like the science in this movie to win Best Comedy or Musical in next year’s Golden Globes. This is probably the hardest I’ve laughed in a theater in over a year (obviously there are other reasons for that, but the sentiment still stands). This movie was nonsensical, loud, shiny, dumb fun and I had a great fucking time watching it. Oh, you probably want a plot summary - I’m just gonna refer you to the title of the film. That about covers all you need to know.
Some thoughts:
“Somewhere on Skull Island” - whaaaaat is with this title card? It’s a tiny island. How many possible locations could there possibly be for a giant fuck-off ape to be taking his nap?
I know we’re not here for any semblance of plot but boy, they really sprained something trying to lift these clunky paragraphs of exposition into anything resembling what actual humans would say.
These opening credits are one of the funniest sequences I’ve seen in ages.
My main man Brian Tyree Henry! I had no idea he was in this (frankly I knew virtually nothing about this movie because what do you even need to know about a movie with the title Godzilla vs. Kong). He’s playing a completely different vibe than I’ve ever seen him play - the comedic relief and a mile-a-minute vaguely conspiracy theorist podcast host who is obsessed with Sir Zilla and the other Titans. I really enjoyed seeing this other side of him!
Absolutely terrible waste of Kyle Chandler, who was probably paid more than my yearly salary for 60 seconds of Protective and Frazzled Dad perfection.
One of the highlights of the film is the performance of young actress Kaylee Hottle as Jia. Jia is Deaf, and so is Kaylee in real life, and I’m always here for more Deaf representation onscreen! And her friendship with Kong is one of the few things in the movie that elicits any genuine emotion of any kind. When he booped her I literally said “Aw!” out loud.
The visuals of the hollow Earth are very cool and remind me of those space age desktop backgrounds that most of the guys I know who built their own PCs and spent a lot of time on Tor.com would have had.
Even the most ridiculous films like this one will sometimes include little bits of worldbuilding that are thoughtful and have fascinating implications. For example, the “Titan Shelters” in Hong Kong - who pays for those? The government? Do rich people have reinforced private Titan Shelters while poor folks have to rely on the public ones, which are likely overcrowded and possibly don’t have enough resources? (I think we all know the answer to that).
I am very much enjoying all the neon in the Hong Kong fight, and how much more visually interesting it makes two giant blobs slamming their blob bodies against each other while causing a staggering amount of property damage.
Finally a realistic “I can crack the password!” scene!
Did I Cry? Ok, a teeny tiny bit, about Kong and Jia’s friendship.
Times I laughed LOUDLY in the theater: when Mr. Zilla, who can literally shoot lightning out of his damn mouth just straight up punches Kong in the face. When Kong gets attacked by all those lizard things in the hollow Earth and just uses one motherfucker to slap another motherfucker. When they use an anti-gravity machine (whatever that actually means) as a defibrillator for an ape that is sometimes as big as a skyscraper and other times as big as a mountain.
And now a series of questions:
Why is this high school class just watching the news in the middle of the day? The G-Z has attacked cities at least 3 other times in this universe that we know of. Like, this isn’t their 9/11, this is a thing that just regularly happens.
You decided it was a good idea to transport Kong over the ocean...where Big Daddy G hangs out all the time? Like...that’s where he lives, you guys. You’re basically trying to sneak Kong over the roof of Godzilla’s house and hoping he doesn’t notice.
OH and you had a Kong-sized net and a team of Kong transport helicopters ready the WHOLE TIME? But you still chose “sneaking over Godzilla’s house” as your first plan of action????
How long can Kong hold his breath? He goes underwater for some long ass periods.
In fact, what are the details of Kong’s physiology in general? How tall is he? Because at one point in his fight with The GZA, he’s standing on the floor of the Tasman Sea, no big deal - except the Tasman Sea has a depth of roughly 18,000 feet. And Kong’s just chilling out in the water at waist level? But he’s also shorter than the skyscrapers in Hong Kong? I choose to believe he can grow and shrink at will because that makes more sense than the sloppy joe approach to his biology the screenwriters are using.
I like Millie Bobby Brown as much as the next guy, but does it bother anyone else that she always sounds congested? Is that a consequence of her doing her American accent? It’s incredibly distracting.
Oh, this entire scene is set in Antarctica but no one is wearing hats or gloves? Sure sure sure.
And no one is having any problems breathing the air in the middle of the fucking earth? No one thought to check that the atmosphere was breathable before everyone takes off their helmets? No noxious fumes to worry about in the center of a planet that produces magma and shit?
You’re taking your child to the literal center of the earth? Is this not the ONE TIME you think you might need a babysitter?
The ship that can *checks notes* withstand the forces present during an entire reversal of gravity is crushed by Kong’s fist like it’s a tube of toothpaste?
Even though the Earth is hollow, I’m assuming the distance to reach the core is still about the same, so Godzilla’s lighting can 1) act as a drill to - I cannot reiterate this strongly enough - the CENTER OF THE FUCKING EARTH and 2) Godzilla and Kong can yell at each other for 3,958 miles (give or take) and still hear each other? Do they have superhearing? Is this something we’re studying or are we content to just have them Hulk smash all of that incredibly important evolutionary biology to bits while everyone stands around?
Because this is a “vs” movie, of course there is no clear-cut “winner” at the end. Instead the two parties leave each other with a grudging respect formed, an uneasy truce in place. But I’m obsessed with the way this final scene plays out, as though Godzilla is a bitter ex walking away from Kong after their doomed relationship has run its course. The lighting, the soft music, the absolute melodrama of this giant lizard slinking slowly back into the sea. Godzilla is giving the gays everything they want in 2k21 and I am here for it. Here’s hoping the next entry in the franchise has Kong hooking up with Rodan to make G jealous and they all have a messy public fight over brunch, Real Housewives style.
If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.
#121in2021#godzilla vs kong#godzilla vs kong review#millie bobby brown#brian tyree henry#kyle chandler#rebecca hall#Alexander Skarsgard#kaylee hottle#godzilla#king kong#movie reviews#film reviews
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Plot Bunny
Wow, I’m alive! And posting fanfiction on tumblr, as if I have any idea what I’m doing!! Please check it out on AO3, where I am actually capable of navigating the website: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27441853
Plink. Another small, innocuous sound scarcely registered past Danny’s homework-induced stupor. It could have been a stray raindrop or a kamikaze bug. He had more important things demanding his attention; namely, the book report due tomorrow. This was at least the fifth time he’d rewritten the same paragraph. Words had lost all meaning to him by this point, but he was so close to finishing.
Tip-tap. Clonk, the noise emitting from the bedroom window insisted. He glared suspiciously towards the disturbance, envisioning ethereal arrows or blob ghosts intent on breaking in. He hadn’t sensed anything ghostly nearby, but given his luck, the paranoia was usually warranted. Emitting a groan from the depths of his soul, he rose from his desk to inspect the noise. He spared a second to stretch and shake the pins and needles out of his fingers, trying to wake up. Just in case it was something serious, y'know. Tink. “Alright, jeez, I’m coming,” he muttered, pulling back his curtain.
There weren’t any ghosts, of course. That was somewhat of a relief, even if going down swinging was preferable to succumbing to a failing high school education. The early sunset gleamed amber off the windows across the street, and the sky was clear, except for— chink— the pebbles bouncing off his window. A lone kid was standing on the sidewalk below, no older than eight or nine. He looked vaguely familiar. He was pulling his arm back to throw more stones and bawling his eyes out.
Danny yanked open the window, sliding up the screen to fully stick his head out. His core vibrated, unsettled. There wasn’t any obvious danger, and the kid didn’t look hurt. Where were his parents? Why was he here? “Hey! What’s wrong, buddy? Are you okay?”
“You, you, you,” the kid tried to start, but great hiccupping sobs interrupted him. He scrubbed his face with his fists, obviously trying to regain his composure. “You’ve gotta send the ghost hero out!”
Danny jerked back, unintentionally smacking the back of his skull on the underside of the window. Well, now he was awake. What? “Uh, a ghost? Here? No, there isn’t—I can’t—what are you talking about?”
The boy was right up against the side of the house now, sniffling loudly and staring straight up at Danny with wide, sad eyes. “Please?” He whined, winding his hands up in the fabric of his sweater nervously.
Well, now he was stuck. Some random kid was going to out his whole identity, but the urge to help was almost overwhelming. “I can’t—there can’t be any ghosts here, but give me a second and I can just come down?” He offered. “Do you want me to find your parents?”
“Noooo!” The kid wailed and stomped his foot, banging on the wall with his tiny fists. “Don’t lie to me! I’ve seen the superman ghost go in there! Let him out! I need him!!”
Oh, crap, someone was going to hear. This kid’s parents were going to freak out, or his own parents were going to notice, and what if they took that kind of claim seriously? Shoot. Literally. He chuckled nervously. “Hey, hey, shhh, okay! You win! I’ll, uh, summon him, or something! But you have to be quiet, or you’ll, y’know, scare him off.” The child nodded solemnly, wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve and stifling his sobs.
Danny ducked back behind the curtain, gracelessly crumpling to sit with his back against the wall. He ran his hands through his hair. He’d been seen? When? He’d tried so hard to be careful, and use invisibility whenever he was close to the house. Maybe he’d gotten lazy. Maybe, sometimes, he let the promise of sleep take priority over precautions. Stupid. He smacked the palm of his hand into his forehead, frustrated. How long had this kid known? Who else had he told? He couldn’t just scare him into silence, he was too little. That was just messed up, he’d give him nightmares or something.
He wasn’t going to figure anything out by sitting here moping. He triggered the transformation, the familiar prickling electric feeling swiftly replaced by the soothing cold. He turned to peek over the edge of the window, checking for anyone else around. It was still just the same kid, kicking at a pebble on the concrete while he waited.
He floated down slowly, not wanting to startle his impromptu visitor, who turned and saw him as he touched down. The little guy gasped, forgotten tears slipping away from unblinking eyes.
“Hi there,” Danny prompted gently. “Were you looking for me?”
The kid kept ogling, mesmerized, and a few seconds passed by before he could shake himself out of it. “Wow, you’re the real superhero guy,” he whispered reverently.
Oh. That was pretty cute, actually. He couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, that’s me. You can call me Phantom,” he offered.
“I’m Wyatt,” the kid mumbled, covering his damp cheeks with his hands shyly. He tipped his head down, still staring through his eyelashes.
A neighbor’s front door opened down the street, and Danny swiftly disappeared. Wyatt startled, blindly swinging his hands back and forth through the seemingly-empty space. “Wait! Come back!” He recoiled with a yelp when his blundering reach made contact with the specter.
“It's okay, I’m right here,” he reassured the kid. “But we can’t let people know I’m here, okay? They’ll—um. I’ll get in trouble.”
Wyatt squinted, reaching forward again. Danny offered his hand, and the little fingers gripped his glove tightly. He looked like he was offering the empty air a fist bump. “Right,” the kid agreed earnestly.
“Seriously,” Danny pressed. “You can’t tell anyone that I li-” he bit his tongue. Don’t say ‘live’. That’s so dumb. “Uh. Hang out here sometimes. Not even your friends, okay? Promise?”
Wyatt’s little dark eyebrows drew together, and despite his trembling chin and small stature, he looked profoundly serious. He shook the hand. “I promise.”
Well, that would have to do for now. “Thanks. Uh, what did you need me for?”
The kid’s eyes immediately started to well up again, but he squeezed Danny’s fingers and pressed his lips to put on a brave face. “C’mon, Phantom, you’ve gotta-” he sniffed. “You gotta save Fuzzy,” he warbled, turning and pulling. The ghost floated behind like a balloon on a string as the pair stepped down from the curb, heading across the street.
Oh, man, if this was about a dead pet, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. That was closer to Jazz’s expertise. He swallowed his mounting dread. “Who’s Fuzzy?”
Wyatt’s face scrunched up. “He’s my bunny,” he explained, looking away. “I was just tryin’ to show ‘im to Audrey, and—and then,” he sobbed. “He went under the house! And he’s gonna get lost and stuck, and I’m-, never-, gonna see him ever again!” He let go, burying his face in his hands and howling.
Danny rested a hand lightly on Wyatt’s little shoulder, throat tight. He’d never had a pet like that, but he could understand the fear of losing loved ones a little too well, and empathy always felt more forceful when he was in ghost form. Probably something related to ectoplasm being shaped by residual emotional energy, blah blah ecto-science theory. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”
The unusual duo walked two more houses down the block and cut through a side yard to a modest backyard, strewn with outdoor toys and an overturned wire fence—likey an outdoor pen for Fuzzy. An even younger girl sat on the paved patio, chewing on the end of her braid. She leaped up as they drew close. “Wyatt! I told my dad about Fuzzbutt, and he’ll call the—um, animal people. But they’re not here yet. Did you find him?”
Wyatt glanced a little to Danny’s left with a guilty expression. Well, crap, so much for his secret. He bit his lip, trying to keep his cool. First things first. A cursory scan of the area didn’t show anyone else in the immediate vicinity, so he faded back into visibility. The little girl—‘Audrey’, he guessed—gave a muffled shriek. “Ghost man!”
“Hush,” Wyatt scolded, voice quavering. “He’s a secret.”
“Oh,” Audrey whispered back. “Hello, mister normal guy man. I think you’re cool.” She beamed up at him.
“Hello, small ordinary human,” Danny quipped, and Audrey giggled delightedly. Wyatt dropped to his hands and knees, crawling up to the house, where a gap between the foundation and dirt was evident. The other two peeked over his shoulder, but there wasn’t any bunny visible past the darkness.
“Fuzzy,” Wyatt choked out. “Hang in there, we’re gonna rescue you!”
Danny turned intangible, letting his molecules seep down through the dirt past the level of his nose. He drifted close to the base of the house, juicing up the glow from his eyes. “Just wait here, okay?” Two grim, round little faces nodded back, and with that minor assurance, he delved beneath the house.
The weight of the floor above loomed. It was claustrophobic, like being buried… well, half-alive. The musty, dank mildew smell was gross, even though he wasn’t breathing. He could taste it. “Here, bunny, bunny,” he muttered. Please don’t be hurt.
A tiny pair of eyes reflected green through the gloom. The little ball of fluff was backed into a corner, and it snorted like a tiny angry bull, stomping its feet. Danny hadn’t even known rabbits could make that sound. It probably didn’t like his creeping, unnatural aura, like most rational animals. “Shhh,” he cooed, reaching for the tiny, grubby ball of fluff and dimming his glow. “I’m not gonna hurt ya.”
Fuzzbutt wasn’t convinced. In a courageous move, it darted through Danny’s forehead, wedging itself under a crooked board and squealing. Danny reached easily through the plank and wrapped his hands around the unhappy creature, sharing his intangibility. It writhed and fussed, trying to bite through his gloves. “Stop that!” He clutched it close to his chest; if he dropped it here, the stubborn thing really would be stuck. He swooped back out into the backyard, startling the anxiously waiting kids.
Audrey shrieked and tipped over. Wyatt recovered first, leaping to his Velcro-sneakered feet expectantly. “Is he okay?”
Danny recovered a more solid form, holding up the wiggling rabbit. Wyatt gasped, fresh tears glittering on his eyelashes. He reached out for the beloved pet, unable to contain his joy at the reunion. “Fuzzy! You’re okay! I love you, Fuzzy!”
“Let’s go inside first, so he doesn’t get away again?” Danny suggested. The last thing anyone needed was an instant replay. Audrey darted to open the back door, and Wyatt led the way inside. He sat on the wooden floor with open arms, and as soon as the door was firmly shut again, Danny deposited the squirming animal into his lap. Fuzzy looked marginally more content to receive numerous sloppy kisses from his adoring owner. He was actually a pretty cute little guy, black and white like a panda.
Even footsteps padded around the corner. “Wyatt, baby? Did you find-” the woman’s question cut off abruptly as she noticed the glowing stranger in her living room.
Crud. At this rate, the whole block was going to find him out before the week was up. He edged back a little, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, I was just, um,” darn it, wrong persona. He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. “Doing my heroic duty, ma’am,” he finished in a falsely deep voice.
Audrey giggled (he didn’t sound that bad!), and the woman smiled nervously. Wyatt hopped to his feet, still cradling his bunny. “Mama! Look, he saved Fuzzy! I’m gonna rename him Fuzzy Phantom,” he declared.
Mama Wyatt dutifully stroked the bunny’s dusty ears. “Fuzzy Phantom needs a bath,” she commented, before looking back up to meet Danny’s eyes. She held out her clean hand, and it took him a second to recognize the offered handshake. He started to reach back, thought twice about his messy glove, and hastily peeled it off to shake her hand. Her fingers were delicate, but they didn’t falter at the chill. “You look taller on the TV,” she joked lightly. “It’s nice to meet you. Phantom, right?”
He nodded. “Uh, it was nice to meet you, too, Ms.-?”
“Sylvie Rosales,” she supplemented. Audrey snuck around her to flounce deeper into the house, taking the adult’s distraction as an invitation, and Wyatt started to follow her, but hesitated. He snuck a hand out around Fuzzy to tug on Danny’s arm, so he leaned down accommodatingly.
Wyatt stood on his tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “Can I come see you sometimes?”
Oh, heck, no. That would be truly asking for disaster. “No,” he quickly replied, but before Wyatt’s pout could evolve into a true objection, he added, “but if you really don’t tell anyone how to find me, I could drop by sometimes.” He looked towards Ms. Rosales. “If that’s okay?”
Wyatt looked over to his mom pleadingly, stars in his eyes. What have I gotten myself into, Danny wondered, but he couldn’t help feeling charmed. Ms. Rosales looked like she was thinking along the same lines, with her thin-lipped smile and folded arms. “As long as you don’t cause any trouble,” she hedged.
“Thank you!!” Wyatt hugged Danny spontaneously, smushing his face into his shoulder. Fuzzy grunted his objection.
Danny ruffled the kid’s mop of hair. “I should get going. Take care of Fuzzy,” he grinned, pulling away. “And stay safe,” he added in his false baritone with a mock salute.
“You, too,” he heard Ms. Rosales call after him as he phased through the wall. He looped above the street once cheerfully before disappearing to sneak back home. He’d left his window open; rose-tinted light and a handful of moths had spilled onto his bedroom floor. This time, he didn’t reappear or turn back until he’d stealthily drawn the window and curtains closed.
He still had an hour or so to plug into his homework. He hummed as he started back in on the paragraph he’d been stuck on. It didn’t seem as daunting now, even with the lost time and near reveal. He’d have to keep an eye on his nosy little neighbor, but in the end, maybe it was the moments like today that made the whole gig worth it.
#Whimsi writes#Whimsi forgot how she wrote her tags#Danny Phantom#fanfiction#fluff#cute#wholesome#drabble#plot bunny
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A white animation student’s take on Soul and POC cartoons
This got long but there’s lots of pretty pictures to go with it.
Hi, I’m Shire and I’m as white as a ripped-off Pegasus prancing on a stolen van. Feel free to add to my post, especially if you are poc. The next generation of animators needs your voice now more than ever.
My opinion doesn’t matter as much here because I’m not part of the people being represented.
But I am part of the people to whom this film is marketed, and as the market, I think I should be Very Aware of what media does to me.
And as the future of animation, I need to do something with what I know.
I am very white. I have blue eyes and long blond hair. I’ve seen countless protagonists, love interests, moms, and daughters that look like me. If I saw an animated character that looks like me turn into a creature for the majority of a movie, I would cheer. Bring it on! I have plenty of other representation that tells me I’m great just the way I am, and I don’t need to change to be likable.
The moment Soul’s premise was released, many people of color expressed mistrust and disappointment on social media. Let me catch you up on the plot according to the new (march 2020) trailer. (It’s one of those dumb modern trailers that tells you the entire plot of the movie including the climax; so I recommend only watching half of it)
Our protagonist, Joe Gardner, has a rich (not in the monetary sense) and beautiful life. He has dreams! He wants to join a jazz band! So far his life looks, to me, comforting, amazing, heartfelt, and real. I’m excited to learn about his family and his music.
Some Whoknowswhat happens, and he enters a dimension where everyone, himself included, is represented by glowing, blue, vaguely humanoid creatures. They’re adorable! But they sure as heck aren’t brown. The most common response seems to be dread at the idea of the brown human protagonist spending the majority of his screen time as a not-brown, not-human creature.
The latest trailer definitely makes that look pretty darn true. He does spend most of the narrative - chronologically - as a blob.
but
That isn’t the same as his screen time.
From the look of the trailer, Joe and his not-yet-born-but-already-tired-of-life soul companion tour Joe’s story in all of its brown-skinned, human-shaped, life-loving glory. The movie is about life, not about magic beans that sing and dance about burping (though I won’t be surprised if that happens too.)
Basically! My conclusion is “it’s not as bad as it looked at first, and it looks like a wonderful story.”
but
That doesn’t mean it’s ok.
Yes, Soul is probably going to be a really important and heartfelt story about life, the goods, the bads, the dreams, and the bonds. That story uses a fun medium to view that life; using bright, candy-bowl colors and a made-up world to draw kids in with their parents trailing behind.
It’s a great story and there’s no reason to not create a black man for the lead role. There’s no reason not to give this story to people of color. It’s not a white story. This is great!
Except...
we’ve kind of
done this
a lot
The Book of Life and Coco also trade in their brown-skinned cast for a no-skinned cast, but I don’t know enough about Mexican culture to say those are bad and I haven't picked up on much pushback to those. There’s more nuance there, I think.
I cut the above pics together to show how the entire ensemble changes along with the protagonist. We can lose entire casts of poc. Emperor's New Groove keeps its cast as mostly human so at least we have Pacha
And while the animals they interact with might be poc-coded, there’s nothing very special or affirming about “animals of color.”
So, Soul.
Are we looking at the same thing here?
It’s no secret by now that this is an emerging pattern in animation. But not all poc-starring animated films have this same problem. We have Moana! With deuteragonists (basically co-protagonists) of color, heck yeah.
Aladdin... Pocahontas... The respect those films have for their depicted culture is... an essay for another time. Mulan fits here too. the titular characters’ costars are either white, or blue, and/or straight up animals. But hey, they don’t turn into animals, and neither do the supporting cast/love interests.
Dreamworks’ Home (2015) is also worth mentioning as a poc-led film where the deuteragonist is kind of a purple blob. But the thing I like a lot about Home is that it’s A Nice Story, where there’s no reason for the protagonist to not be poc, so she is poc. Spiderverse has a black lead with a white (or masked, or animal) supporting cast. But, spiderverse also has Miles’ dad, mom, uncle, and Penny Parker.
I’d like to see more of that.
And less of this
if you’re still having trouble seeing why this is a big deal, let’s try a little what-if scenario.
This goes out to my fellow white girls (including LGBTA white girls, we are not immune to propaganda racism)
imagine for a second you live in a world where animation is dominated to the point of almost total saturation by protagonist after protagonist who are boys/men. You do get the occasional woman-led film, but maybe pretend that 30 to 40 percent of those films are like
(We’re pretending for a second that Queen Eleanor was the protagonist, because I couldn’t think of any animated movies where the white lady protagonist turns into and stays an animal for the majority of the film)
Or, white boys and men, how would you feel if your most popular and marketable representation was this?
Speaking of gender representation, binary trans and especially nonbinary trans people are hard pressed to find representation of who they are without the added twist of Lizard tails or horns and the hand-waving explanation of “this species doesn’t do gender” But again, that’s a different essay.
Let’s look at what we do have. In reality, we (white people) have so much representation that having a fun twist where we spend most of the movie seeing that person in glimpses between colorful, glittering felt characters that reflect our inner selves is ok.
Wait, that aesthetic sounds kind of familiar...
But I digress. Inside Out was a successful and honestly helpful and important movie. I have no doubt in my mind that Soul will meet and surpass it in quality and and in message.
There is nothing wrong with turning your protagonist of color into an animal or blob for most of their own movie.
But it’s part of a larger pattern, and that pattern tells people of color that their skin would be more fun if it was blue, or hairy, or slimy, or something. It’s fine to have films like that because heck yeah it would be fun to be a llama. But it’s also fun to not be a llama. It’s fun to be a human. It’s fun to be yourself. I don’t think children of color are told that enough.
At least, not by mainstream studios.
(The Breadwinner, produced by Cartoon Saloon)
It’s not like all these mainstream poc movies are the result of racist white producers who want us to equate people of color with animals. In fact, most of those movies these days have people of color very high up, as directors, writers, or at the very least, a pool of consultants of color.
These movies aren’t evil. They aren’t even that intrinsically racist (Pocahontas can go take a hike and rethink its life, but we knew that.) It’s that we need more than just the shape-shifting narratives of our non-white protagonists.
It’s not like there isn’t an enormous pool of ideas, talent, visions and scripts already written and waiting to be produced. There is.
But they somehow don’t make it past the head executives, way above any creative team, who make the decisions, aiming not for top-of-the-line stories, but for the Bottom line of sales.
When Disney acquired Pixar, their main takeover was in the merchandising department. The main target for their merchandise are, honestly, white children.
So is it much of a surprise
that they are more often greenlighting things palatable for as many “discerning” mothers as possible?
I saw just as many Tiana dolls as frog toys on the front page of google, so don’t worry too much about The Princess And The Frog. Kids love her. But I didn’t find any human figures of Kenai from Brother Bear, except for dolls wearing a bear suit.
So. What do I think of Soul?
I think it’s going to be beautiful. I think it’s going to be a great movie.
But I also think people of color deserve more.
Let’s take one more look at the top people who went into making this movie.
Of the six people listed here, five are white. Kemp Powers, one of the screenplay writers, is black.
It’s cool to see women reaching power within the animation industry, but this post isn’t about us.
We need to replace the top execs and get more projects greenlit that send the message that african, asian, latinix, middle eastern, and every other non-white ethnicity is perfect and relatable as the humans they were meant to be.
Disney is big enough that they can - and therefore should - take risks and produce movies that aren’t as “marketable” simply because art needs to be made. People need to be loved.
Come on, millennials and Gen Z. We can do better.
We Will do better.
TLDR: A lot of mainstream animation turns its protagonists of color into animals or other creatures. I (white) don’t think that’s a bad thing, except for the fact that we don’t get enough poc movies that AREN’T weird. Support Soul; it’s not going to be as bad as you think. It’s probably gonna be really good. Let’s make more good movies about people of color that stay PEOPLE of color.
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FFXIVWrite 2020 - #2 Sway
Sway --
(TW - implied abuse and mild body horror. I swear I'll let the fluff out...at some point.)
To one unaccustomed to tenderness, a gentle touch was more jarring than fingers curled into a fist. She could steel herself against such treatment with an ingrained detachment at this point. Sharp cuffs were expected. This was not.
The large and weathered hand curled over her shoulder, steadying her wavering and exhausted footsteps. It was an abrupt motion, endowed with strength she knew well when it was used to intimidate and cow.
This was different, and it sent the meager contents of her stomach roiling. Swallowing thickly, she didn't dare look up at it's owner, simply eyed the topography of gnarled scars and chipped nails with coiled and simmering resentment too resigned to boil over. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to run.
She didn't dare do either.
Milloux had allowed herself few glances around the building she'd been brought to, either - not wanting to allow herself even the chance to guess what was happening. As sparse and shambledown as most of the lodgings at the mill, long fallen into disrepair even before the current occupants had taken it over. It stunk of rotting wood and moldering furniture, the swamp slowly reclaiming it for it's own in creeping vines and wayward vegetation. Dimly lit, shadows cast all over by an anemic lantern, though that was of no particular concern to her.
"Easy now," There was no comfort to be taken from Loedwyda's words, less to be gained by the note of grim encouragement that passed for approval when it came to her. She had always been her most frightening - and confusing -in those rare moments were cruelty faded into a mockery of maternal care. "Sit."
It wasn't a request. It was never a request.
Only then did the duskwight allow herself to look around, at the unfamiliar implements that had been laid out on the knife-scarred table. Mortar and pestle. unmarked packets. A jar of some dark fluid. In contrast to the herbal smell that hung in the air, she became keenly aware that she'd had scarce a chance to clean up upon returning to camp. She smelled of travel, of blood - the grime still flecked over her. She'd wanted to rest, to wash away the task that had been given to her, and the task before that. It had been near a sennight since she'd been allowed proper rest, more than a few bells of scant slumber.
Dull-eyed and hollow, she was beginning to realize that had likely been the point. Wear her down. Make her pliable.
"Tonight's importan', tonight's special." The words sounded like breaking glass to her senses. She offered only the vaguest acknowledgement. "Like ye t' cast gaze on a right old friend o' mine."
Had there been someone else at the table when she sat?
They were difficult to discern or make sense of, a hooded figure wrought and molded from pieces of the shadows around them. A long tail lashed behind them, suggesting miqo'te ancestry, but beyond that? A flash of violet eyes and gilded fangs. A scraping of clawed and blackened fingertips against the worn down tabletop, activating the bits of arcane geometry and runework that had been crudely carved into it's surface.
Milloux stiffened, shrunk back. No no, the figure insisted she lean closer with a crook of clawed fingers and Loedwyda, in agreement, offered the girl's arm to the table's surface with a rough motion. Something snapped into place when the limb made contact, lashes of light, and while she didn't yet know it, aether - lancing her into place. Keeping her from struggling too much. It burned.
The reaction was involuntary, a thrashing, jerking motion of surprise and fear - one quelled immediately by the towering woman's hands. A small sound escaped her her, hiccuping and halting.
"Settle." The single word was like a shock of ice to her senses, and again she fell still and silent, as wary of consequence as she was of compliance.
Clawed fingers fished into the vial and plucked a single strand from the viscous black fluid with the utmost care. A rustling sound, a brief flash of a sinuous and segmented creature composed of far too many legs and gnashing pincers. She blinked several times, as though to make certain she wasn't seeing things The hooded figure grinned and held a finger from their unoccupied hand to their lips. Ah, so she could see it? Just their little secret.
Loedwyda only offered her approval, a low staccato sound that did little to comfort the girl as the inky blob was dropped into the stone pestle with a tiny squelch, along with a number of other foul smelling agents and herbs. Laughter like rustle leaves escaped the nondescript figure, intensified as the pestle was brought down with a distinctly sickening crunch. Milloux shuddered again, but now, she was transfixed.
The process was meticulous, drawn out over what felt like an eternity to the sleep-deprived girl. Maybe that was the point, too. She felt her head dip once, twice -- lulled by the rustling whispers issued by the woman and the tickle of unfamiliar magic invoked by them. Each time, that strong hand jerked her back up to wakefulness. Beyond that room, she could hear the faint sound of calling birds and restless cicadas, but here...
Her attention refocused sharply at the sound of clawed fingers dipping into the stone basin. Was she imagining it? They grew darker before her eyes, the nibs of dry fountain pens soaking up ink. Her mouth opened, confusion nearly spilling forth though she didn't dare, clearly not following, until that same hand reached for her.
The effect was immediate. The touch was cool and dry, the skin of the figure's hand bristling in the same way their voice had. Rustling, fleeting. There was as little comfort to be found in that featherlight touch as there was by the vicelike grip holding her shoulder. Vaguely, she was aware of Loedwyda's bark to get on with it.
Nails dug into the ashen flesh of her forearm, the tender spot near the crook of her elbow. The effect was immediate, a tearing, fiery sensation of things skittering just underneath the surface of her skin, the impression once more of toomanylegs and restless claws on her senses as they burrowed in and found their mark. Ink drained from the clawtips, twining and reforming in the intended image.
She wanted to cry. She didn't dare. She knew the mark - the twisted branch and shark's teeth. She hated it. Wanted to jerk her hand back, despite the restraints holding her in place.
"So ye always remember where ye belong. So everyone else does, too."
Despite herself, despite everything, she finally dared to look up at the woman, saw something shining and approving in those eyes. Hated the tickle of relief and calm that approval lent against the ache in her arm.
Wordlessly, she turned her head and retched.
(yells I promise they won't all be so dark? maybe? i've had a lot of thoughts about Mill's backstory of late, especially as plot stuff is starting to take shaaaape. Also I swear I've read something with magical tattooing like this before but for the life of me can't remember so I'm definitely not claiming for it to be an original concept or anythinngggg.)
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ok to compile shit cleanly:
(lots of these characters r unnamed pensive emoji.. none of the stories have names either so i just used a vague descriptor that theyre associate w to refer to them)
also this is incomplete cause im working on diff parts of the story at diff times and i dont feel like filling out details of the ones im not focused on rn! this will be edited in the future!
Cube:
Playable Characters
Mantis/? - Main Protagonist. Storybook illustator.
Stats: Low HP, High Speed, Medium Attack, Medium Defense
Double Jump+Wall Jump
A bit nervous a lot of the time, and also kinda sad. Cares about people a lot.
Was kinda just doing whatever. Only left their hometown on the request of Clay who was apparently struggling to find someone to help with... something that they were vague about but the existence of Hand showed there was validity to.
Likes to draw
Gift: Coat
Color Theme: Green
Crab/? - Deuteragonist. Mechanic.
Stats: High HP, Low Speed, Low Defense, High Attack
A fucking TANK
Very outgoing and talkative. If left to their own devices WILL cause trouble.
Left their hometown because they wanted to help Mantis. They just care about Mantis a lot and want to help out :)
Likes to mess with machinery
Gift: Bow
Color Theme: Orange
Clay/? - Plot-Based Main Character
Stats: Medium HP, Medium Speed, High Attack, Low Defense
Good with weapons, some undecided plot-based trait
Friendly and extremely blunt. Generally optimistic but gets uncomfortable fairly fast.
Was trying to find someone to help with the situation going on with their siblings. Just sort of... travelled around looking for someone until Mantis agreed to help.
Likes to dance
Gift: Cape
Color Theme: Purple
Bunny/? - Main Character
Stats: Low HP, High Speed, Low Attack, High Defense
Dashing, exploring tight spots
Quiet and ominous but cute :)
Was a kid that just sort of... showed up at one point and wouldnt leave. Was somewhat trying to find someone to help out their own siblings who are struggling, but failed to even try to elaborate on it and got distracted by the things going on.
Undecided interests
Gift: Scarf
Color Theme: Indigo
Water/? - Main Character. Ice Cream's girlfriend.
Stats: Medium HP, Medium Speed, Medium Attack, Low Defense
Walking on walls, swimming. Doesnt jump
A bit rude and deadpan. Doesnt have much of an interest in others.
Only came along because Ice Cream wanted to help Mantis.
Undecided interests
Gift: Hat
Color Theme: Blue
Ice Cream/? - Main Character. Water's girlfriend. Baker and general chef.
Stats: High HP, Medium Speed, Low Attack, Medium Defense
Healing
Quiet but charismatic. Is able to make friends fairly easiĺy, but not closer ones.
Came along because they wanted to help Mantis with what was going on.
Likes to cook
Gift: Headband
Color Theme: Pink
Eye/? - Main Character
Stats: Low HP, Low Speed, High Attack, Medium Defense
Flying
Quiet but tries very hard to make friends. Very sweet but finds interaction a bit difficult.
Just wanted to help out
Undecided interests
Gift: Bracelet
Color Theme: Red
NPCs
Mantis' Hometown
Ribbon/? - ?
Mantis' pet/? - Is an animal commonly found near Mantis' hometown. Is Mantis' pet :)
Bunny's Family
Otter/? - Bunny's brother, oldest of the 3
Nervous and stressed a lot. Has no clue what hes doing but trying so hard to do it
Color Theme: Undecided
Bird/? - Bunny's sister, middle child of the 3
Very optimistic :) Has no clue what she is doing and doesnt worry about it that much. itll Probably work out. Can be a bit ominous
Color Theme: Magenta
Lab
Robot/? - Head of the lab
Wants to be evil so bad. Fails
Color Theme: Grey
Astronaut/? - Works at the lab. Sibling of Ferret
Quiet. Doesnt care all that much. Very level-headed
Color Theme: Purple and Blue
Ferret/? - Works at the lab. Sibling of Ferret
Loud. Cares SO much but not in a compassion way so much as an "AAAHHH" way. Easily annoyed
Color Theme: Purple and Pink
Water Town
Frog/? - Minor NPC
Unspecified
Flower Pot/? - ?
Butterfly/? - ?
Honeycomb/? - Possible minor antagonist
Camel Spider/? - Possible side character
Dog/? - Possible side character
Two/? - Possible minor antagonist
Snake Puppy/? - Minor NPC
Mushroom/? - Minor NPC
Mouse/? - Possible Minor Antagonist
Pieces/? - Possible Side Character
Tree/? - Minor NPC
Star/? - Minor NPC
Coat/? - Minor NPC
Tail/? - Minor NPC
Cat/? - Minor NPC
Knight/? - Lore-based NPC
Apple/? - Lore-based NPC
Plant/? - Minor NPC
Metal/? - Major NPC. Puppet's partner. Smiths weapons and armor.
Very quiet and sweet. Doesnt really like to talk to people
Color Theme: Blue
Shopkeepers
Potions/? - Potion shopkeeper. Makes and sells the potions they make
Tries so hard to be funny. Tries SO hard
Color Theme: Green
Puppet/? - Weapons and armor shopkeeper. Metal's partner. Sells the weapons and armor Metal makes.
Deadpan but friendly. A bit sarcastic
Color Theme: Red
Dinosaur/? - Clothing shopkeeper. Tends to give clothes in exchange for (often minor) favors.
Sweet but very ominous. Cares about people SO much
Color Theme: Lime green
Plot-Important Characters
Space/? - Created the cube that surrounds the planet. Mother of Sun, Cloud, Cell, Clay, and Dinnerware.
Ethereal but in more of a fucked up way. is loving very sad but can be very controlling
Color Theme: Blue
Sun/? - One of two main antagonists. Oldest sibling of Space's children.
Asshole. Is trying his best but also is an asshole. Cares about others but is an asshole still
Closest with Dinnerware
Color Theme: Yellow
Cloud/? - Second oldest sibling of Space's children.
Outgoing but can be a bit rude. Pretty dismissive
Closest with Cell
Color Theme: Magenta
Cell/? - Middle sibling of Space's children.
Easily annoyed and basically always is. Very distrustful
Closest with Cloud
Color Theme: Teal
Clay/? - One of the playable main characters. Second youngest sibling of Space's children.
See Playable Characters
Not particularly close with any of their siblings
Dinnerware/? - One of two main antagonists. Youngest sibling of Space's children.
An asshole but nervous. Theyre trying theyre best just fucking shit up in the process. Wants to be poggers but isnt
Closest with Sun
Color Theme: Gray
Hand/? - Minor antagonist. A creation of Sun's.
[from here stuff isnt filled out fully]
Maze:
Main Characters
Mermaid/? - Main protagonist. The only playable character.
Blob/? - Side character
Dragon/? - Side character
Shrimp/? - Side character
Shopkeepers
8-bit/? - ?
Antagonists
Pumpkin/? - Main antagonist
Computer:
Main Characters
Side Characters
Game:
Main Characters
NPCs
Shopkeepers
Platformer:
Main Characters
NPCs
RPG:
Main Characters
NPCs
Shopkeepers
Plot Based Characters
Antagonists
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Episode 172
Honorable mentions:
Them saying joker when they mean a fake joker is really messing with me. At the same time, that idea is very interesting because it further promotes that joker is no longer one person now, he's a mantle that others can take up and claim too. Like a gang or something. Now, Joker is bigger than John.
I mention my posts for both episode 170 and the first part of 147 in this episode so you can search for those on my page by searching #episode 170 and #episode 147. If you want to, I dunno … :/. I think these posts really help to elaborate on my thought and everything I left unspoken in this episode post because I would just be repeating myself.
Yes, holden, you are kinda scary
Every once in a while I just think about how we haven’t even seen a proper teacher or authority in this school besides Darren for a whole while
My favorite words are: “anyways” and “obviously.” wbk.
My transitions have gone so downhill and I don’t know how to fix itttt
Terrence:
We been knew that anytime Terrence shows up, I have to say something about it and this episode is very far from an exception. We get drama here ladies and gentlemen.
The first part of this episode is very attention drawing to him and really exposes him the most out of any part of the whole comic, which is saying something since we don’t even get that much, but still. First of all, and yes I’m jumping right into this, Roland says to Seraphina, “He turns invisible… that's his ability. He doesn’t like sharing it with others for some reason…” And not only does this statement sound hella vague and suspenseful, it explains why we’ve known so little about Terrence. He keeps himself very private and hidden away from others. Sure, he hangs around people and has friends and is a reporter, but he isn’t as inclined to share things about himself. In fact, the UnOrdinary Wikia (fan-run but still) states, “From what little is known about him, Terrence is a very secretive individual and uses his ability to aid his journalism.” All of this very much supports the next idea that comes from Seraphina.
Right after learning of Terrence’s ability, Sera thinks, “Invisibility? That day, on our way back from Kovoro Mall… the person following us also had invisibility. Is this just a coincidence?” And I know everyone reading the episode breathed a sigh of relief. Here’s a quote from my own episode analysis of episode 147 (July), “Though it is not technically canon, most people believe that Terrence is the invisible guy that tried to sneak up on Seraphina and John in episode 10 and the invisible person that was involved with the whole situation at Kovoro mall. Neither cases were dwelt upon long or pushed into further investigation by the characters.” Guess what, now this issue is being addressed by Seraphina and I couldn’t be happier. One of the things preventing any characters from associating Terrence with their run-ins with invisible people has been because they never learned Terrence’s ability. He’s well known by Isen (and maybe Arlo) because of the school paper, and possibly Remi because of her concerns with high-tiers, but if Seraphina, one of his “friends” is only learning about his ability now, there is no way they really know too. Obviously Cecile knows because she used to be head of the newspaper and used Terrence’s ability to her own advantage, but Isen didn’t even want to be promoted to that so he hasn’t really put much into that. Regardless, Seraphina is the first character to be bringing this kind of thing up.
Again, though, I’m going to be using something I wrote in my episode 147 analysis because it ties into this episode in a more frightening way. “The characters [of UnOrdinary] often investigate and look into anything suspicious around them. Arlo and Isen looked into John. Remi chased after EMBER (one of the more... special cases), When Seraphina got kidnapped- literally everyone’s perspective revolved around it. Uru-Chan allowed her characters to look into the ultimately lesser conflicts. Yes, Arlo discovering John’s abilities proved to be maybe the biggest plot point/ turning point in UnOrdinary, but after that happened, the story still went on. Seraphina getting kidnapped? Not much to do with that endgame climax we’re all waiting for. I’ll say it again for the people in the back who aren’t paying attention.
Uru-Chan doesn’t let her characters investigate anything that will be endgame conflict.
Am I saying that right? Whatever, you all get the gist of what I’m saying.
The events that aren’t directly crucial to UnOrdinary’s ultimate climax have all been examined.
Which means: Whatever hasn’t been properly addressed by the comic that should’ve based on the character’s usual actions will be important to the eventual and overall plot. -------Terrence, and the person we readers believe him to be, falls under the category of things that should have been addressed more and were not. Like I listed before [referencing the rest of my episode 147 analysis]: the chase outside the mall, the teddy-bear scandal with the superhero posse. I can’t imagine John just letting someone who was invisible sneak up on him and Seraphina and just not give them another thought.”
Yes, this is just a big word blob, but I think it’s obvious why I chose to include the whole thing here. In July, I said that the characters of UnOrdinary weren’t “allowed” to investigate Terrence and similar situations because furthering any investigation into that would progress the endgame timeline and therefore point the story toward its finale. By leaving these concepts alone for so long, uru-chan has made sure that her story continues and doesn’t wrap up before she intends. It is a story-telling tactic. And, don’t worry, I’m not saying that this episode is proof that UnOrdinary is ending soon or anything like that because it is confirmed (by uru-chan) that UnOrdinary has at least two seasons and will be over 300 episodes long so calm down. I’m saying that uru-chan is making sure we remember her ultimate, underlying story. I’m not sure if you read my review for episode 170, but I talk about a similar concept in that post. Anyway, the appearance of any investigation into Terrence and the part of the storyline that he represents means that we are working up to a climax. A new major turning point in the story. And this makes sense too, considering we’re literally about to have that Seraphina and John confrontation. I think that, along with the obvious repercussions that will come out of that happening, we will also get a major(ish) development for our endgame plot line, because through it is far the end of the story, there has to be some progression throughout the comic or else when it would be brought up in the end, it would feel out of place.
I also think that there’s a chance there won’t be a major turning point like I just said (I love contradicting myself), but rather just a small reminder for the same reason that uru-chan is trying to keep her endgame storyline vague and elongating. I know those words didn’t make sense, but I hope you understand. Because, in its own way, any development into the underlying plot can be considered a major thing, I don’t think this matters too much. Who knows, we might get really unlucky and the only thing we get is this episode, that little mention of insight. The important thing is: we got some acknowledgement and it’s a big deal.
So: I think that with this whole underlying plot thing dealing with EMBER, the authorities, Terrence (I talk about this underlying plot a lot in my analysis of episode 170 without really identifying it as such [my bad]) is at a point where it’s willing to expose itself an unknown amount to keep its relevance in the story. That’s really all, and I know it doesn’t sound like much, but because this storyline has been so hidden and secretive in the past, this is really a much bigger deal than it seems.
Now, I would make predictions about how this is going to play out or what Sera is going to do, if she even does anything, but nobody’s got time for my clownery, so let’s move on.
The Drama:
I’m bad at predictions, so I won’t be talking about what I think is going to happen between John and Sera, though you may be wondering how, then, will I be able to execute a section on this. Well, I kind of needed to say something about this for my sanity so I’ll figure it out. Anyway, the whole confrontation between John and Sera is going to be so dramatic and climactic it’s gonna be wild. At least for the story.
The thing that interests me is just the given effects that this event will have on the story. More specifically: Joker.
Now, we all know that Joker is John (flashbacks to “Seraphina is Joker” post). And his whole thing right now is being this dictator of Wellston that defeated all of the past royals and took down the hierarchy. We got that part. But one of the biggest aspects of Joker is his anonymity. Joker is an unknown student at Wellston, which allows other students to assume his identity, making Joker into a much larger thing than just one person. I said something about this in the honorable mentions.
Anyway, back to this episode, if we do get this John and Seraphina confrontation and she does tell him that she knows that he’s Joker, I’m willing to bet the Joker we all know is going to change drastically. Seraphina is one of the sole reasons for Joker's creation and you can bet she can tear it down just as fast. The biggest known reason for John hiding his identity as Joker is because of Seraphina. John wanted her to keep believing his lie, his fake personality, and obviously by exposing himself as the powerful, violent terror, he would be dispelling any illusion of cripple John. But if Seraphina happened to find out, like she did, the situation becomes a bit more complicated.
Once John learns that Seraphina knows who he is, and he no doubt will (likely in their confrontation next episode), there will be no more reason for him to stay anonymous. Especially because John doesn’t seem too fond of the fake Jokers running around claiming his authority and beating up low-tiers, including Seraphina.
So I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m suggesting will happen. I think that Joker is going to unmask himself to the school. I know that’s a prediction and I said I wouldn’t make a prediction, but this is like a general, bigger scale prediction, so it’s less finicky than any prediction of what exactly our confrontation is going to look like, so you’re just gonna have to deal. Anyway, I think that this unmasking of John is going to be really exciting in terms of seeing how John reacts to truly returning, again, to the person he was at New Bostin. As I’ve said before, I believe that this story is going to run full circle, as I believe even Sera’s said. I talk about this a lot in my post for episode 167 (#episode 167), especially focusing on John’s mental state throughout, so an update on that would be so interesting to me because that was one of my favorite posts to write, content-wise.
Anyways, I’m just going to end this post here even though I feel like I just dropped a lot of ideas, but didn’t really emphasize how important I feel they are to the story, but that’s fine.
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Sabotage
Conrad Hawkins x Male reader
Plot: Conrad and the reader have been dating for a small while and his colleges know of you. You come in to surprise him on his birthday with something special. TW for sexual references I guess??? Nothing explicit, the reader jokes about it, very vaguely, once.
Conrad jumped when the door swung open, and he turned to face you with something between a glare and a grin.
"Y/N, you know people normally knock before they enter a room full of strangers" he spoke calmly and confidently, but he was obviously trying to cover up the sound of his heart beating in his palms.
"I see no strangers here" you smiled and beamed and turned to look at the other two people sat in the room. Mina and Devon were sat on the couch oposite the door, and Devon immediately stood to greet you with a hug.
"Nice to see you, Y/N" Mina was the next to stand and embrace you, and she made a point of straightening out your shirt and flattening your collar. "Still can't dress yourself, can you?"
"I try my best, you just need to save some of the good-looking for the rest of us." You planted a kiss on her cheek, but you were quickly swatted away as she wrinkled her nose and wiped it off. She had a small smile on her face, though.
Now it was just Conrad left, but predictably he didn't stand up or invite you to come sit next to him, he just leaned back against the couch and watched you with those curious eyes of his. You know them well, he uses them to peer into the kitchen when you were making coffee in just your boxers, or when he comes around and you're waiting in the kitchen with a meal hidden under a cloche.
But right now there was no food, and what he was watching were the hands held behind your back. You offered him a coy smirk and nothing more, waiting until Mina and Devon sat back down before you sat on the edge of the cushion furthest away from Conrad. Same couch, completely different ends.
"You're going to make me ask, aren't you?" Conrad sat forward, arms coming to rest on his lap, and he started to work his fingers together. It was his interested give away, his hands always had to be doing something otherwise his mouth would run.
"Well, I'd make you beg but we know how that always ends" it was meant to get him flustered, but he winked at you and your heart damn near stopped. For a few seconds, maybe three or five, you stood opening and closing your mouth like a landed fish, and though Devon and Mina didn't comment, you know that one or both of them were trying not to grin. Conrad, gracious and forgiving Conrad, came somewhat to your aid.
"To save face, before you blush so hard you give yourself a fever, what have you got behind there?"
Without a word you produced a little cake, one of those homemade looking ones with the little blob of icing in the middle. In that you had jammed a thin candle, spiralling red striped dressing it up and giving away something Conrad had neglected to mention to Mina and Devon.
"Happy birthday, Conrad Hawkins." You said, holding it out to him. It took him a couple seconds, but he reached out to take it with a gentle hand, set it on the table, and then shuffled over to pull you into a hug.
It was so tight you almost couldn't breath. His chest against yours, hands on your back, and his head burried into your neck, all sending little electric socks down your spine and making you feel so happy and safe yet wildly out of sorts all at the same time.
When you both pulled apart Mina and Devon whooped and clapped and whistled, muffling laughter behind hands but failing to contain the grins.
"Give it up, you're going to kill him" Conrad scolded them both despite wearing a smile of his own, almost choking as he tried to talk around the urge to laugh along. You were left standing there, hands held against your chest and joy swelling in your lungs, because that was a real big first-
It was the first time you had hugged in front of other people.
#the resident#conrad hawkins#conrad x reader#male reader#x male reader#male reader insert#my writing#pls someone send in requests i wanna write but i have no ideas#thus no motivation
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You seem to really like EU4, which, as it happens, is the one Paradox Grand Strategy game which I have *not* played (not counting Imperator, but then, does it really count as a Paradox game before the 4th DLC is released?), and I'm a little apprehensive about the usual 40-hours-to-familiarize-oneself investment which Paradox games tend to require. Would you mind selling me on it?
EU4 was the first Paradox game I played, funnily enough; I got into it before the first big DLC was released, although it must have been just about the time PDS was breaking out if its niche market with the release of CK2.
I actually have a lot of complaints about EU4: the modern DLC model incentivizes a bunch of tacked-on systems that don’t integrate with one another well, parts of the game get a lot of attention in one DLC and then are abandoned permanently. E.g., natives in CoP were given the ability to colonize without westernizing, I think so you could mimic, for instance, Iroquois expansionism in the 17th century, but it never really worked and now natives just... sit around. Institutions only kindasorta replicate the function of the old Westernization system--which was terrible! don’t get me wrong--but if anything getting institutions is a bit too frictionless now. And of course there’s the infamous lack of attention or balance to anything other than the 1444 start date, which is an artifact of the Great Error in developing EU4 (i.e., that there is anything other than a 1444 start date). And, of course, EU4 is a war game above all else: it does not simulate internal politics well (or at all), and it does not simulate economics well, and I crave, crave different forms of government that more profoundly affect how you play the game. And even in war, I crave systems that even permit the existence of asymmetrically distributed power between opponents to have a complex outcome, to say nothing of model it well. Historical example: East Frisia maintained its independence from the HRE for ages because the fens of the North Sea coast were super hard to invade and control for outside powers; but in EU4 that province just gets the bland “marsh” modifier, and Oldenburg or West Frisia conquers it in 2 seconds flat. There are ways you could model this! There are even ways you could model this within the constraints EU4 presents (province-based gameplay, generic battlespace), but the longer I spend with the game the more I realize just how much it leans, not in the “game about history” direction but the “game with historical coat of paint” direction.
That said, there’s a reason I have like 3800 hours played on Steam, and in comparison only 850 on CK2 and 1200 on Stellaris (aside from Stellaris being hella broken right now): I think the map-painting elements it has are done really well; wars are super fun; and I feel like I can play strategically in a way I can’t in, say, CK2. In CK2, the almost total reliance on event-driven systems, rather than geographically, economically, or politically-based systems, means that I very often feel like I’m being punished or rewarded solely on the basis of random chance. Even where some interpersonal contest is involved--say, my dastardly vassal trying to have me assassinated--it’s still often driven by random draws (% chance to discover a plot, etc) in a way that EU4 isn‘t. I think EU4 has had some of that, with events like the Iberian Wedding or the Burgundian Succession, but these are one-off artificial constructs meant to provide a point of reference to real-world history. They don’t drive the entire game. Personal unions are a big exception, as a mechanic, and one of my least favorite ones as a result; but even there you have a lot more control than it feels like you do in CK2.
And, of course, CK2 (along with, I gather, HOI4) has turned a bit more toward the “memey alt history” side of things than EU4 has. I’m not opposed to that in principle. Reforming the Germanic faith to become a religion of Amazonian cannibals, or electing a horse Pope or w/e is good wholesome fun for the whole family. But it’s not what drew me into EU4, which was basically the appeal of “here, let’s take all these disconnected things you vaguely learned about in history in school, remind you forcefully that they were happening at the same time, and give you a clear visual representation of them.” It doesn’t matter that the game itself probably isn’t a very good history teacher; its representations of history have made me much more interested in learning about, at different times, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the whole history of India, the succession of Chinese dynasties, and the history of central Asia. In comparison, CK2 suffers for being set at a time when a lot of the map has to be filled in by guesswork, and where it does touch on more clearly recorded elements of history, it filters them very much through a “this is what D&D nerds imagine the Middle Ages were like” lens. And maybe this is my bias for my exposure to medieval history showing through: but there is so much art and music and just general medieval Weltanschauung you could draw on to make a game about politics in the Middle Ages feel, well, medieval, and CK2 just... doesn’t. There’s a reason you can drop a total conversion mod like Elder Kings or that GoT mod on top of it and not have to change any of the art style or like 90% of the default events. EU4 does this a little better, via flavor events and specific mechanics like colonization and the layout of trade routes, that make it actually feel like you’re playing a game that has at least some contact with early modern history, instead of being a febrile hallucination by someone who fell asleep on top of some Penguin Atlases of World History.
This is turning into a generic rant about what I like and don’t like about PDS games, and before I go off on an enormous tangent about how I would design a history-based GSG, let me return to the original topic: if you like RTSes, and “strategy” as a game genre more generally, EU4 will have strong inherent appeal. There are a lot of DLCs, but several of them are deeply meh and totally skippable (especially Golden Century & Cradle of Civilization; and the single-nation-focused ones like Rule Britannia and Third Rome). I think a lot of people who get into CK2 but don’t like EU4 as much probably have a preference for RPG-style gameplay over strategy gameplay, which makes sense to me since I usually break the other way. But also, if you like the CK2 thing where you start as a count and work your way up to Roman Emperor or something, EU4 has a ton of opportunities for that extremely satisfying feeling of taking a tiny country and building it out to a big empire. The very late part of the game when you have defeated all your rivals and can blob freely can be pretty boring, but I’ve played to 1821 like twice, tops: the early and midgame are some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a single-player game. EU4 also deeply appeals to the Johnny in me, because I love stupid minmaxing strategies like seeing if it’s possible to go Coptic as the Mughals and massively reduce coring costs so you can conquer all of Asia for a handful of admin points. (DDRJake did a version of this back in the day with the Minghals IIRC, using the old faction system, that was pretty damn funny.)
Not sure how useful all that is, but I hope it’s worth something.
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turning an idea into a novel.
.find the connections between everything as you go.so you’ve had a book idea — fantastic, that’s the first step to writing your novel! be it your first or fiftieth, the initial conception of the idea is the most important part of the entire novel writing process. your first step is to write it down. get as much as you can on that paper or that document, character and world and plot ideas, even little details that might not matter and scenes you’re thinking of, book title possibilities, and theme songs. put all of your information into one special folder or notebook, one special place for you to put everything involving this novel.
now it’s time for the thought dump!
go ahead and brain-vomit all over that page for a week or two. anything and everything that comes to you, include it. it doesn’t matter how far-fetched your sudden ideas might seem; if nothing else, you can twist them to fit this book, or you might find a way to include them in another story.
and now your idea is fully born! it’s on paper and you can really get into the development-heavy stage. but before you do...
some pre-development writing questions:
is this story more plot or character-driven?
is there a moral you want to convey?
are there any symbols you want to include throughout the book?
is there an overarching mood or theme?
having a general direction to go in helps your development vastly, even if your general idea is super vague. now you’ve gone from having a story about a brainwashed assassin to having a character-driven story about a brainwashed assassin that teaches readers nothing is set in stone, through the use of leaves and headphones, with a dark but humor-sprinkled mood. if you want to start advertising your story this early in the game, then you can totally use that formula right there to get the general story out there.
going in-depth
now you know where you’re going, and you know what you want to accomplish. now it’s time to start adding details! this includes things like characters and plot, and the major world-building of your story. now is the time to start developing those subplots and to establish each of your characters as individuals with roles instead of faceless blobs that do things sometimes.
you can start to build your plot, but keep it vague at first. before you try to make anything super detailed, focus on the main events of your story. try to keep the plot down to five or six points at first before you expand, and even then your points don’t have to have too many details.
character a meets characters b, c, d, e, and f.
character a discovers that character b & e are spies, but they can’t tell anyone.
character d dies and character e disappears to search for their killer.
characters a and c find themselves in a romantic relationship.
characters b & e are revealed to be spies, but character e found d’s killer so it’s (kind of) okay.
characters a and c have their first kiss.
now, this seems a little disjointed, right? well, it’s a good thing we’re still in the development stage. you have a general idea of the order of events in your story, and now you can start to link everything together in a way that makes more sense. how did character a meet the group? why are b & e spying on the group? how did d die? what caused a & c to begin a romance?
once you have your questions answered, you can start to link the plot points together. with some guidelines to follow, it’s going to be easier for you to fill in the details. now that we’re here, we can start to make a (loose) outline to follow.
idea commitment
in this stage, it’s hard to create an idea and stick to it. maybe you know it’s going to change, maybe you’re determined not to let it. but keep in mind: as you grow as a writer, what appeals to your writing sense is going to change. what you cultivate right now not might be the same story at all a year or two down the road, and you might not know it now.
i’m living proof of this! my four-book series, smoke shadows, began as a single, 50,000 word book three years ago this month (woah) when i, a freshman in high school, wanted to write a story about a pair of brothers who battle the mother of zeus. if you’ve followed my story at all (shameless plug here hello), you’ll know that’s not what it’s like at all.
so at this stage, do your best not to worry about what thi story is going to be two or three years down the line. those changes come as they will, and they’ll arrive when the time is right. for now, write the story that you want to write, and the changes will come later!
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Parasite Eve (The Novel) - Review
And now, for something completely different. I realized that with my main Project Alpha (watching all anime in alphabetical order) I would be missing out on somethings that don’t have anime but are still otaku related. Therefore, I will be doing two side projects for A. video games that don’t have anime and B. manga that don’t have anime. I’ll probably add other projects as I go.
First game alphabetically on my list for video games is Parasite Eve (thanks to 3rd Birthday). Turns out, the game is actually a sequel to a novel. Instead of reading it and then writing a review, I decided to review as-I-go so this post will be pretty lengthy.
Thoughts:
Part 1 Prologue & Development)
-The vibes I’m getting from this are Frankenstein combined with Junji Ito (yes, I know he adapted that recently). The mysterious heat thing feels distinctly J-horror. Maybe because they’re so into body horror?
-I’m still not sure if “Parasite Eve” is supposed to refer to a woman or an event. Maybe that’s the point?
-So main “villain” is kind of omnipresent microorganism who can control minds? I hope they explain how it works eventually
-Holy research, Batman! All of the medical and scientific scenes are really impressive to me. They feel like they were written by a real doctor. I want a “making of” feature lol.
-Creepiest bits so far are the opening car accident (reminded me of Bird Box a little) and the extremely in-depth surgery descriptions definitely had me feeling squeamish
-The characters already feel well-developed and distinct. I can tell because I’m having no trouble remembering their names lol
-I know it’s all medical necessity but the transplant scenes did feel very violating. It was also creepy that the author chose to describe a braindead woman’s body in vaguely sexual terms
-The politics about braindead bodies in Japan vs. America adds a really interesting layer to the story. Also, the feelings of people who experience failed transplants. These are both things I had never really considered. It’s attention to detail like this that makes this story feel more realistic and immersive.
-I’m wondering how the “villain” will manifest herself? Is it going to be like Tomie where she grows put of the organs? Is she going to possess the donors or become a clone of Kiyomi. We’ll see!
Part 2 (Symbiosis)
-Okay, now I have a much better idea of how “Eve” works. The descriptions of her taking over her host’s body and mind were nice and creepy. The horror of the situation is that it’s not really something you could report or ask for help without seeming crazy and being locked up or put on drugs.
-I said the first part reminded me of Junji Ito and Frankenstein. This second part reminded me of Get Out, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Saya no Uta. I guess I could throw in Brain on Fire as well with all the memory lapses.
-I much prefer the subtle horror of the novel to the monster-attack style horror. I found the scene where Asakura is attacked by Eve just felt really cheesy. It was one of those horror scenes where the victim is being attacked by a very slow moving creature and they probably could have escaped like a million times. Her immediately kneeling down on a mug she shattered also felt pretty silly.
-So Eve is mitochondria? I guess? And she’s existed since the beginning of time but needed science to progress to where it is today to help her evolve. That’s creative but pretty out there. It’s confusing because she obviously has to be more than one mitochondrion at once and she also refers to other mitochondrion as her sisters even though they both came from Kiyomi. I guess I’ll just try not to overthink things…
-Things suddenly got very sexual at the end of part 2 and I cannot unsee certain things D: I’m not really sure what Eve’s end goal is here. Is it just to be all yandere for Toshiaki or does she want to take over the world as a new species or something?
-I really enjoy how much insight we’re getting into Mariko and Kiyomi’s characters. Horror is always more effective when you care about the characters and understand who they were before everything went wrong.
-Pretty stupid of Mariko to not take her pills, it’s kinda hard to see her side of things on that one. It’s interesting to see her dad and the doctor grappling with this trouble child.When they called her behavior “autistic” it was kind of jarring though. Not sure how I feel about that.
Part 3 (Evolution)
-Oh…OH. Okay. I was warned that this book is trippy and this is where stuff starts to go DOWN. Where’s my brain bleach…
-F’real though, the 3rd part was basically nonstop madness and body horror. I was on the edge of my seat but also cringing throughout the whole thing. I must have been quite the sight reading this on the train, I could just feel my eyes widening at some of the more out-there scenes.
-So it gets extremely sexual and there’s some rape going on which of course is always hard to read. It makes sense for the plot tho so I was ok with it. Logically, Eve 1 would need to “evolve” through reproducing. Some of the descriptions made me kind of side-eye the author tho like “Are you enjoying this a little too much?” I dunno. it was just a lot.
-Really intense body horror. The descriptions of people slowly dying by fire were especially lovingly crafted (lol). I liked that they explained the logic behind mitochondria having that ability and compared it to spontaneous human combustion
-Team Toshiaki was pretty badass at the end there, working together to save Mariko. I’d be on the next plane out of the country lol
-I’m glad Toshiaki was redeemed in the end. It’s not like he really did anything wrong since he was basically brainwashed.
-I wonder if any book characters will appear in the games? I don’t know how far apart the stories are but it would be fun to get some cameos. I wanna see Mariko come back for revenge lol
-What crazy person thought this would make a good video game??? I mean, good for them, but if I didn’t know already about the franchise I would not be reading this thinking “mm yeah. Awesome game material right here.” It’s mainly science and practically all-powerful mitochondria monsters. And you fight those with guns or something? Okaaay…
Epilogue
-Dang! Major jealousy feels. I wish I was graduating grad school rn (but 6 years…damn. I could never be a research student).
-Of course it ends with a super complicated scientific explanation. I’m really glad it did though. I didn’t really understand what was going on with the male-female thing.
-Typical horror movie sting foreshadowing sequels at the end. Creeeeepy.
-It’s pretty hilarious how Asakura is like “man, what a year amirite??” YOU CAUGHT FIRE AND WERE ATTACKED BY A MITOCHONDRIA BLOB THAT KILLED YOUR MENTOR!
-Oh snap. The book has a bibliography. Mad props to the author who of course has his PhD in pharmacology. It’s always great when super smart people create something like this for us plebes.
I’m super glad I read this! I don’t read a ton of horror (even though I’m a big horror movie fan) and this was a great re-introduction into the genre. Although I found it a little over-the-top at times (borderline cheesy) it was super smartly written and refreshingly original. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the franchise has in store for me!
I give Parasite Eve a 8.5 out of 10
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