#the point is the human impacts that occur along the way
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Could you keep a yeerk captive and forced to morph human or starve, then morph yeerk and learn everything it knows? Im suprised they didn't use the mind control possibilities of the yeerks morph more, tbh. It seems like a real game changer
I mean, the kids have these nagging little things called ethics. Wherein they don't kidnap, torture, enslave, and meat-puppet people. As Ax puts it in #47: they have to find a way to fight off the yeerks without becoming the yeerks.
#animorphs#yeerks#war crimes#i feel like this goes in the same bucket as 'why don't they just kill david'#because they're human beings???#with a normal human range of emotions???#like - animorphs is a war epic not a video game#the point isn't Solving The Plot as efficiently as possible#the point is the human impacts that occur along the way
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"Long Adolescence" and Disability Liberation
Cultural discourse around infantilization of young adults, particularly when justified with spurious "brain science," is a disability issue.
Even in disability spaces, I see the argument made that 18-25 year olds aren't "real adults" yet, because "science proves" that "the brain doesn't fully mature" until age 26. This concept harms not only young adults, but also disabled and neurodivergent people of all ages.
To get the basic facts out of the way: The brain does not "fully mature" at age 26, or any other age. The human brain changes continuously throughout the lifespan. There is no point at which the brain stops changing until death. There are certain brain changes that commonly occur in the mid-twenties, but declaring these changes "full maturity" is completely arbitrary.
So why has the "Brain fully matures at age 26" myth taken off, and what is the impact of it? Mostly, to justify economic and cultural norms. It just so happens that this myth of "brain maturity" happened to take off during a period of economic downturn, especially for young people newly entering the workforce. But it's okay, mainstream media outlets tell us, that young adults are increasingly unable to afford to move out of their parents' homes, to access healthcare independently of their parents, to get married, or to have children of their own -- in fact, it's a good thing, because young people are too neurologically immature for these things anyway.
A context in which I've recently had a lot of arguments on this topic is the claim that young adults are too young to consent to romantic relationships with older adults, or that such relationships are "pedophilia" or inherently unethical. This is an argument that has a lot of traction in social-justice-minded spaces, because it's ostensibly about sexual abuse but it's actually about infantalization, and it has deeply harmful implications that go far beyond your squick at May/December relationships.
"BUT HYPATIA, YOU HEARTLESS LIBERAL, older people who preferentially date younger people (especially older men who preferentially date younger women) often ARE fetishistic and abusive!"
Yes, they are. So are lots of people from privileged groups who preferentially date people from marginalized groups. It's a problem that needs to be addressed, but the assumption relationships that are "mixed" along a privilege axis, or that marginalized partners cannot consent, is still far more harmful, because it has implications beyond relationships.
"BUT HYPATIA, YOU HEARTLESS LIBERAL, we're protecting young people from abuse!"
No, you're not. Young people often enter unwise relationships -- relationships they KNOW are unwise -- because it's their only recourse for escaping the control of their parents. Normalizing the idea that young adults should still be under protection and control of parents or guardians ensures that young adults have fewer safe options for escape and autonomy. This creates a ripe opportunity for abusive, manipulative, and exploitative people to offer young people freedom from parental control. The harms done to young people by attempting to "protect" them from their own decisions are far greater than the harms young people can cause themselves by making unwise decisions.
"But people don't magically become mature adults on their 18th birthdays! Shouldn't there be a transitional period for young people to gradually assume more adult rights and responsibilities, with support, guidance, and scaffolding, and protection from predators who would take advantage of youthful inexperience?"
Yes, that's exactly right! There should be a transitional period! That is, in fact, the purpose of childhood. And adolescence. The fact that an 18 year old is not significantly different in maturity from a 17 year old is not an argument for giving the 18 year old fewer rights; it's an argument for giving the 17 year old more rights.
Adult rights and responsibilities should be gradually rolled out, over time, with support and guidance, and special protections in place due to the inherent vulnerability of youth. But the 18th birthday should be the end point of that transition, not the beginning. Because although the brain never stops maturing, rights are important, and the allotment of them should not be delayed any longer than absolutely necessary.
What does all this have to do with disability?
A lot. First of all, any time the argument is made that a group of people should be denied rights based on the structure of their brains, neurodivergent people are affected. The argument that young adults should be denied full autonomy because they're often financially dependent on parents/family also has implications for disabled people -- many disabled people will never be "financially independent," no matter how old we are. There are more specific ties to disability, too. Part of the justification for restricting the rights of young adults is that certain psychiatric disabilities are, or are presumed to be, more prevalent in, or originally manifesting in, young adults. Forcing young adults into involuntary psychiatric treatment is justified because, after all, they're too neurologically immature to realize that they're neurologically defective.
Another premise in the argument that young adults aren't fully "real adults" is that young adults are often college students, while "real adults" are out of school. This is, first of all, factually untrue -- colleges are increasingly recruiting students of all ages, and students older than 26 are far from rare. When I was arguing with someone who claimed that a romantic relationship between a young adult and an older adult was wrong because the younger adult was "probably still in school," I pointed out that most college classrooms are a melting pot of ages, and, in fact, many older/younger couples meet in the same college class! More specifically to disability issues, though, the assumption that "student = still basically a child" disproportionately harms disabled people who, for a variety of reasons, may take longer than "average" to graduate. The entire framing of higher education as a "life stage" is a centering of a class and ability experience that is far from universal.
And look, I don't really care if you're judgmental of May/December romances. Fine, judge them. No one is making you approve.
I care that universities consider it appropriate to notify students' parents about health information, and that states are making it easier to involuntarily commit 18-26 year olds, and that underpaying or not paying at all younger workers is justified because "They're not really old enough to be independent anyway," and that people with fallopian tubes aren't allowed to have tubal ligations until they're 25, and that transgender people aren't allowed to access gender-affirming surgeries because of "brain maturity," and that disabled adults are denied civil rights because they supposedly "have the mind of a child." And all of those rights violations are enabled by this pervasive myth that people can't become "real adults" until they've financially succeeded in a bad economy, or until they've graduated an inaccessible higher education system, or until they reach some arbitrary level of "brain maturity" that some neurodivergent people will never reach. That's a harmful premise, no matter how well-intentioned.
#ageism#youth rights#stop being ableist#ableism#neurodiversity#brains are weird#liberation#mad pride#capitalism
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--The Gundam Wing Drinking Game! (*you don���t actually have to drink)--
Happy Eve War Armistice Day, everyone! As we all gather around the warmth of a flickering screen with friends, family, or discord buddies to celebrate the beginning of True Peace between Earth and the Space Colonies-- WHICH WILL SURELY LAST FOREVER-- why not play a little festive anime parlor game? This can be played with beverages, snacks, points, or the penalty/reward system of your choice!
THE CLASSICS— take ONE any time:
1) Someone shouts: "IT’S A GUNDAM!" or "THAT’S A GUNDAM!"
2) Magical Gundam Transformation Sequence
3) The BFG: the buster rifle beam canon does what it does best.
4) Relena Yells At The Clouds
5) "Omae o korosu!": Heero threatens to kill someone and then doesn’t.
6) THAT'S SO FETCH: Duo calls himself the God of Death or says one of his catchphrases.
7) BOOBY TRAPPED: Heavyarms fires its chest missiles.
8) SAFETY FIRST: Quatre wears his goggles.
9) GO-GO-GADGET: Wufei uses the dragon claw extendo-arm.
THE SPECIALS— take TWO whenever the following occurs:
1) A fruit or vegetable is given meaningful screen time.
2) Episode title is the opposite of what occurs in the episode.
3) VA Hall of Shame: a voice actor fumbles a line or really chews the scenery.
4) This Is Big Nose: An impossibly silly military call sign is used.
5) Someone with Special Eyebrows conveys normal information in a straightforward way.
6) FOUND FAMILY: The Maganac Corps shows up to save the day.
7) Bee-bee-bee-bee-bee-bee-bee!
SING ALONG AT HOME— you MUST CHANT whenever:
1) KAIJU SHOT! KAIJU SHOT! a mobile suit looms into view of a window and horrified onlookers.
2) CRAB! CRAB! CRAB! CRAB! any time you see a MS Cancer or its aquatic friend group.
3) CLOWN! CLOWN! CLOWN! CLOWN! any time you see a clown.
4) HEEEEEEROOOOOO: you know what to do. *Stackable with article 1 section 4.
5) PUSH THE BUTTON FRANK: an ominous button is pressed to devastating effect.
POUR ONE OUT— take TWO and go "Oooooo, YIKES!" whenever one of the following occurs:
1) Someone REALLY should have locked their mobile suit hatch.
2) One Day From Retirement: a hapless schmuck gets got immediately after giving the all clear.
3) A gross failure to correctly estimate the impact tolerance of gundanium alloy despite all documented evidence.
4) Heero takes it on the dome or otherwise hits the ground at speed.
5) Duo gets used as a punching bag.
6) The Bright Noah Special: someone gets slapped or hit in the face.
7) Brutality: A mobile suit makes direct lethal contact with a human target.
8) Red Card: a fencing move does damage to a person or their equipment.
9) The Can Opener: Something gets split in half by a beam or heat weapon.
10) Fuck This Thing In Particular: A mobile suit (or other vessel) self detonates-- *stackable with article 3 section 5.
11) Up-Skirt Shot: A mobile suit or its pilot gets an unflattering camera angle.
HALL OF FAME— FIRST ONE TO SPOT one of these gets a freebie:
1) BRAND NAME: shout the Improbable Brand Name™ featured on background signage or product.
2) QUICK CHANGE: A character somehow gets into or out of a space suit off screen with no indication how.
3) GOOD BOY ALERT: There's an animal on screen (end credits don't count).
4) THE FUTURE IS NOW: State of the Art 90's Tech in use.
5) IMPORTANT PERSON SITTING AT A DESK ON THE LEFT SIDE OF A ROOM WITH A LARGE WINDOW BEHIND THEM: An important person sits at a desk on the left side of an empty room with a large window behind them.
EXTRA CREDIT: SLAP THE TABLE and call "DID YOU KNOW" to win a chance to make the FRIEND OF YOUR CHOICE take a penalty-- IF:
1) You can correctly identify one of the main voice actors in a bit role.
2) You spot an easter egg or reference to something from Universal Century.
3) Space Physics Don't Work That Way: you can explain why physics don’t work that way in space.
4) Actually Physics DO Work That Way: you can explain the science or theories behind an element of space tech, tactics, or engineering.
5) You can name a real-world location used on a map or background shot.
Happy holidays, enjoy responsibly, and have fun!
-Wesley, and to a lesser extent, Tinylion
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The Iron Claw: *arguably* 2023's most brutal (and re-watchable) film
Whether you like wrestling or know nothing about it, The Iron Claw is for you. Need me to prove it to you? Here are my 2 reasons:
1. Zac Efron
2. Jeremy Allen White
If reason 1 peaked your interest, that means you like hot muscular men doing hot muscular things (valid), and if 2 was what convinced you, you've already proved you like to watch things with complicated messy and devastating family relationships with a hint of depression. You're welcome!
The Iron Claw, for those unaware, follows the true story of the Von Erich family, a famous wrestling family that supposedly carried a curse after a series of extraordinarily tragic events occurred.
If you know nothing about this story, I won't spoil it for you, especially when the best education on it comes from this film. Not only do you of course witness the lives of each Von Erich brother, but you get wrestling explained to you via a conversation between Zac Efron and Lily James, who really does play the ultimate girl next door turned strong supportive wife so well here.
At its core, this film is about family, and more specifically, about siblings. When you really think about it, siblings have such unique relationships, seeing as they are raised often in the same environment, yet can branch into such individual and vastly different people. But that bond, whether it be a product of nature or nuture, good or bad, sticks with siblings their entire lives. In that way, this film does an excellent job exploring the feeling of protection you feel over a younger sibling as well as the indescribable pain of not being able to provide that protection when a sibling starts on their own independent life path.
It's an emotional watch and one that at times had me speechless at the way this family operated for unfortunately too long. Shrödinger's guns correlated to each tragedy are laced through the film, making this true story feel like a perfectly crafted fiction; there are so many signs pointing to what will go wrong, it doesn't feel like a real human being wouldn't spot them. Along with the writing, where some single lines burn themselves into your brain due to the strength of your weeping, the film proves itself an outstanding tragedy crafted under the "based on a true story" sports film banner.
And I'd be amiss to not go back to my reason 1 and reason 2 of why to watch this film: the incredible actors and their stellar performances. While I think Efron really takes the cake here as the lead of the film, Allen White is excellent, as are Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons as the other Von Erich brothers. And of course, there's the spectacular Holt McCallany as the Von Erich partiarch. Their performances really deliver the dramatic and emotional impact of the film, and I can't stress enough how their portrayal of a family wrecked is something to behold.
It's so good, you may have to watch it twice, just to fully feel The Iron Claw's one-two punch (this is a boxing joke being made by a film nerd to make it seem like I know about wrestling; clearly, I do not).
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RWBY Recaps: "Rude, Red, and Royal"
Hello, everyone! Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this <3.
Time’s ‘a wastin’, so let’s dive right in. We open on the girls being escorted by the royal guards up to the palace which, as I said in my last recap, is in no way dependent on Ruby giving up Penny’s sword. They could have simply been ‘captured’ for the crime of denying His Highness a new birthday present and then, as Ruby does in a few minutes, weasel out a game by asking to cheer him up in recompense. The sword is superfluous to the plot, it doesn’t track that it exists in the Ever After, is only shakily compelling in its emotional impact on Ruby and, very soon, will literally be discarded. Though we had some genuinely good emotion last episode, what this could have been - should have been - is still far out of reach.
So they’re marching along and we get a shot of the palace as well as the... pieces? Monuments? Decorations? Embedded in the earth around them. I like the subtle nod towards a potential battle having taken place and the red stains against the white look - whether intentionally or not - like blood. It begs the question of what exactly occurred when Alyx visited.
Yang: “Are we sure we should do this?”
Ruby: “Well, the Red King helped Alyx”
Weiss: “We’re not Alyx”
Real talk: I'm sick of team conversations consisting of the girls vaguely disagreeing with Ruby and then immediately bowing to her whim. This is, structurally, the same exchange we got in Volume 7 when Ruby decided to lie to Ironwood. Yang and Oscar go, ‘I'm not really happy with this :/’ Ruby reiterates her position, and then that’s it, everyone drops the subject. Why? Because Ruby is their leader? That doesn’t hold water anymore since Volume 8 gave us a Yang who’s upset with Ruby’s decisions and actively challenges her role as leader... at least until she’s suddenly, randomly worried about Blake instead. Now, we’re back to where we were in Volume 7 with Yang (and the others) only making token disagreements for Ruby to ignore. Why is everyone moving backwards in this show?
Never-mind that I actually agree with Ruby here. The girls have been shown plenty of evidence that they’re broadly repeating Alyx’s story, the fairy tale next depicts a King helping human girls lost in this world, and Weiss already tried - and failed - to just bypass all that and walk her way to the tree. Plus, it’s not like any of these guards pose a threat to the girls. You’re telling me they can beat the Ace Ops immediately after a major grimm battle, but we’re simultaneously supposed to believe that a bunch of foolish goons made of wood could take them out? So I legitimately don’t understand what Weiss and Yang’s hesitation is when all signs point to needing to do this, those signs imply a good outcome, they’ve failed to do anything else, and they are not - for them - in any real danger.
It honestly feels like RT is continually tossing in ‘disagreements’ so that they can claim the team still has diverse and rich relationships, but that only works if you ignore the realities of the situation and the fact that nothing ever comes of this division.
As they make their way the camera shows a bright blue butterfly following them. Given that this isn’t the last time we’ll see them, I can’t help but assume that the butterfly is another character (Alyx? Lewis?), or else is foreshadowing for someone with an association with butterflies. You know, like how we saw a crow a bunch of times when Qrow first showed up to fight Winter. Originally, I thought the butterfly was our Cat, but then the Cat just chases butterflies and tends to disappear rather than transform... so idk. We’ll see.
They arrive at the entrance to the palace and the guards start a big ta-do for His Majesty’s arrival. I'm not sure why the girls are freaking out? They’re supposedly oh so knowledgeable about fairy tales, this one in particular, they're going to see the King, but they don't realize that this is how the King is introduced? I can only assume this is an excuse to give us more absurd Weiss animations.
His Majesty arrives and, to the girls’ shock, he’s definitely not a King. He’s the Red Prince and the best thing I can say about him is that I really like the sound design. As a puppet, he clinks with every step and that consistency helps sell that this isn’t a human child. Other than that though?
Oh my god he’s annoying. Like, he’s obviously supposed to be, but he’s annoying to the point where he’s not enjoyable to watch. I saw someone else compare him to Cordovin - an antagonist whose position and beliefs are immediately undermined because the narrative doesn't treat them seriously - but at least Cordovin was capable of holding a conversation without shrieking. Also, note that once again the girls’ conflict boils down to a joke. Why present them with a legitimately intimidating Prince they have to outwit when you can just give them a temper-tantruming child for the audience to laugh at, complete with snot bubbles?
The Prince doesn’t take kindly to them thinking he’s the King. “Well, I never! Coming to someone’s castle without even know who they are - and on my birthday!”
Eh, he’s kinda got a point lol.
As the Prince goes through his repertoire of screaming and jumping around, one of the guards angrily points out that “if it hadn’t been for your kind the King would still be here!” and everyone quickly shushes him.
Okay wait, so the girls are clearly recognizable as human then, right? I ask because that’s going to come as a huge shock to the Prince later in the episode, but here it’s treated as an obvious fact. How dare you be questioning the King’s disappearance when “your kind” are the ones who did away with him in the first place. So what are we supposed to take away from this? That this one guard is the only one to realize what the girls are and none of his buddies pick up on what he’s implied because they’re too busy keeping talk of the King quiet? That all these very obedient, desperate-to-please guards realize the girls are human and didn’t bother mentioning that to their Prince?
That RT forgot this was supposed to be a Big Secret until the end of the episode and gave us a minor plot hole?
Regardless, Ruby curtseys to introduce herself and it’s cute enough to distract me. That's a nice shot.
The Prince continues to be annoying, to the point where I want to fast-forward through this scene, and Weiss whispers to Blake: “Ew. Did I use to be this unbearably pompous?” Weiss, I wish you were still unbearably pompous instead of unbearably ridiculous. Give me the Ice Queen over this goofy idiot any day. Still, I’m glad that she’s at least acknowledging her bad attitude from years ago, especially to Blake. It’s something... but not much. Again, this is primarily functioning as a moment of humor for the audience. We’re supposed to laugh at the Prince’s antics and Weiss’ unfounded worry - she was never that bad! Plus, the story doesn’t provide the time for an actual conversation. Like, say, Blake responding that no, you weren’t this annoying... you were just horrifically racist, which is worse.
I want everyone to remember that Weiss lost her inheritance and then deliberately escaped her abusive father. She returned to her Kingdom and was active in its destruction, leaving her without a home, without a title, and (to my ever-lasting frustration), no idea what happened to her own former ‘King,’ Jacques. She’s a princess without a throne, without a Kingdom, having spent years struggling with whether she’ll try to lead from that position of power and if so, how. What does it mean to rehabilitate the Schnee name? How does being a huntress and rejecting the 'crown' offered by her father (AKA being head of the company) accomplish that? Now she comes face-to-face with another entitled, bratty ruler who, on some level reminds her of her younger self...
... and we get a single, joke-y line about it.
If this Volume is meant to develop the characters, then actually let them develop. Next episode the girls will go through a literal seconds-long 'journey' that makes me go, "What was the point?" Each of these areas should have something that clearly ties into one of the girls' lifelong goals, acting as a sub-plot to Ruby's Volume-long depression. Visiting a palace with an annoying, abusive Prince is the PERFECT opportunity to let Weiss reflect on her own choices. Yet RWBY, as expected, has squandered it for more humor.
The guards take credit for finding Penny’s sword, despite Weiss’ protest, and present it to the eager, greedy Prince. However, he immediately kicks it away into the hedges because it’s green, not red.
Okay, two things. One, as mentioned at the start of the recap I think this is a terrible way to (presumably) end Ruby’s journey with the sword - with the reminder that her 'journey' happened at the tail end of last episode and into the first five minutes of this one. To reiterate: what was the point of any of that? To show us that Ruby is sad about Penny? Yeah, we know that already. It’s bad enough that the story is trying to give her a grieving arc that should have happened at the end of Volume 3, but the best the story can do is tossing in a sword that shouldn't exist anymore, have Ruby immediately give it up to her enemies, and then leave it behind in the hedges somewhere, forever lost? I’m not saying the sword won’t show back up - I obviously have no idea what will occur throughout the rest of this Volume - but for now that’s a real bummer of an ending. Ruby runs to try and grab the sword and the guards block her way, so all she does is whisper, “How could you?” I don’t know, Ruby, maybe he did that because he’s a bratty, literal toy who has no idea why that hunk of aura is emotionally significant to you? The audience knows though, so how about you use that semblance of yours to fly around the guards and grab the sword? Or stay behind to snag it? Or endanger everyone by refusing to leave the palace grounds until you’ve found it because fuck everything that's a part of your friend!! Give us something to show that this last piece of Penny means something to you and that you’re willing to fight for it.
I mean, if I had lost a dear friend - twice! - and their weapon was the last reminder I had of them, and the only tether I currently had to my home, and the only means by which I had to defend myself with my scythe missing, I’d try a little harder to hold onto it. RIP to Ruby but I’m built different.
I actually really like that the Prince kicked the sword away because yeah, why would he want something green? And as established, he's a brat. But Ruby failed to do anything with that action and that remains oh so disappointing.
Also, second, why isn’t Ruby’s presence helping their cause? After all, Ruby is Little RED Riding Hood. The Prince might be mad that the sword is green, but shouldn’t he be pleased that one of the girls delivering it is dressed all in red? Take a look at this shot and how perfectly Ruby fits into the aesthetic of his Kingdom:
I kept expecting Ruby’s polite attitude and her overall look to be their key into securing a game. Or, more interestingly, for the Prince to decide that she will be his present instead: the sweet, young, ruby red girl who can play games with him forever and ever (maybe even with a Ruby who'd be tempted to stay because yes, that would be so much simpler...). Yet her coloring - a staple of RWBY's advertising, an in-world symbol of peace - has no influence whatsoever. It’s moments like that really undermine the arguments that such-and-such had to happen because this is the character’s inspiration. It clearly doesn’t have an impact the other 99% of the time, so why is that suddenly relevant? These girls are in a fairy tale, yet their own fairy tales have no bearing on how they navigate it.
For the crime of trying to present him with a green present, the two guards are taken out into the hedges and beheaded by their fellow soldiers. Now, at this point in the story it's unclear whether they've been killed (because they're clearly sentient beings), or if they're just, uh... disabled? (Because they're wooden toys that can probably lose their heads without actually dying.) Though now that I've written it like that, Option #2 doesn't sound much better, especially in a story that's supposedly exploring disability through one of our main characters. Regardless, the point is that even though the second half of our episode will clarify the guards' fate a bit - more on that later - for now the girls have a reaction like they've been killed. Or at least, they recognize that something truly awful has occurred.
So my question is this: why aren't they doing anything about it? Look, I realize that's a loaded question in the fandom given how often people want to run to the girls' defense - they're too tired, it's too dangerous, you can't possibly expect them to fix the whole world, etc. - but the fact remains that we are watching a story about heroes. So how can they just stand by and watch that happen? Or at least, given that they may not have been able to stop it, why aren't they trying to do something after the fact? Try to make a change? Ruby is grappling with the death of a friend and her own feelings of inadequacy. Weiss is, supposedly, worried about her own position as the heir to an abusive hierarchy. Yet neither of them is interested in doing something about the Prince, only playing nice so that he will help get them home. Is that the standard now? Our heroes will ignore the injustices they come across provided that this ignorance benefits them? That sounds a whole lot like Ironwood overlooking Mantle for his own greater good, something the girls went, 'We condemn wholeheartedly!' about. Toss in the fact that both Weiss and Yang just admitted that they didn't want to ask the Prince for help and you've got a recipe for them working to leave the Ever After in a better place than they arrived, rather than just playing by the harmful rules of Alyx's story in order to get what they want/need.
Yes, you can make that 'greater good' claim given that they're trying to get back to fight Salem (and I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't weigh that given my own understanding of Ironwood's actions), but then at the very least give us a conversation where the girls debate the merits of risking a later/nonexistent return to help this world vs. ignoring injustice to help theirs. As it stands, I'm continually underwhelmed - if not outright appalled - by how the girls are depicted. What have they done since Volume 5 to actually help people? The most we've gotten is them trying to clean up messes they'd already made. Toss in the fact that there's no sense of urgency for them to get home - they're just meandering along, taking it slow, dodging the question of what they'll do about Salem when they get there, having cute romance moments on the side - and I simply can't buy that they're ignoring helping others out of a greater good necessity.
'Huntresses are heroes who help people who can't help themselves!' Blake will declare next episode and I'm like, okay, agreed... but when was the last time you helped someone? Was it when you ignored the Prince's horrible domain? Sat drinking tea while Atlas was besieged by grimm? Started a fight until you drew a Leviathan to an unsuspecting city? You've gotta put your actions behind those words, Blake.
And yeah, I get it. This is a small moment. It, like the vast majority of this Volume so far, is not meant to 100% be taken seriously. There's implied humor in the way the guards dig their nails into the path and beg for the Prince to reconsider. But at the end of the day, the story has given us a group of girls who, for the most part, already hate this Prince, watch him 'kill' two subjects due to a subpar birthday present, have a teammate who wants to be better than the caricature in front of her, and then... they do nothing with this.
Hey, if Yang is going to be angry all the time, how about she be angry about this? Where's the fire they had back during the Mountain Glenn arc to fix the broken pieces of the world and help those who were most vulnerable? Where's the realization that this is a job and what they want - or even need - will always have to come second to the people they exist to protect?
Given some of the nice beats last episode, I was really hoping that I'd have more to praise in this one.
So Ruby watches this guy kick Penny's precious sword away and 'kill' two subjects. How does she react to that? By politely asking if they can cheer him up, of course. As said, I think Ruby is right that following in Alyx's footsteps is the best chance they've got of getting out of here (according to the information they currently have), but the writing really should have bypassed Yang and Weiss disagreeing if they wanted readers to ignore the moral implications of this. I mean, the Prince outright responds that "Beheading people does cheer me up" and Ruby's got this expression going as she suggests they play a game:
We once again see the blue butterfly as it travels down through a tall tower of horns, straight into the chamber where the Prince's game is held. Oh, and we saw it before when the guard is distracted by it flying by and forgets to wish the Prince a happy birthday.
The Prince asks what Ruby will demand of him if she manages to win his game. "There's always a catch," he says. Actually, that's not true. Later the Prince will say, "If you win I will help you with what you ask," but initially his question is, "What exactly do you desire from me in exchange for playing my game?" As someone who loves fairy tales and constantly hopes RWBY is going to be more smartly written than it actually is, I jumped on that with an, "Ah ha! Rookie move, Prince! It doesn't matter now if you cheat to win the game, your original offer was to gift the girls something simply for playing, regardless of who comes out on top." Of course, RT didn't realize they'd written that loophole, this isn't even a cool world where loopholes matter, so absolutely nothing comes of this.
Still playing at the polite little subject, Ruby curtsey's again and tries a compliment: "Your Majesty, you are as wise as you are..." and then she stumbles, unsure of how to praise someone who's such an asshole. Little comes to the rescue - sort of - by whispering in Ruby's ear. She blurts "small" before she can think better of it.
To everyone's shock it goes over well with the Prince. I'm unsure if this is meant to imply that Little actually knew what the Prince would like to hear, or if they just chose a descriptor they were familiar with and ran with it. The latter seems a lot more likely to me, given the ongoing joke that Little is far less useful than they continually claim they are and the fact that, by their own admission, they’re an incredibly young mouse who has never traveled past their own acre. How in the world would they know about royal customs?
Now in a better mood, the Prince agrees to take the girls to the tree if they win the game (not merely play with him). Ruby settles in and asks how they play, which sets off over-the-top laughter from the Prince and guards alike. I suppose this is just supposed to be off-putting or something? There’s no comment along the lines of, “You don’t know how to play [insert fantasy game here]? Everyone knows it! I play it with every subject who passes my way!” The Prince just starts explaining the rules, easy as you please. I can only chalk this moment up to the writers trying to get a, “They’re so weird and vaguely scary” reaction from the audience.
The actual rules are, frankly, unimportant. To the story, I mean. They have absolutely no bearing on who wins. Not just because the Prince is cheating from the get-go, but because the function of the game is to send all your pieces forward during the same turn and whichever piece wins their battle against the opposing side get to stay there. You could finish the game in two turns, tops--which is precisely what happens. Fool that I was, I had hoped that RT would put more thought into the game-battle that takes up the majority of the episode. You know, maybe hampering the girls’ combat abilities through a set of difficult rules they’re forced to follow, necessitating that Ruby step up as the team’s strategist for the first time in years and find a way to win through means other than brute force, even if the end result is still a technical loss due to cheating. I thought this might amount to something other than throwing 3/4ths of the team onto a battlefield with weak goons and letting them go to town, the trappings of rules and a game board and a puppet(tier) existing as more than just a distracting backdrop. Functionally, this is no different from the Prince angrily sending all his guards against Team RWBY, hoping to behead them for the crime of bringing him a green birthday present. We could have gotten this exact battle outside of the game, which makes the game itself superfluous. Which, you know, sucks when the girls are traversing a Wonderland-esque world where their ignorance should be their biggest weakness. But it turns out they’ve always been familiar with this fairy tale, Blake’s worry that they’re repeating Alxy’s mistakes is dismissed, and the girls don’t actually have to play the games they’re forced into. They can just punch things!
Am I glad that we actually got some combat in the combat show this week? Absolutely. However, this has been one of the problems with Ever After from the start: designing a world governed by fairy tale logic, knowledge of stories, nonsense rules, contradictions... and then dropping a group of protagonists there who, as Yang herself says, would prefer to just solve everything with a punch. Suddenly, a core expectation of the series - that the girls will fight stuff - undermines the expectations of this specific Volume, made worse by the post-Volume 3 message that the war they fight isn’t winnable by brute force, yet, six years in, that’s all the girls have tried. As I believe I mentioned elsewhere, I think there’s a simple solution here in divvying up those expectations: force the girls to solve Ever After problems with Ever After tools, let them fight the Jabberwalker and Neo, and let them finally start the conversation about what they can do with Salem other than fight her head on... but unfortunately, none of this has occurred. Blake will later shut down Ruby’s Salem thoughts before they can begin, there’s no adherence to what Ever After is asking of them, and the girls won’t encounter the Jabberwalker again for another two episodes.
So we’re left with... this. Yang, Blake, and Weiss getting shrunk down when, narratively, that’s entirely unnecessary and the journey to get them unshrunk will take a fifth of the Volume’s entire runtime. I know we’ve already acknowledged that this Volume is filler, but given how much important stuff actually resides within that filler - discussing what happened in Volume 8, figuring out Salem, helping Ruby recover, mourning Penny, finding Crescent Rose, finding Jaune, dealing with Neo, etc. - it seems like a waste to be taking these detours when they’re so thematically unsatisfactory. Obviously in a story it’s about the journey, not the destination... but if the journey is badly written, how about we at least stop wandering from the main path so often?
Alright, enough of all that. I will say that I’m was quite pleased when the Prince revealed his ability to shrink the girls, displaying some pretty formidable magic. My first thought during the beheading scene was why the guards were obeying the Prince when, to all appearances at the time, he was just a bratty child with no way of enforcing his authority. I was afraid that this was just a case of, “They’re loyal because they’re guards and that’s just the way things are!” or that RT really hadn’t given this any thought; why hundreds of men-like beings with weapons were obeying a vulnerable child when, clearly, that wasn’t working out so well for them. Here though we see that the Prince is not vulnerable, he’s quite powerful, and that really helps to sell the fear we see permeating his Kingdom.
Ruby is obviously concerned when her teammates are shrunk down to Little’s size, but honestly I can’t take her, “No one’s going to get hurt... right?” very seriously. Ruby is WAY past this kind of naive innocence. Girl, your friends are positioned alongside a bunch of beat-up warriors, facing a Prince who just beheaded two of his subjects. What do you think is going to happen here? More importantly, why are you worried? I’ve seen a couple of fans praise this moment because it highlights Ruby’s perspective post-Penny’s death: none of her friends are safe, anyone could die at any moment, etc. But Penny was facing off against a freaking Maiden, not a bunch of itty-bitty chess pieces with toothpick swords. (Here I point out their relative size because even if they’re now equal to WBY, Ruby is still large and could just flatten them all with one good stomp.) The point is that I’m continually unconvinced by this “So horror, much danger” characterization of the Ever After when we’ve spent the last three Volumes emphasizing how powerful, brilliant, strategic, and all-around perfect the girls supposedly are. We’re really supposed to believe that these literal pawns are worrisome to Ruby after they’ve faced down the likes of the Hound, the Ace Ops, Ironwood, Neo, Cinder, and their like? Imagine if Ruby saw a couple of Beowulfs 2/3rds of her team was about to fight, which to her were the size of mice, and she was all, “You won’t get hurt, right?” Ruby, those are literal MONSTERS out to EAT them, but that doesn’t matter because you’ve been taking out this kind of monster fodder since you were TWELVE. The show continually has it backwards, making the characters smug against legitimately powerful enemies and biting their nails over stuff they could squash in their sleep.
Which, you know, is precisely what happens. The girls have absolutely no difficulty taking out the chess pieces, further undermining Ruby’s worry.
Before that though she asks - very politely - for one of the pawns to move ahead a space, facing down the bigger, badder, meaner looking piece across from him. At first it looks like they’re pretty well-matched, but with a pointed look from the Prince, Ruby’s piece pretends to succumb to his wounds, collapsing until a magical stretcher appears to carry him away. He kicks back with a yawn, happy to be off the battlefield and, presumably, off His Majesty’s shit list.
Three other pieces meet the same end until Ruby gets to Weiss.
Ruby: “Weiss, do you think you could take that space?”
Weiss: “Have some faith!”
Again, I feel like the Volume is going for a total decimation of Ruby’s confidence, to the point where she’s entirely disengaged from reality (AKA, obviously Weiss can take out these talent-less pieces). Ruby can no longer summon up enough hope to fill a jar, she’s oh so worried that her elite team will fall to these grunts... but she’s also constantly telling people that yeah, they can handle this, and of course they’ll get back, and look now she’s acting like she always does with smiles and jokes - a part of the endless gags. There’s also no relief when Weiss does win her fight. I think Ruby’s smile is super cute there
but it doesn’t piggyback off of that worry at all. There’s no sigh and maybe a comment whispered to bring herself back to reality, “Come on, Ruby, of course Weiss was gonna win” - something to alert the viewer that Ruby is actually struggling with this kind of irrational anxiety and attempting to fight against it. As it stands, we keep seeing Ruby’s depression introduced and then it slips away again, unacknowledged until it randomly pops back up. “Have some faith!” Weiss says, which is clearly a callback to Ruby’s lack of it last episode, but nothing that happens either confirms or denies Ruby’s struggle. That shot of her smiling, while adorable, could have been taken from any moment where Weiss is being a badass. It’s entirely disconnected from the extreme of, “Omg can a full-fledged Huntress take out a toy in a fight what if another one of my teammates DIE?” Ruby has two completely separate personalities going this Volume and they don’t mesh at all.
The pawns are also super impressed with Weiss’ victory, same with Yang’s, and that feels... wrong to me? I mean, I’ve got nothing against a team that’s been beaten for who knows how long re-discovering faith (like Ruby) and rising to the occasion. (C'mon. I’m a Ted Lasso fan. I eat that shit up.) However, that’s not the conflict here. The conflict the white pieces are facing is not that they think they can’t win, it’s that they’re being told they can’t win. By the Prince. That was the entire point of the Look™ the white piece bowed to: Either you pretend to fall and deliberately lose this game, or I’ll ensure you suffer something so much worse.
Why then would the pieces suddenly rise to the occasion and try to help Team RWBY win? What have the girls done that convinces them to go against the Prince, risking who knows what - beheading, probably - in the process? Now, if I were writing Volume 9 I’d have had the girls trying and failing to save the guards, or at least arguing forcefully about whether they can risk losing a route to the tree in order to help others. Then, during the game, let Ruby realize not only that her pieces are deliberately losing, but that they’re doing so out of fear. Weiss and Yang’s success can be used as a rallying cry and a promise of safety. You help us win this game, securing our necessary prize, and we’ll use our incredible power to protect you from the Prince. The game dissolves into an actual battle, Team RWBY wins, the Cat arrives with an escape route, Ruby gathers up all the pieces using her semblance, and she sets them free once they escape the castle. Maybe they return at the end of the Volume to help in some final battle.
The point of this is not to do an actual re-write in 30 seconds, but rather to acknowledge that there’s no development here. We know the pieces’ initial motivation, but not what makes them change their minds. Really, this micro plot is representative of the entire show, with characters just suddenly doing things that make the audience go, “Wait, what? Where did that come from?”
“Hey, hey, what about us?” The white chess pieces cry, suddenly eager to try and beat the Prince. “What do you want us to do?” This question shouldn’t even be on the table because you all are clearly terrified of what will happen if you fight for real and Team RWBY has done nothing to persuade you to their side. Indeed, once it’s revealed that the girls are human the red and white pieces start attacking them, the entire board eager to defend their Prince. This feels like a round robin Volume where every episode - every scene - has different characterizations.
As said though, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all take out their pieces easy-peasy and that produces some super cute interactions between the girls. My fluff-obsessed ass if kicking my feet and twirling my hair at those screenshots. At the time of this writing, I’m a couple episodes behind in Recaps (RIP I tried), which means that I’ve already experienced the less than stellar support Ruby receives in "The Parfait Predicament.” So I was pleased to return here and see strong moments of companionship - and romance. Yang works the crowd while Blake politely claps for her. In return, Yang cheers exuberantly while Blake blushes beet red. Putting aside that this is our bumblebee moment for the episode, I legitimately love that they’re supporting each other in this way, even during - perhaps especially during - such a comparatively easy fight. Combined with Weiss’ bow, it feels like they’re actually friends in this moment, playfully showing off for one another and providing unconditional support. This feels like old school RWBY, back when Ruby would cheer for Weiss during class, or Yang would bask in the Vacuo crowd. It was nice to see this dynamic again.
The Prince gets more and more frustrated as his pieces fall while simultaneously becoming suspicious of Ruby. Wanting to get to the tree is weird enough - especially to creatures who, as far as we’ve seen, never leave the safety of their own acres. Little who does not yet possess a purpose is the exception - so when Ruby reveals that they know someone who also used the tree to leave this world, the Prince really starts to lose it. He leaves the game table and... well...
Opinions about his character aside, are non-RWDE folks starting to see why we labeled Volume 8 Ironwood a “cartoon villain”? No, he doesn’t strike such an overblown pose like the Prince, but that kind of spotlight is (usually) used to showcase a drama worthy of ridicule - as we’re seeing here. RT obviously recognizes this, so the fact that Ironwood is given a similar spotlight to reveal his totally rational plan of bombing civilians heavily implies that the writers wanted him to look ridiculous; exaggerated to the point of dismissive humor. By the end of Volume 8 Ironwood was not a complex, fallen hero whose journey showcases RT’s writing chops, he was very close to another Prince: nonsensical, over-the-top, unworthy of respect not because of his actions, but because the environment is going out of its way to say, “Look how ridiculous this guy is.”
So in the grand scheme of RWBY the spotlight is a #choice. Within just this scene it’s fine, simply another way to show us how spoiled the Prince is and, potentially, that this world doesn’t follow the rules of Remnant (though it is harder to argue that the spotlight is real-real in a Volume making use of markers like sweatdrops, angry speech bubbles, etc.) The Prince finally asks the right question: “What type of creatures did you say you are again?”
Now, I get why some fans are upset with Ruby differentiating among humans, mice, and faunus. The line leaves a sour taste in my mouth too, if only because it severely undermines the allegory Blake represents in a Volume where she will (so far) compare herself to a literal cat three times. The point of giving the faunus animal traits and having others discriminate against them on the basis of that is to mirror the Civil Rights movement and, to a lesser extent, other minorities with visible differences. They’re all “human” in the sense of being bipedal primates with intelligence - emotional and logical - equal to others around them... they just happen to have an extra set of ears, or a tail, or the ability to change colors. It’s obvious why RT meant to equate that with the real life social issue of, “They’re human, they just happen to have dark skin,” or were born without a leg (disability), or can curl their tongue (a biological “talent” that not everyone shares). The point is that the faunus have been going, “We are your equals! We’re not a different, lesser species just because we have minor, biological and cultural differences!” the same way social justice movements have said the same about skin color. There’s such a variety within the definition of “humanity” as to make separate categories not just horrifically dangerous, but ultimately meaningless too.
However... RT doesn’t know how to write a racial allegory, which means that the faunus have been treated as a separate species from the get-go, in direct opposition to what their story is meant to represent. They’ve always been separated verbally like Ruby is doing now - “Humans and faunus” - and if you’ve engaged with RWBY’s supplemental content at all you’ll know that the faunus have a separate origin story, though one that does include humanity as a common ancestor.
It’s a mess of contradictions, but that means that Ruby canonically does have the wiggle room to make such statements. According to the rules of her world - generously helped along by being sci-fi fantasy - she is not in the wrong to describe Blake as a separate “creature” from the rest of her team... but that doesn’t erase the discomfort for the viewer as we go, ‘Wait? What happened to Blake being treated as an equal, not a literal animal and all that represents within her allegory?’
Of course, all this culminates in Ruby ignorantly admitting that the rest of them are human. I LOVE the first shot of the Cat’s eyes. They’re just like, ‘Oh, girl... you didn’t smh.’
Legit, there are so many fantastic shots this episode. The animators are working so hard, god bless.
As I mentioned earlier though, it’s weird to me that this moment is treated as a huge revelation for the Prince, especially since his entire guard seems to realize that they’re human from the get-go. Given what we learn later about Ascension, it makes sense that the Prince wouldn’t remember what humans look like, but none of his super loyal subjects were going to bring him up to date? Especially after what happened when Alyx visited?
So much of RWBY just feels unnecessarily contrived. Characters don’t react to the information they have, or work under their motivations, or remain consistent in their personalities. Things just #happen to move the plot along, regardless of how that sits within the story as a whole. At least it's all pretty this season.
But that’s hardly news to anyone reading this. Regardless, the revelation shocks the Prince and in his fury his face literally cracks down the middle. Frankly, I would have liked if this moment heralded a turn in the Prince’s attitude, moving from bratty and mostly harmless to terrifyingly cold... but that’s just me. I like characters that appear embarrassingly incompetent on the surface, only to reveal how dangerous they truly are when push comes to shove.
Weiss remembers that she can use her glyphs to steady herself - yay! - and a jazz-y soundtrack starts up that I really dig. All in all, I think this fight is solid. Nothing to write home about, but not a failure by any means, either. Though I fully expect the combat to get backloaded to the end of the Volume, it is notable that this is our only true battle so far. There’s a brief skirmish against the Jabberwalker in “The Parfait Predicament,” but to my mind it’s so short and easily won as to not really “count” - not in a combat-focused show, anyway. So this is the highlight battle of the first half of this Volume and though, as said, it’s by no means bad... it’s not exactly carrying the weight of those expectations either.
First, I stand by what I said earlier that it’s downright weird how Team RWBY treats these toys as a legitimate threat, especially after they just demonstrated how easily they are to beat. And again, Ruby could say screw the rules and help out by flattening them with her comparatively giant size. Blake gets thrown into the side of the game board and Ruby acts like she’s been stabbed--“You’re going to hurt them!” Ruby... honey... they have aura. You literally slammed your friends against a wall for FUNSIES during a food fight. The show (and the fandom) has always been weirdly unclear about which attacks are emotionally significant and which are not. These little nobodies shoving Blake is cause for great concern, but everyone should shrug off Qrow punching Oscar because duh, any huntsmen can take a hit. (Never mind that he wasn’t a huntsmen.) Yang losing her arm is a multi-Volume tragedy, but Weiss nearly dying from a stab wound isn’t worth a second mention. I feel like every scene I’m trying to find my bearings again - is this supposed to be a moment when the girls are legitimately scared? Confidently smug in their skills? Why is there not an obvious difference between when we get one over the other?
I’m not buying into the stakes here, is my point, which means that Ruby’s moment of doubt really fails to land. Yeah, I get that she lacks hope right now and is likely working under a very warped perception of their strength post-Fall of Atlas, but why not have her briefly crumble against something that truly tests her, either in skills or via trauma: the Prince’s magic, the Jabberwalker, Neo? A mere three episodes into the Volume, against a collection of low level grunts, does not feel like the time to put Ruby in this state:
Plus, it doesn’t last. Volume 9 continually proves to be very good at introducing Ruby’s hopelessness, but not doing anything with it. What’s the point if, literal seconds after she’s given up, she rediscovers her faith - WITHOUT EXTERNAL HELP! - and yells that they’re going to “Kick their wooden butts!!” Ruby doesn’t lack the hope to fill a jar, her hope supply is just fluctuating radically, depending on when the show is sick of her being a downer. This doesn’t feel like Ruby on an arc, it feels like Ruby continually edging into one and them immediately getting yanked backwards.
That aside, there are definitely some high points to the fight. It has a good flow to it, especially in the second half. It makes complete sense that the whole board would turn against the girls once they learn that they’re human, red teaming up with white, and I suppose that helps sell the danger a little more. I enjoyed how happy Yang was at the start, using Blake’s ribbon to plough through the crowd like one of the old-school team fights, even if she’s unexpectedly angry just a second later.
I’ve come across a lot of criticism of Weiss’ wing shot and... yeah, I can see where that’s coming from. It’s in pretty bad taste to keep giving the racist billionaire’s daughter angel imagery, especially during a Volume when she’s supposedly grappling with the guilt of destroying a Kingdom. RWBY has never been any good at picking up on the implications of its “cool” style. That being said, it is an awesome shot and I love the Yang was able to make use of the Knight’s sword. I mean, it would have been even cooler if we had scenes devoted to the girls’ training/character development and they’d discovered that this was even possible before enacting it with full confidence during a fight... but again, still cool. It’s another nice not provided you don’t think about it too much.
Also, I had to laugh at that epic image transitioning to Ruby, showing us just how tiny Yang actually is...
Yeah, that undermines the awesomeness a bit lol.
We’re given the shot from our trailer as the Prince looses his temper and does what I wanted Ruby to do the moment she was supposedly frantic over the safety of her team: upset the game board. Blake, Weiss, and Yang are thrown across the room and Ruby activates her semblance, catching them right before they go over the ledge.
...
.......
OH, SO YOU CAN INSTANTLY KICK-START THAT ABILITY AND SNAG SOMEONE MOMENTS BEFORE THEY PLUNGE TO THEIR DEATH. FUNNY, THAT.
Okay, obviously there are differences between Yang’s fall and this one, including that a) Little helps Ruby out and b) on the bridge Ruby would have been trying to snag a fully grown woman. But I’m not here to debate the details. I’m not here to quibble over whether Ruby would have been able to save Yang. I only care that she (and the others) didn’t try. The fandom has bent over backwards to explain that moment, how all these fighters with various forms of flight and well-honed instincts just stood there, leaving only Blake to make the attempt. Fans are so desperate to praise RWBY that they’re consistently overlooking the simple explanation of bad writing: RT made the characters stupid so that Yang could “die” and there could be a bees moment as a result. That’s it. Now that there’s nothing attached to the outcome, Ruby is free to remember that she has super-speed and grabs her friends like she always should have.
Man, what a detail to include just a few episodes later...
The Curious Cat finally reveals themselves, distracting the Prince with some ambiguously authentic sympathy. It’s just so sad that he’s failing to do “the one thing you were put on this acre to do.” AKA, win games. They warn the Prince that beheading Team RWBY would be a far more permanent consequence than taking the heads of his soldiers - implying that the guards are “fine” but, again, Team RWBY couldn’t have known that when they were being “killed” - and they slip a little bit of themselves into the Prince’s chest, helping him to calm down.
The Prince dissolves into crying instead of screaming and... weeps jeweled tears? I don’t understand how that fits his aesthetic - what does that have to do with being a wooden toy? - but far more importantly, Yukina did it better:
Ruby takes the Cat’s advice and high-tails it out of there, getting chased by the guards all the while. The castle is a bit labyrinth-like, so she has no choice but to trust the Cat’s directions - which turn out to be sound. That’s potentially an important thing to keep in mind as the Volume continues and we learn more about the Cat’s personality and motivations.
“I don’t know how that went so wrong,” Ruby says when they finally have a moment to breathe. Really? You met a temper-tanruming toy that beheaded his guards and threw Penny’s sword away without a second thought, but you’re surprised that he wasn’t eager to help you after you beat him at this own game? I get that they’re going for a ‘Ruby is vulnerable and tentative in her depression’ vibe, but these moments read so strangely after her hubris of Volumes 6-8, to say nothing of her experience in the wider, morally gray world. Ruby doesn’t trust established allies, but is surprised when an asshole who owes her nothing doesn’t come through? Consistency, consistency, my kingdom for some consistency.
I do like that Ruby thanks the Cat for their assistance though. This episode is the most polite we’ve seen Ruby in years, even if part of it is a manipulation tactic to get on the Prince’s good side, and honestly I’m digging it. This feels like a kindhearted huntress who understands the importance of unifying to succeed. Not, you know, the Ruby we saw with Cordovin, Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, and the Ace Ops.
As a minor point, I’d like to note that throughout this whole escape Little has been completely quiet about the Cat’s appearance. They were awake to help catch the girls and the Cat showed up just seconds later. They then flee through the castle and have a conversation in the hallways, yet not once does Little react to a Cat getting up in their face.
This is notable only because at the very end of the episode we’re going to get another, “Cat? What cat??” joke, because heaven forbid we let Ruby sit with their failure for a moment without interrupting it with a bit of humor that doesn’t even track.
Finally outside, the girls realize that getting a Prince instead of a King and his lack of help means that they’re not really following Alyx’s story. Weiss complains that they’re in the “stupid sequel” instead. Despite this revelation, the next thing Blake notes is that Alyx met the Curious Cat... so they should get their help!
So which is it? Are you following the story or not? I’ve got nothing against the girls still heading for the tree because that’s the only lead they’ve got, but we just established that an assumed ally is actually quite dangerous, so why would the Cat be any different? Again, not saying they shouldn't ask for their help given that the only other option is wandering aimlessly towards the tree (and that's if the world let's them go any farther), but maybe at least acknowledge the problem here?
I'd chalk it up to a "Wonderland-esque worlds are inherently contradictory" vibe if I actually thought RT was deliberately going for that.
We end this episode with the return of the Jabberwalker. It runs across an ~evil~ looking acre--kinda similar to Salem's continent, actually. Will we establish a historical tether between Remnant and Ever After?--and it leaves a trail of blood on a group of razor-sharp leaves, which is a cool detail. It comes across Neo, presumably having just arrived, cycling through various illusions in her fury. As the Jabberwalker closes in Neo's semblance...
*Sigh*
It evolves.
Look, outside of RWBY's larger context having Neo power up post-Fall of Atlas is a good choice. She's certainly at her lowest here, not just lost in a new world, but having just been betrayed by Cinder (again). Plus, it raises the stakes for when our heroes next meet her. No, my issue is that RWBY's semblance upgrades as a whole are fairly random and we've long lost the ability to distinguish a true evolution from incremental change due to growth. Harriet simply announced in Volume 7 that Ruby's semblance has hidden depths, but is splitting into three red blurs the upgrade? Is Nora handling that level of charge meant to be indicative of a change, or did she simply push herself to an already known limit? On the surface it seems obvious that an evolution is when the actual function of the semblance changes - Ren can now mask emotions and track them - but we've still got wrinkles like Weiss' semblance where, apparently, learning to summon instead of just producing glyphs isn't a distinct, evolved ability, it's just the standard end-goal. (And don't get me started on how she remains the only one with an inherited semblance, but no one seems interested in that.) Are we supposed to understand that Qrow's semblance changed on the airship when the bomb didn't drop? How do we measure Blake's abilities when she's stopped using them? I can't help but continually compare RWBY to other shows with power ups, ones where the characters have to work hard to unlock them, train anew to control them, deal with significant downsides that come with this power, or go through horrific emotional arcs in order to unlock them. RWBY- with the small exception of Neo for the last one- has none of this. Evolution simply happens, unprompted, the character can immediately use this new skill perfectly, and unfortunately it's rarely a strong reflection of their growth.
Ren can magically track his friend smack dab in the arc where he's supposedly being the worst friend ever? Right.
So Neo's semblance evolves, make of that what you will. Rather than simply changing herself or something she's touched with illusions, she can now create a large number of copies with (as we'll see later) their own morphing abilities. Wow, wow, wow, that's super op!!! I can't wait to see Neo fall to some generic Team RWBY attack.
I'm kidding. Actually I'm not, but I do hope I'm wrong 🤦♀️
For now though there's only the Jabberwalker in her way. Neo's clones close in as the Jabberwalker screams "No!" in true fear. Kudos to the voice acting there. This creature remains one of the few things I'm legitimately interested in this Volume.
And thus ends episode three! In lieu of flowers, please send prayers that I can eventually catch up on this project :3
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merry and renko go
OUGHHHHMY GOD OKAY. OKAY YOUVBE MADE A GRAVE MISTAKE IM NOT WELL ABOUT THESE GIRLS. these are my second favourite characters in the entire touhou franchise as a unit and i have LOADS to talk about with them
renko and merry are the main characters of the "zun's music collection" concept records (not counting vol.1 which is standalone). these albums are compilations of rearranged music from the franchise, featured along with original compositions unique to the records. alongside them is a story booklet, and the tracks in the album are composed to convey its narrative through their melody. the stories themselves are written a lot like the script of a radio play, consisting primarily of dialogue between the duo.
set in a near-future setting suffering hard from the impacts of late-stage capitalism, the narrative of the concept records follows these two chuunibyou university students as they muse on daily life in their current society. the albums' stories are pretty much entirely self-contained from the rest of the franchise, making them a great entry point.
the blonde-haired girl is merry hearn (her real given name is maeriberii, which is just a keyboard-smash of katakana zun came up with to sound like an unpronounceable european name, but is ironically pretty hard to actually transliterate), a well-mannered girl who's outspoken, but often anxious and unsure of herself. she has the unique ability to see unexplainable phenomena, travel to other worlds in her dreams, and even bring objects in and out of them. a good chunk of the narrative is spent detailing how these two explore the extent of merry's talents.
to her left is her girlfriend, renko usami, a hyperactive, analytical, and curious woman interested in all things occult. she's extremely precise and accurate at measurements—enough that she can tell the time just from the way the stars are placed in the sky. she encourages merry to delve deeper into testing her abilities partly because she wants to see merry succeed, but partly because she's hopelessly fascinated with her and her powers.
the most enjoyable part to me isn't their dynamic itself though, but how it's used as a catalyst to touch on political satire and discussion of capitalism and consumerism. as i explained above, the future they live in is on the verge of collapse. the details are never explained, as most of our insight into it comes from the duo, who are both probably at least middle class if they're in college, so our information about the state of the world is tinted from the lens of people who aren't as affected as some people might be. but we do know quite a lot—climate collapse has already occurred, and many parts of land are underwater. science has progressed to the point that it's considered "solved", and anything unexplainable by science is swept under the rug by society at large because it's not beneficial for humanity to spend money to research it further. world hunger is paraded around as having been eliminated, but in reality it was likely only fixed because those unable to be fed have passed on. despite the state of the earth, the wage gap continues to increase, and society marches on like usual.
the duo is unsatisfied by the way the education system is built, with science being pitched as a cut-and-dry academic study with no further discovery to be made, so as a form of escapism they set up a two-person school club, the hifuu (sealed secrets) club, and explore paranormal happenings, which often leads to commentary on the state of the world in comparison to the wonderful occurrences they explore.
one of my favourite moments is in the fourth volume, bouyuu toukaidou ~ retrospective 53 minutes, where the pair take a train trip to meet renko's parents. the train runs underground since the ground level it used to travel was flooded, so there's a fake screen projecting what the surroundings used to look like built into the tunnel. at the end of their trip, merry notices a credits sequence displayed and remarks about how ironic it is to replicate a scene of nature that humans wiped out, then take credit for the image. there's all sorts of moments just like this throughout the series that i adore for their message.
another thing about these two is how prominent they are in yuri culture. their relationship is left very much out of the picture in canon, but the fanbase goes absolutely wild for it. it has left its mark on so many yuri authors, with a huge number of them producing doujins for the pairing before breaking out into professional work—some even continuing to release hifuu content after making a name for themselves outside the fandom as well! notable examples being nio nakatani, famous for bloom into you, and iori miyazawa, author of otherside picnic (which even started life as a fanfic starring the hifuu duo, before having their names changed to sorawo and toriko to stay legally distinct). even azuma aya, who illustrated one of the official touhou manga that zun wrote, did a very sweet oneshot featuring the pair which i recommend as a quick read :]
im gonna cut myself off now before i type about them for the rest of the night, but in conclusion: my GOD these bitches gay. good for them! good for them. they will bounce around in my mind until the end of time and they are the driving force of my favourite part of the entire franchise. i owe them my life savings
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I'd like to drop in an opinion of someone from Eastern Europe about this whole "West vs. East" thing that American, British (and sometimes French) media/public loves to put out, seeing that they are the absolute (if we aim for these definitions) West compared to South and East of Europe: those are completely inapplicable ideas stemming from the West alone.
Like, I don't understand why it's so hard for the ultimately Western countries to understand that hell of a cultural mix going on around East and South (respectively and individually, not mashed together) of Europe is not separated into the simple categories of West and East, especially not in the Western idea of a "progressive West" and "barbaric East"; a lot of our countries have always been Eastern-leaning and only got pulled into this whole narrative of Western society recently. And a lot of us are still only notably Western, being excluded on many occasions as not being Western "enough".
I'm sorry for such a disconnected rant, I hope my point ("Western idea of how West & East interact in Eastern and Southern Europe is absolute bullshit") was clear regardless. I'm happy to see you talk about this crap, I hope you take good care of your mental health. I can't comprehend the issues of the Greek state in terms of Western treatment of your country fully, but it's relieving to see that others are speaking out on the issues East and South of Europe seem to be both going through.
Have a lovely day!
Yes and also I am not exactly sure what “western culture” is supposed to stand for. More human rights? Blandness? Money? I always thought the financial and social progress and protection of rights in the West is a matter of many sociopolitical and economical parameters that are not the same to what a culture is. And like you said, this progress is fairly recent (in the long run of history) and it is not directly or straightforwardly linked to any particular culture or civilisation.
Culture does not operate in boxes, it is a fluid and continuous evolution of people’s expression and it does not fit into categories. The conditioning that occurs lately with which the west attempts to westernise East and South Europe is embraced by some people but what those people actually embrace is an opening to more short term opportunities for economical growth and social progress. This is why it is a sociopolitical phenomenon in its origin, except it has cultural repercussions as cultural influences are naturally invading alongside the welcome social reforms and they impact the younger or more impressionable people.
Since you wondered about Greece, its case is a little different. The way it is perceived in terms of cultural orientation is very funny and unique. Geographically, Greece along with Cyprus is the most southeastern culture of Europe. Politically and culturally, you will see that Greece is officially considered a part of Western Europe!!!
This placement is honorary. Yes you read this correctly; honorary! Honoured to be considered part of the west for being the good ol’ “cradle of the western civilisation”. Thank you so much. In short, Greece is an eastern place which everyone has silently agreed to mislabel as western simply because they dig the ancient influence that much.
Having said that, since the formation of the modern Hellenic Republic, the Greeks were indeed determined to more or less follow through with all the reforms and policies that would shape the society according to the western principles. This is why you will often see Greece ranking in between western and Eastern European countries regarding various social, political and economical markers. This all began even before the Greek revolution - the Greek nation had to adopt a western orientation in order to fight off the Ottoman Empire effectively and win the sympathies of west Europe. Most Greek expats of power had fully embraced and prospered in the western ideals of Europe and did their best to bring them to the Greek subjects of the empire. It would be thus unfair to claim the West actively forces the westernisation of Greece - Greeks have been consciously oriented towards the west all the last centuries. The problem is that the West stands bewildered before the various and potent eastern elements of the Greek civilisation - at times it chooses to ignore them and at times it demonises them (ie Byzantine Empire, which ironically was far more secular than many western nations at the time). The worst consequence of this is an effort to fabricate a strong bond to the ancient culture while expelling all the eastern elements as compromise for which Byzantine and Modern Greeks are responsible, distancing them from their heritage as a result. And the worst, many Greeks have internalised this, inevitably welcoming also unproductive influence like other Eastern Europeans.
The responsibility lies with the Greeks to understand that their culture does not fit any box the West feels comfortable with and it does not have to. I don’t care so much what westerners think as seeing young Greeks being clueless enough to feel sorry for not being “western enough” or thinking that eastern elements first invaded the culture with the Turks.
It can be said for so many countries that they are not leaning either eastern or western exactly in this made up spectrum and Greece is certainly among the ones that this can be said about the most.
Have a great day too! ☺️
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Hi! Your recent post about gods existing in BSD caught my attention and I felt sending this as an ask would work best for conciseness. In response to your tags, Arahabaki is actually just a singularity and not a god. [https://www.tumblr.com/originalaccountname/711614312754692096/sorry-to-bother-you-but-ive-been-getting-into-bsd?source=share] [https://www.tumblr.com/originalartblog/713410888979316736?source=share]
Also, as for other gods, I'm of the belief that Lovecraft is a god (y'know like eldritch gods) that's just able to take a human form. This is supported in that Dazai's ability doesn't nullify Lovecraft's because it isn't an ability, it's just him. This is also further supported by another theory but since there's the possibility it doesn't turn out to be the case, I won't mention it— but I will say that there is another person with god-like origins that Dazai has made contact with that his ability didn't nullify.
Lastly, there is Atsushi whose ability may be Baiho (or at least similar), the White Tiger God in Chinese mythology (called Byakko in Japan). The White Tiger that is Atsushi's ability has been repeatedly shown to be of its own sapience which is notably different from abilities like Kyouka's Demon Snow and more along the lines of Twain's Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn. (Like the times he talks to and reconciles with the Tiger)
With the movie Dead Apple, Atsushi's ability is shown to be very special and there was also the major plot point of what occurs during season two where it was explicitly stated that Atsushi's ability specifically was the key to finding the book. Heck, him being hunted by the Port Mafia in season one was because of the Guild trying to get their hands on him.
To add, his ability working phenomenally in tandem with Akutagawa's is a potential allusion to Byakko's mythology. I'll be quoting it's wikipedia for this. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tiger_(mythology)
“As with the other three Symbols, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the Moon) within the White Tiger.” Beast Beneath the Moonlight
“In Chinese art, the white tiger often appears with the dragon. The white tiger symbolizes power and army.” Akutagawa is that dragon, which is obvious in the meaning behind his surname Ryuunosuke. The first character in his name 龍 (ryuu) means dragon because the real life author was born in the year of the dragon during the month of the dragon and the hour he was believed to be born was the hour of the dragon. His name, Ryuunosuke, literally translates to "son of the dragon". [http://yabai.com/p/4517] Whether Atsushi is like, Byakko incarnate or it's just his ability or something else, or even he straight up isn't actually a god— we don't have anything that confirms or denies it yet. Also I am sorry for rambling in your ask box, the topic of gods in BSD is something I'm rather passionate about.
First of all, this is sp incredibly interesting and I am fascinating at how my semi serious post has now given way to an actual craving for Lore (I'm trying to hunt down an edition of 15).
The whole Lovecraft thing definitely confused me and doubly so because I definitely thought (hoped) that since he's immune to Dazai he would play a larger role in the plot. I am curious though, as to whether Dazai coming into contact with Lovecraft would have any impact on his physical abilities, like limiting his speed or agility. (I suppose I am thinking a little of BNHA here. Eraserhead can't erase mutant quirks, but presumably could erase like, effects of a mutant quirk e.g: spitting acid or so) But he spends most of the fight bragging about Chuuya to Steinbeck so we don't really get to see how the two abilities would interact. It's interesting especially because Dazai CAN nullify Chuuya in corruption and Atsushi in his fully tiger state (which is a physical transformation) but has ZERO affect on Lovecraft's tentacle form.
(I'm desperately trying to think of the 'god like origin' character because I can't think of other BSD characters that Dazai's ability didn't affect... is it like Sigma or something, because he was created from the book?)
I was aware of Atsushi as Byakko, though I genuinely interpreted the 'consciousness' of the ability as moreso Atsushi's introspection, a visual way to show his personal healing and acceptance, though it's really interesting to know I was wrong! When I have time I'll have to rewatch those scenes with a fresh perspective. I was super into the Shinto belief as a kid, and it was actually how my friend persuaded me to get into BSD, and I'm loving the series so far. However, I'm honestly more familiar with the Qinglong and Baihu as the dragon of the East and tiger of the West.
(I had a very funny moment watching Dead Apple where I was insistent to my friend that 'Atsushi will definitely have to match off against the dragon, there's a lot of mythological basis' only to be proven completely wrong, though with the amazing Chuuya fight scene I couldn't be disappointed)
But I had completely missed the connection between Akutagawa and the dragon! That definitely adds a really interesting level to the dynamic between the two as members opposing forces with the matched goal.
Thank you so so so much for explaining this all in such an interesting way, it really made my day! I super appreciated it!
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Newscasters for the daily Spiralian TV program focused on the Archimedes Ward chuckle warmly to each other, following the happy conclusion of a news story about a rescued dog.
The next segment is announced to be the weather forecast, a simple transition leading it in. The friendly(?) face of Dr. Caelum stands at attention in front of a green screen, displaying a colorful display of the area. He gives a small clap in greeting.
“Good morning, citizens of Archimedes Ward. I’m Dr. Caelum, and this is your Very Typical forecast for the day. Ahem!
“Today is the 21st of July. The current conditions are fair, with partly-cloudy weather and moderate temperatures.”
He steps to the side with the aid of his cane, as though about to gesture toward the weekly forecast, but the visual projected beside him is that of something strange.
An distant ominous human figure, seemingly captured by a phone camera, crouches low to the ground at the edge of the Ward. He’s dressed in black; there’s also an huge, unholy, impossible jumble of a shape stretching out behind one shoulder.
There’s something shining in one hand, kept close to his chest; the other hand can be seen braced against the ground, bearing the appearance of wicked black claws. The contrast of the colors makes him stand out easily from the architecture of Archimedes. Demon incarnate.
“A, quote, ‘Humanoid Typhoon’ is expected to make landfall imminently.
Catastrophic loss of life will occur sometime within the next two hours, give or take.”
The visual changes once more: back to the colorful map of Archimedes. This time, instead of showing areas of precipitation or temperature, there is a thick line of purple that begins at the edge of the Ward, slowly moving right through it, until it reaches the edge of Point Zero.
Anyone familiar with navigating the streets of Archimedes can identify that the animated trail is a common walking path down the main streets.
“Now, being nearby or within the highlighted area of effect will subject surroundings to the steady and unstoppable depletion of their lives. It may also subject surroundings to high-impact forces, equivalent to the speed of some high-speed trains.
“So take protective measures, hm? Calmly evacuate–staying indoors will not save you.”
The way he delivered such a statement so casually is a little unnerving…
“Incidentally, do note that while it is not recommended, and I do mean Not Recommended, it is indeed possible to put an end to the Humanoid Typhoon - our own Vash the Stampede - before he walks the full path of destruction. Upon his death or his reaching of Point Zero, reconstruction of any property damage will be compensated for and worked upon immediately. Wouldn’t want to dampen your summer plans, hm?~
“Well! That’s the forecast for today–good luck! Dr. Caelum, signing off; back to you, John.”
(The rest of the broadcast, for the next hour, has its newscasters behaving normally as ever. The news ticker crawling along the bottom of the screen reads HUMANOID TYPHOON IN ARCHIMEDES - LIVE COVERAGE TO FOLLOW.)
— — — — — —
hi! this is a prelude to vash's giant challenge!
here's a rundown:
Vash has awakened on the very edge of Archimedes Ward, bearing his finale-episode appearance ( complete with wing, and dangerous purple cube! ). As predicted on the news' weather forecast, he will be attempting to walk directly through the main streets of Archimedes until he reaches Point Zero (the hole).
For those without the context of the cube: it's incredibly volatile, and has the potential to wipe out the entire Ward in a blast of energy.
Here are some cube facts, unique to this Challenge:
This cube is hand-sized, a bit bigger than the size of a Rubik's cube. It constantly drains the life force of its surroundings in a 15m radius (that's about 20 walking steps, or 1 & 1/2 schoolbuses end-to-end).
If Vash dies, the cube detonates. Letting anyone else have sole hold of the cube detonates it.
Trying to drag or carry Vash's body around will detonate it. Attempts to teleport Vash or the cube will not work.
The following memories, powers, and detriments apply to Vash for this challenge:
Memories: Vash is given future memories of everything leading up to JuLai's explosion. This is bestowed to him by the Stars to remind him of his failure he's yet to make, and what's at stake for the Archimedes Ward should he learn nothing and fail again.
Powers: Vash is temporarily given his physical appearance from the bulk of the final episode of Trigun Stampede, and all other abilities unlocked. This includes his wing, which can help shield him from damage; however, he is completely unable to fly with it, and it still causes him constant pain to have. This is bestowed to him by the Stars, to supply him with the strength to prevent what happened to JuLai to happen to the Archimedes Ward.
Detriments: The Stars have induced in Vash constant total-body pain, forcing him to reduce his movement to walking speed at most. The cube he's carrying constantly drains the life forces of its surroundings in a 15m radius; Vash is a pacifist. The Archimedes Ward was chosen because Vash has been housed here for his entire stay; he's been making friends with NPCs and muses alike, here. I want him to have to see, face-to-face, everyone whose lives he threatens by simply existing nearby them as he is in this Challenge. This Challenge is an endurance test for Vash on many levels.
What this means for your muse:
If involved in Giant Challenge thread - Congratulations! Your muse has taken the opportunity to find themself on Vash's path of destruction. It's up to you on what you want them to do about it.
Do you want them to get in his way, and try to talk things out with him? Perhaps your muse's negotiation skills are more on the violent side, and they'd rather aim for the cube, or his head? You can even have your muse try to protect innocent bystanders who would've otherwise perished by Vash's actions.
Given the nature of the cube, involving your muse in such close proximity to Vash puts them at incredible risk of injury and death.
Keep your muse's reasons and response in consideration - I'll message you when your character's next up to reply to the thread. Feel free to let me know if you'd rather opt out of your muse's involvement, in light of the detail of the Challenge here.
If uninvolved in Giant Challenge thread - Congratulations! Your muse has not taken the opportunity to find themself on Vash's path of destruction.
You're whole-heartedly encouraged to write minis, starters, drabbles, etc. depicting any sort of reaction to what's unfolding on television broadcast. Maybe your muse recognizes this edition of Vash the Stampede; if this is the first time they've ever heard of him, what do they think of the way he appears on the screen?
Or perhaps your muse has ties to Archimedes and has evacuated safely, and is altogether focused on getting their loved ones to safety, as well.
...You're also not obligated to acknowledge what's going on, either! No need to write anything about this if you don't want to.
— — — — — —
the challenge thread will be posted in a couple hours; i wanna give people time to tell me they're opting out of the thread in light of this new information about it, and i also don't want to overload anyone lol
^(that being said, if you're still sticking around as a part of the interest check, know that i'm in contact with the first one up and the last one up / those spots are dedicated!)
also, i'm grateful for the mods in allowing me their permission to use their Star, Caelum, just for this drabble. thank you
if you have any questions, would like to inform me of your opting out of the thread, etc, please message me!
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New Things Are Always a Hit - loceit
I haven't written smut in forever but I'm obsessed with them. Logan discovers a lot of new things while 'researching,' and always subjects someone in the group to them. Janus is ever-willing to indulge his attempts at being the dominant one in the dynamic, always ready to be pleasantly surprised.
x
——————————————————————
“May I hit you?”
The question from his boyfriend makes Janus pause his movie and roll over on the couch to look at him, raising an eyebrow at him and pursing his lips in bemused confusion. Logan stands stiffly at the end of the stairs, one nervous hand tapping the banister. “Do you care to elaborate?” he asks, knowing Logan loves elaborating.
“I believe it is called ‘impact play,’ a kink that can be a part of BDSM.”
“My god- Logan, sweetie, asking to hit me is not the most concise way you could’ve brought that up. I don’t know, do you have that kink? Or is this one of your spontaneous fixations?” Janus sets his chin on his hand, savoring the tiny amount of blush on Logan’s face.
“It is not spontaneous. Spontaneous means performed or occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination, this was not sudden or an inner-“
“Thank you, Logan, please continue your initial train of thought,” Janus teases.
“Ah, my apologies. I was getting to that. I came across the concept of impact play while doing other research.”
“’Other research,’ what ‘other research’ would cause you to stumble on that?”
“Ah- Impact play,” Logan diverts back on topic, pulling out a spiral notebook where he apparently took notes, “is an umbrella term for all things sexual involving hitting or being hit with an object in a safe and consensual way.”
“I know what it is, mhm. And are you a flogging kind of guy or a spanking one, hm?”
“That is a very upfront question, and I have no way of knowing the answer without experimentation.”
“Experimentation?” Deceit entices him, cocking his head to the side as a smirk he can’t help fills his face. Logan’s efforts to be a good dom are always adorable to him.
“I have been researching safe and controlled methods of impact play that we can attempt, if you would want to do so with me. I know our romantic involvements with the whole group should come to mind as well, and if you would prefer I suggest it to one of our other partners-“
“Logan, honey, you’re getting insecure. Again.” Janus pushes himself up from the couch with a sigh, walking over to Logan and wrapping his arms around his waist. A second set of arms sneaks their way around him as well, holding him soundly, and Logan blushes despite the chastising look he gives him. “Of course I would be willing to try it with you. I trust you to do your research – at least compared to everyone else – and you are always a thorough and well-intentioned dom.”
Logan nods sharply. “Good. That’s good.” Janus smiles, and a third set of hands holds Logan’s cheeks as he kisses him.
--
Shiny leather glints on the sheets in the low lamp light of Logan’s room, many tools of the trade splayed before Janus as he relaxes on the bed with a smirk. Naked, half his body glints with scales, and his eyes are fixated on Logan’s even though Logan is examining the sorted line of trinkets. “You seem excited, starlight. Care to introduce me to your pals?”
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about, these tools are not human beings.”
Janus’s smirk falls slightly, and an eyebrow raises instead. “Joke, Logan. That was a joke.”
“Ah, my apologies. I assume you mean that you would like an explanation of the toys I’ve acquired.” Janus hums in confirmation, and Logan continues with a sharp nod. “I have a crop,” he points to each one as he goes, “a paddle, a flogger, and my hand.” He holds it up as if demonstrating.
“Stunning layout, can’t wait.” Janus traces a finger along the sheets boredly. Logan seems to not notice, continuing to examine and sort the toys. Janus sighs. “If only I had a big, tough dom that were wielding them, that would certainly be nice.”
“What? Oh- Sorry, yes, of course.” Logan shakes himself out of sorting mode. “I thought we might begin with my hand, and escalate from there.”
“Sounds nice, may we get to it?”
“Tone.”
Janus scoffs. “If you want me to correct myself there’s an obvious solution, sir~”
Logan’s chest puffs out slightly, and he sits on the bed. “Janus, I would like you to lay across my lap.” Janus snickers, and crawls over to him on his hands and knees like a cat. He sets a hand under his chin, and begins drawing him to kiss, but Logan pulls his face away. “Janus.”
The tone in his voice does quell the brat in Janus for a moment, and with a roll of his eyes and reddening of his cheeks, he lays out across Logan’s lap, hiding his face in his arms. Logan’s hand comes to rest on his skin, the pads of his fingers digging into his flesh just slightly. “Are you ready?”
Janus nods. Logan’s hand raises, and falls hard with a resounding smack. Janus yelps slightly, jolting and hissing through his teeth. “Maybe not that hard, right off the bat, Logan,” Janus says shakily, the human half of his face bright red.
“Why not? You are having reaction that are typical to you experiencing pleasure.”
“Yes, Logan, but it’s- it’s better to ease in, with impact play.”
“Hm. Very well.”
His hand comes down yet again, softer but still rough, leaving a red print against his pale skin. Janus hides his face further and lets out a strained hum. He is beginning to blush to his shoulders already. Its Logan’s turn to smirk now, massaging his hand on the red marks to ease the pain as one website suggested. “Is something the matter?”
“You know very well the answer to that,” Janus hisses, his voice snake-like with embarrassment, as it always becomes when his façade is shattered by pleasure. Logan contains his reactions, for now, though he can feel both himself and Janus beginning to get hard in his lap. This kink was a good choice.
Without warning, Logan brings his hand down against him in three, quick slaps. Janus’s fists clench into his palms and he groans softly. Logan withholds an affectionate laugh. “I barely need to ask, but would you like to graduate to a toy?” Janus nods, flustered. “I would like to hear the words.”
“Yes, Logan, I would, thank you.” He sounds incredibly sarcastic, but as Janus himself implied, there is a solution right beside them. Logan picks up the leather paddle, and without warning him, smacks him lightly. Janus yelps, and then breathes out shakily. “Jesus, Logan…”
“I would prefer you use my title, Janus.”
“There is no sexy way to rephrase that. But I’ll try from here on… sir.”
Logan shrugs, after considering, as that is fair enough. He raises the paddle and swings it downwards sharply one, two, three, four times in a row. Janus bites his own hands slightly, tiny half-moans escaping him with each smack. Logan pauses, massaging the skin once again. Janus’s cocks are leaking slightly against his leg, just from being hit.
“Despite your earlier brattiness, you are doing well.” His hand moves to Janus’s hair, petting him softly in praise. “If you stay well-behaved, I will be easier on you.” Janus nods in confirmation, face staying completely hidden. Logan is briefly tempted to force him to look at him, but disrupting his position is arguably the worse option considering his current… view. His own cheeks are flushed, and he adjusts his glasses as he takes in the red marks he’s leaving.
The paddle comes down in quick succession five more times, and Janus, fully giving in to the pleasureful sensations, lets out a long, low groan, shoulders shivering. He presses his red face as far into his arms as he can. The temptation to lash out in bratiness is mostly quelled by the idea of Logan being any rougher than this with the remaining toys. Speaking of, Logan has grabbed up the crop. Janus feels the cool leather drag along his skin as Logan positions it.
“Please be gentle,” he suddenly calls out, stalling Logan half-raised in the air.
“Colour?” Logan questions.
“I’m green, it’s fine- You’re just being very aggressive today… sir.” Janus rolls his eyes hidden in his arms. The attitude doesn’t last as the crop is brought down against his skin with a sharp slap. He grits his teeth over a high moan, shuddering. It was gentle, as gentle as a crop can be, but it’s a lot for him. Logan recognizes that and soothes his hand over the skin. He leans in half and kisses the skin of Janus’s ass, which makes Janus scoff out a laugh, embarrassed but calmed.
Logan brings the crop against his reddened skin twice more, Janus suppressing moans. Logan looks him over, considering him. He prefers the nights where he can pull Janus completely out of his usual persona, and him having the wherewithal to still suppress moans won’t do at all. He begins hitting his ass repeatedly in a slow deliberate pattern, over and over. Janus jolts with each one, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms as he loses control over the noises leaving him. Logan pauses, stilling and turning red as he watches Janus tremble in place, and feels him leaking against his pants – well, the wash of clothes will be on him considering he chose to stay clothed.
“Janus?” Logan coaxes at him. Janus raises his head just slightly, silently showing that he’s paying attention. “Would you like the flogger now?” Janus nods. Not enough. “I need you to ask me when you have desires.”
Janus makes a noise between a hiss and a whimper, panting as he tries to calm down enough to talk. “Please… can… can you use the flogger. Sir.” The sass is completely gone, leaving his voice faint, and stilted in embarrassment. Logan smiles affectionately. That’s more like it.
He picks up the tasseled bit of leather by the heavy handle, dragging it just lightly over Janus’s skin. Janus groans, his muscles tensing up. Logan represses a smirk. And smacks the leather against him roughly. The sound is different, a bit less loud, but the pain is definitely worse on Janus as he lets out a sharp shout and jolts. Logan accidentally lets slip a small chuckle, which makes Janus huff at him loudly.
“Shut up,” Janus mutters.
“Don’t talk to me that way.”
Janus shrivels at the tone he uses, lowering his head submissively. Logan only sounds like that when he is completely into a dominant headspace and that’s not a time to mess around with him, as Janus quickly learned while they’ve been together. He hums in an attempt at apology, sinking into his arms even more somehow. Logan’s arm reels back, and the sharp sting of the impacts that follow make Janus let out loud muffled moans into his arms. He can feel his cocks twitching lightly against each other and Logan’s pants with every impact, keeping present in his mind just how much he’s enjoying this. Fuck, he both hates and loves when Logan can convince him into debasing himself and his typical persona. If he didn’t get off so hard to shame, he would literally fight him over it sometimes.
Logan’s hand curls into his hair, scratching at his scalp. “Good job,” he offers breathlessly. “You take it very well.” Janus can’t even muster a response, just lying there burning in the face. Logan rubs his lower back soothingly. “I think that is enough. For a first go at it, at least.” Logan sits him up, though it’s more so cradling him in his lap. It’s oddly gentle for a moment where they’re both incredibly hard and turned on. Logan kisses him quickly. “Lay down, Jan.”
Janus does so, sort of dragging himself to the pillows more than crawling. He lays down, dizzy with arousal, savoring Logan affectionately shortening a name for once. Logan appears in his sight again, lifting one of his legs with his fingers digging sharply into the pudgy skin. “I’m going to prep you now,” he says, his glasses and his clothes removed somewhere in Janus’s haze.
Janus frowns at him poutingly. “You know I prefer your glasses on, starlight…”
Logan smiles at him. “I do not want to break them, as I’ve explained many times.”
“You’re so cute though,” Janus breathes out, and Logan knows he’s not lying for now.
Logan gently works him through one finger, then two, being a little rougher than usual when prepping. Janus can’t make himself hold back moans anymore, and little ones keep slipping through his lips as Logan’s fingers stretch him. He puts a hand over his mouth bashfully, panting into his own scales. Logan slips on a lubricated condom, and strokes yet more lube over himself, leaning over Janus after does so. Janus can’t take his eyes away from Logan’s; it’s rare he makes eye contact for so long at a time, and it never fails to make Janus feel special.
“I’m going to put it in,” Logan narrates, as he usually does to make sure everything is okay with his partner. Janus blushes, releasing his mouth from his hand’s confinement and wrapping his arms around Logan’s back. Missionary is a bit boring after being whipped, but both are too turned on to focus on deciding a position.
The head of Logan’s cock pushes into him slowly, and a low hiss leaves him, a bit more snake-like than he would like. Logan also groans, pressing their bodies close together, resting his forehead against Janus’s as he gives him time to adjust. They pant in tandem, practically hugging each other.
Logan begins moving without giving warning like he typically does, and Janus can’t help a loud groan at knowing Logan can’t wait either. He grips his nails into Logan’s skin, making sure to leave marks that the others can be jealous of – polycule or none, Janus likes ownership. Logan huffs and shivers as his nails drag down his back, and he leans into Janus’s neck on the side of his scales, pressing his lips to the extra sensitive parts of him. Janus loses it then, any remainder of control he was holding onto. He doesn’t stop a single sound from leaving himself, clinging to his partner.
Logan always sets such a steady, hard pace and doesn’t falter, and it’s never unwelcome. Their chests are pressed right against each other as Logan moves his mouth along Janus’s neck deftly, barely containing his own sounds. Logan’s hips hitting against the red marks left behind stings, and Janus feels like he’s going insane. He swears and drags more marks into Logan’s skin, his head falling back into the pillow.
Logan digs his fingers into the sheets on either side of his head, moaning as he thrusts inside him. He angles slightly differently, only for Janus to cry out as his prostate is hit. Logan doesn’t slow down, aiming to hit that spot again and again. Janus wraps his legs around him and draws him in for a kiss as a sneaky way to hide his frantic amount of noises. Their lips lock certainly, and Janus presses apart Logan’s with his tongue, which earns him a heavy groan. He digs his fingers into Logan’s hair and tugs it just slightly, using any amount of focus he can manage to pleasure Logan as well, even if it’s difficult due to the assault on his sensitive inner walls.
Neither of them seem able to manage words at this point, which is common between them, but Logan manages to mutter a quiet, “You’re doing so well,” into Janus’s ear as his hand slides between them to stroke Janus’s cocks together steadily. “You deserve to cum,” he says at a whisper, nuzzling against his neck. Janus groans, loudly and unrestrained at this point. His body curls inward towards Logan, pulling him closer. Logan moans as well, his hips beginning to stutter and lose their rhythm.
Janus suddenly leans upward and bites down into Logan’s shoulder hard. Logan jolts at the feelings of fangs in his skin, a short yelp leaving him. He adjusts immediately, and begins stroking Janus faster as he realizes how close he is. He lets Janus dig his teeth into him though he tries to ignore the unsanitary nature of it, choosing instead to mutter permission to him so soft it can barely be heard.
Janus cries out around Logan’s flesh, screwing his eyes shut as he cums over Logan’s hand and his own stomach. Logan isn’t far behind, but that doesn’t stop Janus from whining with overstimulation. Logan has the distant playful thought of how spoiled Janus is, but it’s quickly overpowered as he finishes as well, shuddering and hiding his face against Janus’s neck to muffle himself.
They both lay there, panting against each other’s skin. Janus sighs sadly as Logan pulls himself away to clean up. He returns from his bedroom’s bathroom with a small towel, his glasses back in their place. He wipes down Janus’s stomach softly, murmuring at him. “You did very well, good job.” He presses a kiss into Janus’s temple, and Janus rolls his eyes at him, smiling.
“Wow, Logan, you really are only nice during afterglow, hm?” Logan looks at him over his glasses and thwacks his thigh with the towel. Janus laughs. “Aw, not done whipping me yet, sir?”
“Janus, watch yourself,” he scolds, but he’s smiling despite it. He returns the towelette to the bathroom and then returns himself to Janus’s arms. Janus practically purrs as he wraps his arms around him, his characteristic smirk having returned. Logan is back to not enjoying eye contact, seemingly, as he keeps his eyes closed as they rest.
“Logan?” Logan opens his eyes as Janus speaks. Janus grabs his chin and wiggles his face back and forth. “Never beat my ass like that again~”
“Is that a falsehood?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he scoffs, blushing and hiding his face in Logan’s chest.
“Mhm,” Logan chides, tucking Janus under his chin.
Janus seems to hesitate. “Please do not tell Remus about us enjoying this kink.”
“Do you genuinely believe I would subject us to that?”
They both chuckle quietly, and then choose to spend the rest of the night relaxing, arguments over leaving excessive marks on each other saved for the morning.
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Happy WBW! 🌪️ - What great natural disasters still linger in the history books? What impact did they have on the world, both historically and in the modern day?
Thanks a lot for the ask :)
I haven’t thought much about the natural disasters om Hessdalen yet so this is a great opportunity for me to do so.
Below are some bullet points on what I’m currently calling the Deep Freeze.
@thetruearchmagos @pluttskutt
Description
Around 550 PCC, a harsh winter began in southern Norphendra that would not let up for generations.
A blanket of ice and snow fell onto what is now Ivranse, Cazkania, and Ecosiar, and it was continuously enforced by relentless blizzards
The temperature was frigid even at the height of summer, killing off plant life and numerous animal species, as well as humans.
Aside from a few pockets along the inland sea, the southern half of these countries were an inhospital frozen wasteland for at least 100 years.
Immediate effects
The lush forests and fertile fields that had given rise to numerous villages and towns were gone in a flash. With their way of life destroyed, those who refused to adapt perished.
In order to survive, the inhabitants of the south turned to a nomadic lifestyle. They hunted the remaining animals for food, following their migration pattern throughout the year.
It was because of this uprooting and temporary return to the hunter based society that the Ivrians were set back. They became protective and defensive of what little they had, not trusting anyone they came across. This mindset persisted for centuries after the thaw. It is because of the Deep Freeze that they lived in tiny impoverished microstates in a modern world.
Places like Oretsa however thrived. Protected by mountains and situated comfortably on the warm coast, it was one of the few pockets that was unscathed. Farming remained possible, and a thriving city would be built on the shore. It became a place of legend to the nomads of the wastes.
After the thaw
Nearly 700 years later, the Deep Freeze is just part of history. No one alive remembers it, so most Hessdalanians pay it little thought. But it is responsible for a butterfly effect.
Had the freeze not occurred, the Ivrians would have continued developing into modernized nations. Without the microstates, Emperor Rexon would not have been able to expand the Ivrian Empire with ease, and therefore Hessdalen would likely lack a major superpower without this disaster.
Oretsa remains one of the greatest cities in Ivranse. Rexon respected it, and gave it special treatment as he conquered its neighbors. He allowed them to enter the empire on their own accord, and join as an independent city province. Its wealth gained from farming during the freeze is responsible for its modern success.
Historians and scientists aren't certain what caused this ice age of sorts. The most popular theory is shifts in ocean currents are to blame.
In the interior of southern Ivranse and Cazkania, the soil is still poor. It is very thin with exposed bedrock in many places. But forests as well as animals have returned.
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March, 2016
Sterling silver, anthracite, diamonds, stainless steel
4.6cm x 4.2cm x 1.6cm
(HxWxD; measured at the thickest point.)
More old work. This was written before the industry used marketing alchemy to normalize buying low-grade diamonds for high-grade prices. Anyway, here's the artist statement:
It might seem a bit cliché, but I feel that there is a lot to be said about the comparison between diamonds and coal. Most people know that the two of them are related to one another through a common thread, namely carbon, but that is usually where the well-known similarities end. However, the truth of the matter is that these two are more alike than that, as they both see heavy use within industrial applications.
Contrary to what the gem industry would have you believe, (and trust me: they have spent untold riches, time, and energy to make you believe it) diamonds are not all that rare; lower quality “industry grade” diamonds are actually quite plentiful. These diamonds lack the clarity, color, and sparkle of their “jewelry quality” counterparts, but aside from their dull, opaque appearance they are still the same stone. Since diamonds are one of the hardest substances known to man, it should come to no surprise that they are used as an abrasive when cutting, drilling, and grinding.
Coal on the other hand is known for its ability to produce energy when heated, which makes it a viable fuel source. That is not doing it justice however, as coal has historically been one of the most important fuel substances: it brought about the industrial revolution and literally fueled the rapid development of civilization for hundreds of years. (Albeit, at a heavy cost.) They are also both surrounded in a myriad of controversy: with coal being condemned for its impact on the environment, and diamonds for the lack of ethics employed by the companies who have been engaging in unchecked human exploitation for generations--all with complete impunity.
However, there is one very major thing that sets diamonds apart from coal, and that is its heavy use in jewelry; many consider these sparkly lumps of carbon to be the pinnacle of gem craft. It is painstakingly cut and polished into a shape that can be readily set in jewelry while refracting light as efficiently as possible.
Coal on the other hand almost never leaves its original, pragmatic state. This brooch serves to provide an exception to that rule, as it takes both of these materials out of their utilitarian contexts and puts them into a purely ornamental one. It seeks to subvert diamond’s unquestionable, dogmatic presence within the jewelry, as they are haphazardly sprinkled along the surface of the coal, like some kind of growth or rash. They proudly violate the "conventional wisdom" of jewelry design, refusing to compliment the composition of the piece in any meaningful way; they are a series of long, uninterrupted a-tonal screeches in an otherwise coherent musical.
In this brooch, the coal takes center stage: it is bold, lustrous, and left unapologetically raw. The brooch’s design is influenced by this rawness, with the silver backing following its outline and the placement of the prongs being dependent on the location of the many peaks and valleys which occur on the surface. The coal is grafted to the piece with sharp, claw-like prongs; on display is a more broadly useful symbol of human suffering, with a more sinister one reduced to an obtrusive, interloping design element.
#metalsmithing#jewelry#metalsmith#handmade#metalworking#art jewelry#brooch#art#wmvmetals#diamonds#coal
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Chapter Update: Of Stars and Plebes
Of Stars and Plebes: Chapter 15 -- “I Gave Up McDonalds Fries for Him.”
I’ve just added a new chapter to my fic “Of Stars and Plebes”. [Read from the beginning]
Chapter 15 teaser:
“Has it even occurred to you yet to possibly ask me why I may have missed the class?” Jim was wearing an expression that was equal parts fierce and hurt, and it abruptly deflated the edge of frustration Spock had previously felt mounting. It dawned on him that no, he hadn’t bothered to ask – or even considered it. “That I might have a valid reason?”
“I confess, I had not considered it.”
“Of course you hadn’t.” Jim flashed a heated glare with thistle eyes. “You assumed that I was being flippant without providing me an opportunity to discuss what transpired earlier, impacting my attendance. But I’m a fallible human after all, aren’t I?”
“Jim . . .”
“Don’t behave as if that isn’t at the root of this,” Kirk pressed. “Your mistrust of me today stems from my – from our –” Jim took note of the brief flinch that ghosted Spock’s features for a moment “human blood.” The pair stood staring at each other for an intense beat. “Is that what this is about, Spock? That you haven’t learned to trust me completely yet due to my humanity? Or was it that I embarrassed you?”
Spock seemed briefly ruffled by Jim's outburst before he composed himself. He was now beginning to comprehend the whispers along the Starfleet halls about Jim's demeanor in classes, once aptly described as "think or sink". He was certainly feeling that now.
“If you want to affix a human emotion to the situation . . .”
“Well, here it is. You are aware of what happened yesterday with McCoy. If you'd have seen him this morning, you would understand." Jim said this softly, and Spock felt the tension in his back starting to give. He had wondered how the doctor had fared . . . "One of my closest friends really needed help. I was there for him. And I’ll talk with Vaidya about why I was absent face to face, as I recognize that writing may be perceived as lacking in sentiment. However, Mr. Spock . . . " Jim's stance switched from leisurely to assertive. He pointed at the Vulcan determinedly.
"You have no right to tell me what my priorities should be, and don’t you get to thinking that you can.” Jim said sharply, and Spock felt – was that a thrill of excitement? A heat coiling in his abdomen and chest, a powerful resistance of an urge to smile and reveal how Jim’s fierce will both impressed and amused him.
It also did things to him in a way that he knew he likely should not be feeling for a friend.
As Jim ranted, Spock was reminded of his own human mother gesticulating and taking a stance against his stubborn father on some matter. She had no trouble speaking her mind, and it seemed Jim was no different. He was cracking off a piece of the Vulcan effortlessly, and yet Spock found himself strangely comforted by the familiarity of it.
He was . . . beginning to feel the human side of himself expanding within, growing, learning, adapting. It was a part of his garden previously left unattended -- his human half was wilted, uncared for.
Jim had come along and sprung life into something Spock had presumed dead. Worse, something living yet so vile to those of his home planet that he hid it like some forbidden, filthy thing.
He hated how the people of his home planet talked about his father, his mother. He hated how they talked about him, his feelings, and the human blood that coursed through his veins . . .
Yet here Jim was, shaking up his equilibrium, appealing to the humanity inside of him despite himself. He felt.
“. . . And I was going to ask you to come to Iowa with me for Thanksgiving break. We have a lot of work to do on the assignment for Vaidya's class. A lot." Spock snapped back to the here and now, riveted by this curious new development. Thanksgiving break? Iowa? Spock wended on the words as Jim ranted animatedly before him, arms punctuating his words:
"But now I’m annoyed with you, and questioning the sanity of bringing you for any length of time on a vacation, among my human loved ones. Or is that such a dirty word to you?” Jim gave Spock a sidelong glance full of sass, fists on his hips in defiance, and Spock pressed his lips together to resist an urge to laugh at the spite and gall of the smaller human before him. Even when distinctly annoyed, Jim was still ridiculously handsome.
“Am I to understand that you have just simultaneously lectured me, insulted me, and invited me to a holiday dinner event with your family?”
They looked at each other in silence for a few beats of time, Jim blinking at the Vulcan in a long-suffering manner before replying pointedly:
“Did I stutter?”
Read all of Chapter 15 of “Of Stars and Plebes” here
Start from Chapter 1 here
#1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt#oc#ocspirk#octrek#star trek#tos#star trek snw#star trek tos#spirk#spirk fic#spirk fanfic#k/s#k/s fic#k/s fanfic#kirk/spock#kirk/spock fic#kirk/spock fanfic#slash fic#my fic#kirkxspock#kirk x spock#james t. kirk#mr. spock#fanfiction#fanfic#star trek fic#star trek fanfic#slash fanfic#space husbands#octrekart
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'Unreal' auroras cover Earth in stunning photo taken by NASA astronaut
NASA astronaut Josh Cassada photographed a gorgeous green aurora from space, capturing the impacts of a solar storm that swept over our planet.
When seen from Earth, auroras are nothing short of dazzling. But it takes an astronaut's-eye view to truly appreciate how vast and spectacular these light shows really are.
"Absolutely unreal," NASA astronaut Josh Cassada tweeted(opens in new tab) Feb. 28 alongside a gorgeous photo of green auroras swirling around Earth's far northern latitudes. Cassada snapped the image from the International Space Station, which orbits about 250 miles (400 kilometers) over Earth on average.
While the ethereal green glow will look familiar to anyone who has seen an aurora in pictures or in person, Cassada's unique vantage point reveals just how incredibly far-reaching the phenomenon can be, stretching for hundreds to thousands of miles around the planet's poles.
Auroras, also known as the northern lights when seen in the Northern Hemisphere, occur when charged particles emitted by the sun slam into different molecules in Earth's atmosphere. The solar particles ionize those molecules, or remove electrons from them, causing the molecules to glow. Ionized oxygen molecules emit the fluorescent greenish light we see most commonly from auroras; nitrogen molecules emit red or pinkish light, while hydrogen and helium molecules release blue and purple light, according to the Canadian Space Agency.
The phenomenon is seen most often at high latitudes, as charged solar particles tend to zoom along Earth's magnetic field lines, which terminate at the North and South poles. However, when the sun belches an exceptionally big blob of plasma called a coronal mass ejection (CME) our way, it can result in bigger, more widespread auroras appearing at much lower latitudes than usual.
The sun has been particularly temperamental lately, with two CMEs slamming into our planet on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com(opens in new tab). This sudden influx of charged particles likely fueled the vast aurora that Cassada saw from space.
CMEs become more common as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, which is currently estimated to occur in 2025. Solar activity has ramped up significantly in the past several months, with powerful solar flares firing off of our star's surface every few days. They are harmless to humans, for the most part. But exceptionally strong CMEs can damage satellites, trigger radio blackouts and even cause power grid failures on Earth. Scientists constantly monitor the sun for signs of such ejections. Sometimes, they see the sun smiling back.
LiveScience
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I love adventure time. I adore it and the sequels we've been getting. However, I think the final season was terrible and the finale was the worst of it all. It had buildup and resolve for plots it only just introduced a handful of episodes prior, and the only plot point it had that was from prior was the one tied in with golb and Betty, which I think would have been better WITHOUT the gum war plot. We didn't need the gum war plot. I love PBs relatives as characters in theory but in practice they came out of NOWHERE.
I also love Fern, but because of how scattered and stunted his storyline was I really can't say he ended on a good creative note either. He had six major appearances, 10 minor (non-100+ tree) appearances that kept him solely in the background, and was mentioned twice. (Which, since I'm writing this, Gumbald had four major and three non-candified minor appearances in the series but was a major player in the finale. Chicle was more iconic as Crunchy, and even was turned back to that form because he was ALREADY established to still be in it in the 1000+ episode, and Lolly, while left unscathed, has NOT been shown in any post-series content in any way, was ALSO shown to be more iconic as Manfred, however I do respect that bigender swag.) Because of this, I almost feel like the emphasis they put on his plotline (originally having preboot and reboot as the finale and premiere of two seasons!) was a bit too much, especially with how quick he was shelved within the season itself, and how inconsistently he was portrayed across his appearances without a ton of on screen explanation for some of his actions. This isn't always a bad thing, because Betty herself shows us a good character with good story that MOSTLY OCCURS OFF SCREEN, which Fern, as well as Bonnie's relatives, all LACK.
The giant get together of every big character for the sake of the war was dumb. I think come along with me sucked. I try to think otherwise sometimes but it never works. The bubbline scene was poorly placed and stiff, the interactions in the episode were all rushed, the plots they resolved were too new to matter to me, and the matter of defeating golb was silly! It harkens back to the lich's original defeat with the sweater, but after seeing season closers of the past (Finn the human/Jake the dog being some of the best here, though all of the prismo-adjacent episodes near the climax of plot points were pretty good) which had far greater emotional and thematic impacts, watching everyone sing a song to bore a hole a beast that sat around and did nothing was dumb. Time adventure is a good song, but in the context it was brought up I don't like it! I think the only things I can come to appreciate are the moments between Simon and Betty, because I get the feeling these were some of the only moments that even had a sliver of past planning behind them seeing as Simon's plot was going on since as early as season 3, and Betty's first appearance physically was in season 5, which gives us at minimum five seasons of buildup for that.
(I gotta say, I'm almost certain if s7 remained from Bonnie and Neddy to Reboot with it's original selection of that 42ish episode run, and S8 remained from Two Swords to Three Buckets (which is 28 episodes, more reminiscent of early seasons), and season 9 matched s8, of even better yet both of them matched s7, i feel like I'd be less pissed. I'm glad for f&c right now because it's saving the show as a collective whole for me.
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Do You Believe in Fate/Destiny?
I have gone back and forth on this question for over 15 years. I used to think like this: when the good fate happens, yes! When the bad fate happens, no. I find that the words Fate or Destiny are rooted in positivity and materialistic values, and I think many others will currently (or used to!) have the same belief that I once did that the Fates only arrive on the breeze with good news, never the bad or ugly. The more I delved into my practice by pouring time and soul into research, meditation, spirituality and witchcraft, the more I understood that fate or destiny isn’t always the light side of life, it encompasses the dark too. Do I now believe it exists? Wholly.
At this stage into my practice and reading, I have become aware that there are certain soul milestones we want to achieve before we come to Earth, but I don’t think these lessons are linear. They aren’t “supposed” to happen in a certain way at a specific time with the perfect people. They occur when they can, based on the choices that form the paths we take in life. Every choice we make matters. Each one makes an impact in one way or another, which means they can change the course of our futures and therefore the way in which we receive Divine Timing. The lessons will come either way, but the circumstances around it may change to lean more heavily into the positive or even perhaps the negative. We must learn the lesson either way. If we’re clever about it, we will able to check a few teachings off in one fell swoop and make a great leap forwards into greater circumstances than thought possible. A destiny that aligns with our heart and soul.
I don’t believe that fate works to give us what we want, I believe it does so to give us what we need. They are two very different things. For example, we may want a big, beautiful house in a big, beautiful neighbourhood, but what we need may be a small, rickety cabin where our soul feels comforted and warm. We may want lots of money to buy the things we think we “need”, but what we actually need is basic financial security to traverse safely through the human experience. It is wise to look between the lines of wants vs needs and act accordingly. Can we take a step back and ask ourselves what life lesson do we need to learn right now? Is there something we can do to change what our brains want into something our souls crave? Are we able to see so clearly that we can take charge of the smaller lessons too in the shadows of the large?
Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what our current life lesson is, as it can arrive seemingly out of nowhere - this is where practices such as Tarot and Meditation come into play to help work it out. Sometimes it can takes weeks, months or even years to go through a soul milestone and it won’t always appear in the preferred way. But when it does arrive, it’s imperative to welcome it in and embrace the changes whether there are highs or lows; it’s an opportunity for growth no matter what. We are also able to ask the Universe to speed these fates along to aid us in reaching our highest good, and it will do so promptly! We are the Universe experiencing itself come alive; it wants us to traverse unknown territories, explore our feelings and wonderings, achieve great things, fall down in self-pity, move forwards, step backwards. Ask for help to speed things along and see where you end up.
For many big “fate/destiny” stepping stones, it can leave you feeling weak, blindsided and sat at rock bottom. But from the ashes rises the phoenix. Your plumage will be brighter, healthier, thicker. Your spirit and energy will be stronger, resilient and more capable of setbacks. Our soul will be craving knowledge which means we will want to experience more, get lost more, accept challenges more, step out of our comfort more. It’s a funny thing because at some point in the future unknown, we will find ourselves smiling through it all. We will know that we can join the predestined as an equal, a willing participant and a master of our fate.
#witchcraft#magick#mediumship#astrology#pagan#bigger than us#destiny#fate#universe#love#move forward#setback#lessons learned
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