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keets-writing-corner · 5 months

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I need to talk about RWBY's Jaune Arc

okay this is 1.6k words, immaaaaaaaa put a cut

Okay so going into RWBY back in 2019, that was great right. I was in the middle of getting my degree in creative writing I was seriously burnt out from how formulaic stories had gotten for me, and then comes along my friend being all YOU SHOULD WATCH RWBY. And I said, SURE

now my friend knows my types and she nailed who my favorite character was going to be (Oscar) and she also nailed who my other favorites would be (Ren and Qrow) and I'll admit, 90% of my investment in RWBY was ya know, my favorite boys (Don't worry I love plenty of the girls, it just happened that my top 3 ended up being guys this time around). And wow RWBY was just such a breath of fresh air for me given all the story telling stuff I was learning about in college

and specifically, now that we're like waiting for volume 10 to be greenlit, I'm surprised by how much I've grown to like Jaune

I used to not care for Jaune/find him mildly annoying in Volume 1. He was the... audience stand in, so he had to be a little dumb. He was falling into a little bit of a stereotypical pretending to be confident to impress the ladies role. But ya know, I didn't hate him. He just wasn't my favorite of team JNPR

then volume 2 comes around and he has his whole IMMA INVITE WEISS TO THE DANCE WITH ME :D and I was not about that, it was pushy, and also, I really do not care for that sort of romance in the stories I'm engaging with, and then... it didn't go that route. He realized that Pyrrha wanted to go with him, that he had been unintentionally insensitive towards her, and pursued a girl who didn't even care about him who liked someone else. And Jaune just went "alright, damage control, gonna get Weiss what she wants and gonna give Pyrrha what she deserves" and that was the first time instead of being neutral or annoyed at Jaune I thought ya know, this guy... this guy has good bean potential. I'm interested in seeing where they take him next

And then there's Volume 3. He's been training with Pyrrha, he's been more supportive as a partner, he's been TRYING to be a good leader for his team, like he's not perfect at any of those but he's TRYING and he's lost a lot of the traits that I found annoying originally. Now he's starting to full step into the supportive wholesome leader role. And then, ya know the finale happens and just... ouch. Things were looking up for White boy, and the rug wasn't just pulled out from under him, it also slapped him in the face and threw him down the stairs

Now through Volumes 4-5 Jaune was still in the "I'm pretty meh" about him territory. There were moments where I found myself deeply empathizing with him, specifically in the scenes that showed him mourning Pyrrha, especially because well... I've been there. I've lost someone I was close with when I was 17 too. Extremely different circumstances but that thing where you put on a video of them and you watch it over and over and over because you so desperately want them back, that you're reaching for wisps and smoke of what used to be them all for a brief small chance to feel their presence again. And it's just, it's never enough. No matter how many times you watch the video, no matter how many times you replay their voice talking to you, no matter how many times you listen to old messages they sent you, they are gone and nothing in the world is going to change that. It hurts. It hurts so bad

this boy is GRIEVING

but, he was being bitchy. And look, I don't blame the guy alright. Grief messes you up as a person, it brings out sides of you you didn't know you had, it prevents you from being the best version of yourself. I. GET. IT. But he was being bitchy towards Qrow(aforementioned fave, special mention to that time he slammed Oscar ANOTHER FAVE against the wall), and at the battle of Haven, he initially let his grief and anger get the better of him, and ngl I couldn't watch. (To clarify, absolutely no shade to the writers, this was GOLDEN, peek character writing and whatnot) But that is what Jaune's arc is about at the end of the day. I'm not saying the other characters aren't grieving too, they absolutely are. But Jaune's arc has a lot more focus on how grief hurts and changes a person, how it gets the better of us, and how ultimately, if we want to move forward, if we want to keep going, we cannot just fight it and resist it because it feels icky. We cannot just sit in it because we hate what happened and happiness feels fake and forever gone. We cannot pretend the grief isn't there either.

Cue Volume 6 where he was mostly backstage, but all of this comes to a culmination at Pyrrha's statue and Jaune finally gets a moment where he gets to sit with his grief. Really sit with it. In a way that isn't anger, or repression, or wishing things had been different or that Pyrrha was there. He got to sit with his grief with the reality that it was. He lost Pyrrha. And it hurt. Maybe it was senseless. Maybe he really couldn't have done anything. Maybe it really does hurt so bad. But at the end of the day, it had been Pyrrha's choice to try and do something. And for better or for worse, she tried. And the rest of his team confront him. Ren and Nora are quick to console him, and join in on the grieving. And they also confront him about his behavior in season 5, where he believed that he didn't matter so long as his friends got to live. And here are Ren and Nora telling him, buddy, you DO matter. You matter so much. You matter to us just as much as Pyrrha mattered to us. We all chose to be huntsmen, so let us grow together and honor her choice even if it hurts. We can hurt together and we can take comfort together.

And listen, up until this point, when I was watching RWBY, Jaune was not my favorite. He never had been. He was just a guy that was there going through his own arcs. But after this key moment in volume 6, suddenly I find himself enjoying seeing him whenever he was on screen

for the rest of volume 6 he slips naturally into an empathetic leader. Stealing the ships was his idea but he let everyone take the roles they were good at, he played good support, he protected his team when possible. AND THEN WE GET TO 7 AND 8 and omg

friends

this is when I started loving Jaune. Suddenly, it's like he found a balance, he found himself. He was still hurting but instead of being angry he was being compassionate. He was still goofy and fun, but he was no longer annoying being respectful of people. He was no longer blundering about on the battlefield but he was moving with purpose and with skill. This Jaune feels like an entirely different character than the Jaune we first met back in volume 1. He's fallen into a character role that I personally love. I love the empathic leaders who are a little bit goofy. I love them to pieces. I love their level-headedness, i love their compassion. I love their gentleness. But what made Jaune special is that we got to see how much he had to suffer to get there. He was doing the best he's ever been, and he was being so kind and so humble (straight up, tempted to do a time travel AU fic or something with baby jaune and leader jaune meeting each other cuz they'd be so different)

Then we reach the end of 8 and ya know

THAT happened

and of course Jaune's arc is always about grief. But what a stroke of genius, have him find his footing and then REtraumatize him. ngl, I ALSO have been there, and imo the retraumatization is almost worst than the originally one, especially if you haven't properly dealt with the OG emotions because now THOSE come rushing back AND you've got new fresh ones to deal with. Call me a sadist. Accuse me of projecting my own trauma or whatever, but genuinely I loved what they did with Jaune in volume 9. It was *chef's kiss*. The unhealthy coping, the latching onto and hyperfixating on a single thing that ultimately is the opposite of what he needed, forced to be alone for decades, betrayed by someone he tried to help, being reunited with his friends without having processed or dealt with any of that and STILL trying to be friendly and kind and gentle to them while barely keeping it together- it's just SO GOOD

and ultimately he does break. But his friends are there with him, just like Ren and Nora helped him in volume 6. He's still the gentle leader he's grown into, but now there's just so much more to it, there's so many layers

I'm genuinely so excited to see where they take him for future volumes. He still can't dethrone my favorites BUT he has climbed the ranks of my favorite characters so fast that I wouldn't have believed you if you told me when I started watching RWBY that the character I found most annoying would end up being one of my favorite RWBY characters

soooooo yeah

I really love Jaune now

controversial opinion, I love his short hair

#Jaune Arc #RWBY #meta #?#Analysis #??#i just needed #to ramble about Jaune #HIS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IS SO GOOD #I WANT TO SCREAM #again he's not the only character dealing with grief #but he is the character who gets a lot of focus when it comes to grief #watching his growth and arc is very cathartic for me #idk i just enjoy the white boy #absolute loser #I hope he remains a loser #gentle leader loser #10/10

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distracteddaintydemon · 9 months

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Spoonie Life: Research & Development

My current goal in improving my wellbeing is to gather and reassess all scales I'm using to get through my day. Pain scale, mood scale, anxiety scale, and so on and so on. I'm gonna examine how I use them, whether there is more useful version available, how I need to alter them to make them more useful for me and so on and so on.

When I'll be sufficiently sure it's a right set for me, I'm gonna pay an artist to arrange them all into the MMO RPG interface. With two versions, "play mode" and "tutorial mode" with all the gauges and meters explained. And then I'll print it A3, frame it and hung over my desk to use as a help option if I'll ever become too overwhelmed to remember how to help myself. Also because I believe it's a cool idea.

And I'll probably publish this here for other spoonies to twist and alter to their needs.

Tools I am using/testing for now:

mood scale, but going from -5 to +5 with 0 as a neutral "meh okay" mood (I'm bipolar, both extremes are problematic in different ways)

energy scale, also -5:+5, with 0 as "just enough energy to keep myself going without generating chores-debt"

pain scale 0:10 but explained for autistic folks (I'll post it later here because I believe it's too useful to not be a common knowledge)

Goldstein Expanded Pain Index aka GEPI, which splits "pain" into "intensity of pain"+"difficulty of doing tasks"+"difficulty of talking/communicating"+"difficulty of moving around" (I just found it and it's awesome, thank you forever Tumblr for this one, I'm experimenting how well it suits me. I think I'll twitch it to go 0:20 instead of 0:16 because it's more round of a number and round numbers are easier for me, but it's awesome anyway)

fear/anxiety scale (it used to be simple 0:5 scale but I need to readjust it for background level of anxiety vs sudden spikes of anxiety, I don't know yet how)

fidgeting/anchoring need - how much I need to do something to make myself more centered. It's not actually a scale I can read... more like a little widget glowing gold (nice) or red(?)/deep dark purple(?) (alarming) if I have buffs available to cast or debuffs possible to neutralize. I can assess how do I feel exactly, what tasks I need to do, what resources and stats I need to do them, what activities do have available and how exactly will every one of them alter my state. Usually it translates to something like "brain very very tired, body anxious, I'll make some backstitch on this petticoat until my tiredness spread more evenly so I'll be able to get some actual rest". Or "would be nice to get some sense of success and accomplishment, I think I'll invest an hour to sew that little non-urgent repair". It has so incredible variety to it that I feel like buff/debuff mechanism is really the best approximation I can come up with

Spoons. And Spell Slots. I use them, but none of them are not quite good for me. It's not that amount of spoons varies day-to-day (although it does). It's more that spoon-cost / mana-cost of different actions varies day-to-day. It seems that in my case it's somehow based on category of task and particular task can be assign to multiple categories at once. Repetitive, Creative, Crafting, Organizing, One-Time, Intellectual, Manual, It Will Be Judged, Scheduling Involved, etc etc etc. Also size differences. There are days when certain categories seems almost cost-free. And others have hard limits. I'm thinking maybe I should switch to Resources or Willpower Points that I need to burn to power through those categories of tasks that are Cursed Today? And develop better categories for tasks, to better assess which are Free Today and which are Cursed Today?

Is it everything? Remains to be seen.

Physical Health Maintenance. Particularly How Much Hungry I Feel gauge and Accumulated Calories Debt meter. But also checklists related to my physical illnesses.

with all the other things out of the way, I'm starting to see there's also an area of Mental Clutter, where if I have too much things to do, I cannot muster energy to do neither of them. And clear priorities seems to add to my energy level. But that remains to be examined as I work all the other parameters out of the way.

#spoonie #spoonie life #life as RPG #i play on Hard/Nightmare i need to pay attention to my numbers #visualization #visualization but with extra flair #live your life with whimsy. you usually only get one so you can't do it fancier the second time #distracted dainty demon rants

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monst · 4 years

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T’is the season Day 27

Day 27 snowed in

Okay… I have something to confess… When Sir Nighteye punched the Rappa clone and his shirt tore open I- I felt some type of way o//////o

Sasaski Mirai (Sir Nighteye)

What the two of you were doing out in the wilderness was beyond you. The both of you had gotten out of the car a couple of miles back in order to investigate the area properly. To be honest you had no idea Sasaki did hero work this far out from the city. You had no idea what compelled you to join him in his search. No wait you did. Apparently he was going to investigate some facility and Bubble girl had caught a cold.

Your feet hurt and you were freezing so naturally you complained. “Why couldn’t you bring your interns” You bemoaned. “Aren’t they treated as pro’s?”

“Yes.” was his curt reply.

“Then why am I here.” You whined

“Are you not a hero?” He asked.

“No shit sherlock.” You huffed stopping only when you bumped into the tall man’s back. When you looked up you noticed that he was glaring down at you. You raised you hands in mock surrender. “Calm down I’m just a bit upset that we’re out here and all. I’m seriously not used to this terrain.” You sighed rubbing your arms. He didn’t respond but you could see the faintest hints of pink dusting his cheeks.

“Your getting cold too, huh?” You puffed watching as your breath condensed. “Maybe we should head back.”

“No need.” He spoke pointing up a shifty looking path. “We’re heading up there, there’s a place we can lodge at so that the storm doesn’t hit us.”

“Storm? What storm?” He started walking. “Hey Nighteye!! Wait up!!” His long legs carried him further away. “S-sasaki!!” You whined running to catch up with his long strides. He slowed down a bit and that’s when you put two and two together. “

“Hey!” You elbowed his side “You used your foresight on me didn’t you!??!”

“It was a calculated risk. If you haven’t noticed there have been various signs hinting towards a storm.” He informed not looking towards you. It was then that you caught sight of the cabin. It was in surprisingly good shape for being in the middle of nowhere.

“We’ll stay here.” He spoke.

“You already said that.” You muttered receiving his famous stink eye. You both shuffled into the building and within minutes of entry flakes had started fluttering to the ground. You thought it was strange that Sasaki kne of this place. Even with his foresight the fact that this place was fully functioning left a seed of doubt in your mind….

The doubt was quickly stomped when you noticed the various All Might merchandise.

“I thought this was some important mission to research an important facility.” You accused.

“It is an important facility. This was All Might’s vacation home.” You deadpanned hard.

“And, the research….” You dared to ask.

“Silver age boot warmer.” He mumbled looking for the item. “I remembered in a dream last night that he had lost it here.”

You weren’t amused. For a man so serious looking he was without a doubt a big nerdy fan at his core. There was no use in complaining and it had now dawned on you that Bubble girl was fine yesterday when you last saw her. ‘She must have known’ you moped. You sighed and looked out the window without warning the light snow turned into a flurried frenzy. It was a blizzard. ‘I hope this ‘important facility’ doesn’t lose power’ You thought bitterly.

“(Name)” You flinched at the sound of your first name your face heating up in embarrassment.

“Y-yeah?” You replied trying to play off your shock at hearing him say your name so casually.

“Here.” You rolled your eyes at the All Might onsie he passed you. It was extremely large most likely belonging to the former number one hero. You took it and went to change. You might as well get comfortable. It looked to be a long night and your hero costume wasn’t the most comfortable thing…

As you changed you realized how strange it was for him to give you something belonging to his idol and obsession. As soon as you were out of the bathroom you went to find him. You didn’t want to be left alone in such a rickety cabin.

“Sasa-” You paused mid word when you caught sight of him. He looked to be buttoning up a shirt that was even large on his frame. You felt your ace grow warm at his half exposed torso. ‘For such a thin looking man he’s really fit.’ you really never got over the shock no matter how many times you’ve seen him without a top. Not that you had ever seen him without a shirt in a private setting like at that moment.

“Is there something you needed?” He asked.

“N-n-not necessarily.” You fidgeted walking over to the window to play off your nervousness. “Oh shit!” You exclaimed looking outside. Sasaki was immediately behind you trying to look at what spooked you. You felt even more embarrassed as his bare torso pressed into your back. He was towering over you caging you against the window and your thoughts ran wild. You cleared your throat to get him to back up and to try to clear your mind of all the impure thoughts you just had about Sir Nighteye. ‘Sir Nighteye!’ You reminded yourself.

He pulled back with an apology and then commented on the weather. “That’s why I suggested we hurry. When I used my quirk we were snowed in. And, as my foresight foretold we’re snowed in.” He shrugged. “We should get some rest . We’ll have to wake up early to shovel our way out of here.”

You nodded tailing after him. “Did you find the boot?” You asked. He noticed your proximity but didn’t comment on it. Instead he answered your question by showing you the item he came here for. As he was about to enter a room to retire for the night he found you standing right by him.

“Can I help you” He asked.

“C-can I sleep with you!?!” You blurted out before you could think.

“I-I beg your pardon.” He flushed.

“I-I mean I just d-don’t want to be alone.” You hesitated. “It’s kinda creepy a-and the room you let me use is really cold.”

He mulled it over and nodded. He couldn’t let you freeze now could he?

It was awkward. Being in the same bed as him. There was plenty of space on the large bed but you couldn’t help but curl into yourself. ‘This is much more embarrassing than I thought.’ Just as you were beginning to doze off you felt his arm come around your form.

“S-sasaki?” You whispered.

“Mirai.” He sighed into your neck. “Call me by my first name (Name).”

“Mi-Mirai w-what are you doing?” You asked.

“You looked cold.” He hummed sleepily.

The rest of that night you were anything but cold. And when you woke to Sasaki’s warm embrace you rolled your eyes but snuggled closer to his nude form. It seemed as though you finally understood why his cheeks were pink when he had used his quirk on you.

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

I had to stop myself….. I didn’t want to…. But then this was going to end up with like ten pages…. Ya know I have no self-control, this is the most self-restraint I've shown in a while :’) That and there’ll be plenty of opportunities to write Nighteye smut…… I wonder if anyone likes him enough for it tho???? Meh Imma still write it. Anyways tomorrow we have Amajiki Tamaki x gen neutral reader and there going ice skating <3

#Amari's TDS #bnha ficmas #mha Christmas #bnha christmas #sasaki mirai #Sasaki mirai x reader #sir nighteye #sir nighteye x reader #sasaki x reader #bnha fluff

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phoebehalliwell · 3 years

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you've talked before about how s4 feels rushed, with Prue's death and grieving, Paige's intro, and then the Cole!Source plot. so, if you were writing the show, how would you handle Prue dying, Paige coming in, all of it?

i feel like. okay so like. this is ur soft reboot y’know this is ur upheaval of the norm you are basically making ur own mini new show within the world, but this is a major deviance from anything you’ve done previously. so like. it’s time to vibe check exactly what you wanna do. and irl they opted to go more more overarching plots, snappier moments, and drifting further a major lightening of tone and steering away of myths that exists in the shadows to like. a mermaid episode. which like sure. on paper, night not have been like bad. but. meh. i get that we keep making the source a bigger and bigger thing so he’s gonna hafta be like a major plot point sooner or later, but i feel like the majority of fans really sorta like the demon of the week format and how it’s the sisters themselves fighting them it’s not The Charmed Ones Vs. The World it’s The Halliwell Sisters Are Trying Their Best To Save The Day and i like the grounded element that adds. (speaking of grounded elements i also definitely wouldn’t do the change in mythology i think s5 was the most blasphemous i really really didn’t like what they did there.) so like. introducing a new sister. i think a crucial part of this would be reconstituting the power of three. i think it definitely should have been on the fritz for the first part of s4 as piper and phoebe struggle to let go of prue and accept paige into their lives, and like on the flip side paige struggles to come to terms with the basic idea of having a family and having people who stay by your side i think we should sprinkle in a lot more backstory for paige and i think that’s where her and phoebe should bond the most where instead of phoebe being like new sister!! we’re going to be bffls!! they’re more just like tentative where phoebe still plays the same role she did in s1 trying to get paige like into the craft trying to get her to accept it and see it’s beauty but instead of like a prue reaction like what magic isn’t real this is too dangerous what did you drag me into blah blah blah like paige’s issue isn’t with magic being real it’s with like. being charmed. being this paragon of good magic. especially with being half angel. like i would love to see paige struggle with that being like no you don’t understand like i’m not a good person i was like an evil horrible teenager and i’ve done awful stuff and i’m selfish and i always show up to work late and blah blah blah and really just painting this awful picture of herself and her and phoebe would bond bc a) phoebe was also a little devil child so they have that in common b) phoebe literally just met paige and so she’s really offering like a fresh perspective that paige doesn’t really get to see like paige is looking at herself through this distorted mirror and phoebe like woah woah woah woah woah like i don’t think you realize this but u are actually an insanely good person? like look at all you were able to do without magic? there’s a reason this happened to you okay there’s a reason the universe chose you and it’s not something to be afraid of it’s something to celebrate and just like. give me some quality phoebe/paige. and then keep piper/paige roughly the same i’ve spoken a lot on how much i like how they didn’t seem to like each other at first and how they were both very uncompromising in the type of women that they were and despite both being stubborn and snippy they ended up growing really well together i would end up sprinkling in a couple more heart 2 hearts between the two bc they rarely got any but yeah. and then while i’m still on character dynamics i think we should have brought sam in as more of a recurring character just to like have around and also maybe thru him flesh out patty more bc you have just ripped the halliwell family apart killing prue i would like to see time dedicated to healing the family you know really establishing them as A Family not just as The Charmed Ones. travelling on to plot, as stated earlier, i don’t like the overarching source bit not a fan i think we can keep having him send minions in between phoebe’s premonitions demons after cole and maybe even a charge or two for paige and that’ll keep us stacked enough to get a firm sister dynamic til s4 finale the source thanoses it like fine i’ll do it myself promising us a big charmed/source battle in s5. since i’m doing that there will obviously be no cole source plotline bc lbr it completely blows. now, i’m not a huge fan of phole. never really have been, i’ve said this before, i’m not a huge fan of the ‘pretends to be in a relationship with somebody to kill them trope’ bc while the evil party might be developing genuine feelings the good party is falling in love with a hoax and that kinda bugs me. flip side of this i do love the idea of actively trying so super hard not to fall in love with somebody but you literally just can’t help it because that one’s great, so theoretically phole would sit neutral But there’s the fact that like cole’s what like 110 during the show? and he’s been like top demon for a really long time? what i’m saying is he was evil and brutally killing people for like a century. that’s a lot of time. i don’t like it. But. again there’s this forbidden love tilt and also a large part of the fanbase Love phoebe & cole so if i’m running the show imma say fuck it phole endgame bc it’s what the people deserve. a large part of this would be turning a blind eye to cole’s whole past and pretending that y’know maybe he never killed anyone! and it would be him ready to fight the whole underworld simply so he could have a life with the woman he loves, which could be sweet. i don’t think i’d ever really want to see queen of hell phoebe or source cole just bc like. meh. what did we really gain from that? phoebe’s character tanked piper suffered more paige was just there like hi i’m new here What like it wasn’t that good. also side note when that happened the girls should have all lost their active powers like they did in power outage. but w/e. we’re not doing that so we don’t need to worry about it. so yeah, my s4 would really take a primary emphasis on healing the family, a secondary emphasis on making phole endgame, and a tertiary emphasis on the source sending various minions and assassins to kill them. also shax would take longer to vanquish

#okay Super Niche Here but anyone remember that show no ordinary family? it got cancel after one season #where they did a phole thing where like okay so for context #family all gets superpowers there's a mom dad son and daughter #and the mom works for some science company that was like evil or something i forget The Point Is #the mom had an assistant she was a lil brunette or whatever she was cute she and the mom were close #and the evil company sent like some guy to seduce her for information or something idk i was in elementary school when this aired #The Point Is #they're like on a date or something don't ask me for context and like she's like what's your name #and he's like oh uh bc he has to lie or something and sees the name jonathan on a waiter's name tag and says his name's jonathan #AND THAT'S HIS NAME FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES #KING THAT WAS A LIE #WHAT'S UR REAL NAME #now #disclaimer #this could be entirely fake and made up #but i have a vivid memory explaining this to like alexandra in the backseat of my dad's suburban in the elementary school carpool #i swear to god this happened #bc it's haunted me ever since #charmed #s4 #💌

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rachelbethhines · 4 years

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Tangled Salt Marathon - Under Raps

My feelings on this episode are pretty neutral. It’s not anything amazing, but it’s not the worst thing ever either. It’s just there, I guess.

Summary: During a love festival, Corona displays a book full of signatures of lovers in honor of an old ruler's falling in love with the leader of a rival kingdom. Cassandra suddenly turns very secretive; Rapunzel learns it's because she's been seeing a guy named Andrew. Cassandra doesn't want Rapunzel's meddling, but the princess suggests a double date and they all go off in a hot air balloon. However, Andrew turns out to be part of an old faction that didn't like the unification of Corona and wants to steal the book.

This Backstory Doesn’t Add Up

So we open up with Big Nose narrating about the history of a war between Corona and a group of people called the Saporians. This is important for two reasons. First, because the Saporians are reoccurring villains in the show, and secondly, because it reveals where the underground tunnels running between Old Corona and the Island Capital come from. These tunnels are a reoccurring plot device in the show, along with the book that maps them.

The problem is that what the story tells us doesn’t match the other information we are given. If it was only the Saporians who invaded then why does an Old Corona, with its own castle, exist to begin with? Why do the tunnels extend from both if King Herz Der Sonne made them? What purpose did they serve if he was only defending the island? Why are the Saporians led by a general and not a ruler? Why would marrying only a general unite the two kings and where was the Saporian kingdom to begin with? Why did they invade? Why are there still Saporians who haven’t accepted the merger centuries later and why do they live on the go outside the kingdom? If Herz Der Sonne is such a good guy then why did he curse his grave with a zombie apocalypse? Ect.

We keep getting hints throughout the show that Herz Der Sonne isn’t all he was cracked up to be, and you keep expecting a reveal that it was the Coronaians who started the war and oppressed the Saporians and then rewrote history, but it never comes. The show wants us to accept this very black and white conflict at face value even as it constantly undermines itself and muddies the waters.

Pointing Out That Something is Stupid in the Show Itself Doesn’t Make it Any Less Stupid

As I stated back during Rapunzel’s Enemy, the show has a real problem with tone. Constantly showing us festival and holiday after festival and holiday only undermines the more serious elements in the ongoing story and creates mood whiplash. Also anything that reminds me of Cinderella 2 is not a good thing.

Ahh Friedborg, You’re Such a Wasted Opportunity

So she actually first appeared in Cassandra V. Eugene but I forgot to bring her up there. My bad. Friedborg is something of a fan favorite in the TTS fandom, and I like her too, but she adds nothing. She’s a joke character in a tv show already oversaturated by joke characters. More over the joke is actually offensive on some level since it all hinges on her being less conventionally attractive then the other female characters and the mains finding her weird because she never talks.

The show tries to justify her existence by making her Big Nose’s girlfriend, but she’s not who he ended up with in the movie. And once again it’s kind of offensive to imply that only people who don’t match society’s contrived beauty standards can only find love with those that look like them. Thereby completely missing the point of Big Nose’s character arc.

I’ll say it right now, Friedborg should have been Zan Tiri, or Demantius. Take your pick. I think ZT makes more sense, but etheir way she should have been a setup for something more important to the plot rather then just be being a vauge oddity that just pops up from time to time.

I Miss This Version of Eugene

Throughout the first two seasons, Eugene and Cassandra were willing to point out Rapunzel’s BS. Forcing her to confront her flaws and re-examine her positions.I would argue that the show could have pushed this even further but at least it was there. By the final season no one was doing this. Rapunzel is allowed to be as awful as she wants to be without consequence. Meaning she never learns anything and stops growing as a character and the show acts like this a positive thing. It is not. In fact, it is the biggest flaw of the whole show as it fails to achieve the one thing it originally set out to do; which is to tell a coming of age story with Rapunzel.

It also has the added effect of making Eugene a doormat to Rapunzel’s bulling, thereby regressing his character as well and presenting an unhealthy relationship as a goal to be achieved to younger viewers. I can not stress enough to young girls and young men in particular, that Rapunzel and Eugene are not ‘relationship goals’ in this show. Not after season 3.

Xavier Doesn’t Get a Proper Introduction

So Xavier is actually pretty important to the ongoing plot. He’s more or less the exposition fairy for the show, but he’s not really established. He just suddenly appears here with no prior meeting and he just so happens to know what the main characters need to know with no explanation as to how he knows.

His part here is so forgettable that I legit forgot who he was when he reappeared in the mid-season finale. I had thought that the writers just threw in a random character for plot purposes. And to be fair they did. Just they did it here instead of in Queen for a Day.

If the showrunners wanted Xavier to be historian who knows everything and tells stories, then he should have been introduced as the narrator of the history of Hearts Day instead of Big Nose.

Another Lesson Not Learned

We get this big heart to heart moment of Raps and Cass coming to an understanding, with Rapunzel promising not to intrude and Cass promising to being more honest about her feelings. This is walked back on several times and made part of the core conflict of the last two seasons.

Once again, any problem that can be solved in less then five minutes of talking isn’t a strong enough conflict to drive multiple seasons. If this had been a show without an ongoing narrative, like say The Rescue Rangers or even Batman the Animated Series, then the repeated lessons wouldn’t be a problem. We expect characters to be static and to reset after each episode since they’re not shows that you watch in order.

But if you do go the overarching arc route for a story, then people expect lasting character development. Even in shows like Gravity Falls or Steven Universe, where the change is more gradual and the characters do repeat mistakes occasionally, there’s still a marketed change by the end. One that indicates improvement by the characters, and the inter conflicts are never exactly the same each time with exactly the same lesson over and over again.

Oh Look, Cassandra Once Again Achieving her Goal of Validation

Cass is awarded a medal by her father for stopping Andrew. Don’t expect her or the show to remember this.

Also more Cass and Cap interaction that we don’t get to see.

Can We Not Imply That Cassandra Still has a Crush on the Guy Who Lied to Her and Then Almost Killed Her, and Can We Not Act Like This is a Good Thing?

So this flower was given to Cassandra by Andrew and her keeping it makes zero sense.

First off lets not have one of our few strong independent female characters crushing on the show’s stereotypical ‘nice guy’, okay? That’s all kinds of gross. Secondly, if the intention was to show that Cass was now more willing to open up about her feelings, then wouldn’t her keeping one of the gifts Raps made her earlier in the episode make more sense? After all, that’s the relationship that actually matters to Cassandra and is the basis of the whole show.

But this all boils down to the fact that the creator sees Cassandra as straight, always has, and thinks her crushing on the guy who manipulated her is somehow better than ‘no-homo’. Now you can headcanon Cass as whatever you want and ship her with whomever you want, as canon doesn’t matter. But I find it hilarious that most of the head showrunner’s biggest supporters are mainly Casspunzel fans and yet he’s the one who made them ‘sisters’ and sees them as such.

Like I hate to break it to you guys, but a Cass led spin-off headed by Chris won't be the lesbian rep that you’ve always dreamed of. You’re better off just watching the She-Ra reboot.

But things gets even worse when Rapunzel approves of this stupid ‘crush’ ...

Don’t Ever Tell Someone That You’re Proud of Them For Going On a Date

Dating is just something some people choose to do together and some people choose not to engage in that. It’s not an accomplishment and it shouldn’t be treated as such. This is insulting to both people who don’t date, for whatever reason, and to women who hate being being defined by their relationships, which is most of us.

Even if you’re being charitable and try to make this about Cassandra self esteem and her learning she’s worth ‘loving’, which is the reason some people have offered up for this scene, it still falls apart when it’s not established that Cassandra ever had such self esteem issues to begin with and was not looking for romance anyways. And if that is what the show is going for then it’s still problematic to suggest that being found as attractive by someone else is need for self esteem. In fact, that’s kind of the opposite of what self esteem is.

Conclusion

Overall this episode was ‘meh’. Like most season one episodes the problems stem from the ongoing narrative and lack of follow though in later seasons. However there’s enough stuff in here on it’s own to rub me just the wrong way that I can’t actually call it good either.

It doesn’t help that I don’t see the appeal of Andrew at all. Watching the character is just a cringefest for me. He’s too similar to real life men I’ve unfortunately met and therefore sends alarm bells ringing in my head. And I agree with Eugene; he’s not all that handsome.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #anti-rapunzel #anti-tangled #rapunzel #cassandra #andrew #anti-andrew #eugene

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dgcatanisiri · 4 years

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So. Did see Rise of Skywalker today.

“Flawed, but probably as good as we were going to get” is my two cent summary, especially given some of the whispers I’m hearing about what went on behind the scenes that, in effect, this was “the Disney shareholder’s” trilogy more than any individual, and I think you all can guess my opinion of the Disney shareholders in general... (plus the inevitable difficulty of trying to unify two movies that honestly had a lot of tonal and thematic clash to begin with).

You want more details, they’re behind the cut, because I’m going to respect the spoiler tags.

First things first, let me get this out of the way first, Kelly Marie Tran and Rose Tico DESERVED. BETTER. Like, bare minimum, I think there should have been a scene between her and Rey at the start while Rey is reading the Jedi tomes. Just a little something that connects the two. Better still, use her as a touchstone character for what’s happening at the Resistance base in the first half - yeah, sure, you can only do so much with the jiggered footage of Carrie Fisher, but SO. WHAT. Leia doesn’t have to be in those scenes.

Hell, have her and Connix talk, considering that Connix was significant enough to both be in charge of the D’Qar evacuation AND Poe’s right hand during the mutiny. Since Connix is played by Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher’s daughter, it’d have been a fine connection there, especially if you want to include some foreshadowing of Leia’s eventual death, talk about them being concerned about the way that the General is handling everything happening, losing everyone so close to her.

Like, that’s the off the top of my head ways to enhance Rose’s part in this movie without significantly altering any of the plot. Truthfully, I think she should have been part of the group the whole time anyway.

I still don’t particularly like the return of Palpatine as the big bad, meaning that we’re pretty much completely undermining the end of the original trilogy. I mean, wasn’t that what Anakin Skywalker’s death in Return of the Jedi meant? At least when the Legends line brought him back, it was a) still during the post-RotJ war clean up, where the Empire was still fighting after Endor, still part of the same war, and b) left ambiguous enough if that was genuinely Palpatine or just a clone that claimed to be the original Palpatine.

But I can also appreciate the thematic relevance of Palpatine, the Emperor, Darth Sidious, whatever name he uses, being the overarching villain of the Skywalker Saga. So... We’ll call it even? Meh.

I will RELUCTANTLY allow the idea of Leia sacrificing herself to pull back her son from the dark side, mostly on the basis of being limited by the footage of Carrie Fisher, so using her death to have story meaning can be tolerated. Still don’t like it - I have firmly been of the believe that, given all the times he made the active choice to be evil, he could not simply return to the light, be redeemed or forgiven. But since he did, ultimately, die, I will allow it - I’m only going to be able to view his death as, effectively, him making the only effort at atonement that could be done, stopping Palpatine, before his true penance came in not being able to be a part of the galaxy he helped to save.

That said, I do NOT accept the kiss. I will only even possibly pretend it happened under the pretense of being a heat of the moment victory thing that meant nothing. Because FUCK REYLOW.

First half of the movie is HORRENDOUSLY compacted. Like, I legit feel like there was a good fifteen minutes or more hacked out of it. Too much is happening right off the bat and just doesn’t stop. It settles down eventually, but MAN could that have done with less compression.

Honestly, overall, it feels like at least two movies crammed into one, like Disney refused to split it up because “but it’s a TRILOGY!” Which, uh... Not to open the “TLJ discourse” can of worms, but... That was always going to happen, considering the massive tonal clash between Abrams and Johnson as writers and directors. Especially with Johnson having basically done nothing that would advance a core arc, by way of having the main characters of the trilogy interact - TLJ had Rey, Finn, and Poe all in different plots in separate areas, which made no sense to begin with, considering these were supposed to be the core characters, shouldn’t they have actually gotten to interact sooner?

Like I said in the summary, TFA and TLJ have little that actually connects them. In the sense of creating a coherent narrative, it’s not unreasonable that Abrams downplayed a lot of Johnson’s elements, considering that Johnson did the same with elements Abrams included in TFA - Finn’s potential Force affinity (I’ll get to that), the Knights of Ren (suddenly back with no explanation), the conscription of child soldiers as stormtroopers (which really SHOULD have been a core part of TLJ, instead of the child slavery on Canto Bight, considering it mattered to Finn’s character as already established), the idea that Luke had been searching for something (because why would he have left a map to where he was going in TFA if, as TLJ said, he went to Ach-to to wait for death?)... TRoS was always going to be in a bind on these things, and, really, considering that neither film prior was written with an ending in mind, there was no real solution but to just dance around the subject.

Let’s talk briefly about the Poe background stuff, which... *sigh* It was so POINTLESS to introduce the idea that he was a drug dealer. Like, first of all, RACIST AS FUCK to make the Latino man a drug dealer. Secondly, when and how, considering his canon back story is that he is the son of minor Rebel heroes, how did he have the time for this to happen? Third and not least, the guy’s an ace pilot, why WOULDN’T he know about hotwiring vehicles? He should know them inside and out!

Zorii is... There. That’s about all I really can say about her. Same with Jannah. Both of these felt like characters who SHOULD have had more relevance, had they been introduced sooner (and in which case, I’d toss Zorii and swap in Rose anyway). Considering they’re dropped in at the last second as they are, they honestly end up just feeling like props meant to portray Poe and Finn as straight, which...

Okay, Disney overlords are homophobic cowards. Let’s just acknowledge that right off. Finn/Poe was a ship that was never going to be allowed off the ground. We all knew it going in. So make Finn/Rey a thing and let Poe be read as gay, even if it’s not said. It would have been that simple. TFA laid the foundation, and that hug in TLJ was a good building block as well. But no. You have to be cowards and not “rock the boat” by both not having an interracial relationship AND trying to appease the Reylows. Ugh.

Anyway, any and all flirtation between Poe and Zorii is PURE mlm/wlw joking with one another. Stormpilot is endgame. Rey/Rose is real. Fuck Disney and fuck canon. MOVING ON.

Also on that note, FINN IS FORCE SENSITIVE, GODDAMMIT. The adamant refusal to acknowledge this REALLY pisses me off, because Finn is a PERFECT mirror to Kylo Ren and should have been his counterpart throughout this trilogy - Finn was a nameless stormtrooper with no past, Kylo was the heir to legacies, Finn refused to slaughter innocents, Kylo gave that order. Finn embraced the Resistance, Kylo led the First Order. THIS is the duality of characters that should have driven this trilogy. I’m not trying to take away Rey’s significance, but...

When people complain about Rey’s lineage, I’m just not all that big on this matter. First of all, I was neutral on the subject from day one. As time has gone on, however, I have reached a point where I’m just ‘...well, yeah, of course she’s got an important lineage.’ Because TFA made a big deal of this fact. This was her driving motivation. On top of that, TLJ trying the “they were nobodies” thing actually legit pisses me off, because what abandoned child just casually accepts “they were nobodies”? Even if they weren’t significant (which, again, by way of Maz and the lightsaber calling to her in TFA, there was a strong implication of them being significant, particularly with the stage directions in the script for Luke and Leia when interacting with Rey), they weren’t nobodies FOR HER. But TLJ basically has her discard the search casually.

So you want a hero who comes from nothing? Again, may I present FINN, the stormtrooper who came from nothing, who should have been leading a stormtrooper uprising, who should have gotten to be a Jedi, who DESERVED BETTER THAN THIS TRILOGY GAVE HIM...

Gah. Okay. I’m tired of ranting about the things that I didn’t like. There ARE positives, I swear!

Chewie’s breakdown over Leia’s death about broke me. Like, the moment he collapses... God, that was choking me up an hour later, too. How much it must hurt Chewie and Lando to be the only ones left... Honestly, I was half afraid that the Falcon would be destroyed during that final conflict.

Honestly, I know the idea was that Han’s appearance was just a figment, a manifestation of the inner thoughts, but I’m going to call it confirmation of Han being Force sensitive. Mostly because I picture Han losing his shit at the idea. And, honestly, I can’t help but wish that, at the least, we could have had Leia appear there, but we weren’t going to get that either way.

Speaking of Leia, honestly, I think they did the best they could with what they had of her, and, truthfully, I think it was a fine tribute to Carrie, to have Leia there, die within the context of this movie, and not just die off between films. Yes, it bound their hands some, but... It wouldn’t have been right without her, either.

Though I do reiterate that the binding with the footage is no excuse for hacking Rose practically out of the film entirely.

I focused on the issues I had against the movie, mostly because I feel like they stood out more than the things that I liked. The problem this trilogy has had since day one is that they went into this without a plan. This trilogy never knew where it was going until this movie came along. So two movies of basically throwing everything at the wall, leading to one movie having to tie it all up. This movie was always going to struggle, but in the end, I think it probably came out as best as it could.

If you want to call that damning with faint praise... I suppose it sort of is, but, more truthfully, it’s seeing it for what it is and judging it as such. This movie was hobbled before it could walk, that it managed what it did as well as it did is really a tribute to those who tried to make it work.

I feel like that’s all the major things I have to bring up right now. Though I will add... Yeah, let’s be real. They call this the end of the Skywalker Saga, but in twenty years or so, we’re going to get a fourth trilogy. Because we’re basically at the point of “every generation’s going to have their own Star Wars trilogy.”

#dg rambles #star wars #the rise of skywalker #tros spoilers #star wars spoilers #i'm gonna regret the public tags on this aren't i?#ah well...

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light-of-being · 4 years

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Okay, last thing for the day...to what extent is it worthwhile to take up minor events of idk, discrimination I guess(?) and have them addressed?

These things don’t in general bother me outside the immediate consequences of the thing itself -- but my concern is that someone else will probably experience it too, and they might actually be significantly impacted; while I’m probably more likely to be able to do the advocating because I genuinely just give fewer damns so it’s less of a risk for me.

Shit such as this made me angry, and did affect me in that I couldn’t fkin decipher anything the man was saying (making the lecture pretty futile and giving me a headache from straining), but mine is just auditory processing disorder -- I can to some extent still hear -- plus idgaf if everyone knows about it. Someone else might actually need the hearing loop in a more absolute sense, and not want to disclose that to the entire class (or even just the shithead himself, given the callousness) to be able to participate. They might have a greater history of discrimination and it might affect them more emotionally over and above just practically.

Similarly, it does get on my nerves that practically every time I use [either] bathroom someone feels the need to point out that “um, this is the [gender] bathroom” -- including, recently, staff members -- because it’s awkward and uncomfortable and vaguely excluding (in the sense of, you’re not welcome here. or there. or anywhere. go...nowhere instead. or go hunt down the singular gender-neutral bathroom that nobody’s ever bothered to clean or maintain because meh). But still, it isn’t really...idk, deep? It’s annoying while it’s happening, like what the fuck is it you want me to do exactly; and surely by now you should know that’s not exactly appropriate wtf; and most itently when in the ladies’, after staring at me or if I speak, they decide to infer that I’m female and go “oh my god i’m so sorry” like bitch. are you. you’re only fucking sorry because you think i’m cis *eye roll*. But...it doesn’t leave any lasting effect. But I'm pretty sure this wouldn’t be the case for...a lot of the people who would be (and probably presently are) affected by it. I don’t really expect to be murdered or attacked. Others may.

Also, just, inclusivity is important to people -- feeling unwelcome affects them. I don’t really care as long as nobody’s interfering with my life. Of course, I’m not actually sure if the imagined other people who might be affected actually exist. But probably. Just...statistically.

So uhhh yeah, dunno if people have any thoughts?

(Earlier I was thinking that I need to decide if I expect myself to always do any ‘easy rescues’ that are available to me. I currently incline yes, mainly because I can’t think of any compelling reasons against...but in the absence of A Rule, the decision usually gets deferred to far weaker reasons such as my mood and energy levels that day. Anyway, this might be an instance of that, in which case solving that answers this. But with this, specifically, my main question is actually is this thing really significant enough to warrant action or am I only imagining it to be and how do i tell?)

#personal #i really gotta stfu at some point #ethics #i guess #transphobia #ableism #discrimination #hi uhh yes #i am in fact member of [group]#but tell me if i should do [ally shit]?#because i'm somehow a lot more that than affected personally

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jujywrites · 5 years

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here we are (so what do we do now?)

So I saw The Aftermath on Saturday. I enjoyed seeing my wife and my husband in the same movie and it was.... okay??? i’m just meh on it but dunno why really.

ANYWAY. for some hecking reason I was immediately inspired to write an alternate ending, which. has never happened. i mean sure a lotta times I think about how i’d prefer to have a movie end but never straight up write a fic on it. prooobably doesn’t help that I was prepared to poly the hell outta this thing the instant I saw the trailer. so voila, i have handily ignored 80% of canon to do this. (also WOW a tag doesn’t exist on AO3 for it yet [and i can’t even post on FF.net] so i’m a tiny bit proud about that hahaha). somehow got 1k out of what i thought was gonna be 200-300 words?? i may have a slight problem.

grabbing two generic lines from Imogen Heap’s Entanglement and Frou Frou’s Psychobabble (which is also Immi) to make a vaguely related title

AO3

or keep reading

~~~~

Stephen's hand around hers should be a comfort. Instead it's beginning to feel like a cage, at odds with the ache of want in her heart.

They come to a stop on the platform. Stephen releases her hand, bending down to exchange words with Freda. They're both smiling, Freda more shyly.

She can almost see the wall her mind is constructing between them. Already she's leaning away, her body at an angle to the platform, even as she strains for a glimpse of the train cutting through fog.

She wonders if Lewis has found Richard's sweater yet.

Stephen straightens up and turns to her, and his leftover smile at his daughter begins to falter.

She's never been good at hiding her emotions.

Whatever he sees brings panic to his face and he strides toward her. "No," he says, with desperate repetition, hands moving to cradle her face. "You're coming with me. Right? This is what you wanted." His eyes beg her to remember, as if she could ever forget. "To start over."

"I do." Her heart thumps confusedly. She puts a hand to his cheek and says again, more firmly, "I do." She is close enough to kiss him, and she wants to, but a voice in her head is screaming to go back to Lewis now. She lets herself be drawn in, millimeters away, lets his breath fan over her lips

and then pulls back.

The crack in Stephen's heart is clear in his eyes.

"Forgive me," she says, taking a step back.

She still loves him. The thought bring tears, and she turns before he can see them, and steels herself to walk away.

"Wait! Wait."

Everything in her freezes at that voice.

Lewis is running through the crowd. He's there, on the platform, reaching for her.

He comes to a stop within arm's length, both hands on his knees as he fights for breath. "Please. Don't leave. You don't have to."

"You're here," she says, and something keeps her from touching him.

"Rachael..."

The riot of emotions Lewis puts into her name are like magnets, like electrical shocks. She looks back at Stephen, at the confused lines around his eyes, and prepares to say goodbye.

Freda stands by her father, watching carefully.

Rachael speaks to her. "I'm so sor--"

"Neither does he." Back to Lewis, his gaze open in a way that constricts her chest. "You could... you can stay with him as well."

"What?" She laughs, not knowing what else to do. "Lewis, what are you saying?"

The train horn sounds distantly.

"I don't know!" he says, throwing his arms up. "All I know is that I can't lose you, and I want you to be happy. So I'm-- I'm willing to let you have him, still, if-- if he's--" The words clip off, his face reddening.

"You still want to stay with your husband," Stephen says, tone neutral.

"Yes." The word drags out of her. "But... I still want-- oh!" she cries, whirling between them. "I'm supposed to choose, aren't I? I can't-- this isn't--" Her own words are locked up and thank goodness for it; she can taste something forbidden behind them.

And yet, somehow, Lewis pulls them out. Her grabs her arm (when had he stepped close?) and says in a harsh whisper, "I'm not ready for him to leave either."

The shock she feels must be plain on her face, because he says, "Think what you will about it, just please come home."

She stares at Stephen, who stares back. The furrows in his forehead have lightened.

"Will you?" she breathes. "Come back? It's so much to ask--"

The dim light in his eyes must be her imagination; surely he'll refuse.

"We can purchase more train tickets another time," he says, then looks at Freda and speaks rapidly.

She's picked up more German since she arrived, but they speak softly and the train's coming closer; she can make out "home" and "again" but that's all.Freda nods.

Finally, finally, he looks back at her. His shoulders rise with his inhale (her own breath has stopped). His voice is drowned out by the train, but she can read his lips.

"We will try."

Something inside her lifts, something else crumbles, and she nods fiercely enough to become dizzy. "All right," she says, voice too shaky. She says it again, louder over the train. "Let's try, then."

The train squeals to a stop. She's the first to start walking.

Lewis and Stephen catch up to her on either side, both carrying a piece of luggage, somehow keeping the proper distance from her. She can't look at them. Not yet.

"Rachael?"

But she can look at Freda.

Carrying her own luggage, she's holding out a silver case with her free hand-- the silver case. Lewis's, though Rachael has begun to think of it as hers too.

She takes it and opens it with trembling fingers. The pictures are still there, but the one with Lewis has cigarette burns through his face. Richard's is unmarred. A lump rises in her throat.

"Thank you," she says, at the same time Freda says "I'm sorry" to both her and Lewis.

"It's all right," they both answer.

She glances at him. He gives the barest of nods.

"Thank you, for giving it back. And for protecting the photographs," she says.

Freda glances at Stephen before offering an unsure smile. Then she steps between him and Rachael and puts a hand on her arm.

"Let me," Rachael says then, and takes a case from Stephen's hand.

She reaches for Lewis's hand with the other. He takes it, tightly.

Stephen's hand brushes the small of her back.

Rachael exhales. Her eyes catch Stephen's, and she doesn't try to hide her emotions this time.

His hand settles firmly. The light she wasn't sure was real is now unmistakable.

She looks straight ahead, the noise of the station slowly growing quiet.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Lewis wearing a half smile. She's not bold enough to look fully, to know for sure if that smile is directed at them both.

There will be time.

Together, they make their way back home.

#JujYwrites #The Aftermath #Aftermath 2019 movie #i literally have no idea how to tag this #implied rachael/stephen/lewis bc that's how i roll i guessssssss

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impracticaldemon · 6 years

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I dont know if I can ask this, but in which routes did you like chizuru and which routes did you not like chizuru? Can you rank them if you can? I'm sorry that this question is so long!

[Note: I am getting to my asks a bit slowly, but I’m getting there. ♥]

Hi Anon! It’s not too long a question, don’t worry about it. :) I found this difficult to answer, but I’m pretty sure I know what you mean.

There are no routes in which I actively dislike Chizuru.

Chizuru starts out as a sixteen-year-old, middle-class girl, who is already showing amazing courage and love/loyalty just by going to Kyoto to find her father. Victorian / late Edo-era Japan was not great for women (neither were Europe or North America). This isn’t to say that the women weren’t strong people; the truth is that they were amazing, and they put up with and dealt with a lot. However, middle class in 1864 (wherever you were) meant enforced gentility--nothing like the self-conscious middle-class for foisting constricting social norms on girls and women.

That said, some routes made me more uncomfortable with the character than others. Also, while I don’t mind Chizuru being physically disadvantaged by size, gender, and (insufficient) training/experience, I do mind it when she doesn’t get to show the courage and loyalty that are a key part of her character. And curiosity! The girl is constantly poking around where she allegedly doesn’t belong (grin).

For once, I’m going to try to avoid too much detail (NB: I failed). It took me a lot more time to answer this than it should have maybe–and I’m still not convinced that I was able to get away from my biases about the various routes. :/

Routes where I liked Chizuru best as a character:

Souma (Chizuru as senpai was wonderful; ‘nuff said)

Heisuke (she slapped him when he wouldn’t snap out of the self-pity and ‘I’m no good for you’ routine; she was totally ready to fight together with him against the odds; she let him be serious with her, instead of seeing only the surface; she went after what she wanted)

Saitou (she stuck by him and made her own decisions–I found she was fairly self-determining on this route; she risked rejection to offer to listen, and gave pretty good advice; she tried to be playful with one of the least obviously playful guys in the bunch; and, er, so on–my bias is really showing here, but there’s a reason I like this route… grumbles in embarrassment)

Yamazaki (I like Chizuru stepping up to be useful, which we see clearly in this route–I’m a fan of the Chizuru-as-doctor’s-daughter role; she also has an important role to play with keeping Yamazaki-the-fury from going off the deep end)

Hijikata–mostly (she’s a little too passive and starry-eyed at times, but (a) not as much as I tend to remember, (b) he’s a decade+ older, beautiful, utterly determined, charismatic etc. - give the girl a break!; and (c ) she consistently pushes at his boundaries despite how brusque or angry he gets–even after knowing enough not to be starry-eyed)

Route where Chizuru was fine:

Nagakura

Kazama, probably (I’m not saying it’s a preferred pairing for me, but in terms of Chizuru’s character and actions, the route’s fine; she goes with Kazama to find the Shinsengumi, and she puts herself and her pride on the line to do it (she has to ask, as a favour); she doesn’t ever suddenly like Kazama early in the game, nor does she condone his behaviour/arrogance; she demonstrates good judgment in trusting him eventually; she doesn’t suddenly become passive, nor does she ever enjoy his sneers; she goes on to recognize his strengths in large part because (a) he matures a bit, which takes the edge off his sense of entitlement, and (b) he has the time to show her he’s consistent in looking out for her)

Routes where I liked Chizuru, but she was kind of clueless, or something else bugged me (about her) more than normal:

Harada (still one of my favourite routes because I like fluff dammit, as well as kind, protective guys who are–oops, just a little defensive of Sano!!; anyway, Chizuru was still brave as all heck, BUT she was a little too clueless at times over her own or his emotions; there’s the “nobody could really like me, I’m just a prisoner” problem, and then the “I’m a monster” crisis; and then she tries to sacrifice herself to go alone to face Kodo–I mean, what’s the point, and why isn’t she letting Sano make his own decisions about what he wants?; I know what she was trying to do, but it’s not a trope I’ve ever liked in romantic pairings - plus, lying is bad and she was going to end up full of fury swords; AND YET I didn’t mind too much because she was still brave, caring, working hard, and working toward both a personal and a big-picture goal)

Okita (Chizuru is willing to put up with an unbelievable (to me, who is clearly not Chizuru!) number of death threats and put-downs from Souji, for quite a while, and it really bothers me; I’m far more sold on this route than I used to be, but still stuck on why Chizuru would fall for Souji in the face of being called weak, useless, unintelligent, and a free-loader (I don’t believe he was genuinely teasing her until later on, for reasons); however, one must make allowances for physical attraction, and a personality designed to prefer dangerous, “difficult” guys (honestly quite possible--but Souji advocated killing her!); other than me wanting Chizuru to smack Souji upside the head on a number of occasions in the first part of the game (which would be a BAD idea, and decidedly unsafe), I do like Chizuru in Okita’s route, but much more as the route progresses and I can buy into the way they become close to each other)

--Okay, the truth is, I prefer both Okita and Kazama in AU settings. Good thing there are excellent fic writers around!

Iba (I’m neutral on Chizuru as a character, here; it was interesting seeing her more involved with her demon heritage, but I kept thinking she was lacking the fire and spirit of other routes, and could have been a lot more engaged and engaging–maybe I just need to replay the route?; I could see why she’d fall for Iba)

Routes where I wasn’t comfy with Chizuru’s character

Sannan (I was a little uncomfortable with her behaviour, because she seemed almost too desperate at times to ‘make the situation/relationship work’; but there were a number of things that I liked, as well–courage and compassion, especially; I concede that Chizuru has a notorious weakness for hard luck cases, so it kind of makes sense?)

Sakamoto (she seemed surprisingly fickle to the Shinsengumi, to me–she paid lip service to loyalty, and talked about being uncomfortable, but she seemed swayed by Ryouma almost from the start, whether by his looks, his boldness, or his declared take on Japan, war, and politics; meh–not sure I can be fair here, and the question was asked about my subjective opinion; I never saw her being personally active in this route; maybe I need to play it again and pay better attention!)

#hakuouki #haku thoughts #imp's opinions #yukimura chizuru #long post #as usual argh #just hope somebody wants to read this!#anon asks #asked and answered #at far too much length again

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julia-highstorms · 6 years

Text

If Jane Was Here (Noah's POV) - Ch. 12

Summary: ILITW by Noah’s point of view. Previous chapters here

Disclaimer: all characters belong to Pixelberry Studios and some dialogues are from the game. Gender neutral MC.

Author’s Note: WOOHOO IT LIVES BENEATH WILL AIR OCTOBER 10TH!!! Which means I won't be able to finish this fanfic before its release dammit lol I am so excited!!!!!!!! *plays Fight or Flight on repeat*

Rating: PG-13 (language)

Pairing: Noah x MC

Word count: 3419

Tagging @kurbqa-deactivated20180730 @miragemeister @yertletheturtle04 @mysteriouslady4 @klaudiana-beaumontkkreal @katiehawkeyebishop @melchann @hippiekiyay @lovethemarshalltwins @jadedpixiescribbles @gameofstrangerwars @american-duchess @blackheartdreams @indiacater @nuttatulipa @lcnelywclf @sazanes @mmmmmmyyyah @ietss

Chapter 12 - Homecoming

It was over. Redfield was gone.

And Jane wasn’t here.

Noah laid awake on his bed that night, after he and his friends casted the spell and trapped Redfield inside those ruins for eternity.

He knew he should be feeling in piece. He thought that, after everything, he would finally have a good night sleep, something that he hadn’t had since his sister’s death.

But no. It seemed just impossible to turn his brain off. Millions of thoughts ran through his mind.

That was it? Where was Jane? Was she safe? Was she here? Was it all really over?

The boy left the house as soon as the first autumn warm sunlight escaped through the clouds. It was Saturday morning and Mom was still sleeping. He didn’t make breakfast; he didn’t feel like eating. All he wanted was some goddamn answers.

He had to go back there. To find the truth. To see if he could finally trust his own mind that everything was really over.

So, taking a deep breath, he entered the woods. Everything seemed peaceful and he could hear the birds singing nearby. No one would have guessed that a bunch of teenagers fought an army of skeletal creatures, a dude made of stone and dirt and a creepy-ass ghostly monster the night before. Noah himself almost wouldn't believe it if he wasn't so wide awake due to the adrenaline that still ran in his veins. With his fists balled, his heart beating so fast he thought he would have a heart attack and not daring to turn around and go away, he determinately walked towards Redfield's ruins.

In the doorway, the barrier he and his friends casted hummed faintly, shimmering like a pane of glass filled with smoke. There was no sign of life in there.

"Is this it? One little spell and it's all over? Just like that?" - he asked loudly, almost shouting, feeling that disappointment coming again. Nothing happened. - "I thought if we all came back here and faced you, something would… happen. Something would get fixed." - he gulped, still facing the ruins. - "You said 'Jane is here...'" - suddenly, anger filled him, those words repeating over and over again inside his head. Jane is here... Jane is here... Jane is here... - "So where is she, huh? What was all this for? What the hell am I supposed to do now?!"

He yelled so loud that his voice echoed through the woods. He felt his eyes stinging. The house stared silently back as if it said to him:

No, Jane was not here.

He felt his heart sank inside his chest.

Jane was not here.

"I knew it was just a lie. Jane's not here." - tears started falling from his eyes. - "Jane is gone… and it's time I accept that."

He turned to go… but behind the barrier, the smoke formed into a dark figure. The boy felt his heart stopping as he recognized Redfield's form… but then, it spoke:

"Noah… don't go." - the voice suddenly, painfully familiar.

It was Jane.

Jane.

Jane was here.

Jane was here!

"Jane… it is you! Hold on!" - he shout, his heart pounding fast and hard. Frantically, he scanned the barrier, desperately looking for a flaw, a way in… - "There!" - up in one corner, he could see it, a tiny crack in the surface, like a chip in a windshield, that spread a little wider. - "The barrier… It's going to break again! So the ritual didn't work! But that means..." - he stopped short, realisation hitting him hard. - "...you're going to escape again, aren't you? Soon. And then all this will happen all over. You're going to hurt people again. You don't even understand what you're doing, do you?" - his twin looked back to him, wordless. He swore he could almost see her big confused brown eyes staring at him. - "Are you even my sister anymore? Is there anything left in there?"

Jane's eyes flickered. She gave the tiniest quiver of a nod. When Noah spoke again, he could hear a terrifying desperation in his own voice.

"Then tell me what I have to do!" - hot tears rolled down his cheeks. - "Tell me how I can help you!"

He would do anything, everything to get her out of those woods. She had been there, all alone, during all those years. Trapped in those ruins. Lonely. Forgotten. Broken. Alone.

"Play!" - his sister answered so loudly he could hear her voice even through the barrier, a single word that kept echoing through his mind…

Play… play… play...

"...'Play'?" - he asked. - "Play wha--" - and then he got it. - "You need us… all of us to play… right?"

"Yes! Everyone… plays… together!"

Noah felt his head spinning. Everyone plays together.

Jane would only be free if everyone came to play. That was their rule. All of them. Together. But…

"But… someone will have to take your place, right? Can't it be me? I volunteer myself! Right now!" - he didn't have much to look forward to. In fact, he had nothing. He would gladly take his sister's place if that meant she could be finally free.

"No… everyone… plays… together!" - she repeated, firmly.

"Okay… okay, I'll bring them to play..." - he murmured, trying to clear his mind. How? How would he convince his friends to go there? They would never go there. He knew them. If he tried to talk to them about Jane being all that time trapped there… They would just tell him to move on.

No… he would never be able to convince them to come… he would need to… drag them there…

...And he might had known the perfect occasion for that. Homecoming was happening that night. They would all be together. It would be easier to get them to the woods… they would need to provide some kind of distraction… something that would force them to go there.

He looked up, his eyes finding Jane's, who expectantly stared back at him.

"Okay… but you have to promise me that you won't kill any of them, okay? And… and you'll pick me to take your… place. Okay? Okay, Jane? You have to promise me this."

"Promise!" - she beamed, her eyes lighting up.

"Okay… okay. We're going to do this… But I will need your help."

That was the only way.

Noah spent the whole day with Jane, planning how they would bring their friends there. He just left her when it was time to go back to his house because the limo would be picking him to Homecoming.

"Noah, what the hell!" - Stacy shout as soon as squeezed himself into a spot on the wraparound couch.

"What?" - he felt his heart stopping. Would they somehow know that...

"Why are you wearing your regular clothes?!" - she pointed to his denim jacket and old beanie. He felt relieved almost instantly. Ah, it was because of that. - "I don't know if you know this, but we're going to Homecoming! Our last Homecoming in fact!"

"Yo Stace, don't be so hard on Noah! It was like a miracle to convince him to come!" - Andy defended him from his seat. He was wearing a nice blue tuxedo.

"Ugh, I would so much rather be wearing my regular clothes instead of… this." - Ava stated, looking down to her fancy black dress.

"Oh, we're at MC's house! I'll go get her!" - Lily jumped out of the limo. She returned with MC a couple of minutes later.

"Whoa. Stacy… this is like, insanely fancy."

"Meh, it's okay."

If Noah wasn't already blind by the vision of MC in formal clothes, he surely was after the flash of Stacy's phone when she took a photo of all of them together.

"This is fancy? Look at you! You look like a million bucks!" - Lily beamed by his side.

"Lily's right. I don't know about a million, but somewhere in the high hundreds of thousands, for sure." - Noah gave MC a small smile. Their cheeks turned a shade pinker.

"Aw, thanks guys. You're gonna make me cry before we get our pictures taken!"

"Ugh, no thank you! Photos from tonight could end up in the yearbook!" - the cheerleading said. Andy suddenly shout:

"Dudes, check this out!" - he rolled the skylight window open and sticked his head out of it. - "AWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You guys gotta try this!"

Suddenly, the Asian boy tugged on Noah's jacket and pulled him up to level. Noah grinned sheepishly before his head disappeared through the roof too.

"Hey, guys, make room for me! I heard that whole windblown look is the hottest fashion these days." - MC squeezed between the two boys, and howled into the wind. - "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"This is nice." - Noah said, feeling the cool night breeze on his face, momentarily forgetting about Jane, about what he was going to do that night, and just enjoying that moment, like a regular teenage boy, free of guilt and worry.

MC looked at him with a huge grin on their face.

"Yeah it is." - they were so close that the boy could feel their breath against his cheek. Immediately, he felt his cheeks getting hotter. Thankfully it was dark outside and they couldn't see him blushing.

After a few more shouts, they all dropped back down into the limo.

"We've got to commemorate this. All of us going to homecoming together? Who would have guessed." - Noah agreed with every word that Lucas said.

"Aw, yeah! Who brought a selfie stick?" - Andy asked and everyone turned to look at Stacy, who rolled her eyes before pulling one out of her bag.

"You guys have that judgy look in your eyes, but it's obviously coming in handy."

"Everyone squeeze in!" - Lily squealed.

"Hiiissss. I haven't taken a picture in twelve years, and I'm pretty sure I don't show up on film anyway." - MC rolled their eyes to Ava, grinning.

"Ava, get over here." - they ordered as they threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into frame. - "Everybody say 'Homecoming'!"

A flash went off and while all of his friends burst into commotion, reaching out to try to get a glimpse of the photo, Noah grabbed Andy's phone left on the couch.

"We gotta show this to Dan when we go to the hospital tomorrow." - Lily's face fell. - "I-I know he won't see it, but..."

"I'm sure he'd like that." - Noah squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

Lucas lightly tapped his fork against his glass, getting everyone's attention. He raised the glass up for a toast:

"I'd like to say something, if I may."

"Speech! Speech! Speech!"

"Andy, he can't speak if you keep yelling over him!" - Stacy chuckled.

"Though it would make for as interesting sport." - even Ava was smiling too.

"If you'll excuse me… I wanted to say that I never thought that we would end up back here. But I'm very glad we did. And I think we owe a large part of that to Noah and MC."

Noah's heart immediately stopped. Him?!

"Us?" - MC asked, sharing a both confused and surprised look with Noah.

"No, I--" - he tried to say but Lucas interrupted him:

"Aw, come on you guys. MC, you have always been the glue of this group, and..." - the Class President turned to face him. - "Noah, we're… I'm just glad to have you back around."

Noah just couldn't believe that was happening, he never was the one to be the center of attention. He felt both embarrassed and… guilt. Especially because he knew what was going to happen later that night. Crap.

But that was the only way.

He felt a lump forming in his throat, facing the limo's floor, his cheeks burning red.

"To MC and Noah!" - Lily shout happily and their friends lifted a toast to both of them. MC raised their glass and locked eyes with Noah. He nodded, raising his glass too.

"Now… let's rage!" - Andy yelled excitedly, opening the door as the limo parked in front of their school. - “Oh my… They have one of those chocolate fountains that you dip stuff in.” - he murmured, his jaw dropping, as the gang stepped into the school’s gym.

“I don’t know if I’d want to eat anything in this gym after what happened the last time we were here…” - Noah stated, looking around. Lucas cleared his throat:

“Rest arrayed, an inspection was done, exterminators called, and there’s not a single spider left in this school.”

“This place looks amazing! Gotta give my props to the dance committee.”

“Chair of, at your service and taking your ‘props’.” - the Class President smiled to Stacy.

“Lily! Over here.” - they all heard Britney calling her, whose eyes lighted up to the vision or her girlfriend.

“Oh! There’s Britney! I’ll meet up with you guys on the dance floor!” - and then she skipped over to the other girl, and Noah cringed when they watched them kiss (why was Lily still with her?) before heading toward the snack table.

After a quick encounter with Mayor Green, the rest of them walked towards the center of the dance floor and started dancing like it was the last night on Earth.

Well, his friends were dancing: Lucas, Andy, Lily and MC did that stupid sprinkler dance move, Stacy and Ava (and Britney who joined them with Lily, though she ignored them and they ignored her) danced like sane people. The closest thing that Noah did of dancing was bobbing his head following the beat of the song.

Plus, it was really damn hard enjoying the party when he kind of knew what was going to happen later… and Andy’s phone seemed to weight like a thousand pounds inside his pocket.

But he knew that was the only way.

“You call this dancing?” - MC asked him, a playful smirk on their lips.

“Well, uh, this is how I dance.” - they rolled their eyes, chuckling softly.

“C’mon, Noah, this is our last Homecoming, you should be having fun! Let loose!” - MC exclaimed, their hands on his shoulders, shaking him. Noah couldn’t hold back a laugh too.

“I am having fun.”

“Then why aren’t you dancing?”

“Well, it’s really hard to feel like dancing with this crappy music.”

“Don’t be so obnoxious, Beanie Boy.” - just then, the upbeat electro song was substituted by another one. - “Then, what kind of song do you like?”

“Uh… this one, actually. But I can’t dance.” - he quickly said.

“Nonsense, everyone dance. Not everyone dance well, but everyone can dance. You just need to move your body according to the song!” - and then, MC started doing some silly dance moves, making the boy laugh and forget about his worries for a moment.

He tried to follow their moves, letting himself loose to the song, dancing like a regular teenage boy. After a few more upbeat songs, the music transitioned subtly into a slow song. Couples started forming around them. MC looked at him, almost expectantly, but Noah quickly said that he was going to get something to drink after all that dancing. They agreed to take a break too and they both headed to the refreshment table.

“You know, I’m really surprised that you ended up coming.” - they said while they drank their drinks.

“Yeah… me too.”

“I’m glad that you came, Beanie Boy. The party wouldn’t be the same without you.” - MC squeezed their shoulder, grinning at him. The boy knew he was blushing.

...There was really no way of convincing his friends to go to the woods? Like, willingly go to the ruins where Jane was stuck? Maybe if he could convince MC… no. He had to stick to his and Jane’s plan. After everything, they would understand, right…?

And that was the only way.

“How we doing tonight, Wolves?” - Jocelyn’s familiar and nauseating voice suddenly filled the auditorium. People answered with excited shouts. - “I know that it’s usually the duty of last year’s Queen to announce homecoming court, but, well… no one can find Britney.” - Noah snorted, unable to contain his pure disability as he looked up to the stage, unnoticing that Lily was back from whatever the hell she went.

“I wish we couple skip this part. Just another perpetuation of the class system in this school.”

“I think it’s stupid.” - MC nodded by his side. - “I’m with you. It’s an archaic tradition that should be banned!”

Beanie boy can’t contain a smile and they bump fists. He knew they would understand him.

Jocelyn kept taking.

“Without further ado, this year’s homecoming king is…” - a drumroll sound effect blared through the speakers. The girl teared open one of the envelopes in her hand and her mouth rounded into an ‘oh’. - “It’s, uh, Andy Kang.”

Applause broke out throughout the auditorium, and there were a few shouts of ‘One Hit Wonder’ but even more shouts of ‘King Kang!’.

“Wh-what?” - Andy stuttered in shock, as a purple light illuminated him. - “No, I… How is this possible?”

“I’m pretty sure voting happened that week we played Anderton.” - Stacy smiled by his side.

“Heeellloooo? You awake, Kang?”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go!” - MC shoved him towards the stage. The short boy beamed at all of them before bounding up to the stage.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” - Noah said, with a small grin on his lips, as Jocelyn grimaced as she dropped the crown onto his friend’s head. A transgender Asian boy voted for Homecoming King? Maybe this world had salvation after all.

“WOOHOOOO! GO ANDY!” - MC cheered by his side.

“Well that was sure… surprising. Let’s get to the good stuff, hm? This year’s homecoming queen…”

Suddenly, the doors nearest the gang slammed open. Up on stage, Andy’s face paled as he looked past them. “What the—”

They whirled around just in time to see Cora staggering in clutching her stomach…

Oh no. It had started. Jane had already started it.

“What is she doing here?” - Lucas murmured, as Ava pointed out, equally surprised.

“Oh my god, look…” - blood sept through Cora’s fingertips, the color from her face draining fast. A scream swelled up from the crowd as people started to realise what was happening. The old woman called out for MC.

“C-Cora? Why are you—” - Cora’s legs gave out from under her, and MC caught her just before she hit the floor, her blood smearing across the front of their clothes.

“I-it failed. The ritual failed.” - students crowded around them, craning their necks to get a better look.

Noah just wanted to run. To run and to never turn back. But he knew he had to do it.

That was the only way.

“Okay everyone, back up. I’ll call an ambulance, just… give her some room!” - Lucas asked, forcing the crowd to take a step away from the witch and MC.

In the middle of the crowd’s nervous chatter, Noah couldn’t hear what they said, but he knew exactly what they were talking about. And about who.

Jane was here.

Suddenly, Cora’s lifeless body slumped to the floor, MC’s face twisted in shock and horror.

Jane was here.

“MC? What did she say?” - Stacy asked, taking a step towards them.

But before MC could say anything, an unnatural howling surrounded the gym and all around the room, doors started to fly open, and wave after wave of vine-tangled creatures came storming in, the crowd scrambling away in every direction, screaming. One of the monstrous creatures brokerages from the pack and stalked towards them.

“That’s… not Twiggy, is it?”

“Definitely not.” - Ava scowled to the vine creatures facing them. The fire exits were now covered in spiders the size of their fists.

Now that the gym was in a complete chaos, that was their cue to leave and meet with Jane in the woods.

Jane was here.

“We gotta get out of here, now. Where’s Andy?” - Noah asked, trying to find him in the middle of the screaming crowd.

“There!” - MC pointed to the stage.

Noah turned just in time to see a huge skeletal creature leaping towards the Asian boy, its jaws clamping around his leg.

“AAAH!” - the creature twisted its head and a sickening crunch can be heard, a sharp piece of bone snapping through the skin of Andy’s leg. He screamed again as the beast dragged him toward the exit.

“Andy!” - MC shout, as they all struggled to fight their way through the crowd. - lAndy! Just hold on!” - but they all knew they wouldn’t reach him in time. Andy managed to catch hold of the doorframe as the beast bounded through the exit doors.

But then, with a horrific jerk, he was gone.

Jane is here.

#if jane was here #noah marshall #it lives in the woods #ilitw #playchoices #noah x mc #ilitw fanfic #it lives in the woods fanfic #choices fanfic #playchoices fanfic #choices fanfiction #playchoices fanfiction

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some-flyleaves · 6 years

Text

Impromptu media thoughts of the day, two for the price of one: graphic novels by Alan Moore, Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Major spoilers ahead, if people need spoiler alerts for graphic novels from the 80s.

People have written really deep and long essays about both, but here’s my discombobulated twenty cents (in bullet point format because I fucking love bullet point infodumping):

Read Watchmen first, for a variety of reasons included but not limited to:

First heard about it ages ago as if not an influence then for major parallels to The Incredibles, which is one of my favorite movies. I think I was aware of Watchmen's presence at my local library for a good while, but flipping open to a random page and seeing a technicolor old-style comic kinda lost me right off the bat. (I’m still not super partial to the art style in either graphic novel, actually, but they’ve grown on me.)

More recently I watched the 2000 X-Men movie, and not gonna lie, it was actually pretty good. Not stellar enough to warrant a post-movie thoughtdump like this, and granted I don’t go into superhero films with high expectations on the rare occasions I watch at all, but y’know. If I remember correctly this was also an influence on The Incredibles and it sure as hell shows. Also, Rogue deserved better.

You’d think that this means I picked up Watchmen because of an Incredibles kick, right? (Saw that too recently, was good but not as much as the original & with post-movie hype having died down it miiight not stand up to rewatch, I’ll see.) That... might’ve been a factor, sure.

Mostly I just noticed it in the recent return pile along with a note on the back about it being a MUST-READ for graphic novel fans, and since I’m interested in the comic medium and all, why not. Also, work was slow. Funny how stuff works out.

ANYWAY point is I read that one comic with the bloody smiley face on the cover, and you know what? It took about two days and three reading sessions (short one at work, shorter one at home, then a long dedicated few hours within the week) and I was fucking wrecked. You know, the “just read a damn good book/watched a damn good movie/consumed some good fucking media, what do you mean I gotta continue with life as normal” buzz? That, but with a graphic novel.

I’ve mentioned before that I have a weird habit of spoiling myself before I even get into something, whether it means reading the Wikipedia plot summary or reading a sentence in the middle of a book, even skipping to the end of a book and skimming the last paragraph if the middle sentence hooked me. For Watchmen this translated to knowing right off the bat that some big weird scifi thing was involved, and there was a Moment between two characters right before then that packed a punch even without context. It took the longest time for either of these to become clear as I read proper, and once I realized who those two characters were... oh. O u c h.

Somehow I managed to not do this with V for Vendetta. I kinda wish it’d been the other way around, in retrospect, but oh well. Both were solid reads, though I liked Watchmen more.

okay personal anecdotes/context aside NOW for the actual review-y thoughts

Despite the Incredibles comparisons, I didn’t actually find Watchmen very similar, nor would I call Incredibles a retelling. In Watchmen, “superheroes” are outlawed and all, but there’s like... two characters with actual powers. One of them is just “I am really smart (and have remarkable reflexes, but then so does Vendetta guy and there’s no supernatural influence in that story).” Instead it’s an alternate history where something something Vietnam and Nixon and it’s the 80s, and jesus christ was the Cold War “we could literally blow up any day now” atmosphere palpable.

There were definitely a few moments where I’d read a scene and be like, “shit, was this really what the 80s were like?” both because A) hey, we almost DID blow up the goddamn planet, and B) general fraught “everything’s fucked, world is ending” atmosphere still rings too goddamn true today. The ending also leaves me with a distinct sense of dread, like that’s the shit that’ll need to happen for us to get our shit together, if only for a little while.

It’s not a happy story, no. Having read a few of the aforementioned scholarly articles on Watchmen, I guess this kicked off the current generation of gritty superhero comics--even though when Watchmen came out, it was revolutionary in NOT being a technicolor happy-go-lucky hero-always-wins moral romp. (Again, superhero comics ain’t my forte.) That said, Watchmen is clearly not being dismal and cynical just for the heck of it. It conveys this with the subtlety of a sledgehammer at times, but an overarching narrative judgment is thankfully absent, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions. Love me some moral ambiguity.

On that note, characters are well-drawn (both in terms of psychological profiles and actual illustration), and while I wasn’t inspired to get too deep into any of their motivations or the like, Rorschach was... something. His identity reveal was a little anticlimactic (as were... lots of the backstory exposition sections, in retrospect), but necessary. Twenty bucks says he’s autistic. I feel like there’s something to be said about Irish-American discrimination and Rorscach but that is by no means my area of expertise, so just throwin’ the thought out there.

Between this and V for Vendetta, Moore really likes social rejects turned masked vigilantes, huh? Vendetta frames V (Guy Fawkes mask dude) as more a symbol than a character; he has a backstory too, but not once is his face shown, and it works.

That said, I just found something kinda... lacking, about Vendetta. Maybe it’s the fact I couldn’t tell half the characters apart and spent most sections not focused on V and Evey wanting to get back to them. Like Watchmen, Vendetta is set in an alternate history (or, er, near-future given when the comic was actually written/published), but whereas Watchmen scatters historical details throughout the narrative via character development and intriguing tie-in snippets, Vendetta kinda just dumps them unceremoniously when needed. It’s... meh.

Well, at least I can say I know what the Guy Fawkes mask as a revolutionary/counterculture symbol originated from. And I did like the little identity twist at the end, much as I saw it coming. (By the way, is that “reports of my death were exaggerated” line from a different piece of media? I could’ve sworn I heard it before but heck if I know where; Google suggests Mark Twain but that doesn’t ring a bell.)

Also, while it could be total coincidence, I kinda wouldn’t be surprised if this influenced Naoki Urasawa’s Monster somehow. (Monster spoilers ahead.) For one thing my first impression of Evey was “fuck, that’s Nina Fortner in dystopian Britain,“ but both stories are set on a backdrop of genocide and feature a character who went through extensive... examination & later broke out in a plot that encompassed the deaths of nearly everyone involved. Said character also has a fucked up relationship with Nina/Evey that involves psychologically screwing with her in an attempt to make her see things his way. (Or, uh, I think that’s what Johann was up to? It’s been a while.) Fun stuff!

Watchmen ends with a very, VERY bittersweet reflection of humanity, and Vendetta draws the curtain on the spark of revolution. Both are impactful in their own rights but the first seems much more relevant today, at least to me as a contemporary American. Also, I can kinda see why Anonymous picked up the Guy Fawkes mask even though vigilante justice isn’t quite what V was going for.

Art-wise, though, Vendetta wins. Rather than cleanly outline everything it makes copious use of negative space and bold inks, foregoing outlines where color contrast will do, and I might mess around with a mimcry some time because got dang does it get that dramatic, noir-esque mood cross. (Watchmen does too at times, but not throughout the whole book. It’s also a matter of clean flats vs semi-blotchy watercolors.)

They are both firmly on my hypothetical list of stories to revisit a few years down the road, because why not, but even if I never get around to that I’m glad I read ‘em at least once.

I end this bulletpoint text wall by saying you should check both graphic novels out if you have a few hours to spare and are game for some challenging psychological thrillers; they earned notoriety for a reason.

Watchmen will take your faith in humanity and hold it over a pit of rabid dogs, but it’s up to you whether or not it drops. It has its gentler moments, but you’ll probably be reading for the themes and mystery above all else. Also, comic people take note--there are some great choices in the imagery and paneling. It probably is worth reading just for the visual storytelling.

V for Vendetta is almost more of a superhero story than Watchmen, hooking you on the identity of its central character but leaving on a universal political moral. Don’t let the smiley mask fool you--this one might not challenge your goodwill as much, but it will throw demoralizing events at you one after the other, for a payoff that holds greater meaning in the bigger picture than anywhere. Again, wasn’t my favorite, but you too can finally understand why Guy Fawkes masks seem to be a symbol of Chaotic Neutral (or Good or Evil, depending on political leaning).

Anyway, what do you think of my desktop?

#nothin like having tumblr open fullscreen to say I Am Procrastinating #as usual there's not a Thesis to this or anything just -dumps everything onto keyboard and publishes it without editing-#.rtf #also scratch what I said about readmores a while back #turns out scrolling through my own darn blog is a bit of a pain :V

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easyhairstylesbest · 3 years

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Body Positivity Isn’t Happening For Me. I’m Aiming for Body Neutrality Instead.

The Instagram video that broke me featured a pretty blonde in a pink crop top. She was caressing her stomach and smiling blandly while swaying in front of the camera. “Life’s too short not to love every inch of yourself!” the caption read.

I don’t know why, but that video did it. I’d seen those types of videos before, with a woman half-dancing around, urging me to embrace my soft curves or love my cellulite or whatever. But this one was the last straw. Believe me when I say I threw my phone down on the couch and took an angry lap around my living room. That moment was when I realized that the body positivity movement—the love every inch movement—was just too far out of reach for me.

Surely there had to be something in between loving myself unconditionally, and how I currently felt, which ranged from benign hostility toward my body, to “meh.” Enter: body neutrality. Instead of the constant stream of negative thoughts that runs through my mind 24/7 (just me?) I want…nothing. I don’t need to replace all those messages with body positive self love—I just want a break from the negative.

The author at a foggy Grand Canyon. By this point it should be obvious that I’m not sure what to do with my hands in photos.

Courtesy

It’s not that I haven’t tried to be positive. I talk to my therapist. I try to practice intuitive eating. I switched up my Instagram follows so my feed is full of people of all sizes revelling in their gorgeous bodies. But it turns out those Instagram videos aren’t helping. Instead, they’re a reminder of yet another way I’m failing my body. Now, not only am I worried that I’m the wrong size and shape, I also feel badly about not loving myself enough just the way I am.

In this picture, I was trying to remember how celebrities pose with one leg behind the other to make my legs look slimmer.

Courtesy

It would be nice to love my body. Think of the brain space that I could free up! The hours I could devote to reading, cooking, or using my scrolling-through-Instagram time to focus on celebrities on yachts or judging their fancy kitchens (two of my favorite types of posts). But despite how much I would love to follow my patron saint, Lizzo, to the altar of body positivity, it’s just not happening.

So, before I can truly love my body, I just want to turn down the volume on all the messages that are blaring inside my head. I needed to start by cutting the background noise. For help, I turned to Jessi Kneeland, a body image coach. According to Kneeland, body neutrality is actually kinda boring. “Neutrality is just the truth. You look in the mirror and go, ‘This is a body,’” Kneeland says. So I don’t have to revel in my shape and adore every pimple? As it turns out, nope!

“We’ve all been taught that it’s super important that we have an opinion on how we look. One of the first tenets of neutrality is maybe that’s not true,” Kneeland says. “But that’s a pretty rebellious stance to take in a culture that, especially for women, is constantly reinforcing the idea that how we look is not only one of the most interesting and valuable things about us, but also that it’s a way in which we’re constantly failing, and we should constantly be trying to improve.”

The good (and bad) news is that I’m certainly not alone. Kneeland has worked with hundreds of clients trying to break through the fog of mixed-messages about their bodies. Originally she focused on helping clients via self love and body positivity. But she noticed for many of her clients, the messages weren’t clicking. “Positivity is just one more unrealistic standard to reach,” she says. “And I think it makes people feel worse; it makes them harder on themselves and beat themselves up more, which is exactly the opposite of what we’re going for.”

Ah yes, the old “I’m not loving myself enough” blues. I’ve sung that song a few (hundred) times before. But I want to be done with that, I really do. And so I asked Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, a psychiatrist, and the medical director at the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, for advice on how to start working towards body neutrality. “The first thing is to allow yourself to be open to the idea that your relationship with your body could be different than it is,” Wassenaar says, which is exactly the kind of low-stakes starting point I was hoping for.

Or at least, it seemed low stakes until I implemented Wassenaar’s other piece of advice, which is to recognize all the negative things I say about myself internally. The first time I tried to list them, I lost count of all the mean thoughts swirling around my brain. I hated my thighs for fusing together, causing painful chafing. I hated my rosacea for making my face flush when it seemed like everyone and their sister was posting no-makeup selfies. I could barely walk past a mirror without cringing at my rounded cheeks and jaw in profile. I didn’t even realize the full weight of the emotional burden I’d been carrying around each day, and it shocked me. But Wassenaar says it’s normal to feel overwhelmed.

“It’s okay to have a feeling or a thought about your body that isn’t positive,” Wassenaar says. “And that doesn’t change the fact that you can have goals for your body to help you live your life.” The goals should not be about appearance, Wassenaar says; instead, focus on function—a cornerstone of body neutrality. Like, for example, taking a minute to acknowledge that my legs and lungs worked together to carry me up a steep hill. “Messages of appreciation and gratitude for your body, these neutral messages, can start to reframe your experience of being in your body,” she adds.

A winter selfie, with my rosacea poking through.

Courtesy

So that’s what I’m starting with. Now, when I look in the mirror, I don’t try to force any positive messages, and I definitely don’t caress my tummy with a vacant grin. I just think, that’s a stomach. As much as any single stomach can exist in the world, well, mine does. Is this where I’d like to eventually end up? No. One day I hope I can truly love every inch. Until then, I just want to look at celebrities on yachts in peace.

Emily Baron Cadloff Emily Baron Cadloff is a freelance culture writer with a passion for health and wellness.

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Body Positivity Isn’t Happening For Me. I’m Aiming for Body Neutrality Instead.

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purrincess-chat · 6 years

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For the unpopular opinion thing again. Jeluka x Rose, Sabrinath, Sabrina or Rose as the bee miraculous instead of Chloe, Nathaniel as the fox miraculous instead of Ayla, Chloe x Marinette, Chloe x Ayla, your full opinion on Lila, Antibug. Nino getting the turtle miraculous, Adrien and Chloe's friendship and your full opinion on Sabrina.

Haha! I didn’t forget about these. I just had to focus on finals and then take some time to be a vegetable. So, let’s dive in!

Juleka/Rose: Cute. I love it. Needs to be canon.

Sabrinath: Basically the only Nath ship I really like.

Sabeena or bee!rose: I think it could be cute. Sabrina would be adorable, and it could do wonders for her confidence.

No.

Chlonette: Personally, even though I’ve written Chlonette, and still have Chlonette ideas, it’s not my favorite. I still vastly prefer the brotp version cause I think even if Chloe knew Marinette was LB in canon and even if Chloe got better, I don’t see them wanting to date each other. Friends, a definite maybe, lovers, highly unlikely. I can’t get behind some of the popular tropes surrounding the ship either namely that Chloe bullies Marinette because she has a crush on her. I just don’t see that at all, nor do I like what it implies/teaches. I think if they were going to be a couple, they’d have to grow into it and develop their feelings slowly. I’m more okay with Chlonette than I was when I first stumbled upon it, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that I ship it. I’ll write it, but it is more of a brotp for me.

Chlolya: Yes. Good. It can stay. I think Chloe needs someone new, someone she doesn’t have a history with. It’s why I’m not a fan of her with really any of the other classmates as much. I much prefer her with people like Alya or Lila or Kagami because if Chloe were to change and improve, they wouldn’t have an image of who she used to be still haunting them, and I feel like she could fully move past it with them and become someone better.

My full opinion on Lila: I think she gets a lot more hate from the fandom than she deserves, and I know most of that is because a lot of people automatically side with the protagonist instead of thinking for themselves. People buy into what the show tells them they should and shouldn’t like, and since Marinette was instantly defensive and antagonistic toward Lila, a lot of the fandom is too. After all, she was trying to disrupt the love square. Can’t have that even though literally all of us know it’s end game and nothing is ever going to really get in the way of that. Sure, lying is bad, but I think I can say with surety that all of us are guilty of lying every now and then. I will admit, when I first joined the fandom, I was one of the individuals that just bought canon at face-value, but as time has worn on, I’ve formed my own opinions of characters, and I have to say that I do like Lila. I think particularly as a fic-writer, she has a lot of potential because we don’t know that much about her, so you can make her just about anything that you want. She’s fun to explore.

Things get a little salty under the cut.

My opinion of Antibug? Like the episode as a whole or just the akuma? I think as a whole, the episode kind of bothered me because Chloe always outshines Sabrina. Every other classmate got a whole episode dedicated to them when they got akumatized. The episode was titled after their akuma, we usually got a look into their character and what things get under their skin. Antibug was an exception. Sabrina had a very legitimate reason for being akumatized. Her best friend was engaging in purposefully abusive and manipulative behavior over something super silly, and given that Sabrina doesn’t have the best sense of identity or any notable self-esteem, it’s understandable that she’d become akumatized. And what does she become? Invisible. Just like she always is, and not only does she become invisible, the only purpose of her akuma is to serve as a gateway for Chloe to become akumatized. So, not only did they make Sabrina literally invisible, they also didn’t even name the episode after her. They named it after Chloe who, in my opinion, was being a brat and was akumatized for a very stupid reason.

Because Chloe was lying to Ladybug and Chat Noir before. Ladybug was right not to trust her, and I am still salty that they turned that into Marinette’s fault because it wasn’t. Chloe was being a brat, and she lied. Ladybug knew this, and she shouldn’t have been punished for not listening to Chloe. She shouldn’t have had to apologize in the end because she wasn’t in the wrong. Chloe was. So, I guess if I had to pick a least favorite episode from season 1, Antibug would probably be it because not only did they mistreat Sabrina horribly, but they also victimized someone who wasn’t even a victim in the first place and who got what she deserved by being ignored and not taken seriously.

I have to admit, Nino getting the turtle in canon didn’t thrill me for a number of reasons. Turtle!Nino is a cool concept in fanon, and I do enjoy me some turtle!Nino art because I didn’t really think it would become canon. But since it is canon now, I have to say I’m not excited? Like, Chloe and Alya were one thing, but now throw in Nino and I feel like there’s just a lot happening here. Maybe it’s because Nino has literally been a ghost this season with next to no development, or maybe it’s because I worry about what it means for my favorite little old man, but I just can’t get myself excited about it? I’m overwhelmed by a sense of ‘meh’ whenever I see it. I think it’s mostly because we don’t have that much on Nino as a character, even from season 1, and season 2 hasn’t exactly done wonders for him as a character either. At least with Alya, we’ve seen her helping Marinette out, plotting to help her get with a boy she likes, calling her out on her problematic behavior, insisting she think stuff through first, but what has Nino done? DJ-ed a couple parties, said maybe two things, mostly in the background, and just kinda been there. If Nino is going to become a hero, I’d like to see him grow and actually convince me that he deserves one. Same with Chloe and Alya.

I think that Chloe and Adrien’s friendship is only still a thing in canon because they’ve known each other for a long time. Adrien often displays expressions of discomfort whenever Chloe is around being her usual self, and I applauded him in Despair Bear when he called her out. It’s kind of why that episode annoyed me a little because in the end, she goes back to being the way she was, having clearly manipulated and tricked him, and instead of being mad, he’s just like ‘Oh well.’ However, I do enjoy writing them post-redemption for Chloe. I think they would take on a very cute, sibling-like relationship and be more of a family.

My full opinion on Sabrina: I’m actually fairly neutral to her as a character herself, though I have been appreciating her more lately as I’ve contemplated more ships for her besides just Sabrinath. someone got me hecked up with SabriKim and Sabrinadrien, but that’s for another day And I think that the show has been doing her a disservice. I think she really needs to distance herself from Chloe and form her own identity which is kind of why I liked her with Nath initially, and why I also have come to like the idea of her with Kim or Adrien. All of these people have been hurt by Chloe, and I think that they would give Sabrina room to discover herself without smothering her or influencing her to be someone she isn’t. She certainly wouldn’t just be their servant, and I think putting her in a healthy relationship could do her wonders. Thomas said her relationship with Chloe improves, but truthfully, I think a big improvement for them would be to split up. It would be better for Sabrina mentally and emotionally, and I think it would be better for Chloe in the long-run too. It would force her to do things herself and stop taking advantage of someone else.

#ml spoilers #emily's thoughts #unpopular opinions

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dapperkobold · 6 years

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Warframe: Quick Equip Guide (MR 9)

Having recently hit MR 9 in Warframe, I’ve used quite a number of frames and weapons, not all of which are equal. Warframe could likely spend an entire major update dedicated to re-balancing and still be adorably imbalanced. So, if anyone does read my review and decides to pick up the game, here’s what I’ve ranked to max and whether I think it’s worth messing with.

There ARE bad weapons in Warframe. But, as I went over in my musings on the Gorgon, I don’t think that a weapon is bad just because it’s a little funky. A weapon must instead make the price of fixing the funkiness too high or even completely impossible. So, I’m going to rate the equipment here in terms of the FUN I had.

Great is the best, Fun is that I had fun but it’s nothing amazing, Okay is pretty neutral, Meh is that I disliked it a little and Bad is that I honestly do think it’s a bad weapon (And likely not worth your time)

Now, I didn’t get all these entirely through gameplay, I admit, so it’s possible that grinding for some of these will make it not worth it, but I figure I might was well mention all of them. How much fun does a slot and doubled mod capacity translate to?

ATTENTION: There have been some updates since this list was made! Some MR requirements have changed (some things may be harder to use to replace your starting gun now) and a lot of things have received buffs (including the gorgon, go figure) so some of the details listed my be inaccurate, but the overall thoughts should still be the same.

Warframes

Excalibur: A solid starter choice, but after getting enough mods that you can use the fourth ability on a regular basis there’s little need for anything else. However, if you chose a different starter you may have something more solid by the time you get to where you can unlock Excalibur. Fun.

Frost Prime: Frost in general seems like a must-have on the Warframe lineup. Freeze has limited usage, but all his other powers have solid niches and the Snow Globe is honestly as good as people say it is. Frost is the difference between a easy excavation mission and a long, stressful excavation mission. Great.

Ivara: Completely cheeses spy missions. Even if Ivara’s powers were just her four quiver arrows, I wouldn’t be too disappointed. In addition, her innate radar is the kind of thing you don’t know you need until you have it. Her pickpocketing, stealth, and Artemis Bow is just icing. Also, using navigator with arrows is fun. Using navigator with high explosives is hilarious. Great.

Limbo: Not for the faint of temperment, Limbo is the kind of Warframe that rewards practice and investment exponentially. Good powers, unique mechanics, some amount of innate energy management, put a reactor on this bad boy, look up some guides, and be a warrior from outside space and time. Great.

Mesa: Bullet bullet gun, my biggest hurdle with her has been ability duration. Keep in mind she’s a bit of a glass cannon, but other than that she’s a great frame. Fun.

Nezha: A frame I have very little experience with, but I think there’s some good times on the horizon. Abilities are a unique mix that are delightful, a mix of support and damage. He’ll take a little getting used to (and a clan to get the blueprints from) but if you want to try the fire boy out I say go for it! Fun.

Nidus: Hooboy, this guy deserves his spot as maybe one of the most OP Frames in the game. Four really good powers, innate energy management, high health and regeneration, this guy has it all. And it’s not just that he’s OP, but he’s also honestly fun to play. A challenge? Maybe not so much, but when the chips are down there’s few situations where you don’t want Nidus. Great.

Rhino: Here’s one situation where I can tell that it’s my personal taste shaping my opinion more than actual fact. This man is a train, his ability set is really good, his survivability is really good, and I just don’t like him as much for some reason I’m not sure of. I put him at Okay, but a mix of his early-game location and solid ability means that he’s definitely worth picking up when you’re starting out.

Trinity: Welcome to Warframe: the medic heals people by killing people. Really, Trinity is a good frame with good abilities that can be effective solo as much as in a group. The only problem is that she’s kind of ugly. Stick to less saturated colors, and if you feel serious grab the Strega skin. Great.

Primary Weapons:

Attica: Not a lot to say. It was fairly effective, even if the projectile drop was annoying, but I didn’t feel a need to keep it around. Technically automatic fire, but slow enough that it didn’t work very well. Okay.

Dex Sybaris: As someone with a slightly irrational disliking for burst weapons, the fact that I like Dex Sybaris at all says a lot. It’s a fine precision weapon and likely the best Warframe anniversary present item. Great.

Dread: The Stalker’s pointy-stick-launcher is really good. It’s silent, has no projectile drop, good stats, and it’s easier to get than any prime weapon. The only downside is that it’s impossible to make it look good in any color scheme other than the default one. Great.

Gorgon: I wrote an entire ramble about this The spool-up time is too long, the ammo economy is too bad, and the kick is just too strong to use. Bad.

Grakata: I picked this up as a replacement for my starter gun and it was pretty good. Fun.

Hek: By default it’s a good shotgun with low magazine size. Okay. With the syndicate mod it does hilarious amounts of damage, effectively becoming a cone weapon, and is one of the best shotguns in the game. Great.

Hema: Eh, the mechanics of this weapon really are more important than the sheer damage or the fact it’s a burst weapon. You reload, you lose health. You score headshots, you get health. As long as you can score enough headshots you will be fine, but at that point it’s a little easy. Fun.

Ignis Wraith: A terrifyingly effective flamethrower, currently my go-to weapon for when I’m being serious. Not sure where to get it anymore, I admit. Great if you can get it.

Karak: A solid grineer assault rifle. Might be a good option to swap out your starter weapon for, but I could feel it falling behind at higher levels. Okay.

Latron: A fairly rapid fire precision weapon. Not glamorous, but it’s cheap and it works. Fun.

Miter: It fires giant spinning sawblades. What more do you want? When charged it punches through thin walls. When not charged it can bounce off of things. The wide projectile can score multiple kills per shot. It’s odd to get used to, but it’s still big fun. Great.

Penta: Now, explosives in this game are kind of touchy. You take full self-damage, so if you’re not careful they can end you FAST. But the Penta, see, only explodes when you tell it to. This makes it either a really good grenade launcher or (with the right mod) a sticky bomb launcher. Use with Ivara for maximum shenanigans. Great.

Rubico: Since the recent sniper re-work, sniper weapons in general have been good. Nothing really stands out about the Rubico, it’s just effective. Fun.

Soma Prime: Well, it’s not the most complex of weapons, but it is without a doubt brutally efficient. Sometimes you just want to shoot someone in the face with lots of bullets. Great.

Supra: Eh, the sheer amount of bullets may not be as impressive as soma prime, but it still works. Personally I’m experimenting on the viability of it as a status weapon using the syndicate mod, but even just in terms of sheer bullets it works well. Fun.

Vectis: Has become my favorite sniper rifle. Sure, there’s fine details that could be argued over, but who cares? It feels less like a one-shot rifle and more like it has a bottomless magazine. Maybe it just makes me nostalgic for shooters before clip mechanics, but I enjoy it a lot and it works well. Great.

Vulkar: Another sniper Rifle, works well. It seems strange to me to have a status-focused sniper rifle, since if the status matters the target didn’t die in one hit, the entire point of sniper rifles. Eh, whatever. Fun.

Secondary Weapons

Cestra: This was mentioned in the Gorgon post, it has a spool-up time and lackluster stats but I like it. Fun. Maybe don’t stick with it, but level it up on the way to the Dual Cestra.

Dex Furis: Eh. It’s a wonderful early-game weapon, no doubt, but I didn’t keep it around. Get it free, especially if you’re new to the game, and use it until you get something that fills the same niche but better. Meh.

Dual Cestra: It’s the Cestra. But better. And it’s still Fun.

Lex: Let’s not mince words: the starter secondary weapons are bad. Buy a Lex as soon as you can and love it. It’s a quality precision weapon, and solid enough to keep you company into the endgame. Great.

Mk-1 Kunai: Speak of the devil and you will find in on your hip. I know that the proper Kunai has better stats, but the Mk-1 rubbed me the wrong way enough that I have no intent of getting the full version. The way that you throw means that the trajectory varies, when standing behind cover about half the shots will hit the cover, the arcing is just a bother (I have a far better time shooting people out of cover with hitscan weapons than arcing ones) and even the full version does not have stats to make up for all this. Bad.

Stug: This is a very nice weapon. It fires globs of corrosive goo that deal damage over time and then explode. It can be fired full-auto or charged with the secondary fire, and it’s never done self-damage to me. Is it a gimmick weapon? Very much so! But you know what? It’s a gimmick weapon that works. Level it, upgrade it, love it. Great.

Talons: This is what it takes for me to forgive the wonky throwing on the Kunai! They’re bombs that stick where you hit and you can detonate them whenever you want. They’re effective and reliable. Use with Ivara for more laughs. Great.

Twin Grakatas: They do large amounts of damage very, very fast. It’s just that simple. I can’t fault their effectiveness, but I can fault their ammo economy. If you have a keen eye for sheer damage output, you’ll like these, but I find myself keeping these on the backburner more and more. Fun.

Twin Gremlins: Eh... they work. if you’re farming for the Miter or Trinity you’ll likely get the blurprints so there’s no reason to avoid them, but they just don’t catch my attention like other weapons do. Others have plenty of good to say, so maybe you’ll appreciate them more. Okay.

Melee Weapons

Dex Dakra: I lucked out and got these to replace my starter weapon, and they work fine for that! I don’t feel much need to go back to them, but hey. Fun.

Furax: Oh cripes the Furax. I only leveled these things because they were a component for the Knux and part of me wishes I didn’t. They’re supposed to be like power fists, but the low damage, slow speed, short range, and bad sound effects make them feel like they’re specifically taking power from your strikes instead of adding it. I’m not touching these again until someone goes in and turns the batteries around. Bad.

Galatine: giant sword is giant and also effective. It really is that easy! Fun!

Heat Sword: I don’t know how to get this to do heat damage. Slam attack or something? I don’t care, you get it free from an early quest but don’t expect to get a lot out of it. Bad.

Hirudo: Okay, THIS makes you feel awesome. Punch and kick your enemy into oblivion, do good damage, and get healing every time you crit. It’s not as good as it sounds, it’s BETTER. It’s tons of fun and is hilarious to use with a cape to make you look like some kind of anime character. Great.

Lacera: Ooh, this one is hit and miss with me. I don’t like the whip-sword animations, but as a status weapon it’s second to none. I’d say to try it out if you have a chance. If you like the animations and stances you’re likely to have a great time, but for me I keep it around in case I ever expect to need to strip armor. Fun.

Lecta: Eh, it works and has a fine status chance. Not a lot to say, really. If anything it’s told me I like the whip animations so I should consider buying a better whip. Okay.

Mk-1 Bo: the only starter weapon I enjoyed leveling up, but mainly because I didn’t have any other options. Literally, I got this thing to 30 before I got a second melee weapon. Now that I have options I just don’t care. Meh.

Scindo Prime: It’s a really good axe! Big, too! Brutal but effective! I even use the Manticore skin. That lowers its swing speed but increases its damage, and I almost never swing it more than once in a row anyway so I’ll happily take it! Great.

Companions

Taxon (and Artax): Taxon is basically your starter sentinel, and you know what? I like it. It’s a good one. It improves your shield and slows down your enemies. Fun.

Helminth Charger: Whooos a good abmonination against nature? Who’s a good girl? It you! Do you want to go knock over some enemies? You do, don’t ya! You can run them right over! Or you can impale them and drag them to you! I see you impale an enemy, and I say to myself, ‘that enemy is so dead!’ You’re so good at what you do! You’re a good puppy you are!!!!!!!! Great.

Other Notes

Arcwing stuff... I just haven’t leveled any to 30. that said, I have decided that I don’t like the default weapons. If you’re like me and don’t like the Arcwing default weapons, get a clan, go to the chem lab, and grab the Grattler and the Knux. Near as I can tell they’re the only arcwing weapons you don’t need to jump through syndicate hoops to get.

Also I never leveled up the Mk-1 Braton I didn’t like it.

Currently in progress I have Octavia (who is looking fun, if a bit gimmicky), the Argonak (Which is looking like a good marksman rifle/assault rifle), the Lex Prime (which is overkill in most situations and almost overkill in the rest of them), and the Azima (which even without the gimmick is a solid full-auto pistol.)

#warframe #random musing #you can likely guess what I've bought #by cross-referencing this list and a list of event sales within the last year #throw in a list of things that are hard to farm for and you should have it #sure on average I may seem to like stuff I paid for more than stuff I didn't #but I think that's more that I've been very careful about stuff I pay for with platinum #while I kind of have a 'hey why not' mindset with credits.

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medjaichieftain · 7 years

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Silence Watches The Mummy and The Mummy Returns – Musings, Headcanons, Criticisms, & Observations About Ardeth, Horus, and the Medjai - [Part 1 of 2]

This is going to be… such a random hodgepodge of stuff, heh. I’m going to number them just to give this big wall of text some structure, but they’re not in any specific order. And by all means message me or comment somehow on anything you read here. I would love to discuss any one of these things! =)

[1.] What are the Medjai, really? Medjai means “bodyguards”, I think. If you listen to Imhotep at the beginning of the first movie, right before Anck-su-namun takes her life, he says something that is translated into the “Pharoah’s bodyguards,” and he definitely says “Medjai.” In the second movie, Nefertiri calls for her father’s bodyguards to help him, and she also called them “Medjai.” Back to the first movie, Ardeth describes the Medjai as “we, the Medjai, the descendants of Pharoahs’ sacred bodyguards.” I always took this to mean blood descendants, but I think I was wrong. I think they are occupational descendants, not bloodline descendants. The reason for this is because the Medjai are also described as being this secret society of warriors (except for the one dude who was managing the library, probably so that the rest of them would have a decent informational contact). They appear to be all men, in scouting/hunting parties, out on the sands, keeping watch over stuff, right? How do they get more Medjai, then, heh? Do you ever see any kids? Or even any women? I think that in the world of The Mummy, there are tribes of nomadic desert people who call the Sahara home who actually live in family units, and then there are the Medjai, who I think come from all those other tribes. The curator of the library in the first movie says that they are “sworn from manhood to protect,” which to me means that it is a choice and that they don’t become Medjai until they come of age. So I think the Medjai are not a family society in and of themselves, so much as they are comprised from warriors of many different tribes in a given region who take an oath to essentially give up their family lives to take on this immense religious and moral duty. That is not to say they never visit their families at all, but I think it is more an occupational vow and not one passed down through bloodlines. This is further confirmed for me by Rick supposedly being a Medjai in the second movie, because… I’m sorry but his pasty White ass probably does not have any Egyptian blood in him, haha, so it’s more likely that he is not a descendant of any Pharoah’s bodyguards. But… neither did he choose to enter the Medjai at manhood, so Rick kinda confuses me. He said he got the tattoo at an orphanage, and didn’t even know what it was. That… doesn’t seem to fit with how the rest of the Medjai function. How can you be a warrior for a god you don’t believe in when you don’t even know that you are one in the first place? Which brings me to the pronunciation of the word “me-djai.” It changes, heh. By the second half of the second movie, everybody (including Ardeth) is saying “mah-djai” instead of “meh-djai.” As in, magi? As in… a group of wise men who know a lot of shit that you should pay attention to? I wonder if this was meant to be a play on words that further illustrates the roles that the Medjai played in society or whether the actors all just got lazy in pronouncing the damn word, heh. I’m thinking the latter, but eh… food for thought.

[2.] We never actually ever see Ardeth’s Medjai tattoo on his wrist, the one that would match Rick’s. He wears a leather bracelet that covers it up, and actually, so did Rick in the first movie. Since the Medjai are supposed to be a secret society, it makes sense, but then in that case I wonder why they would cover the wrist tattoo but then put tattoos on his face and the backs of his hands. Not very secret anymore, is it?

[3.] As much as I love Ardeth, his character does annoy me a little bit in that he is an obvious plot device. In the beginning of the first movie, the Medjai are seen as scoundrels, villains, and evildoers. They attack without warning, they’re savage, they have scars, and they’re older looking men. We are not privy to any of their names and we can’t see all of their faces clearly. Even the music that introduces their presence is sinister and ominous in nature. We are taught at first to see them as villains, and this annoys me because it is totally based on the social concept of “The Other.” This nebulous, not clearly defined, nameless, faceless, “other” person that you cannot feel anything for or identify with or even consider a human being because they are “other” than you. It is unfortunately the basis for a whole lot of religious, ethnic, and cultural stereotyping and prejudice. It is not until we meet Ardeth, who is coincidentally the only Medjai given more than a couple innocuous lines, a much younger guy, devoid of scars that we can see, a seriously good looking dude, amazing hair, haha… that the Medjai suddenly have a face and a meaning. From then on they’re good, noble saviors, warriors for god, and protectors against evil. I’m not saying don’t view them that way, I’m just annoyed that they are portrayed as 100% evil at the start and then 100% good later on. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Maybe their cause is good, but they do kill innocent people for it and their methods can be cruel and violent. Necessarily so? You decide? But still… why must they be either black or white morally speaking? They are somewhere in between and they should have been ortrayed that way from the start. Instead, they start out as blanks, as “Others” to us until we’re shown a pretty one and then suddenly we care, heh. That urks me a lot, which is why I go out of my way to notice background Medjai in both movies and wonder at their lives and deaths. I would have appreciated the fleshing out of at least one other Medjai besides Ardeth. It is a shame that neither movie ever bothered to do that.

[4.] I have been thinking about Ardeth’s alignment, that is, his moral compass. Ardeth is not 100% Good in terms of alignment. He is Lawful Neutral with Neutral Good tendencies. He is willing to kill innocent people to protect hundreds of thousands of other lives. He admits this himself verbally when Evie asks him and the head librarian guy if their actions warrant killing innocent people. Any Medjai is prepared to do just that. Their cause is to protect the greater good, not to save individual lives. That’s where the Lawful Neutral comes in. However, he has Neutral Good tendencies. What this means is that… sometimes… Ardeth is willing to go against his code and/or act in favor of Good. So maybe here and there, he does decide to go the distance to save one or two lives (he threw himself at the mummies at the end of the first movie to allow Rick and Jonathan time to get the Book of Amun Ra and escape), and maybe sometimes he will choose to go against his vows to the Medjai in favor of a personal commitment (choosing to stay with Rick, Evie, and Jonathan to help them find Alex in the second movie instead of going off on his own to let the other chieftains know of their location after Horus is shot down). He also gave the Americans and Rick’s group in the first movie time to leave their camp when it was attacked, saying he would shed no more blood, but they had one day to leave. He should never have allowed them that day if he was adhering strictly to his duties as a Medjai, but his Good tendencies wanted to spare lives.

[5.] So I have come to the conclusion that Ardeth wears “high heels” because he rides a horse, heh. I’ve gotten a bunch of comments on his wearing high heels and wtf is up with that, haha, and I think it’s because he needs the heels to grip the stirrups of his horse. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. XD

[6.] Okay but like… why didn’t the Medjai just move the Book of the Dead somewhere people wouldn’t find it instead of constantly fending off people who came to Hamunaptra looking for it? Without it, no one can wake Imhotep, right? So… relocate it out in the middle of the freaking desert somewhere where the Medjai know where it is but no one else does, and guard it. If everyone thinks/knows it’s at Hamunaptra, put the damn thing somewhere else? Why didn’t they just do that? Because there would’ve been no movie, that’s why, haha.

[7.] The other Medjai who died in the beginning of the first movie… did Ardeth know them? It is likely that he did, since he was the regional chieftain. So he would know and command all Medjai in that area. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be in the story because this wouldn’t be his region, heh. So… did Ardeth send those men there to attack the boat in the beginning of the first movie, and if so, did he and his other men mourn the fact that they did not return? He certainly knew the ones who initially attacked Hamunaptra, because he was right there fighting with them. What was the conversation like after they left that night… with only half the men they came with? The bodies of the men were just left there, and not another word was said about them. Do they have some sort of agreement that bodies aren’t recovered due to time, danger, or resource constraints? If so, what do they bring back, if anything, to the families of these men? How are they honored/recognized for their dedication and sacrifice? I’m sure Ardeth would say/do something to honor them. And then how does losing so many men on a regular basis affect him emotionally? It really makes me wonder.

[8.] So for those who didn’t know this, Ardeth was supposed to die at the end of the first movie. The scene where his gun jams while Rick and Jonathan are trying to excavate the Book of Amun Ra and he has his iconic line, “Save the girl. Kill the creature,” and then he throws himself at all the mummies in the corridor? Yeah, he was supposed to die then. But apparently test audiences liked Ardeth so much and were so upset that he died that they actually changed the ending to include him… and then gave him a much bigger part in The Mummy Returns. (Thank you test audiences, omg, haha.) That’s why he’s just kindof gone for the whole final battle at the end of the first movie and then scares the shit out of Jonathan at the very end sitting on his camel, heh. But it makes me wonder… The Pharaoh’s bodyguards at the end of the first movie were, by definition, also Medjai. If the makers of the movie had decided sooner that Ardeth should live and he had been involved in that battle, would those undead Medjai still have gone after him, or would they recognize him as one of their own? I really wonder about that… and about why the Medjai mummies would be helping Imhotep…? That made no sense…? Like what all was in what Jonathan read that told them hey, forget your duties in life and go help the guy who killed your pharaoh?

[9.] What’s the deal with Ardeth and Lock-Nah? They knew each other by sight and they knew their full names. And the very slight head cant Ardeth gives when saying his name gives me a “(sigh) here we go again with this guy” vibe. Lock-Nah too was smiling like “hey… this guy I love to pick on!” And it seemed like that kind of relationship to me, like… Ardeth has probably tried numerous times to foil the cult of Imhotep over the years and this guy Lock-Nah probably pushed back, screwed him over, and generally engaged in bombastic fuck you-ery to the point of Ardeth just being sick and tired of him. And from Lock-Nah’s point of view, he thinks he’s better than Ardeth in every possible way and enjoys watching him fail. The way he watches Ardeth fight the other cult members in Evie’s house toward the beginning of the second movie with this amused condescension, and then makes the comment, “Not bad… for a Medjai,” is indicative of his perceived superiority over Ardeth. He says “Medjai” like he’s saying “scum of the earth” or something, heh. He has no respect for Ardeth as a person, for the Medjai as a society, or for the morality for which both stand. What makes me think that their relationship is more than just soldier-of-virtue vs. immoral villain is Ardeth’s emotion whenever he fights him. And I’m not saying he cries or makes comments or even shows a range of emotions on his face, it’s just that he looks… to not have the same level of concentration on his face as when he’s fighting Anubis’ army, for example. He’s serious then, focused, confident. With Lock-Nah, there’s a sense of “if I don’t keep on my toes and pay attention I’m going to die.” Maybe Ardeth perceived Lock-Nah to be a better fighter than him, skill-wise. Or maybe there was more to their relationship that we didn’t get to know. By the time he faces him in the jungle of Ahm-Shere, he’s comin’ at him yelling out this battle cry and just going for it. Whereas in the beginning of the movie he seems uncertain of himself, by the time he gets to that duel at the end, there’s a savagery that comes from Ardeth that is just rare to see. The next time you see it, pay attention to the death strokes Ardeth makes, the last two strokes with his sword. Maybe I’m reading into stuff (which I love to do) but he seems ragged, emotional, and just a bit angry like, “stay down, asshole.” It makes me think that Lock-Nah did something to Ardeth or to his life or family or screwed up some mission that was really important in the past… and things got a bit personal between them. Some have said that he’s avenging Horus but he never saw Lock-Nah fire the shot that killed him, so I don’t think that’s what it is. Unless he just assumed? I guess we’ll never know. I love too how when Lock-Nah finally does fall, he has this look on his face like, “Huh. Shit. Wouldja look at that. Bastard finally killed me.” Haha. Damn straight.

[10.] Ardeth gets wounded twice (in Evie’s house and on the bus) in the second movie and never tends to the wounds at all. We never see these wounds again, and in all honesty it doesn’t even look like his clothes are torn. This is just like the exhaustion and dehydration issue. As a writer, I have to keep track of all my characters’ wounds and how those wounds would impair the characters. So it irks me in movies when I see a character sustain a wound that then just disappears by the next scene. Ardeth should have been hurting from those slashes and claw wounds. At the very least, his clothes should have remained torn and he should have had a bandage on the wounds.

[11.] Do all tribes of the Medjai shop at the same clothing store? They all wore the same exactly tunics and sashes. I understand wearing the same basic fabrics and styles, but if these were regional chieftains or commanders of larger tribes, they should be from all over the Sahara and possible even from near other cities and towns. I don’t think they would all have the same outfit from all those different tribes. When all the commanders were lined up they looked like carbon copies of each other. There should have been a bit more variation in color at least if not style and fabric and accessories in their outfits.

#ardeth bay #horus #the medjai #the mummy #the mummy returns #meta

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