#and I'm not amused

[foulfirerebel]

True Weiss has tried to figure out “what comes next” but she can only even ask that question now that Salem got rid of Jacques, had Salem not targeted atlas he’d still be in charge,

As for the white fang, they haven’t actually progressed,

They stopped Adam and put ghira in charge again, basically resetting things back to how they where before sienna took over as in, the times Blake expressly told us weren’t working

Okay. I suppose this won't convince you of anything, but I'll take this one step at a time.

"True Weiss has tried to figure out “what comes next” but she can only even ask that question now that Salem got rid of Jacques, had Salem not targeted atlas he’d still be in charge."

Salem was going to target Atlas regardless, so that point is moot. Secondly, Ironwood already threatened Jacques that if he stepped out of line or got on his bad side he'd depose him in Volume 4. And to round things out, Salem's faction only gave Jacques enough rope to hang himself with given that his abusive behavior would've come to light eventually.

How do we know this? Willow planted cameras all over the mansion in case she ever needed to leave or bring things to the authorities, she only gets the courage to do so because WEISS came back and HELPED start the investigation AND also figured something was up.

The idea that Salem somehow helped things along is ridiculous, given that her motive and strategy is always divide and conquer WHICH WAS WORKING had Team RWBY not investigated into things further circa V7.

In short, Jacques already had plenty of enemies, Salem doesn't deserve any credit for his takedown, as he would've been brought down eventually.

~

"They stopped Adam and put Ghira in charge again, basically resetting things back to how they where before sienna took over as in, the times Blake expressly told us weren’t working."

As for the White Fang, yes they have progressed. They aren't at a "back to square one" situation just because Ghira took charge. Ghira himself says as much in V5, that Blake taught him the value of forgiveness with Illia and something that he should've realized regarding Sienna. Plus, Sienna and Ghira weren't enemies. Ghira even calls Sienna reasonable in V4 and respects that she's fighting for the Faunus, even if they disagree on methods.

Plus, the Faunus KNOW they cannot stay out of the literal fight for the world's sake otherwise things will stay stagnant and get WORSE for the Faunus. That's why they stopped Adam's militant group from literally ATTACKING ANOTHER SCHOOL.

You really think that letting Adam run rampant was going to change anything? That's letting a violent terrorist basically be the only face of resistance against oppression, and guess what? Normal people don't like that. There's propaganda at play when it comes to fighting oppression, sure, but there NEEDS to be a pushback when things go too far from within the movement before said extremism becomes its face.

Also, I'm sorry but where did Ghira say they were going to go back to square one? All they said was there was work to be done, and they all fought off Adam's White Fang when they tried to literally assassinate the Belladonna's and blow Haven up. Tell me, truly, how were either of those two actions Adam's faction took going to help Faunus at all?

Adam needed to be stopped before he further went rampant and tarnished people's legacies and names. Because when all you have is a violent extremist representing you, that's all people see. You need to have a variety of tactics and people to encourage betterness in society and people.

And standing on the sidelines wasn't working, clearly. Also, the reason why progress is slow on that front is because comms are still down. They stopped the White Fang and saved Haven from destruction, sure, but that's one Kingdom. There is work to be done across the world and that's going to take time.

Time they won't have if Salem isn't defeated.

~

And before you try me with the whole "Well, why didn't our heroes try anything against Ironwood or Atlas or Jacques?" Because:

They have no authority to make any moves. Blake has pull in the Faunus circles, sure, but outside Menagerie she's effectively nobody. With the communications still down, they can't effectively organize. Likewise, our heroes aren't in any position of power and don't have any real sway over people that Atlas or Mantle would recognize.

To add to the above, Weiss had her inheritence to the Schnee fortune and name stripped in V4. There goes any kind of pull over anyone in Atlas that they may recognize.

Also. People may not know Weiss has changed. They may still associate her with Jacques and her pompous attitude.

When our heroes DO have pull over people, they are refugees abandoned by Atlas who have nowhere to go now and require aid from the Faunus in the Crater. That's working alongside Robyn Hill's Happy Huntresses, who people are far more willing to hear out.

They barely got into Mantle before being arrested. They were forced into stealing an airship in V6 due to Cordo not listening to them. They stopped a whole pack of Sabyrs when they first came in, and got arrested afterward.

They need to work WITH Ironwood in order to figure out what to do about the oncoming threat of Salem. Had they refused, as Ironwood cleanly demonstrated at the end of V7, he can trump charges up and have them all placed under arrest as he attemped to black bag Robyn Hill too.

In the meantime, they do try to sway his opinion. They do push him away from martial law, they adamantly suggest working with Robyn Hill and the Happy Huntresses, and they're the ones that oust Jacques and get the evidence he's working with Watts.

Further, their plan actually works. It's only a stroke of bad luck in V8 that prevented everyone from evacuating safely and Ironwood's continued insistence on fascist bullshit.

To tie that back to point 1 as a final comment: Jacques is a businessman whom holds a lot of cards in Atlas. Taking him down isn't as simple as killing him, because then the assassin looks the part of the villain unless they bring proof of villainy to people that are willing to properly assess the evidence.

Which they did in V7.

Salem isn't an agent of change, she's a force of destruction and domination that seeks only the world's end. As people like @matrixdragon, @citadelofmythoughts, and others have said: our heroes have multitasked on this front, hence why they repeatedly tried brokering peace between Mantle and Atlas, stopping Adam's attack, etc.

Just because they are trying to focus on the literal end of the world doesn't mean they don't keep things like this in mind.

If they didn't, then maybe you'd be correct. But they did. So you're not.

Good day to you.

[hedgehog-moss]

I asked someone at the village recently if the dairy co-op sold [specific cheese] and she said yes they do, and I said oh I’ll pop by then, I haven’t seen that cheese at the grocery shop for a while, apparently their local supplier is giving them trouble, and the woman I was talking to scowled and said, “the dairy co-op is their supplier and my son works there and yes they’ve suspended deliveries but they’re not the problem” in a combative tone, clearly assuming I had sworn allegiance to the enemy in this dispute I didn’t know existed. It reminded me of how last spring I was saying that I’d seen a really cute foal while driving by [specific farm] and the person I was talking to scowled and said this foal’s mother was a terrible aggressive horse who shouldn’t have been allowed to reproduce and once again I just stood there awkwardly

There are mysterious and antagonistic connections between everyone in rural communities and the only way to be safe is to never mention anyone to anyone else. You say something about a sweet baby goat you can’t discount the possibility that this goat’s great-grandmother kicked your interlocutor’s third cousin in the leg in 1996 and now you’ve unwittingly taken a side in this longstanding feud

[marzipanandminutiae]

I'm at the Boston Massacre site

I'm at the SweetGreen

I'm at the combination Boston Massacre site and SweetGreen

[aceredshirt13]

if there's one thing about classic literary detectives it's that they are not conventionally attractive. doyle told sidney paget to stop drawing holmes so pretty. christie was like "let me introduce you to this short pudgy balding man who is retirement age and i hate him." sayers compares wimsey to maggots on literally the FIRST PAGE

i love it. i love them. stop casting hot people in these roles. we need our detectives to be Charmingly Weird-Looking

[nitw]

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE THE PROPAGANDA IS FINALLY WORKING

[kiksniko]

they are so intriguing

[littleskrib]

It's alright | 26122023

-

Based on a scene of @asterbae's story "Perfect Slaughter". I already did some simple character art before, but this particular scene in chapter 10 just hit differently and I wanted to bring this to paper since the first time I read it. reader discretion is advised, pls read the tags before checking it out

[syn0vial]

my gun-loving, car guy, "i'm the straightest man i know" brother who just finished baldur's gate 3 talking about astarion:

[rainhaunted]

not a day goes by without me thinking about this wob

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 115

“Seriously old man?” the rumbling voice nearly caused Tim to jump, his eyes darting away from where Ras was sitting, the Al Ghul almost seeming to perk. It was kind of hard to miss the man… teen… being? It was kind of hard to miss the owner of the voice what with how their hair looked like it was on fire. 

They motioned around at well, everything, crimson eyes looking exasperated. “Really?” They were definitely motioning towards him, interrupting Ras when he opened his mouth to talk. “No, I don’t want to hear it, I swear- Did he kidnap you?” That was definitely aimed at him. 

“N-no?” Tim was feeling slightly unbalanced and may be on hour sixty without sleep at this point, if the hour long nap was counted. “I need help finding my not-dad who's lost in time.” 

The being let out a strangled noise that Tim could nearly swear was almost another one, but couldn’t vocalize his slurred thoughts as the dude muttered something, motioning around as though he was tempted to strangle something or someone. 

Ras cleared his throat, looking almost awkward which was how Tim knew he had to be dreaming or drugged. Probably drugged. “Jordan, how good to see you, it’s been so long-”

“Can it Pops,” the being-named-Jordan scoffed, finger pointing towards the Demon’s Head. “Moms still pissed and isn’t coming back any time soon with you still pulling this shit.” 

Tim felt his brain stall, process for a moment, then process some more over what he just heard before his mouth ran before it could catch up. “Ras is married???” 

[raytorosaurus]

[fantasynovel]

i once saw this post that was like "fuck dany she's literally soooo selfish and self centered for thinking the comet was about her" ser this is literally the self-projection comet. what else is she supposed to do

[powdermelonkeg]

Thoughts on the thunder wizard again.

Genuinely, I find Gale's relationship with Mystra to be fascinating when you consider all its facets. Unhealthy, imbalanced, definitely poisonous, but also very, very intricate with a lot of blurred edges to it. One of those things where you're both like "wow, what the hell, that's horrible" but also "that makes perfect sense for their characters, and while I would NEVER, I know why they would, and why it happened."

You've got a wizard who doesn't know what real love is, who thinks he's finally being shown it by the person he adores most. His greatest fantasy, his most potent joy, his most heartfelt aspirations, and they were all offered to him.

And he wants to see what all she's hiding from him, because of course he does. She's the keeper of all things forbidden to him. The empire of Netheril reached magical heights that will never be touched again, and all that knowledge is beyond her curtain. She loves him, right? Surely, if he proves himself enough, she'll let him grasp that power he so desperately wants.

And not even in the power-hungry sense! All that magic Mystra's locked up was accessible during Mystryl's reign. Think of all the answers to theories about the universe that are back there. Every question of "can this be done, and what would it do" would be answered, if he could just bargain hard enough.

She loves him, right?

Surely, if he proves himself enough...

And then, on the other hand, Mystra. Once Midnight, her human personality has been subsumed by the goddess of magic and her duty to the Weave. She has a responsibility to magic, she IS magic.

Then along comes this mortal boy who knows how to handle her Weave. Who doesn't try to wrestle with and dominate, who sings to it. He handles it with such ease and grace—it's not just that he could be Chosen, but he deserves it. To put her Weave in the hands of someone so intrinsically in tune with it, who understands its potential with a wonder like no other. Few enough can handle the raw power that comes with being Chosen, but this one? This one is perfect.

And he adores you. And you adore him, like one would a beautiful butterfly that's landed on their finger. And he's willing to be devoted to you in all things, not out of transaction like most of your worshipers are, but out of love for you, your craft, your magic. You're so deeply and utterly charmed by him.

And it's not like Mystra hasn't walked this path before.

She gives him what he desires, because what he desires is her. And, in a different way, she desires him. She wants him to be her representation in the world. She indulges his adoration with her own presence, and takes indulgence herself in mortal comforts. He's never satisfied with her answers, but who could blame him? She keeps a whole world away from mortals, because she knows what such unfettered power might bring about (again).

And the wizarding prodigy's ambition is lit (again).

And the height of power is reached for (again).

And she stops him (again, again, again).

She does care for him. She doesn't want to see her little butterfly burn himself, and she doesn't want to be the one to ruin those wings.

But then he's not a butterfly. He's a mortal, wielding a weapon of murder, of her murder, and he's brought it to her doorstep because she told him "no." And he's cut himself on it, he doesn't know what it is, but it's hurt him—and it's only a fraction of the hurt it could do to her. How dare he want her help after threatening her?

(He didn't mean to.)

(He only wanted to help.)

(He only wanted. How human.)

She doesn't help him. If he wants to pursue Karsus' weaponry, it's his responsibility, his hubris, that led him to injuring himself on it. She's furious. She's hurt. She's cold.

(What fools these mortals be.)

But then, there's a greater threat to her. Something that could drown the Material in Karsus' failings. And that little boy, who nicked himself on the sword he lifted, still wants her help.

It's a fair trade, isn't it? She'll forgive him, let him into her domain again, if he accepts his punishment and goes into battle for her. He picked up a sword, it's appropriate that he learns to use it in her name, right?

If he was telling the truth, he wouldn't hesitate. If he really wanted to serve her with the Netherese Orb, he would jump at the opportunity to do so. He would have to give up a few petty things in the process, ("petty," she calls mortality, as if family and home mean nothing, as if friends and love are finite. Because to her, they do mean nothing. Because to her, they are finite.) but it isn’t atonement without sacrifice, is it?

It's the tactical move. She's not above hurting one man to save a nation. It's not even the first time she's done it.

(Dornal Silverhand sends his regards.)

If he loves her, he'd die for her, because she'd let him into her paradise. If he doesn't love her, he won't, and she was justified in removing him from her grace.

He doesn't love her. Not anymore.

Does he hate her enough to try to take his dues?

Ambition has always been man's greatest folly.

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts - Traverse Town

[ineffablyruined]

Aziraphale + Bad Literary Jokes (2/?)

[cometshift]

predisasters